DEVICE FOR CLEANING OF ROAD POSTS

Abstract: A method for cleaning of free-standing road shoulder posts (4) by means of a motor vehicle (3") in continuous motion, and by means of a pair of brushes (1). To the vehicle (3") is attached a longitudinal, rearwardly slopingly rising slide rail (2). The pair of brushes (1) is movable disposed on the slide rail (2) and is brought rearwardly synchronously with the propulsion speed of the vehicle, and back to starting position after terminated working operation. In contact with the lower portion of a shoulder post (4), a sensor will activate the rotation of the brushes as well as supply of washing liquid from a tank (5) placed on the vehicle. Upon continued continuous driving forwardly, the method is based on the fact that in an integrated (interactive) movement, the pair of brushes (1) successively will be brought rearwardly and upwards until it passes the upper part of the shoulder post (4) and, thus, is released from the engagement therewith.

Description: DEVICE FOR CLEANING OF ROAD POSTS The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for cleaning roadside posts, socalled shoulder posts, i.e. free-standing, vertical posts distributed along roadsides in order to mark the same, by means of a motor vehicle during the uninterrupted forwardly running thereof and by means of a pair of cooperating, rotary, driven brushes having substantially parallel rotational axes, supplied with washing liquid from a washing liquid εupply, which may be carried by the motor vehicle, and wherein the effective, vertical extent of each brush iε shorter than the height of at least some shoulder posts, which may have mutually differing heights above the ground. Likewise, the invention comprises an apparatus for cleaning shoulder posts. As known, the cleaning apparatus is designed and adapted to be mounted onto a motor vehicle, along one (the right hand) longitudinal side thereof, in the position of use positioned outside the same, as well as being adjustable through displacement in the lateral direction of the motor vehicle. The cleaning apparatus comprises a working head in the form of a carriage carrying cleaning means in the form of a pair of cooperating, rotary, driven brushes having substantially parallel rotational axes, the area within which the brusheε are situated being assigned an outlet from a washing liquid supply, for supplying washing liquid to the rotary brushes when they act on and clean a shoulder post. The individual shoulder posts may CORRECTED have mutually differing heights above the ground. The efficient vertical extent of the brushes is smaller than the height above the ground of at least some shoulder posts. The edges/shoulders of more important roads are marked by means of shoulder posts distributed with relatively equal spaces along the shoulder of the road surface, in order to mark the outer edge of the road surface for the road-users, the directional feeling and safety thereof being improved thereby. Especially in the night, the road-user's visual co prehesion of the width of the road and the location of the outer edges, particularly at the right hand side, are of great importance. Correctly positioned and well visible shoulder posts improve the road-user's road feeling when driving through curves. Usually, such shoulder posts are white as well as provided with reflector means. Upon wearing and tearing of tyres and asphalt as well as exhaust discharge, road salting and other contamination and pollution, moist dust, mud and sludge will foul the shoulder posts to such an extent that they become dark and difficult to see, especially in the evening and at night when their immediate visibility, of course, is most important to the road-users. In order to make them well visible, it is extremely important to clean them thoroughly from time to time. It is often impossible to make all shoulder posts attached such as to extend equally much above the road surface along one and the same road, so that shoulder posts normally expected to be cleaned by means of one cleaning apparatus mounted on a motor vehicle in the course of say one working day, usually have mutually differing heights above the ground. Road authorities attach importance to keeping shoulder posts continuously clean, for making them well visible in the white colour and with the reflector means thereof, so that they may serve their purpose in a satisfactory way. Cleaning such shoulder posts has been carried out manually by means of brushes placed at the end of a rod or through high-pressure-washing handled by personnel from a car. Such cleaning methods are laborous, the work simultaneously being strenuous and arduous. However, there exist on the market also mechanical shoulder post washers having rotary brushes and being adapted to be mounted on a motor vehicle. A pair of cooperating brushes rotate towards each other and are placed on an arm or boom controllable from the driver's seat. The shoulder post washer is operated from the driver's seat, but it requires that the motor vehicle comes to a stop during the execution of each and every washing operation, during which the brush pair is lifted from a lower position, brushing the side faces of the shoulder post clean during the rotation of the brushes upon washing liquid supply to the working area of the brushes. A