CA1269212A - Apparatus for adapting floor scrubber for use on vertical surfaces - Google Patents

Apparatus for adapting floor scrubber for use on vertical surfaces

Info

Publication number
CA1269212A
CA1269212A CA000519987A CA519987A CA1269212A CA 1269212 A CA1269212 A CA 1269212A CA 000519987 A CA000519987 A CA 000519987A CA 519987 A CA519987 A CA 519987A CA 1269212 A CA1269212 A CA 1269212A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
floor scrubber
floor
frame
scrubber
secured
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000519987A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Richard White
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA000519987A priority Critical patent/CA1269212A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1269212A publication Critical patent/CA1269212A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47LDOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • A47L11/40Parts or details of machines not provided for in groups A47L11/02 - A47L11/38, or not restricted to one of these groups, e.g. handles, arrangements of switches, skirts, buffers, levers
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47LDOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47LDOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • A47L11/38Machines, specially adapted for cleaning walls, ceilings, roofs, or the like
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47LDOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • A47L11/40Parts or details of machines not provided for in groups A47L11/02 - A47L11/38, or not restricted to one of these groups, e.g. handles, arrangements of switches, skirts, buffers, levers
    • A47L11/4061Steering means; Means for avoiding obstacles; Details related to the place where the driver is accommodated
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47LDOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • A47L11/40Parts or details of machines not provided for in groups A47L11/02 - A47L11/38, or not restricted to one of these groups, e.g. handles, arrangements of switches, skirts, buffers, levers
    • A47L11/4072Arrangement of castors or wheels
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47LDOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • A47L11/40Parts or details of machines not provided for in groups A47L11/02 - A47L11/38, or not restricted to one of these groups, e.g. handles, arrangements of switches, skirts, buffers, levers
    • A47L11/4075Handles; levers

Landscapes

  • Grinding Of Cylindrical And Plane Surfaces (AREA)

Abstract

APPARATUS FOR ADAPTING FLOOR SCRUBBER
FOR USE ON VERTICAL SURFACRS

A wheeled frame permits standard floor scrubbers or polishers to be adapted for cleaning ver-tical surfaces.
The device has an upright frame mounted on a wheeled plat-form. The frame has a mount which is securea to the motor of the scruhber and which guides the vertical motion of the scrubber on the frame. A winch and pulley is used to raise and lower the horizontally aligned floor scrubber.

Description

APPARATUS FOR ADAPTING FLOOR SCRUBBER
FOR USE O~ VERTICAL SURFACES

~ackground of the Invention The invention relates to a support for a machine for cleaning vertical surfaces, and more particu]arly to a support which can adapt standard floor scrubbers for use on vertical surfaces.
Motor-driven floor scrubbers and polishers are in common use for scrubbing and polishing floor surfaces.
Such machines typically consist of an electric motor moun-ted on a chassis and connected to a circular brush or pad.
A T-shaped handle allows the user to control the direction of the machine, and a small pair of wheels allows the user to tilt the machine on to the pair of wheels, raising the brush or pad off the floor surface and allowing the machine to be moved on the two wheels. The electric motor, when engaged, rotates the circular brush or pad at a constant speed, providing the cleaning action. The user provides the linear motion to the machine to cause the rotating brush to contact the various areas of the floor surface, causing a cleaning or pollshing depending on the type of hrush and cleaning substance used.

~ lile such machines allow large floor surfaces to be rapidly cleaned or polished, similar devices are not available for the cleaning or polishing of large vertical surfaces such as walls, hockey rink boards and the like.
At present such surfaces are cleaned by hand, using hand-held scrub-brushes or the like. This is a very time-consuming and difficult job.

