High speed runway snowblower

Abstract

A snowblower for removing snow from a paved surface, such as roadways and airport runways. The snowblower includes a blower assembly having a blower housing that encloses a pair of rotating side augers and a rotating impeller. The blower housing includes an upper hood. The upper hood is angled from a trailing edge to a leading edge such that the angled upper hood provides enhanced visibility of the operator of the snowblower. Each of the side augers is driven by a hydrostatic drive motor that is positioned above the upper hood to remove the drive motors from within the open interior of the blower housing. The drive motors are driven from a power source separate from the power source used to rotate the impeller. The lower, leading edge of the blower housing includes a V-shaped lower edge to further enhance the direction of snow into the blower housing.

1 . A vehicle-mounted snowblower assembly for removing snow from pavement, comprising:
 a blower housing having a pair of spaced sidewalls and an upper hood extending between the sidewalls to define an open interior that receives snow to be removed;   a rotating impeller extending through a back wall of the blower housing and into the open interior to receive the snow to be removed,   wherein the upper hood has a width defined between a leading edge and a trailing edge, wherein the upper hood is downwardly declined from the trailing edge to the leading edge.   
     
     
         2 . The snowblower of  claim 1  wherein the height of the trailing edge of the upper hood above a ground surface is approximately equal to a diameter of the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supported on the ground surface. 
     
     
         3 . The snowblower of  claim 2  wherein the height of the leading edge of the upper hood above the ground surface is less than the diameter of the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supported on the ground surface. 
     
     
         4 . The snowblower of  claim 1  wherein the blower housing includes a leading edge extending between the pair of sidewalls, wherein the leading edge has a generally V-shape having an apex positioned between the two sidewalls. 
     
     
         5 . The snowblower of  claim 1  wherein the width of the upper hood between the leading edge and the trailing edge is approximately constant. 
     
     
         6 . The snowblower of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a pair of side augers mounted within the open interior on opposite sides of the rotating impeller; and 
 a pair of drive motors each coupled to one of the side augers, wherein the drive motors are operable to rotate one of the side augers. 
 
     
     
         7 . The snowblower of  claim 6  wherein the drive motors are each mounted above the upper hood and outside of the open interior of the blower housing. 
     
     
         8 . The snowblower of  claim 1  further comprising a pair of side frame extensions each attached to one of the sidewalls, wherein each of the side frame extensions extends past the leading edge of the blower housing. 
     
     
         9 . A vehicle-mounted snowblower assembly for removing snow from pavement, comprising:
 a blower housing having a pair of spaced sidewalls and an upper hood extending between the sidewalls to define between an open interior that receives snow to be removed;   a rotating impeller extending through a back wall of the blower housing and into the open interior to receive the snow to be removed;   a pair of side augers mounted within the open interior on opposite sides of the rotating impeller; and   a pair of drive motors each coupled to one of the side augers, each of the drive motors being positioned above the upper hood and outside of the open interior of the blower housing.   
     
     
         10 . The snowblower of  claim 9  wherein each of the drive motors are driven by a power source different from the power source that rotates the impeller. 
     
     
         11 . The snowblower of  claim 9  further comprising a pair of side frame extensions each attached to one of the sidewalls, wherein each of the side frame extensions extends past the leading edge of the blower housing. 
     
     
         12 . The snowblower of  claim 9  wherein the blower housing includes a leading edge extending between the pair of sidewalls, wherein the leading edge has a generally V-shape having an apex positioned between the two sidewalls. 
     
     
         13 . The snowblower of  claim 9  wherein the upper hood has a width defined between a leading edge and a trailing edge, wherein the upper hood is downwardly declined from the trailing edge to the leading edge. 
     
     
         14 . The snowblower of  claim 13  wherein the height of the trailing edge of the upper hood above a ground surface is approximately equal to a diameter of the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supported on the ground surface. 
     
     
         15 . The snowblower of  claim 14  wherein the height of the leading edge of the upper hood above the ground surface is less than the diameter of the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supported on the ground surface. 
     
     
         16 . A snowblower for removing snow from pavement, comprising:
 a vehicle;   a blower assembly mounted to the vehicle, the blower assembly including a blower housing having a pair of spaced sidewalls and an upper hood extending between the sidewalls to define an open interior that receives the snow to be removed;   a rotating impeller extending through a back wall of the blower housing and into the open interior to receive the snow to be removed;   a pair of spaced side augers mounted within the open interior on opposite sides of the rotating impeller; and   a pair of drive motors each coupled to one of the side augers, each of the drive motors being operable to rotate one of the side augers, wherein the pair of drive motors are each mounted above the upper hood and outside of the open interior of the blower housing.   
     
     
         17 . The snowblower of  claim 16  wherein the upper hood has a width defined between a leading edge and a trailing edge, wherein the upper hood is downwardly declined from the trailing edge to the leading edge. 
     
     
         18 . The snowblower of  claim 16  wherein the height of the trailing edge of the upper hood above a ground surface is approximately equal to a diameter of the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supported on the ground surface. 
     
     
         19 . The snowblower of  claim 18  wherein the height of the leading edge of the upper hood above the ground surface is less than the diameter of the impeller when the snowblower assembly is supported on the ground surface.