US564013A - furnas - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 3 Shets-Sheet 1.

R. W. FURNAS. STREET CLEANER:

No. 564,013; Patented July 1896.

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- R. W. FURNAS.

' STREET CLEANER.

No. 564,013. Patented July 14, 1896.

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R.-w. PU RNAS.

STREET CLEANER.

No. 564,018. Patented Jul 14, 1896.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT WV. FURNAS, OF INDIANAPOLIQINDIANA.

STREET-CLEAN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 564,013, dated July 14,1896.

Application filed November 8, 1894. Serial No- 528,240=. (N model.)

- T 0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT WV. FURNAS, of

Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and'useful Improvements in Pneumatic Street-Oleaning Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters refer to like parts.

My invention relates to improvements in pneumatic street-cleaning machines of the same general character as those shown in my former patents, Nos. 484,191, 484,192, 514,67 6, 514,677, and 514,678.

After considerable further experimenting and testing of various forms and constructions of the parts of the machines, I have found that herein shown and described to be the best to accomplish the desired work. This machine contains someimprovements in the gathering-hood and the general features and arrangement of parts of the machine whereby the mode of operation and results are quite different from what is shown in my priorpatents. These features will appear from the accompanying drawings and the following description.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my machine. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the rear portion of the machine for the purpose especially of showing the dust-chamber. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the hood and the pipes leading from it and into it. Fig. 5 is a central crosssection of the same, the rear part of the truck being broken away. Fig. 6 is a cross section of the hood on the line A A, Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a perspective of the deflecting-block in the hood. Fig. 8 is a perspective of the rear apron of the inner hood. Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view of the dust-chamber and attachments. Fig. 10 is aside elevation of my sweeper opposite to that of Fig. 1. Fig. 11 is an enlarged cross-section of the hood and a portion of the truck with the substitution of the plate for the weight in the inner hood.

In detail I provide a suitable carriage about the size of atwo-horse wagon, having a suitable frame 1, as seen in Fig. 1. Upon this wagon I place an engine and boiler 2. The

wagon is preferably drawn by a team, but if desired could be propelled by the engine. The chief purposes of the engine are to drive the exhaust-fan 3 and to inject a spray of steam into the dust-collecting chamber 4, which is integral with or directly above the dirt-box 5 wherein the dust settles after it has been weighted by moisture from the steam. The dust-chamber and dirt-box arepreferably located in the rear portion of the machine, behind which the gathering-hood 6 is carried by a skeleton truck. This truck is drawn bychains 33,-and by cables 7, which pass over suitable pulleys to a drum 8 beside the drivers seat, the driver is enabled to elevate or lower the gathering-hood when desired.

The gathering-hood is preferably a double one, there being an inner hood 9, as seen in Fig. 6, forming an inner main passage-way,

and an outer hood enveloping such inner hood excepting at its ends. The top of this outer hood may be made of canvas or other flexible material, but the top of the inner hood is preferably made of rigid sections flexibly connected, as shown in my former patents above referred to.

10 is an apron depending from the front portion of the top of the outer hood, 31 is an apron depending from the front portion of the top of the inner hood, 12 is an apron depending from the rear portion of the top of the inner hood, and 32 is an apron depending from the rear portion of the top of the outer hood. These aprons are preferably weighted and made more durable by metallic plates 11, as shown in Figs. 4, 5, G, and 11, or by rubber straps to reinforce them. The rear apron 12 of the inner hood is made, as shown in Fig. 8, of small boards or similar pieces independently hinged at their upper ends by canvas, as shown, or other means to the top of such hood, so that they cannot be pushed forward beyond a vertical position but may be moved backward independently when one of them meets an obstruction. This apron 12 is made of such width relative to the other parts of the hood that it does not touch the surface of the street, but leaves a space of, say, one inch under it extending from one end to the other of the hood. From the central part of the inner hood a pipe 13 extends upward and enters the dust-chamber 1 near its upper end. A portion of this pipe or tube is made extensible like an accordion to permit the vertical and lateral movement of its lower end. It enters the dust-chamber preferably tangentially, as shown in Figs. 2 and A steampipe 14 enters the upper end of the dustchamber near the entrance of the dust-pipe 13 to cause the moisture in the steam to contact with and weight the particles of dust entering the chamber. I do not find it desirable to feed the steam to the dust-chamber directly, as there would be too much of it and it would make a noise. Therefore I provide a steam-drum 15 near the boiler, which is fed by the pipe 16, and from this a portion of the steam is conducted by the pipe 38 into the smoke-stack l 7 just above the boiler, while the other portion of the steam is conveyed through a small tube 18 to the large tube lat that enters the chamber 4:. Thus I secure a second expansion of the steam by enlarging the pipe 18 before its entrance to the chamber at. I preferably extend the end of the pipe 14:, reduced in size, into the chamber 4 a slight distance and close its end and perforate the tube on the side nearest the entrance of the dustladen air through the pipe 13. By adding suitable valves to the steam-pipes 16 and 18 I can control the amount of steam entering the dust-chamber.

