Lawn sweeper

Abstract

A sweeping apparatus comprises a frame arranged for movement across a surface, a hitch on the frame arranged to be connected to a towing vehicle, drive wheels on the frame arranged to engage the surface and free wheels on the frame arranged to engage the surface. A brush arrangement coupled to the frame arranged to sweep up debris from the surface. A catch portion on the frame for receiving the debris. More than one gear assembly each arranged to be driven by atleast one of the drive wheels. A rotary brush member arranged to be rotated at a determined rate of speed by the gear assembly for engaging debris. A driven gear of the gear assembly coupled to and rotated by the drive wheel. A variable brush gear of the gear assembly and a flexible drive member of each gear assembly arranged to be driven by the drive gear and to drive the variable brush gear;

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a lawn sweeper.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Lawn sweepers are used to collect debris such as leafs, twigs and the like on lawns. Sweepers commonly have a brush which rotates, rotation of the brush picks up the debris and deposits the debris in a container or the like.

[0003] There are many variations in sweepers which commonly use motors to rotate the brush. Some variations use rotation of wheels on the sweepers to rotate the bush. These variations of wheel driven brush commonly has an arrangement which rotates the brush with a direct ratio of wheel rotation. Usually these direct ratios are used on small hand pushed or pulled sweepers but can also be found on larger versions. Direct ratio sweepers may not provide adequate rotation speed of the brush in certain situations which can inadequately sweep the lawn.

SUMMARY

[0004] According to the present invention there is provided a sweeping apparatus comprises:

[0005] a frame arranged for movement across a surface;

[0006] drive wheels on the frame arranged to engage the surface;

[0007] free wheels on the frame arranged to engage the surface;

[0008] a brush arrangement coupled to the frame arranged to sweep up debris from the surface;

[0009] a catch portion on the frame for receiving the debris;

[0010] more than one gear assembly each arranged to be driven by at least one of the drive wheels;

[0011] a rotary brush member arranged to be rotated at a determined rate of speed by the gear assembly for engaging debris;

[0012] a driven gear of the gear assembly coupled to and rotated by the drive wheel;

[0013] a variable brush gear of the gear assembly;

[0014] and, a flexible drive member of each gear assembly arranged to be driven by the drive gear and to drive the variable brush gear;

[0015] Preferably the variable brush gear has a one way bearing which prohibits rearward rotation of the brush.

[0016] Conveniently the frame has an adjustable hitch assembly which provides the brush with adjustable heights.

[0017] It is preferred that the brush has an axis located in front of an axis of the wheels.

[0018] Conveniently the brush is enclosed within a pivotal front portion pivotally coupled to the catch portion, the front portion having adjustable heights.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention:

[0020] FIG. 1 is a isometric view of the sweeper.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a side view of a gear assembly.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a rear view of the front portion.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a lawn sweeper 1. The sweeper is arranged to collect and contain debris on lawns or other similar surfaces such as leaves, twigs and the like. The sweeper has a front pick up portion 3 and a rear collection portion 5. The front portion has a brush arrangement 7 which is arranged to pick up the debris and throw the debris into a collector 9 of the rear portion.

[0026] The front portion has a housing 11 having an open bottom portion 13 and an open rear portion 15. The open bottom portion is arranged to allow a rotary brush 17 to engage the ground surface and the open rear portion provides an aperture 19 through which the debris enters the collector. The front portion is supported above the ground surface by a pair of drive wheels 21. The drive wheels are rotatably mounted to each side of the front portion. Each wheel has an independent mounting shaft 23 which are coaxial.

