Vacuum machine for street cleaning

[57] ABSTRACT

Rotary flinger blades are mounted on a street vacuum cleaner to direct a blast of air beneath matted leaves or other debris on a pavement and to blow the leaves into the inlet of a suction air stream. The blades are mounted to rotate in close proximity to or slightly above or in light contact with the surface of the pavement to be cleaned and are adjustable for height.

Claims, 10 Drawing Figures

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Patented July 18, 1972

3,676,891

Sheets-Sheet 1

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INVENTOR &lt;3RE GJ Er J. AWERAY

FRED F. rAREARTI Dn ^BY . *

ATTORNEY \

Patented July 18, 1972

3,676,891

Sheets-Sheet z

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Patented July 18, 1972

3,676,891

Sheets-Sheet 3

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Patented July 18, 1972

3,676,891

Sheets-Sheet i

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3,676,891

VACUUM MACHINE FOR STREET CLEANING

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 732,948 filed May 29,1968, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a machine for removing litter, leaves or other debris from the surface of pavements or like areas.

It has been found to be difficult to loosen and remove material such as wet, matted leaves from pavements by street vacuum cleaners.

In particular, this invention relates to a specific combination of'pneumatic suction, air agitation, and mechanical action to assist in the removal of the aforementioned material.

The object of the invention is to provide novel means for loosening and delivering street litter such as matted leaves into a suction air stream of a vacuum street cleaner. This is accomplished by providing rotary flinger blades so mounted as to direct a blast of air beneath matted material on the surface to be cleaned to direct the loosened material into the air stream of a vacuum cleaner.

Further details of the invention will be clear from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective elevational view of a trailer adapted to be connected to the truck and having mounted thereon mechanism for loosening and delivering matted material from a pavement to a suction air stream by which it is removed to a suitable receptacle;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view showing the front of the shroud in which the cleaning apparatus is mounted;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the shaft on which the flinger blades are mounted;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the shroud showing the control means for the motor which drives the flinger shaft;

FIG. 6 is an end elevation showing the motor end of the flinger shaft and shroud;

FIG. 7 is an end elevation showing the end of the shroud;

FIG. 8 is an end elevation showing the fan housing and hydraulic pump and connections from the pump to the hydraulic chamber or casing and to the hydraulic motor;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating the action of the flinger blades and the inlet or suction end of the air stream; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a pressure hose connected to the shroud.

In FIG. 2 there is shown a trailer frame 20 which is supported by wheels 21 and which is supported on one end by a vertical shaft 22 having a caster or wheel 23 at the bottom thereof. The shaft 22 is vertically adjustable and used in conjunction with castor wheel 23 to support the vacuum machine trailer when it is not connected to a towing vehicle.

A suction fan 25 is mounted on the trailer frame 20, being suitably supported thereon. The inlet or suction end of the fan has connected thereto an inlet pipe 26 on the lower end of which is connected and supported the shroud 24. Shroud 24 is supported on a flange or collar 60 at the inlet end of pipe 26 for rotation about inlet pipe 26 by means of a plurality of roller members 61. A chain 62 attached at one of its ends to shroud 24 and at its other end to pin 63 on trailer frame 20 limits the extent of such rotation. Spring 64 attached at one of its ends to a stud 65 on shroud 24 and at its other end to another pin 66 on frame 20 both resists the rotation and returns the shroud to its normal position after deflection upon contact of the shroud with an obstacle such as a curb, raised manhole, or other object.

The shroud 24 has mounted therein a substantially horizontal shaft 30 on which is mounted a sleeve 31 having radially extending flinger blades 32. The sleeve and shaft 30 can be vertically adjusted at each end by bolt and slot connections. These blades are adjustably mounted in radial brackets 33. The blades 32 are preferably formed of flexible but relatively stiff material such as rubber, plastic, or bristles arranged close together in a line, and are preferably adjusted so that they will operate in close proximity to but slightly above the surface of the pavement on which the cleaner is mounted. If desired the flinger shaft may be so adjusted as to lightly contact the pavement or the leaves or debris thereon to mechanically contact the debris.

FIG. 9 illustrates schematically the mounting of the flinger blades 32 in the shroud 24. These blades will operate in a counterclockwise direction viewed in FIG. 9 and will direct a blast of air beneath debris or leaves “L” disposed or matted on the surface of the pavement. The operation of the blades by directing the air beneath the litter loosens the litter and it moves upwardly into the air stream “S” through which it is sucked into the fan 25. From the fan 25 it is directed upwardly through the outlet 35 into a discharge pipe 36 which delivers the material to a suitable receptacle in the truck to which the trailer is attached.

The flinger shaft 30 may be rotated in any suitable manner and in the embodiment of the invention shown is driven hydraulically. FIG. 2 shows a motor M” preferably a gasoline engine, which is connected by a belt 37 to the shaft 38, of the suction fan 25. This shaft is connected by a belt 39 to a hydraulic pump 40. This pump is connected to a control box or chamber 41 through pipes 42 and 43, the high pressure line being shown at 42 and the low pressure line being shown at 43. The hydraulic chamber 41 is connected to a hydraulic motor 45 by a high pressure line 46. From the motor 45 the hydraulic fluid passes through a pipe 47 back to low pressure line 43 which returns to pump 40. A valve 48 controls the fluid passage to the hydraulic motor 45 and thereby provides control of the rotation of flinger or impeller shaft 30 and the magnitude of the air blast created thereby in accord with the quantity and character of the debris to be removed from the pavement or surface being cleaned.

Although a hydraulic motor is shown as a source of power for the flinger shaft, it will be noted that this shaft may be driven from any other suitable source of power.

When the shroud is properly adjusted as to height so that the flinger blades or agitator blades rotate just above the surface to be cleaned or in light contact therewith, the air blast created by the rotation of these blades effectively frees the material such as matted leaves, from the surface and they are sucked up into the suction stream located above the blades in the shroud. The adjustment of the shaft and the blades also provides a new surface in the event of wear and the flexibility of the blades provides accommodation for unevenness in the surface of the pavement.

If desired, in order to cover a larger area of the pavement to be cleaned, an independent pressure hose 50 may be connected to the discharge end 36 of the suction fan 25. This hose is adjustably connected to the shroud 24 at 51 and directs a pressure stream against the pavement adjacent to but beyond the path of the shroud.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention have been particularly shown and described it will be understood that the invention is capable of further modification and that changes in the construction and in the arrangement of the various cooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims: