AU5504100A

AU5504100A - Debris collecting device

Info

Publication number: AU5504100A
Application number: AU55041/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Zhechao Luo; Qing Yong Zhao
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-08-31
Filing date: 2000-08-31
Publication date: 2002-03-07

Description

2DE T3I~ILS 'tD 0' 3LALJ~ ccj!'ff If N ]D I~7IE cC TE The invention relates to an improvement in a device for collecting debris, such as leaves and sticks, from a surface, such as the surface of a tennis court.

Outside playing courts, such as tennis court, are often prone to accumulating leaves or other debris on their surface which must be periodically removed.

Accordin to the present invention there is provided roller brushes, shovels and trawls for sweeping a surface, said the debris collecting device comprising brushes, shovels and trawls through which debris, such as leaves or sticks, can pass to collect on the upper surface of the trawls.

The debris' collecting device is preferably composed of semi-flexible material, such as rubber or a suitable polymeric material, and metal, such as aluminum.

The roller brushes are preferably composed of a semi-flexible material, the roller brushes are preferably elongated with the axis of each roller brush aligned generally transverse to the direction of travel of the device. The axis of the roller brushes may face perpendicular to the direction of travel.

The roller brushes are pivotally mounted on a strip at the leading edge of the device with hinges, it can rotate by the friction between the brushes and the surface when the debris collecting device is dragged along the surface. The position of the roller brushes is in front of the shovels and close enough to the shovels ensures that the brushes can scrape the surface which need to be swept and the upper surface of the shovels, so that the brushes can work with the shovels to lilt the debris to the upper surface of the trawls.

The shovels are preferably composed of a semi-flexible material, such as rubber or a suitable polymeric material. The shovels are preferably elongated with the longitudinal axis of each shovel aligned generally transverse to the direction of travel of the debris collecting device.

The trailing edge of the shovel is chamfered to work together with the roller brushes to lift the debris onto the upper surface of the trawls, the longitudinal axis of each shovel face perpendicular to the direction of travel. Preferably the trail edge of each shovel may be shaped in saw-tooth in order to collect the debris.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a debris collecting device in accordance with the invention and having roller brushes, shovels and trawls ibr collecting the debris; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the debris collecting device in accordance with the invention; Figure 3 is perspective view to a roller brush; Figure 4 is a plan view of a roller brush; Figure 5 is a plan view of a complete outfit comprising shovel and trawl; Figure 6 is a side view of a complete outfit comprising shovel and trawl; Figure 7 is perspective view of a complete outfit comprising shovel and trawl; Figure 8 is a perspective view to an enlarged scale showing part of the trailing edge of the shovel.

As shown in figure 1 of the accompanying drawings the debris collecting device for bagging a clay tennis court comprises roller brushes 4, semi-flexible material, hard material. A strip 1 at the leading edge of the debris collecting device carries a rope-like handle 7 by which the debris collecting device can be dragged along the siirface of the court. The roller brushes 4 are pivotally mounted on a strip 1 at the leading edge of the device with hinges 2.Some wheels 3 are mounted on the axis 4a of the roller brushes to assist to rotate the roller brushes.

As shown in figure 4 preferably, the roller brushes are composed of segments of separately formed column elements 1 each comprising two edges 2 which at the ends of a column like formation 3 the elements 1 fastened together to form the roller brushes by lugs projecting from the edge 2 of one element to fit into corresponding holes formed in the adjacent edge of the adjacent element.

As shown in figure 5 of the accompanying drawings the debris collecting device for bagging a clay tennis court comprises shovel 5 and trawl 6, semi-flexible material Preferably, the shovel and the trawl are one complete outfit 10, the trawls and the shovels are joined together, they are made in one complete outfit 10 .the outfit is composed composes of segments of separately formed rectangular outfit 10 each comprising an outer border 8 which surrounds a grid-like formation 6a, with the axes of the grid extending approximately at 45' to the edges of the outfit 10 .The outfit 10 are fastened together to form the outfit by lugs 6d projecting from the border 8 of one outfit to fit into holes 6e correspondingly formed in the adjacent border of the adjacent element.

As shown in figure 8, the trailing edge 5a of each shovel 5 is chamfered by shaping in the saw-tooth like of the trailing edge facilitates collecting and lifting of the debris onto the upper surface of the trawls.

As shown in figure 6 The lower edge 5b of the shovel edge portion8 may also extent below the lower surface of the outfit 10 to further facilitate the collecting and lifting action of the debris onto the upper surface of the trawls.

As shown in figure 5, in one particularly advantageous form, the trawl 6 is of a. wire mesh construction 6a, the trawl 6 is composed of two layer of sieve. One build upper to another one, the upper sieve 6b is composed of bigger grid, it is used to sieve the bigger debris, the another sieve 6c is composed of smaller grid, it is used to sieve the smaller debris. The position where the sieve 6c has smaller holes is built at is leave the surface of the court a little.

