Beach cleaner

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6675903
  • Patent Number
    6,675,903
  • Date Filed
    Friday, October 5, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, January 13, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
A beach cleaner for recovering waste while moving in a towed state by a traction vehicle. A grating-like portion scoops up waste present in front of the beach cleaner as the beach cleaner is moved and a reticulate portion that is formed behind the grating-like portion to hold waste. As the beach cleaner is moved, waste present in front of the beach cleaner is scooped up onto the grating-like portion and is held with the reticulate portion formed behind the grating-like portion. Sand that is scooped up together with the waste is allowed to drop through the gaps in the grating-like portion.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS




The present application claims priority under 35 USC 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-308498 filed on Oct. 6, 2000 the entire contents thereof is hereby incorporated by reference.




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a beach cleaner for use in cleaning a sandy beach such as a bathing beach.




2. Description of Background Art




As a beach cleaner to be used for recovering empty cans, PET bottles and caps thereof, wooden pieces, etc. scattered on a sandy beach such as a bathing beach there is known a beach cleaner as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-224413. This beach cleaner recovers waste while being towed by a traction vehicle. Sand is dug up together with waste by means of an excavating roller provided in a front position. Thereafter, the sand and the waste are delivered to a waste carrying section disposed on a rear side as the beach cleaner is moved. Then, in the waste carrying section, the waste and the sand are separated from each other and the waste is received in a waste receptacle portion.




There also is known a beach cleaner as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 3-138203. In this beach cleaner, which is a self-traveling type, waste mixed in sand are scooped up together with the sand and are conveyed by means of a belt conveyor while sweeping away the sand to recover the waste.




In the beach cleaner disclosed in the above Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 7-224413, an excavating roller for excavating sand together with waste is provided in a front position thereof and a waste carrying section for separating waste from sand thus excavated and receiving the separated waste is provided in a rear position thereof. This construction gives rise to a problem wherein the cleaner as a whole becomes large in size and the structure of the cleaner becomes complicated.




SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beach cleaner that is small in size and simple in structure.




For achieving the above-mentioned object according to the present invention there is provided a beach cleaner for recovering waste while traveling in a towed state by a traction vehicle, e.g., a traction vehicle


11


used in an embodiment of the invention. The beach cleaner comprising a grating-like portion, e.g., a grating-like portion


22


used in the embodiment which scoops up waste present in front of the beach cleaner as the beach cleaner is moved. A reticulate portion, e.g., a reticulate portion


29


used in the embodiment, is formed behind the grating-like portion to hold waste.




Thus, the beach cleaner is provided with a grating-like portion which scoops up waste present in front of the beach cleaner as the beach cleaner is moved and is also provided with a reticulate portion which is formed behind the grating-like portion to hold waste. Thus, when front waste is scooped up by the grating-like portion as the beach cleaner is moved while being towed by the traction vehicle, the waste is delivered onto the grating-like portion and the sand also scooped up together with the wastes drops through gaps formed in the grating-like portion. The waste scraped up with the grating-like portion is held with a reticulate portion which is formed behind the grating-like portion.




According to the present invention there is provided a beach cleaner wherein a gap in the grating-like portion is set to be similar to a gap in the reticulate portion. Thus, since a gap in the grating-like portion is set to be similar to a gap in the reticulate portion, the waste scraped up with the grating-like portion can be held with the reticulate portion with reliability.




According to the present invention there is provided a beach cleaner wherein the gap in the grating-like portion is set at approximately 20 mm. Thus, since the gap in the grating-like portion is set at approximately 20 mm, it is possible to accurately recover empty cans, PET bottles and caps thereof, which are the largest in number as waste.




Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:





FIG. 1

is a side view showing a beach cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention that is attached to a traction vehicle;





FIG. 2

is a plan view showing the beach cleaner according to the present invention that is attached to the traction vehicle;





FIG. 3

is a plan view of the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a side sectional side view of the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 5

is a rear view of the beach cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 6

is a bottom view of the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 7

is a side view of the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 8

is a front view of the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 9

is a side sectional side view showing a part of a rotor used in the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 10

is a front view showing a part of the rotor used in the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 11

is a partially sectional front view showing a support/travel portion, etc. in the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 12

is a partially sectional front view showing another support/travel portion, etc. in the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 13

is a side view showing another state of the beach cleaner according to the present invention;





FIG. 14

is a sectional side view showing a modification of the beach cleaner according to the present invention; and





FIG. 15

is a perspective view showing a net used in the modification of the beach cleaner according to the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




A beach cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings. As illustrated in

FIGS. 1 and 2

, the beach cleaner


10


of this embodiment recovers waste mixed in a sandy soil


12


while being towed by a traction vehicle


11


.




The traction vehicle


11


is a saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle wherein one end of two chains


15


is connected to a traction member


14


which is fixed near an axle of a rear wheel, while opposite ends of the chains


15


are connected to the beach cleaner


10


, for connecting the beach cleaner


10


to the vehicle


11


. The opposite ends of the two chains


15


are connected to the beach cleaner


10


so that both chains are spaced from each other in the transverse direction of the vehicle and so that the rear position of the chains is lower than the forward position. The chains


15


are not specially limited. Connection members capable of being deformed in the front, rear, right and left directions are acceptable for connecting the beach cleaner


10


to the vehicle


11


. For example, wires or the like may be used instead of the chains


15


. The front and rear in the following description indicate front and rear in the traveling direction of the vehicle.




As shown in

FIGS. 3

to


8


, the beach cleaner


10


of this embodiment has a generally box-like recovery body


17


for the recovery of waste. The recovery body


17


has a bottom-forming portion


18


located approximately horizontally, side-forming portions


19


located on both ends in the transverse direction of the bottom-forming portion


18


and extending vertically and longitudinally of the vehicle body, and a rear-forming portion


20


located on a rear end of the bottom-forming portion


18


and extending vertically and transversely of the vehicle body.




As shown in

FIGS. 3 and 4

, the bottom-forming portion


18


has a grating-like portion


22


located in a front portion of the bottom-forming portion and is inclined so that the front side thereof assumes a lower position to scoop up waste from the front side, and a grating-like portion


23


extending rearwardly from a rear end position of the grating-like portion


22


and inclined so that the rear side thereof assumes a lower position. The grating-like portions


22


and


23


are constituted by a plurality of rods


24


made of iron, stainless steel, or aluminum, the rods


24


extending longitudinally while being bent at intermediate positions thereof and being arranged at equal intervals in the transverse direction of the vehicle body while allowing their bent portions to be supported by a support rod


21


extending in the transverse direction. The front and rear sides with respect to the support rod


21


serve as the grating-like portions


22


and


23


, respectively. A gap spacing between adjacent rods


24


is set at approximately 20 mm. The angle of the front-side grating-like portion


22


relative to the horizontal plane is set larger than that of the rear-side grating-like portion


23


relative to the horizontal plane.




As shown in

FIG. 4

, both side-forming portions


19


include a plurality of rods


25


arranged approximately on an upper side of the front grating-like portion


22


and at equal intervals vertically in parallel with the grating-like portion


22


and a plurality rods


25


are arranged approximately on an upper side of the rear grating-like portion


23


and at approximately equal intervals and approximately parallel with the grating-like portion


23


, providing a grating-like shape. Also in both side-forming portions


19


, a gap spacing between adjacent and approximately parallel rods


25


is set at 20 mm or so.




The rear-forming portion


20


has a plurality of rods


26


shown in

FIG. 5

, the rods


26


are arranged perpendicularly to the bottom-forming portion


18


and at equal intervals in the vehicular transverse direction, providing a grating-like shape. Also in the rear-forming portion


20


, a gap spacing between adjacent rods


26


is set at approximately 20 mm.




As shown in

FIGS. 6 and 7

, a net


28


is stretched outside over an area so as to cover the entire underside of the rear grating-like portion


23


in the bottom-forming portion


18


and also cover both side-forming portions


19


located on the grating-like portion


23


. With the net


28


, a reticulate portion


29


is formed behind the front grating-like portion


22


, the reticulate portion


29


being inclined so that the rear side thereof is located at a lower position to hold waste. The gap spacing in the reticulate portion


29


is set approximately equal to the gap spacing between adjacent rods in the grating-like portion


23


. The angle of the reticulate portion


29


relative to a horizontal plane, which angle is equal to that of the rear grating-like portion


23


, is set smaller than the angle of the front grating-like portion


22


relative to the horizontal plane. The net


28


may be further stretched so as to cover the rear-forming portion


20


.




Without stretching the net


28


over the rear grating-like portion


23


, the portion behind the front grating-like portion


22


may be constituted directly by a net. Further, both side-forming portions


19


located on the rear grating-like portion


23


may be constituted directly by a net. Additionally, the rear-forming portion


20


may be constituted directly by a net.




As shown in

FIGS. 3

,


4


, and


8


, a front portion of the front grating-like portion


22


in the bottom-forming portion


18


is constituted as a connecting plate portion


31


extending in the vehicular transverse direction nearly horizontally, and front ends of all the rods


24


are fixed to the connecting plate portion


31


. Further, a plurality of rod-like pawl members


32


are fixed to the connecting plate portion


31


, the pawl members


32


are arranged in parallel at equal intervals in the vehicular transverse direction and project forward while being inclined so that the respective front sides are positioned lower than their rear sides.




As shown in

FIGS. 3 and 4

, two support members


34


are arranged centrally in the vehicular transverse direction on the upper side of the front grating-like portion


22


and in parallel with the front grating-like portion, and two internal combustion engines


35


of the same shape are secured to the support members


34


in the front and rear positions, respectively, so as to match the inclination of the grating-like portion


22


. The internal combustion engines


35


have respective extending portions


36


extending toward the grating-like portion


22


. Further, rotary shafts


37


are provided respectively at lower positions of the extending portions


36


, the rotary shafts


37


extending in the vehicular transverse direction up to a position near both side-forming portions


19


. The rotary shafts


37


are rotated by the internal combustion engines


35


.




The rotary shafts


37


constitute portions of rotors


39


which are disposed on the upper side of the front grating-like portion


22


and which are adapted to rotate centered on the rotary shafts


37


so that their lower portions move rearwardly, thereby causing waste to be sent out rearwardly between the rotors and the grating-like portion


22


.




More specifically, as shown in

FIGS. 9 and 10

, each rotor


39


has rotary portions


44


, the rotary portions


44


each comprising a rigid member


40


including a steel plate and fixed to the associated rotary shaft


37


, a bolt


41


inserted into the rigid member


40


, a support plate


42


including a steel plate, the support plate


42


being connected to the rigid member


40


by bringing the bolt


41


into threaded engagement with a fixed nut


45


, and an elastic member


43


which is sandwiched in between and fixed to the rigid member


40


and the support plate


42


by tightening the bolt


41


and nut


45


.




The rotor


39


is constituted by arranging a plurality of sets of the rotary portions


44


, each set comprising a pair of rotary portions


44


extending in directions opposite to each other at the same position in the axial direction. Plural sets of rotary portions


44


are arranged at equal pitches in the axial direction of the rotary shaft


37


and with different phases so as to be displaced gradually in their positions in the rotational direction. More specifically, as shown in

FIGS. 3 and 8

, on each of both side portions of the rotary shaft


37


centered at the internal combustion engines


35


are provided a plurality of sets (five sets) of rotary portions


44


. The plurality of sets of rotary portions


44


are arranged so as to be angularly displaced approximately at equal angles by dividing 360° equally in the same direction successively from one side in the axial direction.




As shown in

FIGS. 9 and 10

, the elastic member


43


which constitutes each rotary portion


44


is in a generally rectangular shape and is fixed by both rigid member


40


and support plate


42


at one longitudinal end portion, thereby constituting a radially outer side of the rotor


39


. The elastic member


43


comprises rubber


46


and a reinforcing core member


47


formed of a synthetic fiber or a metal and incorporated in a lattice-shape within the rubber


46


. The elastic member


43


is curved so that its radially outer side is curved so as to be positioned on a front side in the rotational direction. The elastic member


43


has a length which, when positioned closest to the grating-like portion


22


, forms a little gap between the elastic member and the grating-like portion


22


.




The rigid member


40


which constitutes each rotary portion


44


has a length about one-third of the length of the elastic member


43


and is curved to match the shape of the elastic member


43


so that its radially outer side is position on the front side in the rotational direction. On a radially inner side of the rotary portion


44


, one end portion of the elastic member


43


is supported from a rear side in the rotational direction of the rotary portion


44


.




The rotor


39


of the above configuration is disposed for each of the two internal combustion engines


35


. As a result, plural rotors


39


are disposed on the upper side of the grating-like portion


22


so as to be displaced longitudinally and in conformity with the inclination of the grating-like portion


22


(in such a manner that a line jointing the centers of the plural rotors


39


is parallel to the grating-like portion


22


).




