USEFUL APPLIANCES FOR MUNICIPALITIES.
Page 22
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A Sweeping Attachment for the Ford, and a Refuse Collecting Van.
DURING a recent, visit to the works of International Motors Ltd., Brook Green, Hammersmith, London, W., we examined with interest two appliances which the company consider will adequately meet the requirements of municipal authorities in their respective spheres of activity. One of these is a Ford ton truck fitted with a special brush gear, tank, and large wheels, thus converting it into a road-sweeping machine. The other is a dust-collecting tipping wagon on the 2-ton chassis which is marketed by the company.
The road sweeper is a particularly interesting development. The Ford has been utilized for many purposes, but few would believe it possible to turn it into a. really efficient sweeping machine. However, this seems to have been effected in the present instance.
So far as the chassis is concerned, practically no changes have had to be made except for the provision of 36-in. diameter wheels at the front and 40-in, diameter wheels at the rear, both fitted with solid tyres. The brush is 2 ft. in diameter and 7 ft. 3 ins, long, and is mounted in a special housing which is suspended below the chassis by means of two spring bolts connected to a patented arrangement of levers giving a quick action lift.
The brush housing is connected to two strong guides, which allow the brush automatically to adjust itself to the camber of the road and at the same time to take care of the stresses imposed while it is in use, the only control gear for the brush being the, hand lever for lifting or lowering and a screw-adjusting whrel.
The method of driving the brush appears to be highly effective. A doublechain sprocket is attached to an extension of the worm tailshaft. Strongly attached to the off-side tube of the axle by clips is a housing carrying a set of enclosed bevel gears, the longitudinal shaft of which carries at its rear end a doublechain wheel in line with the sprocket on the worm tailshaft, the two being connected by means of a double, bushed roller chain. A cross-shaft connected to the other bevel gear and situated immediately in front of the rear axle carries on its outer end a double sprocket wheel of another chain.
Owing to its length this second chain is provided with a jockey pulley ; at its front end it drives a second set of enclosed bevel gears on the brush carrier,
which conveys the power to a second cross-shaft, the final drive to the brush being through the medium of a third chain. The speed of the brush is arranged to give the best effect at a vehicle speed of 8 m.p.h., and the brush
driving gear is provided with a dog clutch which is automatically disengaged when the brush is lifted.
Behind the cab is a galvanized steel tank fitted with an anti-splash device and holding 130 gallons of water. This water is conveyed to a sprinkler pipe carried in front of the brush, the flow of water being regulated bya lever in the cab.
The unladen weight of the machine is 31 cwt., and the laden weight 42 cwt.
It is stated that the brush will efficiently sweep for approximately 40 hours, covering a distance of 300 miles with a sweeping truck 6 ft. wide. The Price of the complete machine is £530.
The refuse-collecting wt.:gen has a body strongly constructed of wood, with sheetmetal covers hinged to the centre.
The tipping gear is hand-operated and gives a maximum tipping angle of 45 degrees. The body is so built that there is no internal obstruction which might arrest the refuse while it is being tipped.
The chassis utilized has a Continental Red Seal engine of 31 ins, bore and 5 ins. stroke, multiple disc clutch, the dry plates of which are faced with asbestos fabric, a three-speed gearbox and a dual type axle. The price is £470.