US3675267A — Power vacuum truck

Claim 1

Independent Claim 171 words

A vacuum pick-up head assembly carried by and forwardly of a streetsweeper vehicle for movement generally in an arc about a forward end of said vehicle while maintaining a parallel disposition relative to its previous position to present a constant full pick-up head width in the direction of vehicle travel, comprising a pair of circular brooms driven for rotation about generally vertical axes and positioned in peripherally intermeshing relation centrally of said assembly to receive between them debris swept inwardly by the brooms, a suction hood overlying the brooms and having depending sides forwardly and rearwardly of the brooms and having their bottom edges positionable proximate to a road surface being swept by the brooms, a debris suction duct communicating with the interior of the hood rearwardly of the brooms, means mounting the hood for elevational and movement with the brooms transversely of the vehicle to outward sweeping positions, the rearward sides of the hood converging to a suction location, and an internally unobstructed open suction tube leading from said location.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 171 words

A vacuum pick-up head assembly carried by and forwardly of a streetsweeper vehicle for movement generally in an arc about a forward end of said vehicle while maintaining a parallel disposition relative to its previous position to present a constant full pick-up head width in the direction of vehicle travel, comprising a pair of circular brooms driven for rotation about generally vertical axes and positioned in peripherally intermeshing relation centrally of said assembly to receive between them debris swept inwardly by the brooms, a suction hood overlying the brooms and having depending sides forwardly and rearwardly of the brooms and having their bottom edges positionable proximate to a road surface being swept by the brooms, a debris suction duct communicating with the interior of the hood rearwardly of the brooms, means mounting the hood for elevational and movement with the brooms transversely of the vehicle to outward sweeping positions, the rearward sides of the hood converging to a suction location, and an internally unobstructed open suction tube leading from said location.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 18 words

The assembly of claim 1, including means providing ground support for the hood beneath said rearward convergent sides.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 97 words

A sweeping unit attachable by parallelogram mounting means to a front of a streetsweeper vehicle for movement generally in an arc about said front while maintaining a parallel position relative to its previous position comprising a sweeping means, a suction hood means positioned generally about and above said sweeping means, said sweeping means being adapted to direct sweepings to a central rearward suction pick-up area, said hood means having a depending portion rearwardly converging to the location of an open suction tube that communicates with the interior of the hood in the area of said suction pick-up.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 97 words

A sweeping unit attachable by parallelogram mounting means to a front of a streetsweeper vehicle for movement generally in an arc about said front while maintaining a parallel position relative to its previous position comprising a sweeping means, a suction hood means positioned generally about and above said sweeping means, said sweeping means being adapted to direct sweepings to a central rearward suction pick-up area, said hood means having a depending portion rearwardly converging to the location of an open suction tube that communicates with the interior of the hood in the area of said suction pick-up.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 18 words

An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said sweeping means directs sweepings to a single suction pick-up area.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 131 words

An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said means mounting said hood means for lateral movement with respect to said vehicle includes a pair of spaced parallel arms positioned generally in a horizontal plane each pivotally connected at a first end thereof by a universal type joint to a support member mounted on the vehicle and each pivotally connected by a universal type joint at a second end thereof to the hood means to form a parallelogram type linkage, and a first power means connected between said support member and said first and second ends of at least one of said arms moves said hood means in a vertical direction while a second power means connected between said arms and said hood means moves said hood means in a horizontal direction.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 36 words

An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said hood means includes an upper portion generally above said sweeping means and forward and side depending portions cooperating with said depending rearward portion to surround said sweeping means.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 51 words

An apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said hood means further includes a framework comprising upwardly extending support members having said second end of said arms attached thereto, drive means being supported by said hood means including a shaft extending through said hood to said brooms to thereby drive the same.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 27 words

An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said hood mounting means further includes a resilient shock dampening means connected between said support member and said hood means.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 62 words

An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said hood means includes a first hood portion cArrying said broom means and adapted to move vertically with said broom means, and a second hood portion containing a suction supply opening and having a ground surface engaging wheel means therewith adapted to retain said second hood portion in a fixed relation to said ground surface.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 170 words

A power vacuum truck comprising a wheeled vehicle means having a front portion, a rear portion and two sides, said vehicle means supporting thereon a collection box means, a vacuum producing means, an operating control means and a vacuum sweeper pick-up means, said pick-up means being connected to said front portion of said vehicle and being movable by a linkage lift mechanism laterally of said vehicle for sweeping an area beyond said vehicle width, said linkage means maintaining said pick-up means in a substantially parallel disposition relative to its previous position, said pick-up means including dual, counterrotating, generally tangentially intersecting brooms rotatably about a generally vertical axis, a hood means overlying said brooms, a vacuum pick-up area communicating with the hood generally at the rear side thereof and behind the point where the brooms are generally tangential, a conduit means communicating from said vacuum pick-up area to a suction inlet side of said vacuum producing means through which said picked up matter passes on the way to said collection box.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 170 words

A power vacuum truck comprising a wheeled vehicle means having a front portion, a rear portion and two sides, said vehicle means supporting thereon a collection box means, a vacuum producing means, an operating control means and a vacuum sweeper pick-up means, said pick-up means being connected to said front portion of said vehicle and being movable by a linkage lift mechanism laterally of said vehicle for sweeping an area beyond said vehicle width, said linkage means maintaining said pick-up means in a substantially parallel disposition relative to its previous position, said pick-up means including dual, counterrotating, generally tangentially intersecting brooms rotatably about a generally vertical axis, a hood means overlying said brooms, a vacuum pick-up area communicating with the hood generally at the rear side thereof and behind the point where the brooms are generally tangential, a conduit means communicating from said vacuum pick-up area to a suction inlet side of said vacuum producing means through which said picked up matter passes on the way to said collection box.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 43 words

An apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said pick-up head is movable in a plane above a surface to be cleaned through an arc of approximately 180* from a position beyond one side of the vehicle to a position beyond the other side.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 56 words

An apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said operating control means is in a cab means on said front portion of said vehicle means, said suction duct having a first portion of a flexible conduit, said first portion being connected from said hood to a second duct portion on a forward portion of said cab means.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 21 words

An apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said second duct portion extends through said cab means to said vacuum producing means.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 31 words

An apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said vacuum producing means is mounted between said cab means and said collection box means, said collection box means being movably mounted for dumping.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1975-07-11	1976-01-10	1976-07-11	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1979-07-11	1980-01-10	1980-07-11	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1983-07-11	1984-01-10	1984-07-11	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Power vacuum truck

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