Both internal combustion engines


35


can be mounted removably to the support members


34


and are slidable with respect to the support members


34


. The positions where the internal combustion engines


35


are to be fixed can be set to any positions on the support members


34


, depending on the quality of sand for example. But this positional adjustment is made mainly for the internal combustion engine disposed behind the front-side engine. As to the front-side internal combustion engine


35


, it is preferably disposed at an approximately constant position at which the rotary shaft


37


thereof is located substantially just above the connecting plate portion


31


.




On both transverse sides of the front and rear ends of the recovery body


17


constructed as above are mounted support/travel portions


48


and


49


which support the recovery body


17


and which are adapted to travel in contact with sandy soil


12


.




More specifically, as shown in

FIG. 3

, prismatic mounting members


50


are fixed to four front, rear, right and left corners of the recovery body


17


so as to be open up and down, and as shown in

FIGS. 11 and 12

, through holes


51


are formed in the mounting members


50


respectively at the same vertical position so as to extend through the mounting members in the vehicular transverse direction.




As shown in

FIG. 7

, etc., the support/travel portions


48


attached to the front mounting members


50


are each provided with a prismatic support post portion


53


inserted into the associated mounting member


50


. A ski-like portion


54


is formed as a plate portion fixed horizontally to a lower end portion of the support post portion


53


. A reinforcing portion


55


is provided for reinforcing the fixed state between the support post portion


53


and the ski-like portion


54


. A front end of the ski-like portion


54


is curved so as to be inclined forwardly and upwardly. The two chains


15


for connecting the beach cleaner to the traction vehicle


11


are connected to the ski-like portions


54


, respectively.




The support/travel portions


49


attached respectively to the rear mounting members


50


are each provided with, as shown in

FIG. 11

, the same support post portion


53


as above which is inserted into the associated mounting member


50


and a wheel


57


supported by a lower end of the support post portion


53


so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis. The wheel


7


is mounted so that a rotational axis thereof extends always in the vehicular transverse direction.




As shown in

FIGS. 11 and 12

, in the support post portion


53


of each of the support/travel portions


48


and


49


, a plurality of through holes


59


are formed at equal pitches in the vertical direction so as to extend through the support post portion


53


in the vehicular transverse direction. By inserting a pin


60


into any of the through holes


59


formed in the support post portion


53


and also into the through hole


51


formed in the mounting member


50


each support/travel portion


48


(


49


) is fixed to the mounting member


50


. By pulling out the pin


60


the support/travel portion


48


(


49


) becomes free relative to the mounting member


50


and thus can be removed that is, the support/travel portions


48


and


49


can be attached to and detached from the mounting members


50


of the recovery body


17


.




With the pins


60


pulled out, the support post portions


53


are displaced vertically with respect to the mounting members


50


to adjust the height of the support/travel portions


48


and


49


relative to the recovery body


17


, then the pins


60


are inserted into through holes


59


in the support post portions


53


and also into the through holes


51


in the mounting members


50


which holes


59


and


51


have become aligned as a result of the adjustment, to fix the support/travel portions


48


and


49


to the recovery body


17


. In this way the height of the support/travel portions


48


and


49


relative to the recovery body


17


is adjusted that is, the support/travel portions


48


and


49


can be adjusted in height relative to the recovery portion


17


.




As shown in

FIGS. 3

to


6


, a finishing member


62


is fixed on the rear side of the rear-forming portion


20


of the recovery body


17


, i.e., at the rearmost end of the recovery body


17


, to level the sandy soil


12


as the beach cleaner is moved along the beach. The finishing member


62


extends in the vehicular transverse direction. The finishing member


62


includes an elastic member such as a rubber plate that is curved so that its lower side is positioned rearwardly. A lower end of the finishing member


62


is formed in a saw-notched shape including a large number of notches arranged continuously in the vehicular transverse direction, whereby groove patterns of a uniform depth are drawn on the sandy soil


12


. The shape of the lower end of the finishing member


62


is not limited to such a saw-notched shape, but may be a corrugated or convex-concave shape. In any case, the arrangement pitch of such chevrons or the like may be changed.




