US3786870A

US3786870A - Debris removing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3786870A
Application number: US00280721A
Authority: US
Inventors: R List
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-08-14
Filing date: 1972-08-14
Publication date: 1974-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 1991-01-22

Abstract

A device for separating debris, such as wrappers, bottle-caps, cans and the like, from quantities of sand, comprises a rotating drum-sieve with an axis of rotation inclined at an angle to the horizontal so that one end is higher than the other. The drum is supported by peripheral bearings which permit access to central openings at each end. Sand, containing debris is collected and delivered into the opening at the higher end. As the drum rotates, sand passes through the sieve while debris is engaged and lifted by projections on the inner surface. As the projections approach their highest point during rotation of the drum, the debris falls onto an inclined collecting chute which is supported independently of the drum, extending downwardly and outwardly through the opening at the lower end. The chute acts as a passage for carrying debris out of the drum into a collecting receptacle.

Description

United States Patent 1 List [ Jan. 22, 1974 DEBRIS REMOVING APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Robert A. List, 33 Coachlamp Ln.,

Darien, Conn. 06820 22 Filed: Aug. 14, 1972 211 Appl.No.: 280,721

[52] US. Cl 171/129, 209/247, 209/294 [51]. Int. Cl B07b 1/22 [58} Field of Search 209/86, 74, 284, 293, 294,

Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles Assistant Examiner-Gene A. Church Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Howard S. Reiter [57] ABSTRACT A device for separating debris, such as wrappers, bottle-caps, cans and the like, from quantities of sand, comprises a rotating drum-sieve with an axis of rotation inclined at an angle to the horizontal so that one end is higher than the other. The drum is supported by peripheral bearings which permit access to central openings at each end. Sand, containing debris is collected and delivered into the opening at the higher end. As the drum rotates, sand passes through the sieve while debris is engaged and lifted by projections on the inner surface. As-the projections approach their highest point during rotation of the drum, the debris falls onto an inclined collecting chute which is supported independently of the drum, extending downwardly and outwardly through the opening at the lower end. The chute acts as a passage for carrying debris out of the drum into a collecting receptacle.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENIEB JAN 2 219M v sum 1 0r 3 PATENTEI] JAN 2 2 974 sum 2 0f 3 PATENIEB JAN 2 2 W4 SHEET 3 BF 3 'IDEIBRIS REMOVING APPARATUS INTRODUCTION The need to remove debris, such as cans, bottles, bottle caps, candy wrappers and the like, from quantities of sand such as at public beaches, is wellknown. Generally, this task has been performed manually with rakes and screens at considerable cost in time and money. At present, some systems employ tractors dragging heavy and inefficient sled-like sieves. Mechanical devices previously suggested for this purpose have employed vacuum and blower devices which are cumbersome to use and difficult to maintain and operate. Others have required considerable amounts of motive power and sacrifices in removal effectiveness.

In the farming industry, harvesting machines for separating grain for example, have employed blowers in combination with rotating drums for sifting and threshing purposes.

However, the Prior Art does not disclose assemblies for simply and effectively separating debris from large quantities of beach sand without aid of vacuums, blowers and similar complex operating parts.

OBJECTS AND FEATURES Accordingly, it is an object of this inventionto provide a simple, easily operated and maintained assembly for separating debris from quantities of sand.

. A further object is to provide such an assembly which may be moved conveniently across an expanse of sand to perform a continuous separating operation.

Still another object is to provide such an assembly which is relatively easy and inexpensive to construct.

A feature of the invention is the use of a rotating hollow drum having a sieve-like outer surface permitting sand to pass through, and also having internal projections which lift debris and then drop it onto a debris collecting surface as the'drum rotates.

Another feature of the invention involves mounting the rotating drum on an axis inclined at an angle to the horizontal with one end higher than the other so that sand entering at one end tends to move toward the other end.

