IMPROVEMENTS IN ROAD SWEEPING AND SCRAPING MACHINES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Burgess, of Peckham, in the County of
Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROAD SWEEPING AND
SCRAPING MACHINES."
Sealed the 21st August 1875, and dated the 11th March 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Burgess at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th March 1875.
I, WILLIAM BURGESS, of Peckham, in the County of Surrey, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROAD
SWEEPING AND SCRAPING MACHINES," to be as follows:-―
My Invention relates to that class of street sweeping machine which
also collects and deposits the mud or refuse in a cart or receptacle,
and consists in an improved construction of machine mounted on its
own frame and wheels, and independent of the cart, so that it may be
readily transported where required for use in connection with a number
of the ordinary carts; to any one of which it is temporarily attached
while in use,

page_text: The improved apparatus of my Invention is further characterized by
its simplicity and lightness of construction, owing to which but little
power is required to work it.
The apparatus consists of an endless band or chain of brushes sup-
ported in an inclined position, and running over drums mounted in
bearings on the frame of the apparatus. The endless chain of brushes
work over a correspondingly inclined plane, up which the mud is
conveyed by the brushes to a shoot, by which it is discharged into the
cart.
The whole of the apparatus is supported on a frame of suitable con- 1
struction, and carried on wheels, the leading wheels being of considerable
diameter, the trailing wheels being smaller and attached to a hinged or
otherwise adjustable part of the frame to regulate the distance of the
brushes from the ground. The brushes are driven by chain gearing
operated by a spur wheel on one of the leading wheels.
One or more scrapers are applied near the lower end of the inclined
plane and in front of the brushes to loosen and collect the mud when
the consistency of the latter is too stiff for the brushes to sweep it up
alone.
The machine is merely attached to the cart by means of a chain, so
that when the cart or receptacle is full it may be removed and readily
]
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Burgess in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th September 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BURGESS, of Peckham, in the County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Burgess, Ier
special licence, that I, the said William Burgess, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Burgess,

page_text: my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROAD SWEEPING AND SCRAPING MACHINES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Burgess, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Burgess, 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
Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters marked thereon, that is to say :—
My Invention relates to that class of road sweeping and scraping
machine by which the mud or refuse is also raised and deposited in a
cart or receptacle, and the Invention consists in an improved construc-
tion of machine mounted on its own frame, and driven from its own
wheels, so as to be quite independent of the cart, to which it is only.
temporarily attached when at work. The machine may thus be readily.
transported where required, a single machine being used in connection
with a number of ordinary carts, so that when one cart is filled the
machine may be readily detached therefrom and connected to an empty
one, the machine being thus kept continually in use.
The apparatus of my Invention is characterized by its simplicity and
lightness of construction, by reason of which but little extra power is
required to work it.
In order that my Invention may be more readily understood I have
illustrated it in the accompanying Drawing, which represents a side
clevation of the improved road sweeping and scraping machine (partly
in section) attached to a cart.
The machine consists mainly of two endless chains of brushes A
supported in an inclined position, as shown, and running over drums or

page_text: chain wheels B, B', mounted in bearings bolted to uprights C rising
from the frame D, the latter supporting an inclined plane or board, up
which the brushes work and convey the mud or refuse to the top of the
incline, whence it is discharged beneath a hood E into the cart F.
The general arrangement of the brushes A, which are enclosed in a
casing A', and are divided at the middle of their width into two distinct
and independent sets working side by side to facilitate turning the
machine, is all much the same as in other road sweeping machines
already in use. Each set of brushes is driven from the nearest travelling
wheel of the machine, as hereafter described.
The whole of the apparatus is supported on a frame G of suitable
construction carried on a pair of wheels H of large diameter, and a third
or steering wheel I at the rear. Each set of brushes is driven by an
endless chain K passing over a chain wheel (not shown), keyed on a
prolongation of the axis of chain wheel B', and round another chain
wheel L, turning loosely on an axis supported by the frame D, the said
wheel L being provided also with spur teeth gearing with a ring of
teeth M bolted to the adjacent travelling wheel H; or the bushes may
be otherwise driven from the wheels H. The pinion L is made movable
along its axis to enable it to be thrown out of gear with the ring of
teeth M when the machine is being moved about out of work. The
steering wheel I is of small size, and mounted in a forked spindle turning
in sockets attached to central upright N, and operated on by a suitable
handle.
One or more scrapers O are applied near the lower end of the incline,
as shown, when the mud is of such consistency that the brushes are
insufficient to sweep it up alone. This scraper is attached on the under
side of the incline, as shown, and serves to gather up the bulk of the
mud in advance of the brushes, which complete the work begun by the
scraper. The dirt raised by the scraper passes through an opening P
provided in the incline, and is then raised by the brushes and deposited
in the cart. When not required the scraper, which is attached by bolts
or otherwise so as to be readily removable, is detached, and the opening P
is closed by a cover fitting in the rebates around the opening, so as to be
flush with the surface of the incline.
The machine is merely attached to the cart by means of a chain R
tightened up by a screw coupling, or by means of a winch handle

page_text: and drum T, on which the chain is wound, one or more spring buffers U
being introduced to steady the machine when at work.
The hood E is constructed with its sides inclined inwards towards the
bottom, so as to bring the mud towards the centre, and enable the
machine to be used with a cart whose breadth is less than that of the
brushes of the sweeping machine.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,—
.
1st. The arrangement and combination of parts of a street sweeping
machine herein shown and described, in which the endless chains of
brushes are driven from its own bearing wheel or wheels, so that the
machine is wholly self-contained, and may therefore be attached to any
ordinary cart, as set forth.
2nd. In a street sweeping machine the combination with the
endless chains of brushes and inclined plane of a scraping or shovelling
device fixed beneath an aperture in the inclined plane, substantially as
shown and described, so as to raise and convey the mud to the brushes
as set forth.
.
3rd. The use for connecting a street sweeping machine (constructed
and operated as herein described) with a cart or other travelling recep-
tacle of a chain tightened up by a screw coupling or a winch in
combination with one or more spring buffers to steady the machine, as
specified.
4th. The employment in combination with an independent street
cleaning machinc attached to a cart of a hood whose sides are inclined
inward, as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Burgess, have heréunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.