BLOWER ARRANGEMENT

Abstract: The invention relates to a blower arrangement, which is intended to be attached in front of the vehicle (11) moving it by means of a quick action coupling device (13). The blower arrangement (10) includes a pair of blower units formed by two blower units (22), in which blower unit (22) there is one or more blower (14) and an engine (15). According to the invention, the quick action coupling device (13) is located laterally in the area of the opposite ends of the blower units (22) of the pair of blower units and close to them in the direction of travel. In addition, the engine (15) of the blower unit (22) is at the side of the quick action coupling device (13). Thus the centre of gravity of the blower arrangement in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (11) is essentially at the quick action coupling device (13) or closer to the vehicle from it.

Description: BLOWER ARRANGEMENT The present invention relates to a blower arrangement, which is intended to be attached in front of the vehicle that moves it by means of a quick-action coupling device, and which includes a pair of blower units comprising two blower units, in which blower units there are one or more blowers and an engine, which is mostly on the vehicle side of the blower, with auxiliary devices and transmission, fitted to the blower, each blower including a rotor, rotor housing, and discharge conduits for directing the blown material. In order to achieve large blowing capacities, blower arrangements are known, in which there is an engine in both the blower arrangement and in the vehicle moving the blower arrangement. Larger blowers are used particularly on airfields and other areas, in which very large quantities of snow must be removed as quickly as possible. In these so-called aggregate blowers, there is a combustion engine with power transmission, a fuel tank and auxiliary devices fitted to the blower to make it an independently operating entity. Aggregate blowers are usually moved using a wheeled loader, tractor, or truck, which has the aforementioned blower arrangement attached in front of it by means of a quick-action coupling device. In known blower arrangements, one or more rotors are used, in front of which there may be separate feed devices. The entire construction of known aggregate blowers is in front of the attachment point between the vehicle and the blower. Thus, the centre of gravity of the blower is at a distance from the attachment point and thus also from the nearest wheel axle of the vehicle. This arrangement limits the size and power of snow blower that can be used with each weight class of vehicle. In this case, a blower distant from the axle can only utilize part of the lifting capacity of the lifting device cf the vehicle. If an attempt is made to transport a blower heavier than this, either the vehicle will become unstable, or it will be impossible to raise the blower, or the vehicle will become impossible to steer as the wheels on the rear axles lose their contact with the ground. In addition, the separate feed devices consume power and increase the total weight and length of the blower arrangement, making the centre of gravity of the blower even further from the vehicle. The invention is intended to create a blower arrangement that is more versatile than previous ones, with a greater blower capacity, and particularly with considerably greater efficiency, which can be moved using a lighter vehicle than previously. The characteristic features of this invention appear in the accompanying Claims. The components are situated to bring the centre of gravity of the blower arrangement close to the axle of the vehicle closest to the blower arrangement, so that the capacity of the vehicle can be exploited as fully as possible. In addition, the blower arrangement according to the invention can be used to achieve a good blowing output and efficiency of the combustion engine, with a reasonable total weight of the blower arrangement. The ease of maintenance and operational reliability of the blower arrangement are also better than before. In the following, the invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing various embodiments of the invention, in which Figure 1 shows a side view of a blower arrangement according to the invention attached to a vehicle, Figure 2 shows a top view of the combination shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 shows a side view of a blower unit according to the invention attached in an alternative manner, Figure 4 shows a top view of the combination shown in Figure 3, Figure 5a shows a front view of the rotor housing and front surface of a blower unit according to the invention, Figure 5b shows the front surface in Figure 5a raised, Figure 6 shows a front view of the discharge conduits of a blower arrangement according to the invention, Figure 7a shows a diagrammatic top view of another embodiment of a blower arrangement according to the invention, Figure 7b shows a front view of the rotor housings of the