Snowblower Attachment

Abstract

A snowblower attachment includes a protective guard plate and attached skids for keeping an impeller of a snowblower from contacting the ground below the snowblower.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/162,313 filed Mar. 22, 2009, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of motorized snowblowers, and more particularly to an attachment device that is used to facilitate use of a snowblower on an unpaved surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Existing snowblowers have various deficiencies when operated on unpaved surfaces such as gravel driveways. In particular, pieces of gravel can get propelled through and discharged by the snowblower, thereby endangering the machine, its operator and nearby persons and objects.

Therefore a need exists for a snowblower or attachment for a snowblower that permits the use of a snowblower on an unpaved surface such as a gravel driveway without throwing gravel.

A device constructed according to the principles of the present invention addresses these deficiencies.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with principles of the present invention, one embodiment of a snowblower attachment includes a substantially planar protective guard plate and two or more skids. In addition, a snowblower attachment may further comprise a bumper and two or more brackets for attachment to a snowblower.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a snowblower attachment in accordance with principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of the snowblower attachment depicted in FIG. 1 shown mounted on a snowblower.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description considered in connection with the accompanied drawings. It is to be understood however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as definition of the limits of the invention. It is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a snowblower attachment in accordance with principles of the present invention. A snowblower attachment 10 comprises one or more front struts 13, one or more rear struts 17, two or more side rails 15, two or more skids 18, and a substantially planar protective guard plate 12. In addition, a snowblower attachment 10 may further comprise a bumper 11 and two or more brackets 19 for attachment to a snowblower.

In the embodiment of a snowblower attachment 10 as depicted in FIG. 1, a front strut 13 and two rear struts 17 are substantially parallel to the front edge of the guard plate 12 and to each other and attached to two side rails 15 that are oriented perpendicularly to the front edge of the guard plate 12 and to the front and rear struts. A protective guard plate 12 is positioned on top of the front strut 13, rear struts 17 and side rails 15. Skids 18 are attached to the bottom surface of the side rails 15 towards the front of each side rail 15. Left and right brackets 19 for mounting the snowblower attachment 10 on a snowblower are attached to rear struts 17, on the left and right sides, respectively, of the rear struts 17. The components (struts 13,17, rails 15, skids 18, brackets 19 and optional bumper 11) of a snowblower attachment 10 may be attached to each other by bolt and nut pairs or other suitable means.

The front strut 13, rear strut 17 and side rails 15 form a frame along the perimeter of the guard plate 12 for support of the guard plate 12. One skilled in the art will recognize that alternate embodiments of a snowblower attachment may include alternate types of frames comprised of different and/or different numbers of components than the frame depicted in FIG. 1. For example, two or more front struts 13 or a single rear strut 17 may be alternatively used. Furthermore, other embodiments of a snowblower attachment may be frame-less, e.g., comprising a protective guard plate 12 that is a single component of sufficient strength such that a frame is not required.

A bumper 11, attached to the front strut 13 and oriented at a non-zero angle relative to the guard plate 12, keeps the front of a snowblower attachment 10 angled toward the ground during operation. Thus, a bumper 11 urges snow on top of the guard plate 12 when the snowblower is moved forward, and prevents snow from collecting under a snowblower attachment 10, which in turn would cause the snow blower to have reduced effectiveness by sliding on top of the snow. However, it should be noted that an alternate embodiment of a snowblower attachment 10 with relatively shorter side rails 15 permits operation of a snow blower without the aforementioned problem of snow collecting underneath, and therefore, such an embodiment may not include a bumper

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a snowblower attachment 10 with a separation (gap) between the front strut 13 and a bumper 11. Alternate embodiments do not have such a separation, and in those embodiments, the front strut 13 and bumper 11 may be substantially without a separation therebetween or entirely integrated together.

As depicted in FIG. 2, a snowblower attachment 10 may be mounted on a snow blower 70 by connecting bolts, rods, or other suitable attachment means to one or more holes typically provided in the sidewalls 71 of a snow blower's impeller housing. For example, such holes are provided by the Honda HS928 snowblower. One skilled in the art, however, will recognize that a snowblower attachment 10 may be mounted by different means and to different locations on a snowblower. When mounted on a snowblower, the protective guard plate 12 is positioned between the snowblower's impeller and the ground beneath the snowblower.

During operation, the skids 18 of a snowblower attachment 10 contact the ground and provide support to the snowblower attachment 10 as its operator moves the snowblower forward. The skids 18, in combination with the wheels of a snowblower, keep the snowblower's impeller from contacting the ground below the snowblower. The snowblower attachment is positioned such that any skid shoes or skid plates that are part of the snowblower (see for example, “Honda HS928 Owner's Manual”, 2008) are raised and not in contact with the ground, and thus do not to be removed or adjusted.