Both front and rear rotors


39


are turned ON by operating both internal combustion engines


35


and the beach cleaner


10


of this embodiment is allowed to travel by being towed with the traction vehicle


11


. As the beach cleaner


10


travels, the plurality of pawl members


32


provided at the front end of the grating-like portion


22


engage the sandy soil


12


and scrape up waste present on or somewhat buried in the sandy soil, the waste is scooped up onto the grating-like portion


22


contiguous to the pawl members


32


with the energy of the travel. The waste thus scooped up onto the grating-like portion


22


is delivered rearwardly together with sand by means of the front rotor


39


. At this time, only the waste passes through between the rotor


39


and the grating-like portion


22


and is sent out rearwardly while climbing the slant of the grating-like portion. As to the sand, it drops onto the sandy soil


12


through the gaps in the grating-like portion


22


and further through a generally triangular space defined by the grating-like portion


22


, the reticulate portion


29


and the sandy soil


12


. Then, the waste that is sent out rearwardly along the grating-like portion


22


by the front rotor


39


and is thereby separated from the sand is further passed between the rear rotor


39


and the grating-like portion


22


with the rotation of the rear rotor and is sent out rearwardly while climbing the slant of the grating-like portion


22


. The waste reaches the reticulate portion


29


whose rear side is inclined downwardly and is held by the reticulate portion.




The sandy soil


12


including the sand scraped up by the pawl members


32


and dropped from the grating-like portion


22


is lastly leveled by the finishing member


62


disposed at the rear end of the beach cleaner


10


.




Thus, the beach cleaner


10


of this embodiment has a plurality of pawl members


32


arranged to be spaced in the vehicular transverse direction and projecting forwardly while the front side is lowered in position. The grating-like portion


22


is inclined so that the front side thereof is lower in position to scoop up waste present in front of the beach cleaner as the beach cleaner is moved. The rotors


39


are disposed on the upper side of the grating-like portion


22


to send out waste rearwardly through between the rotors and the grating-like portion. The reticulate portion


29


is disposed behind the grating-like portion


22


and includes a rear side that is lower in position to hold waste. Therefore, as the air cleaner


10


travels while being towed by the traction vehicle


11


, the pawl members


32


engage the sandy soil


12


and scrapes up waste, allowing the waste to be scooped up onto the grating-like portion


22


. Thus, the waste is delivered onto the grating-like portion


22


, while sand which is scooped up together with the waste drops through the gaps in the grating-like portion. The waste which is delivered onto the grating-like portion


22


is sent out rearwardly through between the plurality of rotors


39


and the grating-like portion


22


by means of the rotors arranged on the grating-like portion and are held by the reticulate portion


29


.




With such a configuration wherein waste is sent out to the rear reticulate portion


29


by the rotors


39


while being separated from sand by the grating-like portion


22


which is inclined so as to be lower on its front side, the beach cleaner can be reduced in size and simplified in structure. In addition, since the reticulate portion


29


is inclined so as to be lower on its rear side, the waste held therein does not move to the front grating-like portion


22


, thus permitting the waste to be held positively. Moreover, since the pawl members


32


engage the sandy soil


12


and scrape up waste, allowing the waste to be scooped up onto the grating-like portion


22


, it is possible to minimize the movement of sand. Consequently, not only the load on the traction vehicle


11


can be reduced but also it is possible to diminish a cloud of dust.




Since a plurality of rotors


39


are arranged to match the inclination of the grating-like portion


22


, even if the grating-like portion


22


is elongated to ensure the separation between waste and sand, the waste can be sent out rearwardly successively by the rotors


39


and can be held by the reticulate portion


29


.




Further, since the easily-deformable elastic members


43


are provided on radially outer sides of each rotor


39


, the elastic members


43


are deformed according to the size of the waste when the waste is delivered rearwardly between the rotor and the grating-like portion


22


with the rotation of the rotor


39


. Thus, the waste can be delivered rearwardly without any excessive force. Particularly, in the case of delivering hard and large waste rearwardly, since the elastic members


43


are deformed and escape, it is possible to prevent stalling of the rotor


39


.




Besides, since the reinforcing core member


47


is contained in each elastic member


43


, the strength of the elastic member is improved.




Moreover, since each rotor


39


is provided on its radially inner sides with the rigid members


40


for supporting the elastic members


43


, that is, since the elastic members


43


are supported by the rigid members


40


, the strength of their base portions is sure to be improved.




Further, since the elastic member


43


is curved so that its radially outer side is positioned on a front side in the rotational direction, waste can be delivered rearwardly more positively at the time of delivering waste rearwardly through between the rotor


39


and the grating-like portion


22


.




