SE1951129A1

SE1951129A1 - A cassette element feeding device, where the cassette is provided with at least one bristle bunch, the use of such a device and a method for feeding such a cassette element

Info

Publication number: SE1951129A1
Application number: SE1951129A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Hans Ekholm; Henrik Einarsson
Original assignee: Svenska Ind I Vaesteraas Ab
Priority date: 2019-10-03
Filing date: 2019-10-03
Publication date: 2021-04-04
Also published as: WO2021066710A1; EP4041027A1; EP4041027B1; EP4041027A4; SE543693C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for feeding a cassette element (2) provided with at least one bristle bunch (3) into an elongated groove (4) of a cassette element holding member (5) of a cassette brush intended for industrial use. The device (1) comprises a support and guide unit (11) configured to receive and support a said cassette element (2), a moving arrangement configured to move a cassette element (2) received by the support and guide unit (11) into a said groove (4), and a power arrangement (25) controllable to make the moving arrangement move a said cassette element (2) into a said groove (4). The invention also relates to a method for feeding a cassette element (2) by use of such a device (1), as well as use of such a device (1) for replacing cassette elements (2) of a cassette brush of an airport runway sweeper.(Fig. 8).

Description

A cassette element feeding device, a method forfeeding a cassette element and use of a cassetteelement feeding device TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the technical field of cassette brushesintended for industrial use.

Such a brush may be arranged on a tractor, a floor or streetsweeping machine, an industrial machine or a robot, as a fewexamples, and is used for sweeping a surface. For example, sucha brush arranged at an industrial machine may be used forremoving disturbing particles from a conveyor and arranged at afloor sweeping machine the brush may be used for cleaning aconcrete floor.

However, the invention relates especially to the technical field ofcassette brushes arranged on some type of airport runwaysweeper, which is used for sweeping a runway at anairport/airfield so as to keep this free from stones, dust, snow andother objects and substances that may disturb the starts andlandings of airplanes. Hence, brushes arranged on airport runwaysweepers may be mentioned as a typical example withoutrestricting the invention thereto.

A typical brush of this type is composed of a circular cylindricalcassette element holding member (called "axle", "core" etc.) ofaluminium, which is provided with a plurality of elongated axialgrooves in an outer surface thereof. The holding member isprovided with plastic cassette elements, each having a pluralityof bristle bunches arranged there along, which cassette elementsare inserted one after another in the grooves of the holdingmember. A locking disc is mounted on each lateral end of theholding member to close the end openings of the grooves andthereby retain the cassette elements therein.

Brushes of this type are described in the documents US 4 302 863A and US 2018/008033 A1.

BACKGROUND ART The main advantage by a cassette brush over a brush of anothertype, such as a brush with bristles permanently attached to theholding member, is the ability to have the bristles of the brushreplaced when these are worn down while the expensive holdingmember may be used over and over again.

For replacing the bristles/bristle bunches of a brush of this type,a said locking disc is firstly removed, whereafter the usedcassette elements with worn down bristles are pulled out from thegrooves of the holding member through the end openings thereof.The grooves are then filled with new cassette elements byinserting these through the respective end openings and pushingthem into the respective grooves one after another (each grooveis commonly provided with several cassette elements, but couldalso have only one element). Finally, the locking disc is re-mounted on the holding member and the brush is ready for useagain. This entire replacement procedure may be performed whilethe cassette element holding member is held by the sweepingmachine/vehicle.

However, although this procedure seems simple in theory, thereare many problems related to the replacement of cassetteelements of a brush of this type. There are no tools on the marketcustom made for facilitating the operations of pulling out orpushing in the cassette elements from and into the grooves of theholding member, respectively. This means that in practice thecassette elements are pulled out and pushed in by hand, or bymeans of regular tools which are not adapted for this purpose orself-made tools with no CE marking. lt is usually a heavy workpulling out and pushing in the cassette elements due to dirt particles in the grooves which causes the elements to slide badlyand often get stuck therein. Bad working postures do not makethe job easier. Moreover, it is not unusual that the operatorperforming the replacement gets scratched and wounded on theskin of the arms and hands by sharp metal bristles of the cassetteelements, which are contaminated by chemical liquid used on therunways (in the case of a brush arranged on an airport runwaysweeper).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present inventions is to come up with a solutionto this problem, i.e. the heavy and dirty work of performing a saidreplacement procedure, so that such a procedure may beperformed more rapidly and in a better work environment for theoperator.

