IMPROVEMENTS IN SWEEPING STREETS OR ROADS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert James Wood, of Edinburgh, in the
County of Mid Lothian, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SWEEPING STREETS OR ROADS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREFOR
"
Sealed the 19th July 1872, and dated the 23rd January 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert James Wood
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 23rd January 1872.
''I, ROBERT JAMES WOOD, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid
Lothian, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN SWEEPING STREETS OR ROADS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to improvements in street sweeping machines,
and it consists, first, in the arrangement of apparatus for sweeping
streets or roads, and, secondly, in the mechanism employed in lifting
the sweepings and discharging them into any suitable receptacle.

page_text: . The machine is constituted of a framing supported on two or more
wheels. When two wheels are employed a spur wheel is attached to
each at the inner side of the felly or rim for the purpose of communi-
cating motion to other parts of the machine. When more than two
wheels are employed to carry the machine, spur wheels are attached to a
pair of these situated on the same axis. At the upper part of the
framing a shaft is situated, having a spur pinion fixed on one end, and
which is geared into the spur wheel fixed to the corresponding carrying
wheel of the machine. On the opposite end of this shaft a crank or
eccentric is also fixed, which as the shaft rotates imparts motion to a
toothed quadrant through the intervention of a connecting rod. The
movement of the quadrant communicates a revolving motion to a pinion,
into which it is geared. The shaft or spindle on which this pinion is
fixed extends accross the machine, and it has also fixed thereon two pitch
pulleys, over which endless pitch chains are passed, the said chains being
also passed over other pulleys on a corresponding shaft situated towards
the rear of the machine. Both of these pitch chains are fixed to a bar
extending accross the machine at right angles to the direction of the
chains, and which bar is fitted at each end into a socket sliding on a
guide rod fixed longitudinally to each side frame of the machine.
To the bar a strong frame, which carries the brush or scraper, is
attached, and when the quadrant is moved backwards and forwards by
the crank or eccentric through the intervention of the connecting rod
herein-before referred to, a similar motion is communicated to the brush
or scraper by means of the pitch pulleys and endless chains.
When the brush or scraper brings a load of sweepings towards the
centre of the machine, a scoop is brought into action by means of suitable
mechanism and receives the sweepings, immediately after which both
brush or scraper and scoop rise to such a height that the sweepings are
easily discharged into a trough situated at the lower part of the machine.
The arrangement of mechanism whereby the sweepings are lifted out
of the trough and discharged into any suitable receptacles constitutes the
second part of this Invention, and consists in the employment of an
Archimedian screw situated in the interior of a cylinder, the lower end of
which dips into the trough, and the upper end is so elevated and inclined
towards the top of the machine that the sweepings can be easily dis-
charged into a cart, wagon, or other receptacle. The screw is rotated by

page_text: means of a bevil pinion situated on the upper end thereof, and which is
geared into a corresponding bevil wheel situated either on the axis of
the pitch pulley first referred to or on a separate shaft, in which case it
may be driven by means of a pitch chain passed over a pulley situated
on its axis, and over another pulley on the axis of the spur pinion
geared into the spur wheel at the side of the machine on which the
screw is situated, and opposite to the wheel and pinion first referred to.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
JAMES WOOD, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
35th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Robert James Wood, Her special
license that I, the said Robert James Wood, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert James Wood,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agrec
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, usc,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SWEEPING STREETS OR ROADS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Robert James Wood, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert James Wood, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:
My said Invention relates to improvements in street sweeping
machines, and it consists, first, in the arrangement of apparatus for
sweeping streets or roads, and, secondly, in the application to a
sweeping machine of mechanism employed for lifting the sweepings and
discharging them into any suitable receptacle.
The machine is constructed of a framing supported on two or more
wheels. When two wheels are employed a spur wheel is attached to
each at the inner side of the felly or rim for the purpose of communi-
cating motion to other parts of the machine. When more than two
wheels are employed to carry the machine, spur wheels are attached to
a pair of these situated on the same axis. At the upper part of the
framing a shaft is situated, having a spur pinion fixed on one end, and
which is geared into the spur wheel fixed to the corresponding carrying
wheel of the machine. On the opposite end of this shaft a crank or
eccentric is also fixed, which as the shaft rotates imparts motion to a
toothed quadrant through the intervention of a connecting rod. The
movement of the quadrant communicates a revolving motion to a pinion,
into which it is geared. The shaft or spindle on which this pinion is
fixed extends across the machine, and it has also fixed thercon two
pitch pulleys, over which endless pitch chains are passed, the said
chains being also passed over other pulleys on a corresponding shaft
situated towards the rear of the machine. Both of these pitch chains
are fixed to a bar extending across the machine at right angles to the
direction of the chains, and which bar is fitted at each end into a
socket sliding on a guide rod fixed longitudinally to each side frame of
the machine.
To the bar a strong frame, which carries the brush or scraper, is
attached, and when the quadrant is moved backwards and forwards by
the crank or eccentric through the intervention of the connecting rod
herein-before referred to, a similar motion is communicated to the brush
or scraper by means of the pitch pulleys and endless chains.

