US664603A - Snow-plow. - Google Patents

Description

No. 664,603. Patented nemzs, |900.

F. N. BELL. snow P|. ow. (Appumon ma spt.2s,19oo.) l (no model.) z sheets-snm 4,

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F. N.' BELL. SNOW PLUW.

(Application led Sept. 22, 1900.)

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(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK BELL, OF MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

S NOW- PLOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 664,603, dated December 25, 1900. Application filed Septlllbel' 22, 19Q0. Serial No. 30,761. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK N. BELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Milford, county of Worcester, State of Massa-4 chusetts, have invented an Improvement in Snow-Flows, of which the following descrip-` tion, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to snow-plows, and especially to such plows as are adapted to be used in connection with snow-plow cars for clearing either street-railway tracks orsteamrailway tracks.

In most plows at present in use the nose of the plow is pushed into the bank of snow and the snow carried up on a suitable incline and deposited at one side of the track by suitable wing-blades. Onediffcultyexperienced with this type of snow-plow is that in clearing the snow from the curved portion of the track there is great danger of the snow-plow car becoming derailed, for as the nose of the plow, which projects some distance beyond the front wheels of the car, is pushed into the bank of snow the pressure on one side of the plow is so great that the car is lifted from the track, and especially is this true when the snow-bank which is being cleared is packed hard.

It is the object of my invention to overcome the above-named diflculty by providing the front portion of the snow-plow with reciproeating cutting-blades, which as the snowplow is pushed into the bank of snow out ar channel therein and loosen the snow in front of the plow, so that the force required to carry the snow up the incline and deposit it either side up is greatly reduced.

Figure l is a View 'showing my improved snow-plow as attached to and operating with. an electric car. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the plow, taken on the line a; x, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line y y, Fig. 2. Fig. lcisadetail showing a modification. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the plow on a small scale. Fig. 6 is a detail showing the way in which the nose of the plow may be elevated. Fig. 7 is a section on the line 2 2, Fig. 4.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my snow-plow as applied to an electric car; but I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to such use, but that my plow is capable of being used in connection with asteam snow-plow carto clearsteamrailway tracks, it being understood,of course, that in the latter case the plow would be made on a larger scale.

The plow generally is designated by A, and, as illustrated in Fig. 1, it is pivotally mounted by any suitable means, preferably by eyebolts 2 t-o the front end of thesnow-plow car B, this car being in this instance an electric car.

The front end of the plow is supported from the top of the car B in any suitable Way, preferably by chains 3, which are secured to suitable eyebolts 7l, fast to the front end of the plow, the opposite end of the chain being adjustably secured to the car, so that the chain may be taken up to elevate lhe nose of the plow, this operation being conveniently accomplished by attaching the chain to the cam-surface 72, (shown enlarged in Fig. 6,) which camesurface 72 is eccentrica] ly mounted for rotation upon a suitable shaft 73 and fast on the car B, and the handle 74, rigid with the shaft, serves to rotate the said ca m-su rface to wind the chain thereon.

In order to hold the nose of the plow elevated after it has been lifted by the means above described, I provide a suitable pawl 75, which engages a ratchet-wheel 76, also fast on the shaft 73, said pawl operating to prevent backward rotation of the cam-surface 72, thereby to maintain the nose of the plow elevated.

The lower rear portion of the plow finds support against any suitable bu Eer 4, which is attached to the front of the car B, as shown in Fig. l, the buffer illustrated being in the shape of a coiled spring; but I wish it understood that other buffers may be used-such, for instance, as a piece of rubber. By thus pivotally mounting the plow upon the car I am enabled to raise the nose of the saine whenever it is desired to clear the plow from any obstruction in the street or otherwise.

The plow illustrated in the drawings comprises the incline 6, .which extends from the nose of the plow to the rear portion thereof and terminates in oppositely-disposed deiiecting wings or blades '7, whereby as the snow is carried up the incline during the forward motion of the plow the Wing-blades serve t0 IOO deflect the same and throw it to either side of the track.

