Patent Application
20240216927
The field of the disclosure relates to sweeper apparatuses, in particular to a magnetic sweeper apparatus.
A magnetic sweeper apparatus utilizes magnetism to pick up ferrous or metallic objects. However, there are several problems with typical magnetic sweeper apparatuses, including:
Debris contamination—steel shot/debris can get all over the top of the magnet and between the magnet and separating surface, causing it to not function properly—in this invention the completely sealed magnetic drum will not allow shot/debris inside.
Low productivity—traditional magnetic sweepers are slow to use. The magnets and sweeper body are fixed during sweeping. When the sweeper body is fully covered by metal debris, steel shot, nails, etc., its pick up strength is greatly reduced. Therefore, the operator needs to stop often to clean the sweeper, debris must be released from the bottom of the magnet onto something like the floor, and then be picked up again with something like a shovel and disposed of into a bin or trash container. And because a traditional magnet loses strength as more debris is collected, the area swept usually must be swept several times. In this invention the magnet never loses strength, and debris is deposited into an easily removable on-board debris bin which can be grabbed when full and dumped directly into a debris bin.
Degrading performance as used—in traditional magnetic sweepers the magnet slowly loses strength as increased debris is collected as the magnet is moved over debris.
Operator ease of use—the operation described above involved significant operator effort. The operator must judge when the magnet is full on the bottom and then stop and clean it off onto the floor, then scoop up the debris or shot again with a shovel or other device and dump it into a bucket or machine again. Because normal magnets slowly lose pickup power as they are pushed along and pick up steel shot or debris, they start to miss picking up all debris, so the operator usually must go over areas several times to get all the material picked up.
Currently, continuous discharge magnetic sweeper apparatuses (such as Bluestreak's Theta, Fission, Atmos and Quantum) use rare earth magnets for the magnet assembly. These devices are small, light and strong, but also relatively expensive due to the high cost of the rare earth magnets. Due to their small size, one needs to use many blocks to fill out the entire span of the sweeper and produce a magnetic field large enough to provide the necessary performance. When the size of the sweeper is bigger, this can significantly increase the cost of the product.
There is a desire to provide an improved magnetic sweeper that addresses concerns related to debris contamination, low productivity, degrading performance and ease of use, as well as a low-cost rare earth magnet alternative.
A continuous discharge ceramic powered steel shot magnetic sweeper apparatus is disclosed. The magnetic sweeper apparatus consists of push handles, a frame, support wheel(s), frontal debris bin(s), drive wheels, and an enclosed finned tube housing a ceramic magnetic assembly. The ceramic magnetic assembly comprises a stationary ceramic magnet assembly that is inside a sealed rotating non-ferrous finned tube and the ceramic magnet power is continuously renewed as the magnetic sweeper apparatus is pushed forward. Ferrous debris accumulates on the bottom of the finned tube and is then deposited in the frontal debris bin. The magnetic sweeper apparatus design utilizes field differences created by the magnet position and angle to achieve the automatic pick-up and drop-off of debris at different locations of the finned tube. Furthermore, the apparatus aims to solve the problem of the high cost of rare earth magnets by using lower cost ceramic magnets as an alternative.
According to the disclosure, an improved magnetic sweeper that addresses debris contamination, low productivity, degrading performance, ease of use and lower cost is disclosed. According to the disclosure, a sealed non-magnetic finned tube that will not allow shot/debris inside is used.
According to the disclosure, the magnet never loses strength, and debris is deposited into an easily removable on-board debris bin which can be grabbed when full and dumped directly into another debris bin. According to the disclosure, the magnet is always near full strength because the magnet is continuously cleaned off as it is pushed forward.
This disclosure aims to address the difficulties in clean off by implementing a nonmagnetic rotary finned tube, and by creating a difference in the magnetic field around the tube at the bottom (strongest) and clean off (weakest) points.
According to the disclosure, to provide a lower cost alternative to rare earth magnets, ceramic magnets have been considered. The existing high power, higher cost rare earth magnets have been replaced with low cost, lower energy ceramic magnets. The ceramic magnets naturally have a field strength that is weaker than the rare earth magnets; however, their price is much lower than that of the rare earth magnets.
The disclosure uses a stationary hanging ceramic magnet assembly that is suspended inside the nonmagnetic rotating finned tube. The tube has fins around its perimeter that run the full length of the tube, which is driven by 2 wheels, which rotates the finned tube around the stationary magnet.
