CA1307628C - Leaf loading machine with counterrotating beater and broom - Google Patents

Abstract

LEAF LOADING MACHINE WITH COUNTERROTATING BEATER AND BROOM

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A leaf loading machine has a rotary beater and a rotary broom on a mobile frame, both of which extend transversely of the frame. The broom is disposed rearwardly of and in tandem relation to the beater. Both the beater and the broom are disposed adjacent to the ground and are operable to counterrotate relative to one another so as to deliver-leaves from the ground upwardly therebetween. The broom rotates substantially faster than the beater.

Description

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1 307h28 LEAF LOADING i~AC~INE~ WIT~ COUNTERROTATING BE:ATE:R AND BROO~

BACRGROU~D OF T~E INVE~TIO~ - -Field of ~he Invention The presen~ invention relate~ generally to loading machine~ and, more particularly, i3 concerned with an improved leaf loading machine capable of swe~ping and picking up le~ve~
under di~erse and adverse condi~ion~.

Descrip~ion of the Prior ~rt Variou~ machine~ for sweeping and removing leave tra~h and debri~ from municipal street~, road~, parks and.
other surfaces are in wide u e at ~he pr~sent time.
Representative of the pr ior ar t are the sweep~rs and collectors disclosed in U.S. Patent~ to Cromwell (3,183,553), Doering (3,922,744), Saiia (3,990,125), Donohue (3,993,141), and Olson et al (4,624,026) and embodied in machines commercially available under the trademarks, Sweepster and Tarco, and tLadename, Vanguard. Other prior art barve~ing maahine~ for picking up crop materials are disclosed in U.S.
Patents to Re~etich (3,797,216) and Ramacher et al (3l872,657).
Many prior art sweepers and collectorq operate satisfactorily when the prevailing condition~ are close to ideal, such as where the leaves and other debris are dry and lie in loose and scattered arrangements on a surface.
However, when adver-se weather produces less than ideal conditions, such as where leaves and other debris becomes wet, compacted, frozen or hard-packed/ many prior art machines fail ~o do an adequate job of sweeping and removing the materialsO
One major shortcoming of many prior art machines lies in ~he inability o their sweeping rotors vacuums and broom~ to perfor~ the multiplici~y of function~ required to ~handle the diver ity of adv~rse condition~ typically encountered, such as men ioned above. While the broo~s may be 1 307~8 1 adequat~ to swe~p the loose materials, they are frequen~ly incapabl~ of loo~ening packed material. Also, while a ~t of ~andemly-arranged broom~~~ay b~- able to l$ft dry and fluffy materials, they are commonly incapable of lifting heavier and mor~ den~e clumps and piles of wet debri3~
Consequently, a need exi3t~ or a leaf collecting or harvestirlg machine o~ improved versatility rendering it capable of satisfactory perform~nce under a variety of adverse conditions, such as handling removal of densely-pa~ked piles o leave~ and debris.

SUMMARY OF T~ VBN~ION
The present invention provide~ a leaf loading machine designed to satisfy the aforementioned need~. The term ~leaf~ is meant to cover not only leave~, but also other materials and debris commonly encountered on streets, road~
and park ~urfaces.
The present invention provides an improved machine incorporatlng severaI different features which function to effectively ~weep and pick up or lift leaves lying in a variety of condi~ion3 on a variety of surface~. The machlne - functions satisfactorily under a wide range of advers~
conditions, for instances where the leave~ are matted and and where stones, bottles and cans are intermixed with the leaves. Thus, the machine i~ capable of handling everything from wet, hard packed, or dry and fluffy, leaves to junk~
The features of the improved leaf loading machine of the pre~ent invention are advantageously incorporated together in the same machine to realize all potential bene~its deriving 30 therefrom. ~owever, the advantages associated with individual ones of the features can be enjoyed separately in different machines.
: The improved leaf loading machin~ of the present invention which incorporates the various features basi~ally includes ~ mobile frame adapted to move across the ground, rotary beater including a plurality of lifting elements .