This object is according to the invention obtained by providing adevice for feeding a cassette element provided with at least onebristle bunch into an elongated groove of a cassette elementholding member of a cassette brush intended for industrial use,the device comprising o a support and guide unit configured to receive andsupport a said cassette element while allowing thecassette element to be axially slid along a guide trackprovided in the support and guide unit, wherein thesupport and guide unit is configured to be positionedwith the guide track aligned with an opening into a saidgroove at a lateral end of the cassette element holdingmember, o a moving arrangement configured to move a cassetteelement received by the support and guide unit alongthe guide track and into a said groove, and o a power arrangement controllable to make the movingarrangement move a said cassette element into a saidgroove.

The operator may by means of such a device easily feed a newcassette element into a groove of the cassette element holdingmember by simply placing the cassette element in the support andguide unit and controlling the power arrangement to make themoving arrangement move the cassette element into therespective groove. The operation of filling the grooves of theholding member with cassette elements may accordingly beperformed in a good working posture for the operator and theheavy work of pushing these in by hand is eliminated.Furthermore, the time for performing this operation is reduceddue to the force of the power arrangement making the cassetteelements slide to a proper position in the respective grooveswithout getting stuck.

According to an embodiment of the invention the movingarrangement is configured to bear on a cassette element receivedby the support and guide unit, and the power arrangement iscontrollable to make the moving arrangement move in a directionalong the guide track of the support and guide unit towards adischarge end thereof, at which a cassette element is to bedischarged from said guide track into a said groove, and therebyurge a said cassette element received by the support and guideunit towards said discharge end of the guide track and into a saidgroove.

According to another embodiment of the invention the movingarrangement comprises a pusher arranged to be movable alongthe guide track of the support and guide unit between a retractedposition, in which it allows a cassette element to be received bythe support and guide unit, and an advanced position whilepushing a said cassette element received by the support andguide unit into a said groove, and that the power arrangement iscontrollable to move the pusher from the retracted to theadvanced position.

This device facilitates simultaneous removal of used cassetteelements from and insertion of new cassette elements in the samegroove of a said holding member, by removal of both locking discsfrom the holding member so as to make the grooves thereof openat both ends, and pushing a said cassette element into a saidgroove so that all elements located in that groove are displacedtowards the opposite end thereof whereby the last element in therow drops out of the groove to be discarded. Hence, all operationswhich are heavy for the operator have been eliminated and thedevice accordingly creates a good working environment forhim/her. Furthermore, the device of this type enables replacementof the cassette elements of a said holding member in a very shorttime.

According to another embodiment of the invention the pusher isconfigured to bear by a front end surface thereof on a rear endsurface of a said cassette element received by the support andguide unit to push this cassette element from behind into a saidgroove in said advanced position.

According to another embodiment of the invention the pusher isslidably arranged along a rail extending along the guide track ofthe support and guide unit and defining a rectilinear path for thepusher between the retracted and advanced positions.

According to another embodiment of the invention the guide trackis a recessed guide channel configured to receive at least a partof a said cassette element therein when this is received by thesupport and guide unit, and to guide said cassette element, whilebeing moved by the moving arrangement, towards and into a saidgroove. The guide channel ensures that the cassette element isproperly inserted into the groove which implies less need ofcontrol and intervention by the operator and by that a higherdegree of automation.

According to another embodiment of the invention the guidechannel has a cross-section, perpendicularly to the longitudinalextension thereof, allowing a base body of a said cassetteelement to be slidably received therein when this cassetteelement is received by the support and guide unit, an entryopening at one end and an exit opening at the other end thereof,stop surfaces configured to retain said base body in the guidechannel while this is slid between the entry and exit openingsthereof, and an elongated opening extending between said entryand exit openings allowing said at least one bristle bunch of thecassette element to project out of the guide channel when thebase body is received therein, and the pusher has a part with ashape corresponding to said cross-section of the guide channel,which part is configured to enter into the guide channel throughthe entry opening thereof and be guided therein towards the exitopening while the pusher is moved from the retracted to theadvanced position.

According to another embodiment of the invention the support andguide unit comprises two elongated support and guide memberseach having a substantially U-shaped groove along a longitudinaledge thereof, wherein the support and guide members arearranged with said grooves extending in parallel with and at adistance from each other, with the openings of the U-shapesfacing each other, so as to together form said guide channel ofthe support and guide unit with a said elongated openingextending between said entry and exit openings both along a topand bottom portion of the guide channel.

According to another embodiment of the invention the devicefurther comprises: ø securing means configured to interact with parts of asaid cassette element holding member for fixedlysecuring the device thereto with the support and guideunit in said position while a said cassette element is moved into a said groove of the cassette elementholding member.

These securing means ensure that the device and the support andguide unit thereof are steadily kept in a suitable mutua| positionwith respect to the cassette element holding member while a saidcassette element is moved into a said groove of the holdingmember.

According to another embodiment of the invention the securingmeans comprises at least one locking pin movably arranged atthe device between a locking position, in which it protrudes froma front surface of the device and is configured to be inserted inand engage with a recess on a lateral side of said cassetteelement holding member, and a releasing position, in which it isretracted into said front surface.

