The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 26, 1997
Filed:
Jan. 22, 1996
Nilabh Narayan, Plymouth, MN (US);
Tennant Company, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Abstract
A sweeping machine has a body, wheels supporting the body for movement over a surface to be swept and a rotatable brush mounted to the body transversely of the direction of movement of the sweeping machine. There is a debris hopper adjacent the rotatable brush and positioned generally forwardly of the direction of rotation of the brush. The body mounts a dust collection chamber and a vacuum fan, with the vacuum fan drawing dust laden air from the area about the brush through the debris hopper and into the dust collection chamber. The improvement is directed to a dust control side skirt assembly mounted on each side of the body generally in alignment with the brush. Each assembly includes an inner skirt and an outer skirt spaced outwardly from the inner skirt throughout at least a substantial portion of its length. There is an ambient air opening between the skirts generally at the rear end thereof. There is an opening in the inner skirt adjacent a forward portion thereof whereby the vacuum fan creates an air flow path from the ambient air opening, between the skirts, and through the inner skirt opening and into the debris hopper and dust collection chamber.