` `` 1 307628 3 6~077-787 extending transversely of frame, and a rotary broom including a plurality of bristles extending transversely of the frame and disposed rearwardly of and in tandem relation to the beater. The beater and broom are disposed ad~acent to the ground and operable to counter-rotate relative to one another so as to deliver leaves from the ground upwardly hetween the beater and broom. Also, the machine includes means on the frame Por receiving the delivered leaves. The receiving means can take the form of mechanisms such as an auger and thrower for transferring ~he delivered leaves to a storage location, such as a truck which tows the machine.
In the preferred embodiment of the machine of the pres-ent invention, the tips of the beater lifting elemen~s are movable along a first path of travel at a first speed while the tips of the broom bristles are movable along a second path of travel at a second speed. The first and second paths of travel overlap and the second speed is substantlally faster than the first speed, thereby resultlny ln effectlve stripping of the beater lifting elements.
In accordance with the present inventlon there is pro-vlded a leaf loadlng machine, comprising~ a mobile frame adaptedto move across the yround; a rotary beater including a plurality of lifting elements extending transversely of the frame; a rotary broom includlng a plurall~y of bristles extending transversely of the frame and disposed rearwardly of and in tandem rela~ion to sald beater; sald beater and said broom being disposed adjacent the ground and operable to counterrotate relative to one another so as to deliver leaves from the ground upwardly between said beater and said broom; and drive means on said frame for counter-.. , ,~

. .
3a 64077-7~7 rotating said heater and said broom so that the tips of said liftiny elements are movable along a first path of travel at a first speed while the tips of said bristles are movable along a second path of travel at a second speed, said second speed being substantially faster than said first speed.
These and other advantages and attainments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foliowing detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the course of the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a top plan view, with portions broken away, of a leaf loading machlne embodying the princlples of the present inventlon;
Fig. 2 is a right side elevational view of the machine of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a left side elevatlonal view of the machine of Fig. l;

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,, 1 Fig. 4 i~ an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4- 4 of Fig. l;
Fi~. 5 i~ a l~f~ side elevational view of the leaf loading machine with the ~achin~ being shown in a ~ran~port po~itlon in solid line form and an operating po~ition in da~hed line form;
Fig~ 6 is a left side elevational view of the leaf loading machine with its rotary pickup beater b~ing 3hown at it~ ~inimum di placement above the ground in solid line for~
and at it3 maximum displacement above th~ ground in dashed line form;
Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the ~weeping elements in a rotary pickup broom o~ the lea~
loading ~achine;
Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8--8 of Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 i5 an ~nlarged side elevational view of one o~ the liftin~A element~ in the pickup broom of the leaf loading machine;
Fig. 10 is an end elevational view as seen along line 10--10 of Fig. 9;
Fig. 11 is an enlarged side elevational view of a central spider support structure in the pickup broom of the leaf loading machine;
FigO 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12--12 of Fig. 11;
Fig. 13 is an exploded view of one of ten groupings .
of sweeping and lifting elements in the pickup broom of the leaf harvesting machine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIO~
In the following descrip~ion, right hand and left hand reference~ are deter~ined by standing a~ ~he rear of the machine and facing in the direction of forward travel. Also in the following description, it is to be understood tha~ ~uch ~erm~ as ~forward", "l~f~ upwardly~, etc., are words of convenience and are not to be construed a~ limiting term~.