According to another embodiment of the invention the devicefurther comprises: o an arrangement for manipulating a said cassetteelement holding member in the form of a rotatably heldcircular cylindrical body, which arrangementcomprises a locking member configured to, in anactive state, protrude on a front side of the device andbe inserted in and engage with a recess on a lateralside of said cassette element holding member,wherein the arrangement is controllable to move thelocking member between at least a first and a secondposition, in a direction at least substantiallyperpendicular to a longitudinal extension of the lockingmember when this is in the active state, and amovement of the locking member between the first andsecond positions is configured to cause a rotationalmovement of the cassette element holding memberwhen the locking member is in the active state.

Such an arrangement enables the operator to easily manipulatethe cassette element holding member so as to feed a said grooveto be provided with new cassette elements to the position in whicha cassette element received by the support and guide unit isaligned with an opening thereof without having to grab the dirtyholding member by hand or risk damaging it by using a non-suitable tool.

According to another embodiment of the invention the powerarrangement comprises a motor, preferably an electric motor. Amotor driven power arrangement implies a more automaticfeeding of cassette elements by the device and accordingly abetter working environment for the operator using it.

According to another embodiment of the invention the devicefurther comprises a frame structure provided with wheels, bywhich the device is configured to rest on a ground. Such a framestructure simplifies operation of the device.

According to another embodiment of the invention the devicecomprises a support element configured to receive a part of aholding structure, by which the cassette element holding memberis configured to be held, on an upper surface thereof so as toprovide support for holding said holding structure and thereby thecassette element holding member in a suitable position during anoperation of feeding a cassette element into a said groove of theholding member.

According to another embodiment of the invention the supportelement has receiving means, preferably a semicircular notch, insaid upper surface, in which the part of the holding structure isconfigured to be received and placed to rest.

According to another embodiment of the invention the supportelement is configured to allow a part of the holding structure togrip over said upper surface and behind a rear surface of the support element, so as to axially fix the cassette element holdingmember when the part of the holding structure is placed to reston the support element.

The invention also relates to a method for feeding a cassetteelement by means of a device according to the inventionaccording to the appended method claim. Realizations of, andadvantages with, such a method clearly appears from the aboveand following description of embodiments of a device accordingto the invention.

The invention also relates to use of a device according to theinvention according to the appended use claim.

Further advantages as well as advantageous features of theinvention will appear from the following description of anembodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With reference to the appended drawings, below follows a specificdescription of an embodiment of the invention cited as an example. ln the drawings: Fig 1 is a simplified perspective view obliquely from a rearside of a device according to an embodiment of theinvenüon, Fig 2 is a perspective view obliquely from a front side of the device of Fig 1, showing a part of the support and guideunit in detail, Fig 3 Fig 4 Fig 5 Fig 6 Fig 7 Fig 8 Fig 9 Fig 10 Fig 11 is a Simplified perspective view of an airport runwaysweeper provided with a cassette brush intended forindustrial use, is a simplified perspective view of a cassette elementprovided with a plurality of bristle bunches to bemounted in an elongated groove of a cassette elementholding member of a cassette brush intended forindustrial use, is a simplified view showing a first step of an operationof replacing the cassette elements of a cassetteelement holding member of a cassette brush intendedfor industrial use by use of the device of Fig 1, is a simplified view showing a second step of saidreplacement operation, is a simplified view showing a third step of saidreplacement operation, is a simplified view showing a fourth step of saidreplacement operation, is a simplified view showing a fifth step of saidreplacement operation, is a simplified view showing the fourth step of saidreplacement operation in more detail, and is a simplified sectional view of a part of the device inthe direction "A" in Fig 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THEINVENTION 11 A device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention isillustrated in the appended figures 1-2 and 5-11 and will now bedescribed while at the same time making reference to all thesefigures.

The device 1 is configured to be used for feeding a cassetteelement 2 into an elongated groove 4 of a cassette elementholding member 5 of a cassette brush 6 intended for industrialuse, especially a cassette brush arranged on an airport runwaysweeper 7, and more specifically, for replacing used cassetteelements of such a brush with new ones. Such a cassette element2 has an elongated plank-like base body 18 provided with aplurality of bristle bunches 3 protruding from an upper surfacethereof (see Fig. 4).

The device 1 comprises a frame structure in the form of a baseplate 8 carried by legs 9 provided with wheels 10, by which thedevice is configured to rest on a ground.

The device 1 further comprises a support and guide unit 11arranged on the base plate 8 and configured to receive andsupport a said cassette element 2 to be fed into a said groove 4while allowing the cassette element to be axially slid, i.e. slidalong a longitudinal axis thereof, along a guide track in the formof a recessed guide channel 12 provided in the support and guideunit.