shoulder post washer of this kind is disclosed in MULAG's catalogue, MULAG-Arbeitsgerate im Ganzjahres- einsatz fύr FME 400/500 und ME 700 Mahgerat (MULAG's working implements as used through the whole year for FME 400/500 and ME 700 reaper implement) , illustrating and describing a cleaning apparatus for cleaning shoulder posts and road signs, and wherein the brushes have been suspended from the outer end of an articulated boom work mounted on a motor vehicle. German application laid open to the public, DE 39 18 199 Al, discloses a cleaning apparatus for cleaning shoulder posts. Here, one has intended to clean the shoulder posts, one after the other, without having to stop the motor vehicle and, thus, delay the work at each individual shoulder post. Therefore, in this known cleaning apparatus, one has chosen to use extra long brushes in the pair of brushes and to position these long brushes inclinely in order to increase the efficient vertical extent thereof, so that they without any adjustment operation vertically shall be in a position to wash the shoulder post from the lowermost portion to the top in one single passage made by the brush pair. Long brushes are not preferable, as relatively short, stout brushes with less tendency to bending and other deformations due to external forces would be far more advantageous. The sloping position of the brush axes in this known cleaning apparatus is directed upwardly in a rearward direction, and must be considered as disadvantegous, because it reduces the choice possibilities with respect to the orientation of the brush axes in relation to horizontal, horizontal orientation of these rotational axes probably being the most advantageous for the cleaning result, particularly when cleaning hard and stuck mud and dirt, e.g. in connection with soft, bendable, flexible brush bristles which are hurled out into radially directed, operative working positions upon rotation of the respective brush. Therefore, the object of the present invention has been to eliminate or to a substantial degree reduce deficiencies, disadvantages and limitations of use associated with known and conventional technique. In accordance with the invention, the object has been realized by proceeding according to the acts appearing from the characterizing clause of claim 1 respectively by means of an apparatus distinguishing itself as set forth in the characterizing clause of the following claim 3. Upon its immediate contact with a shoulder post, e.g. in that the brushes from opposite sides surround the shoulder post, through a mechanical or electronic sensor coupled to a drive device, the brush pair will be put into motion rearwardly in a direction slopingly upwards from a lower starting position, in which the brush pair starts the cleaning of said shoulder post at the lower portion thereof, continuing making the shoulder post clean at a successively increasing level, to terminate the cleaning of the shoulder post at the top thereof. This takes place while the motor vehicle drives forwardly using a predetermined speed, and the rearward, upwardly sloping displacement of the brush pair is allotted a speed, the horizontal component thereof being adjusted such that it substantially corresponds to the propulsion speed of the motor vehicle. Thus, the brush pair will be substantially "stationary" in relation to the stationary shoulder post during the slopingly upwardly directed displacement of the brush pair in relation to the shoulder post. After the shoulder post in this way has been gradually cleaned upwardly from below and the brush pair leaves the shoulder post at a higher level than the top of the post, the brush pair is moved down again to the lower starting position thereof. Then, the shoulder post has been cleaned along the major part of its length (height), i.e. from the lower portion thereof a distance above the ground where the cleaning started and straight up to the top. A cleaning apparatus according to the invention comprises a carriage or another working head carrying the brush pair exhibiting horizontal rotational axes, said carriage directly or through a slide or the like being assigned a rearwardly directed, upwardly sloping guide path in the form of a slide rail. A rearwardly directed, upwardly sloping movement of carriage with brush pair with a speed synchronized with the propulsion speed of the motor vehicle (where the horizontal component of the carriage's rearwardly directed, upwardly sloping motion speed approximately corresponds to the propulsion speed) is adapted to be released as known per se by means of a sensor or the like when the brush pair occupies a lower starting position in the immediate proximity of the lower portion of a shoulder post. The rearwardly, upwardly sloping movement of carriage with brush pair is brought to a conclusion as known per se by means of another sensor or the like when the brushes have been disengaged from said shoulder post's top respectively when the brushes have reached the upper end of the slide rail. Subsequently, a drive means, a driven tooth belt cooperating with chain wheels, or the like, providing the displacement of carriage with brush pair upwardly along the slide rail, now provides a displacement of carriage with brush pair in a downward direction along the inclined slide rail to the lower starting