,, 1 In Gen~ral Referring now to the drawings, and pa~ticularly to Figs. 1-3, there i~ shown an improved leaf loading machine, being indicated generally by numeral 10 and comprising he preferred embodiment of the present inventioQ ~the right siae of the ~achine being shown in Fig~ 2 and ~he le~t ~ide in Flg.
3 when one i~ standin9 to the rear of ~he ma¢hine and facing in ~he direction of forward travel~.
The machine 10 is provided wi~h a mobila frame, generally indicated at 12, which include~ a left longitudinal ram~ member 14 and a pair of laterally-~paced inner and outer right longitudinal frame members 16,18 which ~e~ber~ 14,16,18 all extend ore-and-aft and are interconnected by forward and rearward transverse frame member~ 20,22. ~he longitudin~l frame members 14,16,18 are re~pectively supported by l~t and right ground wheels 24,26 being rotatably mounted by an elongated axle 28 extend~ng between and mounted at its opposite ends to left and right bracket plates 30,32 fixed in upright orientation~ to the rear po~tions of th~ left and 20 outer right longitudinal members 14,18.
At the right front portion of the mobile frame 12, a pair of inner and outer beam~ 34,3& are fixed upstanding on the front end3 o respective inner and outer longitudinal frame members 16,18. A ~ongue assembly 38 is pivotally mount~d at its rear portion by an elongated pivot pin 40 connected to and extending between the upper ends of the beams 34,36. The tongue a~sembly 38 extends forward from the beams 34,36 and has a hitching means 42 on its forward end adapting the machine 10 to be secured to a drawbar 44 (Fig. 5~ of a towing vehicle (not shown), 3uch as a truck located at the front of the machine 10, for towing the machine 10 along surfaces of streets, roadways, parks or other area~ to be cleaned.
In addition to the mobile frame 12, the leaf loading machine 10 basically includes a rotary beater 46 on ~he frame 12 extending transversely of ~,he direction o travel and a 1 30762~

1 main rotary pickup broom 48 on the fra~e 12 also extending transversely of the dir~ect~on of ~ra~l and disposed rearwardly o~ and in tandem relatio~ to the beater 460 Covering the upper side of the beater 46 i~ a ~hroud 50 open at it~ front a~d rear end~ and co~po~d of a pair of spaced left and right s~de walls 52,S4 in~erconnected by a top wall 56. Over lying and enclosing the upper side of the main pickup broo~ 48 i8 a housing 58 open at i~ fron end and compo~ed of a pair of spaced left and right side wall~ 60,62 interconnected by a top wall 64 and clos~d at ~he r~ar end of the hou~ing 58 by a rear wall 66. The housi~g 58 i5 fixed on-and extend~ between and above the l~t and inner right longitudinal frame members 14,1~ of the ~obile frame 12.
Thu~, the beater 46 and main pickup broom 48 are disposed with their lower sides adjacent to the ground and their upper sides spaced below respective top walls 56,64 of the shroud and housing 46,48. The auxiliary beater 46 and main broo~ 48 have respec~ive elongated central tubular member~ 68 and 70 rotatably moun~ed at th~ir respective opposlte end~ to and extending between respective ~ide walls 52,54 and 60,62 of the shroud 50 and housing 58 by which the beater 46 and broom 48 can counterrotate relative to one another 50 as to deliver leave~ from the ground upwardly therebetween. The leaves are then deflected rearwardly over the main broom 48 by the respective top walls 56 and 64 of the shroud 50 and housing 58.
Also, the leaf loading machine 10 includes means on the mobile frame 12 ~or receiving the leaves delivered from the ground by the beater 46 and main pickup broom 48 and deflected rearwardly over the broom 48 toward the rear wall 66 of the housing 58. The receiving means preferably takes the form of a tran~fer auger 72 dispo~ed transversly on ~he mobile frame 12 r~arwardly of and in tandem with the broom 48 and a di~harge blow~r 74 coaxially align~d wi h and disposed at a discharge end of a cen~ral ~haft 76 of ~he aug~r 72. The aug~r 72 at the left ~nd of its shaft 76 i~ rotatably ~ounted -- 7 -- .