The support and guide unit 11 comprises two elongated supportand guide members 11a-b, each having a vertical wall attachedto the base plate 8 and a horizontal wall extending from the topend of the vertical wall towards the other support and guidemember, i.e. the support and guide members each has a cross-section with the shape of an "L" turned upside down, with thehorizontal short legs pointing at each other (see Fig 11). The endsurfaces of the support and guide members 11a-b facing eachother are each provided with a substantially U-shaped groove 12 13a-b extending along the entire length of the respective supportand guide member. "Substantially U-shaped" is here to beinterpreted as having a bottom and two walls extendingsubstantially perpendicularly away therefrom and defining anopening between the outer ends thereof, and shall also include aU-shape with square corners as is seen in Fig 11, as oneexample.

The support and guide members 11a-b are arranged with saidgrooves 13a-b extending in parallel with and at a distance fromeach other, with the openings of the U-shapes facing each other,so that the grooves together form the guide channel 12 of thesupport and guide unit 11. Due to the distance between the endsurfaces of the support and guide members provided with grooves13a-b, the guide channel has an elongated bottom opening 14extending along a center of a bottom portion of the channelbetween an entry opening 15 at one end and an exit opening 16at the other end thereof, and an elongated top opening 17extending along a center of a top portion of the channel betweensaid entry and exit openings thereof.

The guide channel 12 has a rectangular cross-section,perpendicularly to the longitudinal extension thereof, allowing abase body 18 of a said cassette element 2 to be slidably receivedtherein when this cassette element is received by the support andguide unit 11. More specifically, the base body of the cassetteelement is inserted into the guide channel through the entryopening 15 thereof and rests slidingly on the lower walls of thegrooves 13a-b of the support and guide members 11a-b whenreceived therein. Accordingly, these lower walls provide stopsurfaces for the base body 18 of the cassette element in thedownward direction, and the upper walls of these grooves 13a-bprovide stop surfaces for the base body in the upward direction,whereby the base body 18 is retained in the guide channel 12 bythese stop surfaces and may be brought out therefrom by axiallysliding out through one of the entry 15 and exit 16 openings only. 13 The elongated top opening 17 of the guide channel allows said atleast one bristle bunch of the cassette element to project out ofthe guide channel when the base body 18 of the cassette element2 is received and slid therein.

The support and guide unit 11 is thus configured to receive andsupport a said cassette element 2 to be fed into a said groove 4of a cassette element holding member 5 by receiving this elementin the guide channel 12. The support and guide unit is configuredto be positioned such that a cassette element received by it hasits front end 37 aligned with an opening 19 into a said groove ata lateral end of the cassette element holding member, namely ina position in which the exit opening 16 of the guide channel 12 isaligned with said opening 19 of the groove 4 of the cassetteelement holding member 5 (see Fig 7).

The device 1 further comprises a moving arrangement configuredto move a cassette element 2 received by the support and guideunit 11 along the guide channel 12 and into a said groove 4 of acassette element holding member 5. The moving arrangementcomprises a carriage-like pusher 20 slidably arranged along a rail21 arranged on the base plate 8 and extending along the guidechannel 12 of the support and guide unit 11, namely under theguide channel, and defining a rectilinear path for the pusherbetween a retracted position (see for instance Fig 7), in which itallows a cassette element 2 to be received in the guide channel12 of the support and guide unit 11, and an advanced position(see Fig 8) while pushing a said cassette element received in theguide channel 12 of the support and guide unit 11 into a saidgroove 4.

More specifically, the rail 21 extends from a region of the exitopening 16 of the guide channel 12, along the entire length of theguide channel and past the entry opening 15 thereof by a partwith a greater length than the length of the pusher 20, and thepusher in the retracted position is located at an end of the rail 21 14 opposite to the end located at the region of the exit opening 16 ofthe guide channel 12, so as to allow a cassette element to beinserted through the entry opening 15 of the guide channel 12 tobe received therein in a position between a front end surface 22of the pusher 20 and said exit opening 16. The pusher 20 isaccordingly configured to bear by the front end surface 22 thereofon a rear end surface 23 of a said cassette element 2 received inthe guide channel 12 of the support and guide unit 11 to urge thiscassette element from behind towards a discharge end of theguide channel, namely said exit opening 16, and into a saidgroove 4 in the advanced position.

The pusher 20 has a part 24 with a shape corresponding to saidcross-section of the guide channel 12. More specifically, thepusher has a T-shape and the upper horizontal part 24 of the Thas a cross-section substantially corresponding to the cross-section of the guide channel 12 (see Fig 11). This part 24 of thepusher is configured to enter into the guide channel through theentry opening 15 thereof and be guided therein towards the exitopening 16 while the pusher 20 is moved from the retracted to theadvanced position. The vertical part of the T-shape of the pusher20 interconnecting the upper part 24 and a part in contact withthe rail 21 projects through the bottom opening 14 of the guidechannel 12 when said upper part 24 is located therein.