These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be more clearly described and distinctly pointed out in the following specification and claims when considered with the accompanying drawings, as follows:

DISCLOSURE AND DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a'self-propelled vehicle embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, partially cut-away pictorial view of the vehicle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the vehicle of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plane partial detailed view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial detailed view taken in the same plane as FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a further partial detailed view of a section of a rotating drum taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Now, referring more specifically to the drawings, it can be seen in FIG. 1 that the illustrated embodiment of this invention comprises generally a chassis 10 which is mounted on propulsion wheels 12A and steering wheels 12B in a well known manner so that it may be moved readily across the surface of a sand mixture to be cleaned, such as a beach for example. The steering wheels are controlled from a steering center 10A as in commercially available vehicles.

One end of the chassis is designated as the front for mounting of a gathering means indicated in the drawings by reference numeral 14. The gathering means comprises a rotatable drum 16 with helical sweeper blades 18 arranged in spaced-apart relation on the outer surface. The forward most portion of the drum rotates forwardly 'and downwardly in response to a motor 26 of any well known type, so that the blades 18 engage sand at the head of the chassis and sweep it rearwardly toward the chassis.

Immediately behind the drum 16 is the lower end 20 of an endless loop conveyor belt 22 which is inclined upwardly and rearwardly toward the upper end 24.

Both the drum 16 and the conveyor 22 may be powered conveniently by a motor 26 through

belts

28 and 30 coupled as shown in the drawing or in any convenient manner.

A trap member 32 co-operates with the drum 16 and with the lower end 20 of conveyor 22 to assure that sand swept rearwardly by the blades 18 is trapped against the blades and the drum until it is lifted and deposited onto the conveyor belt together with any debris it may'contain.

In this manner, the sand-debris mixture is gathered onto the conveyor 22 and carried to the upper end 24, where as the conveyor turns downwardly, the mixture is dropped off into the mixture inlet opening 34 of the separating drum 36.

An inlet chute 38 is positioned at the upper end 24 of conveyor 22 to receive and guide the sand into drum 36 as it falls from the conveyor.

The drum is supported on

peripheral bearings

40, 42 which permit free access to the interior of the drum respectively through the unobstructed central inlet opening 34 at the elevated end and through outlet opening 44 at the relatively low end of the drum. Peripheral bearings, which have no physical central axle are well known and readily available.

In order to rotate the drum on the bearings, a belt drive pulley 46 is mounted concentrically with peripheral bearing 40 and is coupled to motor 26 via a belt 48 in a convenient manner.

During rotation, the sand mixture within the drum is tumbled and broken up, while the inclination of the drum axis tends to shift the sand mixture slowly downward toward the relatively lower end.

The peripheral surface 50 of the drum is formed of sieve-like material, for example, woven screen of perforated metal, with openings sized to pass sand particles but not larger elements such as debris articles and rocks. Within the drum, extending inwardly generally toward the center, one or preferably more series of axially spaced apart projections 52 are mounted on the internal periphery. Spacing between adjacent projections may be selected to readily trap ordinary debris articles such as bottle-caps while readily passing sand particles. Alternatively, solid fins or webs may replace the spaced-apart projections, the purpose of these elements being to lift and drop the sand-debris mixture, with minimum energy requirements.

As the drum rotates, the tumbling action breaks up packed sand clumps and the like and sifts the sand out through the sieve 50 where it may fall back to the ground surface. At the same time, debris articles are caught by projections 52 and are carried toward the high point of drum rotation until they fall away again toward the low part of the drum interior.

Separation of debris from the sand is achieved by passage means such as

collection chutes

54 and 56 which are supported within the drum, but independent of its rotation, by a support beam 58 which is mounted to the chassis in a convenient manner as at bracket 60. Debris which falls from the projections 52 near the high point of drum rotation will land on the

chutes

54, 56 rather than falling back to the bottom of the drum. The chutes are inclined at relatively the same or a greater inclination than the axis of drum 36 so that debris on the chute surface will slide downwardly until it falls from the lowest edge. The function of these two separate chutes will be explained in the following paragraph.

