New Zealand No 335336 International No PCT/
TO BE ENTERED AFTER ACCEPTANCE AND PUBLICATION
Priority dates 21 04 1998,
Complete Specification Filed 21 04 1999
Classification (6) B08B3/04.14, A47L11/20, A47L5/00, A47L13/26
Publication date 28 October 1999 Journal No 1445
NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Title of Invention Cleaning apparatus
Name, address and nationality of applicant(s) as in international application form
AUSSIE RED EQUIPMENT PTY LIMITED, an Australian company of Unit 13, No 6 Gladstone Road, Castle Hill, New South Wales 2154, Australia
No. Date
335336
21 April 1999
NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION CLEANING APPARATUS
We, AUSSIE RED EQUIPMENT PTY LIMITED an Australian company of Unit 13, No. 6 Gladstone Road, Castle Hill, New South Wales 2154, Australia do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a Patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement -
| intellectual property office
-1- (followed by la) OF NZ
2 8 MAY 1999
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to equipment for the cleaning of surfaces, particularly equipment for pressurised water cleaning of liaid suifaces to icmove dirt, debris and other materials from the surface
Background
There is a large variety of cleaning equipment used for domestic and industrial cleaning, ranging from domestic vacuum cleaneis to liquid based cleaning devices Devices for cleaning hard surfaces involve loosening dirt, grease, oil and other matenals by scrubbing or the application of water under high pressure Cleaning liquids such as solvents or detergents may also be utilised The loosened material is usually removed by flushing with water
One disadvantage with existing cleaning and flushing arrangements concerns the effective disposal of the loosened material Flushing such material down open drains may offend anti-pollution regulations because of the contaminate levels in the loosened materials and waste watei There is also a considerable cost in collecting the loosened material and transporting it to a suitable waste disposal or treatment facility There is a commercial need for equipment which, not only effectively cleans the surface, but which also captures the loosened material and provides for proper disposal of such material
There have been attempts at providing clean and capture devices utilising vacuum extraction and flexible sealing skirts The effectiveness of these devices has been limited For example, the disposition ot the vacuum inlet has limited their effectiveness and versatility In many cases, the mobility of these devices is restricted due to the provision of wheels or castors which support the weight ot the device dui ing operation In such devices the flexible sealing skirt usually includes a brush ai rangeinent that only partially supports the weight of the device A further disadvantage of such devices is that they cannot effectively clean undulating hard
IN \LIBww|00138 CJM lam
- ^ - -/ « . [
V "
surfaces because of the air gap beneath the brush skirt which results in the surface being left damp, thus presenting a slip hazard
Summary of the Invention It is an objcct of the piesent invention to piovide an apparatus which substantially overcomes or at least ameliorates one or more of the abovementioned disadvantages, or which at least provides the consumei with a useful choice
In one broad form, the present invention provides a tool for liquid based cleaning of a surface, the tool having a head to generally cover an area of the surface, the head including a geneially downwardly facing channel to which a vacuum is applied to draw an, the liquid and material removed from the area by the tool into the channel,
an outlet communicating with the channel and to which the vacuum is applied, the outlet being provided to direct the air, liquid and mateiial fioni within the channel,
a spray assembly to direct the liquid, under pressure, at the area to aid in loosening the material from the surface, and a fringe member mounted on the head and extending generally downwardly therefrom and generally surrounding the channel and area, the fringe member having formed therein a plurality of apertures through which air passes to enter a space generally enclosed by the head and the fringe member
In anothei broad form, the present invention piovides a system for liquid based cleaning of a surface, the system having a cleaning tool,
a water souice for supplying watei to at least one supply tank,
a first supply tank for supplying water to a source of reduced pressuie, a second supply tank for supplying watei to the cleaning tool,
a first filtering device for filtering water leceived fiom the second supply tank,