The device 1 further comprises a power arrangement 25,comprising an electric motor, controllable to make the movingarrangement move a said cassette element 2 into a said groove4 of a cassette element holding member 5, and more specifically,controllable to move the pusher 20 from the retracted to theadvanced position. The power arrangement may for instanceoperate the pusher by means of a ball screw arrangement, whichis well known in the art and will therefore not be further describedin this disclosure.

The power arrangement 25 may be controllable to move thepusher 20 back and forth between said retracted and advancedpositions along the rail 21 by means of control buttons (notshown), but it is also possible that the power arrangement isconfigured to be used for moving the pusher from the retracted tothe advanced position only, and thus that the operator of thedevice needs to bring the pusher back to the retracted position byhand. The power arrangement could also be fully automatic, suchas be controlled by information provided by position sensors.Furthermore, it is also possible that the power arrangement ismanually operable, i.e. may be driven without a motor, such asby means of a crank handle or the like.

The device 1 further comprises securing means in the form of twolocking pins 26 slidably arranged in a respective channel-likerecess in a front surface 27 of the device, and more specificallyeach slidably arranged in a recess in a front surface of one of thetwo support and guide members 11a-b. Each locking pin 26 ismovable between a locking position, in which it is slid out of therecess to protrude from said front surface 27 and configured tobe inserted in and engage with a recess on a lateral side of a saidcassette element holding member 5, and a releasing position, inwhich it is retracted into the recess in said front surface. Theserecesses on the lateral side of the holding member may forinstance be guide holes prepared therein, i.e. which facilitateguiding of the holding member 5 to a suitable position for acassette element feeding operation by insertion of said lockingpins 26 therein. Each locking pin is connected to and operated bya sliding knob 28. The locking pins are used to fixedly secure thedevice 1 to a cassette element holding member 5 in the lockingposition, with the support and guide unit 11 in said position, i.e.with the exit opening 16 of the guide channel 12 aligned with anopening 19 into a said groove 4 of the holding member 5. Thus, arotatable circular cylindrical cassette element holding member isin this way held in a non-rotatable state during a said feedingoperation. 16 The device 1 further comprises an arrangement for manipulatinga said cassette element holding member 5 in the form of arotatably held circular cylindrical body. The manipulatingarrangement comprises a locking member in the form of a lockingpin 29 configured to, in an active state, protrude on a front sideof the device 1 and be inserted in and engage with a recess on a|atera| side of said cassette element holding member 5. Thelocking pin 29 is slidably received in a guide slot 30 arranged ina plate element attached to the base plate 8 at a front end thereof.The guide slot is curved in such a way that the locking pin 29 ismoved along a part of an imagined circle, with the axis of rotationof the cassette element holding member 5 to be manipulated asthe center, when this is slid in the guide slot.

The locking pin 29 is connected to a lever 31 by which it ismovable in the guide slot 30 between at least a first and a secondposition, in a direction at least substantially perpendicular to alongitudinal extension of the locking pin (and to the axis ofrotation of the cassette element holding member 5), and therebycauses a rotational movement of the holding member 5 when thelocking pin 29 is in the active state. The locking pin 29 has a headpart 32 located on a rear side of the plate element, by which thelocking pin may be pulled through the guide slot 30 out ofengagement with a said recess of the cassette element holdingmember 5, to be slid in the guide slot to a position in which it isaligned with and may be inserted in another such recess of theholding member.

Hereinafter, a method of replacing used cassette elements 2bwith worn down bristle bunches (see Fig 5) of a cassette elementholding member 5 by means of a device 1 is to be described, withreference especially to the figures 5-10. The cassette elementholding member has a circular cylindrical body with elongatedaxial grooves 4 in an outer surface thereof. The holding member 17 is part of a cassette brush 6 which is rotatably mounted on ashaft 33 held by front arms 34 of an airport runway sweeper 7.

Firstly, the locking discs 35 (see Fig 5) mounted on each lateralend of the holding member 5 are removed so as to clear theopenings 19 into the grooves 4 of the holding member at bothends thereof (see Fig 6). Each of these locking discs consistssuitably by two halves, so as to allow removal thereof while theholding member is held by the airport runway sweeper 7, and areattached to the holding member by screws.

