Patent Publication Number: US-10309069-B1

Title: Street sweeper

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/164,665, filed May 21, 2015 for Street Sweeper. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an industrial street sweeper and especially to a street sweeper prime mover having a sweeper attachment that has a forward debris collection hopper coupled to a sweeper brush compartment with a floating sweeper brush and a coupler for coupling the sweeper attachment to the prime mover which allows for three dimensional movements between the sweeper attachment and a prime mover. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Industrial sweepers used in cleaning streets and the like have a rotating brush mounted to the front or rear of a motorized vehicle. An electric or hydraulic motor drives the rotating brush or brushes along the surface of the area being cleaned, sweeping material into a bucket. The brush is controlled from the vehicle&#39;s cab with hydraulic or electric controls. The brush of the sweeper needs to be mounted in a position to sweep the area being traversed for cleaning the surface. This invention is for an industrial street sweeper and especially to a street sweeper having an attachment that has a forward dump hopper, a brush compartment and a coupler that allows for three dimensional movements between the sweeper and a prime mover. 
     One prior art U.S. Pat. No. 7,428,767 to Lougheed is for a sweeper which has a floating brush or drum assembly. A sweeper has a rotating brush or drum supported by a float arm movably coupled to the sweeper bucket. The float arm is coupled to a linkage to movably support the float arm between a retracted position and a forward position. The float arm is rotationally coupled to the linkage to compensate for height variations and provide a mechanism to rotate the linkage to move the float arm forward relative to the debris collection bucket. 
     Other U.S. Patents for street sweepers may be seen in the Hildebrand et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,756 for a Street Sweeper having an Elevating Hopper with Supporting Outriggers and in the Koester U.S. Pat. No. 6,687,939 for a Bucket Sweeper. The McDonald U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,284 is for a Sweeper Assembly while the Vanderlinden U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,911 is for a Debris Lifting Apparatus for use in a Surface Sweeping Vehicle. The Berfield et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,969 is for a Rotary Brush Sweeper with Easily Separable Debris Pan. 
     The present invention is for an improved industrial street sweeper sweeping attachment and especially to a street sweeper prime mover attachment that has a forward debris collection hopper coupled to a sweeper brush compartment and a coupler for coupling the sweeper attachment to the prime mover in a manner that allows for three dimensional movements between the sweeper attachment and a prime mover. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An industrial street sweeper attachment has a forward debris collecting hopper mounted to the front of a rotary brush compartment having a floating sweeping brush therein. The street sweeper attachment is removably attached to a pair of lifting arms of a prime mover with a quick coupling. The sweeper hopper is hingedly attached with top hinges to the brush compartment and is raised to an open position for discharging its contents and lowered into a locked position against the brush compartment for collecting debris from the sweeping brush by a pair of hydraulic cylinders each operating a hopper lifting arm. Each hopper lifting arm is a generally L-shaped arm that is connected to the brush compartment and through an adjustable link to said debris hopper to enable the hopper to be locked in a closed position against the brush compartment in a closed position. 
     An industrial street attachment is attached to a prime mover and has a forward debris collection hopper coupled to a sweeper brush compartment and a coupler for coupling the sweeper attachment to the prime mover. The street sweeper includes a prime mover having a pair of forward lifting arms to which the front mounted sweeper attachment is mounted to. The pair of lifting arms in front of the prime mover are adapted to be raised and lowered to raise and lower the sweeper attachment. The sweeper attachment has a brush compartment holding a floating rotatable sweeping brush therein and has a debris collecting hopper hingedly attached to the front thereof with a plurality of top mounted hinges. The sweeper attachment has a pair of lifting cylinders each attached through an adjustable linkage to the debris collecting hopper to rotate said hinged debris hopper relative to the brush compartment. The hopper lifting arm is a generally L-shaped arm which connects over the center of the debris hopper through an adjustable linkage. Each hydraulic cylinder moves a hopper lifting arm to lock the hopper to the brush compartment when in a closed position against the brush compartment for collecting debris being swept up by the sweeping brush. The debris collecting hopper closed position has an open side aligned with the front of the brush compartment for receiving debris swept up by the rotating brush and an open position for dumping collected debris therefrom when the sweeper attachment is raised by the prime mover lifting arms. The brush compartment has the rotating brush supported therein by a pair of lever arms, one on each end of a shaft with each arm riding in an arcuate track and supported to the brush compartment with a spring to allow the brush to float. A chain attached between the brush compartment and each lever arm limits the drop of the brush when the sweeper attachment is raised for dumping the debris hopper. Both the brush compartment and the debris hopper have skids with removal pads. The hopper also has a pair of wheels. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding of the invention, are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification and illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation of a street sweeper in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevation of the street sweeper in accordance with claim  1  dumping a load of debris into a dump truck; 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the street sweeper attachment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a rear perspective view of the street sweeper attachment of  FIGS. 1-3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial exploded perspective of the street sweeper attachment with the pan in a raised position; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial exploded perspective of the street sweeper attachment showing the sweeper brush removed; and 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective of the street sweeper attachment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention is for an industrial sweeper machine, as shown in the  FIGS. 1 and 2 . A sweeper attachment  10  is shown attached to the front of a prime mover  11  pair of lifting arms  12  which are actuated by a pair of lifting hydraulic cylinders  13  along with a pair of hydraulic cylinders  14 . The prime mover lifting arms  12  connect to a quick coupler plate  15  for lifting the front sweeper attachment  10  and dumping collected debris  16  into a dump truck  9  as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The sweeper attachment has a forward debris hopper  17  hingedly attached to a brush housing  18 . The sweeper machine is shown in  FIG. 1  in an operative sweeping position and in  FIG. 2  with the forward debris hopper  17  being dumped into the truck  9 . 
     As seen in the drawings,  FIGS. 1-7 , this invention is for an industrial sweeper attachment  10  that has a forward debris hopper  17  and a brush compartment  18  and is coupled to the prime mover  11  in a manner that allows for three dimensional movements between the sweeper attachment  10  and the prime mover  11 . The sweeper attachment  10  has a plurality of top hinges  20  that connects the forward debris hopper  17  to the brush compartment  18 . This allows the forward debris hopper  17  to be emptied as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The sweeper attachment  10  consists of three main components: a debris hopper  17 , a brush compartment  18  and a quick coupler plate  15 . The debris hopper  17  connects to the brush compartment  18 , having the rotating brush  19  therein. The hinge  20  allows the hopper  17  to be rotated upward to allow the debris being swept from a road or other surface to exit the debris hopper  17 . The debris hopper  17  has a brush compartment support  21  with caster wheels  22 , which are necessary in order to keep the hopper  17  from dragging on the surface being swept. The forward support structure increases the strength of the debris hopper  17  in this location to enable the attachment of the adjustable lift linkage  23  having an adjustable link  24 . The adjustable linkage is used in the lifting, dumping, closing, and locking process. A replaceable forward skid plate  25  on the bottom of the debris hopper  17  and a rear skid plate  26  on the bottom of the brush compartment  18  protect the bottom of the debris hopper  17  and brush compartment  18 . 
     During the opening and closing process between the debris hopper  17  and the brush compartment  18 , a sufficient amount of pressure by the locking mechanism is exerted when the hopper  17  and compartment  18  meet so that a contact surface is needed. This is accomplished by the debris hopper  17  contact support structure  27  and the hinged brush compartment  18  contact support structure  28 . When the hopper contact support structure  27  and the brush contact support structure meet, they form a seal between the debris hopper  17  and brush compartment  18 . The brush compartment  18  houses the brush  19  and the means to attach the necessary component to complete the sweeping attachment  10 . 
     The brush compartment  18  has a main support beam  30  and a brush compartment support  21  that each span side to side to give support to the sides of the brush compartment  18  and debris hopper  17 . A side to side debris deflector  29  acts as a deflector to deflect debris being swept to skip over in order to fill the forward section of the debris hopper  17 . Debris deflector  29  also mates against the debris hopper to create a seal between the hopper  17  and the brush frame  18 . 
     The sweeper attachment  10  is attached to the prime mover in a manner to allow the sweeper and prime mover to move independent of each other. This is accomplished by the use of the quick coupler plate  15  and vertical and horizontal chain lifting support  32  having the horizontal lift chains  33  and vertical lift chains  34  attached thereto. The vertical chain  34  is attached at the other end to the main link height adjustment bracket  35  having the vertical chain adjustment holes  36 . The horizontal chain  33  is attached at the other end to the top support lifting arm  37 . The quick coupler plate  15  provides the means to adapt or couple to different prime movers. 
     The ability to raise or lower the rear portion of the sweeper attachment  10  is essential to the sweeping process. The height of the rear portion of the sweeper needs to be adjusted for different heights of the prime movers lifting arms  12 . The rear portion of the sweeper  10  is adjusted to a prescribed height from the surface being swept. The rear skid shoes  26  would wear out prematurely without the ability to make this adjustment thus creating the need to be able to change the skid shoes  26 . 
     The brush  19  has an idle arm bearing  40  on each end thereof which is held by a brush frame idle arm  41  which allows the bearings  40  to move in an arcuate track and thereby float or allow movement of the brush  19 . The brush frame swinging arm  41  is held by a spring  42  and a chain  43  which are connected between the swinging arm  41  and a brush height adjustment support structure  44 . 
     The dumping process is achieved with a pair of lift hydraulic cylinders  45 , each attached at one end to an L-shaped lifting arm  46  and to the rear cylinder and L-shaped bracket attachment riser  47  on the other end which is in turn attached to the brush compartment  18 . An adjustable link  24  is connected between the L-shaped hopper lifting arm  46  on one end and to the adjustable link attachment riser  23  on its other end. Actuation of the hydraulic cylinder  45  will act to pull the hopper  17  to rotate the hopper on the hinges  20  to a position as shown in  FIG. 2  for dumping a load of debris  16  into the dump truck  9 . 
     The movement of the lift cylinder  45  with an in and out motion raises and lowers the L-shaped lifting arm  46  at a point located below the cylinder connection point. The adjustable lifting link  24  is connected to the adjustable link attachment riser  23 . The in and out motion of the lift cylinder  45  raises and lowers the debris hopper  17  in relation to the brush compartment  18 . 