blower arrangement shown in Figure 7a. Figure 1 shows a blower arrangement 10 according to the invention installed in front of a vehicle 11. Instead of the wheeled loader shown here, the blower arrangement 10 can also be moved by means of a truck, tractor, or other corresponding device. In order to attach blower arrangement 10, vehicle 11 has a front lifting device 12 with a quick-action coupling device 13. A power-take-off or other connections are not, however, required. On the other hand, the remote control or emergency stop or other devices in blower arrangement 10 that facilitate its operation and make it safer to operate will require their own connections. Blower arrangement 10 includes an actual blower 14 and combustion engines 15 that drive it. The main components of blower 14 are a rotor housing 16, a rotor, and a discharge conduit 17 that can be turned in a desired direction. In addition, combustion engine 15 includes auxiliary devices and a transmission with a reduction gear 18 and a distribution line 19. Blower arrangement 10 can also be powered by hydraulic motors, turbine engines, and other corresponding motors. In addition, brackets 20, to which quick- action coupling device 13 of vehicle 11 is connected, are installed behind blower 14. According to the invention, quick-action coupling device 13 is located laterally in the vicinity of the opposite ends of the blower units 22 that form the pair of blower units, and close to them in the direction of movement of the vehicle. In addition, the whole of engine 15 of blower unit 22 is to the side of quick-action coupling device 13, so that the centre of gravity of the blower arrangement is, in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 11, essentially in the area of quick- action coupling device 13 or closer to the vehicle from it. Thus, the centre of gravity of blower arrangement 10 is essentially behind blower 14, close to quick-action coupling device 13. In the example, the centre of gravity is even on vehicle's 11 front axle's 21 side of quick-action coupling device 13. As the centre of gravity is located essentially in the area intended for lifting device 12, a suitable vehicle 11 can be selected directly to suit the total weight of blower arrangement 10. On the other hand, hydraulic wheeled supports (not shown), operated by auxiliary devices, can be attached to the blower arrangement 10, by means of which the blower arrangement 10 is lifted off the ground. In this case, even a small vehicle 11, which does not have a sufficient lifting capacity, can be used to work with a blower arrangement 10 that is heavier than its lifting capacity. When being moved from one place to another, blower arrangement 10 is raised on the wheeled supports. The blower arrangement of Figure 2 has two engines 15 and four adjacent blowers 14. The figure also shows the location of the engines 15 at the sides of vehicle 11. In addition, the blowers 14 are arranged in two-blower 14 units attached to quick-action coupling device 13. Thus, one blower unit 22 includes two blowers 14 and one combustion engine 15. The blower units 22 are essentially similar to each other and operate independ- ently. Blower unit 22 may also have several blowers 14, preferably, however, from two to four of them. The blower units 22 are connected to each other by means of joint 23, which permits the blower arrangement 10 to adapt to the ground. In addition, the blower arrangement depicted is balanced in relation to both the centre-line and axle arrangement of vehicle 11. Thus, the vehicle 11 remains stable, even when loaded with the maximum weight. The use of more than one engine allows the transmission of blower unit 22 to be implemented using light standard components. The transmission of a single-engined blower unit with four blowers would also be considerably larger and also heavier. In addition, the total efficiency of two engines is higher than that of a single engine of corresponding power, and they are easier to control. The separate, independently operating blower units 22 can also be used separately. In this case, fewer spare machines are required, and, if one fails, it can be replaced with a new one. Additional units can also be added as extensions to the two-blower unit 22, to increase its operating width, if this is possible from the point of view of vehicle 11. Alternatively, blowing can be carried out using only a single blower unit 22. For this purpose, blower unit 22 includes at least two brackets for quick-action coupling device 13. In this case, a single blower unit 22 can be attached closer to the centre-line of vehicle 11. On the other hand, blower unit 22 can be used for blowing, even though it is attached to the central bracket 20. According to Figure 3, the other brackets 24 also include an extension piece 25 to make the attachment possible. The space formed by this extension piece 25 can be advantageously used to fit auxiliary devices for the engine, for example, a fuel tank. Thus, the centre of gravity of blower arrangement 