Trail grooming method and apparatus

• US 10,590,617 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2017
• Issued: 03/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bruce Vruwink
• Original Assignee: Bruce Vruwink
• Inventors: Vruwink, Bruce
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzuto, Robert E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mitchell, Joel F.
• Application Number:
  US15/822,134
• Publication Number:
  US 20190161928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 843 Days
• Field of Search: 37219, 37222
• CPC Class Codes: E01H 4/00 Working on surfaces of snow or ice in order to make them suitable for traffic or sporting purposes, e.g. by compacting snow production of artificial snow F25C3/04
• CPC Class Codes: E01H 4/02 for sporting purposes, e.g. preparation of ski trails; Construction of artificial surfacings for snow or ice sports construction of ice skating rinks E01C13/102; Trails specially adapted for on-the-snow vehicles, e.g. devices adapted for ski-trails production of snow or ice for winter sports or similar recreational purposes F25C3/00

Abstract

Apparatus for hardening the surface of a snow and ice covered trail which includes apparatus for travel over the snow and/or ice covered terrain that includes means to remove entrained air from snow and/or ice particles proximate to the apparatus; means for redistribution of the dispersed snow and ice laterally and axially with respect to the apparatus incident to movement of the apparatus after dispersing has occurred; and means for compacting snow and ice redistributed in the means for redistributing to increase the hardness of the snow and ice that has been redistributed.

Claims

1. Apparatus for hardening the surface of a snow and ice covered trail which comprises:

means for movement of the apparatus over a snow and ice covered terrain that includes means to remove entrained air from snow and or ice particles proximate to said apparatus, said means to remove entrained air includes an elongated auger that feeds snow and ice from each axial extremity thereof toward the center thereof;

means for redistribution of the dispersed snow and ice laterally and axially with respect to the direction of movement of the apparatus after dispersing has occurred; and

means for compacting snow and ice redistributed by said means for redistributing to increase the hardness of the snow and ice that has been redistributed.

2. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the periphery of said elongated auger is manufactured of carbide.

3. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said apparatus is a trailer.

4. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the means for redistribution of the dispersed snow and ice laterally and axially with respect to the direction of movement of the apparatus includes a grader blade.

5. The apparatus as described in claim 4 wherein said grader blade is substantially planar and pivotally mounted about an axis proximate to the top thereof.

6. The apparatus as in claim 5 wherein said grader blade is biased by the weight thereof to a vertical position.

7. The apparatus as described in claim 5 wherein said grader blade is disposed intermediate said means to remove entrained air from snow and ice particles and said means for compacting snow and ice.

8. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said means for compacting snow and ice to increase the hardness of the snow and ice that has been redistributed is a plate compactor.

9. The apparatus as described in claim 8 wherein said plate compactor is hydraulically driven.

10. The apparatus as described in claim 8 wherein said plate compactor includes at least one fin having a body that is disposed in coplanar relationship with the direction of movement of said apparatus.

11. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said means for redistribution of the dispersed snow and/or ice laterally and axially with respect to the direction of movement of said apparatus incident to movement of the apparatus after dispersing has occurred includes a plurality of scraper blades that are disposed in oblique relationship with respect to the direction of movement.

12. The apparatus as described in claim 11 wherein said plurality of scraper blades are disposed in spaced relationship along an axis that is parallel to the the direction of movement of the apparatus.