Surface cleaning apparatus

• US 3,881,215 A
• Filed: 12/19/1972
• Issued: 05/06/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Keith N. Krier, Paul W. Kimzey
• Original Assignee: Keith N. Krier, Paul W. Kimzey
• Inventors: Kimzey, Paul W., Krier, Keith N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Feldman, Peter
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moore, C. K.
• Application Number:
  US05/316,457
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: 15/82,86,98,347,348,349,340,83,230.16 298/30
• US Class Current: 15/340.1
• CPC Class Codes: E01H 1/0854 Apparatus in which the mechanically dislodged dirt is partially sucked-off, e.g. dislodging- sweeping apparatus with dirt collector in brush housing or dirt container mechanical dislodging machines with independent suction nozzles E01H1/0827; combined with blowing and suction E01H1/0872

Abstract

A cleaning machine that includes a drive unit and a trailer unit joined by an articulated joint, the drive unit including a pick up assembly having a reversible power driven paddle wheel mounted in a housing to extend closely adjacent the surface to be cleaned, the housing including leaf flap mechanism mounted for movement between a downwardly extending position and an elevated position, a duct mounted on the drive unit frame and having an inlet for receiving raised material from the housing, an airstream outlet, and at a lower elevation than the airstream outlet, a heavy debris outlet opening to a heavy trash receptacle on the frame, the heavy trash receptacle having doors for discharging the heavy trash, a suction blower having an inlet fluidly connected to the duct airstream outlet and a door for selectively blocking fluid communication between the duct and suction blower, a motor for driving the drive unit and having a directly driven shaft with a brake disc thereon, and mechanism to move the housing to an elevated transport position; and that the trailer unit includes a frame having a dump container thereon, a discharge door at the rear of the container, the container having a top filter portion, a standard on the tractor frame for stationarily mounting one end of a duct for placing the container in fluid communication with the suction blower outlet when the container is in a debris receiving position, and a deflector adjacent the container inlet for deflecting air and debris downwardly.

Claims

1. A surface cleaning machine comprising a mobile vehicle having a frame, a downwardly opening debris pick up housing, said housing having a debris outlet, first means for mounting said housing on the frame, a power driven surface cleaning tool rotatably mounted in the housing adjacent the surface to be cleaned for raising debris from the surface, a combination filter and light debris collection container, second means for mounting the container on the frame, a suction blower having a discharge outlet and an inlet, third means for fluidly connecting the blower outlet to the container, a heavy trash receptacle mounted on the frame and having an inlet, and duct means for deflecting material passing therethrough to separate heavier material from lighter material, said duct means including a duct inlet fluidly connected to the housing outlet, a duct first outlet fluidly connected to the blower inlet, a second duct outlet at a lower elevation than the first duct outlet opening to the trash receptacle inlet, a bottom wall sloped upwardly and rearwardly of the housing inlet, a duct branch having the second duct outlet, a bottom wall and a top wall sloped downwardly and rearwardly from the first duct outlet, the first duct outlet being at a substantially higher elevation than the first mentioned bottom wall and extending rearwardly thereof, a transverse, vertically extending impact surface member adjacent the duct first outlet on the opposite side thereof from the duct inlet, extending to at least substantially the same elevation as the duct first outlet, and having a lower edge at a higher elevation than the lowermost part of the trash receptable inlet, and means hingedly mounting the impact member on the top wall to depend therefrom to permit pivoting of the impact member for minimizing damage to the door when hit by heavy debris.

2. A surface cleaning machine normally driven in a forward direction, comprising a mobile vehicle having a frame, a downwardly opening debris pick up unit having a debris outlet, first means for mounting the unit on the frame, a combination filter-debris container mounted on the frame, and second means, including a suction blower, fluidly connected to the unit outlet for drawing air and air entrained debris from the unit and discharging the air and entrained debris in the container, the unit including a housing having front, rear and side walls joined together, a rear skirt dependingly mounted on the rear wall, side skirts dependingly mounted on the side walls, a front panel having an upper edge portion hingedly connected to the front wall for movement between a depending position abutting against the side walls and a forwardly extending position, a leaf flap, third means dependingly hingedly connecting the leaf flap to the front panel for movement between a generally vertically extending position and a generally forwardly extending position, control means mounted on the housing for selectively retaining the leaf seal in its generally horizontal extending position, and power driven rotary means mounted in the housing adjacent the surface for moving material upwardly into the housing.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further characterized in that the leaf flap in its generally vertical position includes a reversely bent, transversely extending first flap portion, and a generally vertical second flap portion abutting against the first flap portion on the forward side thereof and extending to a substantially lower elevation than the first flap portion, said first and second flap portion having transversely spaced, vertical slits extending through the lower parts thereof.

4. A surface cleaning machine comprising a mobile vehicle having a frame, a downwardly opening debris pick up housing, said housing having a debris outlet, first means for mounting said housing on the frame, a power driven surface cleaning tool rotatably mounted in the housing adjacent the surface to be cleaned for raising debris from the surface, a combination filter And a light debris collection container, second means for mounting the container on the frame, a suction blower having a discharge outlet and an inlet, third means for fluidly connecting the blower outlet to the container, a heavy trash receptacle mounted on the frame and having an inlet, and duct means for deflecting material passing therethrough to separate heavier material from lighter material, said duct means including a duct having an inlet fluidly connected to the housing outlet, a duct first outlet fluidly connected to the blower inlet and a second duct outlet at a lower elevation than the first duct outlet opening to the trash receptacle inlet, a bottom wall sloped upwardly and rearwardly of the housing inlet, and a duct branch having the second duct outlet, a bottom wall sloped downwardly and rearwardly from the first mentioned bottom wall and a top wall sloped downwardly and rearwardly from the first duct outlet, the first duct outlet being at a substantially higher elevation than the first mentioned bottom wall and extending rearwardly thereof, said tool comprising a paddle wheel, said housing including a front wall, a front panel having an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion fourth means connecting the upper edge portion to the front wall for mounting the panel for limited pivotal upward movement from a datum position, said fourth means comprising first hinge means having a transverse hinge axis for mounting the front panel for movement, a flexible front flap, and fifth means for dependingly mounting the front flap on the panel lower edge portion to extend closely adjacent and normally forwardly of the path of angular movement of the paddle wheel;