1 to th~ le~t ~ide wall 60 of the housing 58. The thrower 74 i3 ~ounted on the inner a~d outer right longitudinal fram~
me~ber~ 16,18 adjacent the rlght ~ide``wall 62 of the hou~ing 58.
An opening 78 in the housing right side wall 62 provides communication of the aug~r 72 with an impeller 80 rotatably mounted between ~he housing right side wall 62 and an outer side wall 82 of a ca~iD~ ~4 o th~ blower 74. The auger 72 rotate~ a~d coacts with a ~tationary a~cuate-shaped ~rough 86, which underlies the auger 72 and i~ fi~ed between the hou~ing cide and rear wall~ 60,62~54, to trans~er the leaves la~erally from l~ft to righ in ~ig. 1 to the thrower impeller 80. The impeller 80 rotating at high speed in the blowex ca~ing 84 propels the leave~ through the ca~ing R4 and out a discharge spout 88 extending upwardly from the casing 84 to a storage location, such as the truck which towq the machine 10.
The motive ~ower for the beater 46, main pickup broom 48, transfer auger 72 and discharge thrower 74 of the leaf loading machine 10 is derived from an engine 90 mounted on a rear super~tructure 92 Pixed ~o the longitudinal frame members 14,16,18 of the mobile frame 12 and overlying the ground wheelc 24,26 ~hereo~. A power train lea~ing from a rotating drive shaft 94 of the engine which mounts a flywheel 96 provide~ rotary driving power to the above-describ~d operating components of the machine 10.
More particularly, the power train includes driYe and driven sheaves 98,100 respectively mounted on the engine drive shaft 94 and the thrower impeller 80 and a continuous belt 102 extending between an drivingly entrained about the ~heaves ~8,100. A beIt ~ightener mechanism 104 is disposed adjacen~ the belt 102 and actuatable by a handle 106 pivotally mounted on the superstructure 92. The power train also includes a jack shaft 108 rotatably mounted a bracket 110 fi~ed uprlgh~ on the outer right longitudinal fram~ member 18 and having a large diam~ter sproc~et 112 and a pair of small diameter ~procket3 114 attached re3pectively on outer and inner end~ of the jack shaft 108~ Another sloall diameter sprocket 116 is attachë~ on the outer~ end of the impeller 80 adjacent the sheave 110 thereo~l with a drive chain 118 extending between and drivingly ~n rained about the sprockets 112, 116 .
For power ing the main pickup broo~, the dual sprocket~ 114 on the inner end of the jack ~haf~ 108 are drivingly coupled to dual sprocket~ 120 on the riqht end of the broom central tubular memb~r 70 by a pair of continuou~
drive chains 1220 For powering the beater 46 and the ~ransfer auger 72, a pair of inner and outer sprocke~q 124,126 are attached side-by-~ide to the left end of the broom central tubular member 7G. Respective drive chain3 128,130 extend between and drivingly couple ~he outer and inner sprocket3 126,124 with sprockets 132,134 respectively attached on the left ends of the beater central tubular member 68 and the aug~r ~ha~t 76. A pair of drive chain take-up idler sprockets 6 are rotatabl~ mounted on the le~t side wall 60 of the housing 5~ adjacent the outer ~prock~t 126 on th~ broom central tubular member 70. The idler sprockets 136 allow adjustable movement of the beater 46 toward and away from the broom 48 while still providing drive coupling ~herebetween by the chain 128 and also provide for counterrotation of the beat~r 46 and broo~ 48 such that they move toward one another, as depicted by the arrows in Fig. 4, at their respec~ive lower sides.
The machine 10 also has a brush str ipper 138 with an elongated shaft 140 and diametrically-opposed radially projecting combs 142. The shaft-140 is rotatably mounted between the left and right housin~ side walls 60,62 so as to locate its combs 142 rearwardly and tangentially to ~he main pickup broom 48. The power train also include a large diameter ~procket 144 a~ached on the left end of the auger haft 76 and a s~all di~meter sprocket 146 attached to tAe left end of the brush stripper shaft 140. A drive chain 148 extend~ between and drivingly couple~ the spEocket~ 144,146.
The rela~ive ~peed~ of ~h~ op~rating omponent~ of the machine 10 can readily ~e determined by co~paring the relative si~es of the respective sheave~ and sprocket~ of th~3 power train associated therewith.

