Rotating drum push broom

Abstract

A rotating drum push broom has a housing, an interior compartment, a pair of wheel hubs, an axle, a drum brush, and a pair of motion transfer assemblies. The interior compartment traverses into a base surface of the housing and the pair of wheel hubs are mounted onto opposite sides of the housing. The axle traverses through the housing and the interior compartment and the wheel hubs are terminally connected to the axle. Drum brush is rotatably mounted around the axle. The motion transfer assemblies is a set of actuators that force the drum brush to rotate in a direction that is opposite to the wheel's direction of rotation.

1 . A rotating drum push broom comprising:
 a housing;   an axle;   at least one wheel hub affixed to the axle;   at least one drum brush having a plurality of brush bristles extending radially outward, the at least one drum brush having a hollow central passageway with the axle extending through the hollow central passageway, the at least one drum brush rotating independently from the axle;   at least one motion transfer assembly operatively connecting the at least one wheel hub with the at least one drum brush so that the at least one drum brush rotates in the opposite direction from the wheel hub when the wheel hub is rotated, the motion transfer assembly comprising:
 a hub gear around an inner surface of the wheel hub; 
 a motion transfer gear in engagement with the hub gear; and 
 a brush gear in engagement with the motion transfer gear, the brush gear having a hollow central passageway with the axle extending through the hollow central passageway, the brush gear rotating independently from the axle, the brush gear and the drum brush rotating together around the axle. 
   
     
     
         2 . The rotating drum push broom of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one wheel hub is located outside of the housing, the at least one wheel hub defining a hub receptacle having an outer sidewall to protect the motion transfer assembly. 
     
     
         3 . The rotating drum push broom of  claim 1 , the at least one axle having a wheel region on an end of the axle and a threaded terminal portion at the end of the axle, wherein the wheel region passes through the wheel hub, and a nut threaded onto the threaded terminal portion keeps the wheel hub in position on the axle while allowing the wheel hub to rotate about the axle. 
     
     
         4 . The rotating drum push broom of  claim 1 , at least one terminal end of the hollow central passageway of the drum brush ending in a non-circular connector receptacle, and the brush gear having a corresponding non-circular connector prong, the connector prong engaging within the connector receptacle so that the brush gear and the drum brush rotate together around the axle. 
     
     
         5 . The rotating drum push broom of  claim 1 , the brush gear having a non-circular connector prong adapted to engage within a connector receptacle at a terminal end of the drum brush, the brush gear having a cylindrical gear axle formed on an outer surface of the brush gear so that the brush gear can rotate within a corresponding circular opening, the brush gear having a hollow central passageway that allows the brush gear to rotate around the axle, independently from the axle. 
     
     
         6 . The rotating drum push broom of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one drum brush comprises a first drum brush and a second drum brush, the two drum brushes each rotating independently around the axle, the at least one wheel hub comprising a first wheel hub at a first end of the axle and a second wheel hub at a second end of the axle, the axle extending between the first wheel hub and the second wheel hub, and wherein the at least one motion transfer assembly further comprises a first motion transfer assembly and a second motion transfer assembly, the first motion transfer assembly operatively connecting the first wheel hub with the first drum brush, so that rotary motion of the first wheel hub results in the first drum brush rotating in an opposite direction from the first wheel hub, the second motion transfer assembly operatively connecting the second wheel hub with the second drum brush, so that rotary motion of the second wheel hub results in the second drum brush rotating in an opposite direction from the second wheel hub, and wherein the first drum brush and the second drum brush can rotate around the axle at different speeds when the first wheel hub and second wheel hub are rotating at different speeds. 
     
     
         7 . The rotating drum push broom of  claim 6 , further comprising a septum that separates the first drum brush from the second drum brush to prevent the first drum brush and the second drum brush from rubbing together when they are rotating at different speeds. 
     
     
         8 . A drum brush for use in a rotating drum push broom, the drum brush having a plurality of bristles extending radially outward from the drum brush, the drum brush having a hollow central passageway along the central axis of the drum brush, the hollow central passageway adapted to have a free-spinning axle pass through the hollow central passageway, the hollow central passageway ending in at least one non-circular connector receptacle at a terminal end of the hollow central passageway, the connector receptacle adapted to releasably hold a non-circular connector prong of a brush gear so that the brush gear and the drum brush can rotate together around the axle. 
     
     
         9 . The drum brush of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one non-circular connector receptacle comprises a first connector receptacle at a first end of the hollow central passageway and a second connector receptacle at a second end of the hollow central passageway so that the drum brush can have a brush gear at both ends of the hollow central passageway. 
     
     
         10 . The drum brush of  claim 8 , wherein the drum brush is divided into a first half drum brush and a second half drum brush, the first half drum brush having a first non-circular connector receptacle and the second half drum brush having a second non-circular receptacle, the first half drum brush and the second half drum brush capable of rotating around an axle independently from the axle and independently from each other. 
     
     
         11 . A method of sweeping a floor, the method comprising:
 pushing a rotating drum push broom across the floor surface, the rotating drum push broom having:
 a housing; 
 an axle; 
 at least one wheel hub affixed to the axle; 
 at least one drum brush having a plurality of brush bristles extending radially outward, the at least one drum brush having a hollow central passageway with the axle extending through the hollow central passageway, the at least one drum brush rotating independently from the axle; 
 at least one motion transfer assembly operatively connecting the at least one wheel hub with the at least one drum brush so that the at least one drum brush rotates in the opposite direction from the wheel hub when the wheel hub is rotated, the motion transfer assembly comprising:
 a hub gear around an inner surface of the wheel hub; 
 a motion transfer gear in engagement with the hub gear; and 
 
 a brush gear in engagement with the motion transfer gear, the brush gear having a hollow central passageway with the axle extending through the hollow central passageway, the brush gear rotating independently from the axle, the brush gear and the drum brush rotating together around the axle; 
   rotating the at least one wheel hub around the axle as the broom is pushed across the floor, the rotation of the wheel hub forcing the drum brush to rotate in the opposite direction from the wheel hub; and   pushing debris in front of the rotating drum brush as the broom is pushed across the floor.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising pushing the rotating drum push broom in a non-straight path, the at least one wheel hub further comprising a first wheel hub and a second wheel hub, wherein the first wheel hub and the second wheel hub can travel across the ground at different speeds as the rotating drum push broom travels in a non-straight path. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , the at least one drum brush further comprising a first drum brush and a second drum brush, wherein pushing the rotating drum push broom in a non-straight path further comprises rotating the first brush drum and the second brush drum at different speeds as the first wheel hub and the second wheel hub rotate at different speeds.