10 remains low. Figure 4 shows the location of blower unit 22. The movement forwards of the centre of gravity is not, however, a problem, as the mass of blower unit 22 is half of the mass of blower arrangement 10. In order to ensure the movement of the snow, blower 14 is, according to the invention, short and has a small front surface 26. In this case, the front surface refers to the passive surface, which pushes the snow in front of it. In the same way, the total length of the combination is small. In practice, the rotor housing 16 forming blower 14 is short and the rotor extends nearly to the level of the front surface 26 of blower 14. Thus, the snow immediately strikes the rotor blades and accelerates evenly to the ejection speed. The short distance travelled by the snow inside blower 14 also reduces the risk of blockages and loss of power. In addition, front surface 26 includes a deflector piece 27, to guide snow to the rotor (Figure 5a) . In particularly difficult conditions, front surface 26 can be raised, so that a small proportion of the snow will not be blown (Figure 5b) . The residual snow bypassing the rotor housing 16 can be blown on the next run or collected at the side or in the area between the wheels of vehicle 11 by means of a device (not shown) after blower 14. Instead of a raisable front surface 26, the front surface can incorporate vibration to improve the movement of the snow. One alternative is to divide front surface 26 into sections and support the sections on rubber cushions and vibrate them with hydraulic vibrators. Electrical, mechanical, and pneumatic vibrators are also possible. The vibration of the lower components is usually sufficient. Friction can also be reduced by leading exhaust gases or even hot water to the front surfaces through suitable unblockable perforations or similar. The use of exhaust gases further improves the efficiency of the engines 15 and the bite of the blower on the snow. It is also possible to use com- pressed air for this purpose. The constructions of the front surface 26 and the rotor housings 16 also combine to improve the blower 14' s bite into wet or icy snow or snow that is otherwise difficult to blow. In Figure 7a, the rotor housings 16 are set to overlap each other, so that the blowers lie as close to one another as possible and the front surface is as small as possible. Despite this, front surface 26, on which snow can collect, remains outside the rotor housings 16 (Figure 7b) . In this case, a conveyor 31, which cleans the relevant blind areas, is fitted to the front surface 26, to ensure the movement of the snow. The conveyor is preferably a chain conveyor, to which feeder blades 32' are attached to a chain 32 at suitable intervals. Conveyor 31 also preferably incorporates a mechanism (not shown), which turns the feeder blades 32' in the blind area to improve the cleaning effect. Correspondingly, fan-like feeder blades, which open at the blind areas, can be used. In the embodiment in Figure 7a, it is even possible to use a separate conveyor in front of each rotor housing. The same reference numbers are used in the figures for components that are operationally the same. Even though it is unlikely that blower 14 will become blocked in practice, the reduction gear 18 of combustion engine 14 has also reversing. Thus a blockage that is developing or has developed can be removed by reversing the direction of rotation of the rotors. The reduction gear is preferably of the type known as a marine gear. This is smaller than other types of transmission and is easier to control. In addition, a marine gear has constant mesh while a separate clutch is not required, as a marine gear includes clutches. In addition, the use of a marine gear avoids sudden changes in torque in the transmission, when the blower is started, so that the stress on the transmission components is reduced. Furthermore, it is easy to connect remote control to a marine gear. In the example, the transmission line from the motor is straight and on the level of the rotor axle, which reduces the number of components needed. In this case, distribution line 19 is implemented using a chain drive, though hydrostatic transmissions and transmissions employing gearwheels, belts, or similar are also possi- ble. Figure 6 shows the discharge conduits 17 of the blower arrangement 10. According to the invention, at least the inner surfaces of the discharge conduits 17 are surfaced with plastic. Discharge conduits 17 made entirely of plastic are also possible. As is known, the friction between plastic and snow is low, so that surfacing with plastic achieves a low snow feed resistance and a low probability of blockages. When blowing abrasive materials, the plastic must also withstand greater wear, which must be taken into account when selecting the material. As shown in Figure 6, the discharge conduits 17 are on the same line laterally. However, discharge conduits 17 are arranged in steps, with the conduit farthest in the direction of discharge is the highest. This