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US 4,741,072 AGranted
Railroad track cleaner
OwnerKenneth R. Wilkersoninventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerKenneth R. Wilkersoninventor
Estimating the term…
A railroad track cleaner of non-self-motivational character which comprises a frame carrying front and rear wheels for rail traverse. The frame contains a housing for a transversely disposed, rotatably mounted broom assembly in the forward portion thereof and an axially parallel, rotatable feed conveyor located upwardly and rearwardly of the broom assembly and having a central spacing. A flipper or particle impeller is provided within said feed conveyor central spacing in alignment with a debris discharge port formed in the overlying portion of the housing. An air inlet port is provided in the housing forwardly of said debris discharge port. The cleaner is detachably engageable at the rearward end thereof to an automotive vehicle for travel, which vehicle is provided with a debris receptacle connected to a conventional vacuum. A flexible conduit is provided for extension between said cleaner discharge port and said vehicle hopper for withdrawal by said vacuum of debris swept by said broom assembly. Ground sweeping blades are provided on opposite sides of said housing for optionally operating within the zones outwardly of the rails for directing contacted debris toward the line of travel of the driven cleaner.
A railroad track cleaner consisting essentially of a frame, a pair of front and a pair of rear flanged rail-engageable wheels supporting said frame for rendering same traversable along the track being cleaned, a housing mounted on said frame and having a front wall, a top wall, parallel side walls, and a rear wall and being open at the lower end thereof for defining a downwardly open chamber, a rotary broom assembly mounted in said chamber for sweeping track debris, a debris feed conveyor provided in said housing rearwardly of said broom assembly, said feed conveyor comprising first and second components with an intervening spacing therebetween, said housing having a debris outlet opening located in the top wall of said housing above said intervening spacing, and an air inlet port provided in said top wall forwardly of said debris outlet opening.
In combination with an independent, mobile debris receptacle, a vacuum provided in said receptacle for drawing debris thereinto, of a railroad track cleaner comprising a frame, a pair of front and rear flanged rail-engageable wheels supporting said frame for rendering such traversable along the track being cleaned, a housing mounted on said frame and having a front wall, a top wall, parallel side walls, a rear wall, and being open at the lower end thereof for defining a downwardly open chamber, a rotary brush assembly mounted in said chamber for sweeping track debris, a debris feed conveyor provided in said housing rearwardly of said broom assembly, said feed conveyor comprising first and second components with an intervening spacing therebetween, said housing having a debris discharge outlet opening located in the top wall of said housing above said intervening spacing, an air inlet port provided in said top wall forwardly of said debris outlet opening, means interconnecting said debris outlet opening in said housing and said debris receptacle, and means detachably interconnecting said mobile debris receptacle and said track cleaner.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.