Tennant Company

Steven L Boomgaarden

Gregory J Engel

Robert Erko

Michael Steward Wilmo

Michael L Blehert

Bryan L Christensen

Anthony John Hamline

Thomas Peter Mathews

Scott A Kroll

A brush wear adjustment system for use in a powered street sweeper to provide for consistent sweeping performance where wear of rotary brush bristles is constantly sensed and the rotational speed of the rotary brush is automatically increased to maintain a desired bristle tip speed to maintain desirable sweeping attributes. Rotary brush support arm angular displacement is monitored in order for an electro-hydraulic controller to influence rotational speed of the rotary brush and to provide a readout relative to bristle length.

Brush wear adjustment system and method

A street sweeper with vacuumized dust control where a rotary broom chamber surrounds a rotary broom. The rotary broom chamber connects by a conveyor housing containing a conveyor mechanism to a hopper having a powered fan and a filter. A vacuum or low pressure is created within the hopper which communicates through the conveyor housing to the rotary broom chamber which creates an airflow therebetween which carries dust or other light debris to a filter which filters out the dust particles or other light debris. The conveyor housing and other components are positionable to accommodate various modes of operation.

Street sweeper with vacuumized dust control

A vacuum trash collection vehicle includes a debris container and a source of vacuum on the vehicle. There is a hose connected at one end to the debris container and has the source of vacuum applied thereto. The hose is open at its other end to form a debris collection nozzle. There is a boom for supporting the hose during use as a debris collection device. A vacuum pickup head is carried by the vehicle and there are operator controls for raising and lowering the pickup head. The pickup head has an opening of a size and shape to be connected to the hose nozzle. There is a driver accessible control for moving the hose and boom to utilize the hose nozzle as a debris collection device. The hose may be connected to the pickup head opening and thereby provide vacuum to the pickup head so that it functions as a debris collection device.

Dual mode debris pickup machine

A vacuum trash collection vehicle includes a vehicle mounted debris container and a hose connected at one end to the debris container. There is a source of vacuum on the vehicle and it is applied to the hose. The hose is open at one end to form a collection nozzle. The hose is boom supported by the vehicle and there are driver accessible controls for moving the hose and nozzle for debris collection. There is a debris collection wand assembly mounted on the vehicle which includes a flexible collapsible hose connected at one end to the debris container and having a source of vacuum applied thereto. There is a valve for controlling the application of vacuum to the collapsible hose. A tubular portable wand is mounted on the vehicle and removable for debris collection. The collapsible hose extends into the tubular wand for connection thereto, with the collapsible hose collapsing into the tubular wand for storage on the vehicle when not in use for debris collection.

Storage system for vacuum pickup hose

A vacuum trash collection vehicle includes a debris container and a source of vacuum, both mounted on the vehicle. There is a hose connected at one end to the debris container and the source of vacuum is applied thereto. The opposite end of the hose is open to form a collection nozzle. A boom supports the hose during use as a debris collection device. There is a driver accessible control for moving the hose and nozzle which includes an elongated tubular assembly, pivotally mounted at its upper end to the boom and movably mounted at its lower end to the collection nozzle. There is an operator's handle, having multiple hand-gripping areas, mounted on the tubular assembly and movable relative thereto during use of the debris collection hose.

Hand control for manipulating vacuum pickup hose

A vacuum trash collection vehicle has a debris container and a source of vacuum, both located on the vehicle. There is a hose connected at one end to the debris container and has the source of vacuum applied thereto. The other end of the hose is open to form a collection nozzle. There is a boom for supporting the nozzle during use as a debris collection device with the boom including a rear support arm pivotally mounted to the vehicle and supporting the hose in a rear area and a forward support arm pivotally mounted to the rear arm and supporting the hose at an area forward of the rear support arm. There is a control element accessible to the vehicle driver for moving the hose and nozzle. There is a spring pivotally connected between the rear and front support arms which urges the front support arm in an upward direction to, at least in part, carry the weight of the hose for assisting the vehicle driver in operating the control element. An adjustment means readily accessible to the driver allows him or her to vary the moment arm by which the spring urges the front arm upward, thereby varying the height at which the front arm supports the hose.

Counterbalance system for pickup hose support

A surface maintenance machine has a body, wheels for supporting the body, a source of cleaning solution on the body and a conduit for applying the cleaning solution to a surface to be cleaned. There are scrub brushes on the body and there is a squeegee carried by the body. A container for used cleaning solution is located on the body and there is a vacuum system, including a vacuum fan, for removing used cleaning solution from adjacent the squeegee and conveying it to the used cleaning solution container. The vacuum system includes a conduit between the used cleaning solution container and the vacuum fan. There is a seal extending about this conduit, with the exterior of the seal being exposed to atmospheric pressure and the interior being exposed to the less than atmospheric pressure of the vacuum system. The seal has connected annular lip portions, with the pressure difference between opposite sides of the seal moving said lip portions into tight sealing contact with the conduit and adjacent portions of the vacuum system.

Scrubber vac-fan seal

A surface scrubbing machine includes a body, wheels for supporting the body am& cylindrical scrub brushes mounted on the body for cleaning an adjacent surface. There is a clean water solution tank on the body for supplying a cleaning solution to the surface to be cleaned. A recovery tank is positioned on the body and there is a vacuum system for suctioning used cleaning solution from the surface being cleaned and for conveying it to the recovery tank. A filter is positioned in the recovery tank and there is a pump for transferring filtered solution from the downstream side of the filter to the clean water solution tank. A conduit extends from adjacent the downstream side of the filter to atmosphere and there is a solenoid for intermittently opening and closing the conduit to apply intermittent pressure against the downstream side of the filter to remove soilage from its upstream sides

Scrubbing machine with means for continuously cleaning a filter

In a floor scrubbing machine, side squeegees for control of water on the floor are mounted with linkages that include vertical pivots so the squeegees can swing from side to side. They are interconnected with a tie rod so they swing in unison. A rear squeegee swings to one side or the other when the machine turns due to friction with the floor. A push-pull cable is connected between the rear squeegee mounting linkage and the linkage of a side squeegee to cause the side squeegees to swing or steer during turns. This positions them to effectively control water on the floor during a turn, and reduces squeegee wear. An alternative to steering them with the rear squeegee is to steer them with a hydraulic cylinder plumbed into the machine's power steering system.

Steerable side squeegees

This is a drain hose for a tank such as on a floor scrubbing machine and a means for attaching it to the tank. When not in use the hose is stored inside the tank, where it is protected from damage such as may occur to externally stored hoses. When it is to be used the hose is pulled from the tank and extended to a suitable site such as a floor drain and the contents of the tank are emptied through it. After use the hose may be pushed back into the tank again. The means for attaching the hose to the tank may include a cover over an opening in the tank which is amply large to permit cleaning out the tank.

Growing community of inventors

Rosemount, MN, United States of America

Steven L Boomgaarden