STREET SWEEPER,
Year: 1880

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Smith at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th April 1880.
WILLIAM SMITH, of Barnard Castle, in the County of Durham.
STREET SWEEPER,"
"AN IMPROVED
My Invention relates to machines used for sweeping and removing dirt from
streets or roads, and more especially to that form of such machine for which I
obtained Her Majesty's Royal Letters Patent, dated December 29th, A.D. 1866, and
numbered 3417.
My present Invention has for its objects further improvements in the construction
and arrangement of the parts of the machine described in the Specification of the
said Letters Patent, by which the machine is more easily worked, adjusted, and
guided and regulated, whilst the sweeping applicances are simple, effective, and
durable.
In the accompanying Drawing, which is in illustration of my Invention, Figure 1
is a plan of a street sweeping machine; Figure 2, a side elevation of the same;
Figures 3, 4, and 5, showing the novel form of broom or brush.
A, A, is a hauling frame attached to an upright shaft or pin B by means of the
stays C, C, to which the frame A is pivotted. The framework of the machine,
made preferably of wrought iron bars rivetted or bolted together, is shewn at D, D,
and is so constructed as to permit the revolving brooms or brushes E, E, to be
placed at a sufficient angle to the direction in which the machine is drawn along
the road by the hauling frame A to which one or more horses are harnessed.
F, F, are the main wheels of the machine fixed upon the axle G, which as it revolves
carries round with it the clutch H which communicates motion to the bevilled
toothed wheel I, which gears into and drives the smaller bevilled toothed wheel J,
fixed upon the inclined shaft or axis K, which revolves in bearings upon the
frame D, and has fixed upon it the pulley or chain wheel shewn at M, in Figure 2,
which by means of the endless chain Ň drives a corresponding chain wheel or
°

page_text: pulley F, which is fixed upon one end of a revolving shaft or axle carrying the
circular brooms or brushes E, E.
When the machine is drawn along the road, the brooms or brushes are thus made
to revolve, and they remove the mud, dust, and dirt, and sweep it to one side where
it may be collected and removed. Q, Q, Q, are three bars or links pivotted at their
front ends, so that their back ends which carry the spindle upon which the brushes
are fixed can rise or fall as desired, the bars being more or less horizontal or
inclined as the brushes are raised or lowered. L is a lever fixed upon the bar or
spindle R which turns in bearings fixed upon the sides of the machine and carries
levers T, T, which are connected to the bars Q by the chains S and the suspending
link U.
By pressing down the lever L, the bars Q, Q, are raised more or less from the
ground, raising with them the brooms or brushes E, E.
If it is required that the brushes E, E, should be kept raised for some time, the
lever L can be fastened "down by placing the catch W in the notch of the segmental
guide or bough X, X, and in order to adjust and increase or lessen the pressure of
the brushes E, E, upon the road, the lever L may be adjusted in any desired position
by a pin fitting in holes in the guide X, X. Notched or ratchet toothed wheels are
shewn at Z, Z, which gear with and are driven by a catch or pall upon the driving
wheels F, F, so that when desired, the machine can be thrown out of gear, the
wheels revolving without driving the brushes. 0, 0, 0, are stays which strengthen
the frame D, D.
•
There is a joint or division between the brushes E, E, which enables them to bend
and accommodate themselves to the curvature of the road, and ff, is a curved plate
or guard fixed in front of the brushes E, E, and serving to prevent mud or dirt from
being thrown up into the machine. 3 is a spiral spring which prevents the clutch H
from slipping out of gear; 4 is a front wheel revolving in the bar B, which is
attached to the frame D, D. This wheel 4 carries the weight of the front part of
the machine and keeps the frame D, D, always level with the road, and relieves the
horse from any weight on his back.
I sometimes use two such front wheels instead of one as shewn; 5 is a seat for
the driver of the machine carried by the supports or stays 6. Screw swivels are
shewn at Y, Y, by which the exact position of the brushes E, E, is adjusted, so as
to give an equal pressure upon the road.
Figure 3 is a section, and Figure 4 an end view of a broom or brush, consisting
of steel wires fixed into a central cylindrical wooden stock or centre a, having a
square hole through it which fits upon the axle.
This central stock may be square or polygonal instead of circular in cross section.
In Figure 5 it is shewn hexagonal.
Having now described my Invention and the manner in which it is to be performed,
I claim,
First. The front wheel or wheels by which the frame of the machine is kept
always level, and can be readily turned to the right or left as required, substantially
as described and shewn.
Second. The method of connecting the hauling frame to the front wheel or
wheels, so that it can rise or fall to suit a horse of any size, substantially as described
and shewn.
Third. The lever working in the guide or bough in which it can be adjusted
and fixed in any desired position, substantially as and for the purpose described
and shewn,
Fourth. The ratchet clutch and spiral spring, by which the bevilled toothed
wheel can be thrown in or out of gear as desired, substantially as described and
shewn.
Fifth. The method of supporting and fixing the seat for a driver.
Sixth. The scrow swivels for regulating the position of the brushes and giving
equal pressure on the road, substantially as described as shewn,

page_text: Seventh. The method of making the brooms or brushes having their circumference
divided into a greater or less number of parts, substantially as described and
shewn.
Eighth. The method of making the brooms or brushes of steel wire, fixed in
segments upon a round, square, or polygonal centre, substantially as described
and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Smith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
WILLIAM SMITH. (LS.)