No assignee for this patent application has been made.Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors:“A snow blower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from driveways, sidewalks, roadways,railroad tracks, ice rinks, and runways. Sn ow blowers typically use an auger or impeller to move snow.Traditionally, snow blowers use a gasoline or diesel engine to throw snow to another location or int o a truckto be hauled away. This is in contrast with the action of snowplows, w hich push snow to the front or side.Snow blowers typically discharge snow to on e side. Snow blowers range from the very small, capable ofremoving only a few i nches of light snow in an 18 to 20 in path, to the very large, which are mounted ontoheavy-duty winter service vehicles and capable of moving 20-foot wide, or wider, swaths of heavy snowup to six feet deep. Snow blowers can generally be d ivided into two classes: single-stage and two-stage.On a single-stage snow blow er, the auger (the paddle mechanism visible from the front) pulls snow intothe machine and directs it out of a discharge chute. The auger contacts the ground, making single-stagesnow blowers unsuitable for use on unpaved surfaces. On a tw o-stage snow blower, the auger pulls snowinto the machine and feeds it into a h igh-speed impeller, which in turn directs it out of a discharge chute.Two-stage snow blowers can generally handle deeper snow depths than single-stage ones, an d becausetheir augers don’t touch the ground, they can be used on unpaved surfa ces. Snow blowers are typicallybulky, heavy, and difficult to maneuver. Further , as snow blowers generally need to be advanced slowlywhen in use, it can be ve ry time consuming to clear areas of snow.”
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