Air sweeping apparatus

An air sweeping system for removing debris from a surface, the system comprising:

• a head assembly having a main chamber for debris pick-up having a substantially curvilinear interior surface and a longitudinal axis, the main chamber having an outlet portion;
• a nozzle configured to direct a flow of air into the main chamber to entrain debris;
• a manifold in communication with the nozzle, with one end of the manifold including an input portion to receive pressurized air;
• a first front skirt, the first front skirt positioned adjacent to and substantially coextensive with the main chamber, the first front skirt selectively movable between a first position and a second position;
• a debris receptacle for receiving debris;
• and,
• a debris conveyer operatively connecting the head assembly to the debris receptacle;
• wherein an air stream with entrained debris is conveyed from the output portion of the head assembly to the debris receptacle, filtered and conveyed to the input portion of the head assembly.

A head assembly for use in conjunction with a debris conveyer and a debris receptacle of an air sweeping apparatus, the head assembly comprising:

• a main chamber for debris pick-up having an outlet portion;
• a nozzle configured to direct a flow of air into the main chamber;
• a manifold in communication with the nozzle, with one end of the manifold including an input portion to receive pressurized air,
• a first front skirt, the first front skirt positioned adjacent to and substantially coextensive with the main chamber, the first front skirt selectively movable between a first position and a second position;
• a second front skirt, the second front skirt adjacent to and in spaced relation in front of the first front skirt the second front skirt substantially coextensive with the main chamber;
• and
• a side skirt located between the first and second front skirts, the side skirt movable between a first position and a second position in response to the movement of the first front skirt.

A debris receptacle for use in conjunction with a debris conveyor in an air sweeping apparatus, the receptacle comprising:

• a plurality of wall portions defining a substantially closed chamber;
• a movable panel, the movable panel configured to be positioned in sealing relation to the chamber;
• and
• a first partition end a second partition, the partitions defining a first bin, a second bin, and a third bin, the first bin having a debris inlet port, the second bin in communication with the first bin, the second bin including a separator having an intake aperture, a debris aperture and an exhaust, the exhaust in communication with a debris conveyer, the third bin including a bypass port for receiving an air stream from a bypass conduit.

A method for removing and collecting debris from a generally horizontal surface, the method comprising the steps of:

• forming an air stream into a substantially horizontally aligned vortex;
• entraining debris within the vortex by drawing the vortex thereover;
• conveying the debris from the vortex to a first bin;
• removing in the first bin a debris larger than a first predetermined size from the air stream;
• convoying the air stream into a second bin;
• separating in the second bin some of the remaining debris front the air stream;
• and conveying the air stream back to the vortex.

A head assembly for use in conjunction with a debris conveyer and a debris receptacle of an air sweeping apparatus, the head assembly comprising:

• a main chamber for debris pick-up having a front end, a rear end, opposing sides, an input portion and an outlet portion, the main chamber having a substantially curvilinear interior surface and a longitudinal axis;
• a nozzle, the nozzle operatively connected to the input portion and configured to direct a flow of air into the main chamber;
• a first front skirt positioned adjacent to and substantially coextensive with the front end of the main debris pick-up chamber, the first front skirt selectively movable between a first position and a second position;
• a first rear skirt positioned adjacent to and substantially coextensive with the rear end of the main debris pick-up chamber;
• and,
• a barrier, the barrier positioned adjacent to and inwardly with respect to one of the sides of the main debris pick-up chamber, the barrier and the one side of the main debris chamber forming a recovery chamber;
• wherein,
• the barrier and the recovery chamber operate in concert to direct entrained debris into the output portion of the main debris pick-up chamber to reduce dusting and trailing.

A head assembly for use in conjunction with a debris conveyer and a debris receptacle of an air sweeping apparatus, the head assembly comprising:

• a main chamber for debris pick-up having a front end, a rear end, opposing sides, an input portion and an outlet portion, the main chamber having a substantially curvilinear interior surface and a longitudinal axis;
• a nozzle, the nozzle operatively connected to the input portion and configured to direct a flow of air into the main chamber;
• a first front skirt positioned adjacent to and substantially coextensive with the front end of the main debris pick-up chamber, the first front skirt selectively movable between a first position and a second position;
• a first rear skirt positioned adjacent to and substantially coextensive with the rear end of the main debris pick-up chamber;
• and,
• a scavenger strip positioned adjacent to and extending forwardly from the first rear skirt;
• wherein,
• the scavenger strip directs entrained debris towards the main debris pick-up chamber to reduce trailing and dusting.