In the illustrated embodiment, drum 36 is divided into two interior sections by a central divider 62 which has a central opening 64 through which chute 54 extends to function as a means for transferring debris from the higher side to the lower side of the divider. Chute 56 collects debris from within the lower section of the drum 36 and acts as an outlet in carrying debris outside to a collector means such as receptacle 66.

The use of two drum sections and a transfer chute between them in this manner, affords better distribution of sand over the sifting surface and also provides more effective removal of sand particles from debris because of the added lifting and dropping movements.

Collection receptacles 66 may be of any convenient design and size to fit under the discharge edge of chute 56. Preferably, it will be readily removable for emptying and repalcement. It is also possible to construct a receptacle of sieve-like material to further facilitate the separation of clinging sand particles from stored debris.

The above detailed description of this embodiment of the invention now may be summarized briefly as follows: the vehicle 10 contains a source of motivepower 26 and is provided with propulsion wheels or tracks 12a and steering wheels 12b which are controlled from a steering center 10a. A rotary sweeper 14 at the front of the vehicle pushes sand and debris onto a conveyor 22 which lifts and drops the mixture into an opening 34 at the elevated end of a rotating drum 36 as vehicle moves forward. The surface 50 of the drum is a sieve which sifts the sand, allowing it to pass through and fall back to ground. Debris articles trapped within the drum be cause they are too large to pass through the sieve are lifted by projections 52 on the inner-periphery of the drum as it rotates. When they approach the highest point of rotation the articles fall from the projections and eventually land on the surface of inclined discharge chute 56 which allows the debris to slide downwardly out of the drum into collection receptacle 66.

Now, referring specifically to the various elements mentioned above, it should be noted with respect to the sweeper 14, that adjustment means in the form of hydraulic piston 68 are provided for controlling the elevation of the sweeper blades with respect to ground level. The piston is secured to the chassis 10 and also to the axle 70 of the sweeper so that any convenient well known control means may be used to move the axle upwardly of downwardly relative to ground level.

The drum 36 as shown in FIG. 4 to be octagonal in cross-section with generally planar sides. This permits each side to be constructed as a separate planar section to be interlocked with adjacent sections and opposite end structures in any convenient manner. In this construction, one section accordingly may be hinged to an adjacent section so that it may be opened as a door for convenient access to the interior of the drum. It is considered apparent that various cross-sectional shapes, including circular, and other constructions may be used without departing from the scope of this invention. Similarly, although the drum 36 is shown as a unit extending from bearing 40 to bearing 42 with a central divider 62, it should be understood that two or more separate units might be used and joined together with abutting ends defining the central divider. Such construction might offer desirable advantages in terms of ease of maintenance and assembly. Alternatively, the drum may be formed without any internal divider.

Transfer debris passage chute 54 and outlet passage chute 56 are shown fixedly mounted to chassis l0 independently of drum 36. Gravity is relied on to displace debris along the chutes toward the lower ends. However, it is understood that the chutes also may be vibratory or other mechanical drive and conveyor means, entirely within the scope of this invention. The surface of these passage means may be smooth, textured, solid, perforated or a combination of these, as desired, to obtain maximum results in movement of debris and in further separating clinging particles of sand.

Sieve surface 50 allows sand to pass through naturally as drum 36 rotates so that it may merely fall to the ground at random. lt desired, a distribution means such as plate 72 shown in FIG. 3, may be provided beneath the drum to cause sand to fall in a given pattern. This means, too may be either fixedly mounted or subject to positive mechanical drive means, for example, vibratory reciprocal or endless loop.

