Towed Turf Sweeper Lateral Hopper Dynamics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing debris sweepers for large turf surfaces, such as golf courses, are inefficient and physically demanding due to their design, which often results in incomplete debris collection and reduced traction when the collection hopper becomes heavy with debris, and they struggle to follow uneven ground contours.
Innovation Solution
A debris sweeper with a pivoting hopper and lift frame that maintains positive weight on the hitch tongue, combined with a motor-powered sweeper that can adjust to follow ground contours, and a control box for operator control, allowing for efficient debris collection and disposal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the collecting hopper is positioned behind the transport wheels and filled with heavy debris, then the hopper can collect debris effectively, but the weight of the debris reduces the downforce on the hitch tongue, causing negative tongue weight and reducing traction of the towing vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper is repositioned laterally to the side of the tow frame rather than behind the transport wheels, changing the spatial dimension of debris storage. This lateral positioning moves the debris weight away from the hitch tongue axis, preventing negative tongue weight while maintaining collection capacity through the side-mounted discharge opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The hopper is made pivotally movable between a debris collecting position and a debris dumping position. This dynamic positioning allows the hopper to be raised to dump debris without interfering with the towing vehicle's hitch tongue, and lowered to collect debris without creating negative tongue weight, thus dynamically resolving the force contradiction.
2Productivity
If the rotary pick up brush is fixed in position, then the structure is simple, but the brush cannot follow uneven ground contours, resulting in incomplete debris collection
Solution Approach 1:
The rotary pick-up brush is mounted on a pivot axis that allows it to tilt and follow uneven ground contours. This dynamic mounting enables the brush to adapt to surface variations, improving debris collection completeness while maintaining a relatively simple pivot-based structure rather than complex active control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The brush assembly is separated into a independently pivotable component that can move relative to the main tow frame. This segmentation allows the brush to independently follow ground contours while the rest of the sweeper maintains its overall structure, resolving the contradiction between collection completeness and structural simplicity.
3Ease of manufacture
If walk-behind sweepers are used for large turf surfaces, then the equipment cost is low, but it would take an inordinately long time or inordinately large number of sweepers to clean debris, requiring prohibitive equipment and manpower
Solution Approach 1:
The sweeper is designed as a vehicle-towed unit that can be pulled by various types of vehicles (tractors, utility vehicles, ATVs), making it universally applicable to different operating scenarios. This multi-functionality allows a single unit to cover large turf surfaces efficiently without requiring multiple specialized sweepers, thus maintaining low equipment cost while achieving high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a scaled-up version of the walk-behind sweeper concept, copying the basic brush-and-hopper design but adapting it to be vehicle-towed rather than manually pushed. This scaling allows the same proven cleaning mechanism to handle large turf surfaces efficiently, maintaining simplicity and low cost while dramatically increasing productivity through vehicle-powered transport.
4Volume of moving object
If the collecting hopper is positioned behind the transport wheels, then the structure is compact, but when the hopper becomes heavy with debris, the tongue weight switches from positive to negative, biasing the rear of the towing vehicle upwardly
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper is repositioned from a rearward position to a lateral position beside the tow frame. This dimensional change in positioning moves the debris weight away from the vertical hitch tongue axis, preventing the weight shift that causes negative tongue weight and vehicle balance issues, while maintaining compact overall sweeper dimensions through efficient lateral arrangement of components.
Data Source
AI summary
A debris sweeper has a powered rotary brush for sweeping debris, such as aerator cores, from a turf surface into a debris collecting hopper. The brush and hopper are carried on a wheeled tow frame. The hopper is pivotally supported on a pivotal lift frame that moves the hopper between a lower, debris collecting position and an upper, debris dumping position. The lift frame pivots on the tow frame behind an axis of a pair of wheels while the hopper pivots on the lift frame in front of the wheel axis. This ensures that positive weight is kept on the tongue of the tow frame at all times.