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:
May. 05, 1998
Filed:
Jan. 30, 1996
Kaibai Liu, Eagan, MN (US);
Charles Carl Holley, Bloomington, MN (US);
Walter John Petersen, Eden Prairie, MN (US);
The Toro Company, Bloomington, MN (US);
Abstract
A debris collection vehicle (1) having an offset cab (12) adjacent to a conveyor belt (61) which transports collected debris to a hopper (59). Rows of resilient fingers (51) are mounted on a collector drum (36), the conveyor (61) and on curb brushes (22, 24). The orientation of the collector (36) may be varied with respect to the lower drum (57) supporting the conveyor belt (61) in order to permit the reliable entrainment of various sized and shaped objects without fouling. The collector drum (36) is biased by a spring (192) to facilitate clearance of obstacles or oversized debris. A front deflection bar (229) is mounted adjacent to the collector drum (36) to direct debris toward the lower support (56) of the conveyor belt (61). A rear deflection bar (239) is mounted adjacent to the lower conveyor support (56) to direct debris toward the upper surface of the conveyor belt (61). The lower region (387) of the conveyor belt (61) may also be supported by a forward axle (401) and a tandem rear axle (402) to provide a volume (391) within which uncollected debris is urged toward a collector drum (368). The upper region (349) of a modified conveyor belt (347) is constructed to transition to a horizontal orientation to facilitate delivery to a hopper (350). The hopper (350) is connected to an hydraulic lift assembly (292) to permit elevation and emptying of the hopper (350) at a suitable collection site.