Method and apparatus for melting snow using exhaust and cooling system waste heat
OwnerAndre Deromeinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An vehicle for removing and melting snow from a roadway wherein the snow is collected, transferred to a snow melting means which utilizes heat from the exhaust and cooling system to melt the snow. The vehicle includes means for restricting flow of a heat transfer fluid such that a greater force is put on the engine which will thereby generate a heat output through the exhaust and radiator cooling system. The vehicle is designed to be operated at relatively high speeds so as not to impede the flow of traffic.
Claims17
A vehicle for removing and melting snow from a roadway, the vehicle comprising engine means having an exhaust and a radiator cooling system, means for collecting snow from said roadway, snow melting means, means for transferring said snow from said snow collecting means to said snow melting means, said snow melting means including heat exchange means for transferring heat from said exhaust and from said cooling system to a heat transfer fluid, and means for pumping said heat transfer fluid through conduit means, said conduit means being located to be in contact with said snow, and means for collecting the liquid resulting from said snow being in contact with said heated conduits.
A method of removing and treating snow from a roadway comprising the steps of supplying a vehicle having engine means with an exhaust means and a radiator cooling system, means for collecting snow from said roadway, snow melting means, and means for transferring said snow from said snow collecting means to said snow melting means, passing exhaust from said exhaust means and liquid from said radiator cooling system through a conduit, adding neutralizing material to said melted snow and then discharging said melted snow and distributing snow against said conduit to thereby melt said snow.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.