Rotary snow tiller for grooming ski slopes
View Patent ↗A rotary snow tiller, for grooming the snow covering of ski slopes, which advances in a traveling direction along the ski slope, and has a frame; and a shaft fitted with teeth and rotated with respect to the frame about an axis crosswise to the traveling direction; each tooth being fitted movably to the shaft and selectively adjustable in length with respect to the shaft.
1. A snow grooming rotary snow tiller comprising:
a frame;
a shaft supported by the frame, said shaft fitted with a plurality of teeth, said shaft configured to rotate with respect to the frame about an axis crosswise to a direction that the frame is configured to travel along a ski slope, each tooth being movably fitted to the shaft and selectively adjustable in length with respect to the shaft; and
an actuating device configured to adjust the length of each of the teeth with respect to said shaft, the actuating device including:
an actuating shaft housed inside a cylinder and configured to rotate about the axis with respect to the cylinder; and
a plurality of connectors, each connector connected to the actuating shaft and to a different one of the teeth.
2. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 1 , wherein each tooth is radially movable with respect to the axis.
3. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 1 , wherein the shaft includes a cylinder including a plurality of seats, each tooth being slidably fitted inside a respective seat and connected to the actuating device.
4. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 1 , wherein each connecting connector includes a crank integral with the actuating shaft and a connecting rod hinged to a respective one of the teeth and to the crank.
5. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 1 , wherein the actuating device includes a rotary actuator configured to rotate the actuating shaft with respect to the cylinder.
6. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 5 , wherein the rotary actuator includes a hydraulic actuator.
7. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 6 , which includes a rotary distributor configured to supply the rotary actuator located on the shaft.
8. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 6 , wherein the rotary actuator includes an end flange integral with the cylinder, and a disk integral with the actuating shaft; the end flange and the disk being slideably connected.
9. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 1 , wherein each tooth includes a prismatic portion housed at least partly inside a respective seat.
10. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 9 , wherein each seat has a plurality of walls projecting inside a cylinder of the shaft.
11. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 10 , wherein the walls of each seat are connected to a respective tooth by a membrane which hermetically separates the inside of the cylinder of the shaft from the outside of the cylinder of the shaft.
12. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 1 , wherein the actuating device includes a hydraulic circuit and a control assembly configured to determine and set a length of each of the teeth and configured to adjust the length of each of the teeth from a position remote from each of the teeth.
13. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 12 , wherein the control assembly includes:
a sensor configured to determine the length of each of the teeth,
a control panel configured to set the length of each of the teeth, and
a control unit configured to compare the set length of each of the teeth with an actual length of each of the teeth, and send at least one correction signal to a solenoid valve until the set length of each of the teeth corresponds to the actual length of each of the teeth.
14. A snow grooming rotary snow tiller comprising:
a frame;
a shaft supported by the frame, said shaft configured to rotate with respect to the frame about an axis, and fitted with a plurality of teeth; and
an actuating device configured to selectively move each tooth toward and away from the axis, the actuating device including:
an actuating shaft housed inside a cylinder and configured to rotate about the axis with respect to the cylinder; and
a plurality of connectors, each connector connected to the actuating shaft and to a different one of the teeth.
15. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 14 , wherein the shaft includes a cylinder including a plurality of seats, each tooth being slidably fitted inside a respective seat and connected to the actuating device.
16. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 14 , wherein the actuating device includes a rotary actuator configured to rotate the actuating shaft with respect to the cylinder.
17. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 14 , wherein the actuating device includes a hydraulic circuit and a control assembly configured to determine and set a length of each of the teeth extending from the shaft and configured to adjust the length of each of the teeth from a position remote from each of the teeth.
18. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 17 , wherein the control assembly includes:
a sensor configured to determine the length of each of the teeth extending from the shaft,
a control panel configured to set the length of each of the teeth extending from the shaft, and
a control unit configured to compare the set length of each of the teeth with an actual length of each of the teeth, and send at least one correction signal to a solenoid valve until the set length of each of the teeth corresponds to the actual length of each of the teeth.
19. A snow grooming rotary snow groomer comprising
a frame;
a shaft supported by the frame, said shaft fitted with a plurality of teeth, said shaft configured to rotate with respect to the frame about an axis crosswise to a direction that the frame is configured to travel along a ski slope, each tooth being movably fitted to the shaft and selectively adjustable in length with respect to the shaft; and
an actuating device configured to adjust the length of each of the teeth with respect to said shaft, the actuating device including a rotary actuator configured to rotate an actuating shaft with respect to a cylinder, wherein the rotary actuator includes a hydraulic actuator.
20. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 19 , which includes a rotary distributor configured to supply the rotary actuator located on the shaft.
21. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 19 , wherein the rotary actuator includes an end flange integral with the cylinder, and a disk integral with the actuating shaft; the end flange and the disk being slideably connected.
22. A snow grooming rotary snow groomer comprising:
a frame;
a shaft supported by the frame, said shaft fitted with a plurality of teeth, said shaft configured to rotate with respect to the frame about an axis crosswise to a direction that the frame is configured to travel along a ski slope, each tooth: (i) being movably fitted to the shaft, (ii) being selectively adjustable in length with respect to the shaft, and (iii) including a prismatic portion housed at least partly inside a respective seat; and
an actuating device configured to adjust the length of each of the teeth with respect to said shaft.
23. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 22 , wherein each seat has a plurality of walls projecting inside a cylinder.
24. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 23 , wherein the walls of each seat are connected to a respective tooth by a membrane which hermetically separates the inside of the cylinder from the outside of the cylinder.
25. A snow grooming rotary snow groomer comprising:
a frame;
a shaft supported by the frame, said shaft fitted with a plurality of teeth, said shaft configured to rotate with respect to the frame about an axis crosswise to a direction that the frame is configured to travel along a ski slope, each tooth being movably fitted to the shaft and selectively adjustable in length with respect to the shaft; and
an actuating device configured to adjust the length of each of the teeth with respect to said shaft, the actuating device including a hydraulic circuit and a control assembly configured to determine and set a length of each of the teeth and configured to adjust the length of each of the teeth from a position remote from each of the teeth.
26. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 25 , wherein the control assembly includes:
a sensor configured to determine the length of each of the teeth,
a control panel configured to set the length of each of the teeth, and
a control unit configured to compare the set length of each of the teeth with an actual length of each of the teeth, and send at least one correction signal to a solenoid valve until the set length of each of the teeth corresponds to the actual length of each of the teeth.
27. A snow grooming rotary snow groomer comprising:
a frame;
a shaft supported by the frame, said shaft configured to rotate with respect to the frame about an axis, and fitted with a plurality of teeth; and
an actuating device configured to selectively move each tooth toward and away from the axis, the actuating device including a hydraulic circuit and a control assembly configured to determine and set a length of each of the teeth extending from the shaft and configured to adjust the length of each of the teeth from a position remote from each of the teeth.
28. The snow grooming rotary snow groomer of claim 27 , wherein the control assembly includes:
a sensor configured to determine the length of each of the teeth extending from the shaft,
a control panel configured to set the length of each of the teeth extending from the shaft, and
a control unit configured to compare the set length of each of the teeth with an actual length of each of the teeth, and send at least one correction signal to a solenoid valve until the set length of each of the teeth corresponds to the actual length of each of the teeth.