For example, the boards of ice-hockey rinks quickly become marked with the black scuff marks of hockey pucks.
The boards when so marked are unsightly, particularly for more aesthetic uses of the ice rink such as figure-skating competitions. Accordingly it is necessary to periodically clean the boards, and in the past this has required several man-days of labour. Similarly the walls of squash and racquet-ball cour-ts quickly become marke(:l and also xequire periodic cleaning or re-painting. Up to the present, there has been no way to rapidly perform such cleaning jobs, and in particular no way to adapt an exis-ting floor polisher or scrubber to be used for such cleaning jobs.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a device for supporting a floor scrubber or polisher for cleaning vertical sur-faces. The device comprises a vertical frame having two parallel upright members, a horizontal frame secured to t'ne lower end of the ver-tical frame, one or more wheels mounted on the horizontal frame to allow it to roll on a horizontal surface, a guide member which can be secured to the floor scrubber and is confi~ured to suspend the floor scrubber horizontally between the upright members and to constrain its motion in the vertical clirection hetween the upright members, and means secured to the vertical frame for attachment to the floor scrubber when it is secured to the guide member :Eor raising and lowering the floor scrubber to fixed positions above -the horizontal surface.

Brief Description of the Drawings In drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device of the present invention having a floor polisher mounted in place;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the device shown in Figure 1 without the floor polisher and with the horizontal platform removed;
Figuxe 3 is a perspective view o-f the mount and guide assembly of the invention; and Figure ~ is a cross-sectlonal view of the device as shown in Fi~ure 2 taken along lines IV - IV.

Detailed Description of an Embodiment of the Invention . . . _ . _ .

Referring to Figure 1, a standard floor polisher 10 is shown mounted horizontally in the device of the invention 1. The floor polisher has a T-shaped handle 12, an elec-tric motor 16 mounted on a chassis 17, a pair of wheels 18 mounted on the chassis, and a rotary brush or pad 14. An electric cord 11 is provided for connection to a power supply and the handle has an on/off switch to start the machine.

Tl~e device of the present invention consists of an upright frame having parallel upright members 2 and a cross-piece 3. The upright frame is constructed for exam-ple of 1 1/2 inch angle iron. It is bolted or welded to a rectan~ular horizontal frame ~ which may he formed of four pieces of two-inch angle iron welded together. Side braces 8 reinforce the upright Erame and are secured to the horizontal and upright frames by welding or bolts.

Two wheel mounts 5 are provided, consisting of metal strips welded across the corner of the horizontal frame as shown in Figure 2. One of the four wheels 6 is mounted on the underside of each of the wheel mounts 5. The wheels may be swivel casters. The two front wheels 6 are mounted on the underside of the drag guides 7. The horizontal platform 19 is secured to the top of the wheel mounts and drag guides by bolts or the like. Cross braces 9 serve to strengthen -the drag guides.

A winch 15 is mounted on the upright frame, having a handle 17. A pulley 12 is mounted on the cross-piece 3.
flexible rope or wire cable 38 runs from the winch and is ~ 4~ ~2 threaded through the pulley. The rope may have a hook on its free end.

Braces 8 are for example constructed of 5/8 inch round rod. The wheel mounts 5 are for example constructed of 3-inch by l-inch flat steel elevated 1 to 2 inches Erom the rame to accommodate the casters. The drag guides similar-ly may be constructed of flat steel and are again elevated to allow 3-inch casters to be used. This is due to the fact that in order to allow the scrubber to clean to the floor level the horizontal frame must be approximately 3/4 inches from the bottom of the wall.

The motor mount of the invention is shown in Figure 4.
It consists of a collar 22 which may be tightened using a bolt 24 through holes 25. The collar is constructed, for example of 1/8 inch by 2-inch flat steel and it is approxi-mately 8 inches in diameter. A steel plate 23 is welded to the collar. A rail guide 30 is constructed of two parallel pieces of flat 1/4-inch steel 26 joined by end pieces 32 which are spaced approximately 5/~3 inches in from the end of bars 26. ~ plate 27 is welded across the two bars 26 adjacent the upper edge of the two bars. Both plates 27 and 23 are provided with corresponding holes 32 which allow the collar and attached plate 23 to be bolted, using bolts 3~ to plate 27 and hence to the rail guide.