position of the brush pair. The rotation of the brushes may be adapted to start immediately prior to the cleaning operation and to be brought to a conclusion immediately after each cleaning operation. The inclination of the slide rail in relation to the horizontal plane may be adjustable. The carriage may be disposed on rolling bearings and be slideably mounted on the slide rail. The remaining suspension of the brush pair should allow e.g. sensor-controlled, automatic lateral adjustment, in that the brush pair in respect to the positioning of the shoulder post, e.g. by means of a hydraulic motor, can be brought somewhat out in order to take up minor displacements upon the execu¬ tion of work in curves and at poor road shoulders which may bring the motor vehicle somewhat out of normal, approximately horizontal position. The invention is further explained in the following in association with a non-restricting example of a possible embodiment which is diagrammatically illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein: Figure 1 shows a side elevational view of an apparatus for cleaning shoulder posts, said cleaning apparatus being coupled to a motor vehicle where it extends along the right hand longitudinal side of the motor vehicle, and where the brush pair thereof takes its starting position adjacent a free-standing, upright shoulder post, approximately at the same level as the shoulder post's lower portion of one third length (cleaning the portion of the shoulder post immediately above the ground is not too important) ; Figure 2 is a top plan view showing cleaning apparatus, motor vehicle and shoulder post. Brush pairs having brushes 1 rotating towards each other and wherein the rotation is adapted to be started immediately prior to the start of a cleaning operation and which is brought to a conclusion when the cleaning operation has been completed, and where washing liquid is supplied to the working area of the brushes during the rotation thereof and, possibly, where pressurized washing liquid supply may drive the rotational means for the brushes, etc., are well known techniques and, thus, not further described here. Likewise, sensors adapted to react upon parts being brought into contact, into engagement or into adjacent positions and, thus, activate drive means, are known per se in a large number of designs and embodiments. Similar sensors adapted to react upon parts being brought out of contact, out of engage¬ ment or to relative positions having a larger spacing there¬ between, also belong to in per se well known technique. The cleaning apparatus according to the invention is pro¬ vided with a working head in the form of a carriage 1' car¬ rying a rotating device for a pair of cooperating, driven brushes 1 rotating towards each other. Carriage 1' with brush pair 1 is displaceably disposed on a rearwardly directed, upwardly sloping guide path in the form of a slide rail 2, which can be adjustably disposed in the lateral direction by means of two lateral, hydraulic piston cylinders 3, 3' mounted on a motor vehicle 3" which, thus, carries the cleaning apparatus 1' ,1,2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a free-standing, upright shoulder post. The brush pair 1 is supplied with washing liquid from a tank 5 placed on the motor vehicle 3", together with a hydraulic drive aggregate 6 for operating oil motors, i.a. a hydraulic motor 7 for displacing carriage 1' with brush pair 1, through e.g. a tooth belt fraction, up and down along the slide rail 2 extending rearwardly in an upwardly sloping direction. When a sensor, not shown, on the carriage 1' of the brush pair 1 is activated upon the engagement of the brushes 1 with a lower portion of a shoulder post 4 from opposite sides of the latter, said sensor starts the hydraulic motor 7 which starts said tooth belt fraction (not shown) which, thus, immediately provides a displacement of carriage 1' with brush pair 1 in a direction rearwardly during rising change of level while the carriage 1' is slideably displaced up along the slide rail 2 during continuous cleaning of longitudinal sections of the shoulder post 4 positioned at gradually increasing levels. The upper end of the slide rail 2 is situated at a taller level than the top of the shoulder posts which empirically are located at the highest level above the ground, so that the shoulder post 4 is cleaned from the lower starting place for the brushes 1 and completely up to the top at the moment the engagement between post 4 and brush pair 1 ceases, whereafter carriage 1' with brush pair l, as previously mentioned, become displaced again to said lower starting position, approximately corresponding to figure 1. When the brush pair 1 during its cleaning of the shoulder post 4 is displaced rearwardly in an upwardly sloping direction allotted a horizontal speed component corres¬ ponding to the propulsion speed of the motor vehicle 3", but having the opposite direction, the upwardly occuring move¬ ment of the brush pair 1 in relation to the stationary shoulder post 4 will take place while the brush pair 1 is "stationary" (relative movements) . The rotational speed of the brushes is proportional to the propulsion speed of the motor vehicle 3". Washing liquid supply may suitably take place as long as the shoulder post is in engagement with the two brushes 1.

