| Apparatus and system for clearing a roadway surface -> Monitor Keywords |
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  Apparatus and system for clearing a roadway surfaceRelated Patent Categories: Brushing, Scrubbing, And General Cleaning, Machines, With Air Blast Or SuctionThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070180644. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] Embodiments of the invention are related to apparatus used to remove snow from roadways and the like and more particularly is directed towards enhancements to blades used when plowing snow from roadways. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Removal of snow and ice from roadways is of prime concern to ensure optimum road safety under winter driving conditions. Further, surface cleaning of airport runways, race tracks and the like to remove water, snow, ice and debris, is a prime safety concern. Significant resources are expended by all levels of government and others in order to achieve optimum road conditions. Snow and ice removal however can be less than optimum due to the lack of high efficiency snow removal apparatus or systems and the high cost associated with more complex technologies to remove snow and ice or to reduce its accumulation on roadways. [0003] In many jurisdictions roads are plowed using a variety of equipment including, but not limited to, bulldozers equipped with scraper blades, graders, front end loaders, sweepers and the like equipped with plow-shaped angled or curved snow scrapers and snowplows having one or two-sided plow-shaped blades which direct snow to a blower. Typically, a metal ground engagement tool (GET) is affixed to a bottom edge of the blade and the GET engages the road surface to scrape snow and ice. The accumulated snow and ice is usually directed by the blade to be deposited along the side of the roadway. Engagement between the blade and the pavement results in deterioration of both the blade and the pavement necessitating replacement of the GET at regular intervals to maintain optimum removal and may result in a deterioration of the surface of the roadway over time. [0004] Others have introduced rubber snowplow blades to provide a more flexible blade which can more positively engage the road surface and increase the removal of snow and ice therefrom while reducing damage to the road surface. [0005] It is well known to apply salt or a mixture of salt and an abrasive, such as sand, to the surface of roadways to assist in melting snow and ice accumulated thereon. The use of salt on the road surface acts to enhance removal of snow and ice both by vehicular traffic and by clearing with the snowplow blade. It is known to replace crystalline road salt with pre-wetted salt which comprises a small amount of liquid de-icer added to the road salt. The pre-wetted salt stays on the road better and works more quickly than dry salt. Further, it is known to use a variety of deicing chemicals for reactive and proactive deicing of road surfaces. [0006] Use of chemical deicers and road salt can have serious detrimental effects on air quality, surface and ground water, vegetation, soil, wildlife and can enhance vehicle and structural corrosion. Thus, use of salt and other deicers has come under strict review and legislation is being put into place to govern its use and storage. One such legislation is the Code of Practice for the Environmental Management of Road Salts of April 2004, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) which outlines the environmental indicators for road salts, provides guidance for areas vulnerable to road salts, outlines a salt management plan and a monitoring and measuring progress. [0007] Others have attempted to use jets of pressurized air to assist in removing snow plowed from the road surface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,852 to Gudmundsson teaches a curved scraper blade having a passageway formed behind the scraper for expelling air from an air supply therethrough to direct un-compacted snow from hindrances along the roadside and compacted snow lifted by the scraper through the passageway and directed outward to the side of the road. Air acts to move snow which is lifted by the scraper. [0008] German Patent application DE 103 04 443 A1 to Merlaku, published Aug. 19, 2004 teaches using a plurality of compressed air nozzles directed toward the roadway and positioned immediately above the road surface for removing compacted snow and ice therefrom. The nozzles can be tilted electronically to adjust the angle of incidence of the air with the roadway. A compressor mounted on a truck supplies the nozzles, which are mounted either at a lower edge behind a front-mounted scraper blade or at the rear of a snowplow, with compressed air. The force of the air is sufficient to disrupt the snow and ice without direct contact of the blade with the road surface. [0009] There is a need for systems and apparatus which assist in optimizing snow and ice removal from roadways while minimizing the use of road salt and other environmentally detrimental chemicals. Further there is a need for apparatus which can be implemented without significant additional cost and which are relative simple to manufacture and utilize. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0010] A novel apparatus for directing air at a surface for clearing the surface of snow, ice water, debris and the like is mounted to a scraper blade of conventional snow removal equipment. Substantially planar jets of air directed at the surface from longitudinally extending nozzles formed along a leading edge of the scraper blade act to lift the snow and ice from the surface whether the scraper blade is in contact with the surface or not. The combination of the planar jets of air and the scraper blade in contact with the surface enhances cleaning of the surface. [0011] In a broad aspect of the invention, apparatus for directing air at a surface for clearing the surface comprises: a first longitudinally extending substantially planar member; a longitudinally extending plate for mounting on the first planar member; one or more longitudinally extending nozzles formed between the first planar member and the longitudinally extending plate; and one or more inlets formed in one of either the first planar member or the plate and adapted for connection to a source of pressurized air, wherein the one or more inlets are fluidly connected to the one or more nozzles for flowing the pressurized air through the one or more nozzles for forming one or more substantially planar jets of air directed at the surface. [0012] In one embodiment, the first longitudinally planar member underlies the plate in which one or more pockets have been formed. A shim having corresponding co-operating recesses formed therein spaces the first planar member from the plate leaving one or more nozzles openings along a leading edge of the plate. The nozzle openings extend longitudinally along the leading edge and have a nozzle gap through which the substantially planar jets of air are discharged. The apparatus is mounted to a ground engagement tool (GET) which is mounted on the scraper blade. [0013] In one embodiment, the one or more pockets are formed in the plate and the nozzle gap is machined into the plate eliminating the need for the shim. Small amount of plate material or protrusions are retained at spaced intervals along the leading edge of the plate creating more than one laterally spaced, longitudinally extending nozzle for each pocket. The protrusions act to provide structural rigidity to the plate and dimensional stability to the more than one nozzles. [0014] The pockets are generally polygonal and preferably parabolic in shape, the broadest extent of the pocket formed at the leading edge of the plate for forming the longitudinally extending nozzles. Inlets are formed in the plate, generally at an apex of the pocket for fluidly connecting the pockets to a source of compressed air. [0015] In one embodiment the underlying planar member is the GET. The plate is mounted to lag the leading edge of the GET and the planar jets of air are directed along the protruding leading edge of the GET after discharging from the nozzles further directing the jets at the surface to be cleared. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0016] FIG. 1 is a fanciful cross-sectional end view of an embodiment of the invention in use to remove snow from a road surface, a plow blade or scraper blade on a snow removal vehicle, to which the embodiment is attached, having been removed for clarity. [0017] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the scraper blade incorporating an embodiment of the invention according to FIG. 1; [0018] FIG. 3A is a front perspective view of a longitudinally extending plate having a plurality of pockets formed therein according to an embodiment of the invention; [0019] FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the back of the plate according to FIG. 3A; [0020] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the back of the plate according to FIG. 3B detailing air inlets formed therethrough and holes for bolting to a ground engagement tool and the scraper blade or the like; Continue reading... Full patent description for Apparatus and system for clearing a roadway surface Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Apparatus and system for clearing a roadway surface patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Apparatus and system for clearing a roadway surface or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Wiper blade Next Patent Application: Cleaning liquid dispensing in a mobile hard surface cleaner Industry Class: Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Apparatus and system for clearing a roadway surface patent info. 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