Thereafter, a part of the holding structure, by which the cassetteelement holding member 5 is held (comprising the shaft 33 onwhich the holding member 5 is mounted, the front arms 34 of theairport runway sweeper 7 as well as components attachedthereto), is received and placed to rest on an upper surface of asupport element 36 arranged on a front side of the frame structureof the device 1, so that the cassette element holding member isvertically fixed by the device 1 with the groove 4 located at thetop of the holding member 5 located at the same height as theexit opening 16 of the guide channel 12 of the support and guideunit 11 of the device 1 (see Fig 7). The support element 36 hasreceiving means in the form of a semicircular notch 40 in saidupper surface, in which the part of the holding structure isconfigured to be received and placed to rest. Furthermore, thesupport element 36 is configured to allow a gripping part (notshown) of the holding structure to grip over said upper surfaceand behind a rear surface 41 of the support element, so as toaxially fix the cassette element holding member 5 when the partof the holding structure is placed to rest on the support element36.

The wheels 10 of the device are then put into a lock position soas to immobilize the device. Preferably, the opposite end of theshaft 33 is also placed to rest on some external support surface, 18 such as at a support carriage 39, to keep the holding member 5steady in a horizontal position.

The two locking pins 26 on the support and guide unit 11 aremoved, by actuation of the sliding knobs 28, to their lockingposition in engagement with a respective recess at a |atera| sideof the cassette element holding member 5 so as to lock theholding member 5 in a non-rotatable position with the opening 19into the groove 4 located at the top of the holding member alignedwith the exit opening 16 of the guide channel 12 of the supportand guide unit 11. Furthermore, the head part 32 of the lockingpin 29 of the manipulating arrangement is gripped and pulled in adirection away from the cassette element holding member 5allowing the locking pin 29 to be slid to a first position in the guideslot 30, at the top thereof, and inserted into a recess on the |atera|side of the holding member by bringing the head part 32 back intocontact with the plate element in this position.

The cassette element holding member 5 is now axially andradially fixed by the device 1, and more specifically by the supportelement 36 and the two locking pins 26 on the support and guideunit 11 thereof.

A cassette element 2 is placed in and received by the support andguide unit 11, and more specifically inserted into the guidechannel 12 through the entry opening 15 thereof and slid in saidchannel to a position in which a front end surface 37 of thecassette element 2 is located at the exit opening 16 of the guidechannel 12, i.e. aligned with the opening 19 into the groove 4located at the top of the holding member 5, and the rear endsurface 23 of the cassette element is located at the entry opening15 of the guide channel. The pusher 20 is located in the retractedposition, and may also be folded down on one side of the rail 21,so as to provide space for allowing this insertion of the cassetteelement into the guide channel. lt should be mentioned that theplacing of the cassette element 2 in the support and guide unit 11 19 may of course be done at an earlier stage of this method, such asin a first stage, as is understood from Fig 5.

The operator performing the replacement method then actuatesthe power arrangement, for instance by a control button (notshown), to move the pusher 20 to the advanced position, i.e. toslide along the rail 21 so that the upper part 24 of the pusher ismoved into the entry opening 15 of the guide channel and is slidtherein towards the exit opening 16 while bearing by the front endsurface 22 on the rear end surface 23 of the cassette element 2so as to push the cassette element through the guide channel 12and out of the exit opening 16 thereof into said opening 19 of thegroove 4 of the cassette element holding member 5 (see Fig 8).

Each groove 4 of a cassette element holding member 5 of thistype is typically provided with 4-6 (in the example shown 4)cassette elements 2 arranged one after another therein. Thismeans that the length of a said groove substantially correspondsto the length of four cassette elements combined. When a newcassette element is pushed into the opening 19 of a said groove4 by the pusher 20, this new element abuts a first one in the rowof used cassette elements 2b located in that groove. While beingpushed further into the groove 4 by the pusher 20, this newcassette element 2 will in turn push the entire row of usedcassette elements 2b towards the opening of the groove at theopposite lateral end of the holding member 5, and once the newcassette element 2 is fully inserted in the groove 4, the last usedcassette element 2b in the row will drop out from said opening atthe opposite end and into a collecting container 38 (see Fig 10).

This procedure is then repeated, i.e. a new cassette element 2placed in the support and guide unit 11 of the device 1 and pushedinto the groove 4 of the holding member 5, until this groove isfilled with new cassette elements only. Thus, with this methodthere is no need to separately pull out the used cassette elements2b from a groove 4, as the removal of these is managed automatically by the feeding of new cassette elements therein,which substantially reduces the time needed for a process ofreplacing the cassette elements of a cassette element holdingmember of this type.

When a groove 4 of the cassette element holding member iscompletely filled with new cassette elements 2, the operator pullsthe locking pins 26 of the support and guide unit 11 back to thereleasing position whereby the holding member 5 is allowed torotate, and then simply pulls the lever 31 of the manipulatingarrangement to make the locking pin 29 thereof slide in the guideslot 30 to a second position, at the bottom thereof, whereby thecassette element holding member 5 is rotated and a new groove4 thereof fed to a position in which the opening 19 thereof isaligned with the exit opening 16 of the guide channel (see Fig 9).

