Patent Application
20140338147
The present invention relates to dustless pick-up heads sweeping vehicles, and more particularly to dustless pick-up heads of sweeping vehicles wherein dust and other small particulate debris are also substantially removed from the surface being cleaned, without introducing the dust and other fine particulate matter into the ambient air.
The removal of dirt and debris from streets, parking lots, sidewalks, factory floors, and other similar paved surfaces, through the use of various types of street cleaning vehicles, sidewalk cleaning vehicles, or factory sweeping vehicles, as may be the case, has been known for many years. For the sake of brevity, clarity and simplicity, such vehicles will be generally referred to in this document as surface cleaning vehicles.
Many conventional surface cleaning vehicles employ an elongate cylindrically-shaped sweeping broom that rotates about a horizontal axis sweeps the dirt and debris either onto a conveyor, into a hopper, or into a debris suctioning air stream.
Such surface cleaning vehicles can remove large amounts of dirt and debris from a paved surface quite quickly and thoroughly, and can generally remove large pieces of debris quite readily. However, they cannot remove dirt and debris from significant depressions, cannot thoroughly clean a paved surface, cannot clean out a porous surface and cannot effectively remove dust and other fine particulate matter from a surface.
Another significant problem is that inevitably, the action of the rotating sweeping broom causes a large volume and flow of air laden with dust and other fine particulate material. This is evidenced by the amount of fine particulate material that is left on a surface after being cleaned by a prior art surface cleaning vehicle. At least some of this fine particulate material settles on the surface after the passing by of the main sweeping broom.
Further, the action of the sweeping vehicle in general can cause dust and other fine particulate material to become airborne, as can the wind if the dust and other fine particulate matter are left on the surface being cleared. Of particular concern is very fine particulate material such a “PM10” and “PM2.5”, which refer to respirable particulate material or dusts with an average aerosol diameter of less than 10 microns or 2.5 microns, respectively. This fine particulate material is generally considered as a health risk to humans. It is well known that this fine particulate material can cause breathing problems, especially to more susceptible individuals, and the long term effects of breathing this fine particulate material can seriously affect one's health. Accordingly, legislation exists in many jurisdictions to preclude surface cleaning vehicles from emanating such fine particulate material during sweeping operations.
In prior art surface cleaning vehicles, in order to preclude the escape of dust and other fine particulate material from the broom area, the broom and other adjacent parts are shrouded. Additionally, the bottom of the shroud around the broom area has a series of rubber flaps depending from the shroud to seal off the overall unit to the surface. Further, in order to preclude the escape of dust into the ambient surroundings, an air suctioning and filtration system creates a negative air pressure within the pickup head, which generally precludes dust from escaping from the pickup head.
However, there is still a problem with prior art surface cleaning vehicles in terms of the escape of dust and other fine particular matter. Any dust or other fine particulate matter remaining on the surface after cleaning can be caused to become airborne by the action of the sweeping vehicle, other vehicular traffic or by the wind in the ambient surroundings.
Further, the cleaning of dust and other fine particulate matter from the surface being cleaned, after it has been swept, should work in harmony with the air suctioning system that suctions the dust and other fine particulate matter from the broom shroud.
One such prior art recirculating air type surface cleaning vehicle can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,836 issued Mar. 6, 2001, to Vanderlinden. That patent discloses a mechanical surface sweeping vehicle having a cylindrically-shaped rotating sweeping broom that propels forwardly debris disposed on a contacted portion of a surface being cleaned, thereby creating a forwardly propelled stream of debris. An air blast outlet effects a blast of air that forcefully impinges in a forward direction the surface behind the leading edge of the broom, thereby propelling forwardly therewith fine debris disposed on the surface. Although this overall apparatus works for a while, there is the chance that the introduction of this blast of air could tend to cause an increased air pressure within the pickup head, which could lead to the escape of air laden with dust and other fine particulate matter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dustless surface cleaning vehicle, a dust suctioning pick-up apparatus and a dust suctioning pick-up head.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustless surface cleaning vehicle, a dust suctioning pick-up apparatus and a dust suctioning pick-up head that preclude the egress of dust and other fine particulate material from the surface cleaning vehicle.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dustless surface cleaning vehicle, a dust suctioning pick-up apparatus and a dust suctioning pick-up head, that sweep the surface being cleaned with a sweeping broom first and then cleans small particulate matter from the surface being cleaned.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustless surface cleaning vehicle, a dust suctioning pick-up apparatus and a dust suctioning pick-up head, that sweep the surface being cleaned with a sweeping broom first and then clean small particulate matter from the surface being cleaned, without the use of water for dust suppression.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dustless surface cleaning vehicle, a dust suctioning pick-up apparatus and a dust suctioning pick-up head, that sweep the surface being cleaned with a sweeping broom and that can clean depressions and cracks.