[0027] The front portion has a hitch arrangement 25 which is arranged for attaching the sweeper to a hitch on a tractor or the like. The hitch arrangement has an elongate pivotal member 27 extending across a front end 29 of the front portion which is pivotally mounted to respective sides 31 of the front portion by mount arms 33. The mount arms extend rearwards from respective outer ends of the pivotal member and are pivotally coupled to a respective side of the front portion. The pivotal mounting of the pivotal member allows the member to be moved upwards and downwards in front of the sweeper. A hitch arm 35 extends forwards from the pivotal member. The hitch arm has a coupler 37 arranged to be coupled to a hitch on a tractor or the like. Extending upward from the pivotal member is an elongate adjustment bar 37. The adjustment bar has a plurality of notches 39 along its length. A support member 41 is mounted to the front of the front portion and is arranged to engage the adjustment bar such that the bar can be positioned at a desired height. The adjustment bar is locked at the notches to the support member which provides adjustability to the front portion of the sweeper. The front portion is pivotally mounted to the rear portion and the wheels are mounted at a rear end of the front portion such that the front portion can be raised and lowered by pivoting the front portion about an axis of the pivotal mount and the wheels and can be locked in the adjusted position by the adjustment bar on the hitch member.

[0028] The brush on the front end is mounted on a elongate shaft 43 which has an axis parallel to the axis of the wheel shafts. The axis of the brush is located in front of the wheel shafts such that pivotal movement of the front end raises and lowers the brush. The vertical movement of the front end moves the brush shaft about the axis of the wheel shafts.

[0029] The brush is driven by a pair of gear assemblies 45. Each gear assembly is located on a respective side of the front portion and is driven by a respective wheel. Each gear assembly has a drive gear 47 mounted on each wheel shaft. A idler gear 49 is located generally above the drive gear. A second idler gear 51 is located ahead and above the first idler gear. A brush gear 53 is positioned between the idler gears above the first idler gear and below the second idler gear. A chain 54 wraps around a portion of the driven gear up to and around the first idler gear, across to and around the second idler gear, up and around the brush gear and down to the driven gear. The chain has a tensioning device 56 which provides the chain with adjustable tension on the gears. The brush gear is mounted to the shaft of the brush such that the brush is rotated by the rotation of each wheel driving each respective gear assembly. The gear assembly provides the brush with a variable rotation speed. The speed of brush rotation is directly related to the ratio of teeth on each gear. The rotation speed is set to rotate between 30 and 80 rotations per 100 ft. The rotation speed of the brush is varied in order to provide enough rotation thereof to pick up debris and to eliminate the force needed to rotate the wheels. The wheels will lock or skid if the brush is set to rotate above an estimated 80 rotation per 100 ft and the brush will not pick up a sufficient amount of debris if the brush rotates below and estimated 30 rotations per 100 ft.

[0030] The brush gear is mounted to the brush shaft on a respective side thereof by a one way shaft bearing 55. The bearing is arranged such if the sweeper is moved in a reverse direction the brush does not rotate. The bearing allows the brush to rotate at a desired speed while the sweeper is turning while being towed. Turning of the sweeper causes the inside wheel to rotate slower than the outside wheel which causes the brush shaft to rotate at a high rate than the inner gear assembly. The gear assembly provides the brush with consistent rotation speed such that debris while the sweeper is being turned is not missed and had to be passed again in a straight line.

[0031] The rear portion of the sweeper has a dumping arrangement which consists of a pivotal rear gate 57 that allows the debris to be unloaded when tilted. Castor wheels 59 are mounted at rear corners of the rear portion for support. As best illustrated in FIG. 4 and 5, the dumping arrangement is pivotally mounted at a rear end 59A to a frame 60A of the sweeper such that a front end 59B adjacent the front portion at the open rear portion can be raised. Raising of the front end tilts the collection portion on the pivotal mount at the frame such that the front end is raised above the rear end. The front end is raised by an actuator 60B and powered by a battery.

[0032] The gate on the rear end of the collector is pivoted at a top end and a cable 64 extends from the top end of the gate which is connected to the frame. As the front end of the collector is raised the cable pulls downwards on a lever 66 connected to the gate such that the gate is opened.