As a snowblower with a snowblower attachment 10 is moved forward over a gravel surface, the snowblower's impeller propels snow that lies in front of the snowblower into the impeller housing of the snowblower, subsequently to be discharged from the snowblower, typically through a snow discharge chute. The guard plate 12 substantially prevents any gravel that lies underneath the snowblower's impeller from being drawn into the impeller housing, and thus the gravel is not propelled through the snowblower and discharged by the snowblower.

The front struts 13, rear struts 17, side rails 15, skids 18, bumper 11 and brackets 19 may be comprised of any suitable material or combination of materials, including aluminum, steel and non-metallic materials. Although the protective guard plate 12 depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 is transparent, one skilled in the art will recognize that a protective guard plate 12 may be comprised of any suitable lightweight and sturdy material or combination of materials, including aluminum, steel and acrylic glass (Plexiglas).

One skilled in the art will recognize that a snowblower attachment 10 may also be integrated into a snowblower, so as to form a permanent feature of a snowblower, rather than being attached to a snowblower as described above.

While a particular form and use of the present invention has been described above, the invention is not limited to the specific arrangement of parts or manner of use described.

One skilled in the art understands that modifications to the construction and use of the present system may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly to include other variants and embodiments of the invention that may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein.

Claims

1. A snowblower attachment, the attachment comprising:

a protective guard plate for keeping an impeller of a snowblower from contacting the ground below said snowblower, said protective guard plate having a top surface, a left side, a right side, and a front portion;

one or more left brackets attached to the left side of said protective guard plate;

one or more right brackets attached to the right side of said protective guard plate; and

said left and right brackets for mounting to left and right impeller housing sidewalls of said snowblower;

wherein said protective guard plate is positioned between said impeller and said ground beneath said snowblower when said snowblower attachment is mounted on said snowblower.

2. The snowblower attachment of claim 1, wherein said protective guard plate is substantially planar.

3. The snowblower attachment of claim 1, further comprising:

a bumper attached to the front portion of said protective guard plate, said bumper oriented at a non-zero angle relative to the plane of said protective guard plate and for urging snow on top of said protective guard plate when said snowblower moves forward.

4. The snowblower attachment of claim 1, wherein said attachment is an integral component of said snowblower.

5. A snowblower attachment, the attachment comprising:

a substantially planar protective guard plate for keeping an impeller of a snowblower from contacting the ground below said snowblower, said protective guard plate having a top surface, a bottom surface, a left side, a right side, a front portion, and a front edge of said front portion; and

two or more skids attached to the bottom surface towards the front portion of said protective guard plate, said skids preventing said protective guard plate from contacting the ground below said snowblower;

wherein said protective guard plate is positioned between said impeller and said ground beneath said snowblower when said snowblower attachment is mounted on said snowblower.

6. The snowblower attachment of claim 5, further comprising:

a bumper attached to the front portion of said protective guard plate, said bumper oriented at a non-zero angle relative to the plane of said protective guard plate and for urging snow on top of said protective guard plate when said snowblower moves forward.

7. The snowblower attachment of claim 5, said protective guard plate having a perimeter, wherein said protective guard plate comprises a frame formed along said perimeter.

8. The snowblower attachment of claim 7, wherein said two or more skids are attached to said frame.

9. The snowblower attachment of claim 7, wherein said frame comprises one or more front struts and one or more rear struts, each strut substantially parallel to the front edge of said protective guard plate, and two or more side rails, each side rail substantially perpendicular to said front edge.

10. The snowblower attachment of claim 5, wherein said attachment is an integral component of said snowblower.

11. A snowblower attachment, the attachment comprising:

a substantially planar protective guard plate for keeping an impeller of a snowblower from contacting the ground below said snowblower, said protective guard plate having a top surface, a bottom surface, a left side, a right side, a front portion and a rear portion;

two or more skids attached to the bottom surface towards the front portion of said protective guard plate, said skids preventing said protective guard plate from contacting the ground below said snowblower;

one or more left brackets attached to the left side towards the rear portion of said protective guard plate; and

one or more right brackets attached to the right side towards the rear portion of said protective guard plate;

said left and right brackets for mounting to left and right impeller housing sidewalls of said snowblower;

wherein said protective guard plate is positioned between said impeller and said ground beneath said snowblower when said snowblower attachment is mounted on said snowblower.

12. The snowblower attachment of claim 11, further comprising:

a bumper attached to the front portion of said protective guard plate, said bumper oriented at a non-zero angle relative to the plane of said protective guard plate and for urging snow on top of said protective guard plate when said snowblower moves forward.

13. The snowblower attachment of claim 11, said protective guard plate having a perimeter, wherein said protective guard plate comprises a frame formed along said perimeter.

14. The snowblower attachment of claim 13, wherein said two or more skids, said one or more left brackets, and said one or more right brackets are attached to said frame.

15. The snowblower attachment of claim 11, wherein said attachment is an integral component of said snowblower.