US1316355A

US1316355A - Falls

Info

Publication number: US1316355A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1919-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 1936-09-16

Description

F. L. COLLIS.

SWEEPER.

APPLICATION man Demi, 1911.

ATTOR N EY mann/mn cn., WASHINGTON. U. C.

F. L. CLLIS.

swEEPEn. Y

L: v APPLICATION FILED DEC-17| 1917. 1,316,355. PatentedSept.16,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Il INVENTOR ATTORNEY F. L. COLLIS.

SWEEPER.

APPLICATION man umu. |911.

www

ATTO R N EY FREI) L. COLLIS, OF IOWA FALLS, IOWA.

swrziirnn.v Y i Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Slept. 16, 1919.

Application led December 17, 191,7. Serial No. 207,608.

To all whom it may concern .i

Be it known that I, FRED L. CoLLIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Iowa Falls, in the county of Hardin and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sweepers, of which the following is a specifi-cation.

This invention relates to sweepers, an

vmore particularly to sweepers 'of that class used for sweeping streets and similar purposes.

This invention is intended more particularly as an improvement on `the sweeper shown in my application Serial Number 136,760 for sweepers filed December 13, 1916, and allowed October 6, 1917.

One of the main objects of the invention is tol provide a sweeper of the character stated of simple construction and operation having a receiving casing or hod into which the material gathered is discharged from an inclined trough, an elevator being mounted above this trough with its lower run operative in the same and provided with brushes.

A further object is to provide a sweeper in which the gathering trough is so constructed as to permit the material gathered to be v'easily Vand properly distributed in the receiving hod or casing. Another object is to provide means whereby material may be discharged directly into the receiving casing or, if preferred, a. bag or similar receptacle may be secured in the casing and the material discharged from the trough directly into the same. A still further object is to provide an elevator mechanism of simple construction and operation and simple and efficient means for adjusting the same longitudinally and toward/and away from the gathering trough. Further objects will appear from the detailed description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section taken through a sweeping machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig, 2 is a top plan view with the inclosing casing broken away.

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail of the lower portion of the gathering trough and elevator.

Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially on line 5,-75 of` Fig. 4.

Fig. 6' is a fragmentary underneath vie ofthe i gathering trough.

may be formed as a unitary structure.

The main supporting frame is formed with the side bars 1 of substantially rectangular shape in cross section the upper end portions of which are disposed at an angleand inclined upwardly fand rearwardly to provide the spaced handle bars 2. Each of the side frame bars is provided, intermediate its ends, with a bearing collar 3 secured' thereto and depending therefrom. This collar rotatably supports an aXle 4 at each end of which is secured a ground wheel 5. A sheet metal receiving casing 6 is secured to the side ,bars of the frame so as to be carried thereby, the upper portion of this casing being extended forwardly and downwardly to provide a hood 7 which incloses the gathering trough and elevating mechanism, this hood being o'pen .at its lower end. The inclosing casing comprising the-receptacle 6 and hood 7 may, of course,