To operate the device, if a standard floor polisher or scrubber is to be used, it must first be adapted for hori-æontal use by plugging the gear box vent hole to preventoil leakage. A standard floor polisher nay be adapted for ~orizontal operation by drilling and tapping the gear hou-sing and installing a grease nipple to allow gear oil to be added if necessary.

To mount the floor polisher for operation on the device, the collar 22 with attached plate 23 is separated from the rail guide 30 and bolt 24 removed or loosened.
The collar is placed around the motor portion of the floor polisher with the plate 23 facing the front of the scrub-ber. Collar bolt 24 is then tightened. The rail guide 30 is inserted between upright rails 2 with plate 27 facing upwards. The handle 12 of the polisher is then inserted between the two upright rails 2 from the front side of the device (the side havin~ the drag guides 7). The scrubber wheels 18 are positioned upwardly. The Eree encl of the rope or cable 38 is then attached to the polisher, either using a hook or by tying directly to the floor scrubber, such as to the axle between wheels 18. Using the winch, the scrubber is raised and rail guide 30 is bolted to plate 23 and collar 22.

The device may now be used to clean, polish or wax a vertical surface. The height oE the floor scrubber on the vertical surface is adjusted using the winch. Since the rotary motion oE the scrubber tends to propel the device along the vertical surface, the operator applies pressure to the pla-tEorm 19 which in turn forces drag guides 7 against the vertical surface and controls the motion. Drag guide 7 may have cushioning to prevent scraping of the vertical surface. It is also found that a certain amount of "give" in the attachment of the collar is desirable as it allows the operator to angle the brush of the scrubber so that only the heel of the scrubber i5 applied to the surface.

~ ile various sizes of standard -floor polishers or scrubbers may be used, it is found that for a single opera-tor the scrubber should be one with a brush less than 15 inches in diameter.

A~ will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications ancl adaptations of the structure above described are possible without departure from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is define~ in the appended claims.

*********

~0 .~

,

Claims (2)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A device for supporting a floor scrubber or polisher for cleaning vertical surfaces comprising:
a) a vertical frame having two parallel upright members;
b) a guide member adapted to be secured to a floor scrubber and configured to suspend said floor scrubber horizontally between said upright members and to constrain the motion of said floor scrubber to the vertical direction between said upright members;
c) a horizontal frame secured to the lower end of said vertical frame;
d) an axle mounted on said horizontal frame and a wheel mounted for rotation on said axle whereby said horizontal frame is adapted for wheeled motion on a horizontal surface, and e) means secured to said frame for attachment to said floor scrubber when said floor scrubber is secured to said guide means for raising and lowering said floor scrubber to fixed positions above said horizontal surface.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein said guide member comprises two parallel horizontal members having a length greater than the width between said parallel upright members of said vertical frame, and connected at points intermediate the ends of said parallel members and spaced apart a distance greater than the width of said upright members in the direction perpendicular to said parallel members, said guide member further comprising means adapted to be secured to said parallel members for securing said floor scrubber.
CA000519987A 1986-10-07 1986-10-07 Apparatus for adapting floor scrubber for use on vertical surfaces Expired CA1269212A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000519987A CA1269212A (en) 1986-10-07 1986-10-07 Apparatus for adapting floor scrubber for use on vertical surfaces

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000519987A CA1269212A (en) 1986-10-07 1986-10-07 Apparatus for adapting floor scrubber for use on vertical surfaces

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1269212A true CA1269212A (en) 1990-05-22

Family

ID=4134106

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000519987A Expired CA1269212A (en) 1986-10-07 1986-10-07 Apparatus for adapting floor scrubber for use on vertical surfaces

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1269212A (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ES2561911A1 (en) * 2015-12-29 2016-03-01 Rotapav, S.L. Rotary floor and floor polish rotary machine (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ES2561911A1 (en) * 2015-12-29 2016-03-01 Rotapav, S.L. Rotary floor and floor polish rotary machine (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

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