ROLLER BRUSH MOUNTING STRUCTURE FOR PAVEMENT SWEEPERS

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a structure used for composing a pavement sweeping brush of a sweeping machine in a modular manner, which consists of a set of substantially annular elements including at least one support disc of the bristles, one disc forming a fastening cover for fastening the bristles in the support disc, wherein each support disc and each cover form a support unit, and also a spacer element between each pair of support units.

BACKGROUND AND STATE OF THE ART

Sweeping machines to which the brush referred to in this description is applicable are generally used for cleaning road pavements and other road surfaces to remove all kinds of undesirable elements such as stones, soil, metal elements and other bodies which may affect road traffic and safety. Another aspect that makes road sweeping appropriate is aesthetics, since the delivery of a road pavement constructor or repair company must be “finished”, and if there is dirt on the pavement, it loses such nature.

These sweeping machines can be part of a sweeping vehicle or be incorporated as an accessory element of a machine, and are typically more than one metre wide and have a brush diameter that is usually less than one metre, but for certain applications could be greater. The brush consists of a core to which a set of bristles, which may be made of metal or plastic fibres, are incorporated.

The brush set is placed in a collection cavity or scoop which is emptied periodically when it reaches a certain degree of fullness or at the end of the operation.

ES 2244256 A1 describes an arrangement for mounting the cleaning bristles of a sweeping machine, comprising a ring with a set of holes so that each cable exits through two adjacent holes and the central part of said cable remains inside the ring. It requires cable fastening clamps on the outside of the cable. In this solution, while effective, the insertion of the cables is a complicated and somewhat hazardous task, which, in addition to the required strength of the materials used, usually metal bodies, results in high costs, and when the cables are worn out also requires dismantling of the worn or broken cables and their replacement.

ES 22869498 A1 describes a brush structure for a sweeping machine in which each unit comprises two half-rings defining a set of housings for the sweeping cables therebetween on their respective inner sides. These half-rings are equal and symmetrically placed. This solution solves the difficulty in mounting the cables, as the ends of the cables do not have to be inserted through the holes. However, since sweepers have a fairly high rotational speed and high tensions are produced, the weakness of the central joint tends to break the cable support and displace the cable, resulting in irregularities and knocks, which not only produce a loss in sweeping capacity, but also favour the breakage of other elements, shaft decompensation, undesired vibrations, and other adverse effects.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A structure is described for a roller brush mounting structure for pavement sweepers, such brush being understood as the connection of a set of modules which juxtaposed together form or surround a motor roller, each module including an annular body carrying the bristles and a fastening cover for fastening the bristles, and preferably also including a body or disc spacing each module from the adjacent one, wherein the bristles are normally metal cables, but may also be made of plastic fibres or other materials. The components, according to the invention, are injected in plastic material.

The annular body is asymmetrical with respect to a plane perpendicular to the axis, and has a thinner outer portion and an inner portion thicker than the outer portion. The inner side is provided on the outer perimeter area thereof with a number of U-shaped sockets, said U may be slightly open, so that these sockets house the central part of each cable, which, once in place, has two branches extending substantially radially outwards, said cables constituting the bristles of the brush.

In order to provide the module with adequate strength, a solid portion is placed at the centre of each socket. At least one of the solid portions is provided with a fastening pin (112) for fastening to a corresponding hole arranged in the cover.

The cover also has an inner surface that is facing towards and attaches to the inner surface of the annular body, and an outer surface. Preferably the inner surface of the cover is substantially flat, because it has been found to properly fasten the cables inserted in the U of the annular body; however, it may have smooth portions and protrusions or recesses, any of these or other non-functional configurations oriented to better fasten the bristles, such as providing the closure of the sockets with an enveloping geometry, being within the scope of the present invention.

Thus, the geometry of the inner surface of the cover minimises the stresses produced by the bristles during working operations. The cover, in correspondence with the solid portions of the annular body, has housings for the pins of said annular body. However, it is to be understood that the fact that the pins are in the cover and the housings are in the annular body does not change the subject matter of the invention and is to be understood as falling within the scope thereof. Also the fact that there are alternating pins and holes in the annular body and in the cover.

The outer surface of the annular body is provided with recesses along the surface thereof to minimise the amount of material required for injection; similarly, the outer portion of the cover is also provided with recesses on the outer surface thereof.

