A machine for removing paint and other unwanted material from turf, and related devices and methods

Abstract

A machine for removing paint and other unwanted material from turf comprises a vacuum device operable to remove paint and other material from turf, a scrubbing device operable to strip paint from the turf, and a chassis that carries the vacuum device and scrubbing device across the turf. The vacuum device includes a vacuum head and a compression bar. The vacuum includes a chamber having an entrance and an exit, wherein when air is urged out of the chamber through the exit, ambient air adjacent to the vacuum head flows into the chamber through the entrance. The compression bar is located adjacent to and outside of the vacuum head's entrance and operable to exert pressure on the turf to cause fluid in the field to pool adjacent to the vacuum head's entrance.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device for removing paint and other unwanted material from turf, the device comprising:
 a vacuum head that includes a chamber having an entrance and an exit, wherein when air is urged out of the chamber through the exit, ambient air adjacent to the vacuum head flows into the chamber through the entrance; and   a compression bar located adjacent to and outside of the entrance of the vacuum head's chamber and operable to exert pressure on the turf to cause fluid in the turf to pool adjacent to the vacuum head's entrance such that when air is urged out of the vacuum head's chamber through the vacuum head's exit, the fluid pooled adjacent to the vacuum head's entrance is urged through the vacuum head's entrance and into the vacuum head's chamber.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the entrance of the vacuum head's chamber includes a rectangular shape. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the vacuum head includes two separate chambers. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the vacuum head includes two separate chambers, each chamber having a respective exit, and each chamber sharing a single entrance that spans both chambers. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the compression bar is configured to roll over the turf while the compression bar exerts pressure on the turf to cause fluid in the turf to pool adjacent to the vacuum head's entrance. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the compression bar is releasably coupled to the vacuum head. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the vacuum head's entrance has a length, and the compression bar extends the length of the entrance. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the compression bar includes a cylinder having a curved surface that is smooth and contacts the turf while the compression bar exerts pressure on the turf. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the device includes a single compression bar. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising bristles located at the entrance of the vacuum head's chamber and operable to filter out infill suspended in the ambient air and infill suspended in the fluid moving into the chamber. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising bristles located at the entrance of the vacuum head's chamber and operable to cover the entrance while ambient air adjacent to the vacuum head's entrance flows through the entrance into the chamber. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising a brush located aft of the vacuum head relative to the direction that the vacuum head travels over the turf, and operable to disperse infill back across the turf. 
     
     
         13 . A method for removing paint and other unwanted material from turf, the method comprising:
 locating an entrance of a chamber of a vacuum device's vacuum-head over a region of the turf to be cleaned;   exerting pressure on the region of the turf with a compression bar of the vacuum device that is located adjacent to and outside of the chamber's entrance to cause fluid in the turf to pool adjacent to the entrance; and   reducing pressure inside the chamber of the vacuum head to urge:
 ambient air adjacent to the chamber's entrance, and 
 the pooled fluid adjacent to the chamber's entrance to flow through the entrance and into the chamber. 
   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising moving the entrance of the vacuum head's chamber toward another, adjacent region of the turf while:
 exerting pressure on the turf with the compression bar, and 
 reducing pressure inside the chamber of the vacuum head. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  wherein locating the entrance of the vacuum head's chamber over a region of the turf includes driving a vehicle that carries the vacuum head and holds the vacuum head, while the compression bar exerts pressure on the region of the turf, and while pressure inside the vacuum head's chamber is reduced. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13  wherein exerting pressure on the region of the turf with the compression bar includes contacting the region with a curved surface of a cylinder and rolling the cylinder over the turf. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13  wherein reducing pressure inside the vacuum head's chamber includes pulling air inside the chamber out through an exit of the chamber. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising filtering out, with bristles located adjacent to the entrance of the vacuum head's chamber, infill suspended in the ambient air and infill suspended in the fluid moving into the chamber. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein filtering out the infill includes the bristles covering the entrance of vacuum head's chamber while ambient air flows through the entrance into the chamber. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising dispersing infill across the turf with a brush located adjacent to the vacuum head. 
     
     
         21 . A machine for removing paint and other unwanted material from turf, the machine comprising:
 a vacuum device operable to remove paint and other material from turf, wherein the vacuum device includes:
 a vacuum head that includes a chamber having an entrance and an exit, wherein when air is urged out of the chamber through the exit, ambient air adjacent to the vacuum head flows into the chamber through the entrance; 
 a compression bar located adjacent to and outside of the entrance of the vacuum head's chamber and operable to exert pressure on the turf to cause fluid in the field to pool adjacent to the vacuum head's entrance; 
   a scrubbing device operable to strip paint from the turf; and   a chassis that carries the vacuum device and scrubbing device across the turf.   
     
     
         22 . The machine of  claim 21  wherein the scrubbing device includes a brush operable to rotate about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the turf while the brush contacts a region of the turf. 
     
     
         23 . The machine of  claim 21  wherein the scrubbing device includes three brushes, each operable to rotate about a respective one of three axes that is substantially perpendicular to the turf while each brush contacts a region of the turf. 
     
     
         24 . The machine of  claim 21  wherein the scrubbing device includes a nozzle operable to spray a fluid toward a region of the turf before the vacuum device removes paint and other material from the region of the turf. 
     
     
         25 . The machine of  claim 21  wherein the scrubbing device includes:
 a brush operable to rotate about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the turf while the brush contacts a region of the turf, and 
 a nozzle operable to spray a fluid toward the region of the turf before the brush contacts the region. 
 
     
     
         26 . The machine of  claim 21  wherein the scrubbing device includes:
 a brush located ahead of the vacuum device relative to the direction that the vacuum device travels across the turf while removing paint and other material from the turf, and operable to rotate about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the turf while the brush contacts a region of the turf, and 
 a nozzle located between the brush and the vacuum device, and operable to spray a fluid toward the region of the turf before the vacuum device removes paint and other material from the region.