page_text: When the brush or scraper brings a load of sweepings towards the
centre of the machine, a scoop is brought into action by means of
suitable mechanism and receives the sweepings, immediately after which
both brush or scraper and scoop rise to such a height that the sweepings
are discharged into a trough situated at the lower part of the machinc.
The arrangement of mechanism whereby the sweepings are lifted out
of the trough and discharged into any suitable receptacles, and the
application of which constitutes the second part of this Invention,
consists of an Archimedian screw situated at the interior of a hollow
cylinder, the lower end of which dips into the trough, and the upper
end is so elevated and inclined towards the top of the machine that
the sweepings can be discharged into a cart, wagon, or other recep-
tacle. The screw is rotated by means of a bevil pinion situated on the
upper end thereof, and which is geared into a corresponding bevil wheel
situated either on the axis of the pitch pulley first referred to or on a
separate shaft, in which case it may be driven by means of a pitch chain
passed over a pulley situated on its axis and over another pulley on the
axis of the spur pinion geared into the spur wheel at the side of the
machine on which the screw is situated, and opposite to the wheel and
pinion first referred to.
.

page_text: As shewn on the Drawings, the mechanism consists of a framing B
supported upon two pairs of wheels C and D, the pair D of which is
attached to the forward end of the framing B by means of a swivel or
bogie pin E in order to afford greater facility in turning the machine.
Spur wheels F and G are attached to the wheels C at the inner sides of
their fellies or rims, as shewn, and which are geared into corresponding
spur pinions H and I situate on the outer extremities of two shafts J
and J', carried in bearings at the upper part of the framing B, as more
particularly seen in plan at Figure 3. On the inner extremity of the
shaft J a crank K is fixed, which as the shaft rotates imparts an oscil-
lating motion to a toothed quadrant L through the intervention of a
connecting rod M, one extremity of which is attached to the crank K
and the opposite extremity to the quadrant by a pin, as shown. The teeth
on the quadrant Lare geared into a pinion N situate on a shaft O, which
extends across the machine as shewn at Figure 3, and on the said shaft O
pitch pullies P are also fixed, over which endless pitch chains Q are
passed, indicated by dotted lines, the said chains being also passed over
corresponding pullies R fixed on a shaft $ situate towards the rear end of
the machine. The pitch chains Q are attached to a bar T extending across
the machine at right angles to the direction of the chains, and which is
fitted at each end with a socket U, sliding on a guide rod V carried in
brackets projecting from each side frame B, and placed parallel with the
frames, as shewn in plan at Figure 3 of the Drawings.
To the bar T a frame W is attached, in the lower part of which the
brush A is carried, and those portions of the frame W marked a and b,
Figures 3 and 4, are made moveable and provided with adjusting screws
(not shewn on the Drawings), in order that when the brush becomes
worn, the plate b may be removed and a fresh brush inserted into the
frame W, and the "bass or bristles constituting the brush are adjusted
to an equal length, and caused to project from the frame to the required
extent by screwing the top plate a down upon their upper ends.
"
Towards the centre of the machine, and at its lower part, a scoop Y is
situate, and which is composed of a number of segments centred on a
shaft Z placed underneath the scoop Y, and extending from one side
frame B to the other. Immediately in front of the scoop Y a trough or
receptacle X is situate, and which is inclined downwards from that side
of the machine, shewn in elevation at Figures 1 and 2, towards the
opposite side, whereat an elevator is situated, by which the sweepings,

