EP4691694A1

EP4691694A1 - Grinding machine for floors

Info

Publication number: EP4691694A1
Application number: EP25193636.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Costantino Lazzeri
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2024-08-08
Filing date: 2025-08-04
Publication date: 2026-02-11

Abstract

Grinding machine (1) for floors comprising:
- a plurality of omnidirectional wheels (2), operatively associated with respective electric motors (3);
- at least one rotary abrasive brush (4), operatively associated with a respective electric motor (5) arranged inside the space delimited by said plurality of wheels (2);
- an electronic control unit (6), operatively associated with said electric motors (3, 5);
- a plurality of rechargeable electric batteries (8), adapted to supply the electrical energy required for operation of the components;
- uno chassis (9) for housing the components, associated with a protective casing (10) thereof,
wherein the electronic control unit (6) cooperates both with the electric motors (3) associated with the wheels (2), to determine the autonomous movement of the grinding machine (1) along a movement path (P), and with the electric motor (5) of the at least one rotary abrasive brush (4), to maintain the operating speed constant, and comprises means (17) for remote communication with a portable electronic device (7), operatively associable therewith, wherein said grinding machine (1) comprises software (18) executable by said electronic device (7), adapted to allow setting, managing and memorizing of movement paths (P) of the grinding machine (1), so as to obtain the surface finish of the floor under said grinding machine (1), along said movement path (P).

Description

Technical field of application

The invention relates to the sector of machinery for the surface finish of floors of rooms for domestic, commercial, industrial use, etc.
More in detail, the invention concerns a grinding machine for floors made of marble, terrazzo, cement, terracotta, wood, etc.

Background art

Single-brush grinding machines are used to perform surface finishes on floors of various types, substantially constituted by:

a base, provided with at least two idle wheels, integrating an electric motor associated with a single rotary abrasive brush;
a driving handlebar connected to the base, integrating the drive and control commands of the machinery and an electrical power cable thereof.

Grinding machines thus constituted require to be driven at all times by an operator, along a path that guarantees treatment of the floor that is placed in contact with the related rotary abrasive brush.
Consequently, these grinding machines have the following important critical points:

they oblige operators to maintain unnatural postures for long periods of time (erect positions, arms stretched forward, hands gripping the driving handlebar, etc.) subjecting them to the possible onset of stress-related disorders affecting the musculoskeletal system (cervical spine, backbone, lumbar area, etc.);
they expose operators to the risk of electrocution, due to possible damage to the related electrical power cables.

These grinding machines also have the following critical points:

they have considerable overall dimensions and thus require large vehicles to transport them and also large spaces in which to store them;
the require the use of additional accessories with large dimensions (abrasive brushes with different grains, electrical extension cables, etc.) which increase the aforesaid difficulties for their transport and storage.

The document WO 2021/114653 A1 discloses a grinding machine comprising:

a plurality of omnidirectional wheels, operatively associated with respective electric stepper drive motors;
at least one rotary abrasive brush, operatively associated with a respective electric drive motor arranged inside the space delimited by said plurality of wheels;
an electronic control unit, operatively associated with said electric motors,
a plurality of rechargeable electric batteries, adapted to supply the electrical energy required for operation of the components;
a chassis for housing the components, associated with a protective casing thereof,

Unfortunately, this grinding machine is not very flexible and is inconvenient to use as, in order to set the machining operations, it requires a preliminary three-dimensional reading of the area in which it is to operate, complex software to set the working path obtained from the reading and individual physical transfer of all the data of the path to the control unit of the machine.
This setting system does not allow the operator to take action and easily change the operating path of the machine on site.

Presentation of the invention

The object of the invention is to overcome the aforesaid critical points by proposing a grinding machine capable of automating performance of grinding treatments, and more in general of surface finishing, of floors of various types.
The object of the invention is achieved with a grinding machine for floors according to the main independent claim 1.
Further features of the grinding machine for floors of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims.
A grinding machine for floors according to the invention offers the following important advantages:

as it constitutes a robotic machine, in particular of Collaborative Robot (Cobot) type, it does not require direct and constant control by an operator;
as it constitutes a robotic machine, in particular with the capacity for autonomous movement, it is capable of operating along movement paths that can be freely set and memorized in advance or in real time by an operator through a portable electronic device containing software capable of communicating remotely with said machine;
as it is produced with compact dimensions, it is easily transported and also easy to store.

Moreover, a grinding machine for floors according to the invention allows automation of common treatments of:

grinding, bush hammering or polishing floors made of materials such as marble, terrazzo, cement, terracotta or parquet;
micro-grinding, polishing or lapping floors made of materials such as porcelain stoneware;
cleaning or washing floors made of materials of any type.

Brief description of the drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the detailed description set forth below, with the aid of the drawings, which show a preferred embodiment thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

Fig. 1 schematically shows the operating logic of a grinding machine for floors according to the invention;
Figs. 2-3 show, respectively in a partially exploded lateral view and in a top view, the external and internal structural configuration of said grinding machine.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention

With reference to the details of the figures, a grinding machine 1 for floors according to the invention substantially comprises:

a plurality of omnidirectional wheels 2, operatively associated with respective electric stepper drive motors 3;
at least one rotary abrasive brush 4, operatively associated with a respective electric drive motor 5;
an electronic control unit 6, operatively associated with said electric motors 3, 5;
a portable electronic device 7, operatively associated with said electronic control unit 6, provided with software 18 adapted to allow setting, managing and memorizing of movement paths P of the grinding machine 1 by an operator O.

In particular, the electronic control unit 6 cooperates both with the electric stepper motors 3 associated with the omnidirectional wheels 2, to determine the autonomous movement of the grinding machine 1 along a movement path P received by the portable electronic device 7, and with the electric motor 5 associated with the at least one abrasive brush 4, to maintain the operating speed constant, so as to obtain the surface finish of the floor under said grinding machine 1, along said movement path P, set and received remotely through said portable electronic device 7.
With reference to the details of the figures, a grinding machine 1 for floors according to the invention further comprises:

a plurality of rechargeable electric batteries 8, adapted to supply the electrical energy required for operation of all the aforesaid components;
a chassis 9 for housing all the aforesaid components, associated with a protective casing 10 thereof.

The wheels 2 preferably comprise four omnidirectional wheels of Mecanum^® type, arranged two on each side, suitable for precision movements, which comprise as known a plurality of rubberized rollers arranged along the tread with inclinations of 45° with respect both to the planes of said wheels and to their axes of rotation.
Preferably, the grinding machine 1 comprises two rotary abrasive brushes 4, arranged symmetrically side-by-side in orthogonal direction with respect to a main longitudinal axis of said grinding machine, inside the quadrangular space delimited by said four wheels 2, and two respective electric motors 5.
Each rotary abrasive brush 4 comprises:

a substantially truncated-cone shaped body 11, having a larger base and a smaller base;
reversible coupling means 12 to the respective electric drive motor 5, of quick connector or similar type, arranged on the top of said truncated-cone shaped body 11 at the smaller base thereof;
reversible fixing means 13 of abrasive discs 14, of Velcro^® or similar type, arranged on the base of said truncated-cone shaped body 11 at the larger base thereof.

The electronic control unit 6 comprises a microcontroller circuit board, preferably of Arduino H7 Portenta^® type, combined with a circuit board capable of expanding its capacities for interconnection and supplying electrical power to accessory components, preferably of Arduino Max Carrier^® type.
The electronic control unit 6 comprises:

means 15 for joint and/or separate selective activation of the electric stepper motors 3 associated with the omnidirectional wheels 2 and for management of the respective rotation speeds, variable and independent from each other;
means 16 for selective joint activation of the electric motors 5 associated with the rotary abrasive brushes 4 and for maintaining the respective rotation speeds, constant and identical to one another;
means 17 for remote communication with the portable electronic device.

Said control means 15, 16 of the electric motors 3, 5 comprise drivers, controllers or similar components, externally connected to the electronic control unit 6.
Said control means 15 are individually associated with the electric stepper motors 3 for driving the omnidirectional wheels 2, so as to allow movement of the grinding machine 1 with variable speed and direction along the movement path P received from the portable electronic device 7.
Said control means 16 are simultaneously associated with all the electric drive motors 5 of the rotary abrasive brushes 4, and hence shared between them, so as to allow operation of said brushes 4 according to a single predetermined operating speed. The rotation speed of the electric motors 5, and consequently also the operating speed of the brushes 4, is advantageously predetermined to reach and maintain 600 rpm.
Said means 17 for remote communication with the portable electronic device 7 comprise class I or II Bluetooth^® communication modules of Low Energy type, integrated directly in the electronic control unit 6.
The chassis 9 for housing the aforesaid components has, just as the related protective casing 10, a plan of substantially rectangular shape, with preferred dimensions of 21.00 cm x 29.7 cm.
The portable electronic device 7, operatively associated with the electronic control unit 6 of the grinding machine 1, integrates software 18, provided with a graphic interface, comprising:

directional buttons 19, adapted to allow direct setting, during movement of the grinding machine 1, of movement paths P of the grinding machine 1 constituted by sequences of rectilinear and/or oblique forward movements and rotations on the spot to the right or to the left with respect to the direction of forward movement;
control buttons 20, 21, adapted to allow memorizing in succession and/or deletion of each forward movement and/or rotation constituting movement paths P of the grinding machine 1 by the electronic control unit 6, or of complete paths P, through the means 17 for remote communication associated therewith;
control buttons 22, adapted to allow regulation of the movement speed of the grinding machine 1 by the electronic control unit 6, through the means 17 for remote communication associated therewith.

This portable electronic device 7 can advantageously be the smartphone of the operator O onto which the software 18 has been downloaded in the form of App.
Operation of the invention is described below.
An operator O preliminarily prepares the grinding machine 1 by applying an abrasive disc 14 to each brush 4, selected according to the type of finishing treatment to be carried out (grinding, polishing, etc.) and to the type of floor to be subjected to finishing (marble, cement, wood, etc.).
The type of finish obtainable, whether shiny (polished finish) or opaque (satin finish), substantially depends on the level of grinding, to a greater or lesser degree, provided by the abrasive disc 14 applied to the brushes 4 of the grinding machine 1. The type of finish obtainable also depends on the products (waxes, etc.) used in combination with the abrasive disc 14 applied to the brushes 4 of the grinding machine 1. Therefore, the type of finish obtainable is not dependent on the rotation speed of the abrasive disc 14 applied to the brushes 4 of the grinding machine 1, which therefore operate at a constant and predetermined rotation speed.
The operator O then places the grinding machine 1 on the floor to be treated and switches it on, in this way completing the preliminary preparation.
Through software 18 in the form of an App executed by a portable electronic device 7, such as a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, etc., the operator O sets a path P along which the grinding machine 1 will perform the specific finishing treatment on the floor under it. This path can be set to perform, for example, surface finishing treatments on whole floors, on portions thereof, etc.
In fact, the path P is easily settable as the sum of single forward movements or rotations that the grinding machine 1 is made to perform on the site by the operator O using the buttons 19 of the App and memorizes each time using the buttons 20, 21, in this way directly constructing the most suitable path P for the work to be performed.
Creation of the path P thus coincides with and exploits the actual execution of the movement by the machine.
Through said software 18 executed by said portable electronic device 7, the operator O also sets the movement speed of the grinding machine 1 along the predetermined path P, so as to adapt it, for example, to the characteristics of the specific finishing treatment carried out, to the execution times required for the specific finishing treatment carried out, etc.
The information concerning the movement path P and the movement speed of the grinding machine 1 are received by the electronic control unit 6 of said grinding machine 1, through the means 17 for remote communication integrated therein.
After receiving the information concerning the movement path P of the grinding machine 1, the electronic control unit 6 interprets it and activates the electric stepper motors 3 associated with the omnidirectional wheels 2 in a coordinated way, acting on the respective control means 15, so as to determine the movement of said grinding machine 1 according to the sequence of rectilinear and/or oblique forward movements and of rotations to the right or to the left of which said path P is composed.
In particular, in the presence of omnidirectional wheels of Mecanum^® type, the electronic control unit 6:

operates all the wheels 2 of the grinding machine 1 in the same direction, so as to obtain a rectilinear forward or reverse movement;
operates the wheels 2 arranged on one side of the grinding machine 1 in the opposite direction with respect to the wheels 2 arranged on the opposite side thereof, so as to obtain a rotary movement;
operates the wheels 2 arranged on one diagonal of the grinding machine 1 in the opposite direction to the wheels 2 arranged on the opposite diagonal thereof, so as to obtain a lateral or oblique movement.