     The debris hopper needs to be locked shut to prevent it from opening prematurely and causing spillage of the debris therein and to prevent the rubbing of the forward skid shoes  25  and rear skid shoes  26  against the surface being swept when the lift cylinder  45  is extended pushing the L-shaped lifting arm  46  downward. Once an over-the-center connection is achieved, the hopper is locked mechanically and will only re-open by the lift cylinder  45  to lift the debris hopper  17 . A stop for over the center linkage or arm support guide and locking mechanism  52  is provided to stop the movement downward of the lift cylinder  45 , the L-shaped hopper lifting arm  46  to lock the debris hopper  17  shut and hold it shut tightly. 
     A frame structure supports a rotary brush  19  with a brush frame L-shaped motor arm  54  which has a hydraulic or electric motor  53  for driving the brush  19 . The brush frame L-shaped motor arm  54  allows for adjustment in a vertical direction. As can be seen in  FIG. 6 , the brush  19  is supported between the brush frame L-shaped motor arm  54  on one end and with the brush frame idler arm  41  on the other end. The shaft  55  of the hydraulic motor of the L-shaped motor arm  54  is held in place in the brush frame and is connected to the swinging arm  41  which allows the brush  19  to move in a vertical direction while allowing the brush to rotate on bearings. A bearing  40  is mounted to each end of the support brush  19 . The hydraulic motor  53  has the ability to move in a vertical direction as the brush  19  rides on bearings  40  riding in a slot  56  in each side of the brush compartment  18 . The L-shaped motor arm  54  provides a means to mount a hydraulic brush motor  53 . A universal joint  57  attaches to the brush shaft on either end thereof. 
     The vertical adjustment of the brush frame is accomplished by the use of the brush height adjustment support structure  44  which has a brush height adjustment nut to adjust the brush height adjustment chain  43 . 
     The vertical chain  34  attaches to the main link height adjustment bracket  35  by means of a bolt for making vertical coarse adjustments and to the vertical adjustment bracket  32 . The vertical chain  34  attaches to the vertical chain fine adjustment bolt  58  to the vertical and horizontal chain lifting support  32 . The bolt  58  passes through the vertical and horizontal chain lifting support  32  which allows the attachment to be set at the proper height from the surface being swept. 
     The horizontal chain  33  provides a flexible connection between the brush compartment  18  and the quick coupler  15 . The horizontal chain  33  connects to the brush compartment  18  to the top support lifting arm  37 . The horizontal chain  33  attaches to the quick coupler  15  by means of the vertical and horizontal chain lifting support  32 . 
     The ability to raise or lower the rear portion of the sweeper attachment  10  is essential to the sweeping process. The height of the rear portion of the sweeper needs to be adjusted for different heights of the prime movers lifting arms  12 . The rear portion of the sweeper  10  is adjusted to a prescribed height from the surface being swept. The rear skid shoes  26  would wear out prematurely without the ability to make this adjustment. 
     Operation of the street sweeper attachment  10  uses linkage comprising of a L-shaped lifting arm and an adjustable connecting linkage  24  that connects at a pivotal point on the debris hopper  17  and a pivotal point on the brush compartment  18 . A pair of hydraulic cylinders  45  provide means to lift the debris hopper  17  in a upward position allowing for debris to be dumped therefrom, as shown in  FIG. 2 . The sweeper attachment  10  is connected to the prime mover  11  by means of a quick coupler mechanism that is connected to the sweeper by a linkage  31  at the bottom of the brush compartment  18 . A horizontal chain  33  and a vertical chain  34  allow the sweeper  10  to be lifted and to move independent in a three-dimensional manner. The lifting linkage described has the ability to lock the sweeper  10  shut in over the center positioning by using three pivot points that allows the center pivot point to drop below a straight-line position of the forward pivot point in relation to the rear pivot point. The brush compartment  18  has means to adjust the downward force of the brush to the surface being swept. The brush compartment  18  has means for a brush frame to rotate allowing the brush to move vertically. The brush compartment  18  also has means to connect a forward and reverse motion linkage that allows the prime mover to push or pull the sweeper  10 . The brush compartment  18  has means to attach a vertical lifting chain  34 . The brush compartment  18  also attaches a horizontal lifting chain  33 . The coupling mechanism attaches a push pull linkage, the horizontal chains and the vertical chains in a coupler device for attaching to a prime mover  11 . 
     The sweeping attachment  10  provides advantages over existing sweepers on the market today. It has a forward sweeping direction making it much safer than existing machines on the market today that require a reverse motion of the prime mover to achieve a clean sweep. It also has means to adjust the contact pressure of the brush and means to move the sweeper attachment  10  independent of the prime mover  11  in a three-dimensional manner. The sweeper attachment  10  lifts the debris hopper  17  in an upward manner. 
     It should be clear at this time that an industrial street sweeper system has been provided which has a forward debris collection hopper positioned in front of a prime mover adjacent a front rotary sweeping brush. However the present invention is not to be considered limited to the forms shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.