In the preferred eMbodim~nt of the leaf loading machine 10, the central me~er 68 o the b~ater 46 rota~es at 77 rpra, the central me~hber 70 of tha broom ~8 rota~es at 169 rp~ the auger shaiEt 76 rotate~ at 276 rpEa~ and ~he stripper ~haft 140 rotates at ssa rpm, While the machine 10 opera e~
mo t efficiently with the various component~ ro~a~lng at the aforementioned speed~, it $hould be understood that the components may also be operated at other ~peed~.
Rotary ~eat~r and Pickup Broom One important ~eature of the improved leaf harvesting machine 10 relates to the composition of, and cooperation which occur~ between, the beater 46 and main pickup broom 48. As best seen in Fig. 4, in addition to itq central tubular member 68, the pickup beater 46 includes a number of elongated angle members 150 being L-~haped in cro~8 section and a plurality of elongated lifting elements 152 attached in spaced relation along each of the angle members 150. The angle members 150 are circumferentially spaced about and rigidly fixed to the central tubular membe~ 68 so as to extend tangentially therefrom. The liting elements 152 are angularly-spaced about and generally extend in swept-back radial ashion from a central mounting structure 154 formed by the angle members 150 and central tubular member 68 of the beater.
Also, the beater 46 includes a stripper assembly 156 composed of a plurality of spaced apar~ U-shaped stripper segments 158 which extend parallel ~o one another and downwardly around the lower ~ide of ~hç central mounting structure 154 and are attached a~ ~heir upper end~ by bolts 160 to flange~ 162 fixed on ~:he und~r~ide of the top wall 56 I 30762~

of the beater shroud 50. Th~ lifting eleme~ts 152 are aligned wi'ch the space~ between ~he -~tripper ~egments 15~ ~o as to extend through the spacé~ and beyond- ~the ~tr ipper segm~nt~ 158 du~ ing tra~el l:hrough the lower portion of an endleq~ path of travel P(1) as the beat~r central mountin~ ~ttucture 154 i~
rotated counterclockwise as v~ewed in Pig. 4. ~uring travel through the upper portion of the endle~ path P ~1 ), the lifting elements 152 withdraw in~ide of the 3t~ipper ~egmen~s 158 whereby the segments 158 caus~ stripplng of asly material clinging ~o ~he lifting element~ 152. Preferably, the lifting element~ 152 take the form of resilien~ly yieldable, semi-rigid sprlng-type fingers or tine~ which move in the endless path P(l) and are capabl~ of engaging and loo ening up densely-packed piles of leave~ and of lifting the leaves upwardly from the ground.
As be3t seen in Figs. 1, 4, and 7-13, in addition to it~ central tubular member 70, the pickup broom 48 include~ a spider 164, and plur,alities of brushing or sweeping elements 166 and lifting elemèn~ 168 axiall~ slidably mounted on the spider 164. The spid~r 164 is composed of three.bar3 170 spaced radially rom and ex~ending generally parallel to the central tubular member 70 by a plurality of triangular-3haped plate~ 172. The plates 172 are axially spaced from one another along the central tubular member 70 and at~ached thereto and to the bars 170 50 as to define with the central tubular member 70 and bars 170 a central spider support structure 174 having an overall equilateral triangular ~configuration.
~s best see~ in Figs. 4, 7, 8 and 13, each of the brushing or sweeping elements 166 o~ th~ broom 48 is composed of a central ring 176 having a multiplicity of resiliently-flexible elongated fiber bristles 178 arranged in a row, anchored thereto and extending radially th~refrom. The central ring 176 has a wavy, undula~ing or ~onvoluted shape defining three pair~ of alternating, axially-spaced lobes A
and B which, depending upon the angular orien~ation of one ~" 1 307628 ring 176 relative to a~ adjacently-po~itioned ring 176, allow placement of ~he ring~ 176- Qlther. ~in sync or out o~ sync wit~
one another. In other words, when th~ rings are ~in syncU
with one another, the three pair~ (o~ six) lobes A,B of each ring are nested together in close pack~d contacting relation wi~h ~heir rows of bristles 178 disposed ad~acen~ onc an~ther. After rotation of one ring 176 sixty degrees rela~ive to the adjacent ring 176, ~he ring~ are ~out of ~ync~ ' such that only three lobes ~ displaced one hundred ~enty degree~ apart are contacting and their rows of bristle~ 178 are axially spaced at the locations of the other ~hree spaced apart l~bes. Both the ~in sync" and ~out o~ ~ync~
relationship~ of the ~w0eping elements 166 can be ~een in Figr 1. Two pairs of radially-inwardly extending spaced drive pins 180, 182 fixed on the ring 17~ of each sweeping element 166 and circumferentially spaced from one another by approximately one inch interfit with any of the bars 170 of the spider support qtructure 174 to prevent the sweeping element 166 fro~
rotating relative thereto once the ring~l76 has been ~lidably-installed over the ~pider support structure 174~ Rotation of the spider support structure 174 thus causes rotation of the plurality of sweeplng element~ 166 therewith in an endless path P~2) in which the outer tips of the fiber bristles 178 engage and sweep the loosened leaves across the ground.
As best seen in Figs~ 4, 9, 10 and 13, each of the lifting element~ 168 of the broom 48 is composed of a triangular-shaped plate 184 and a plurality of resiliently- -yieldable, semi-rigid spring-~ype fingers or tines 186 angularly-spaced thereabout one hundred twenty degrees from one another. The tines 186 are mounted by bolts 188 ~o each of three angular brackets 190 fixed on the respective three segment~ 192 of the plate 184. Installation of the lifting element 168 over the spider support structure 174 of the broom 48, as best seen in Fig. 4, involves aligning the bar~ 170 o~ the spider support structure 174 with the in~erior corner~ ormed by the plate segment~ 192 and then sliding the pla~e 184 on ~he bars 170.