In order to prevent breakage of the shaft or the brush support set, the cover is provided to be equipped with breakage weakenings in the event of mechanical stresses, e.g. when a bristle is caught, which makes it possible to predetermine the areas where it should break with minimum damage to the set. It will also break if tampering is attempted and renders the set unusable, thus ensuring that the parts in use meet all the manufacturer's specifications.

It is also foreseen that between each pair of modules there will be a spacer body. The spacer body is arranged and attached between the cover of one module and the annular body of the adjacent module. It has a substantially annular shape and is provided on the outside with a set of protrusions, which in turn are provided with fastening holes or perforations. As a non-preferred option, it is possible, but not necessary, for at least some of these protrusions to be overstretched, with a portion protruding laterally from the width of the rest of the spacer body. These overstretched portions would be consistent with corresponding hollows on the outer surface of the annular body and the cover.

The inner part, closest to the shaft, or, in other words, the hollow of the ring that forms at least one, and preferably all three, of the annular body, the cover or the spacer body, has adjustment cavities for adjusting a carrier or drive shaft with a square cross section. In addition, they are intended to have fastening protrusions for fastening an adapter piece to a drive shaft, making the set highly versatile for use with shafts of different geometries.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As a complement to the description provided herein, and for the purpose of helping to make the features of the invention more readily understandable, in accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment thereof, said description is accompanied by a set of figures constituting an integral part of the same, which by way of illustration and not limitation, represent the following:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of the inside of the annular body that forms the housing of the bristles of the brush of each module;

FIG. 2 shows a front view of the outside of the annular body of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a lateral view of the annular body of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 shows a front view of the inner part of the cover comprising the fastening of the bristles of the brush for each module;

FIG. 5 shows a front view of the outside of the cover of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a lateral view of the cover of FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 shows a front view of the spacer body;

FIG. 8 shows a lateral view of the spacer body;

FIG. 9 shows a lateral view of a module set with two spacer bodies;

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the set of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional view of a detail of the weakening of the cover.

The following reference signs can be seen in the figures:

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

A roller brush mounting structure for pavement sweepers is described, in which the sweeper is made up of a collecting scoop and a brush driven by a shaft and the shaft in turn driven by a motor.

The shaft houses a plurality of modules, formed by an annular body (1) and a cover (2) of the annular body. Each pair of modules is spaced from each other by a spacer body (3).

The annular body (1) is provided with a plurality of U-shaped sockets (111). These sockets (111) are arranged on the perimeter, so that the ends thereof comprise outward openings, on the outer perimeter surface of said annular body (1). Each of said sockets (111) fastens and secures the central part of a cable (4) the portions of which that are located on the outside of the socket comprise the bristles of the brush.

The cables (4) are fastened and confined in the sockets (111) by means of the cover (2). Preferably, the surface of the cover is smooth, but it could also have roughness or any other geometry, particularly in the areas corresponding to the sockets, where they have the function of fastening the cables (4), as mentioned above.

According to a preferred embodiment, the sockets have a solid central portion (121). At least some of said solid central portions (121) are provided with a pin (112) which performs the functions of fastening the cover by being inserted into a corresponding hole (130) of said cover. It is to be understood that the inversion of the elements, i.e. the pin in the cover (2) and the hole in the annular body (1) is only an inversion of elements without functional difference, and therefore equally within the scope of the invention.

Since the brush structure must be highly reliable and safe, the cover (2) is provided to be equipped with breakage weakenings (29) on at least one and preferably several points of its circumference. This weakenings allow the cover to break under particular stress caused by mechanical surge or unauthorised dismantling, rendering the use of the brush unusable or impaired and requiring the damaged elements to be replaced.

The spacer body (3) also has a ring shape and is provided with a set of protrusions (31,32) extending radially outwards. Said protrusions may be each provided with transversal holes.

In an optional embodiment, at least some of the protrusions (31) are equipped with portions (311) protruding slightly to both sides. According to this embodiment, the outer surfaces of the cover (2) and the annular body (1) are also provided with hollows (114) on the outer faces thereof, which in the mounting position house the respective protruding portions (311).

The part that forms the central hollow of both the annular body (1), the cover (2) and the spacer body (3) has attachment notches or cavities (15) for attaching to a drive shaft (5) with a square cross section, without requiring any other attachment means. However, it is provided that in said central hollow there are also attachment protrusions (14) for attaching an adapter piece to a drive shaft with other geometries.

It is envisaged that, in order to minimise the amount of material used in manufacture, the outer surfaces of the annular body (1) or the cover (2) have a set of recesses (110), without weakening the structural strength of the assembly.