EP0480074A1

EP0480074A1 - Beach cleaning machine

Info

Publication number: EP0480074A1
Application number: EP90115498A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Keith Derbyshire; Nigel Mottershead
Original assignee: BALMER GARDEN MACHINERY Co; MICHAEL K DODD AND Co
Current assignee: BALMER GARDEN MACHINERY Co; MICHAEL K DODD AND Co
Priority date: 1989-01-26
Filing date: 1990-08-13
Publication date: 1992-04-15
Also published as: GB9001747D0; GB8901715D0; GB2228032A

Abstract

A machine, preferably for towing, for the collection of litter from a beach comprising means 2&3 enabling the machine to move over the surface of the beach, a conveyor 12,consisting preferably of an endless belt made of wire mesh, for moving the litter and any adhering beach forming material eg sand or shingle, towards a container 20 located rearwardly of the machine and preferably connected hingedly to it, means 7 to vibrate the belt 12 so that the material is separated from the litter and is returned to the beach whilst the litter is delivered into the container.

Description

This invention relates to a machine for use principally but not exclusively for the cleaning of beaches.
The cleaning of beaches by removal of litter whether it has been washed up on to a beach by the sea or it has been discarded by users of the beach presents an increasing problem for owners of the beaches. Not only are more people using the beaches resulting in more litter being discarded by them but in addition the standards of beach cleanliness being demanded by the public are being raised. As a consequence owners of beaches have a need to remove litter both quickly and thoroughly.
The removal of litter on small areas of beaches is carried out generally by manual means. However for larger areas a practice has developed of raking or scraping the surface of a beach with a tractor which has been adapted for the purpose. The litter is then collected into heaps which are then loaded on to a lorry and taken away for disposal. By this means a measure of success has been achieved in cleaning large areas of beach. However this process suffers from an important defect in that during the formation of the heaps there have not been any effective measures taken to separate sand from the litter. A limited separation of sand from litter may take place when the surface of the beach is raked rather than scraped and when the sand is very dry. However frequently the sand is wet and when it is in this condition it is very tenacious As a consequence the heaps of litter prior to collection will contain a high proportion of sand and this results in further problems.
Thus larger tractors are required to form the heaps than would be necessary if the sand were not present. Furthermore the removal and disposal of the heaps, which being either more numerous or larger for the same reason, presents greater difficulties. The present invention is directed to a beach cleaning machine which is directed to overcoming the problems encountered with existing machines.
Accordingly this invention provides a machine for the collection of litter from a beach comprising means enabling the machine to move over the surface of the beach, the surface comprising a mixture of litter and beach forming material, means for depositing the mixture on a conveyor incorporating a plurality of appertures, means for vibrating the conveyor so as to cause beach forming material to pass through the appertures and to return to the beach and means for depositing the litter in a container located rearwardly of the machine.
The machine can be a self propelled vehicle. However preferably it is a wheeled machine which is towed by a tractor or other vehicle.
This invention is illustrated but not restricted by the following drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a view taken in perspective of one preferred form of the beach cleaning machine which is for towing
Figure 2 is a front view taken in vertical section of a part of the machine shown as in Fig 1 take along line AA'.
Figure 3 is a plan view of of the part of the machine identified as numeral 12 in Fig.1.
Figure 4 is a side view of a part of the machine shown in
Fig.1 with casing 15 removed.
Figure 5 is side view of part of the machine shown in Fig.1 in a different stage of its operation.
Figure 6 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig.1.
Figure 7 is a side view of an alternative form of invention machine.