1 As shown in Fig. 13~ one lifting element 168 i~
grouped with six sweep~n~-e}ement~ 166 with a ~ubgroup of three sweeping element3 16~ on each opposlte ~ide of the lifting elemen~ 158. Ten of such group~ are positioned ~long the spider support structure 174 of the broom 48. Th~
sweeping and lifting element~ 166,168 are installed ~rom the right end of the structure 174 a3 viewed in Fig. 11. A stop plate 194 is provided on the left e~d of th~ structure 174.
The ~hree sweeping element~ 166 of each subgroup on each ~ide of the lifting element 168 are orien~ed ~o as~u~e ~n ~in sync~ or nesting relation to one another. aowever~ the inner ones of the sweep~ng element~ 166 of the two sub~roups are oriented "out of sync~ with each other, allowing the lifting element 168 to be po~itioned therebetween with it~
corner~ 196 formed by the plate segments 192 being disposed between the three spaced lobe~ ~ of the sweeping element rings 176. In such manner, the lifting element tines 186 are interspersed with the fiber bristles 178 of the sweeping elements 166 and, upon rotation of the spider support structure 174, move in an endless path P(3) to engage and lift upwardly fro~ the ground the lea~es being swept by tha sweeping elements 166. It will be observed in Fig. 4 that the tines 186 of the li~ting elements 168 are slightly shorter in length than the bristle~ 178 of the sweeping elements 166.
Thus, the diameter of endless path P(3) is less than that of endless path P(2).
Ther~fore, upon counter-rotation of the beater 46 and main pickup broom 48 such that the beatér and broom rotate toward one another at their respective lower sides which are locat~d adjacent the ground, the respective sweeping el ments 166 and lifting element3 152,}68 thereof cooperate to positively and consistently deliver leaves from the ground upwardly between the beater and broom 46,48 to the ~ransfer auger 72~. secause of the interspersed rela~ionship o~ the tines 186 within the ~a~s of btistle~ 178, when the load become~ heavy the more riyid tine~ lR6 take over the load 1 30762~

1 carrying function from th~ fiber bristles 178~ If the tine3 186 were not pre~ent, the bri~tle~ 178 would msrely deflect and not lift the loadO ~The~tine~ 18~ by being ~pring-type are for~iving and so wlll re~ilient yield wh~n pa~ing over rocks and o~her i~ovable objects.

