DE9406848U1 - sweeper - Google Patents

Description

.Buses & Coaches

'European Patent Attorneys

Dipl.-Ing. Dr. iur. V. Busse Dipl.-Ing. Dietrich Busse Dipl.-Ing. Egon Bünemann

_. . . _ ... Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Pott

Stolzenberg GmbH

Heinrichstr. 26/27 rVV^oT'^ ¹¹⁸ \ ■■ ,, —;——- D-49084 Osnabrück

49080 Osnabruck

PO Box 1226

D-49002 Osnabruck

Telephone: 0541-586081 Fax: 0541-5881 6+19X4 Telegrams: paigewar Osnabrück

DB/Ha 22.04.1994

sweeper

The invention relates to a sweeper according to the preamble of claim 1.

In a known sweeper of this type (DE-OS 28 45 212), the main brush and the counter-sweeping roller brush arranged upstream of the sweeper in the forward direction are driven in opposite directions in the sweeping direction when the sweeper moves in the forward direction and are put out of operation by a freewheel when the sweeper moves in the reverse direction. It is also known to give the sweeping roller brushes the same rotational movement regardless of the direction of movement of the sweeper, so that sweeping can be carried out when the machine moves in the forward and reverse directions.

The invention is based on the problem of restricting a sweeper of the type mentioned at the beginning to sweeping operation during forward movements in a particularly simple manner.

The invention solves this problem by a sweeper with the features of claim 1. With regard to essential further embodiments, reference is made to claims 2 to 4.

In the sweeper according to the invention, the drive connection between the drive wheels and the sweeping roller brushes is maintained during forward and reverse movement of the sweeper, but by lifting the main sweeping roller brush out of its contact with the ground, the sweeper runs without sweeping when it is moved in the reverse direction. In this way, freewheels can be saved.

Further advantages and details emerge from the following description and the drawing, in which an embodiment of the subject matter of the invention is schematically illustrated in more detail. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side view of a sweeper according to the invention with the steering wheel in the forward position, partly in section, and

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 to illustrate the position of the parts when the steering wheel is in the return basic position.

The sweeper illustrated in the drawing consists in detail of a machine housing 4 supported on the ground by a pair of drive wheels 1 and at least one steering wheel 3, which can be moved on the ground 2 by means of a handle and steering bar (not shown), and a pair of sweeping roller brushes 5, 6 mounted in the machine housing 4, which are driven by the drive wheels via drive transmission means, for example belt or cord drives.

The sweeping rollers 5, 6 together define a passage gap 8 for sweepings and, when the sweeping machine moves in the forward direction 7, they perform a counter-rotating movement which is directed upwards on the side facing the passage gap 8, as shown by the arrows 9, 10. When the sweeping rollers 5, 6 rotate in the direction of arrow 9, 10, the sweeping rollers together exert a sweeping effect by which sweepings are picked up from the ground, moved through the passage gap 8 and conveyed into a collecting container 11 in the direction of arrow 12. During the sweeping operation which takes place when the sweeping machine moves in the forward direction 7, the rear sweeping roller brush 5 in the forward direction 7 forms a main sweeping roller brush and the front sweeping roller brush 6 in the forward direction 7 forms a counter or auxiliary sweeping roller brush.

In the sweeping position of the sweeper according to Fig. 1, the distance between the axis of rotation 13 of the main sweeping roller brush 5 and the ground level is slightly smaller than the radius of the working circle of the main sweeping roller brush, which is defined by the free ends of the bristles. Accordingly, the ends of the bristles come into contact with the ground when sweeping over it, as shown by the bundle of bristles 14 in Fig. 1. In the counter roller brush 6, the distance between the axis of rotation 15 and the ground level is slightly larger than the radius of the working circle, so that there is no contact with the ground here.

In the embodiment shown, the sweeper comprises one or two front side brushes 16, which rotate in a housing 17 supported on the machine housing 4 and are driven to rotate around an axis 18 and have the task of conveying sweepings to the middle area of the machine in order to facilitate collection by the sweeping roller brushes 5, 6. The bristle ends of the side brush 16, which assumes a forward-tilted position during operation, reach the

Area of the front part of an orbital movement in contact with the ground, as can be seen in Fig. 1.

The steering wheel 3 is mounted on a wheel fork so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis 19, which can be freely rotated about a vertical axis 21 and for this purpose has an axle bolt 23 mounted in a bearing bush 22 of the machine housing 4.

The vertical axis 21 of the steering wheel 3 runs at a distance from the axis 24 of the drive wheels 1 and in a plane that is aligned perpendicular to the axis 24 of the drive wheels 1. Accordingly, the steering wheel 3 can be pivoted by 180° around the vertical axis 21 from the forward basic position shown in Fig. 1, in which it rotates in a plane perpendicular to the axis 24 of the drive wheels when the sweeper moves in a straight line in the forward direction 7, into the return basic position shown in Fig. 2, into which the steering wheel 3 automatically reaches when the sweeper moves in the return direction.

