Patent Publication Number: US-2017370057-A1

Title: Method for Containing Wind-Driven Snow

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/493,198 of Sidney H. Miller, filed Jun. 27, 2016, entitled SYSTEM FOR AVOIDING SNOW SQUALLS the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, TABLE OR COMPUTER PROGRAM 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Prior Art 
     The following is a tabulation of the prior art revealed during a patent search that may be relevant: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Patent/App. No. 
                 Kind Code 
                 Issue Date 
                 Patentee 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 U.S. Pat. No. 7,854,857 
                 N/A 
                 Dec. 21, 2010 
                 Wynne et a. 
               
               
                 U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,580 
                 N/A 
                 Feb. 10, 2009 
                 Schele et al. 
               
               
                 U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,879 
                 N/A 
                 Jun. 18, 1985 
                 Finucane 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The present invention is directed to an improvement in the control of wind-driven precipitation. In gusty weather conditions, loose snow, sleet, ice, and other accumulated particles may become airborne and obscure visibility on travel pathways. In recent years there have been a number of wind and weather-related accidents that have resulted in significant injury and property damage. In many of these incidents, driver visibility was obscured by wind-driven snow and was the main contributing factor in the resulting injury and damage. 
     In February of 2016, the winds accompanying a sudden snow squall in Berks County, Pa. caused loose precipitation along I-78 to become airborne, resulting in white-out conditions on the highway. Three people died, seventy-three people were hospitalized, and sixty-four vehicles were damaged as a result of the storm. 
     Earlier in the year, a similar incident occurred on I-74 in southeast Indiana. The sudden reduction in visibility brought on by heavy wind gusts accompanying a squall, led to the hospitalization of six people and damage to forty vehicles. 
     In addition to creating visibility issues, wind-driven precipitation can often collect and drift into piles that are several feet high. Areas near mountains and plains frequently experience blizzard strength winds that lift and drive loose snow, sleet and ice into the air where it accumulates on the road. These drifts can close entire lanes off to travel if they are not continually plowed. 
     Trains face the same issue when high winds cause loose precipitation to drift across the tracks. The resulting mounds of snow, sleet, and ice can prevent a train from moving and often require a specially mounted plow to clear the tracks before other trains can proceed. Similarly, drifts and airborne snow can affect the safety and scheduling of air travel as wind pushes loose precipitation onto air strips and runways. 
     While snow plows are effective at scraping snow from travel paths, the mounds of precipitation left behind may still blow into the air and onto roads, tracks and runways. State departments of transportation, airports, and train companies have attempted to control the movement of loose, wind-swept precipitation through the use of snow fencing as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,786 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,387,546. These fences are costly to install and require constant care. The construction and maintenance of snow fencing requires the permission of the landowner or the grant of an easement when placed on private property. Abandoned or neglected snow fencing can create aesthetic issues or environmental problems. Even if great care is taken to erect snow fencing to address prevailing winds, changes in weather patterns and excessive snowfall may render these fences ineffective. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,580 suggests the construction of a snow fence made from snow itself to protect buildings. The &#39;580 method requires snow plows to push snow to the windward side of the structure being protected, thereby creating larger drifts to shield the building. These intentional drifts may impede travel; additionally, variable weather patterns may cause the drift to shift and reform in undesirable areas. The method advocated by the &#39;580 patent would be difficult to implement effectively along extended stretches of highways. Furthermore, the remote and inaccessible location of many train routes would make this method impractical for shielding train tracks. 
     At the present time continual plowing and the construction of snow fencing provide the only means to control loose precipitation. Snow plowed into a pile is still free to drift and obscure visibility in gusty conditions, making it an ineffective means to control wind-driven precipitation. The cost, maintenance, trespass issues, and inefficacy in the face of changing wind patterns makes snow fencing disadvantageous as well. There is, therefore, a need in the art for an inexpensive, environmentally sound, and easily applied method for the control of loose weather precipitation along travel paths such as roads, runways, and train tracks. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention addresses the problems discussed above by offering an inexpensive, environmentally friendly and easily applied method to reduce or eliminate the movement of loose precipitation along travel paths such as roads, runways, and train tracks. Inventor suggests the use of several methods that either form a crust to encapsulate the loose precipitation or create a liquid or semi-liquid slush that is not easily displaced by high winds. These methods will not only reduce the amount of airborne snow, sleet, and ice in windy conditions, they will also reduce the amount of drifting that can create an obstacle for traveling vehicles. 
     At the heart of inventor&#39;s method is the application of a treatment material to a treatment area where the loose precipitation is expected to or is currently causing a visibility or drifting issue. In inventor&#39;s preferred embodiment, a liquid is applied to the treatment area in a diffuse spray pattern. 
     As discussed above, the applied treatment material prevents the movement of the loose precipitation either by mixing with the precipitation and freezing to form a crust or alternatively by creating a liquid or semi-liquid slush that is not easily displaced by high winds due to the increased weight of the liquefied material. This method can be applied as needed on the ground by modified fire trucks, pumping vehicles, or pressurized tanks. The material can be applied by personnel or by automated equipment such as a sprinkler device. The treatment material can also be applied through aerial means using aircraft or drones. 
     While a wide range of materials may be applied to the treatment area, inventor contemplates the use of water in the method described above. While the application of this liquid near a road surface may seem counterintuitive, careful application of water to the treatment area will create a slush and will either melt the ground precipitation or freeze to create a crust that inhibits the movement of the precipitation depending on the weather conditions. At the end of the season the water will dissipate, having minimal impact on the environment. 
     Alternatively, inventor proposes the application of heat to the treatment area in a diffuse pattern. Any one of a number of heat sources may be applied to the treatment area depending on the size and location of that area. Inventor contemplates the application of radiant heat, hot gases, open flames or resistive elements such as those found in heated blankets to the treatment area such that the precipitation is converted to a liquid or semi-liquid slush that either remains in a heavy liquid state or refreezes to form a crust, inhibiting the movement of the precipitation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a pictorial view of a person applying treatment material to the treatment area along or within a field of snow 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
         
           
               10  Individual spraying applying liquid to treatment area 
               20  Hose 
               30  Nozzle 
               40  Treatment Area 
               50  Water Tanker 
               60  Treatment Material 
               70  Loose Precipitation 
               80  Field of Snow 
           
         
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an individual  10  applying a treatment material  60  from a water tanker  50  to the treatment area  40  within a field of snow  80 . The treatment material  60  may be comprised of a liquid, powder, slurry, gel, foam, or a combination of these materials. This treatment material  60  may be comprised of organic or inorganic substances and inventor contemplates any particulate in the treatment material  60  to be about 20 to 1800 microns in size. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the treatment material  60  is applied using a hose  20  fitted with a nozzle  30  capable of accommodating the viscosity of the treatment material  60  being dispersed. The treatment material  60  is applied to the treatment area  40  in a diffuse pattern such that the loose precipitation  70  in the treatment area  40  sufficiently combines with the treatment material  60  causing the loose precipitation  70  to liquefy, weighing it down and inhibiting its movement. Alternatively, the applied treatment material  60  may freeze with and encapsulate the loose precipitation  70 , forming a hardened crust. 
     The temperature of the loose precipitation, the ambient air temperature, and the temperature of the treatment material  60  will determine whether the loose precipitation  70  is liquefied or frozen. Either result will impede the movement of the loose precipitation  70  in gusty weather conditions, preventing it from becoming airborne and/or drifting into travel paths. 
       FIG. 1  shows the treatment material  60  being applied to the treatment area  40  using a standard water tanker. Inventor suggests the use of conventional firetrucks, tenders, and foam pumpers; however, any vehicle or vessel capable of delivering the desired treatment material  60  may be used. Alternatively, aerial equipment such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and drones may be employed to deliver treatment material  60  to the treatment area  40 . 
     Treatment material  60  may be pumped or fed to a dispensing means through a screw or alternatively, it may be gravity fed. While the application of the treatment material  60  may be directed by the operation of a nozzle  30  as shown in  FIG. 1 , an automated distribution means such as a sprinkler or other spreading wheel may also be used. 
     Ideally the treatment material  60  will be comprised of an aqueous liquid. Inventor proposes the use of 0 to 100% water as the treatment material  60  in the method shown in  FIG. 1 . The use of 100% water will offer the most environmentally friendly solution as it will easily combine with the loose precipitation  70  and will melt away cleanly at end of the season. 
     Inventor contemplates the use of other liquids such as brines or anti-freezing or deicing solutions that are readily available and/or produced. Powders or slurries containing organic or inorganic material may also be used. Cellulose material such as sawdust may be added to water to create an environmentally friendly slurry. Particulate within the powders or slurries should be about 20 to 1800 microns in size. Treatment material  60  should be easily pumped or fed through the dispensing means; therefore, the viscosity of any liquid or slurry used should be about 0.3 to about 50,000 centipoises. 
     Inventor also anticipates the use of treatment materials  60  comprised of foams or gels. Such foams or gels may be either expanding or non-expanding in nature and should also have a viscosity of about 0.3 to about 50,000 centipoises. 
     In another embodiment, inventor suggests the application of heat to the treatment area  40 . Such heat could be applied by resistive elements, open flames, heated exhaust, or radiant energy. Alternatively, a flammable liquid, slurry or powder could be delivered to the treatment area  40  and burned, liquefying the loose precipitation. 
     In one embodiment, a blanket fitted with resistive elements may be applied to the treatment area  40 . In another embodiment, a flamethrower may be used to apply heat to the treatment area  40 . In yet another embodiment, exhaust from a large engine may be directed to the treatment area  40 . 
     While the above description contains many specifics, these should be considered exemplifications of one more embodiments rather than limitations on the scope of the invention. As previously discussed, many variations are possible and the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than the examples provided.