Improvements in and relating to Street Sweeping Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Jan., 1896-Accepted, 14th Mar., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Street Sweeping Machines.
A communication from abroad by THE INTERNATIONAL SWEEPING MACHINE
COMPANY, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of West
Virginia, and having its principal office at 212 South Wayne Avenue, in the
City of Dayton, County of Montgomery and State of Ohio, United States of
America.
I, PETER JENSEN of No. 77 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to street sweeping machines of the class which are
provided with a rotary brush driven by suitable gearing from the ground wheels
upon which the machine travels, and provided with an inclined apron for receiving
the dust and dirt from the brush, and a removable receptacle for holding and
carrying such dirt with the machine in its progress; and consists in certain details
of construction of the rotating brush by which the different members composing
the same are held always in the same position relative to the working surface; in
an improved bearing upon which the brush is mounted and revolves; in inclined
guards for preventing the dirt thrown into the machine by the action of the brush
from falling back again into the street; in a scraping device for loosening dirt
caked or packed upon the pavement; in the construction of the flexible apron for
receiving the dirt from the brush, and in certain other details of construction, all
of which will be more fully hereinafter described, with reference to the drawings
accompanying this Specification, in which-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine;
Figure 2 a central longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Figure 3;
Figure 3 a horizontal section ou the line 3-3 of Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 4 a detail of the flexible apron ;
Figure 5 details of the scraper;
Figure 6 a detail of one of the protecting clips;
Figure 7 a detail showing the method of mounting the scraper blades.
The machine as shown in the drawings consists broadly, of a frame or casing A,
preferably of wrought irou, mounted to travel on ground wheels B, B, attached to
the sides of the machine. Within this casing is a rotating brush C, mounted on a
hollow shaft C revolving around a fixed spindle C2, which runs through the casing
from side to side and projects at either end. Inside the revolving tube C', at each
end, is fixed a bearing c of Babbitt metal, or similar material, surrounding the
fixed spindle and within the ends of the revolving sleeve. To the outer end of the
sleeve at one end is fixed a small pinion D, meshing with a second small pinion E
mounted on a short spindle projecting from the side of the frame and rigidly
attached to a small sprocket pinion F, which is connected by a suitable chain G G
to a sprocket gear H, mounted on the ground wheel B.
Within the casing, and between the sides thereof is mounted the rotating
brush C carried by heads I, I¹. These heads are recessed to receive the different
sections of the brush, and in the construction shown, are adapted to carry six
sections. One of the heads, as I, is fixed to the hollow spindle, and the other is
made movable longitudinally on the spindle C³, in order to adjust the distance
between the two and take up any shrinkage or wear in the brush sections, and thus

page_text: keep the brush always in the same relative position in regard to the surface on
which it works. It will be noticed that the inner sides of the recesses in the
nead are beveled, as shown at i i, and that the ends of the brush sections are
correspondingly beveled. The object of this construction is to force the brusli out
from the center and compensate for the wear on the ends of the fibres composing
the brush.
For the purpose of moving the hend I, I fasten to the hollow shaft C', inside
the head, a split collar or ring K, having ears kk, threaded to receive the ends of
screws K, K, which pass through the head and may be turned from the
outside, and thus force the head along the sleeve, and clamp the parts,
The brush in its rotation delivers the dirt and dust over an inclined apron M
into a receptacle N, which is made separable from the body of the machine. The
receptacle may be supported in any suitable manner, but the construction preferred
shown in the drawing, in which it is supported from the top by a cross-bar a,
which may be locked by a catch N to a corresponding cross-bar mounted upon the
machine frame. The under side of the receptacle carries an upturned lip O at its
forward end, which rests, when the receptacle is in its normal position, under the
angle formed by the upper end of the apron. In order to retain this lip in its
position, place at one or both sides of the machine a eam P acting under a
shoulder P, fastened to the receptacle, the cam being capable of rotation through
a short rock shaft and handle Q. It will be seen that as the cam is rotated it acts
on the under side of the shoulder, and lifts the forward end of the receptacle,
forcing the lip tightly against the apron, thus closing the receptacle and preventing
the escape of dust at this point.
In order to compensate for irregularities in the surface to be operated upon, the
apron is constructed as shown in detail, Figure 4. It consists of a rubber or
canvas strip m mounted upon the edge of a sheet of metal m' and serrated, or cut.
into a series of fingers or flaps m; each of these fingers is protected at its end by a
clip m³ of thin metal bent over it and fastened to it by turning down one of the
points of the clip, as shown at m', this construction being shown in Figure 6, where
the point m is shown turned down and the clip ready for application to the apron.
In operation, where an obstruction is met with, that portion of the apron which
strikes the obstruction will be bent back aud ride over it, while the remaining
portion of the apron will continue to act to receive the dust and dirt from the
broom.
In machines of this character, it has been found in practice, that the dirt
accumulating in the machines will fall back against the broom or brush and be
thrown out at each side, leaving a narrow ridge or track of dirt. In order to
prevent this action I construct at each side of the broom angular guards R, R,
having their forward ends at the center of the broom at each side, and their bases
at the point formed by the upper end of the apron. These guards are so formed
that they tend to compress the ends of the broom or brush as it rotates, and thus
prevent the dirt which falls against it from being discharged at the side. They
also act to completely close the easing at all points except that through which the
dirt is received from the broom, the angular faces of the guards gradually reducing
the width of the opening until the upper edge of the apron is reached where it
becomes less than the width of the broom, as a consequence of this construction dirt
falling back from the receptacle will come within the effective working surface of
the broom and be thrown back into the receptacle, and as the rear face or base of
the guards forms an offset R', at each side at the upper edge of the apron, no dirt
can escape at the ends of the broom.
In certain instances, where the dirt or accumulation upon the pavement has
become packed or caked by reason of the travel or other cause, it has been found
that a rotating brush as usually constructed, is not sufficient to remove the
material. For the purpose of loosening such accumulations I provide a scraper
or loosening device S, adjustably mounted underneath the apron, and in front of
the broom or brush. This loosening device consists, as shown, in a series of flat