It is known that, increasing the size of any type of magnet assembly can increase the magnetic field strength and size. Several different ceramic magnet arrangements have been developed that can produce similar magnetic field strength to their rare earth counterparts while maintaining the same operational characteristics. Therefore, several ceramic magnet assemblies with an alternating magnetic field arrangement will produce the same operational characteristics as their rare earth alternatives for each of the current rare earth continuous discharge products.
There is an onboard bin that travels in a fixed position in front of the finned rotating drum, which is where the steel shot (metal debris) will be discharged into. By adjusting the size, position and angle of the magnet assembly, the sweeper will have a strong field at the bottom and back side, allowing it to be able to pick up steel shot (primary use) and hold onto the shot on the back side of the finned tube as it is conveyed around the top where it will have a weak field, so that the shot is not held as well by magnetic force, and will be discharged into the bin automatically due to gravity. The fins on the tube will also function as scoops to assist in holding the shot during the travel, and they also act as ramps when moving slowly to guide the shot into the bin during the discharge.
This will free the operator from the need to stop often for clean off, and the bin will make it easier for the operator to pick up and dump the debris elsewhere. Also, by cleaning off continuously during the operation, the magnetic field strength at the pick-up location will not be reduced due to sweeper body covered by debris. In other words, the magnet is always near full strength during operation. This also eliminates the need to go over areas multiple times to get all the debris picked up.
According to
According to
According to
According to
According to
According to
According to the disclosure, the magnets used in the continuous discharge sweeper can be Neodymium 42 rare earth magnets or Ceramic 8 magnets.
According to the disclosure, the magnets used in the continuous discharge sweeper can be Neodymium 42 rare earth magnets or Ceramic 8 magnets.
According to the disclosure, the aforementioned magnetic sweeper apparatus utilizes field differences created by the magnet position and angle to achieve the automatic pick-up and drop-off of debris at different locations of the drum.
According to the disclosure, the magnet assembly is fully enclosed by the finned tube and two wheels. This avoids the problem where shot could get into the open transmission system and affect the apparatus' operation. The simple connection between finned tube and wheel by compression or by additional parts is reliable ensuring the magnet assembly is fully enclosed. In contrast, with a conveyor belt, system debris can get between the conveyor belt and the rotating pulleys.
According to the disclosure, the magnetic field is non-uniform around the finned tube, and there is a significant difference between the field at the pick-up location and clean-off location.
Furthermore, the magnet assembly is placed at an angle so that the magnetic field at the bottom and back side is stronger than the front. This allows the shot to be held on the fined tube on the back side during transportation, and it prevents the shot from being captured by the field again at the front side during discharge.
According to the disclosure, the finned rotating tube surrounding the magnet also rotates at the same revolutions per minute (RPM) as the wheels that drive it. This allows the finned tube to be nearly as large in diameter as the wheel that is driving it, which correspondingly allows the fixed magnet inside the tube to be as close to the ground as possible which provides a strong magnetic field. The closer the magnet is to the ground, the closer it will be to the steel shot it is picking up and this relates to better product performance.
According to the disclosure, due to the alternating arrangement of the magnets, the magnetic field of the ceramic continuous discharge sweeper will not be the same (linear) across as the rare earth version. Instead, it will have several ‘strong’ spots and ‘weak’ spots. The steel shot picked up by the sweeper will show a clear sinusoidal (wave) pattern on the sweeper, which is a special characteristic that can be used for identification.
According to the disclosure, precision operation of the magnet sweeper apparatus requires a combination of factors including magnet grade, magnet size, charging orientation, drum size, magnet angle, drum to floor height. Optimal configuration of all these factors will provide for optimal performance.
According to the disclosure, a continuous discharge ceramic powered magnetic sweeper apparatus, configured for sweeping of metallic debris is disclosed. The apparatus comprises at least one handle, a frame connected to the handle, at least one support wheel, a frontal debris bin, a plurality of drive wheels and a finned tube housing a magnetic assembly. The magnetic assembly further comprises one or more magnets, a sealed magnetic drum and one or more rotating non-ferrous finned tubes. The magnet is continuously cleaned off as the magnetic sweeper apparatus is pushed forwards or backwards in the direction of operation. The magnetic debris accumulates on the magnet assembly and is deposited in the frontal debris bin. The apparatus design utilizes field differences created by the magnet position and angle to achieve the automatic pick-up and drop-off of debris at different locations of the drum.
According to the disclosure, the magnet assembly is configured to house rare earth or ceramic magnets. The dimension of the apparatus is at least 31.46″ wide and 39.23″ height. The dimension of the apparatus from the front to the back wheel is 14.26″ and the dimension from the front to the tip of the handle is 38.90″.