In the return basic position, the steering wheel 3 is further away from the machine housing 4 than in the forward basic position and therefore in the return basic position gives the machine housing 4 an operating position that is pivoted upwards around the axis 24 of the drive wheels 1 in the direction of arrow 26, in which, as can be seen in Fig. 2, the main sweeping roller brush 5 is lifted out of contact with the ground. This slight lifting and tilting movement imparted to the machine housing 4 by the steering wheel 3 also causes the side brush 16, if present, to be in a position free of contact with the ground, so that when the sweeper moves in the return direction 25, no sweeping takes place, rather the sweeping roller brushes and the side brushes can ineffectively perform a rotational movement above the ground 2 in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation during sweeping.

·

The excavation of the main sweeping roller brush 5 and, if applicable, the side brush(s) 16 is brought about in a particularly simple manner in the embodiment shown in that the vertical axis 21 of the steering wheel encloses an angle of inclination 27 with the ground plane that opens in the forward direction 7 of the sweeping machine and is less than 90°. The size of the angle of inclination 27 varies between 65° and 85°, depending on the required excavation path and the dimensions of the parts that influence the excavation path, in particular the wheel fork 20.

Such an alignment of the vertical axis 21 can be realized without additional construction costs and enables the changeover between the positions according to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 solely as a function of a change in the running direction of the sweeper.

In principle, however, it is also conceivable to specify an axial displacement for the axle bolt 23 in a vertically aligned bearing bush 22, which can be enforced, for example, by a feeler element assigned to the wheel fork 20 running over a guide track when the wheel fork 20 is pivoted about the vertical axis 21, which runs at an angle other than 90° to the vertical axis 21, so that in the forward basic position of the steering wheel 3 the axle bolt 23 is retracted into the bearing bush 22 and experiences a downward extension movement when the steering wheel 3 moves into the return basic position.

In the embodiment shown, the steering wheel 3, in place of which two parallel-acting steering wheels can also be used, is assigned to the front end of the machine housing 4 in the forward direction 7. In principle, however, the steering wheel 3 can also be assigned to the rear end of the housing and even with this arrangement in the return basic position, the main sweeping roller brush 5, although not the side brush 16, can be moved out of its base position.

contact. Therefore, an arrangement of the steering wheel 3 at the front end of the machine housing 4 is preferred, especially since such a sweeper offers better stair climbing capabilities.

Claims (4)

• 1 .Buses • ^: -Lawyers 'European Patent Attorneys Dipl.-Ing. Dr. iur. V. Busse Dipl.-Ing. Dietrich Busse Dipl.-Ing. Egon Bünemann _, . . _ ... Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Pott Stolzenberq GmbH Hpinri^hctrsRo ^fi/^7 wholesale ring 6 —; D-49084 Osnabruck 49080 Osnabruck PO Box 1226 D-49002 Osnabruck Telephone:0541-586081 Fax:0541-588164 Telegrams: patgewar Osnabrück Claims: ^DB/Ha 22.04.1994 1. Sweeping machine with a manually movable machine housing (4) which is supported on the ground (2) via a pair of drive wheels (1) and at least one steering wheel (3), the wheel fork (20) of which is mounted so as to be freely pivotable about a vertical axis (21), and with a pair of sweeping roller brushes (5, 6) mounted in the machine housing (4), which are driven in opposite directions by the drive wheels (1), together limit a passage gap (8) for the sweeping material and, when the sweeping machine moves in the forward direction (7), carry out an upward rotary movement on the side facing the passage gap (8), wherein, when the sweeping machine moves in the forward direction, the distance of the axis of rotation (13) of the rear main sweeping roller brush (5) in the forward direction from the ground (2) is slightly smaller than the radius of its working circle, the vertical axis (21) of the steering wheel (3) is at a distance from the axis (24) of the drive wheels (1) and in a plane perpendicular to this, and the steering wheel (3) can be pivoted about the vertical axis (21) by 180° from a forward basic position in which it rotates in a plane perpendicular to the axis (24) of the drive wheels (1) when the sweeper moves in a straight line in the forward direction (7) into a return basic position, characterized in that in the return basic position the steering wheel (3) is at a greater distance from the machine housing (4) than in the forward basic position and predetermines an operating position for the machine housing (4) which is pivoted upwards about the axis (24) of the drive wheels (1), in which operating position the main sweeping roller brush (5) is raised out of contact with the ground. -2- 2. Sweeping machine with at least one side brush (16) which is driven and rotates about a vertical axis (18) and is arranged in front of the machine housing (4) in the forward direction (7) of the sweeping machine, the bristle ends of which are in contact with the ground during at least part of a circular movement of the side brush (16) when the sweeping machine moves in the forward direction (7), characterized in that in the upwardly pivoted operating position of the machine housing (4) the side brush (16) is lifted out of contact with the ground. 3. Sweeping machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the vertical axis (21) of the steering wheel (3) encloses with the ground plane an angle of inclination (27) opening in the forward direction of the sweeping machine which is less than 90°. 4. Sweeping machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the amount of the angle of inclination between the vertical axis (21) of the steering wheel (3) and the ground plane is between 65° and 85°.