a pressure pump for pressurising the water leceived fiom the first filtering device,
IN \LlBww|00138 CJM hm
-3- 3SidJ6
a heating device for heating the water received from the piessure pump, a source of reduccd pressure to recovei liquid applied by the cleaning tool and material loosened from an area being cleaned,
a waste tank assembly comprising a first separator device and a second 5 filtering device, the first separator device for sepaiating solid waste from the liquid and loosened material recovered from the cleaned area, the second filtering device for filtenng liquid fiom the lust separator device, and a waste pump for dischaiging the liquid fiom the second filtenng device into a sewer r^ecfmtpRoPERfy of nz
2 5 aug 1999
mceived
ft
V J
Brief Descuption of the Drawings In 01 dei that the picscnt invention may be moie fully understood and put into 5 practice, preferred embodiments theieof will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Pig 1 is a peispective view of an opeiative poition of a clcan and capture tool,
Fig 2 is an inverted plan view of the tool of Fig 1,
Fig 3 is a veitical cross sectional view of the tool of Fig 1,
Fig 4 is a veitical cross sectional view of the tool of Fig 1 showing the configuration of a sknt and iringe member,
Fig 5 lllustiates the opeiation of the tool of Fig 1,
Fig 6 is a schematic illustration showing the interrelationship between the 15 components of a clean and capture system,
Fig 7 is a perspective view of a separator device in a waste tank assembly,
Fig 8 is a plan view of the separator device of Fig 7, and Fig 9 is a representation similar to Fig 6 but of an alternative embodiment 20 Detailed Description
Figs 1, 2 and 3 show a clean and capture tool 1 which has brackets 2 connected to a handle (not shown) The brackets 2 secure the handle to a generally circular cleaning head 3 The head 3 includes a liquid delivery member 4 and outlet means 5, to which a vacuum is applied 25 As best seen in Fig 3, the head 3 is formed of an outer cover 6 and inner section 7 between which a downwardly facing channel 8 is defined The channel 8 communicates with the outlet means 5 (which may be one or more outlet ports) and acts as a passage foi the transpoitation of loosened dirt and waste material extracted from the surface being cleaned The outer covei 6 is generally circ|i/^FtiESB^^dPjif[6Msiasl
AUG 1999 RECrivm
- jr «j,I I, " t, .
.s h '• "
■w.
to have a base 68 with a depending flange 69. The inner section 7 is also circular in configuration so as to have a base 70 with a depending flange 71. The flanges 69 and 71 bordei the downwardly facing channel 8 The bases 68 and 70 provide a cavity 72 fiom which the outlet means 5 extends
The outer cover 6 and inner section 7 are each substantially inverted U-shaped m major cross-section and aligned relative to one another such that the cross sectional area of the channel 8 is substantially constant The outer cover 6 and inner section 7 are typically made from stainless steel
An annular skirt 9 is mounted to a lower outer edge of the outer cover 6 The skirt 9 supports a downwardly projecting fringe member 10, which contacts the surface being cleaned and provides support for the weight of the tool 1 in operation In this case, the fringe member is an annular brush having a plurality of bristles, but it may be a blade of resilient material
As can be seen in Fig 3, the under surface of the inner section 7 is elevated above the surface to be cleaned Rotatably mounted on the under surface of the inner section 7 via a coupling 11 is a spray assembly 12 which includes a hollow arm 13 with a pencil jet 14 mounted substantially near each end of the arm 13 The aperture of the pencil jet 14 may vary to suit the particular application The arm 13 preferably spins at approximately 2,500 rpm as a result of liquid pressuie and flow applied thereto The coupling 11 is connected through the channel 8 to a liquid delivery member 4 The coupling 11 preferably utilises the VENTURI-Jet high pressure swivel manufactuied by Fluid Controls Inc of Jenks, Oklahoma, USA
As can be seen in Fig 4, the fringe member 10 includes a plurality of giooves or apertures 15 at ranged in its lower peripheiy and which provide uniestucted an passages into the area beneath the outer cover 6 There are typically 12 or 13 in number of the apertures 15 which are preferably located in an arc substantially corresponding with the forward facing region of the fringe member 10 In the case where the fringe member is a brush, the apertures 15 are provided by bristles ot shortei length
IN \LIBww)00133 CJM lam