After receiving the information concerning the movement speed of the grinding machine 1, the electronic control unit 6 regulates the rotation speed of the electric drive motors 3 of the omnidirectional wheels 2, acting on the respective control means 15.
Regardless of the movement speed of the grinding machine 1, the electronic control unit 6 also sets the operating speed of the brushes 4, predetermined at 600 rpm, acting on the control means 16 of the respective electric drive motors 5.
In this way, the grinding machine 1 is capable of moving autonomously on the floor to be treated following the movement path P received and also of autonomously perform the required finishing treatment of said floor along said movement path P, without the need for direct and above all constant interventions by the operator O.
In particular, the software 18 executed by the portable electronic device 7, allows the operator O to:

set and memorize movement paths P for single grinding machines 1 or for groups of grinding machines 1 ;
eliminate and/or reset and memorize movement paths P for single grinding machines 1 or for groups of grinding machines 1 ;
manually manoeuvre single grinding machines 1 remotely in case of abnormal operating conditions, for example in which tight manoeuvring spaces are present, several obstacles are present, etc., regardless of the setting of predefined movement paths P.

Claims

Grinding machine (1) for floors comprising:
- a plurality of omnidirectional wheels (2), operatively associated with respective electric stepper drive motors (3);

- at least one rotary abrasive brush (4), operatively associated with a respective electric drive motor (5) arranged inside the space delimited by said plurality of wheels (2);

- an electronic control unit (6), operatively associated with said electric motors (3, 5);

- a plurality of rechargeable electric batteries (8), adapted to supply the electrical energy required for operation of the components;

- a chassis (9) for housing the components, associated with a protective casing (10) thereof,
wherein the electronic control unit (6) cooperates both with the electric stepper motors (3) associated with the omnidirectional wheels (2), to determine the autonomous movement of the grinding machine (1) along a movement path (P), and with the electric motor (5) associated with the at least one rotary abrasive brush (4), to maintain the operating speed constant, characterized in that said electronic control unit comprises means (17) for remote communication with a portable electronic device (7), operatively associated with said electronic control unit (6), where said grinding machine (1) comprises software (18) adapted to be executed by said electronic device (7) and adapted to allow setting, managing and memorizing of movement paths (P) of the grinding machine (1), so as to obtain the surface finish of the floor under said grinding machine (1), along said movement path (P), set and received remotely through said portable electronic device (7).
Grinding machine (1) for floors according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises four wheels of Mecanum^® type.
Grinding machine (1) for floors according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one rotary abrasive brush (4) comprises:
- a truncated-cone shaped body (11), having a larger base and a smaller base;

- reversible coupling means (12) to the respective electric drive motor (5), arranged on the top of said body (11) at said smaller base;

- reversible fixing means (13) of abrasive discs (14), arranged on the base of said body (11) at the larger base.
Grinding machine (1) for floors according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two rotary abrasive brushes (4), arranged symmetrically side-by-side in orthogonal direction with respect to a main longitudinal axis of said grinding machine and two respective electric motors (5), said grinding machine (1) further comprising two respective electric motors (5), each respectively associated with one of said two brushes (4).
Grinding machine (1) for floors according to claim 2, characterized in that said electronic control unit (6) comprises:
- means (15) for joint and/or separate selective activation of the electric stepper motors (3) associated with the omnidirectional wheels (2) and for management of the respective rotation speeds, variable and independent from each other, adapted to allow movement of the grinding machine (1) with variable speed and direction along the movement path (P) received from the portable electronic device 7;

- means (16) for selective joint activation of the electric motors (5) associated with the rotary abrasive brushes (4) and for maintaining the respective rotation speeds, constant and equivalent to one another, adapted to allow operation of said rotary abrasive brushes (4) according to a single predetermined operating speed.
Grinding machine (1) for floors according to claim 1, characterized in that the software (18) executed by the portable electronic device (7) comprises a graphic interface provided with:
- directional buttons (19), adapted to allow setting of movement paths (P) of the grinding machine (1) constituted by sequences of rectilinear and/or oblique forward movements and rotations on the spot to the right or to the left with respect to the direction of forward movement;

- control buttons (20, 21), adapted to allow memorizing and/or deletion of movement paths (P) of the grinding machine (1) by the electronic control unit (6);

- control buttons (22), adapted to allow regulation of the movement speed of the grinding machine (1).