In the preferred embodimen~ of the machine 10, ~he speed of the tips of the beater el~ent~ 152 along the path P(l) i~ 414 ft/min or 4.7 mph while the ~peed o~ the tip~ of th~ broo~ bri~tle3 178 alon~ the pa~b P(2) i~ 1416 ~t/min or 16.1 mph. The aforementioned speed diff~rential between the tips of the beater elements 152 and ~he tip~ of the broom bri~tle3 178 in cooperation with the overlapping paths P~t) and P~2) thereof re~ults in effec~ive 3tripping of the beater elements 152. Although the present inven~ion i~ no~ ited to having the beater elements 152 and the broom bristles 178 operating at the aforementioned speed~, it is important that the broom bristleq 178 operate substantially faster (i.e. two or three times faster) than the bea~er elements 152. W~en encountering adverse condition~ such as large pile~ of leaves, the machine 10 should be towed at a ground speed of about 1 to 2 mph so that the beater element~ 152 operate ~uch faster (i.e. at 4~7, mph). Thi~ results in an even flow of leaves between the beater 46 and the broom 48 wi~hout any clogging.
Adjustable Mounting of Rotary Beater Another important feature of the improved leaf harve3ting machine 10 relates to mean mountea on the mobile frame 12 which, in turn, adjustably mounts the beater 46 for move-ment along a linear path toward and away from the main pickup broom 48 for presettiny ~he positional relationship of the beater 46 relative to the broom 48. More specifically, the adjus~ing means includes a releasable and slidably adjustable attachment arrangement, generally designated 1~8, for pr~setting the po~ition of ~h~ endless path P(13 of the beater li~t~ng elements 152 relativ~ to ~he endles3 path~
~(2),P(3) of the pickup broom ~w~eping and li~ting el~ments , .
166,168. As ~een in Fig. 4, tAe ~lightly overlapping relation be~cween the peripheri~ of the reqpective endless paths P(13 and P(2) of the beater liftlng elemén~t~ 152 and pickup broo~
sweeping ele~ents 166 i~ preferrQd. Al30g a 3ubstantially tangentlal relation between the peripheries of the respective endle~s path~ P(l) and P(2) of the: pickup beater lifting elements 152 and pickup broom lif'cinq el ment~ 168 is preferred .
~s best seen in ~ig~ ~ 1 6; the ad justabl~ beater a'c~achment arrangement 198 include3 a pair of left and righ elongated arms 200,202 pivotally mounted at their rear end por tion~ to ~he outer lef t and right ends of the broo~ central tubular member 70 and slidably coupled via elongated slot~ 204 defined in their front end portions to outer left and righ~
ends of the beater central tubular member 68. Left and right plate~ 20~,208 are fixed to the front portion3 of the respective left and right arms 200, 202 and ext~nd above and below the arms. A pair of spaced slot~ 210 are formed in each of the plates 206,208 above and below the arm~ 200,~02. The . .
slots 210 recaive relea~able fasteners 212 which extend through holes ln the left and right ~hroud eide walls 52, 54 being alignable with the respective ~lot~ 210. Thus~ the position of the beater 46 relative to the broom 48 is adju~tPd by first unloosening the Easteners 212. Next, the beater 46 and shroud 50 therewith are slid toward the broom 48 (with th~
outer ends of the beater central tubular member 68 sliding along the ~lots 204 in arms 200,202) until the desired position i~ reached. Then, the fa~teners ~12 are retightened.
Still another important feature of the improved leaf loading machine 10 relates to means pivotally mounted on the mobile frame 12 and moun~ing ~he beater 4~ for swingi~g movement toward and away from the ground about the main pickup broom center 48. In particular, the beater mounting means takes ~he form of the above-described b~ater support and attach~en~ arrangement 198 which pivotally mounts the beater 46 to the axis of the broo~ 4R and a heigh~ adiust~ent 1 307~2~

1 mechani~ 214 coupled between the beater ~hroud 50 and the mobile frame 12. Particularly, the h~lght adjustment mechanism 214 includ~ brack~t--216 ~ixed on the top wall 56 of the shroud sn having an elongated lo~t ~otion ~lot 218, a cylinder 220 havin9 a central thr~aded bore 222 pivotally ~ounted by a bracket 224 fixed on the ~ront edge of the hou~ing ~op wall 64, and an elongated ~hreaded rod 226 extending through the cylinder 220 with a handle 228 defined on the upper end thereof. Th~ height ad~u~tma~t mechanism 214 i~ actuatable by rotating ~he handle 228 to pre~at a ~inimum di~placement of ~he beater above the ground, as ~een in Fig.
6~ The presence of the slot 218 p~r~i~ a lost ~otion-type pivotal movem~nt of the beater ~hroud 50 and the beater 46 therewith to a maximum displacement above the ground (a~ ~en in da~hed line form in Fig. 6) to allow the beater 46 to ris~
up over immovable obstacle~ encountered on the ground.

