Snow blower

Abstract

To provide a rotary snow blower in a compact light-weight handy type provided with means adjusting a snow-blowing direction easily and securely.SOLUTION: A snow blower 10 blowing snow collected in a snow collection part 12 from an inlet 11 from a tip of a chute by rotating a rotor 15 in a direction blowing away in a direction toward a snow-blowing guide 13 and the chute 14 is allowed a snow-blowing-away direction to be adjusted. It comprises a plurality of L-shaped pin grooves 25 arranged with specific intervals in an upper end part of the snow-blowing guide (or in a lower end part of the chute) and a plurality of pins 27 arranged at positions corresponding to the L-shaped grooves on the lower end part of the chute (or on the upper part of the snow-blowing guide) L-shaped pin grooves. Each of the L-shaped pin grooves comprises a pin insertion part 251 and a pin engaging part 252 extending from its depth end to a lateral direction, wherein inserting the pin into the pin engaging part from the pin insertion part of the L-shaped pin groove allows a snow-blowing direction to be adjusted through switching per the specific interval in accordance with those engaging positions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a snow removal machine, and more particularly to a hand-pushed rotary snow removal machine that allows the snow throwing direction to be adjusted. [Background technology]

[0002] Various types of snow removal machines have been proposed and are widely used in areas with heavy snowfall. The mainstream type, the so-called rotary snow removal machine, is composed of a snow collection unit (drum) with an intake port for taking in snow, a rotor (auger) installed inside the snow collection unit, and a motor that rotates the rotor so that the snow taken into the snow collection unit from the intake port is blown into the snow collection unit in the direction of the snow to be thrown through a chute connected to the snow collection unit (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-291633 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with conventional rotary snowplows, the direction in which snow is thrown from the chute is often fixed to one direction, forward, and cannot be adjusted. Depending on the road conditions around the area to be cleared and the relative position of neighboring properties and houses, it may be desirable to throw snow to the left or right rather than forward, but in order to accommodate such cases, a snowplow with a fixed chute must change the direction (travel direction) of the snowplow itself, which is inconvenient and inefficient.

[0005] It has been proposed to make the chute rotatable so that the direction of snow throwing can be adjusted, but such mechanisms, which require complex and labor-intensive adjustment mechanisms such as electrical control for adjusting the rotation and connections using bolts and nuts, are difficult to adopt in simple hand-pushed snow blowers used in private homes, etc. On the other hand, with a freely rotatable chute, it is difficult to temporarily fix the direction of the chute (snow throwing direction) in a variable position, and the direction can suddenly change during operation.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a small, lightweight, handheld rotary snow remover that solves the above problems and is equipped with a means for easily and reliably adjusting the snow throwing direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve this problem, the present invention of claim 1 is a snow removal machine comprising a snow collecting unit with an intake port for taking in snow, a rotor provided inside the snow collecting unit, a motor that rotates the rotor in a direction to blow the snow taken into the snow collecting unit from the intake port toward a snow throwing guide provided in communication with the top of the snow collecting unit, a shaft whose tip is connected to the snow collecting unit and has a grip and a motor switch on the handle side, and a chute that is rotatably connected to the upper end of the snow throwing guide via a connection means, wherein the connection means is capable of switching the direction of snow throwing from the tip of the chute.

[0008] The present invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the snow removal machine described in claim 1, the connection means comprises a plurality of L-shaped pin grooves provided at predetermined intervals on either the upper end of the snow throwing guide or the lower end of the chute, and a plurality of pins provided at positions corresponding to the L-shaped pin grooves on the other of the upper end of the snow throwing guide or the lower end of the chute, and the L-shaped pin grooves have a pin insertion portion that opens to the upper or lower end of the one of the above, and a pin locking portion extending laterally from the inner end of the pin insertion portion, and the pins pass through the pin insertion portion of the L-shaped pin groove and enter the pin locking portion, so that the orientation of the chute relative to the snow throwing guide can be adjusted at the predetermined intervals depending on the locking positions of each pin and each L-shaped pin groove.

[0009] The invention according to claim 3 is the snow blower according to claim 2, characterized in that the L-shaped pin grooves and the pins are provided at 90 degree intervals. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention as defined in claim 1, the direction in which snow is thrown from the tip of the chute can be switched, so that snow can be thrown in an appropriate direction depending on the road conditions around the snow removal area and the relative position of the area to neighboring land and houses, thereby enabling snow removal work to be carried out efficiently without causing inconvenience to others.