page_text: after having been delivered into the trough or receptacle X by the
brush A and scoop Y, are raised and discharged. On one extremity of
the shaft Z a lever e is fixed, the upper end of which is attached to one
end of a link f, whose opposite extremity is coupled to a forked lever k
attached to the framing B by means of a pin or stud 9, as shewn. A
catch is also fixed on the extremity of the shaft Z, whereon the link e
is situate, and which is so acted upon by a lever depending from a
pin m, as to keep the rear end of the scoop Y free from contact with the
surface of the road or street being swept until the brush A in its forward
stroke has brought a load of sweepings approximately to the said end of
the scoop Y, after which a heel n, formed on the socket U, acts in
such a manner on a heel o projecting from a link p, shewn at Figure 4,
attached to the lever as to push the lower end of the said lever forwards,
as indicated by the arrow on Figuro 1, and allow the scoop to fall and
particularly set forth and ascertain the conjoint action of these details in'
effecting the sweeping of streets or roads.
When the machine is set in motion through being drawn by a horse or
horses harnessed to the eyse p formed on or attached to the axis of the
wheels D, the spur wheel F imparts motion to the pinion H, and thence
through the shaft J to the crank K, which by its revolution imparts an
oscillating motion to the quadrant L through the intervention of the
connecting rod M. By this means the pinion N, geared with the toothed
quadrant L, is rotated, and with it the shaft O and pitch pulleys P,
whereby the frame W carrying the brush A, supposing it to be in the
position shewn at Figure 1 of the Drawings, is drawn towards the centre
of the machine by means of the pitch chains Q, which are attached to
the bar T of the frame W, as herein-before described. This has the effect
of sweeping a breadth of the street or road equal to the length of the
brush A, and drawing the sweepings towards the rear end of the scoop Y,
which is then lowered into contact with the surface of the road or street
to receive the sweepings from the brush A by the heel n, on the
socket U, acting against the heel o so as to throw forward the lower
extremity of the lever and relieve the catch h, as herein-before
described. The brush A, in continuing its forward motion, then sweeps

page_text: the dust, mud, or other sweepings into the rearward part of the scoop Y,
which being effected, a pin 8, formed on the side of the socket U, enters
the forked end of the lever k, and on the brush A. being still further
drawn forward by the arrangement of mechanism herein-before described,
the said pins causes the lever k to move through an arc of a circle and
elevate the rear end of the scoop Y into the position shewn at Figure 2
of the Drawings, through the intervention of the link f, lever e, and
shaft Z, by which means the sweepings are discharged into the trough or
receptacle X. Immediately after this has been effected the quadrant L
reaches the extremity of one oscillation, and the continued revolution of
the crank K causes the quadrant to make a reverse motion, which being
imparted through the pinion N to the pitch pullies P and chains Q
causes the brush A to be drawn back to the position shewn at Figure 1
of the Drawings, at which time it is ready to commence another sweeping
operation similar to that herein-before described.
The brush A in being carried back is kept free from contact with the
surface of the street or road, and to effect this a pint is formed on or
fixed to one side of the frame W, which pin comes in contact with an
inclined guide q at or about the same time as when the pin n on the
socket U enters the forked end of the lever k, thereby causing the
frame W and brush A on their continued forward movement to be raised
correspondingly with the scoop Y until the brush A has reached the
limit of its forward stroke, at which time the pin t raises the forward
end and passes from under a guide i attached at one extremity to the
frame B by a pin or stud j, as shewn at Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings.
The pin t is thus, on the backward movement of the brush A, carried on
the upper surface of the guide i, thereby supporting the brush A free
from contact with the road or street until the limit of its backward
movement has been reached, at which time the pin t drops over the end
or falls through a slot in the guide i, and allows the brush to again come
in contact with the surface of the street or road and commence another
sweeping operation similar to that herein-before described.
The sweepings after being discharged into the trough or receptacle X,
as herein-before described, are raised therefrom and delivered into a cart
or other receptacle by an arrangement of elevator, the application of
which to a sweeping machine constitutes the second part of this Inven-
tion. This clevator consists of an Archimedian screw working within an

page_text: inclined tube or casing u, the lower extremity of which is situate within
the trough or receptacle X, and which is formed with a spout u¹ at its
upper part, through which the sweepings are discharged. On the upper
end of the screw or elevator a bevil pinion v is situate, and which gears
into a corresponding wheel v³, fixed on a shaft extending across the
upper part of the framing B, as shown. A pitch pulley x is formed on
the back of the wheel v¹, over which a pitch chain y is passed, the said
chain being also passed over a pulley w, situate on the opposite extremity
of the shaft J¹ to that whereat the spur pinion I is fixed, and which
pinion I, being geared with the spur wheel G, communicates motion to
the elevator through the intervention of the pitch pullies w and x,
chain y, and bevil wheel and pinion and v². In order to throw the
sweeping mechanism out of gear with the spur wheel F at such times as
it is desired that a sweeping operation should not be effected, the spur
pinion H is provided with a clutch and handle <, by operating which the
pinion may be thrown out of gear with the spur wheel F, and the
sweeping mechanism thereby rendered stationary.
It is to be here understood that under certain circumstances, such for
example as clearing streets or roads of snow, thick or heavy mud, or in
the performance of like operations, scrapers may be attached to the
frame W in lieu of the brush A, in which instance the said scrapers
are operated in the manner herein-before described and shown on the

page_text: Second. The employment of a reciprocating brush in sweeping
machines, actuated substantially in the manner herein-before described.
Third. The employment of an elevator, constructed as herein-before
described and shewn on the annexed Drawings, in conjunction with
street sweeping machines, as and for the purpose herein-before set
forth.