Patent Application
20090089964
The present invention relates to factory and sidewalk sweepers, and more particularly to pick-up heads for factory and sidewalk sweepers.
Sidewalk sweepers and factory floor sweepers of various types are used to sweep debris in many different types of locations. Sidewalk sweepers are typically used to sweep sidewalks, parking lots, and so on, and must sweep along curbs and the sides of buildings in order to sweep dust and debris that is adjacent to the curbs and buildings. Factory floor sweepers are typically used to sweep aisle ways in factories and warehouses, and the like.
Many the sidewalk sweepers or factory sweepers have a re-circulating air system that is mounted on the vehicle, for drawing dust and debris laden air from the pick-up head to the hopper. There are no air-recirculating systems that are mounted on the pick-up head itself. This is disadvantageous for several reasons, including loss of air power between the blower fan and the pick-up head, lack of consistent air flow to effectively remove dust from the surface being cleaned, especially when the pick-up head breaks sealed relation with the surface being cleaned, and the lack of matching the specifications of the blower fan to the specifications of the pick-up head.
It should be noted that the above described situation of having debris pass over the pick-up head is exacerbated by the fact that the outer ends of some pick-up heads are lower than the central portion. Such lowering of the outer ends of the pick-up head is due to the need to reduce the cross-sectional area of the pick-up head at its outer ends, in order to maintain airflow, and therefore suctioning, towards the outer ends of the pick-up head. Unfortunately, the lower outer ends of the pick-up heads tends to permit debris to readily pass over the outer end portions of the pickup head, which is unacceptable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pick-up head for use with a sidewalk sweeper and a factory floor sweeper.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a pick-up head for use with a sidewalk sweeper and a factory floor sweeper, wherein the blower fan is mounted on the pick-up head.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a pick-up head for use with a sidewalk sweeper and a factory floor sweeper, wherein the loss of air power between the blower fan and the pick-up head is minimized.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a pick-up head for use with a sidewalk sweeper and a factory floor sweeper, wherein air flow to the pick-up head is consistently effective to remove dust from a surface being cleaned.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a pick-up head for use with a sidewalk sweeper and a factory floor sweeper, wherein the blower fan can be matched to the specifications of the pick-up head.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a novel pick-up head for a mobile sweeping vehicle. The pick-up head comprises a housing defining a substantially hollow interior and having a front, a back, a left end and a right end, a top and a bottom, a suctioning bottom opening for suctioning dust and small debris into the substantially hollow interior of the housing. There is at least one re-circulating air inlet for receiving a flow of air into the housing, and a dust and debris outlet in the housing for permitting dust and debris to be suctioned from the substantially hollow interior of the housing into a hopper. A fan means has an air inlet and an air outlet. The air outlet is connected in fluid communication to the at least one re-circulating air inlet of the housing for providing a source of high velocity re-circulating air for introduction to the housing. The air inlet is operatively connected in fluid communication to the dust and debris outlet of the housing for removing debris-laden air therefrom. There is a selectively operable motor means for operating the fan means.
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 pick-up head for a mobile sweeping vehicle 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
The pick-up head 20 further comprises a suctioning front opening 60 disposed in the front of the housing 30 for receiving debris into the substantially hollow interior 31 of the housing 30, and in debris receiving relation with respect to a surface being cleaned. Preferably, the suctioning front opening 60 is disposed generally centrally in the front of the housing 30. It will also be noted that the dust and debris outlet 39 is generally centrally disposed in the back of the housing 30, so as to be generally laterally aligned with the suctioning front opening 60. The suctioning front opening 60 needs to be large enough to accept large debris, such as most sizes of cans and bottles therethrough.
A selectively openable and closable door means 70 is operatively mounted on the pick-up head 20, at the suctioning front opening 60, for selectively opening and closing the suctioning front opening 60. The openable and closeable door means 70 comprises at least one door member mounted in hinged relation on the housing 30. In the preferred embodiment, as illustrated, the openable and closeable door means 70 comprises a single door 70 mounted by means of a horizontally oriented top hinge 72. Preferably, the at least one door member 70 is mounted so as to open inwardly into the substantially hollow interior 31 of the housing 30. In this manner, the door member 70 opens in the same direction as the relative travel of debris with respect to the pick-up head 20 as the mobile sweeping vehicle 22 travels forwardly.
There is a fan means 80 having an air inlet and an air outlet. In the preferred embodiment as illustrated, the fan means 80 comprises a left blower fan 80a and a right blower fan 80b. The air outlet 82a of the left blower fan 80a is connected in fluid communication to the left air inlet 30a at the left end of the housing 30. Similarly, the air outlet 82b of the right blower fan 80b is also connected in fluid communication to the right re-circulating air inlet 30b at the right end of the housing 30. The blower fans 80a, 80b accordingly provide a source of high velocity re-circulating air for introduction to the housing 30.
The air inlet 81a of the left blower fan 80a is operatively connected in fluid communication to the dust and debris outlet 39 of the housing 30 through a left return air hose 84a and via the hopper 23 and air filter (not shown), for removing debris therefrom. Similarly, the air inlet 81b of the right blower fan 80a is operatively connected in fluid communication to the dust and debris outlet 39 of the housing 30 through a right return air hose 84b and via the hopper 23 and air filter (not shown), for removing debris therefrom.
There is also a selectively operable motor means for operating the left blower fan 80a and the right blower fan 80a. Preferably, the selectively operable motor means comprises a high speed electric motor 86a, 86b, in the left blower fan 80a and the right blower fan 80b, respectively.
In use, as the mobile sweeping vehicle 22 travels forwardly, dust and debris on the surface being cleaned 29 are encountered by the pick-up head 20, and the dust and small debris enter the substantially hollow interior 31 of the housing 30 via the suctioning bottom opening 38. The left blower fan 80a and the right blower fan 80b each blow a strong blast of air transversely across half the width of the pick-up head 20, partially onto the surface being cleaned, to carry dust, dirt and debris within the pick-up head 20 to the central dust and debris outlet 39 in the housing 30. The dust, dirt and debris are suctioned to the hopper 23 and filter, and the filtered air is returned to the left blower fan 80a through the left return air hose 84a and to the right blower fan 80a through the right return air hose 84b.
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 pick-up head for use with a sidewalk sweeper and a factory floor sweeper, wherein there is virtually no air borne dust created in use by the gutter brooms of the sweeper, wherein there is virtually no particulate matter created in use by the gutter brooms of the sweeper, wherein there is virtually no particulate matter having a size of less than 10 microns created in use by the gutter brooms of the sweeper, wherein small debris is readily received by the gutter brooms, wherein there is virtually no air borne dust and particulate matter that escapes into the ambient surroundings during use by the gutter brooms of the sweeper while still permitting the air suctioning or air re-circulating system to function at its required capacity, wherein said sweeper does not use water for dust suppression, and wherein the path of dust and debris that is created by the gutter brooms is always picked up by the pick up head, 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 pick-up head for a mobile sweeping vehicle of 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. 60/975,510 filed on Sep. 26, 2007, which is herein incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60975510 | Sep 2007 | US |