Internal projections 52 within drum 36 are shown as generally straight, radially extending fingers, arranged side-by-side relationship in the axial direction. The function of these projections is to engage and lift and then release debris while drum 36 rotates. Accordingly, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that other embodiments of these projections are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, individual projections or a series of them coupled together as a set, may be removably mounted to permit the use of different projection shapes specifically suited to the particular type of debris encountered in certain environments. Modified hooks, knobs, and angled catchers may be used.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that the objects mentioned above have been achieved; however, it should be emphasized that the particular embodiments of the invention which are shown and described herein are intended to be merely illustrative, and not restrictive, of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for removing debris from amixture of sand and the like, comprising: a generally tubular hollow casing rotating about a central axis inclined at an angle to the horizontal;

said casing having a mixture inlet at the front end thereof and a debris outlet at the rear end thereof, said mixture inlet being elevated relative to said debris outlet;

said casing further having a generally sieve-like outer wall for passing sand or the like therethrough while said casing and a debris discharge end extending through said debris outlet to the exterior of said casing;

said debris passage means having a generally upwardly facing surface at said debris receiving end for receiving debris which is lifted and then dropped away by said inwardly extending projections within said casing;

gathering means, located in front of and lower than said debris inlet to said casing, positioned to engage a sand mixture surface and displace said mixture rearwardly;

conveyor means having alower end and an upper end, conveying a sand mixture upwardly therebetween;

the said lower end of said conveyor means being positioned to receive the sand mixture displeaced by said gathering means, and the said upper end being positioned to deposit the sand mixture into the said mixture inlet of said casing;

wheel means movably supporting said apparatus upon a surface;

an annular interior divider within said casing between the said front end and the said rear end thereof, said divider having a central opening therethrough; and debris transfer means disposed within said casing and supported independently thereof, having a receiving end on the forward side of said annular divider and a discharge end on the rearward side of said annular divider for transferring debris which is lifted and dropped by said inwardly extending projections, from one side of said annular divider to the other.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim I wherein the position of said gathering means is adjustable above and below a surface engaged by said wheel means.

4 3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said casing comprises a forward half and a rearward half coupled together at said annular divider.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 further including a distribution plate'supported in relatively fixed position beneath said casing collecting sand and the like passing through the outer wall of said casing for discharge onto a surface beneath said apparatus

Claims

1. Apparatus for removing debris from amixture of sand and the like, comprising: a generally tubular hollow casing rotating about a central axis inclined at an angle to the horizontal; said casing having a mixture inlet at the front end thereof and a debris outlet at the rear end thereof, said mixture inlet being elevated relative to said debris outlet; said casing further having a generally sieve-like outer wall for passing sand or the like therethrough while preventing passage of debris; a plurality of inwardly extending projections within said casing for engaging and lifting debris upwardly until it drops away upon rotation of said casing; debris passage means supported independently of said casing, having a debris receiving end within said casing and a debris discharge end extending through said debris outlet to the exterior of said casing; said debris passage means having a generally upwardly facing surface at said debris receiving end for receiving debris which is lifted and then dropped away by said inwardly extending projections within said casing; gathering means, located in front of and lower than said debris inlet to said casing, positioned to engage a sand mixture surface and displace said mixture rearwardly; conveyor means having alower end and an upper end, conveying a sand mixture upwardly therebetween; the said lower end of said conveyor means being positioned to receive the sand mixture displeaced by said gathering means, and the said upper end being positioned to deposit the sand mixture into the said mixture inlet of said casing; wheel means movably supporting said apparatus upon a surface; an annular interior divider within said casing between the said Front end and the said rear end thereof, said divider having a central opening therethrough; and debris transfer means disposed within said casing and supported independently thereof, having a receiving end on the forward side of said annular divider and a discharge end on the rearward side of said annular divider for transferring debris which is lifted and dropped by said inwardly extending projections, from one side of said annular divider to the other.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the position of said gathering means is adjustable above and below a surface engaged by said wheel means.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said casing comprises a forward half and a rearward half coupled together at said annular divider.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 further including a distribution plate supported in relatively fixed position beneath said casing collecting sand and the like passing through the outer wall of said casing for discharge onto a surface beneath said apparatus.