Line cleaning apparatus

• US 4,958,400 A
• Filed: 09/01/1989
• Issued: 09/25/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Masahiko Sugita
• Original Assignee: Masahiko Sugita
• Inventors: Sugita, Masahiko
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBERTS JR, EDWARD
• Application Number:
  US07/401,852
• Time in Patent Office: 389 Days
• Field of Search: 15/79 R, 15/79 A, 15/82, 15/83
• US Class Current: 15/79.1
• CPC Class Codes: E01H 1/056 having horizontal axes

Abstract

A line cleaning apparatus includes a pair of frames with handle arms, a roller brush and a secondary roller respectively disposed between the frames at it leading and trailing ends thereof. The roller brush and the secondary roller are rotatably supported on the frames by shafts. A primary roller is disposed between the frames substantially at the central portion thereof, and is rotatably supported on the frames by a shaft. A pulley is rotatably provided on each end of the shafts, with a belt extending around a respective pair of pulleys in the form of a figure eight.

Claims

1. An apparatus to be advanced along a boundary line of preset width associated with a playing surface of a game to thereby clean the line, said apparatus comprising:

a frame having (i) a pair of frame members each of which includes a central portion and leading and trailing arm portions which extend in generally opposite directions from said central portion, said leading arm portion having a forwardmost end, and said trailing arm portion having a rearwardmost end, and (ii) a cross brace rigidly connected to and between said pair of frame members so as to laterally separate each said frame member one from the other, wherein said leading arm portions of said pair of frame members are substantially parallel to one another, whereas said trailing arm portions of said frame members converge toward one another;

roller brush means having a brush-mounting shaft for rotatably mounting said roller bursh means transversely between said pair of frame members at said forwardmost end of said leading arm portions thereof for cleaning a boundary line associated with a game'"'"'s playing surface;

primary and secondary roller means for supporting said frame means for movements over the boundary line to be cleaned, said primary roller means including a roller-mounting shaft for rotatably mounting said primary roller means transversely between said pair of frame members at said central location between said forwardmost and rearwardmost ends thereof, and said secondary roller means being rotatably mounted transversely between said trailing arm portions of said pair of frame members at said rearwardmost end thereof so as to be mounted rearwardly of said primary roller means; and

wherein

said roller brush means and said primary roller means each establish an axial dimension corresponding to the preset width of said boundary line, and wherein

said secondary roller brush means establishes an axial dimension which is less than said axial dimension of said roller brush means said primary roller means, and thus less than the preset width of said boundary line;

said apparatus further comprising pulley means operatively interconnecting said primary roller means and said brush means, said pulley means, during a boundary line-cleaning operation in which said primary roller means is rotatably advanced along a boundary line to be cleaned, for responsively rotating said roller brush means in a rotational direction which causes debris on said boundary line to be brushed forwardly of said roller bush means, whereby said boundary line is cleaned, ansd wherein said pulley means includes;

(a) a pair of pulley wheels fixedly mounted at a respective end of said brush-mounting shaft and said roller mounting shaft so as to be rotatably supported thereby, wherein each said pulley wheel is positioned laterally adjacent to an exterior side of a respective one of said frame members, wherein said respective one of said frame members is located between said pair of pulley wheels, on the one hand, and said roller brush means and said primary roller means on the other hand; and

(b) a belt that extends around said pair of pulley wheels, in a configuration such that the belt crosses between the same to form a figure eight.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said pulley means includes a second pair of pulley wheels fixedly mounted at an end of said brush-mounting shaft and said roller-mounting shaft opposite to said first mentioned pair of pulley wheels, and a second belt that extends around said second pair of pulley wheels, in a configuration such that the belt crosses between the same to form a figure eight.