[0033] The brush is a conventional street sweeping brush wrapped around a tubular member 61 surrounding and mounted to the brush shaft. The brush is enclosed within the front portion such that the debris is directed through the aperture into the collector. The front portion or shroud, of the sweeper, as best shown in FIG. 1, is arranged to provide a vacuum so that the debris is thrown clearly into the collector. The shroud has an open bottom portion 81 in which the brush extends to engage the ground. A front end 83 of the shroud is designed to be substantially 1″ from the brush and opens up at a top end 85 to be substantially 4″ from the brush.

[0034] FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment has a power take off drive arrangement (PTO) 71 which replaces the drive arrangement of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. The PTO arrangement is arranged such that the gear assembly is driven by the tractor pulling the sweeper. The PTO provides a user with a selection of brush speeds for different applications.

[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates a variation of the PTO drive arrangement which has an adjustable height assembly 73 such that the height of the brush relative to the ground can be adjusted.

[0036] While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. The invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sweeping apparatus comprising: a frame arranged for movement across a surface; a hitch on the frame arranged to be connected to a towing vehicle; drive wheels on the frame arranged to engage the surface; free wheels on the frame arranged to engage the surface; a brush arrangement coupled to the frame arranged to sweep up debris from the surface, including; a catch portion on the frame for receiving the debris; a first and second gear assembly each arranged to be driven by atleast one of the drive wheels; a rotary brush member arranged to be rotated at a determined rate of speed by each of the gear assemblies for engaging debris; a driven gear of each gear assembly coupled to and rotated by one of the drive wheels; and, a flexible drive member of each gear assembly arranged to be driven by the drive gear and to drive the variable brush gear; the gear assemblies being arranged such that the brush is driven at a rate defined by the faster of the wheels.

2. The sweeper according to claim 1 wherein the variable brush gear has a one way bearing which prohibits rearward rotation of the brush.

3. The sweeper according to claim 1 wherein the hitch is adjustable which provides the brush with adjustable heights.

4. The sweeper according to claim 1 wherein the brush has an axis located in front of an axis of the wheels.

5. The sweeper according to claim 4 wherein the brush is enclosed within a pivotal front portion pivotally coupled to the catch portion, the front portion having adjustable heights.

6. The sweeper according to claim 1 wherein the front portion has an open bottom, the front portion has a channel extending from the open bottom at the direction of movement of the brush to channel the debris, the channel has a first portion adjacent the brush and a top portion spaced from the brush further than the channel.

7. The sweeper according to claim 1 wherein the rear collector is pivotally mounted at a rear end to the frame.

8. The sweeper according to claim 1 wherein a front end of the rear collector is raised by an actuator;

9. The sweeper according to claim 1 wherein a gate on the rear collector is opened when the collector is raised.

10. The sweeper according to claim 1 wherein a cable is connected to a top end of the gate at a first end and connected to the frame at a second end.

11. The sweeper according to claim 1 wherein the gate is located at a rear end of the collector.

12. A sweeping apparatus comprising: a frame; a hitch on the frame arranged to be connected to a towing vehicle; wheels on the frame for movement across a ground surface; a front portion on the frame; a brush assembly on the front portion arranged to be rotated about a horizontal axis for sweeping up debris, and; a rear collector portion arranged to receive the debris swept by the brush; wherein the front portion has an open bottom; wherein the front portion has a channel extending from the open bottom at the direction of movement of the brush to channel the debris, the channel has a first portion adjacent the brush and a top portion spaced from the brush further than the channel.

13. A sweeping apparatus comprising: a frame; a hitch on the frame arranged to be connected to a towing vehicle; wheels on the frame for movement across a ground surface; a front portion on the frame; a brush assembly on the front portion arranged to be rotated about a horizontal axis for sweeping up debris, and; a rear collector portion arranged to receive the debris swept by the brush; wherein the rear collector is pivotally mounted at a rear end to the frame; wherein a front end of the rear collector is raised by an actuator; wherein a gate on the rear collector is opened when the collector is raised.

14. The sweeper according to claim 13 wherein a cable is connected to a top end of the gate at a first end and connected to the frame at a second end.

15. The sweeper according to claim 13 wherein the gate is located at a rear end of the collector.