[0011] According to the present invention as set forth in claim 2, the orientation of the chute relative to the snow throwing guide can be adjusted at predetermined intervals according to the engagement positions of each pin and each L-shaped pin groove, so that the above-mentioned effect can be more reliably achieved. Since each pin is engaged in the pin engagement portion extending laterally after being inserted through the pin insertion portion of each L-shaped pin groove, the pin is reliably engaged in the L-shaped pin groove, and the orientation does not change unexpectedly during operation, and the chute does not come off the snow throwing guide.

[0012] According to the present invention as set forth in claim 3, the direction in which snow is thrown by the chute can be adjusted in three directions: forward, left, right and sideways, making it possible to achieve sufficient snow throwing direction adjustment for practical use with a simple configuration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a rotary snow removal machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the rotary snow remover. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a front view of the rotary snow remover. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a detailed view showing an enlarged view of the connection between the snow throwing guide and the chute of this rotary snow blower, where (a) is a partially enlarged side view showing them in a separated state, and (b) is an enlarged side view of the connection when they are connected. [Diagram 5] 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing examples of how to use this rotary snow blower. FIG. 1A shows an example of how to throw snow forward along the direction of travel, FIG. 1B shows an example of how to throw snow to the left when viewed from the front, and FIG. 1C shows an example of how to throw snow to the right when viewed from the front. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a detailed view showing an enlarged modified example of the connection configuration between the snow throwing guide and the chute of this rotary snow remover, where (a) is a partially enlarged side view showing them in a separated state, and (b) is an enlarged side view of the connection portion when they are connected. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THEINVENTION

[0014] A rotary snow remover according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5.

[0015] This rotary snow removal machine (hereinafter simply referred to as "snow removal machine") 10 has a snow collection section 12 with an inlet 11 that takes in snow removed from the road or the like, a snow throwing guide 13 provided above the snow collection section 12, and a chute 14 connected in communication with the tip of the snow throwing guide 13. A rotor 15 is provided inside the snow collection section 12, and is driven by a motor 16 to rotate in a direction that blows the snow taken into the snow collection section 12 from the inlet 11 towards the snow throwing guide 13. There are no particular limitations on the drive transmission mechanism for this, but in this embodiment, a drive transmission mechanism is used in which an endless V-belt 19 is stretched between a rotor side pulley 17 attached to the rotating shaft of the rotor 15 and a motor side pulley 18 attached to the output shaft of the motor 16.

[0016] The long shaft 20 has its tip connected to the snow collecting unit 12, and is provided with a grip 21, a trigger 22 which is a switch for turning the motor 16 on and off, and a battery 23 for driving the motor 16 on its proximal side. Although this is a known technique and is not shown in detail, the grip 21 is equipped with a safety device, and only when the trigger 22 is pulled with the safety device pressed does the battery 23 power up, rotating the motor 16 via a power supply cord (not shown) which passes through the inside of the shaft 20, and this rotation is transmitted to the rotor 15 via the drive transmission mechanism, causing the rotor 15 to rotate in the predetermined direction. An assist grip 24 for holding the snow blower 10 in a stable state is attached to approximately the midpoint of the shaft 20 in the longitudinal direction.

[0017] The connection structure between the snow throwing guide 13 and the chute 14 will be described with particular reference to FIG.

[0018] An inner fitting ring 26 having four L-shaped pin grooves 25 (25a, 25b, 25c, 25d) cut out at 90 degree intervals is fixed to the upper end of the snow throwing guide 13. Each L-shaped pin groove 25 is formed with a pin insertion portion 251 that opens at the upper end of the snow throwing guide 13 and extends downward a predetermined length, and a pin locking portion 252 that extends laterally from the inner end of the pin insertion portion 251 a predetermined length.

[0019] An outer mating ring 28 having four pins 27 (27a, 27b, 27c, 27d) protruding inwardly at 90 degree intervals is fixed to the lower end of the chute 14. The outer mating ring 28 is formed with a slightly larger diameter than the inner mating ring 26 so that it can fit on the outside of the inner mating ring 26.