This procedure is repeated until all the grooves 4 of the cassetteelement holding member 5 are filled with new cassette elements2, whereafter this is lifted from the support element 36 of thedevice 1 and the support carriage 39, the locking discs 35 are re-mounted at the lateral ends of the holding member and the brush6 is ready for use.

Accordingly, the present invention offers a solution to the problemdescribed in the introduction, by providing a device 1 as well asa method of using it enabling replacement of cassette elementsof a cassette element holding member 5 of a cassette brush 6intended for industrial use in less time and in a substantiallybetter working environment for the operator compared to thereplacement procedures used today.

The invention is of course not in any way restricted to theembodiment thereof described above, but many possibilities tomodifications thereof will be apparent to a person with ordinaryskill in the art without departing from the scope of the inventionas defined in the appended claims. 21 A cassette element holding member with a body having a circularcylindrical shape is one type of such a holding member. However,the body of the holding member may for instance have the shapeof a cone or be substantially flat.

The moving arrangement may comprise other components than apusher, such as rotatable wheels, or a belt fed in an endless loop,arranged along the guide track and configured to bear on acassette element received therein so as to move said element byfriction force between the rotatable wheels/belt and the element,as a few examples.

The device could also be configured for feeding two or morecassette elements at a time, either in series (into the samegroove) or in parallel (into two or more adjacent grooves).

The phrase "industrial use" as used in this disclosure refers tosuch use that is not commonly performed in a regular household.For example, use of a handheld broom is considered to not beincluded in this definition, even if it is used in an industrial facility.

The steps a) and b) in the appended method claim may also beperformed in the reversed order, i.e. the support and guide unitfirstly positioned so that a cassette element then placed thereinis directly aligned with said opening into said groove.

A said guide track is not to be limited to comprising a recessedtrack or channel, but could for instance consist of a flat surfacealong which a cassette element is guided.

The terms upper, lower, front, rear, horizontal and vertical as areused in this disclosure for defining various components, or partsthereof, are to be interpreted as valid for a device placed on ahorizontal ground, as shown for instance in Fig 2. The front side 22 of the device as shown in Fig 2 is directed obliquely to the rightand obliquely towards the viewer of the drawing. lt is of course also possible to use the device for feeding cassetteelements into empty grooves of for instance a brand new cassetteelement holding member, i.e. without simultaneously pushing outused cassette elements therefrom. Furthermore, it is possible touse the device for emptying a said groove of a cassette elementholding member without providing this with new cassetteelements, by pushing cassette elements, with or without bristlebunches, or bodies with similar shape, into the groove in order topush out used cassette elements therefrom. Those cassetteelements or bodies pushed into the groove may thereafter bepushed/pulled out therefrom and the groove is empty.

A cassette brush is in this disclosure to be interpreted as a brushcomprising a cassette element holding member provided with atleast one cassette element, which is provided with at least onebristle bunch. Such a brush may however also comprise othercomponents, such as locking discs etc. Although the bristles of asaid cassette element are usually arranged in one or morebunches, it is of course also possible that a cassette element tobe fed by the device is provided with separate bristles scatteredover a surface thereof.

Claims

1. 1. 23 Claims 1. A device (1 ) forfeeding a cassette element (2) provided with at least one bristle bunch (3) into an elongated groove (4)of a cassette element holding member (5) of a cassettebrush (6) intended for industrial use, the device (1)comprising~ a support and guide unit (11) configured to receive andsupport a said cassette element (2) while allowing thecassette element (2) to be axially slid along a guidetrack provided in the support and guide unit (11),wherein the support and guide unit (11) is configuredto be positioned with the guide track aligned with anopening (19) into a said groove (4) at a lateral end ofthe cassette element holding member (5),o a moving arrangement configured to move a cassetteelement (2) received by the support and guide unit(11) along the guide track and into a said groove (4),ando a power arrangement (25) controllable to make themoving arrangement move a said cassette element (2)into a said groove (4).

