AUTOMATED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR A SNOW BLOWER DISCHARGE CHUTE

MECANISME DE COMMANDE AUTOMATIQUE POUR GOULOTTE DE SOUFFLEUSE

English Abstract

This invention provides for an automated control mechanism that rotates the
swivelling discharge
chute in the direction of the user's desire using the power derived from the
snow blower engine.
The user pulls cable fevers located on the handlebars. The lever is connected
to a cable, which is
connected to a bracket axis that is attached to two rubber discs Depending on
which lever is being
tightened, the bracket swivels either left or right, allowing either the up or
down disc to make
contact with the main driving disc. The driving disc is attached to the snow
auger, which provides
the driving rotational force. This rotational farce is transferred iron n the
discs to a sprocket and a
chain that is connected to another sprocket near the snow discharge chute. The
sprocket is
connected to a clutch and a worm gear, and the worm gear is connected to the
swivelling discharge
chute.

Claims

6
THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. An automated control mechanism for a snow blower discharge chute
comprising, a
three part rubber disc mechanism consisting of a driving disc mounted on the
outer
edge of a shall of an auger on a snow blower for rotation on a horizontal
axis, two
trailing discs wherein said trailing discs are each mounted on opposite sides
of a
bracket, said trailing discs comprising of a top disc and a bottom disc, said
tog disc
and gear are mounted together onto a single shaft, said bottom disc is mounted
on a
bolt, each said trailing disc is always in contact with flue other, said
bracket mounted
to a snow blower shroud, whereby movement of said bracket engages only one of
said trailing discs at one time, engagement of said top disc to said driving
disc means
for rotational driving of said gear in the clockwise direction, engagement of
said
bottom disc to said driving disc rotates said bottom disc in the clockwise
direction
whereby said connected top disc rotates in the counter-clockwise direction,
means for
rotational driving of said gear in the counter-clockwise direction, a driving
chain
connecting said gear to a top gear wherein said top gear is connected to a
worm gear,
means for rotational driving of the chute in either the right or 1e8
direction, a two part
lever mechanism wherein each lever is connected to a flexible cable wherein
said
cable is connected to said bracket, means for operator to engage one of said
trailing
discs whereby the operator moves the chute in either the left or right
direction;
2. The automated control mechanism as defined in Claim 1, wherein sand cable
is
connected to the top portion of said bracket using a cable adjuster on each
side of said
bracket, for cable slack to allow for movement of said bracket, a tension
spring on
each side of said bracket means for keeping said bracket in a neutral
position;
3. The automated control mechanism as defined in Claim 1, wherein said bottom
disc is
permanently in contact with said top disc using a tension spring mounted on a
u-
shaped bracket mounted on said bolt under said bottom disc, for maintaining
contact
between said trailing discs;
4. The automated control mechanism as defined in Claim 1, wherein said worm
gear
comprises a clutch mechanism whereby said clutch mechanism slips when the
chute
reaches its maximum radius of rotation.

Description

CA 02349753 2003-04-22
7
1 AUTOMATED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR A SNOW BLOWE~,R DISCHARGE CHUTE
? 'this invention provides for an automated control mechanism that rotates the
swivelling discharge
3 chute in the direction of"the user's desire.
4
S BACKGROCIND OF THE INVENTION
6 Snow blowers are a common tool used particularly in colder climates. There
are many different
7 designs, but few have automated swivelling discharge chutes. n~fost snow
blowers have a crank that
8 must be manually rotated to swivel the chute in the proper direction, making
it difficult to operate
9 the snow blower at the same time. 'those that do have automated discharge
chutes are driven by a
separate electric motor, which also requires a battery and a greater magneto.
These added parts adds
I 1 considerable cost and complexity to the construction of the snow blower.
Those that are driven by
12 the engine are mechanically complex, expensive to build and demonstrate
considerable wear on
l 3 rapidly rotating parts. Typical automated snow chute, of these types are
shown, for example, in the
14 following patents from the United Kingdom, the Clnited States of American
and Canada:
IS U.K. Patent Number: EPW72ls0 HANYU
l~ C.~.S. Patent Number: L,~S54449?7 SOSENKO
17 Although automated discharge chutes have been incorporated into higher-end
snow blower designs,
18 there has been a continuing need for a less costly and simpler solution.
l
?0 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
21 The automation mechanism comprises of three rubber discs, two cot which are
connect to a
22 swivelling bracket. The bracket is directed by two cables and two cable
levers, each one connected
23 to each handlebar. The swivelling bracket consists of two rubber disc; that
makes contact to a disc
~4 at the left side of the shroud. This disc is connected to the rotating snow
auger inside the shroud,
25 which is the driving force for this invention. When one of the rubber discs
makes contact with the
26 rotating rubber disc at the centre, it rotates a drive chain that is
connected to a sprocket near the
~7 discharge chute. The sprocket rotates a clutch that rotates a worm gear,
;end in turn, rotates the
28 discharge chute. Once the discharge chute reaches its maximum rotating
limit, the clutch
29 disengages by slipping. The operator can move the chute either right or
left by pulling on either the
30 left or right lever on the handlebars and while operating the snow blower
at the same time. The
31 auger must be engaged in order for the swivelling discharge chute to work.
s2
JJ

CA 02349753 2003-04-22
.>
I BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
p Figure l : is a left side view of a snow blower with the automatism
mechanism attached to the left
4 side of the shroud.
_5
6 Figure 2: is a detailed side view of the mechanism in a neutral position,
with some parts enlarged
7 for clarity of illustration.
8
9 Figure 3: is a detailed view of a cable adjuster and a tension spring
holding the mechanism in
neutral.
11
12 Figure 4: is a front view of the entire mechanism without the calales and
snow blower.
13
14 Figure 5: is a detailed view of the swivelling disc mechanism, including,
its inner parts.
1S

CA 02349753 2003-04-22
1 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The automated mechanism for the swivelling snow discharge chute essentially
consists of a rubber
3 disc 3 that drives the chain 8 to rotate the worm gear 21. The rubber disc 3
is bolted to the auger of
4 the snow blower, which is the driving force needed to rotate the snow
discharge chute. Discs 5 and
~ are bolted to a swivelling bracket 14 that is beside the disc connected to
the auger. The bottom
(i rubber disc ~ contains one bearing >C~ forced into each side of the disc;
5. The rubber disc 5 is
7 mounted to the bracket 14 using a screw 39 and it is secured in place with a
washer 46 and nut 37.
8 'The top disc 6 is bolted with three bolts 45 to a large washer 40 an each
side of the rubber disc 6 and
9 the washers 42 are welded onto a shaft 4 l . The shaft 41 rests inside of a
bearing 38, which is press
I 0 tit into the bracket 14. This provides the easy rotation of the rubber
disc; 6.
11
I ? The swivelling bracket 14 is bolted to the shroud, and it swivels by
riding on the thread of the bolt.
is The operator controls the swivelling bracket 14 by pulling the levers that
are connected to the cables
14 1. One cable I is a wire cable 17 with an outer casing l . Z'he cable I
rests inside of a cable adjuster
I S 1 I . Inside the cable adjuster 1 I, the cable outer casing 1 is cut short
about I centimetre from the
1C~ setscrew 1(i to allow for enough slack when the other opposing cable I is
pulled. This slack is
17 required to allow for the swivelling bracket 14 to move in either
direction. The cable adjuster I 1 is
i 8 bolted to a mounting bracket 10 using a setscrew 1 fi, which in turn is
bolted to the shroud. The
19 cable wire 17 is connected to a cable retainer t 3, and is held there by 4a
setscrew. Springs 1 ~ located
20 at the end of each cable adjuster 1 1 is needed to hold the swivelling
bracket 14 in the neutral
21 position so that it does not engage the driving disc 5 involuntarily. 'fhe
nut 16 holding the cable
?? adjuster 1 I in place is adjustable to allow the correct posltlomng of the
bracket 14 in the neutral
3 i position.
24
25 When one of the levers is pulled, the cable wire l 7 pulls the swivelling
bracket 14 to engage one of
2C the rubber discs 5 or 6 to the driving rubber disc :i. Looking at tile
sncyw blower from the left side,
27 the right lever pulls the bracket 14 to the left so that the rubber disc at
the top 6 engages the driving
?8 rubber disc 3, rotating disc 6 clockwise. When the left lever is pulled,
the bottom of the bracket 14
?9 engages the bottom rubber disc S with the driving rubber disc s. The bottom
disc 5. also rotates
30 clockwise. The bottom disc 5 is mounted on a sliding "I_1" bracket I 8,
which allows it to be mated
i t permanently by friction to the top disc 1. The '-U" bracket 18 is
constantly pushed using a tension
s2 spring 20, which is mounted to another "l:1" bracket 19. As the bottom disc
S rotates clockwise
3 > while engaged to the driving rubber disc 3, it rotates the top disc ~
counter-clockwise.

CA 02349753 2003-04-22
1 The top rubber disc 6 is connected to a sprocket 44 on a small shaft 41 held
on by a setscrew 27.
The sprocket 44 drives a chain 8 to another sprocket 48 above the auger
shroud. The top sprocket
3 48 is connected to a shaft 4 and is held olltU this shaft 4 by a setscrew.
The shaft 4 rests inside a
4 bearing, which is located inside the bearing mount 7. The shaft 4 is
connected to the clutch 2b
through a steel mount, which is the tap of the clutch ~ 5, and a setscrew
secures this shaft 4. The
6 clutch 26 is made up of two different metals. Items 34, 32 and 31 are made
out of steel, while the
7 item 33 is made out of brass. Item 32 is connected to a shaft 34 with a
retaining pin, and the brass
8 bushing > 3 rest on the shaft 34. The steel washer 3 l is welded auto a
tension spring 30, which in
9 turn, is welded to a nut 29. This nut 29 is the adjustable pau of the clutch
26 creating the right
amount of tension needed to turn the discharge chute, but allowing the clutch
?6 to slip once the
I 1 discharge chute has reached its ma~:imum turning radius. The nut 24 is
secured in place with
12 another nut 28, retaining the proper adjustment of the tension spring 30.
The shaft 34 is connected
13 to a worm gear 21 which turns the discharge chute. t~~hile looking at the
snow blower from the
14 front of the machine, the left side of the shaft is mounted to a bearing.:
mount 47, which is welded
1 s onto the snow blower.
16

Representative Drawing