Claims: C l a i m s 1. A method for cleaning road shoulder posts (4), i.e. free-standing, vertical posts (4) distributed along road shoulders in order to mark the same, by means of a motor vehicle (3") during the uninterrupted forward driving thereof and by means of a pair of cooperating, rotary, driven brushes (1) having substantially parallel rotational axes and which is supplied with washing liquid from a washing liquid supply (5) , which may be carried by the motor vehicle (3") , and where the efficient, vertical extent of each brush (1) is smaller than the height of at least some shoulder posts (4) , which may have mutually differing heights above the ground, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d i n that the brush pair (1) upon its immediate contact with a shoulder post (4) is moved rearwardly in an upwardly sloping direction from a lower starting position, in which the brush pair (1) starts the cleaning of said shoulder post (4) at the lower portion thereof, continuing the cleaning of the shoulder post (4) at increasingly higher levels, to complete the cleaning of the shoulder post (4) at the top thereof, the brush pair's (1) displacement in the rearwardly directed, upwardly sloping direction being allotted a speed, the horizontal component thereof being adjusted such that it substantially corresponds to the pro¬ pulsion speed of the motor vehicle (3") , so that the brush pair (1) in relation to the stationary shoulder post 4 is essentially "stationary" during the slopingly upwardly directed displacement in relation to the shoulder post (4) , and that the brush pair (1) is displaced down into its lower starting position again just after it has passed its tallest position, and the shoulder post (4) from a lower level is cleaned straight up to the top. 2. A method as set forth in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the brush pair (1) is allowed to be subjected to an automatic lateral adjustment in the horizontal plane, lateral deviations upon cleaning of shoulder posts (4) through road curves and during propulsion of the motor vehicle (3") on weak road shoulders are allowed as a consequence of a certain heeling movement in relation to the road surface. 3. An apparatus for cleaning road shoulder posts (4), i.e. free-standing, vertical posts (4) distributed along road shoulders in order to mark the same, said cleaning apparatus being designed and adapted for mounting to a motor vehicle (3") , along one (right hand) longitudinal side thereof, in the position of use positioned outside the same, and possessing an adjusting displacement possibility in the lateral direction of the motor vehicle (3") , comprising a working head in the form of a carriage (1•) carrying cleaning means in the form of a pair of cooperating, rotary, driven brushes (1) having substantially parallel rotational axes, the working area of the brushes (l) being situated in the immediate proximity of an outlet from a washing liquid supply (5) , for supplying washing liquid to the rotating brushes (1) during the time they act on and clean a shoulder post (4) , and where the tops of the individual shoulder posts (4) may have mutually differing elevations above ground, the efficient vertical extent of the brushes (1) being smaller than the elevation above ground of at least some shoulder post tops, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d i n that the carriage (1') carrying the brush pair (1) respectively a slide or the like connected thereto is assigned a rearwardly upwards sloping guide path in the form of a slide rail (2) , where a rearwardly directed slopingly rising movement of carriage (l 1 ) with brush pair (1) with a speed synchonized with the propulsion speed of the motor vehicle (3") is adapted to be released as known per se by means of a sensor or the like when the brush pair (1) occupies a lower starting position in the immediate proximity of a shoulder post's (4) lower portion, said rearwardly inclined rising movement of carriage (l 1 ) with brush pair (1) being brought to cease as known per se by means of another sensor or the like when the surrounding engagement of the brushes (1) around the top of the shoulder post (4) is nullified respectively at the uppermost end of the slide rail (2), whereafter a drive means which displaced carriage (1') with brush pair (1) upwardly along the slide rail (2) , now displaces carriage (l 1 ) with brush pair (1) downwardly along the slide rail (2) into said lower starting position of the brush pair (1) . 4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d i n that the angle the slide rail (2) forms with the horizontal plane is adjustable in order to raise/lower the uppermost, rearmost point thereof. 5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3 or 4, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d i n that the cleaning apparatus is late¬ rally adjustable, e.g. by means of hydraulic piston cylin¬ ders (3, 3') mounted on the motor vehicle (3") and attached to the slide rail (2) .

Inventors: POLLESTAD JAN, POLLESTAD, JAN
Applicants: POLLESTAD JAN, TRIMATIC A S, POLLESTAD, JAN, TRIMATIC A/S
Application year: 1996
Main classification: E01H1
IPC codes: B08B1, B08B3, E01H1