US3860991A

US3860991A - A street-cleaning machine

Info

Publication number: US3860991A
Application number: US277409A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gunter Heidt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-01-14
Filing date: 1972-08-02
Publication date: 1975-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 1992-01-21
Also published as: CH549128A; NL7207391A; BR7205225D0; DD95400A5; PL75668B1; JPS4886374A; BE779872A; FR2176476B1; FR2176476A1; IT959809B; GB1379307A; DE2201602A1

Abstract

A street-cleaning machine which comprises accessories including rotating brooms, scrapers, receiving devices, garbage containers and a water tank. The accessories are mounted as a single unit on a trailer having at least one pair of axles. A tracter is operatively connected with the trailer and is separable therefrom.

Description

[ Jan. 21, 1975 United States Patent [191 Heidt l /340X l/34OX /82 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 12/1956 12/1961 Breither.... H1963 11/1959 Great Britain........................ 15/340 8/1967 Great Britain..,..................... 15/340 Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examiner-Edward L. Roberts Jan. 14, 1972 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ernest G. Montague; Karl F. Ross; Herbert Dubno Germany...........................1 2201602 we wd wa m e C .m m 7 5 m a 0. a h u TCS m w m S.mm B h Aw n m m .m m n g mm cd im 66 mm 1&8 7 5 .m [Ar 78 4 M 8 513 l 9 :m 3 5 2/ km 0 4 3 u 5" 1m mmh c .r "3 e M I C 0 smrw UIF 11] 2 8 555 1:11

vices, garbage containers and a water tank. The acces- References Cited series are mounted as a single unit on a trailer having UNITED STATES PATENTS at least one pair of axles. A tracter is operatively con- 3/1898 nected with the trailer and is separable therefrom. 2/1913 600 222 Hasson 15/78 1.053.037 Hutchins............................. 15/87 X 1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures A STREET-CLEANING MACHINE The present invention relates to a street-cleaning machine, whose equipment comprises in particular rotating brooms, and scrapers, garbage-collecting devices, a garbage container and a water tank.

The known cleaning machines of this type are constructed as self-powered special vechicles and are satisfactory for cleaning the streets of some cities and villages.

However, street networks have increased considerably since the introduction of the above described machines. This becomes particularly apparent in view of the development of parkways outside the cities and the construction of extensive by-pass roads at the edges of highly populated areas.

Because of new roads the demands on street-cleaning machines have increased tremendously and a number of difficulties have developed. In the main, these difficulties derive from the fact that the capacity of the garbage containers is too small for mobile operation along long stretches of streets in a single operational trip. Rather the work must be interrupted after a few kilometers or miles to seek the next garbage disposal place for unloading. The resulting time requirement increases with the distance between the street section to be cleaned and the place of unloading, whereby the costs for working time and fuels increases accordingly and it may be necessary to invest in a second cleaning machine.

It must be added, that it is very uneconomical to invest in the procurement of an expensive street-cleaning machine to be used merely as a transport vehicle with empty trips.

Similar problems come up also regarding the water supply, which, as known, is necessary for street cleaning in dry weather and which in the existing machines runs out after a relatively short duration during operation.

To overcome the above difficulties, attempts have been made to transfer the garbage in the field, that is to unload the garbage container on the way and to carry it to the dump by other vehicles. However, this technique requires special transfer facilities on the street and adds up to a waste of time for the cleaning machine to get off the street and unload. Thus additional costs are caused by the round trip of the trucks. Furthermore, garbage-transfer facilities alongside the street is a source of undesireable increase of pollution.

Another attempt at a practical solution of these problems, in particular for parkways, is a self-propelling garbage combination pick-up with which the garbage is transferred to waiting trucks by means of a conveyor belt. ln this case an additional tank truck is necessary for the water required for spraying. This system has above all the disadvantage of a large expense for individual vehicles and consequently for personnel.

It would be obvious to solve this problem by constructing a street-cleaning machine with substantially bigger capacity of its garbage and water containers. By this method, however, the costs, particularly for the driving part, that is for the motor, gears, steering, etc., would rise considerably, so that the economical value of such a special vehicle becomes questionable. Also this vehicle would be operational only intermittently and depending on weather conditions.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a street-cleaning machine, capable of collecting garbage over long stretches of streets and carrying with it the necessary water, so that only one or two persons suffice for the operation of the machine and the number of the non-working trips is substantially reduced compared with that of the existing machines. These objects are attained in a street-cleaning machine, according to this invention, in which all the operational equipment comprising rotating brooms, scrapers, the garbagecollecting devices, the garbage container and water tank, is separated from the driving section of the machine. This operational equipment is placed as a unit on one or more axles, and this trailer it is rotatably coupled to a tractor, preferably a semitrailer truck, from which it can be disconnected. ln this way it is possible to enlarge the operational range of the cleaning machine by a multiple compared with that of the existing machines.