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a novel dust suctioning pick-up head for a sweeping vehicle. The dust suctioning pick-up head comprises a shroud defining a fore-aft longitudinal axis, and has a substantially hollow interior, a bottom edge defining a bottom opening, and a forwardly facing debris outlet for permitting the directed egress of debris from the shroud as a forwardly propelled stream of debris. At least one cylindrical main sweeping broom is disposed within the substantially hollow interior of the shroud for engaging a surface to be cleaned through the bottom opening to thereby sweep dust and debris from the surface to be cleaned and propel the dust and debris forwardly through the forwardly facing debris outlet. A dust suctioning nozzle apparatus has a dust receiving mouth in fluid communication with a dust transfer outlet connectable in fluid communication with a source of air suctioning. The dust receiving mouth is in fluid communication with the substantially hollow interior of the shroud so as to suction air therefrom, and is disposed vertically adjacent the bottom edge of the shroud so as to be in dust suctioning relation to the surface being cleaned, and rearwardly of the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom to thereby permit the suctioning of dust from the surface to be cleaned subsequent to the surface being swept by the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a novel dust suctioning pick-up head for a sweeping vehicle. The dust suctioning pick-up head comprises a shroud defining a fore-aft longitudinal axis, and has a substantially hollow interior, a bottom edge defining a bottom opening, and a forwardly facing debris outlet for permitting the directed egress of debris from the shroud as a forwardly propelled stream of debris. At least one cylindrical main sweeping broom is disposed within the substantially hollow interior of the shroud for engaging a surface to be cleaned through the bottom opening to thereby sweep dust and debris from the surface to be cleaned and propel the dust and debris forwardly through the forwardly facing debris outlet. A dust removal apparatus has a dust receiving mouth in fluid communication with a dust transfer outlet connectable in fluid communication with a source of air suctioning. The dust receiving mouth is in fluid communication with the substantially hollow interior of the shroud so as to suction air therefrom, and is disposed rearwardly of the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom to thereby permit the removal of dust from the surface to be cleaned subsequent to the surface being swept by the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a novel sweeping vehicle having a dust suctioning pick-up head, the sweeping vehicle comprises a main body for carrying the dust suctioning pick-up head. A shroud defines a fore-aft longitudinal axis, and has a substantially hollow interior, a bottom edge defining a bottom opening, and a forwardly facing debris outlet for permitting the directed egress of debris from the shroud as a forwardly propelled stream of debris. There is a shroud mounting apparatus for mounting sais shroud on the main body for substantially free vertical movement between a plurality of vertical positions for permitting the shroud to closely track the surface to be cleaned. At least one cylindrical main sweeping broom is disposed within the substantially hollow interior of the shroud for engaging a surface to be cleaned through the bottom opening to thereby sweep dust and debris from the surface to be cleaned and propel the dust and debris forwardly through the forwardly facing debris outlet. A dust suctioning nozzle apparatus has a dust receiving mouth in fluid communication with a dust transfer outlet connectable in fluid communication with a source of air suctioning. The dust receiving mouth is in fluid communication with the substantially hollow interior of the shroud so as to suction air therefrom, and is disposed rearwardly of the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom to thereby permit the suctioning of dust from the surface to be cleaned subsequent to the surface being swept by the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a novel dust suctioning pick-up head system for use with a surface cleaning vehicle. The dust suctioning pick-up head system comprises a shroud defining a fore-aft longitudinal axis, and has a substantially hollow interior, a bottom edge defining a bottom opening, and a forwardly facing debris outlet for permitting the directed egress of debris from the shroud as a forwardly propelled stream of debris. At least one cylindrical main sweeping broom is disposed within the substantially hollow interior of the shroud for engaging a surface to be cleaned through the bottom opening to thereby sweep dust and debris from the surface to be cleaned and propel the dust and debris forwardly through the forwardly facing debris outlet. There is also a dust suctioning fan and a dust suctioning nozzle apparatus having a dust receiving mouth in fluid communication with a dust transfer outlet connectable in fluid communication with a source of air suctioning. The dust receiving mouth is in fluid communication with the substantially hollow interior of the shroud so as to suction air therefrom, and is disposed rearwardly of the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom to thereby permit the suctioning of dust from the surface to be cleaned subsequent to the surface being swept by the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom.
Other advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as methods of operation and functions of the related elements of the structure, and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, the latter of which is briefly described herein below.
The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the dust suctioning pick-up apparatus according to the present invention, as to its structure, organization, use and method of operation, together with further objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example. It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. In the accompanying drawings:
Referring to
Reference will now be made to
There is at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom that in the first preferred embodiment comprises a main sweeping broom 50 disposed within the substantially hollow interior 32 of the shroud 30 for engaging a surface to be cleaned through the bottom opening 36 and sweeping dust and debris from a surface being cleaned and propelling dust and debris forwardly through the forwardly facing debris outlet 38. The main sweeping broom 50 defines an effective width “W” oriented transversely to the longitudinal axis “L” when the dust-suctioning pick-up head 20 is in place on the sweeping vehicle 22.