[0020] With the above configuration, the chute 14 can be attached to the snow throwing guide 13 with the four pins 27 formed at 90-degree intervals in the outer mating ring 28 at the bottom end of the chute 14 inserted into the pin insertion portions 251 of the four L-shaped pin grooves 25 formed at 90-degree intervals in the inner mating ring 26 at the top end of the snow throwing guide 13, and then the chute 14 can be slightly rotated from this state in the extension direction of the pin locking portions 252 to lock each pin 27 into the pin locking portions 252 of the L-shaped pin grooves 25, connecting the chute 14 to the snow throwing guide 13. This connected state can be obtained in four different positions at 90-degree intervals with respect to the snow throwing guide 13, so the orientation of the chute 14 can be adjusted at 90-degree intervals.

[0021] More specifically, the four L-shaped pin grooves 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d and the four pins 27a, 27b, 27c, and 27d (pin 27d is located opposite pin 27b and is therefore hidden by pin 27b in FIG. 4(b)) are such that (1) when pin 27a is located in L-shaped pin groove 25a, pin 27b is located in L-shaped pin groove 25b, pin 27c is located in L-shaped pin groove 25c, and pin 27d is located in L-shaped pin groove 25d, the chute 14 is connected to the snow throwing guide 13 in a state facing forward in the traveling direction, and (2) from this state, the chute 14 is rotated 90 degrees leftward in FIG. 3 relative to the snow throwing guide 13, and pin 27b (more precisely, the pin of pin 27b) is inserted into the L-shaped pin groove 25a. 3。 (3)(1) is located in the L-shaped pin groove 25a, pin 27a is located in the L-shaped pin groove 25b, pin 27b is located in the L-shaped pin groove 25c, and pin 27a is located in the L-shaped pin groove 25d, the chute 14 is connected to the snow throwing guide 13 while facing 90 degrees to the left with respect to the direction of travel, and when the chute 14 is rotated 90 degrees to the right in Figure 3 from the state of (1)(3) to the L-shaped pin groove 25a, pin 27a is located in the L-shaped pin groove 25b, pin 27b is located in the L-shaped pin groove 25c, and pin 27c is located in the L-shaped pin groove 25d, the chute 14 is connected to the snow throwing guide 13 while facing 90 degrees to the right with respect to the direction of travel.

[0022] When connecting the chute 14 to the snow throwing guide 13, the chute 14 is aligned so as to obtain one of the positions (1) to (3) above, and the chute 14 is moved toward the snow throwing guide 13 until each pin 27 is inserted into the pin insertion portion 251 of the corresponding L-shaped pin groove 27. When the pins reach the inner end, they are rotated slightly sideways to enter the pin locking portion 252 and locked.

[0023] The above state (1) is shown in Figure 5(a), the above state (2) is shown in Figure 5(b), and the above state (3) is shown in Figure 5(c). In this way, the direction of snow thrown from the chute 14 can be switched and adjusted in three ways: forward, leftward, and rightward, to perform snow removal work.

[0024] Therefore, an operator can throw snow in a desired direction by connecting the chute 14 to the snow throwing guide 13 so that it is oriented in any of the above (1) to (3) and performing snow removal work. To release the state in which each pin 27 is locked in the pin locking portion 252 of each L-shaped pin groove 25, the operator needs to rotate the chute 14 slightly to move each pin 27 located in the pin locking portion 252 of each L-shaped pin groove 25 to the inner end of the pin insertion portion 251, and then pull the chute 14 away from the snow throwing guide 13 to pull each pin 27 out of each L-shaped pin groove 25. Furthermore, if it is desired to change the snow throwing direction, the operator should rotate the chute 14 appropriately from this state, and then insert and lock each pin 27 into each L-shaped pin groove 25 at the desired position in the manner described above.

[0025] According to this embodiment, it is also possible to connect chute 14 to snow throwing guide 13 by positioning pin 27c in L-shaped pin groove 25a, pin 27d in L-shaped pin groove 25b, pin 27a in L-shaped pin groove 25c, and pin 27b in L-shaped pin groove 25d. However, in this case, the direction in which snow is thrown from chute 14 will be opposite to the direction of travel, and snow will be thrown toward the worker, so it is not actually possible to connect chute 14 to snow throwing guide 13 in this positional relationship and perform snow removal work.

[0026] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the attached drawings, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and can be implemented with a wide variety of modifications and changes within the scope of the invention specified by the description of the claims.