The garbage containers will have to be emptied only after along stretches. Correspondingly a substantially lower number of unloading stations will be necessary. The unloading stations can be placed on the stretch of the street to be cleaned at set distances in correspondence with the capacity of the cleaning machine, so that trips back, or trips with empty containers can be eliminated, or their number greatly limited. The same applies to the refilling of the water tanks.

It is a further advantage of the street-cleaning machine in accordance with the present invention, that the driving section of the machine can be used for other purposes during rest periods of the cleaning section, whereby the higher investment for the larger cleaning machine is economically equalized.

It is to be added that the driving section of the machine in case of the use of self-steering carriages, can be used in cities also for the cleaning of streets, in particular of through streets, whereby the great action radius effects itself likewise advantageously, since the previous frequent trips to the discharge place and back lead often through the entire city and thus cause a great cost expenditure on costs.

These and other objects will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a large cleaning machine; and

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the machine disclosed in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the cleaning machine is pivotally and releasably coupled with the front section thereof or a semitrailer truck (tractor) 2, and is provided in the rear with a two-axle running gear 3.

The trailer of the cleaning machine comprises a hous ing 4, in which are located the motor unit 5 for the driving of the suction blower 6, and a compressor unit for actuating the rotating disk-brooms 7, as well as for the controls. The control cables are removably connected with the drivers cab 9 by means of a coupling 8.

In the housing 4 is situated a water tank 10 and the garbage container 1], inside of which terminate two pneumatic collectors 12. The suction action of the collectors I2 is generated by the exhaust fan. In front of the brooms 7 are placed scrapers 13. Both the scrapers and brooms can be lifted from the road surface.

Since the other elements and parts of the cleaning machine are conventional, no further description thereof is required.

For the shown example, a driving unit with four axles is chosen, since this size appears best suitable for the provided purpose. Within the framework of the permissible length, also more or less than four axles can be used. It is also conceivable to receive the garbage not by suction but, rather mechanically, by example, by conveyor bands.

I claim: 1. A street-cleaning machine comprising: a self-propelled tractor; a trailer pivotally connected to and detachable from said tractor for towing thereby, said trailer comprising: an elongated vehicle body having at least one axle and wheels thereon adapted to be drawn along a road surface by said tractor,

scraper means on said body proximal to said trailer and adapted to scrape contaminants from a road surface,

rotating disk brushes mounted on said body and engageable with said road surface behind said scraper,

suctionnozzle means behind said brushes on said body for drawing contaminants, refuse and water into said body,

an exhaust blower in said body connection to said suction-nozzle means,

a prime mover connected to said blower means and said brushes for driving same, said prime mover being mounted in said body,

a garbage container in said body for receiving refuse drawn up through said suction-nozzle means, a water tank in said body supply water for wetting the road surface, and

operating means on said body for selectively raising and lowering said scraper means and said brushes, and

control means operable from the said tractor and connected via a releasable coupling to said operating means for controlling the positions of said brushes and said scraper means from said tractor.

Claims

1. A street-cleaning machine comprising: a self-propelled tractor; a trailer pivotally connected to and detachable from said tractor for towing thereby, said trailer comprising: an elongated vehicle body having at least one axle and wheels thereon adapted to be drawn along a road surface by said tractor, scraper means on said body proximal to said trailer and adapted to scrape contaminants from a road surface, rotating disk brushes mounted on said body and engageable with said road surface behind said scraper, suction- nozzle means behind said brushes on said body for drawing contaminants, refuse and water into said body, an exhaust blower in said body connection to said suctionnozzle means, a prime mover connected to said blower means and said brushes for driving same, said prime mover being mounted in said body, a garbage container in said body for receiving refuse drawn up through said suction-nozzle means, a water tank in said body supply water for wetting the road surface, and operating means on said body for selectively raising and lowering said scraper means and said brushes, and control means operable from the said tractor and connected via a releasable coupling to said operating means for controlling the positions of said brushes and said scraper means from said tractor.