2. A device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the moving arrangement is configured to bear on a cassetteelement (2) received by the support and guide unit (11), andthat the power arrangement (25) is controllable to make themoving arrangement move in a direction along the guidetrack of the support and guide unit (11) towards a dischargeend thereof, at which a cassette element (2) is to bedischarged from said guide track into a said groove (4), andthereby urge a said cassette element (2) received by thesupport and guide unit (11) towards said discharge end ofthe guide track and into a said groove (4). 24

3. A device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the moving arrangement comprises a pusher (20) arrangedto be movable along the guide track of the support and guideunit (11) between a retracted position, in which it allows acassette element (2) to be received by the support andguide unit (11), and an advanced position while pushing asaid cassette element (2) received by the support and guideunit (11) into a said groove (4), and that the powerarrangement (25) is controllable to move the pusher (20)from the retracted to the advanced position. _ A device (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the pusher (20) is configured to bear by a front end surface (22)thereof on a rear end surface (23) of a said cassette element(2) received by the support and guide unit (11) to push thiscassette element (2) from behind into a said groove (4) insaid advanced position. _ A device (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the pusher (20) is slidably arranged along a rail (21)extending along the guide track of the support and guideunit (11) and defining a rectilinear path for the pusher (20)between the retracted and advanced positions. .A device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide track is a recessed guidechannel (12) configured to receive at least a part (24) of asaid cassette element (2) therein when this is received bythe support and guide unit (11), and to guide said cassetteelement (2), while being moved by the moving arrangement,towards and into a said groove (4). _ A device (1) according to claims 3 and 6, characterized in that the guide channel (12) has a cross-section,perpendicularly to the longitudinal extension thereof,allowing a base body (18) of a said cassette element (2) to be slidably received therein when this cassette element (2)is received by the support and guide unit (11), an entryopening (15) at one end and an exit opening (16) at theother end thereof, stop surfaces configured to retain saidbase body (18) in the guide channel (12) while this is s|idbetween the entry (15) and exit (16) openings thereof, andan elongated opening (17) extending between said entry(15) and exit (16) openings allowing said at least one bristlebunch (3) of the cassette element (2) to project out of theguide channel (12) when the base body (18) is receivedtherein, and that the pusher (20) has a part (24) with ashape corresponding to said cross-section of the guidechannel (12), which part (24) is configured to enter into theguide channel (12) through the entry opening (15) thereofand be guided therein towards the exit opening (16) whilethe pusher (20) is moved from the retracted to the advancedposition. 8. A device (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the support and guide unit (11) comprises two elongatedsupport and guide members (11a-b) each having asubstantially U-shaped groove (13a-b) along a longitudinaledge thereof, wherein the support and guide members (11a-b) are arranged with said grooves (13a-b) extending inparallel with and at a distance from each other, with theopenings of the U-shapes facing each other, so as totogether form said guide channel (12) of the support andguide unit (11) with a said elongated opening (14, 17)extending between said entry (15) and exit (16) openingsboth along a top and bottom portion of the guide channel(12). 9. A device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device (1) further comprises:ø securing means configured to interact with parts of asaid cassette element holding member (5) for fixedly 26 securing the device (1) thereto with the support andguide unit (11) in said position while a said cassetteelement (2) is moved into a said groove (4) of thecassette element holding member (5). 10.A device (1) according to c|aim 9, characterized in that the 11. securing means comprises at least one locking pin (26)movably arranged at the device (1) between a lockingposition, in which it protrudes from a front surface (27) ofthe device (1) and is configured to be inserted in andengage with a recess on a lateral side of said cassetteelement holding member (5), and a releasing position, inwhich it is retracted into said front surface (27). A device (1) according to any of the preceding claims,characterized in that the device (1) further comprises: o an arrangement for manipulating a said cassetteelement holding member (5) in the form of a rotatablyheld circular cylindrical body, which arrangementcomprises a locking member (29) configured to, in anactive state, protrude on a front side of the device (1)and be inserted in and engage with a recess on alateral side of said cassette element holding member(5), wherein the arrangement is controllable to movethe locking member (29) between at least a first and asecond position, in a direction at least substantiallyperpendicular to a longitudinal extension of the lockingmember (29) when this is in the active state, and amovement of the locking member (29) between thefirst and second positions is configured to cause arotational movement of the cassette element holdingmember (5) when the locking member (29) is in theactive state. 12. 13. 1

4. 1

5. 27 A device (1) according to any of the preceding claims,characterized in that the power arrangement (25)comprises a motor, preferably an electric motor. A device (1) according to any of the preceding claims,characterized in that the device (1) further comprises aframe structure (8, 9) provided with wheels (10), by whichthe device (1) is configured to rest on a ground. A method for feeding a cassette element (2) provided withat least one bristle bunch (3) into an elongated groove (4)of a cassette element holding member (5) of a cassettebrush (6) intended for industrial use, by use of a device (1)according to any of the claims 1-13, the method comprising a) placing the cassette element (2) in the support and guideunit (11), b) positioning the support and guide unit (11) with the guidetrack aligned with an opening (19) into a said groove (4), c) controlling the power arrangement (25) to make themoving arrangement move the cassette element (2)along the guide track and into the groove (4). Use of a device (1) according to any of the claims 1-13 forreplacing said cassette elements (2) of a cassette elementholding member (5) of a cassette brush (6) of an airportrunway sweeper (7).