Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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26927-40D
The invention relates to a sweeping apparatus of the ~ind
comprising a manually handled carriage with at least one pair of
rear wheels and at least one front wheel and a power operated
cylindrical sweeping brush.
Sweeping devices of the kind mentioned above are kno~"n in
a number of designs. Reference is made to the following patent
disclosures: US-A-2 834 034, 2 933 748, 3 087 180 and 3 354 489.
There have also been presented sweepers, the rotatable brush of
which can be made to pivot about a vertical axis, thereby allowing
for so called diagonal sweeping. Changing the angle between the
brush axis and the carriage is a complicated procedure, however,
and the devices intended for diagonal sweeping have a complex
construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to make possible the
adaptation of the apparatus for so called diagonal sweeping, left-
wards or rightwards as desired.
The invention provides a sweeping apparatus for sweeping
a surface comprising a manually handled carriage at least one
pair of parallel rear wheels, at least one front wheel connected
to the carriage, and at least one power operated sweeping brush
having an axis and located between said first and rear wheels, a
rear axle connected to the carriage and carrying the rear wheels,
said rear axle being parallel to said brush axis, characterized
by means for disposing said rear wheels either at an angle or
perpendicularly relative to the brush axis without changing the
parallel nature of the rear axle relative to the brush axis.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be
made apparent from the following description of a preferred
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26927-40D
embodiment.
In the following description of a preferred embodirnent,
reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the sweeper as viewed
from the left side thereof,
Fig. 2 is a view of the apparatus from its right side,
- la -
Fig. 3 shows how the brush may be pressed down toward the swept
surface,
Fig. 4 illustrates in greater detail a pair of hinges of the
apparatus and a mechanism for changing-over of the sweeper to
diagonal sweeping, and
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the sweeping apparatus equipped with
a collector for sweepings, as viewed from the front side of
-the apparatus.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the drawings, a carriage or carriage unit has been designated by
numeral 1. This carriage unit 1 consists of the following main parts:
a rear axle 2 with a pair of rear wheels 3 and 4, a front caster 5,
and a framework 6, connecting the rear axle 2 to the front caster 5.
The framework 6 comprises two parallel frame beams 7, extending from a
vertical front plate 3 horizontally rearwards with parts 7a, further
at an angle downwards rearwards with parts 7b, said parts 7b being
connected rigidly to the rear axle by rigid bars 7c. The caster 5 is
connected to the plate 8 by a vertical detachable leg 9. The two frame
parts 7 are connected to each other partly by the front plate 8 and
the rear axle 2, partly by a horizontal bar 10 near the lowest
rearward end of the frame parts 7b, and partly by a splash guard 17
underneath the frame parts 7a and 7b. The bar lO extends toward the
right side of the apparatus with a part lOa, which supports a
horizontal plate 11, and toward the left side of the apparatus with a
pin lOb. The plate 11 is also supported by a pair of feet 12 on the
rear axle 2, and on it is mounted a motor 13 for a cylindrical brush
14. To the carriage unit belongs also a horizontal beam 15 situated
somewhat above the horizontal frame parts 7a. The beam 15 extends
clear across the breadth of the apparatus. The position of the beam 15
relative to the frame parts 7a is adjustable by means of a pair of set
screws 16.
The shaft 18 of the cylindrical brush 14 is journalled at both ends in
bearings 19 on the legs 20 of a yoke or fork 21. The back 22 of the
yoke 21 is parallel to the rear axle 2. The front ends of said legs 20
are suspended from the beam 15 by springs 23. The yoke 21 is pivotally
attached to the frame 7 by means of braces 24 through which extend the
pin lOb and the extended end lOa of bar 10, near the lowes-t, rearward
ends of frame parts 7b. In other words, the bar 10, lOa, and lOb
together with the braces 24 form a horizontal first hinge, the
horizontal axis of which has been designated 36.
The brush cylinder 14 can be made to rotate about the shaft 18 by the
motor 13 via a chain or belt drive 26 which is protected by a cover
27, see Fig. 2.
The yoke 21 is connected to a shaft 28 via a vertical, second hinge 29
between the legs of a fork 30 directed forwards, being apart of the
shaft 28. The hinge 29 is formed by a rearwards directed projection 32
on the back part 22 of the yoke 21, the fork 30 and a vertical fork
pin 30A extending through the fork 30 and the projection 32. From the
fork 30 an extension 31 points directly rearwards and from the bottom
side of the extension 31 a pin or rod 33 points downwards at a right
angle. The pin 33 extends through an elongated slot 34 in a plate 35
on a parallel tie bar 38. The plate 35 rests on and slides against the
top side of the rear axle 2. The shaft 28, the grip handle 44, and the
yoke 21 together form a double lever 37, which can be turned about the
horizontal turning axis 36, which coincides with the centre axis of
the bar 10. The rear lever arm in other words consists of the shaft 28
with the grip handle 44 together with the fork 30, while the front
lever arm consists of the yoke 21, or, to be precise, the legs 20 of
the yoke 21.
The tie rod 38, which is parallel to the rear axle 2, comprises a pair
of links 39 at its two ends, with which to turn the rear wheels 3 and
4 in parallel in the conventional manner by displacing the tie rod 38
sideways. This parallel turning is accomplished by means of the shaft
28, as it is turned about the hinge 29, the turning movement of the
extension 31 being transmitted to the tie ru~ 38 via the pin 33, the
slot 34 and the plate 35, thus causing the tie rod to move in sideways
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as desired. To make possible this movement, however, a stop bar 40
with spring action mus-t first be lifted by means of a lever 41, thus
freeing the stop bar 40 from its locking position on the tie rod 38.
There are three locking positions, as determined by -two elevations 42
and 43 on the rod. In the position according to Fig. 4 the stop bar 40
is placed to the left of -the left elevation ~2. This position
corresponds to a fixed brush position for diagonal sweeping directed
forwards rightwards. In the other extreme position the stop bar 40 is
located to the right of the right elevation 43, corresponding to
diagonal sweeping in the forward leftward direction. In the normal
position, the brush sweeping straight ahead, the locking bar is put
between the two elevations 42 and 43. In other words, the locking bar
40 and the elevations 42 and 43 on the tie rod provide for three fixed
positions for the brush cylinder and the yoke ~1 relative to the shaft
28: a leftward position, a normal position in which the shaft 28 is
symmetrical with respect to the yoke 21, and a rightward position. All
three positions permit the shaft to be raised or lowered in its
vertical plane, about the horizontal axis of the hinge 10.
When the sweeping apparatus is in motion, the motor 13 turns the
cylindrical brush 14 and the apparatus is moved and steered manually
by means of the grip handle 44, which is an extensior, of the shaft 28.
On the grip handle is also situated the throttle lever 45 for the
motor 13. When the sweeper is in motion the stop bar 40 is pressed
down into one of the described locking positions. By raising or
lowering the grip handle 44 the operator may turn the lever 37 about
the horizontal axis 36. The front part of levsr 37, in other words the
yoke legs 20, will be inclined do:mwards, as in Fig 3, or upwards, as
the rear part of lever 37 is raised or lowersd, respectivsly, whereby
the brush is raised from or lowered against the swept surface. In this
manner, the pressure of the brush 14 against the surface to be swept
may be increased or decreased and/or the brush be made to follow any
elevations or depressions of the surface. The the apparatus is used on
a flat surface the weight of the yoke 21 and the brush 14 is counter-
acted by the springs 23. The spring action may also be adjusted bymeans of the set screws 16. If the operator lets go of the grip handle
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44, the brush 14 is automatically lifted by the springs 23. Thus, the
apparatus is hindered from reversing, being propelled by the rotating
brush, and hurting the operator, should he or she fall down.
The sweeping apparatus may also be provided with a collecting bin 46
for sweepings. According to this embodiment, the bin 46 is equipped
with two wheels 47, replacing the swivel wheel S. The bin 46 is
mounted onto the plate 8, af-ter first detaching the leg 9 and the
swivel wheel 5 mounted thereto.
