Inverted snowblower with pivotably mounted trip bar at trailing edge

Abstract

An inverted snow blower mountable at the rear of a traction vehicle equipped with a power take-off, to blow snow. The snow blower features a housing configured to receive the snow to be blown, a chute, mounted operatively on the housing to discharge the snow from the housing. The housing includes a pivotable bar located at its lower trailing edge to minimize damage to the snow blower or traction vehicle when impacted. At least one spring may be coupled to the bar and housing to maintain a bias on the bar and to maintain the bar at a set preselected angle. When the leading edge of the bar impacts a projection, the bar pivots and the impact force is absorbed by the springs to avoid damage to the blower and/or traction vehicle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An inverted snowblower mountable behind a traction vehicle comprising:
 a housing configured to receive snow to be blown, the housing configured to mount behind a traction vehicle and having an open face directed towards the traction vehicle when the housing is mounted behind the traction vehicle, the housing being moveable vertically relative to the traction vehicle when mounted thereto;   a chute in fluid communication with the housing to remove snow within the housing;   at least one auger within the box to move snow within the housing towards the chute;   a gear assembly operatively coupled to said auger to transfer power from the traction vehicle to rotate the auger and to facilitate blowing of snow; and   at least one bar extending lengthwise between opposite sides of the housing and having a leading edge located towards said traction vehicle when the housing is mounted behind the traction vehicle, the at least one bar mounted to a portion of said housing to pivot away from said traction vehicle when impacted.   
     
     
         2 . The inverted snowblower of  claim 1  wherein the at least one bar is operatively coupled to at least one spring and wherein the at least one spring absorbs a force transmitted to said at least one bar upon impact to the bar. 
     
     
         3 . The inverted snowblower of  claim 2  wherein said spring biases said at least one bar to orient said at least one bar at an initial angle relative to said housing. 
     
     
         4 . The inverted snowblower of  claim 3  wherein the at least one spring comprises a plurality of springs. 
     
     
         5 . The inverted snowblower of  claim 3  wherein said initial angle comprises an angle of between zero degrees and forty five degrees from (i) a vertical reference line to (ii) a line from the leading edge of said bar to a pivot point of said bar. 
     
     
         6 . The inverted snowblower of  claim 5  wherein said at least one bar comprises a single bar. 
     
     
         7 . The inverted snowblower of  claim 1  wherein the at least one spring comprises at least one coil spring. 
     
     
         8 . The inverted snowblower of  claim 5  wherein the initial angle is thirty degrees from the vertical line. 
     
     
         9 . The inverted snowblower of  claim 5  wherein the at least one bar comprises a plurality of bars oriented along a line to form a leading edge, and wherein said at least on spring comprises a plurality of springs, each of said plurality of springs coupled to one of said plurality of bars. 
     
     
         10 . The inverted snow blower of  claim 4  wherein the at least one bar is coupled to at least one flange extending at an angle away from the traction vehicle and extending outside of said housing, the at least on flange supporting at least one of said plurality of springs. 
     
     
         11 . The inverted snow blower of  claim 10  comprising a plurality of brackets mounted outside of said housing wherein the plurality of springs comprise coils springs, each coil spring mounted between one of the at least one bracket and one of the at least one flange. 
     
     
         12 . The inverted snow blower of  claim 11  wherein each coil spring is positioned coaxially with a guide, the guide being slidable through an opening within one of the brackets. 
     
     
         13 . The inverted snow blower of  claim 12  wherein the at least one bar includes an active section and a mounting section, the active section includes the leading edge, and the mounting section includes the at least one flange, wherein the active section and the mounting section are removably connectable with one another. 
     
     
         14 . The inverted snow blower of  claim 3  wherein the initial angle is adjustable. 
     
     
         15 . The inverted snow blower of  claim 14  wherein the initial angle is adjustable via adjusting the compression of the at least one spring. 
     
     
         16 . The inverted snow blower of  claim 12  wherein the guide comprises a series of apertures configured to receive a pin or bar which restricts the initial angle by contacting the at least one spring wherein the initial angle is adjustable via adjusting the compression of the at least one spring by inserting said pin or bar into the apertures. 
     
     
         17 . The inverted snow blower of  claim 14  wherein the housing comprises a series of apertures configured to receive a pin or bar which restricts the initial angle by contacting the at least one bar.