The dust suctioning pick-up head 20 of the present invention further comprises dust suctioning nozzle 60 mounted within the substantially hollow interior 32 of the shroud 30. The dust suctioning nozzle 60 has a dust receiving mouth 62. In the first preferred embodiment as illustrated, the dust suctioning nozzle 60 comprises a single dust suctioning nozzle and is disposed rearwardly of the main sweeping broom 50 preferably such that the dust suctioning nozzle 60 is adjacent the main sweeping broom 50, such that the dust receiving mouth is in fluid communication with the substantially hollow interior 32 of the shroud 30. Further, the dust receiving mouth 62 generally faces the surface to be cleaned.
There is also a front facing opening 67 in the dust suctioning nozzle 60 for permitting the flow of overthrown debris from the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom 50 into the dust suctioning nozzle 60. There is also a pliable flap 68 for controlling the flow of overthrown debris from the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom 50 into the front facing opening 67.
The dust suctioning nozzle 60 with a dust transfer outlet 64 connectable in fluid communication with a source of air suctioning via an upper conduit portion 66, specifically the air suctioning system of the sweeping vehicle 22. The dust receiving mouth 62 of the suctioning nozzle 61 is disposed vertically adjacent the bottom opening 36 of the shroud 30, to permit the removal of dust from the surface being cleaned subsequent to being swept by the main sweeping broom 50.
Preferably, the dust suctioning nozzle 60 has a width substantially the same as the width of the main sweeping broom so that there will be no debris remaining on the surface being cleaned. Further, the dust suctioning nozzle apparatus 60 has a fore-aft distance that is less than the fore-aft surface contact measurement of the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom 50. Also, the ratio of the fore-aft distance of the dust suctioning nozzle apparatus to the width of the dust suctioning nozzle apparatus is greater than 25:1, and is preferably about 50:1.
The dust receiving mouth 60 is in fluid communication with the substantially hollow interior 32 of the shroud 60 so as to suction air therefrom, and is disposed vertically adjacent the bottom edge 34 of the shroud 30 so as to be in dust suctioning relation to the surface being cleaned, and rearwardly of the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom 50 to thereby permit the suctioning of dust from the surface to be cleaned subsequent to the surface being swept by the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom 50. The suctioning action of the dust suctioning nozzle 60 within the shroud 30 creates a reduced pressure within the shroud 30, thus precluding the escape of dust and other small particulate matter from the shroud 30. If desired, an additional air suctioning unit could be mounted on the shroud 30, such as at the top of the shroud 30 in order to suction dust and other small particulate matter before settling to the surface being cleaned. Any air that is suctioned from the shroud 30 would of course need to be filtered before it is released to the ambient surroundings.
It can also be seen in the drawings that there is substantially no gap between the dust suctioning nozzle apparatus 60 and the rear portion of the shroud 30, to thereby preclude dust from settling rearwardly of the dust suctioning nozzle apparatus 60. This is highly advantageous in that the dust suctioning nozzle apparatus 60 provides an effective final cleaning of the surface to be cleaned and leaves no settled dust.
Further, it can be seen that an upper rear portion of the shroud 30 is shaped for deflecting overthrown debris from the at least one cylindrical main sweeping broom 50 forwardly of said dust suctioning nozzle apparatus 60 to substantially preclude the overthrown debris from landing on the dust suctioning nozzle apparatus 60.
In an alternative embodiment, it is contemplated that the shroud could comprise a forward shroud compartment and a rearward shroud compartment disposed immediately rearwardly of the forward shroud compartment. The main sweeping broom is disposed in the forward shroud compartment and the air-and-dust suctioning nozzle is disposed in the rearward shroud compartment.
Reference will now be made to
Reference will now be made to
As can be understood from the above description and from the accompanying drawings, the present invention provides a dustless surface cleaning vehicle, a dust suctioning pick-up apparatus and a dust suctioning pick-up head, that preclude the egress of dust and other fine particulate material from the surface cleaning vehicle, that sweep the surface being cleaned with a sweeping broom first and then cleans small particulate matter from the surface being cleaned, that preclude the egress of dust and other fine particulate material from the surface cleaning vehicle, in the case that there is a physical separation between the broom shroud and other components of the surface cleaning vehicle, that sweep the surface being cleaned with a sweeping broom first and then clean small particulate matter from the surface being cleaned, without the use of water for dust suppression, that sweep the surface being cleaned with a sweeping broom and that can clean depressions and cracks, all of which features are unknown in the prior art.
Other variations of the above principles will be apparent to those who are knowledgeable in the field of the invention, and such variations are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Further, other modifications and alterations may be used in the design and manufacture of the dust suctioning pick-up apparatus according to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims.
This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/361,764 filed on Jul. 6, 2010, which is herein incorporated by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CA11/00761 | 7/6/2011 | WO | 00 | 6/24/2014 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61361588 | Jul 2010 | US |
