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Street sweeper with dust controlRelated Patent Categories: Brushing, Scrubbing, And General Cleaning, Machines, With Air Blast Or Suction, Power Propelled Vehicle Or CarrierStreet sweeper with dust control description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060053582, Street sweeper with dust control. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] None. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention pertains to a street sweeper, and more particularly, to dust control from two or more cleaning heads with one air source. [0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art [0005] Prior art dust control systems for road sweepers frequently include the use of water which wets the debris and dirt on the road surface to prevent dust from becoming airborne during the sweeping process. In such systems, water must be provided at various sweeper locations, such as, but not limited to, the main rotary broom and the gutter brooms. Water systems often just wet down debris and dirt whereby the wetted debris and dirt may still reside on the wetted roadway after sweeping rather than having been carried into the conveyor or hopper. The use of vacuum systems instead of water systems to carry off generated airborne dust is often desirable in that no wetted debris or dirt is presented to be left behind after sweeping. Vacuum systems generally use a separate dedicated fan to draw dust from the region of the main rotary broom and a separate dedicated fan to draw dust from the region of the gutter brooms. The use of separate and dedicated fans results in excessive space being occupied and adds expense to the fabrication processes. The use of separate and dedicated fans can also produce a flow problem where the vacuum produced by one fan may interfere or conflict with the vacuum of another fan when entering a common chamber or plenum. [0006] Another problem encountered in dry dust control systems is that of clogging of a filter located prior to the fan. Filter clogging is detrimental to the removal of dust before discharging air from the fan to the atmosphere and can slow and hinder the vacuuming process significantly. Cleaning or exchanging a filter can be a laborious and time-consuming process resulting in poor overall efficiency. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a street sweeper having dust control from two or more cleaning heads with one air vacuum source in a road sweeper, as well as a dust filtration system which can be readily cleaned on site without the removal of filtration components and without other extraordinary measures. The present invention can be incorporated for use along a substantially planar surface, such as a road where the term road can mean any surface within a manufacturing facility, such as a tiled or concrete paved surface or the like, and can also be utilized along a common roadway. In the present invention, a single fan is mounted to a plenum in the upper region of a truck-mounted hopper to provide vacuum for dust control. A filter mechanism and a filter shaker mechanism mount just below the fan in the upper region of the plenum. The bottom of the plenum includes an orificed plenum array having a plurality of automatic flexible airflow operated flap valves which are closed during the sweeping operation to seal the bottom of the plenum. [0008] Inlet passageways or ports are located about the plenum for vacuumized airflow into the plenum for subsequent filtration. Filtration can be any porous filter and centrifugal system or the like. One such passageway, a lower inlet port, is located on and extends from the bottom of the plenum and connects to a gutter broom air conduit which communicates with a gutter cleaning head including a cleaning head shroud forming a cleaning head chamber capable of being vacuumized and being located beneath the sweeper truck chassis for vacuumized removal of airborne dust. Additionally, appropriately sized upper inlet ports located on the upper and rear side of the plenum communicate to the interior of the hopper and to a connected conveyor housing or conduit and thence to an elongated cleaning head including an elongated cleaning head shroud forming an elongated cleaning head chamber which can be vacuumized which is located about the main rotary broom for vacuumized removal of airborne dust. [0009] Vacuum integrity of the plenum is automatically maintained during sweeping operations by the plurality of automatic flexible airflow operated flap valves which are influenced by vacuum (airflow) and urged to the closed position. Subsequent to the sweeping operation and when cleaning of the filter mechanism is required, power to the fan is stopped, thereby influencing the vacuum integrity of the plenum causing the cessation of vacuum in the plenum and the areas or regions with which the vacuum communicates. The filter shaker mechanism is then actuated at this time to expel dust and small debris from the filter mechanism which descends gravitationally to the region in the plenum just below the filter to pass through the flap valves which have been gravitationally opened due to the cessation of vacuum or airflow within the plenum. The dust and debris passes through the open flap valves into the lower regions of the hopper. The filter shaker mechanism includes an elongated cam which repeatedly causes gradual vertical upward movement of a rod encased in each of the lower folds of each filter to momentarily deform each filter fold followed by sudden cam disengagement to cause rapid downward movement of the rods, whereby the force of which causes vigorous snapping retensioning of the folds to expel dust particles therefrom. [0010] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a street sweeper having dust control from two or more cleaning heads with one air source including a hopper, a plenum mounted in the upper region of the hopper, a fan mounted to the top of the plenum, a filter mechanism located at the upper region of the plenum in close proximity to and below the fan including fixed rods extending across the top of the plenum being captured by and extending through the upper region filter folds and positionable rods extending across the lower region of the plenum being captured by and extending through the lower region filter folds, cutouts in the lower region of the filter folds which expose a portion of each of the positionable rods, a filter shaker mechanism having a motorized cam extending perpendicularly to the positionable rods for contacting the exposed portion of each of the positionable rods, a plenum bottom having a plurality of orifices in an array, a plurality a flexible valves which align to the bottom of the plurality of arrayed orifices, a duct extending downwardly from a lower inlet port at the plenum bottom and connecting to a gutter cleaning head surrounding opposing gutter broom assemblies, and inlet ports in the upper and rear portion of the plenum. Other shown items which relate to the use of the present invention include a conveyor mechanism contained in a conveyor housing or conduit extending between the upper region of the hopper and a vacuumized chamber at the rear of a road sweeper truck, and a truck-mounted scissors jack which supports the hopper and contained plenum. [0011] One significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a street sweeper having dust control from two or more cleaning heads with one air source. [0012] Another significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a filter shaker mechanism which cleans a filter in a filter mechanism without removal of the filter from the sweeper truck. [0013] Still another significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a plurality of fixed rods located in the upper region of the filter folds and a plurality of partially exposed positionable rods located and captured in the lower region of the filter folds. [0014] Yet another significant aspect and feature of the present invention is a filter shaker mechanism having a cam which urges a plurality of partially exposed positionable rods captured in the lower region of the filter folds upwardly to cause upward distortion, displacement and distension of the filter folds followed by a sudden disengagement from intimate cam contact thereby allowing the filter folds to snappingly and jarringly return to the unactuated position to release and shed dust particles from the surfaces of the filter folds. Such action is repeated until cleaning is complete. [0015] A further significant aspect and feature of the present invention is an array of automatic flexible airflow operated valves co-acting with arrayed orifices in a plenum bottom. When air is flowing, each valve is positioned by airflow against the plenum bottom to seal the bottom of the plenum. When air is not flowing, each valve relaxes and gravitationally repositions from intimate contact with the plenum bottom to break the seal with the bottom of the plenum. [0016] Having thus described embodiments of the present invention and mentioned some significant aspects and features thereof, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a street sweeper having dust control from two or more cleaning heads with one air source, and which also provides for filter cleaning. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0017] Other objects of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein: [0018] FIG. 1 illustrates a cutaway overview of the street sweeper having dust control from two or more cleaning heads with one air source, the present invention; [0019] FIG. 2 illustrates a cutaway side view of the street sweeper; [0020] FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of the filter, certain components of the plenum, the filter shaker mechanism and other associated components which, in part, provide for dust control from two or more cleaning heads with one air source for the street sweeper; Continue reading about Street sweeper with dust control... 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