page_text: metallic plates s mounted upon spiral springs s¹ carried by rods T which are joine l'
to the frame at each side, as shown at U, and connected at the center by a hingel
joint V, which joint is made movable, and may be adjusted by a bolt v, or other
similar means; the object of such adjustment being to throw the two lines of
scrapers at an angle to the line of travel of the machine, thus throwing the dirt.
towards the center of the broom. In Figure 7 is shown a detail illustrating the
spring carried scraper; the spring is coiled around the rod T and secured
thereto at one end, the remaining free end carrying the blade or plates, which is.
riveted or secured thereto. In order to prevent the dust thrown up by the broom
in its rotation, from escaping from under the side of the machine, I surround the
lower edge of the frame with a flexible apron W of rubber or canvas, protected on
its edge by clips w of metal, substantially similar to those employed on the inclined
apron. This protecting shield or apron W may be serrated, but in the preferred
construction is made continuous.
In order to adjust the pressure of the brush upon the pavement, or surface upon
which it works, I mount at the rear of the machine a small wheel or trolley X.
This trolley is mounted to swing on an adjustable pivote carried in a bracket Y
fastened to the frame. The pivot, as shown, is threaded at its upper end, and
passes through an ear threaded to receive it, and a lock-nut y placed above the ear
upon the projecting end of the pivot. It will be seen that by turning the threaded
pivot, the wheel may be raised or lowered with relation to the frame, and the
pressure of the broom upon the surface increased or diminished.
In order to adjust the broom up and down in the frame, the ends of the fixed
spindle which carries the broom are carried in slots in the frame by adjustable.
bearings 1, 1, mounted upon the frame at each side of the machine, ene of the
bearings carrying also the sprocket pinion and its attached gear. Inside the
casing, and surrounding the slots in which the spindle is mounted, I place flat.
strips of metal to reinforce the sides, where the sides are formed of wood, but when
the machine is composed entirely of metal, these strips would not be necessary.
The annular space inside the hollow spindle, and surrounding the fixed spindle,
may be, and is preferably, used as an oil reservoir for lubricating the bearings at
each end, for which purpose a tap hole may be drilled at any convenient place and
fitted with an oil plug.
Attention is called to the fact that by constructing the bearing surfaces on
which the broom revolves in the manner shown, I am enabled to get the necessary
long bearings for the revolving brush, and am yet able to bring the ends of the
brush close to the sides of the machine, thus utilizing the full width of the machine.
for work.
While the construction shown and described is preferred by me, it is of course
obvious that many of the details might be changed without departing from the
spirit of the invention, and such modifications would suggest themselves to any one
familiar with the art. All such modifications come within the meaning of my
invention. While the machine is adapted to hand work, it may be modified or
enlarged and changed to adapt it for use with horse-power.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim, is :—
1. In a street sweeping machine, the combination of the casing provided with a.
receptacle and formed with side walls, an upwardly inclined apron leading to the
receptacle, a horizontal rotary brush mounted in the casing between the side walls,.
and guards fixed to the inner sides of the casing, said guards formed at their front.
with offsets or shoulders and having their inner faces inclined backward and
outward in the path of the rotary brush; whereby the spaces between the ends of
the brush and inner sides of the casing are closed by the guards and the brush
section compressed.
2. In a street sweeping machine, a rotating brush composed of a number of

page_text: sections, a shaft, a fixed head recessed to receive one end of the sections, a
correspondingly recessed movable head to receive the other ends of the sections,.
and means for adjusting and holding the movable head to compensate for end wear
or shrinkage of the sections, substantially as described.
3. In a street sweeping machine, the combination with a vertically slotted
casing, of vertically adjustable bearings, a fixed spindle carried thereby, a hollow
shaft surrounding the spindle, bearings inside the hollow shalt and around the
spindle, a head fixed on the hollow shaft, an adjustable head mounted on the
same, and a series of brush sections held between the movable and fixed heads, as
described.
4. In a street sweeping machine, the combination with a casing mounted on
ground wheels, of adjustable bearings mounted on the casing, a fixed spindle
carried thereby, a hollow shaft mounted on bearings to revolve around the spindle,
a fixed head carried by the hollow shaft, a movable head adjustably mounted
thereon, brush sections carried between the fixed and movable heads, a pinion
mounted on the hollow shaft and means whereby the pinion receives motion from
the ground wheel, as described.
5. In a street sweeping machine, the combination of a rotating brush and a
casing closed at all points except that in which the brush operates, of an inclined
receiving apron, a flexible serrated strip mounted thereon, guards mounted within
the casing, and a depending flexible curtain surrounding the broom opening, and
clips mounted upon the curtain and serrated strip, as described.
Dated this 14th day of January 1896.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.