High-speed pick-up head for a street sweeper

A pick-up head for removing debris from a surface as it moves in a direction of travel, the pick-up head having a width extending in a transverse direction with respect to the direction of travel and defining a path of debris removal along the surface to be cleaned, the pick-up head comprising:

• a housing having a closed top portion and a plurality of edge wall portions extending downwardly from the top portion;
• an air pressure chamber and an air suction chamber adjacently disposed within the housing and separated by a cross-member, the cross-member extending between opposed edge wall portions of the housing and disposed at an angle with respect to the transverse direction, the air pressure chamber defined by the top portion, at least three of the edge wall portions, the cross-member, and a closed bottom portion, the air suction chamber defined by the top portion, at least three of the edge wall portions, and the cross-member, the air pressure chamber including an inlet for supplying pressurized air thereto, the air suction chamber including an open bottom portion disposed adjacent to the surface to be cleaned and an outlet through which air and debris are evacuated;
• and
• a nozzle formed by the cross-member and the bottom portion of the pressure chamber for discharging a jet of forced air from the air pressure chamber to the air suction chamber, the jet of forced air including a vector component parallel to the transverse direction which urges debris towards the outlet of the air suction chamber as the pick-up head moves in the direction of travel.

A pick-up head for removing debris from a surface as the pick-up head moves in a direction of travel, the pick-up head having a width extending in a transverse direction with respect to the direction of travel and defining a path of debris removal along the surface to be cleaned, the pick-up head comprising:

• a frame having a front edge wall, a rear edge wall, and opposed side walls interconnecting the front and rear edge walls;
• an air pressure chamber disposed within the frame and defined by the rear edge wall, the opposed side walls, a cross-member extending between the opposed side walls and disposed at an angle with respect to the transverse direction, a first top panel extending between the rear edge wall and the cross-member, and a bottom panel extending from the rear edge wall in a direction towards the cross-member, the air pressure chamber having an inlet through which pressurized air is supplied, the inlet disposed adjacent to one of the side walls of the frame;
• an air suction chamber disposed within the frame in side-by-side adjacent relationship with respect to the air pressure chamber and defined by the front edge wall, the opposed side walls, the cross-member, and a second top panel extending between the front edge wall and the cross-member, the air suction chamber having an open bottom portion disposed adjacent to the surface to be cleaned and an outlet through which air and debris are evacuated as the pick-up head moves in the direction of travel, the outlet of the air suction chamber disposed opposite of the inlet of the air pressure chamber;
• and
• a nozzle formed by the cross-member and the bottom plate of the pressure chamber for discharging a jet of forced air from the air pressure chamber to the air suction chamber in a direction substantially perpendicular to the cross member, the jet of forced air moving debris from the surface to be cleaned towards the outlet of the air suction chamber as the pick-up head moves in the direction of travel.

A sweeper for removing debris from a surface to be cleaned, the sweeper comprising:

• a vehicle including a chassis;
• a pick-up head mounted to the chassis of the vehicle and arranged substantially adjacent to the surface to be cleaned, the pick-up head removing debris from the surface as the sweeper moves in a direction of travel, the pick-up head having a width extending in a transverse direction with respect to the direction of travel and defining a path of debris removal along the surface, the pick-up head including a housing having a closed top portion, a plurality of edge wall portions extending downwardly from the top portion, pressure and suction chambers adjacently arranged within the housing and separated by a cross-member extending between opposed edge wall portions and disposed at an angle with respect to the transverse direction, and a nozzle formed by the cross-member and a bottom portion of the pressure chamber for discharging a jet of forced air from the pressure chamber to the suction chamber, the pressure chamber including an inlet for supplying pressurized air thereto, the suction chamber including an open bottom portion disposed adjacent to the surface to be cleaned and an outlet through which air and debris are evacuated, the jet of forced air including a vector component parallel to the transverse direction which moves debris towards the outlet of the suction chamber as the pick-up head moves in the direction of travel;
• a hopper mounted to the chassis for collecting debris removed by the pick-up head, the hopper being connected to the outlet of the suction chamber and to the inlet of the pressure chamber;
• a blower unit for generating a substantially recirculating air flow pattern through the outlet of the suction chamber, through the hopper, through the inlet of the pressure chamber, through the nozzle, and back through the outlet of the suction chamber;
• and
• a debris separation system disposed within the hopper for separating relatively light debris from the recirculating air flow pattern.