[0027] For example, in the above embodiment, the connection configuration of the chute 13 to the snow throwing guide 13 is such that the inner mating ring 26 fixed to the upper end of the snow throwing guide 13 has four L-shaped pin grooves 25 (25a, 25b, 25c, 25d) formed at 90 degree intervals, and the outer mating ring 26 fixed to the lower end of the chute 14 has inwardly protruding pins 27 (27a, 27b, 27c, 27d) that can be inserted into and engaged with each pin groove 25. However, as shown in Figure 6, the inner mating ring 26 fixed to the upper end of the snow throwing guide 13 may have four pins 27 (27a, 27b, 27c, 27d) protruding outward at 90 degree intervals, and the outer mating ring 26 fixed to the lower end of the chute 14 may have L-shaped pin grooves 25 (25a, 25b, 25c, 25d) into which each pin 27 can be inserted and engaged.

[0028] Alternatively, contrary to the above embodiment, the upper end of the snow throwing guide 13 may be formed with a larger diameter than the lower end of the chute 14, and the outer mating ring 28 may be fixed to the upper end of the snow throwing guide 13, and the inner mating ring 26 may be fixed to the lower end of the chute 14. In this case, too, an L-shaped pin groove 25 (25a, 25b, 25c, 25d) may be formed in one of the outer mating ring 28 and the inner mating ring 28, and pins 27 (27a, 27b, 27c, 27d) that can be inserted and engaged in the L-shaped pin groove 25 may be formed inwardly or outwardly on the other mating ring, thereby connecting the snow throwing guide 13 to the chute 14.

[0029] In any of the above connection configurations, the orientation of the chute 14 (and therefore the snow throwing direction) can be connected to the snow throwing guide 13 in three ways: forward, left, and right, so that the snow throwing direction can be switched and adjusted in three ways: forward, left, and right, to perform snow removal work (Figure 5).

[0030] In the above embodiment, the L-shaped pin grooves 25 and pins 27 are arranged at 90 degree intervals to allow the snow throwing direction to be switched between three directions: forward, left, and right, but if more precise switching adjustment is required, the L-shaped pin grooves 25 and pins 27 may be arranged at intervals of 60 degrees, 45 degrees, 30 degrees, etc. For example, when the L-shaped pin grooves 25 and pins 27 are arranged at 45 degree intervals, the snow throwing direction can be switched and adjusted in seven directions: forward, diagonally left front, left direction, diagonally left rear, diagonally right front, right direction, and diagonally right rear to perform snow removal work. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 10 Rotary snowblower 11 Intake port 12 Snow Collection Club 13 Snow Throwing Guide 14 SHOTS 15 Rotor 16 Motor 17 Rotor side pulley 18 Motor side pulley 19 Infinite V-belt 20 Shaft 21 Grip 22 Trigger 23 Battery 24 Assist Grip 25(25a,25b,25c,25d) L-shaped pin groove 251 Pin insertion part of L-shaped pin groove 252 Pin locking part of L-shaped pin groove 26 Inner fitting ring 27(27a,27b,27c,27d) Pin 28 Outer mating ring

Claims

1. A snow removal machine comprising: a snow collecting section having an intake port for taking in snow; a rotor provided inside the snow collecting section; a motor for rotating the rotor in a direction to blow the snow taken into the snow collecting section from the intake port toward a snow throwing guide provided above the snow collecting section; a shaft whose tip is connected to the snow collecting section and has a grip and a motor switch provided on the handle side; and a chute which is rotatably connected to the upper end of the snow throwing guide via a connection means, the connection means being capable of switching the direction of snow throwing from the tip of the chute.

2. 2. The snow removal machine according to claim 1, wherein the connection means comprises a plurality of L-shaped pin grooves provided at predetermined intervals on either the upper end of the snow throwing guide or the lower end of the chute, and a plurality of pins provided at positions corresponding to the L-shaped pin grooves on the other of the upper end of the snow throwing guide or the lower end of the chute, the L-shaped pin grooves having a pin insertion portion opening at the upper or lower end of the one of the two, and a pin locking portion extending laterally from the inner end of the pin insertion portion, and the pins are inserted through the pin insertion portions of the L-shaped pin grooves and enter the pin locking portion, so that the orientation of the chute relative to the snow throwing guide can be adjusted at the predetermined intervals depending on the locking positions of each pin and each L-shaped pin groove.

3. 3. The snow blower of claim 2, wherein said L-shaped pin grooves and said pins are spaced at 90 degree intervals.

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