Snow blower with glide wheels

Abstract

A device for selectively controlling the height of a snow blower auger housing relative to the surface from which snow is being removed. Glide wheels are attached to the sidewalls of the auger housing of a snow blower to support the snow blower auger housing and to provide for clearance between the scraper blade and the surface to be cleared of snow. A glide wheel assembly may be fixably appended to the side walls of the auger housing and provides for easily adjustable height to set and maintain the height of the scraper blade in the auger housing at a desirable distance above the surface.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to devices for snow blowers, and more particularly, to a glide wheel assembly for maintaining proper blade-ground clearance during operation of self-propelled snow blowers. The glide wheel assembly may be configured for use on snow blowers for stand-behind operation that have an engine situated above two drive wheels and an attached front-mounted auger housing. BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART [0002] Self-propelled snow blowers may be configured for stand-behind operation and have an engine situated above two drive wheels and an attached front-mounted auger housing. To ensure effective operation and snow removal, the operator must maintain a proper clearance between the auger housing horizontal bottom leading edge (conventionally called a scraper blade) and the surface from which snow is being removed. The proper adjustment of this clearance is critical because if the scraper blade clearance above the surface is excessive, the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] The present invention is directed to providing a glide wheel means to support the snow blower auger housing and to provide for clearance between the scraper blade and the surface to be cleared of snow. The use of glide wheels rather than skid shoes reduces the friction between the auger housing and the ground. The wear of the wheels is negligible as compared to the wear experienced by skid shoes. The height difference between the scraper blade and the bottom of the wheel remains constant, preventing the scraper blade from digging into the surface to be cleaned. The wheels are located so that the height of the scraper blade above the bottom of the wheels is between about 0.0 cm and 2.0 cm. Glide wheels have the further advantage over skid shoes in that they roll over obstacles that skid shoes would collide with or dig into.

[0008] As the engine of the snow blower accounts for most of the weight of the snow blower, and the drive wheels are typically situated directly beneath the engine, the drive wheels typically carry most of the weight of the snow blower. Accordingly, the glide wheels carry only a small portion of the weight of the snow blower, normally on the order of 250 newtons (mass of 25.5 kg) or less. The glide wheels may therefore be of moderate construction, and may be made of any appropriate material known to those skilled in the art. The glide wheels should be fairly narrow so as to displace as little snow as possible during snow blowing operations. In a preferred embodiment, the wheel width is about 2.5 cm. The wheels may be of steel or aluminum and have rubber or plastic running surfaces, or the wheels may be all-synthetic, providing the advantage of avoiding rust or corrosion, a feature that is of particular importance in the area of the bearings. The running surfaces are preferably abrasion resistant and relatively hard. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Polyolefin-cored wheels having polyurethane running surfaces without tread and Delrin® bearings are used.

[0011] In yet another embodiment, there is one glide wheel mounting assembly for each of the two sidewalls of the auger housing. The assemblies are bolted into place on each sidewall of the auger housing. On each assembly, the side of the bracket plate having the hole acts as a pivot against which the bracket plate may be rotated. Such a configuration has the added advantage of vertical adjustment for the axle and wheel.

[0012] In yet another embodiment, the bracket plate could be slotted at both sides to accept bolts or other suitable fasteners, providing the additional benefit of increasing the range of the adjustment possibilities without extending the length of the slot.

Problems solved by technology

The proper adjustment of this clearance is critical because if the scraper blade clearance above the surface is excessive, the snow is not cleanly removed.

If the clearance above the surface is insufficient, the scraper blade may dig into the surface, making operation of the snow blower difficult.

When skid shoes encounter larger obstacles during plowing, such as cracks or ridges of ice, forward movement can be abruptly halted, making operation awkward and physically strenuous to the operator.

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