A Quebec father and son hope to take the bite out of winter with their sidewalk-clearing Ice Eater invention.
Guy and Steve Charbonneau say they're on the verge of a Canadian patent for the Ice Eater, their plow attachment that chews up ice and spits out snow instead.
The Charbonneaus say their invention could help municipalities cut down on the amount of salt they use on roads and sidewalks.
As it moves, the Ice Eater uses rotors spinning at 1,000 RPM to carve up ice and spit out easier-to-shovel snow. It can devour five centimetres of ice at a slow pace or one centimetre of ice when attached to a plow moving six kilometres an hour.
The father and son team from Lachute, Que. have already secured a U.S. patent for the device, and they hope to do the same in Canada soon.
"It's practically patented," Steve Charbonneau told CTV Montreal on Tuesday. He added that he and his father plan to put the Ice Eater into full-scale production in the near future.
Father Guy Charbonneau says he's already tested the device in Laval and Lachute. He's also had talks with Montreal to put the device to work on that city's streets.
"People are very enthusiastic about the equipment," he said.
