Snow removal system for vehicle rooftops

• US 7,921,502 B1
• Filed: 01/17/2008
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Snow Be Gone, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Wilmar Valverde
• Inventors: Valverde, Wilmar
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, DUNG V
• Application Number:
  US12/015,952
• Time in Patent Office: 1,181 Days
• Field of Search: 371/96, 372/08, 372/19, 372/31, 414/509, 414/512, 414/513, 414/527, 152/46, 15/531, 15/532, 15/533, 15/973, 15D/IG.2
• US Class Current: 15/246
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/66 for cleaning vehicle exterior

Abstract

This patent discloses a system to remove accumulated snow and ice from the trailer rooftop of the semi-trailer truck. The system includes tracks, sensors, a control switch, a blade, an axle, a left cogwheel, a right cogwheel, a left motor, and a right motor. The tracks are attached to the trailer rooftop and the blade is connected to the tracks through the left cogwheel and the right cogwheel. The left and right cogwheel may rotate about the axle that passes through the blade. The left motor and the right motor are configured to be in communication with the sensors and control switch. If the sensors detect snow on the trailer rooftop or if the control switch is pressed, the motors cause the blade to move along the trailer rooftop to clear off any accumulated snow.

Claims

1. A system to remove accumulated snow and ice from the trailer rooftop of a semi-trailer truck, the system comprising:

tracks having a left rail attached to and extending along a left side of the trailer rooftop and a right rail attached to and extending along a right side of the trailer rooftop, where the left rail and the right rail each include teeth configured to mesh with a cogwheel;

a blade generally having a triangular shape, where the blade includes a blade top and a blade bottom positioned between a blade front and a blade rear, where the blade front and the blade rear have curved surfaces that oppose each other;

an axle that extends through the blade;

a left cogwheel attached to a left end of the axle, where the left cogwheel is meshed with the left rail;

a right cogwheel attached to a right end of the axle, where the right cogwheel is meshed with the right rail;

a left motor positioned to engage the left cogwheel;

a right motor positioned to engage the right cogwheel;

sensors embedded in the vehicle rooftop, where each sensor is configured to detect a depth of snow accumulated above that sensor and is configured to be in communication with the left motor and the right motor; and

a control switch configured to be in communication with the sensors, the left motor, and the right motor, where the left motor and the right motor are configured to move the blade along the trailer rooftop by rotating the left cogwheel and the right cogwheel, respectively, in response to a signal from one of the sensors and the control switch.

2. The system of claim 1, where the control switch is a toggle switch positioned within a cab of the semi-trailer truck and configured to turn on and off the left motor and the right motor.

3. The system of claim 1, where the left rail and the right rail each are C-shaped rails having a groove, where the axle fists into the grooves, and where the grooves are positioned to elevate the left cogwheel and the right cogwheel off a left rail base of the left rail.

4. The system of claim 3, where the blade is elevated off the trailer rooftop.

5. The system of claim 1, where the blade includes a blade length that substantially extends from the left rail to the right rail and where the tracks extend the entire length of the trailer rooftop.

6. A system to remove accumulated snow and ice from a vehicle rooftop of a vehicle having a vehicle rooftop of at least fifty feet, the system comprising:

tracks having teeth configured to mesh with cogwheels;

a blade generally having a triangular shape, where the blade includes a blade top and a blade bottom positioned between a blade front and a blade rear, where the blade front and the blade rear have curved surfaces that oppose each other;

an axle that extends through the blade and into grooves formed in the tracks;

a left cogwheel attached to a left end of the axle, where the left cogwheel is meshed with the teeth of the tracks;

a right cogwheel attached to a right end of the axle, where the right cogwheel is meshed with the teeth of the tracks;

a left motor positioned to engage the left cogwheel;

a right motor positioned to engage the right cogwheel; and

a control switch configured to be in communication with the left motor and the right motor, where the left motor and the right motor are configured to move the blade along the trailer rooftop by rotating the left cogwheel and the right cogwheel, respectively, in response to a signal from the control switch.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising:

sensors embedded in the vehicle rooftop, where each sensor is configured to detect a depth of snow accumulated above that sensor and is configured to be in communication with the left motor and the right motor, where the left motor and the right motor additionally are configured to move the blade along the trailer rooftop by rotating the left cogwheel and the right cogwheel, respectively, in response to a signal from one of the sensors.

8. The system of claim 7, where the tracks include a left rail attached to and extending along a left side of the trailer rooftop and a right rail attached to and extending along a right side of the trailer rooftop, where the left rail and the right rail each include teeth configured to mesh with a cogwheel.

9. The system of claim 6, where the control switch is a toggle switch positioned within a cab of the semi-trailer truck and configured to turn on and off the left motor and the right motor.

10. The system of claim 9, where the blade is elevated off the trailer rooftop.

11. A method to remove accumulated snow and ice from the trailer rooftop of a semi-trailer truck, the method comprising:

presenting a system to remove accumulated snow and ice from the trailer rooftop of the semi-trailer truck, where the system includes tracks, sensors, a control switch, a blade, an axle, a left cogwheel, a right cogwheel, a left motor, and a right motor,

where the tracks have a left rail attached to and extending along a left side of the trailer rooftop and a right rail attached to and extending along a right side of the trailer rooftop, where the left rail and the right rail each include teeth configured to mesh with a cogwheel,

where the blade generally includes a triangular shape, where the blade includes a blade top and a blade bottom positioned between a blade front and a blade rear, where the blade front and the blade rear have curved surfaces that oppose each other,

where the axle extends through the blade,

where the left cogwheel is attached to a left end of the axle and is meshed with the left rail,

where the right cogwheel is attached to a right end of the axle and is meshed with the right rail,

where the left motor is positioned to engage the left cogwheel,

where the right motor is positioned to engage the right cogwheel,

where the sensors are embedded in the vehicle rooftop, where each sensor is configured to detect a depth of snow accumulated above that sensor and is configured to be in communication with the left motor and the right motor, and

where the control switch is configured to be in communication with the sensors, the left motor, and the right motor, where the left motor and the right motor are configured to move the blade along the trailer rooftop by rotating the left cogwheel and the right cogwheel, respectively, in response to a signal from one of the sensors and the control switch;

receiving a signal in the left motor and the right motor from one of the sensors and the control switch; and

in response to the received signal, moving the blade along the trailer rooftop by using the left motor to rotate the left cogwheel and using the right motor to rotate the right cogwheel.

12. The method of claim 11, where the control switch is a toggle switch positioned within a cab of the semi-trailer truck and configured to turn on and off the left motor and the right motor.