Conversion aetween Transport and Op~rating Positions Yet another feature of thQ improved ~achlne relate~
..,~ .... .
to a conver3ion arrangement 230 for raising and lowering the beater 46 and main pickup broom 48 between operating and transport po~itions shown re~pectively in dashed and solid line forms in ~ig. 5. Specif ically, a~ best seen in Figs. 1~
6, the tongue as~embly 38 of the machine 10 which is pivotally mounted by the pin 40 about a generally horizontal axis to the upright beams 34,36 includes a lever member 232 of the conversion arrangement 230 extending rearwardly from the beams. The arrangement 230 also includes a conversion mechanism 234 coupled between the rear end of the lever member 232 and a bracket 236 attached on the right longitudinal membars 16,1B of the mobile frame 12.
The handle 238 on a threaded rod 240 of the conver~io~ mechanism 230 being threaded through a coupler 242 pivotally attached at 244 to the rear end of the lever member 232 i~ turned to ro~ate the rod 240 and cau~ing pivoting of the tongu~ as~embly 38 about the axi defined by pivot pin 4 1 :~07628 1 and r~lative to the mobile frame 12 betwe~n first an~ second . ar~iculated condltion9~een in Fig. 5. When the ton~ue a~sembly clevi~ 42 ls attach~d to thè drawbar 44 of a towing v~hicle, ~elec~ed actuation of the conver~ion ~echanis~ 230 will respectiv~ly lower and rai~e the ~obile fra~e 12 and th~
auxiliary pickup beater 46 and main pickup broom 48 mounted thereon between the operatin~ and tran poEt position~O

Other Feature~-In addition to the rotary brush cleaner 140 de~cr~bed earlier, the leaf harve3ting ~achine 10 alco incorporate~ an arcuate- haped carryover recoYery plate o~
chute 146 fixed to and extending betw~n th~ hou3ing ~ide-walls 60,62 rearwardly of the lower sid~ of the main pickup broom 48. The function of the chute 146 is to facllitate return of carried over mate.rial along the endles~ path P(2) of the broom 48 so that another attemp~ can be made at removing it from the street surface. Further, a~ an op~ion a rotary curb brush 248 mounted to the beater left support a~m-200 by a swing arm 250 and powered by a hydraulic motor 252 can be u~ed on the machine 10.
It is thought that the present invention and many o~
it~ attendant advantages will b~ understood fro~ the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various change~ may be made in the form~ construction and arrangement of the parts thereof without departing from the spir it and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of it material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred or exemplary embodiment thereof.

Claims (5)

1. A leaf loading machine, comprising:
a mobile frame adapted to move across the ground;
a rotary beater including a plurality of lifting elements extending transversely of the frame;
a rotary broom including a plurality of bristles extending transversely of the frame-and disposed rearwardly of and in tandem relation to said beater;
said beater and said broom being disposed adjacent the ground and operable to counter-rotate relative to one another so as to deliver leaves from the ground upwardly between said beater and said broom; and drive means on said frame for counter-rotating said beater and said broom so that the tips of said lifting elements are movable along a first path of travel at a first speed while the tips of said bristles are movable along a second path of travel at a second speed, said second speed being substantially faster than said first speed.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said first and second paths of travel overlap.

3. The machine of claim 1 wherein said first and second speeds are faster than the ground speed of the machine.

4. The machine of claim 1 wherein said drive means comprises a power train including sprockets mounted on said beater and said broom and further including drive chains for engaging the sprockets.

5. The machine of claim 1 wherein said second speed is two to three times faster than said first speed.