be sectional, if preferred, as indicated, or

A sheet metal gathering trough 8 is mount- -ed on the main frame bars 1, this trough being provided with the lateral upwardly Vdirected flanges 9 which are pivotally secured at their lower'ends, by means of bolts 10,-tol the side bars of theV supporting frame. By this means, the troughiS is mounted so as to be rockableY about an 4axis extending transversely thereof and adjacent the lower end of the` trough. This trough is sectional, having the lower section 8a and the up- -per section 11 ywhich is constructed in the same manner as the lower section. The upper end portion of the bottom of trough section 8 is turned downward substantially at lright angles to the trough to providel an integral flange 12, a similar ange 13 being formed at the lower endl of trough section-11. These two flanges 12 and 13 are provided with alined openings which receive spaced 'resilient rods 14 the lower ends of Awhich are flattened and rivetedto thel bottom of trough section 8a, 'as at 15. The upper end of each rod 14 is turned upward to provi-de an upwardly directed finger 16 which is adapted, when upper trough lsection" 11 is inY lowered position, to engage about 'the u'pper'edge of' this trough section so as to secure it against movement. The two sections 8a and 11 thusco'nstitute" a continuous trough the upper end of which is so positionedas to discharge material into the receiving casing 6 in rearOfShaft 4. v`By disengaging the'ngers 16 from the upper edge of trough section 1l, this section may be slid upward manually on the rods 14 until the fingers 16 engage into the apertures 17 provided through the bottom of this trough section for this purpose. The rods will thus serve to releasably secure the upper trough vsection in spaced relation to the lower trough section thus providing an opening between these two sections through which the material will be discharged into the hod from the upper end of the lower section 8a. By this means, the material may be discharged into the receptacle-so as to be evenly distributed therein. At each end of the receptacle 6, adjacent the upper end of the trough, is loosely secured a deiiecting plate 18. This plateis formed 'from sheet metal being provided at each end with a sleeve 19 which is secured about a rod 2O vhaving an eye at' its upper end which isloosely secured through an eye bolt 21 secured in the end of the casing. Each of the rods 2O is provided at its lower end, with a hook 22 which may be engaged about a ring 23 to which may be securedfthe upper end of a sack 24, the ring thus serving to support the sack in open position, in the well known manner. The plates 18 and the supporting means therefor serve to detachably support a sack into which the material may be discharged, and also provide deflecting elements for directing this material into the sack as it is discharged from the upper end of the gathering trough. When not in use, the deflecting plates 18 are *suspended from the eyebolts -21 in parallelism with, and closely adjacent, the ends of the receiving casing 6 so as not to in any way interfere with the operation of the machine in the manner above described. The lower trough section 8a is secured, intermediateV its end, by means of bolts 25 inserted through the flanges 9 and through `arcuate slots 26 in the ends of casing 6. This provides means whereby the trough may be rocked about its pivotal aXis so as to adjust the inclination of the trough, as desired or necessary,'the trough being secured in this adjustment by means of nuts threaded on the outer end of the bolts 25 and engaging the ends of the casing, in the usual manner.

A conveyer or elevator' indicated generally by 27 is mounted above the trough with its lower run operative in the same. The frame of this conveyer is provided with side bars 28 which are pivotally connected at their 4upper 'ends by a cross rod 29 to the ends-of arcuatebars 30 the upper ends of which-are pivotally'secured to the side bars 1- -of the main frame by Abolts 31. The cross rod 29 extends through the ends of receptacle `6 so asto prevent relative movement between bars 28 and' 30. Adjacent its lower end, eachl side bar 28 of theelevator frame is connected by slot and bolt connections, as

at 32, to the upper end of a supporting arm 33 the lower end of which is pivotally secured to the side bar 1 of the main frame. Each bar 28 is further provided, adjacent its lower end, with a longitudinally extending slot 34. These slots receive t-he reduced threaded ends of a transverse shaft 35. Adjusting and securing nuts 36 are threaded on the ends of the shaft and engage the outer faces of bars 28. By this means, sha'ft may be adjusted longitudinally of the conveyer or elevator frame. Sprocket wheels 37 are rotatably mounted on shaft 35 adj acent the side bars 28. These sprocket wheels are in alinement with sprocket wheels 38 secured on the elevator drive shaft 39 which is rotatably mounted in bearing blocks 40 at the upper ends of supporting arms 41 pivotally secured at their lower ends, as at 42 to the side bars 1 of the main frame.

Each of the supporting arms 41 is

securedl wheels

37 and 38 adjacent each side of the elevator frame, and these chains carry the suitably spaced brushes 45 secured thereto,

these brushes` operating in the gathering trough during their upward movement' so as to elevate the material engaged thereby.

A sprocket wheel 46 is mounted on shaft 39, which extends through each end of the receptacle 6, adjacent each end thereof, for free rotation. This sprocket wheel is provided with a. clutch element 47 which cooperates with a clutch member 48 feathered on theshaft and normally held in engagement withY element 47 by an expansion spring 49, and operatively connects the sprocket wheel to the shaft. This clutch is controlled by a tapered head 50 which may be moved in either direction between the elements of the clutch by an operating rod 51 the forward end of which is pivotally secured to a downwardly directed arm 52 provided at the end of the shaft 53 to a hand rod 54 which is rockably mounted in the rearward ends of the hand bars 2 and secured on the shaft. A sprocket ring 55 is secured on the inner face of the ground wheel 5 and is connected by a chain 56 to the sprocket 46. By rocking the hand rod 54 in the proper direction, the elevator may be thrown into or out of voperation as desired.