arrangement prevents the jets of snow from mixing with each other. The raising device 28 may be hydraulic or mechanical, as in the example. The curved upper section 30 of the discharge conduits also expands in a lateral direction in relation to the discharge direction. This gives the flow of snow more space at the stage at which the snow strikes the curved section 30. As the flow expands laterally, the curve does not reduce the inertia of the snow in the same way as a discharge of even width. The discharge conduits 17 also incorporate upper peaked components 29 for directing the jet of snow. In an alternative embodiment, the discharge distance can be altered using a rotatable rotor housing, the construction of which is, however, somewhat more complicated. The blower arrangement according to the invention is well- balanced and easy to control. The engines and discharge conduits are remotely controlled from the vehicle, in which there are the necessary control and warning devices. Thus, the blower arrangement can be moved using many different vehicles, so that special vehicles are not required. The wheels may also be powered and/or steerable, making blowing possible without a vehicle. A blower arrangement driven by a hydraulic motor, is preferably moved only in emergencies. In such cases, the blower arrangement can be remotely controlled from a car, by someone walking, or even from an airport control tower. Thanks to the transferable control unit, vehicles that are usually used for other purposes can be used for blowing. In addition, the blower unit can be used at different outputs, if required.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A blower arrangement, which is intended to be attached in front of the vehicle (11) moving it by means of a quick action coupling device (13), and which includes a pair of blower units formed by two blower units (22), in which blower unit (22) there is one or more blower (14) and an engine (15), which is mainly located on the vehicle (11) side of the blower (14), with auxiliary devices and transmissions (18, 19), with each blower (14) including a rotor, a rotor housing (16), and discharge conduits (17) for directing the material to be blown, characterized in that the quick action coupling device (13) is located laterally in the area of the opposite ends of the blower units (223 of the pair of blower units and close to them in the direction of travel, and the engine (15) of the blower unit (22) is in its entirety at the side of the quick action coupling device (13) so that the centre of gravity of the blower arrangement in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (11) is essentially at the quick action coupling device (13) or closer to the vehicle from it. 2. A blower arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the engine (15) is arranged to be essentially further out from the vehicle (11) in a lateral direction. 3. A blower arrangement according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reduction gear (18) forming part of the transmission is preferably of the type known as a marine gear. 4. A blower arrangement according to one of Claims 1 - 3, characterized in that the blower arrangement includes wheeled supports, which are arranged to raise the blower arrangement (10) by means of its own engines (15). 5. A blower arrangement according to one of Claims 1 - 4, characterized in that the adjacent blower units (22) connected to the quick action coupling device (13) are essentially the similar and their engines (15) are arranged to overlap in relation to the width of the vehicle (11) . 6. A blower arrangement according to one of Claims 1 - 5, characterized in that the blower arrangement (10) includes at least one additional blower unit attached as an extension to the side of the blower unit (22) closest to the edge. 7. A blower arrangement according to one of Claims 1 - 6, characterized in that a joint is arranged between the blower units (22), in relation to which the blower units (22) are arranged to swivel. 8. A blower arrangement according to one of Claims 1 - 7, characterized in that the blower unit (22) has 2 - 4 blowers (14) and at least two suitable brackets (20, 24) for the quick action coupling device (13) . 9. A blower arrangement according to one of Claims 1 - 8, characterized in that, in order to facilitate the flow of the snow into the blower (14), the front surface (26) of the blower (14) can be raised, or it has perforations arranged to conduct exhaust gases arranged in it, or it has a vibrator device arranged particularly in the part of it closest to the ground. 10. A blower arrangement according to one of Claims 1 - 9, characterized in that the discharge conduit (17), which is plastic or has at least a plastic inner surface, is arranged to be adjusted vertically with the aid of a raising device (28).

Inventors: VIROKANNAS TAPIO, VIROKANNAS, TAPIO
Applicants: TIEKONESUUNNITTELU TKS OY, VIROKANNAS TAPIO, VIROKANNAS, TAPIO
Application year: 1999
Main classification: E01H5
IPC codes: E01H5