The construction of the machine will now be described with reference to Figs 1 to 6. The machine is provided with a body 1 of conventional box section, sheet metal welded construction supported by a pair of front wheels 2 and a pair of rear wheels 3. The front wheels are smaller than those at the back of the machine and are secured adjustably to the body 1 by a vertical member 4 provided with a number of axle holes 5 so that the height of the front of the body from the ground can be varied.
Three rollers span opposing sides of the body 1, a forward idler roller 6, an eccentric roller 7 and a drive roller 8. The drive roller is provided with a high friction coating of hard rubber and it is rotated by a hydraulic motor 9 (Fig.6) which is mounted on the side of the body 1 of the machine. The motor is powered by hydraulic fluid supplied by a flexible pipe 10 from a tank of the fluid mounted on a towing tractor. In some variants of the machine the tank can be carried on the body of the cleaning machine itself.
A spade 11 is secured at each of its ends to opposing walls of the body 1 between the leading wheels 2 and the idler roll 6. The position of the leading edge of the spade with respect to the surface of the beach is determined by the adjustment of the position of wheels 2 on member 4.
Consequently if the wheels are raised sufficiently the edge of the spade will sink into the beach. The angle with which the spade can be inclined with respect to tile horizontal can vary although for most purposes an angle of about 45 degrees is generally very satisfactory.
A conveyor consisting of a endless belt 12 passes round each of the three rollers 6, 7 & 8. The belt consists of meshed galvanized iron wire which defines appertures the sizes of which are chosen according to the conditions under which the machine is to be used. Thus where a beach consist predominantly of fine sand, mesh sizes of from 0.5 to 50mms can be used, the measurement of the mesh being taken across its widest dimension. However if the beach consists of shingle then the mesh size is chosen so as to be larger than the average size of pebbles constituting the shingle. Much of the litter which is collected by the machine will consist of soft vegetable matter. Consequently the performance of the conveyor belt can sometimes be improved by provision of a series of rows of claw like members 13. When the machine is in operation the belt rotates in an anti-clockwise direction and the upper part of the belt is vibrated by frequent contact with eccentric roller 7. The body 1 is not provided with a bottom, consequently any material on the belt having a particle size smaller than the size of the mesh will be shaken through the belt and returns to the beach.
The efficiency of the machine depends in large measure on the method of vibrating the belt 12 and the construction of the belt itself. Flexible sheet material having apertures made for example by weaving wire can be used. However the preferred belt comprises an arrangement of wires which are connected together hingedly. Fig.3 illustrates a belt of this material which comprises a plurality of horizontally disposed wires 77 which are connected together by looped wires 78 each of which has considerable freedom of movement relative to its neighbour. The resultant belt can be made very strongly whilst at the same time retain a high degree of flexibility. As a consequence vigorous vibration of material on the belt can be effected with efficient use of power.
Vibration is carried preferably with an eccentric roller or shaft 7. However vibration can if desired be carried out with a roller provided with projections or beaters acting on the underside of the belt.
The rear edge of spade 11 is positioned in front of the part of the belt which reaches its maximum forward position as it passes round the idler roller 6. There is necessarily a gap between between the edge and the belt which preferably is arranged to be narrow ie about 50 to 200mms since this reduces the tendency for litter or stones becoming jammed in the gap and interfering with the movement of the belt. There is also a gap between the edges of the belt 12 and the walls of the body. In order to prevent pebbles or other materials from becoming jammed in this gap, the wall of the body 1 has fixed to it a seal 14 (Fig.2) consisting of a resilient strip of fabric reinforced rubber. During operation of the machine the upper flight of the belt 12 presses against the underside of the seal and prevents matter on the belt becoming lodged in the gap.
One side of the body 1 is provided with a drive casing 15 within which there is a drive sprocket 16 connected to drive roller 8 and a sprocket 17 connected to the eccentric roller 7. A chain 18 passes round both the sprockets and also round a tensioning sprocket 19 which is secured slidably to the wall of the body.
The machine is provided with a container 20 in the form a hopper having a front wall, two side walls and a floor. When the hopper is lowered and closed the fourth wall is provided by a part 21 of the body. Figs.1 and 5 show the hopper respectively in a raised and lowered position. The hopper is connected by hinge 22 to a hydraulic ram 23 provided with a double acting piston. The ram is connected through hinge 24 to the body of the machine. The hopper can be made to swing up or down about these hinges by means of the ram which is operated by hydraulic fluid pumped through pipes 25 & 26 from a tank (not shown) located on the tractor.
Prior to use of the machine the beach is surveyed to ensure that the mesh size of the belt is correct for the material forming the beach. The machine is then connected to the tractor by a three point link. The position of wheels 2 is then adjusted so that the leading edge of spade 11 just sinks below the surface of the beach. The clutch of the tractor is then engaged and the tractor moved forward at a rate of about 8 m.p.h. As the machine moves forward any litter present in the path of the machine together with a thin layer of sand or shingle is pushed up the inclined surface of the spade which directs the mixture of materials on to the upper flight of the belt 12. As the materials move towards the hopper 20 they are subjected to vibration which becomes increasingly vigorous as they reach that part of the belt which is in the immediate vicinity of the eccentric roller 7. As a consequence any sand or other material having a size smaller than the size of the mesh of the belt drops through the belt and returns to the beach. The remaining litter continues to be carried along by the belt until it is discharged into the hopper. When the latter is full the tractor can tow the machine away to a disposal area where the hopper can be emptied by activating the rams 23 so that hopper rotates upwards about hinges 22 & 24 thereby allowing the contents to fall out. Since, during this process, the machine is not required to handle, at any one time, large quantities of heavy mineral matter such as pebbles and wet sand the tractor providing traction and hydraulic power does not have to be very powerful and for most purposes a tractor of about 30 horsepower is generally sufficient.
The design of the machine can be altered in different ways. For example the hopper arangement can be modified so that when it requires emptying it can be raised to a sufficiently high level so that it can discharge its contents directly into a lorry for removal and disposal. In certain situations the hinged hopper can be replaced by a trailer detachably connected to the machine and which receives litter discharging from the end of the belt. A further modification concerns the collection of certain types of litter which tend to form an excessively thick layer on the forward part of the belt. When this occurs the material on the belt may not be vibrated sufficiently to ensure separation and removal of sand or pebbles. When these conditions are encountered excessive build up of litter on the belt can be prevented by mounting above the forward part of the belt and transversely to it an auxiliary agitator consisting of a driven roller fitted with tines to rake and redistribute the litter. The roller is rotated clockwise either by a chain drive from a hydraulic motor 9 or alternatively a separate drive can be provided by the tractor. Other forms of agitators can be used for example a powered or free rotating nylon brush.
The most satisfactory design of the machines will also depend upon whether the machine is to be used on hard or soft sand. For either purpose each of the rear wheels can be replaced by a twin wheel assembly consisting of two pairs of wheels. Furthermore other methods of vibrating the conveyor can be used. For example eccentric roller 7 can be replaced by one that is powered independently by for example a hydraulic pump similar to that used elsewhere on the machine so that frequency of vibration of the conveyor can be made independent of the rate of movement of the belt and related to the sand conditions. When a machine is to be used on hard sand the front wheels can be replaced by a crumbler roller as shown in the machine illustrated in Fig.7 In this figure a tank 71 of hydraulic fluid is mounted on the body 1 of the machine and this supplies fluid to operate a hydraulic pump (not shown) provided with a restrictor valve for controlling the speed of rotation of eccentric roller 72. A crumbler roller 73 extending almost the full width of the machine is provided with tines 74 and is secured to the body 1 by a screw jack 75 in front of spade 11. The latter incorporates an underplate 76 to prevent the spade digging itself into the sand. The effect of the crumbler roller is to disrupt the surface of the beach before the latter is acted upon by the spade. When the machine is to be used on beaches consisting of soft sand both the spade and crumbler roller can be dispensed with. Alternatively either the existing front wheels or rear wheels can be replaced by a different wheel system operating within rubber tracks.
Machines according to the invention can be made in sizes which can vary considerably. Thus machines of smaller size are envisaged which are self propelled and are controlled by an operative either walking behind the machine or seated upon it.

