GB160533A - Improvements in street sweeping and refuse-collecting machines - Google Patents

Abstract

160,533. Cowell, W. J. Dec. 19, 1919, Pneumatic collectors; sweeping- machines. -Relates to street refuse collecting-machines in which rotary brushes actuated from the driving-axle of the machine are so arranged that they can be simultaneously raised from the roadway and disconnected from the driving-gear. According to the invention, the brushes are mounted in yokes and are driven by bevel-gearing, movement of the yokes to raise the brushes serving simultaneously to disengage the pinions of the bevel-gear. The invention also comprises (1) employing conical inclined brushes, (2) a tip-reservoir for the reception of the sweepings, and (3) a suction fan in the reservoir actuated from the driving-gear of the vehicle through clutch mechanism. In the form shown, two conical brushes 13 are suspended by links 6 from the vehicle chassis and are driven from the rear axle 12 by bevel-gearing 10, 11. Links 7 are operable by thrust-rods 8 actuated by gearing from a lever 18 in order either to vary the pressure of the brushes on the road, or to raise the brushes from the ground, this action simultaneously throwing out the gears 10, 11. The brushes sweep refuse into the path of a suction nozzle 28 on a detachable tube 26 connected to a pipe which enters at an acute angle a pipe 25 delivering into a reservoir 22. The pipe 25 may terminate in a series of baffles, grids, or coils, or may be led under water. The suction is produced by a stream of air driven by a fan 30 through thepipe 25, the air thus blown in, together with the suction air from the tube 26, being expelled at 24 after filtration and disinfection. The fan 30 is belt-driven from the drive-shaft 36, an idle wheel 32 being provided upon which the belt may be drawn by a lever 34 to put the fan out of action. The reservoir 22 may be raised round its pivot 21 by quadrant and pinion gear 37 operable from a hand-wheel 38 to facilitate emptying through the rear door 23.