In order to enable my plow to force its way easily into a bank of snow and also to provide means whereby the plow will operate in the bank of snow on a curved portion of the track as well as on a straight portion, I provide the front end of the plow with a series of reciprocating cutting-blades, which during the operation of the plow are reciprocated and in their reciprocations are projected forward beyond the plow to thereby cut a channel in the snow and loosen the same, with the result that the only work the plow itself has to accomplish is to lift the loosened snow up the incline and deposit it on either side of the track. Preferably I have provided three such cutting blades, one horizont-ally -arranged bladeS at the nose of the plow and l(wo vertically-arranged cutting-blades 9 at each side of the incline 6, said vertically-arranged cutting-blades being preferably supported in suitable guides 5, which are, situated at either side of the incline, as illustrated -in Fig. 5. It will be noted `upon reference to Fig. 2 that when in their retracted position the cuttingblades project slightly beyond the nose of the plow, so4 that when in their advanced position they extend beyond the plow-nose and into the bank of snow the distance equal to their full reciprocation.

The plow has extending longitudinally at its lower sides channel-beams 10, which form guides for the horizontally-arranged reciproeating shovel or cutting-blade 8, as hereinafter described, and which also form a means for supporting the guides for the verticallyarranged cutting-blades. The horizontallyarranged shovel or blade 8 has the side ribs.

or tongues 17 extending longitudinally along each side, said tongues being guided in the channels of the channel-beams l0. A suitable means is provided for reciprocating said blade, all as hereinafter described.

The guides 5 for the vertically-arranged reciprocating blades are preferably made of plates of boiler-iron 15, which form between them a pocket in which the reciprocating blades 9 work, the said blades being spaced at their topsby the spacing-bar 11 and 4being preferably riveted together by suitable rivets v o r bolts 8O at their upper ends. rlhe lower portions of the outside blade 15 overlap the channel-beam l0 and are preferably fastened thereto in any suitable'way. Immediately above the channel-beam 10 is a second spac-v ing-bar 13, the upper side of which is concave to thereby form a support for the vertical cutting-blades 9, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the two plates forming each guideway 5 being preferably fastened together by passing a bolt orrivet through the lower spacingvblock 13.

The front portions of the blades 9 are the shape of an arrow-head in cross-section, as at 14, thus making a knife-edge which easily cuts into the snow, and by reason of the bevel portions 12 the snow is prevented from packing between the arrow-head 14 and the front edge of the guides -5 during the backward reciprocation of the cutting-blade.

I preferably connect the vertical blades 9 to the horizontal blade or shovel 8, so that the three may be reciprocated in unison, and such connecting means may be of any suitable construction, that herein shown being in the nature of a strap 18, which is made fast to the vertical blades l0 and is projected through a slot 19 in each of the inner walls of the guide 5, the said strap being bent downward and attached to the blade 8, asshown in Fig. 3. It will be obvious that the slot 19 will slightly exceed the total length of reci procation of the blades.

Any suitable means may be employed to reciprocate the blades during the operation of the snow-plow, and I may either provide a separate motor mounted on the snow-plow for accomplishing this, in which case the said blades may be reciproca-ted independently of the movement of the plow, or I may connect the said blades up with some suitable mechanism driven by the movement of the car, whereby the blades are reciprocat-ed only when the car is in motion.

As illustrated in the drawings, I have mounted upon the forward axle of the snowploW car any suitable eccentric 20, the strap v21 of which is connected, by means of the rod 22, to the shovel or-horizontally-arranged cutter 8.

With this construction the forward movement of the car will reciprocatethe cutter 8, and because the vertically-arranged 4cutters 9 are rigid with thecutter 8 the three will be reciprocated in unison.

The cutting-blade 8 may be of any suitable material, and if wood is used it would be necessary to provide it with a metal nose or a cutting edge.

