In snow removal, blade-type snowplows are attached to the front of trucks or other vehicles, and fallen snow on a surface, i.e. a street or airport runway, is pushed to one side by the snowplow as the vehicle moves forward. These prior art snowplows, however, have several drawbacks. The plowed snow is piled up at the side of the cleared area, and the resulting snow pile blocks any driveways, streets or other travel surfaces which the plowing vehicle passes. Continuous plowing adds to the width of these piles, which decreases the width of the plowed area to some extent. Further, the snowplow compresses the snow as it moves forward thereby increasing the per volume weight of the snow and subjecting the plowing vehicle to considerable strain.
Berres U.S. Pat. No. 2,078,310 shows a snow-removing attachment for a truck with a snowplow. The attachment receives the plowed snow, and an engine-driven blower creates an air flow which forces the snow out of a conduit and away from the side of the truck. Wylie U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,286 shows a snowplow in which compressed air is used to aerate the swept-up snow and aid in carrying it away. Both these devices, however, require additional power sources for the air blowing operations.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds