US2156066A - Ice removing device - Google Patents

Description

April 25, 1939. 1 R ROYER ET AL 2,156,066

ICE REMOVING DEVICE Filed April 7, 1937 :inventors B Alfonso. 17V, Bzafln,

g leoy. Tf1/en (Ittorneg Patented' Apr. 25, 1939 PATENT oFFlcE/'l 10E nEMovnvG Device Jesse R.' Boyer, Janesville, and Alfonso W.

Blaine and Iowa Le Roy R. Weir, Del Moines,

Appucaon anni 1, 1937, sei-n1 Nn. 135,442

2 Claims.

Our invention relates to'ice removing devices, and particularly to those for use in breaking up and removing ice or snow coatings of a hard or packed consistency.

One feature of our invention is the provision of a rotatable device, such as a drum, whose cylindrical tread surface has numerous conic apertures with apical or inner ends which open through the wall of the drum, with headed detents having conic frustal stems which are fitted in said conic apertures loosely enough to permit of their being partially rotated therein to seat the detents with their outer tread portions or heads disposed in directions on the drum related in special arrangements to each other, in rows or staggered, or set in variously directed pairs, to thus arrange them for their special and associated functions.

Another object of our improvements is to associate with the dentated drum means for lifting and lowering it, and a translatable vehicle upon which it is suspended and supported adjustably and associated with power driven means for rotating the drum forwardly when in progress ahead in operating upon an ice or snow coating on a highway surfaced or other surface.

Another vobject of our improvements is to also associate with said drum a scraping device to follow it, operating to gather and deliver ice fragments dislodged by the drum detents.

We have attained the above objects in actual construction and practical tests, by the means and mechanism which are hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

It is to be understood that various modifications in the details of construction of parts of the apparatus and its connections may be made without departure from the principles and scope of the invention as defined herein. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a road treating machine having ice shattering means thereon. Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse section of the dentated drum thereof. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the outer cylindric face of the drum with the detents thereon. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross section of the drum, showing said detents in elevation.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a conventional type of frame mounted on wheels and such as is usually employed ln road working graders or for other purposes. It consists of forward and rear pairs of wheels 25 and 26 on which the upwardly bowed side frame members 24 are mounted for dirigible translation, and a subframe 2l suspended on the main frame, pivotally at its forward end and swingable up or down by means of a hand-wheel 21, and gearing and pivotal connections shown at 28, 29, 30 and.3|, the gears in the housing 28 being o'f the worm-wheel combination, self-locking. By this means the subframe with the drum and scraper 23 may be raised or lowered. l p On the sub-frame 2| are secured the Shanks 20 of curvate hangers I9 which carry plates I6 rockably linked thereto at I8, the plates sustaining the cross scraper blade 23 secured on flanges 22. A lower pair of frame members I4 are at their forward ends pivoted to xedhangers I5 on the sub-frame side bars 2I. The rear ends of the members I4 havebolt and nut connection with the plates I6 bytraversing a vertically disposed slot I1 in said plates for adjusting purposes. A shaft 1 bracketed to depend from the members Il has at one end a sprocket wheel 8 to be driven by a sprocket chain 9 which passes around a small sprocket wheel Il mounted on a shaft of an engine I0 mounted on a main frame bar 24. The rear ends of the members Il have spring connections I3 with the rear ends of the pivoted lowest members I2, whose forward ends are pivoted on the shaft 1.

A hollow drum I with closed end walls 3 is fixed on an axial shaft 2 whose ends project therefrom and are rotatable in bearings on the members I2. On an outer end of said shaft 2 is fixed a sprocket wheel 5 traversed by a sprocket chain 6 whose forward loop is passed about a smaller sprocket wheel on the shaft 1. 'I'he drum I is thus rotatable forwardly at a desired speed during the progress of the vehicle 24.

Referring to Figs. 2 to 4 inclusive, which show the assemblage of the removable detents with the drum'l in one relation or arrangement thereof, each detent has aconic frustal stem 4b of steep angularity and to fit into a drum socket la of the same angularity, but binding therein closely enough to permit of its being at times adjustably rocked to a desired position in its seat and to a desired extent, while being held frictionally as to not leave its seat without the exercise of a reasonable force thereon. Further, as the drum rotates and brings successively these detents into contact with a surface beneath, the detents are kept in `place without turning therein. The detents may be, before use, turned to any desired extent in their seats, to arrange them relatively to'each other as desired. A bead or annulus la. however, prevents further movement of the stem inwardly. On the stem 4b is an integral wedgeshaped transverse hea-d 4 projecting outwardly from the drum. These detents are numerously distributed around the drum I, and may be posijtioned in any predetermined pattern thereupon,y

whether in longitudinal rows or otherwise, It has been found that the detents should be rather closely set, and preferably-in staggered row relation as indicated in Fig. 3, where the detents I are in reversely directed pairs in each row. and the detents in the rows to either side staggered with the detents in the medial row therebetween. Also, as shown in this figure, the blade-shaped heads are preferably inclined obliquely relative to the direction of the rows. As the detents are close set, their opposed obliquities while the drum is in rotation, causes them while penetrating a layer of ice or compacted snow, to strain the ice laterally while penetrating it, so that the combnation of transverse or obliquely directed strains with rearward compression thereon as the drum rolls forward and carries under rearwardly the detents, not only cracks the ice in diierent directions, but comminutes it, reducing it to non-adherent fragments, which then are gathered by the scraper blade 23, the latter preferably being adjusted l slightly angularly across in the rear of the drum. Actual tests have demonstrated this action in practice. 'Ihe wedge shape of the detents obliquely forces the ice fragments excavated between them to clean the surface traversed as the scraper gathers them and delivers them laterally.

We claim:

1. In combination, an ice removing device, said device including a rotatable hollow drum having a plurality of inwardly coned apertured seats in staggered relation circumferentially, and a like plurality of tooth devices having conic stems fitted rockably in said seats and having heads projecting outwardly from the drum, said heads being wedge-shaped and wider than the stems, and with certain of their wedge parts relatively inclined with respect to the other associated wedge parts, whereby the opposed wedge parts cooperate in penetrating ice in different directions along the drum to shatter and dislodge the l ice traversed for ready removal.

2. In combination, in an ice removing device. a rotatable drum having a plurality of inwardly coned apertured seats therearound, and a like plurality of tooth devices having coned stems to removably t said seats with heads of Wedge shape in spaced longitudinal .rows and with vthe wedges in each row alternately oppositely inclined, whereby the wedges operate to penetrate and fracture ice traversed, in opposed directions.

JESSE R. ROYER. ALFONSO W. BLAINE. LE ROY R. WEIR.

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