Debris/litter collection apparatus having a conveyor which intermeshes with fingers of collector roller
First Claim
1. An apparatus for collecting litter from the ground, comprising:
- a frame adapted for movement along the ground in a direction of movement;
a hopper mounted at one end of said frame;
a collector assembly supported on said frame, said collector assembly including;
a pair of rollers having a plurality of flexible fingers disposed radially on the periphery thereof, said rollers being substantially parallel to each other and arranged so that the fingers on one of said pair of rollers intermesh with the fingers of the other of said pair of rollers, andmeans for rotating said pair of rollers in opposite directions about respective axes that are transverse to said direction of movement and disposed in a plane that is substantially parallel to the ground, to cause said intermeshing fingers to lift litter between them;
means for conveying litter lifted by said pair of rollers to the hopper, said conveying means including a first belt having a plurality of fingers thereon that intermesh with the fingers of one of said pair of rollers so as to remove the litter from the one roller, and a second belt having a plurality of fingers that intermesh with the fingers of said other roller, said second belt being substantially parallel with said first belt; and
means for rotating said conveyor means about an axis that is parallel to the rotational axes of said rollers with said first belt rotating in the same direction as said one roller.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for collecting litter from the ground includes a frame adapted for movement along the ground, a hopper mounted at one end of the frame; and a collector assembly supported on the frame. The collector assembly includes a pair of rollers having a plurality of flexible fingers disposed radially on the periphery thereof, the rollers being substantially parallel to each other and disposed in a plane that is substantially parallel to the ground. The rollers are arranged so that the fingers on one of the pair of rollers intermesh with the fingers of the other of the pair of rollers so as to be able to lift litter between them. The apparatus further includes a device for conveying litter lifted by the pair of rollers to the hopper. The conveying device includes a plurality of fingers that intermesh with the fingers of one of the pair of rollers so as to remove the litter from the one roller, and a system for rotating the pair of rollers and the conveyor about axes that are substantially transverse to the direction of movement of the frame.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. An apparatus for collecting litter from the ground, comprising:
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a frame adapted for movement along the ground in a direction of movement; a hopper mounted at one end of said frame; a collector assembly supported on said frame, said collector assembly including; a pair of rollers having a plurality of flexible fingers disposed radially on the periphery thereof, said rollers being substantially parallel to each other and arranged so that the fingers on one of said pair of rollers intermesh with the fingers of the other of said pair of rollers, and means for rotating said pair of rollers in opposite directions about respective axes that are transverse to said direction of movement and disposed in a plane that is substantially parallel to the ground, to cause said intermeshing fingers to lift litter between them; means for conveying litter lifted by said pair of rollers to the hopper, said conveying means including a first belt having a plurality of fingers thereon that intermesh with the fingers of one of said pair of rollers so as to remove the litter from the one roller, and a second belt having a plurality of fingers that intermesh with the fingers of said other roller, said second belt being substantially parallel with said first belt; and means for rotating said conveyor means about an axis that is parallel to the rotational axes of said rollers with said first belt rotating in the same direction as said one roller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification