COLLECTING UNIT FOR ANIMAL EXCREMENTS ON OPEN ROAD AND VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH SUCH UNIT

DISPOSITIF POUR RECUEILLIR LES EXCREMENTS D'ANIMAUX SUR LA RUE ET VEHICULES DOTES DE CE DISPOSITIF

English Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

There is provided a cleaning unit for road cleaning vehicles in
particular for collecting animal excrements on the open road and
specifically from sidewalks. The unit comprises both at least one
liquid feed means and aspiration means thereby producing moist col-
lecting through aspersion and aspiration. The aspersion liquid can be
admixed with a quantity of a hardening substance such that the moist
collecting of excrements is produced without liquefying of already dis-
persed excrements but by obtaining almost instantaneous hardening
thereof. It can also comprise means for breaking up solid excrements
said means being for example a rotary knife.

Claims

WE CLAIM :

l. A cleaning unit for road cleaning vehicles in particular for
collecting excrements of animals on the open road and especially from
the sidewalks, wherein said cleaning unit realizes moist collecting
thereof through aspersion and aspiration, and to this end it general-
ly comprises an aspiration turbine, a sucking pan, a casing for
collecting excrements, an aspersion nozzle opening into the sucking
pan, a liquid tank and a pump, said turbine and said sucking pan
being connected to the casing through supple sheathed aspiration tube,
said aspersion nozzle being connected to said pump through a supple
conduit.
2. A cleaning unit according to claim 1, wherein the aspersion
liquid is water admixed or not with a certain quantity of a hardening
substance such that moist collecting is produced without liquefying
excrements already dispersed but by obtaining almost instantaneous
hardening thereof.
3. A cleaning unit according to claim 1, wherein it also comprises
means for breaking up solid excrements, such means possibly being a
rotary knife, thereby preventing any clogging up of the aspiration
means and providing moist collecting through aspersion, breaking up
and aspiration, said rotary knife being disposed in said sucking pan
with means for driving such knife through a flexible transmission.
4. A cleaning unit according to claim 3, wherein said knife is
in the form of a lying U both ends of which are mounted on a common
vertical geometric axis.
5. A cleaning unit according to claim 1, wherein a hollow handle
connects the sucking pan to the aspiration tube.
6. A cleaning unit according to claim 1, wherein the sucking pan
is comprised of a collecting edge portion as for in an usual pan,
a raised abutment edge and an admittance cover.
7. A cleaning unit according to claim 1, wherein it is provided
with two aspiration, aspersion and breaking up assemblies.
8. A road cleaning vehicle, especially for collecting animal
excrements on the open road and specifically from the sidewalks
wherein it is equipped with a cleaning unit according to claim 1.

9. A vehicle according to claim 8, wherein it is constituted
by a motorized tricycle.
10. A vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the aspiration
turbine in the cleaning unit is driven by a control system with
a power take off means from the motor of the vehicle, a belt and
a declutching device.

Description

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This invention relates to a cleaning unit for road cleaning
vehicles to permit especially the collecting of animal excrements
on the open road and particularly from sidewalks.
~rhere are known road cleaning vehicles for collecting excrements
of animals~ which comprise a container with a brush which is lowered
down to the collection level and substantially comprises a rotary brush.
There are known moreover road cleaning vehicles in which the rotary
brush is combined with washing water spraying.
Anyhow, the brush collecting vehicles and devices have the major
~ disadvantage of being quickly soiled and of expanding the excremen-
tial products rather than efficiently collecting the latter.
The gathering is obviously increasingly difficult where the excremen-
tial product is of a dispersed nature (droppings). Reversely, when the
excremential product is of an excessively solid nature (solid dung), the
collecting device can be clogged up by accumulation thereof.
This invention remedies these disadvantages and its object is a
cleaning unit characterized in that it both comPrises at least one
liquid conveying means and a suction means thereby providing moist col-
lecting through aspersion and aspiration.
In accordance with this invention the spraying liquid (generally
water) can be admixed with a certain quantity of a hardening substance
such that moist collecting is provided without liquefying the already
dispersed excrements (droppings) but by producing almost instantaneous
hardening thereof.
The unit for cleaning by moist collecting according to the inven-
tion can also comprise means for breaking up solid excrements (solid
dung), which can be a rotary knife thereby preventing any clogging up
of the suction means and providing moist collecting through aspersion,
breaking up and aspiration.
A cleaning unit according to the invention is advantageously equipped
with a motor and the object of the invention is therefore also road clean-
ing vehicles provided with a device according to the invention.
Other characteristics and advantages of this invention will appear
from the following description which is made with reference to the attached
drawings in which :



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l - figure 1 is a perspective view of a moist collecting cleaning
unit according to the invention;
- figure 2 is a top view of a sucking pan which is preferably
connected to the cleaning unit through a supple sheathed tube;
- figure 3 is a lateral elevational view of such sucking pan;
- figure 4 is a partial lateral elevational view of one side of
a motorized tricycle equipped according to the invention but without
the wheel and fork assembly;
- figure 5 is a still simpler elevational view of such motorized
tricycle from its other side.
In the form of embodiment shown in the drawings a moist collecting
aspiration and cleaning unit generally comprises an aspiration turbine
1, a sucking pan 2, a casing 3 for collecting excrements, an aspersion
nozzle 4 opening into the sucking pan, a liquid tank 5 and a pump 6.
The cleaning unit is completed by a rotary knife 7 and a driving
motor 8.
The turbine 1 and the sucking pan 2 are connected to the casîng 3
through supple sheathed aspiration tubes A; the aspersion nozzle 4
is connected to the pump 6 through a supple conduit E (the spraying
liquid being preferably but not exclusively water); the rotary knife
7 is connected to the electric driving motor 8 through a flexible trans-
mission means T. It will be understood that control means (not shown)
is adapted to act upon the water feed and/or the knife drive.
In figure 1 an assembly comprising a sucking pan 2, a tube A, a
conduit E and transmission means T is shown entirely and a second as-
sembly is shown partly; the cleaning unit according to the invention
can be equipped with two aspiration, aspersion and breaking up assemblies.
The sucking pan 2 can comprise both a collecting edge portion 2A
in the same way as in the usual pan and a raised abutment edge 2B; it
can also be provided with an admittance cover 2C.
The shape of the knife may be that of a lying U, both ends of which
are mounted on a common geometric vertical axis X.
The liquid preferentially water contained in the tank 5 can be admixed
with a certain quantjty of hardening substance which depending on its
nature permits almost instantaneous transformation of a dispersed excrement

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1 (droppings) to a solid product.
The already solid products as hardened products are easily broken
up through the rotary knife 7 and the whole of the fragments can be
easily sucked up to the collecting casing 3 without any risk of clog-
ging up the sucking pan, the aspiration tube A as well as the hollow
handle 9 that may connect the sucking pan 2 to the aspiration tube A.
The handle 9 can be used for example as a vacuum cleaner handle
by the operator sitting on the seat 10 of the motorized tricycle (im-
mobilized or running) provided with the unit according to the invention.
Such handle can take a socalled "folding up position" by means of any
appropriate device when it is not in use.
A portion of such unit is shown in figure 4 as mounted in a protec-
tive decorative housing 11.
The two-level aspiration turbine 1 is driven by a control system
having power take off 12 from motor M of the vehicle, a belt 13 and a
declutching device 14.
The belt 13 can be mounted about a pulley 15 to drive the eiectric
generator starter device 16 of the motorized tricycle.
The moist collecting cleaning unit acting through aspersion, break-
ing up and aspiration can have an independent electric power supply
and comprise to this end for example a storage battery (not shown) with
its regulator.
The collecting casing 3 may comprise a recovery container (not shown)
for emptying it readily after the cleaning unit according to the inven-
tion was operated for a certain time period.
Finally, it will be understood that this invention was only described
and represented by way of a preferential exemplifying form of embodiment
and that equivalent parts can be substituted for its constituents without
departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended
3 claims.