METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPOSAL OF SNOW-AND-ICE MASS REMOVED FROM MEGALOPOLIS TERRITORY Russian patent published in 2002 - IPC

FIELD: municipal management. SUBSTANCE: method involves discharging snow-and-ice mass into feeding hopper 2; grinding snow-and-ice mass to required size; transferring into melting chamber 1, into which heated water sewage is supplied; discharging unground inclusions from feeding hopper and delivering melted snow-and-ice mass into sewage collector. During grinding process, drive shafts 3 are prevented from jamming by mounting grinding cams through pivot joints or flexible coupling. During grinding, snow-and-ice mass is transported upward by means of grinding members mounted on inclined frame 4, with angular position of inclined frame being changed depending on density of snow-and-ice mass. Apparatus has hopper equipped with hatch 15 with at least one gate 16 for discharging unground inclusions. Torsion bars 17 are positioned in upper part of hopper in parallel with drive shafts 3. Inclined plates 18 secured on torsion bars 17 have lower edges, which are spaced from grinding cams, when frame 4 is inclined to maximal extent. EFFECT: increased efficiency in snow melting and enhanced reliability in operation. 3 cl, 8 dwg