said front flap being of sufficient flexibility to be bendable into said path of movement by relatively heavy debris on the surface being cleaned as the machine moves forwardly, said fifth means comprising second hinge means having a transverse hinge axis for mounting the front flap for movement between a depending position and a generally horizontally extending position, and sixth means mounted on the housing for selectively retaining the front flap in the generally horizontally extending position.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that the sixth means includes a mounting bracket mounted on the front panel and means mounted by the bracket and connected to the front flap to permit a force being transmitted from the paddle wheel to the front flap to pivot both the front flap and front panel as a single unit about the front panel hinge axis.

6. A surface cleaning maching normally driven in a forward direction, comprising a mobile vehicle having a frame, a downwardly opening debris pick up unit having a debris outlet, first means for mounting said unit on the frame, a combination filter-debris container mounted on the frame, and second means fluidly connected to the unit outlet for drawing air and air entrained debris from the unit and discharging the air and entrained debris in the container, said unit including a housing having said debris outlet, said housing including joined side, rear and front walls, a rear skirt mounted on the rear wall to extend downwardly and forwardly thereof, side skirts mounted on the side walls, and leaf seal means mounted on the front wall, the leaf seal means including a front panel, third means to hingedly connect the front panel to the front wall for movement between a predominantly downwardly extending datum position and a substantially more forwardly extending position, a resilient leaf flap, fourth means for dependingly hingedly mounting the leaf flap on the front panel for movement between a generally downwardly depending position and a generally forwardly extending position, and fifth means mounted on the housing for selectively retaining the leaf flap in its generally forwardly extending position, said front wall being inclined upwardly and rearwardly, the rear wall having an upper wall portion inclined at about the same angle as the frOnt wall, said first means including a duct having an inlet branch in fluid communication with the unit outlet, said inlet branch having a bottom wall in substantially the same plane as the housing rear wall portion, an airstream outlet port having a rear edge located substantially rearwardly and above the inlet branch bottom wall and closely adjacent the plane of the inlet branch bottom wall, and a heavy trash outlet branch having a bottom wall extending downwardly of the outlet port, a heavy trash receptacle opening to the heavy trash branch, a paddle wheel made of resilient material and having diametrically opposed flap portions that in a horizontal position have outer edges spaced slightly less than the corresponding horizontal spacing of the rear wall and the leaf seal mean, and means including a shaft mounted in the housing for mounting the paddle wheel adjacent the surface to be cleaned and drivingly rotating the paddle wheel, and power means drivingly connected to the shaft for rotating the shaft, the second means including a suction blower having an inlet fluidly connected to the outlet port, a door for closing the blower inlet and means for mounting the door to hingedly depend adjacent the outlet port rear edge and said door being selectively movable to close said blower inlet.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized in that the leaf flap has a lower portion bendable into the path of rotary movement of the paddle wheel, the fourth means hingedly connecting the flap to the front panel to move the front panel and leaf flap as a single unit about the third means hinge axis in a direction away from the paddle wheel when the paddle wheel engages the lower portion and is rotating in a direction that the lower part of the paddle wheel is rotating toward the flap.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized in that said power means is bi-directional for selectively rotating the shaft in either angular direction.

9. A surface cleaning machine comprising a mobile vehicle having a frame, a downwardly opening debris pick up housing, said housing having a debris outlet, first means for mounting said housing on the frame, a power driven surface cleaning tool rotatably mounted in the housing adjacent the surface to be cleaned for raising debris from the surface, a combination filter and light debris collection container, second means for mounting the container on the frame, a suction blower having a discharge outlet and an inlet, third means for fluidly connecting the blower outlet to the container, a heavy trash receptacle mounted on the frame and having an inlet, and duct means for deflecting material passing therethrough to separate heavier material from lighter material, said duct means including a duct inlet fluidly connected to the housing outlet, a duct first outlet fluidly connected to the blower inlet, a second duct outlet at a lower elevation than the first duct outlet opening to the trash receptacle inlet, a bottom wall sloped upwardly and rearwardly of the housing inlet, a duct branch having the second duct outlet, a bottom wall and a top wall sloped downwardly and rearwardly from the first duct outlet, the first duct outlet being at a substantially higher elevation than the first mentioned bottom wall and extending rearwardly thereof, a transverse, vertically extending impact surface member adjacent the duct first outlet on the opposite side thereof from the duct inlet, extending to at least substantially the same elevation as the duct first outlet, and having a lower edge at a higher elevation than the lowermost part of the trash receptacle inlet, means hingedly mounting the impact member on the top wall to depend therefrom, said impact member comprising a door for closing the first duct outlet to block the flow of debris therethrough, and means for selectively moving the door between a position depending relative the top wall and a position closing the first duct outlet, the last mentioned means being connected to the door to permit limited hinged movement thereof when the door is in depending relationship to the top wall.