Additionally, since each rotor


39


is installed with a small clearance with respect to the grating-like portion


22


, even relatively small waste can be sent out rearwardly through between the rotor and the grating-like portion as the rotor rotates.




Further, by setting the gap spacing in the grating-like portion


22


and that in the reticulate portion


29


almost equal to each other, waste scooped up onto the grating-like portion


22


can surely be held by the reticulate portion


29


.




Further, the gap spacing in the grating-like portion


22


is set at approximately 20 mm, it is possible to accurately empty cans, PET bottles and caps thereof, which form the largest number of waste items.




Further, since the support/travel portions


48


, which support the recovery body


17


and are adapted to travel in contact with the sandy soil


12


, are provided with ski-like portions


54


extending in the horizontal direction at the front lower portion of the recovery body


17


. Since the front lower portion in the traveling direction, which is apt to sink into the sandy soil


12


, is formed by the ski-like portions


54


, the beach cleaner travels in surface contact with the sandy soil


12


and the surface pressure is diminished to prevent deep-sinking into the sandy soil


12


during travel. Consequently, a running resistance to the traction vehicle


11


can be decreased and the height of the recovery body


17


relative to the sandy soil


12


can be stabilized, thus permitting a great improvement of the working efficiency.




Further, since the support/travel portions


48


and


49


can be adjusted their height with respect to the mounting members


50


of the recovery body


17


, even if the sinking quantity of the support/travel portions


48


and


49


vary depending on the quality of the sandy soil


12


, the height of the recovery body


17


can be adjusted to a height suitable for the recovery of waste. Thus, waste can be recovered efficiently.




Additionally, since the support/travel portions


48


and


49


can be attached to and detached from the mounting portions


50


of the recovery body


17


, once the support/travel portions


48


having the ski-like portions


54


respectively are attached to the front mounting members


50


, it is possible to prevent the support/travel portions


48


from sinking deeply into the sandy soil


12


. On the other hand, as shown in

FIG. 13

, with the support/travel portions


49


of the rear mounting members


50


kept intact, if support/travel portions


63


having horizontally rotatable wheels


57


are attached to the front mounting members


50


at the lower ends of the support post portions


53


and if the height of the recovery body


17


relative to the support/travel portions


49


and


63


is adjusted so that the recovery body is positioned higher than a ground surface


64


, all of the four comers are in contact with the ground surface through the wheels


57


. Thus the beach cleaner is permitted to travel on any road other than the sandy soil


12


. Therefore, the beach cleaner can be easily conveyed on a paved road or the like up to the sandy soil


12


. Conversely, with the support/travel portions


48


of the front mounting members


50


kept intact, if the support/travel portions


48


having ski-like portions


54


are used for the rear mounting members


50


, the ski-like portions


54


are present at all of four comers, thereby permitting the beach cleaner to travel on a soft sandy soil


12


or the like.




Additionally, by using members which are deformable in the front, rear, right and left directions such as the chains


15


or wires for providing a connection between the traction vehicle


1


and the beach cleaner


10


, it becomes possible for only the traction vehicle


11


to retreat and also possible to improve the road surface follow-up characteristic of the beach cleaner


10


. Besides, since two chains


15


are connected to the beach cleaner


10


side and are spaced in the vehicular transverse direction, it is possible to stabilize the traveling directionality of the beach cleaner


10


and it becomes possible to let the beach cleaner travel along a work line intended by the driver. Further, since the chain line is in somewhat of a downward direction toward the rear, the traction resistance decreases and it becomes possible to effect a smooth operation.




Further, since the grating-like portion


22


is inclined so that its rear side assumes an upper position, while the reticulate portion


29


is inclined so that its rear side assumes a lower position, and hence a generally triangular space is formed by the grating-like portion


22


, reticulate portion


29


and sandy soil


12


, sand which is scooped up together with waste by the grating-like portion


22


can be allowed to drop onto the sandy soil


12


through the gaps in the grating-like portion


22


. Besides, it is possible to suppress an increase in weight of the entire beach cleaner


10


and a smooth and continuous traction work can be effected without the occurrence of stack or the like.




Without using the net


28


and in place of the rear grating-like portion


22


and rear-forming portion


20


a removable L-shaped net


66


as shown in

FIGS. 14 and 15

may be used. According to this configuration, by a mere removal of the net


66


, waste can be excluded at a time and thus the waste maintainability is improved.




As set forth above, according to the beach cleaner of the present invention, since it is provided with a grating-like portion which scoops up waste present in front of the beach cleaner as the beach cleaner travels and is also provided with a reticulate portion which is formed behind the grating-like portion to hold waste, when front waste is scooped up by the grating-like portion as the beach cleaner is moved in a stowed state by a traction vehicle, the waste is deposited onto the grating-like portion, while sand which is scooped up together with the waste drops through gaps in the grating-like portion. The waste thus scraped up with the grating-like portion is held with the reticulate portion which is formed behind the grating-like portion.




Thus, since only waste is held by the reticulate portion while the waste and sand are separated from each other by the grating-like portion, it is possible to reduce the size and simplify the structure of the beach cleaner. Additionally, since the portion which holds waste is formed by a reticulate portion, it is possible to reduce the amount of waste which cannot be held by the reticulate portion and then drop therefrom.




According to the beach cleaner of the present invention, since a gap in the grating-like portion is set to be similar to a gap in the reticulate portion, the waste scraped up with the grating-like portion can be held with the reticulate portion with reliability.




According to the beach cleaner described of the present invention, since the gap in the grating-like portion is set at approximately 20 mm, it is possible to accurately recover empty cans, PET bottles and caps thereof, which are the largest in number as waste.




The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.



Claims
  • 1. A beach cleaner for recovering wastes while traveling in a towed state by a traction vehicle, said beach cleaner comprising:a frame having an upper portion which is substantially rectangular in shape and disposed substantially parallel to a beach surface being cleaned; a grating portion which scoops up wastes present in front of the beach cleaner as the beach cleaner travels; and a reticulate portion which is formed behind said grating portion to hold wastes, wherein the grating portion and the reticulate portion are suspended from transverse members of the upper portion of the frame.
  • 2. The beach cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a gap in said grating portion is set to be similar to a gap in said reticulate portion.
  • 3. The beach cleaner according to claim 2, wherein said gap in said grating portion is set at approximately 20 mm.
  • 4. The beach cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a gap in said grating portion is set at approximately 20 mm.
  • 5. The beach cleaner according to claim 1, wherein said reticulate portion includes a chamber having a lower wall, two upwardly projecting side walls and a rear wall, at least said lower wall including openings therein for enabling sand to return by gravity to the beach.
  • 6. The beach cleaner according to claim 5, wherein said lower wall includes a plurality of rods arranged in a side-by-side relationship for trapping waste in said chamber for discharge while enabling sand to return by gravity to the beach.
  • 7. The beach cleaner according to claim 5, wherein said lower wall, said two upwardly projecting side walls and said rear wall include a plurality of rods arranged in a side-by-side relationship for trapping wastes in said chamber for discharge while enabling sand to return by gravity to the beach.
  • 8. The beach cleaner according to claim 5, and further including wheels mounted on a lower end of said frame for supporting said reticulate portion during movement.
  • 9. The beach cleaner according to claim 5, wherein said upper portion of the frame is secured to said upwardly projecting side walls, and a lower portion of the frame is adjustably mounted relative to said upper portion, wherein the rear side of the reticulate portion may be adjusted by adjusting the lower portion of said frame relative to said upper portion.
  • 10. The beach cleaner according to claim 9, wherein said lower portion includes four vertically mounted members having a plurality of apertures formed therein whereby a pin may be inserted through one of the plurality of apertures in each of said four vertically mounted members for securing said upper portion of said frame relative to said lower portion.
  • 11. The beach cleaner according to claim 10, and further including skis mounted to lower ends of two of forwardly positioned vertically mounted members for facilitating the movement of said beach cleaner.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
2000-308498 Oct 2000 JP
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Number Name Date Kind
1549870 Hamlin Aug 1925 A
3979146 Berg Sep 1976 A
4482019 Murphy Nov 1984 A
4879871 Kunschke et al. Nov 1989 A
5160034 Potter Nov 1992 A
5417044 Russo May 1995 A
5682953 Buysse Nov 1997 A
6059119 Davis May 2000 A
6330920 Wanner Dec 2001 B1
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Number Date Country
2903205 Aug 1980 DE
2915826 Nov 1980 DE
0319420 Jun 1989 EP
2265464 Oct 1975 FR
2559806 Feb 1984 FR
2576934 Feb 1985 FR
2-261111 Oct 1990 JP
A 7-224413 Aug 1995 JP
WO 9117318 Nov 1991 WO