According to the disclosure, the magnetic assembly further comprises finned tubed wherein the fins at the back function as scoops to help hold the steel shots during transportation and the fins at the front function as ramps to help guide the steel shots into the debris bin.
According to the disclosure, the metallic debris include steel shots. The metallic debris is picked up by the strong magnetic field at the bottom of the apparatus and the weak magnetic field on the top allows the steel shots to separate from the finned tube and discharge into the debris bin.
According to the disclosure, the magnet assembly has a length of 24″, consisting of rare earth magnet block consisting of 17 pieces with dimensions of 0.5″ length, 1″ width and 2″ height and the magnet assembly are all magnetized in the same direction. An alternate magnet assembly has a length of 24″, consisting of different size ceramic magnetic blocks, the ceramic magnetic blocks having dimensions of 1″ length, 2.5″ width and 6″ height, or 0.5″ length, 2.5″ width and 6″ height and the ceramic magnets are magnetized in alternating directions, alternating between south and north.
According to the disclosure, the magnetization directions are reversed in magnet assembly wherein both the rare earth magnet assembly and the ceramic magnet assembly will still have the same strength.
According to the disclosure, a method of sweeping metallic debris, using a continuous discharge ceramic powered magnetic sweeper apparatus, the apparatus comprising a handle, a frame, a support wheel, a frontal debris bin, drive wheels, a finned tube housing a magnetic assembly is disclosed. The method comprising the steps of operating the apparatus forward or backwards, attracting metallic debris on the ground to the bottom surface of the apparatus, lifting the metallic debris in the rotation of operation as the drive wheel housing rotates in the same direction and depositing the metallic debris into the debris bin. The magnet is continuously cleaned off as the magnetic sweeper apparatus is pushed forwards in the direction of operation. The magnetic debris picks up by the magnet assembly and is deposited in the frontal debris bin and the apparatus design utilizes field differences created by the magnet position and angle to achieve the automatic pick-up and drop-off of debris at different locations of the drum.
According to the disclosure, the magnet assembly of the method is configured to house rare earth or ceramic magnets. The dimension of the apparatus is at least 31.46″ wide and 39.23″ height. The dimension of the apparatus of the method from the front to the back wheel is 14.26″ and the dimension from the front to the tip of the handle is 38.90″.
The magnetic assembly of the method further comprises finned tubed wherein the fins at the back function as scoops to help hold the steel shots during transportation and the fins at the front function as ramps to help guide the steel shots into the debris bin.
According to the disclosure, the metallic debris includes steel shots. The metallic debris is picked up by the strong magnetic field at the bottom of the apparatus and the weak magnetic field on the top allows the steel shots to separate from the finned tube and discharge into the debris bin.
According to the disclosure, the magnet assembly of the assembly has a length of 24″, consisting of rare earth magnet block consisting of 17 pieces with dimensions of 0.5″ length, 1″ width and 2″ height and the magnet assembly are all magnetized in the same direction. An alternate magnet assembly of the method has a length of 24″, consisting of different size ceramic magnetic blocks, the ceramic magnetic blocks having dimensions of 1″ length, 2.5″ width and 6″ height, or 0.5″ length, 2.5″ width and 6″ height and the ceramic magnets are magnetized in alternating directions, alternating between south and north. The magnetization directions are reversed in magnet assembly wherein both the rare earth magnet assembly and the ceramic magnet assembly will still have the same strength.
While some embodiments or aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in fully functioning mechanical, electrical and electrical-mechanical systems, other embodiments may be considered.
The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions for achieving the described method. The method steps and/or actions may be interchanged with one another without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the method that is being described, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.
The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example and understood is that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. Further understood is that the claims are not intended to be limited to the forms disclosed, but to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. While the foregoing written description of the system enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, 11 combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The system should therefore not be limited by the above-described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the system. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Information as herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the above-described object of the present disclosure, the presently preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, and is, thus, representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and is to be limited, accordingly, by nothing other than the appended claims, wherein any reference to an element being made in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described preferred embodiment and additional embodiments as regarded by those of ordinary skill in the art are hereby expressly incorporated by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims.
Moreover, no requirement exists for a system or method to address each problem sought to be resolved by the present disclosure, for such to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. However, various changes and modifications in form, material, workpiece, and fabrication material detail may be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, as set forth in the appended claims, as may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, are also encompassed by the present disclosure.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/436,130, entitled “CERAMIC POWERED STEEL SHOT MAGNETIC SWEEPER APPARATUS”, filed on Dec. 30, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63436130 | Dec 2022 | US |