Claims

A machine for collection of litter from a beach comprising means enabling the machine to move over the surface of the beach, the surface comprising a mixture of litter and beach forming material,means for depositing the mixture on to a conveyor incorporating a plurality of appertures, means for vibrating the conveyor so as to cause the beach forming material to pass through the appertures and to return to the beach and means for depositing the litter in a container located rearwardly of the machine.
A machine according to Claim 1 wherein the container is connected hingedly to the machine.
A machine according to either of Claims 1 and 2 wherein the conveyor is an endless belt made of wire mesh.
A machine according to Claim 3 wherein the mesh comprises wires connected hingedly to one another.
A machine according to Claim 4 wherein the size of mesh lies within the range of 0.5-50.0mm.
A machine according to any one of Claims 3 to 5 wherein the belt is vibrated by a roller providing eccentric motion.
A machine according to any one of Claims 3 to 5 wherein the belt is vibrated by a roller provided with a projections acting on the underside of the belt.
A machine according to any one of Claims 3 to 7 wherein the belt moves axially of the direction of movement or the machine.
A machine according to any one of Claims 3 to 8 wherein the mixture of litter and beach forming material present on the belt is subjected to the action of an auxiliary agitator.
A machine according to any one of Claims 3 to 9 incorporating a member for directing litter and beach forming material onto the belt.
A machine according to any one of the preceding claims incorporating a member for disturbing the surface of the beach prior to litter and beach forming material entering the machine.
A machine according to any one of Claims 1,3 to 11 wherein the container is a trailer connected detachably to the machine.
A machine according to any one of the preceding claims when made for towing.
A machine according to any one of Claims 1 to 12 when self propelled.
Machines for the collection of litter as hereinbefore described with particular reference to the drawings.