An Improved Machine for Cleaning Roads and Pavements.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 7th May, 1891-Accepted, 13th June, 1891
GUMIDELE DI MOITIATION.
[Communicated from abroad by AUGUSTIN HENTSCHEL, of Berlin, Manufacturer.]
An Improved Machine for Cleaning Roads and Pavements.
I, HUGH DONALD FITZPATRICK of 70 Wellington Street, Glasgow, Lanark-
shire, Registered 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 ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to an improved machine for cleaning roads, which is
distinguished by its being able, at the same time, to clean and to dry any sort of
pavement.
Heretofore it has been impossible to sweep with the same machine pavements
with rejointings as well as pavements without rejointings also at present, roads can
only be cleaned quickly & carefully, with rotary brushes, by repeatedly sweeping
over the same spot with the brush in quick rotation, in order to prevent small particles
passing through the hairs of the brush and remaining on the spot.
This repeated
sweeping of the same spot is, of course, a wasting of time and consequently of money
as the extra time consumed must be paid for. The quick rotation of the brush also
spoils the brush-material in a short time.
Another great drawback with the present machines is, that in removing dry dirt,
they whirl up an intolerable dust, while in sweeping wet dirt the bristles will splash
the mud about and soil the cleaned place by splashes of mud.
It is evident, that, with all these drawbacks the present machines do not meet the
demands of the public. They are also totally unable while sweeping to dry wet
pavcinents, which is a great desideratum.
As many streets have pavements partly with and partly without rejointments, it is
therefore necessary that a machine to meet the present demands must be capable of
cleaning at the same time both kinds of pavement.
The task to be solved by the inventor is therefore to construct a machine, which
will clean and dry a pavement at a single operation, and, at the same time, will
avoid whirling up the dust or splashing dirt or mud about.
This task, I claim to have solved by the combination of a peculiar roller with a
watering cart.
On the annexed drawings I have illustrated my improved machine.
On the drawings:-
-
Fig. 1 is a side view and Fig. 2 a plan view of my improved machine.
The bristles of the sweeping roller A are, as usual, fastened to a cylinder A' from
which also project radial strips B of an elastic material, preferably india rubber.
These strips, which are of the same length as the bristles, divide the brush into
divisions corresponding to the number of strips used.
In trailing along the pavement the roller is caused to rotate and as a consequence
the brush-material sweeps together the large pieces of dirt, whilst the strips B,
projecting along the whole width of the brush and coming into close contact with
the pavement, sweep it over again and thus also clear away the smaller particles of
dirt.
As a complete cleaning of the pavement is not dependent on a quick rotation of
the roller A, the latter-according as to whether the dirt is dry, wet, or muddy-
may be turned round at such a speed as to clean the road quickly and completely

page_text: With this machine it makes no matter whether the pavement to be cleaned has
rejointments or not. For, if there are rejointments, the bristles will clean them and
the strips B dry the surfaces of the stones, thus rendering the pavement clean and
dry on its surface, and if there are no rejointments, the bristles and strips B
will work equally well to completely dry and clean the pavement at the same
time.
Should the street be damped by rain it is not necessary to use the watering
mechanism as no washing is required.
The improved machine for cleaning roads meets all the demands previously
referred to whilst it, at the same time, gives a thoroughly new effect by a combined
sweeping and drying.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
ven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A machine for cleaning roads and pavements having a sweeping roller (A) the
bristles of which are divided by elastic strips (B) which are arranged along the
whole length of the roller, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set
forth.
2. In a machine for cleaning roads and pavements the combination with a water
cart of a revolving brush having strips (B) of elastic material, substantially as herein-
before described with reference to the drawings annexed.
Dated this 6th day of May 1891.
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
70, Wellington Street, Glasgow.