The inclined way 6, up which the snow is conveyed during the operation of the plow, has, as illustrated in the drawings, the upturned flanges 25 at its edges, which are riveted to the guides 5. I

As herein illustrated .my plow is provided with a centralpartition or dividing-blade 26, the front end of which is even with the nose of the plow, and is preferably sharpened or pointed to enable it to more readily penetrate the snow, the said blade or partition extendling back to the meeting edges of the oppositely-disposed deflecting-wings, the function of said blade or partition being to separate into two parts the body of snow as it is conveyed up the incline, each deflecting-Wing operating to throw one-half the snowto one side of the plow, whereby the snow cleared from the track may be thrown equally on both sides of the plow. In some instances it is not possible to deposit the snow on both sides of the track, and in order to provide means whereby the entire body of snow may be thrown on either side of the track at the option of the operator I make the dividing- IOC IZO

blade or partition with a hinged portion 30, the said portion having its hinge at the meeting edges of the defiecting-wings and having vThe forward stationary portion of the dividing-blade is secured in any suitable way to the incline.

Fig. 2 shows best the manner of pivoting the gate or wing 30 to the deflecting-wings 7, it being preferably pivotally supported at its rear end upon the pin or bolt 3l and being locked in its central position, when desired, by the fork 32,which is pivotally mounted, as at 33, upon the rear portion of the fixed partition or dividing-blade, the fork 32 when in its operative position swinging down to straddle the forward end of the pivoted wing or blade 30, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a modification wherein I have provided an apron 40, pivotally mounted at the lower end of the incline 6, which apron contacts with the face 4l of the'shovel 8, the apron operating to' scrape any snow from the face of the shovel that may stick thereto and being held in its working position by the coiled spring 42, which is attached at one end to the apron and at its other end to the under side of the incline 6.

In using my snow-plow it is necessary that some means be employed to scrape off the fine snow which may be left on the surface of the rails after the plow has removed the body of the snow, and to accomplish this I may provide the scrapers 83, which are secured in any suitable way to the framework of the car Band which are situated justin front of the forward wheels 84 of the said car, the plates S3 being so shaped as to throw the snow which is scraped from the rails between the rails of the track instead of throwing the same outwardly, as is common to this class of devices. If desired, I may provide the rear portion of the blades at the point where they are adjacent the wheel 84 with friction-rolls, so that should the blades be bent backward the friction-rolls will contact with the carwheels.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a snow-plow with recip rocating cutting-blades which during their reciprocation are projected forward beyond the nose of the plow to thereby cut and loosen the snow preparatory to its being lifted by the plow and conveyed to either side of the track, and by such means I am able to use my snowplow successfully on a curved portion of the track, for the vertically-arranged cuttingblades during their reciprocation make a series of vertical cuts in the bank of snow, each of which is at a tangent to the curve in the track, thereby enabling the nose of the plow to have a turning movement corresponding to the curve inthe track free from all obstructions without there being any tendency to lift the snow-plow car from the track by the pressure of the nose of the plow in swinging around the curve.

It will be obvious that various changes may be made in the construction of the device, and I therefore reserve for myself the right to make such changes as come within the scope of the appended claims.

, Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure .by Letters Patent, is

l. A snow-plow having reciprocating cutting-blades at each side which are adapted to be projected beyond the nose of the plow, and means' to convey the snow to one side of the plow.

2. In a snow-plow., an inclined way for conveying the snow to the side of the plow, and a reciprocating shovel or cutting-blade at the foot of the incline, said shovel being adapted to make a series of cuts under the snow as the plow advances.

3. In a snow-plow, an inclined way for conveying the snow to the side of the plow, a reciprocating shovel or cutting-blade at the foot of the incline, and reciprocating cuttingblades at the sides of the incline, said shovel and blades in their reciprocations projecting beyond the nose of the plow and making aseries of cuts in the snow prior to its removal by the incline of the plow.

4. In a snow-plow, an inclined way for conveying the snow to the side of the plow, a reciprocating shovel or blade at the foot of the incline, vertically-reciprocating cuttingblades at the sides of the incline, means to reciprocate the blades and shovel in unison,

the said cutting-blades in their reciprocation being projected beyond the front of the plow, whereby a series of cuts are made in the snow prior to its being removed by the plow.