As shown in Figure 6. Some strips 6f are built under the trawl, the strips are used to planish the surface of the court and support the sieves. Preferably the strips may face perpendicularly to the direction of travel.

As the mat is dragged along a day court in order to bag the surface, this will also have the effect of collecting the debris, such as leaves, friom the court by passing through the brushes and shovel onto the upper surface of the mat. Although all of the debris will not necessarily be collected in a single pass, successive bagging of the court will serve to completely remove all of the debris. The dots also act to reduce the frictional drag of the mat.

Although the debris collector device particularly described is primarily designed for a clay court in order to remove debris while bagging the court, the debris collector device also be used on a synthetic grass court or other grassed surface, such as lawns or playing fields, just for the purpose of removing leaves or other debris, the debris collector device has also proven effective in gathering leaves and other debris on hard surface, such as concrete and "Plexipave".

To improve the effect of debris collecting, the debris collecting device can be formed of raws of the same construction like the preceding description.

The debris collector device may also be used to sweep a beach or other surface in order surface in order to remove debris. For this purpose the most need not necessarily be of grid-like construction. When the debris is likely to consist of bottles and other relatively larger matter. The roller brushes, shovels and trawls will be of an appropriate size to accommodate this.

The described debris collecting device is formed from, for example, plastics materials but could be formed from other materials. For example, it may be formed from relatively hard material such as metai. Preferably though even in this case it should form a relatively flexible and/or resilient structure. In any event too, the structure, however formed, may be of a different scale, such as larger, than the sizes employed in the exemplary constructions which are designed mainly for use on tennis courts with total side to side dimensions of the order of two metres. The debris collecting device as used in this specification is to be understood as encompassing such differently constructed or differently sized structures.

The described construction has been advanced merely by way of explanation and many modifications and variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Claims

1. A debris collecting device for sweeping a surface, said debris collecting device comprising roller brushes, shovels and trawls through which debris can be collected on the upper surface of the trawls.

2. The debris collecting device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said roller brushes are elongated with the lengthwise dimension of each roller brush aligned generally transverse to the S* .direction of travel of the device. e

3. The debris collecting device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the roller brushes are pivotally mounted on the debris collecting device with hinges.

4. The debris collecting device as claimed in claim 3 wherein the roller brushes can rotate by the friction between the brushes and the surface when the debris collecting device is dragged along the surface.

The debris collecting device as claimed in claim 4 wherein the roller brushes are installed in front of the shovels and close enough to the shovels to ensure that the brushes can scrape the surface of the upper surface of the shovels and the surface which need to be swept.

6. The debris collecting device of claim 2 5 wherein has some wheels are installed on the axis of the roller brushes and which can rotate by the friction between the wheels and the surface when the debris collecting device is dragged along the surface,such that the wheels can assist to rotate the roller brushes.

7. The debris collecting device as claimed in any preceding claim the roller brushes are formed of elements of roller brush segment which are configuration to each other at edges there of.

8. The debris collecting device as claimed in any preceding claim the roller brushes formed elements of roller brush segment configuration and having means for affixing the element whereby to form the roller brushes.

9. The roller brush segment element as claimed 7 wherein the axis formed of hard material.

The roller brush segment element as claim 7 the brush is formed of semi-flexible material.

11. The roller brush segment element as claim 10 wherein said semi-flexible material in a polymeric material.

12. The debris collecting device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said shovels are elongated with the lengthwise dimension of each shovel aligned generally transverse to the direction of travel of the device.

13. The debris collecting device as claimed 12 wherein the trailing edge of each shovel is chamfered to make it possible for work with the roller brushes to lift debris onto the surface of the trawl.

14. The debris collecting device as claimed in claiml3 wherein the trailing edge of each shovel is perpendicular to the direction of travel.

The debris collecting device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the trailing edge of each shovel include serrations to collect debris.

16. The debris collecting device as claimed in any preceding claim the shovels are formied of elements of shovel segment configuration to each other at edge there of

17. The debris collecting device as claimed in any preceding claim the shovels formed elements of shovel segment configuration and having means for affixing the element to other element in order to form the shovels.

18. The shovels segment elements claimed in claim 16 are formed of semi-flexible material.

19. The shovels segment element as claimed in claim 18 wherein said are formed of semi- flexible material is rubber or a polymeric material.

The debris collecting device as claimed in claim 1 where said trawls are elongate with the lengthwise dimension of each trawl aligned generally transverse to the direction of travel of the device.

21. The trawls as claimed in claim 19 are installed on the rear of the shovel.

22. The trawls as claimed in claim 19 are composed of two layers of sieved, one has bigger holes, the other has smaller holes, the sieve which has the bigger holes is above the other 9 one ,the sieve which has smaller holes sit above and leave the surface.