From my experience in testing and operating pneumatic street-cleaning machines the steam injection or spray is the most successful means of separating the dust from the air; but one such treatment of the dust-laden air will not suffice to effect complete separation, hence it is necessary, I find, to conduct the ail-several times through the chamber 4. By the tangential entrance of the tube 13 into the dust-chamber 4 the motion of the air is made more uniform therein than if it entered otherwise, so as to cause a greater amount of the heavy particles to settle to the bottom of the dirt-box 5. The dust-laden air passes down spirally to a suitable outlet to the fan. This outlet I make preferably as shown in Fig. 0. I provide an air passage-way or pipe 1.9, which leads from'near the bottom of the dust-chamber up centrally through it, out of the top, and down the sides of such chamber, and at its lower end enters the fan. Near the lower end of this passage-wayIprovide a door 20, for the purpose of cleaning-it when desired.

hood is to offer to the front and the rear of the inner hood the partially dust-laden air, so that all returned air will be used over and over again, whereby it will be constantly subjected to the action of the steam and will repeatedly pass through the dust-chamber.

This partially dust-laden air is returned to the outer hood with practically no force or pressure, for the moment the air in the outer hood is under pressure it will leak from under the outer hood, as the latters contact with the street surface cannot be air-tight.

In order to prevent the returned air from being under pressure in the hood and to put both hoods under suction, whereby outside air will always be drawn under the aprons of the hood and the escape of dust-laden air from the hood be entirely prevented, I lead off a portion of the dust-laden air to a furnace through a pipe 22. In addition to this object, the blast through the pipe 22 can be used to feed a boiler-furnace. lVith this construction in actual operation no dust whatsoever can escape from the hood, and there is no other place for it to escape from the machine, as the dust which enters the furnace is consinned.

In the operation of the machine this dustladen air which is returned through the pipe 21 is permeated with steam, whereby the moistening of the particles of dust in the air continues from the time the dust-laden. air leaves the chamber 4 until it gets back, so that on the return to the dust-chamber the dust is more liable to fall into the box 5 than it was in its first passage through the chamber. The return current coming through the pipe 21 will be drawn under the aprons of the inner hood and in. a direction parallel with the movement of the machine, but as soon as it enters the inner hood it will be drawn so as to sweep laterally across the path of the machine to the mouth of the pipe 13. By

this construction I secure a most efficient action of the current of air in moving the dust Off the surface of the street, namely, sweeping it parallel with the movement of the machine and sweeping it across the path of the machines movement. After considerable experiment I have found this to be by far the most efficient and powerful means of taking up all the dust or dirt on the surface of the street. 1

The hood is so constructed that the returned air surrounds the inner hood and enters the central chamber or hood by leaking under the front apron and by passing under the rear apron 12. 33y reference to the hood in Fig. 1 it will be observed that a section of the end of the inner hood is cut out at 23 and that on the end of the hood a friction-wheel 24. is mounted. This construction is to enable the hood to approach close to the curbstone, the friction-wheel 24 preventing direct contact and keeping the hood, say, one inch away from the curbstone. Vith the opening it will be readily seen that the machine will remove all particles of dust and dirt that are in the gutter or near the curbstone, so that, for example, in cleaning asphalt streets, as they are usually laid, the machine will not leave any dust near the curbstones.

In order to assist in elevating the heavier particles of dust, such as small lumps like marbles, and starting them up through the pipe 13, I provide a deflecting-block 25 or other form of deflector, so as to give the current of air and the dirt an upward turn as it approaches the mouth of the pipe. This deflecting-block is provided with deflecting sides to accommodate the currents coming from various directions. It may be made, however, round instead of rectangular, or a deflecting-plate 39 might be secured to the top of the inner hood, still I prefer to use a loose block made in the shape shown in Fig. 7, secured to the hood-frame by a chain 35, so that the block will drag and accommodate itself to the unevenness of the surface, always resting flatly on the surface.