5. A snow-plow having at its nose and in advance thereof a reciprocating shovel or cutting-blade, whereby the snow is loosened prior to its removal by the plow.

6. In a snow-plow a horizontally-arranged cutting-blade at the nose thereof, an incline terminating in curved wings, said incline being adapted to convey the snow to the side of the plow as the plow advances, and means to reciprocate the cutting-blade.

7. A snow-plow having at its ends a horizontally-arranged cutting-blade, an inclined way extending from the nose of the plow to the back thereof and terminating in oppositely-disposed deflecting-wings, and means to reciprocate said cutting-blade.

8. A snow-plow having at its nose a horizontally-arranged shovel or cutting-blade, an

inclined way leading from the plow-nose to the back thereof, and terminating in oppo- IOO IIO

IZO

sitely-disposed deflecting-wings which are adapted to deflect the snow from the inclined wayto the sides of the plow, vertically-arranged cutting-blades at the sides of the'inclined way and at the front portion thereof, and means to reciprocate all said blades in unison.

9. A snow-plow having at its nose a hori-` zontally-arranged cutting-blade, an inclined way terminating in oppositely-disposed de. fleeting-wings which are adapted to deflect the snow from the inclined way to the sides of the plow, and vertically-arranged guides at each side of' said incline at its forward portion and vertically-arranged cutting-blades projecting from the forward end of said guides and means to reciprocate, all of said blades in unison.

10. In a snow-plow, an inclined way leading from the nose to the back of the plow, and terminating in oppositely-disposed defiectingwings, vertical guide-walls, at each side said incline, and at the forward portion thereof, a central partition or dividing-blade extending from the nose of the plow to the meeting edges of the wings, a horizontally-arranged cutting-blade at the foot of the incline, and the said blade in its reciprocations being projected forward beyond the nose of the ploW and operating to loosen the snow prior to its removal by the plow.

11. In a snow-plow, an inclined way leading' from the nose to the back of the plow and ter-v minating in oppositely-disposed deflectingwings, vertical guide-walls each side of said `inclined way, a central partition extending from the nose of the plow to the meeting edges of the wings, horizontally-arranged reciprocating cutting-blades at the foot of the in-` cline, vertical cutting-blades guided by the guide-walls, and means to reciprocate said blades in unison whereby in their reciprocaf tions they are projected beyond the front portion of the plow thereby making a series4 of cuts in the snow and loosening the same prior to its removal.

12. In a snow-plow, an inclined way leading from the nose of the plow and terminating in oppositelyldisposed deflecting-wings, vertical gniderwalls on each -side of said incline, a central partition extending from the said plownose to the meeting edges ot' the wings, said partition havinga pivoted gate or wing which is adapted to be swung over into contact with either side wall, whereby the snow may be deposited on either side of the plow.

13. In a snow-plow, an inclined way leading from the nose tothe back of the plow and ter minating in oppositely-disposed deflectingwings, vertical guide-walls at each side of the incline, a central partition extending from the said plow-nose to the meeting edges of the wings, said partition having a pivoted portion which is adapted to be swung into contact with either side wall of the plow whereby the entire volume of snow may be deposited on either side of the plow, and reciprocating cutting-blades adapted to b e projected beyond the forward end of the plow to thereby loosen the snow preparatory to it-s removal by the plow. i

` 14. A snow-plow having at its nose and in advance thereof a reciprocating shovel or cnttingblade,wh ereby the snow is loosened prior to its removal by the plow, and a scraperblade contacting with the rail and adapted to throw the loose snow inward.

15. A snow-plow having at its nose a horizontally-arranged shovel or cutting-blade, an inclinedwayleading from the plow to the back thereof, and terminating in oppositelydisposed' deflecting-wings which are adapted to deiiect the snow from the inclined way to the sides of the plow, vertically-arranged cutting-blades at the sides of the inclined way and at the front portion thereof, and means to reciprocate all said Lblades in unison, and a scraper-blade contacting with the rail and adapted to throw the loose snow inward.

In testimony lwhereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK N. BELL.

Witnesses:

EDWARD G. BELL, EDWARD E. COOK.

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