1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to rotary brushes, and, more particularly to a rotary brush assembly for holding rotary brush segments to a plate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,737,793 and 6,026,533, the patentee of which is the inventor hereof, represent second generation elements for rotary brush assemblies. The present invention comprises the third generation elements for rotary brush assemblies.
Rotary brushes are used in street sweeping equipment at the outer portions of the equipment for moving trash, dirt, leaves, and other items to be swept inwardly so that large cylindrical brushes or vacuum suction may move the items into an internal storage compartment within the sweeper. The rotary brushes include brush segments secured to a plate. The brush segments wear out and must be changed periodically. The brush segments typically weigh about twenty pounds, and are changed on the plates in place on the sweepers. The above cited second generation prior art saves time and manpower over the first generation brush apparatus, and the present invention, third generation rotary brush apparatus saves time and manpower over the second generation brush apparatus. Brush segments of the present invention are easily changed by only a single individual and are secured to a plate by a central bolt on a clamp assembly and a second bolt may be used to insure a secure fastening of a segment.
The invention described and claimed comprises a brush assembly for a rotary sweeper, including a plate for holding a plurality of brush segments and a clamp assembly for securing a brush segment to the plate. The plate includes an index or alignment hole, and the brush segment includes an index or alignment hole aligned with the index hole in the plate. The clamp assembly includes a pin which extends into the index hole of the brush segment. The bottom of the plate includes stop and alignment elements for the clamp assembly and the brush segment. A brush segment is secured to the plate by a single bolt, the rotation of which moves the clamp assembly downwardly to allow a used brush segment to be removed and upwardly to secure a new brush segment to the plate.
Among the objects of the present invention are the following:
To provide a new and useful rotary brush assembly;
To provide a new and useful plate rotatable on a sweeper;
To provide a new and useful brush segment for a rotary brush assembly;
To provide a new and useful clamp assembly for securing a brush segment to a plate;
To provide a new and useful brush segment and a plate having a clamp assembly for securing the brush segment to the plate;
To provide a new and useful rotary brush assembly including a plate having an alignment aperture and a rotary brush segment having an alignment aperture aligned with an alignment aperture in the plate;
To provide a new and useful rotary brush assembly having alignment and shelf support elements for holding a brush segment;
To provide a new and useful clamp assembly for securing a brush segment to a plate and having a pin which extends into an alignment aperture in the brush segment.
Typically, there are four or five brush segments to a brush, with the size or diameter of the carrier plate determining whether there are four or five segments to a brush. For illustrative purposes, the carrier plate 12 shown in the drawing figures and discussed herein uses four brush segments. The brush segments will be discussed below in detail in conjunction with
The plate 12 includes a center hole 18, and disposed about the hole 18 are shown a plurality of fastening holes 20. The fastening holes 20 are used to secure the plate 12 to a pump which provides power for rotating the brushes 10. There are also four alignment holes 22, 24, 26, and 28 disposed symmetrically on the plate slightly inwardly from the outer periphery of the plate 12. The holes 22 . . . 28 are used to align brush segments to the plate 12.
Aligned radially with the alignment holes are four bolt holes which receive bolts that help to secure the brush segments to the plate 12. One of the bolt holes, a hole 30, is shown in
On the bottom 16 of the plate 12 are stop and alignment elements for the brush segments. There are a pair of stop and alignment elements 80 and 82 shown in
There are also a pair of stop and support shelf elements 90 and 92 for each brush segment. The stop and support shelf elements 90 and 92 are disposed adjacent to the stop and alignment elements 80 and 82. The pair of stop and support shelf elements include the elements 90 and 92 adjacent to the stop and alignment elements 80 and 82, respectively. The stop and support shelf elements 90 and 92 also comprise angle iron elements also appropriately secured, as by welding, to the bottom surface 16.
The elements 90 and 92 are oriented differently on the plate 12 from the orientation of the elements 80 and 82. The orientation of the elements 90 and 92 are best shown in
Disposed inwardly between the outer arcuate periphery 102 and the inner arcuate periphery 104 and generally centered between the outer ends of the segment is an alignment hole or aperture 114. There is shown in
The clamp assembly 130 includes a bar 132 disposed between the guide elements 80 and 82. The bolt 40 is shown extending through an aperture 30 in the plate 12. The bolt 40 includes a hex head 42 and a threaded shank 44 extending downwardly and through a hole 136 in the bar 132. A washer 46 is disposed beneath the head 42 of the bolt 40. Secured coaxially with the hole 136 is a nut 138. The nut 138 is appropriately secured, as by welding, to the bottom of the bar 132. As the bolt 40 is turned or rotated, the bar 132 moves upwardly to clamp the segment 100 to the bottom 16 of the plate 12 and downwardly to release the segment 100 for replacing the segment. The bar 132 is, as discussed above, constrained by the guide plate elements 80 and 82.
Beneath the bar 132 and coaxially aligned with the hole 136 is a sleeve 140. The sleeve 140 serves to protect the threaded shank 44 of the bolt 40 from accumulating dust and debris. The environment of a street sweeper is not clean, but rather is dusty and dirty, and to prevent the shank 44 from getting dirty and gritty and difficult to rotate, the sleeve 140 is secured to the bar 132 beneath the nut 138.
The bar 132 includes a pin 134 which extends upwardly and extends into the alignment hole or aperture 114 of the segment 100. Note that the alignment aperture 22, the aperture 114, and the pin 134 are appropriately aligned with each other.
Referring again to
As may be understood from
Referring to
Note from
While the principles of the invention have been made clear in illustrative embodiments, there will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, the elements, materials, and components used in the practice of the invention, and otherwise, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from those principles. The appended claims are intended to cover and embrace any and all such modifications, within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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1564226 | Finnell | Dec 1925 | A |
2853729 | Link | Sep 1958 | A |
2917767 | Lechene | Dec 1959 | A |
3101501 | Horton et al. | Aug 1963 | A |
3678530 | Horton et al. | Jul 1972 | A |
3758908 | Maltarp | Sep 1973 | A |
3766589 | Arenas | Oct 1973 | A |
3875607 | Rosseau | Apr 1975 | A |
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4854002 | Smith | Aug 1989 | A |
5737793 | Prohoroff | Apr 1998 | A |
6026533 | Prohoroff | Feb 2000 | A |