In order to loosen the dirt I provide a set of scratchers 2G, movably mounted in arms 27, secured to the framework of the wagon between the wheels and capable of being elevated by a cable running to the hand-lever 32. The scratchers not only loosen the dirt but they catch the paper and sticks of wood. I might add that the dirt-box 5 is provided with a door 28 for the removal of the dirt. It is desirable, however, to make the connection between the dirt-box 5 and dust-chamber at air-tight. To increase the speed of my fan 3, I mount a pulley 31 on a counter-shaft near the front of the wagon, and have a belt running from the engine to it and another from it to the pulley 29, which drives the fan. For the purpose of regulating whenever desired the proportion of air returned by the fan which enters the furnace and the hood, respectively, I provide a valve 30 in the returnpipe from the fan, which can be set in any position.

That I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination in a pneumatic streetcleaning machine, of a gathering-hood, a dustcollecting chamber, a pipe leading from the hood to the upper end of the dust-collecting chamber, an engine and boiler, a pipe leading from the engine to the upper end of the clustcollecting chamber for introducing steam therein, an exhaust-fan and means for driving it, an air-passage leading from near the lower end of the dust-collecting chamber up through it centrally out of its top to the exhaust-fan, and a pipe leading from the exhaust-fan to the hood, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a pneumatic street-cleaning machine, a dust-collecting chamber, an engine, a drum to which steam is conducted from the engine, and pipes leading from the drum to the dust collecting chamber for introducing steam into the latter, all combined substantially as shown and described.

3. In apneumatic street-cleaning machine, a dust-collecting chamber, a steam engine and boiler, a steam-drum, a pipe leading from the drum to the dust-collecting chamber for introducing steam therein, and another pipe leading from the drum to the smoke-stack of the boiler, all combined substantially as shown and described.

4. In a pneumatic street-cleaning machine, a long, narrow gathering hood extended transversely with the line of movement of the machine and provided with a top close to and substantially parallel with the surface of the street and having a front apron adapted to contact with the street surface and a rear apron which extends almost but not entirely to the street surface, and means of exhausting the air from such hood, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a pneumatic street-cleaning machine, a long narrow gathering-hood extended transversely with the line of movement of the machine and provided with a top close to and parallel with the surface of the street and having a front apron adapted to contact with the street surface and a rear apron extending almost but not entirely to the surface of the street and being formed in sections hinged at the top so they can swing backward but not forward, and means of exhausting the air from the hood, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a pneumatic street-cleaning machine, a gathering-hood consisting of two hoods, one inclosed within the other, the rear apron, of the inner hood extending almost but not entirely to the surface of the street, a (In -collecting chamber, an exhaust-fan and connections for exhausting air from the inner hood, introducing it into the dust-collecting chamber and returning it to the outer hood.

7. In a pneumatic street-cleaning machine, a gathering-hood consisting of two hoods, one inclosed within the other, the rear apron of the inner hood extending almost but not entirely to the surface of the street, a dust-collecting chamber, a furnace, and connections for exhausting the air from the inner hood, passing it through the dust-collecting cham- IIO ber and conducting a portion therefrom to the furnace and a portion back to the outer hood.

8. In a pneumatic street-cleaning machine, a double gathering-hood, one being within the other, the rear apron of the inner hood extending almost to the street surface and being formed of sections and so hinged at the top as to swing backward but not forward, a dust-collecting chamber, a pipe leading from the inner hood to the dust-collecting chamber," and an exhaust-fan and connections for exhausting the air from the inner hood, introducing it into the dust-collecting chamber and returning it to the outer hood.

'9. In a pneumatic street-cleaning machine, a gathering-hood adapted to contact with the surface of the street, a dust-chamber, a pipe leading from the hood to the dust-chamber,

I11 Witness whereof Ihave hereunto set 111 y a pyramidal deflecting-block fastened by a hand this 25th day of October, 1894. cable so as to drag on the street surface Within the hood immediately beneath the opening therefrom into the suction-pipe, and means of conveying the air from the hood to the dust-chamber.

ROBERT \V. FURNAS. \Vitnesses:

V. 11. LooKWooD, LELA MONROE.

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