A scraping blade 57 is mounted beneath the trough at the lower end thereof. This blade is in the form of a flat strip of sheet metal of proper gage and temper and projects forwardly of the lower end of the trough proper. Blade 57' is turned up, at each end, to provide an upwardly directed securing ear 58. This Vear is positioned `intermediate a forwardly and ylaterally drected gathering wing or member 59 and the lower end of the main frame bar 1. A securing bolt 60 is inserted through wing 59 and ear 58, a nut 61 being threaded on this bolt and engaging the outer face of bar 1. By this means, the blade may be secured in proper' position at the lower end of the trough. The bolts 60 also provide means whereby the angle of the blade may be adjusted relative to the trough, as well as serving to secure the gathering member 59 to the frame of the machine. A strap brace 62 is secured at its rearward end to frame bar 1 and, adjacent its forward end to gathering member 59 by means of a bolt 63. The forward portion of this brace is bent around the forward end of member 59 so as to provide a guard 64 therefor. By this construction, the gathering trough may have its inclination varied independently of the gathering blade, and the gathering blade may have its angle to the trough adjusted to suit circumstances. By means of the slot and bolt connections between the arms 33 and 41 for supporting the conveyer frame and the bars 28 and 30 of this frame, the conveyer may be adjusted toward and away from the trough to accommodate wear of the brushes, and the inclination of the conveyer relative to the trough may be varied to suit circumstances. Also, the drive shaft 39 may be adjusted toward and away from the front shaft 35 so as to take up slack in the chains 44 of the elevator, the extent of this adjustment being increased by the adjustability of the shaft 35 longitudinally of the elevator frame. A supporting roller 70 is rotatably mounted at the lower end of each side bar 1 in a main supporting bracket 71 secured to the side bar. These rollers are so positioned as to bring the lower edge of blade 57 closely adjacent the surface to be swept, the rollers supporting the weight of the machine and serving to prevent unnecessary wear or abrasion of the cutting edge of the blade.

The hood 7 is provided with a suitable opening for permitting access to the upper portion of the elevator mechanism which is normally closed by a sheetV metal door which is hingedly secured at its upper edge, by means of the hinges 66, of the casing or hood. By lifting this door, ready access to the interior of the casing is obtained. The receptacle 6 is provided with a door 67 for permitting removal of the material therefrom, this door being normally maintained in closed position by a securing means 68. As will be noted more particularly from Fig. 1 of the drawings, the bottom 6a of receptacle 6 is inclined downwardly and forwardly. The object of this is to permit the water or moisture which may enter the casing to flow toward the front of the same through which it may be drained by means of small openings provided for this purpose, if desired. It will be evident that there may be slight changes made in the construction and arrangement of the different parts of 1ny invention without departing from the field and scope of the same, and I intend to include all such variations, as fall within the scope of the appended claims, in this application in which a preferred form only of my invention is disclosed.

What I claim is:

1. In sweeping machines, a supporting frame, a receiving casing carried thereby, a gathering trough mounted in said frame composed of an upper and a lower section, said upper section having the lower end of its bottomturned out to provide an integral flange and the lower section having the upper end of its bottom turned out to provide a similar flange, spaced supporting and securing rods secured to the said lower section and extending through alined openings in said flanges and beneath the upper section so as to support the same, said rods being provided at their upper ends with upwardly directed fingers adapted to engage over the upper edge of said upper section or into openings provided through the bottom of the upper section, so as to secure said upper section in adjustment relative to the lower section, and a sweeper and conveyer operative in said trough and provided with spaced outwardly directed brushes adapted to engage the surface to be swept and to force the sweepings upwardly in the trough.

2. In sweeping machines, a supporting frame, a receptacle carried thereby, a gathering trough mounted on the frame and positioned to discharge into said receptacle, a flat gathering blade vsecured to the frame at the lower end thereof adjacent the forward end of the trough and adjustable about an axis extending transversely of the frame so as to have its angle to the trough varied laterally and forwardly projecting gathering members carried by the trough at the forward end thereof and servin to direct materials into the path of said lade, and a combined sweeper and elevator operative in said trough and provided with outwardly projecting brushes for engaging materials at the forward edge of the blade and forcing these materials up said trough.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

FRED L. COLLIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.