Road Sweeper Cleaning Control by Vehicle Speed Thresholds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing self-propelled street cleaning vehicles face issues with unnecessary water consumption and premature brush wear due to continuous operation of cleaning equipment when the vehicle is stopped or moving at high speeds, leading to unsightly marks and inefficient cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A method to regulate the operation of cleaning equipment on self-propelled vehicles based on vehicle speed, automatically switching between active and inactive positions and adjusting brush rotation and water spraying according to predefined speed thresholds, ensuring equipment is only active when necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the cleaning equipment operates continuously when the vehicle is stopped, then the driver can quickly resume cleaning when moving again, but water consumption increases and brush wear accelerates
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit continuously receives speed signals from the speed sensor and automatically adjusts the cleaning equipment operation based on real-time vehicle speed feedback. When speed drops below the threshold (indicating vehicle stop), the system automatically stops the brushes and water spraying, eliminating unnecessary water consumption while maintaining readiness to resume cleaning immediately when speed increases again.
2Productivity
If the cleaning equipment operates continuously when the vehicle is stopped, then the driver can quickly resume cleaning when moving again, but brush wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit continuously receives speed signals from the speed sensor and automatically adjusts the cleaning equipment operation based on real-time vehicle speed feedback. When speed drops below the threshold (indicating vehicle stop), the system automatically stops the brushes and water spraying, eliminating unnecessary brush wear while maintaining readiness to resume cleaning immediately when speed increases again.
3Loss of substance
If the cleaning equipment is stopped when the vehicle moves at high speed, then water consumption and brush wear are reduced, but cleaning efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the operation state of the cleaning equipment based on vehicle speed conditions. The control unit automatically switches between active and inactive states of the brushes and water spraying system according to real-time speed signals, ensuring optimal performance at low speeds and resource conservation at high speeds where cleaning is less effective anyway.
4Ease of operation
If manual control of cleaning equipment is used, then the driver has full control over operation, but the driver may forget to stop equipment during stops leading to wasted water and brush wear
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning equipment system serves itself by automatically monitoring vehicle speed through the speed sensor and autonomously controlling the operation of brushes and water spraying. This self-service mechanism eliminates reliance on driver memory and manual intervention, ensuring the equipment is automatically stopped during vehicle stops to prevent water waste and brush wear, while still allowing driver override when needed.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for regulating the operation of cleaning equipment fitted to a self-propelled road cleaning vehicle, based on the vehicle's forward speed Va. The equipment comprises a rotating circular brush, means for vacuuming dust and/or debris, and means for spraying the brush with water. The equipment is capable of moving from an inactive position, raised above the ground, to an active working position in which it is lowered, with the brush in contact with the ground, and vice versa. This method manages the positioning of the equipment and the rotation of the brush according to a correlation with the vehicle's speed Va, based on at least one speed threshold selected from at least two predefined minimum forward speeds Vamin and Vamax.