The apertures 15 provide passages for air to be drawn into the channel 8 as a result of the reduced pressure being applied through the channel 8 The air passing through the apertures 15 provides for positive ventilation as indicated by the arrow 16 (best seen in Fig 3) which acts to direct loosened dirt and materials away from the surface being cleaned into the channel 8
As can be seen in Fig 3, the channel 8 formed between the outer cover 6 and the inner section 7 is unitary The outer cover 6 is mounted to the inner section 7 by a nut and bolt airangement 17 Spacers 18 are provided to ensure a predetermined separation therebetween In this case, the separation is approximately 14 inch or 18 75 mm The mixture of loosened material, air and water is drawn out of the channel 8 through two conduits 19, typically flexible hoses, mounted on the upper surface of the outer cover 6 which are connected to the outlet means 5
As can be seen in Fig 5, in operation the tool 1 is pushed in a forward motion in the direction of the arrow 21 The operator cleans a region of the suiface and walks over the freshly cleaned region to clean another soiled region in front of the freshly cleaned region As the head 3 is moved in a forward direction across the surface to be cleaned, the high speed jets of water or other cleaning liquids delivered through the pencil jets 14 loosen the dirt, grease, oil and the like from the surface The loosened material and liquid is drawn into the channel 8 The apertures 15 in the fringe membei 10 permit positive ventilation and prevent the escape of water and loosened material fiom beneath the head 3 The positive ventilation provided by the apertures 15 also assists the operative mobility and manoeuvrability of the tool 1 across the surface to be cleaned, thereby avoiding the need for wheels, castors and the like
Fig 6 shows a schematic illustration of the interrelationship between the components ot one embodiment of a clean and capture system 30 The system 30 is pieferably trailer mounted for mobihty to enable an opeiator to move and use the apparatus from site to site by towing behind a vehicle
Liquid, typically cold water, from a water source 31, such as a locally positioned faucet or hydrant, flows through inlet conduits 32, typically flexible hoses,
IN \LIBww|00138 CJM hm
A •
into supply tanks 33 and 34 which, in this case, each hold approximately 25 litres of water The supply tanks 33 and 34 include a float valve arrangement to keep the watei within at a predetei mined level In operation, the water level is maintained by water fiom the water source 31
Water from the supply tank 34 flows through a conduit 36, typically a pipe, and is filtered by a filtering device 37 such as a JETWAVE model 2afil manufactured by Interpuinp Group SpA of 42040 S llano Reggio Emilia, Italy Filteied water is pressurised by a pressure pump 38, such as a JETWAVE model ws202 also manufactured by Inteipump Group SpA of Italy The pressure pump 38 supplies approximately 21 lities of water per minute when opeiating at 1450ipm with a maximum piessure of 200 bar The filtering device 37 is configured to meet input requirements of the pressure pump 38 Water pressure is regulated by a pressure regulator valve 39, with bypass water being returned to the supply tank 34 by means of a conduit 40 Pressure regulated water flows through a conduit 41 to a heating device 42 One example of such a heating device is an AALADIN model 635 manufactured by Aaladin Industries Inc of Elk Point, South Dakota, USA , which enables the water to be heated to appioximately 150°F above the ambient input water temperaidre at 2900 psi Extending from the heating device 42 is a conduit 43, typically an insulated flexible hose, configuied to transport heated piessurised water to the tool 1 Operation of the tool 1 is as described above by reference to Figs 1-5
The tool 1 is coupled to a source of air having a l educed pressuie than atmosphere, in this case a power vacuum pump 20 Extending from the tool 1 is a conduit 44, typically a flexible hose, configured to transpoit, under leduced pressuie, loosened material, air and water drawn out of the tool 1 to a waste tank assembly compusing a separator device 45 and a filtering device 47 An air hose 50 is provided to connect the filtenng device 47 to the vacuum pump 20
In this case, the separator device 45 is a cyclonic separator developed by the piesent inventor and is shown in Figs 7 and 8 The separator device 45 includes a sealed cylindrical vessel 60 with a centrally located tube 61 extending veitically to a
IN \UBwvv]00138 CJM lam
sj1 V ? ~ I Is level not exceeding that of an inlet 62 In this case, approximately 20 mm below the inlet 62 Water and loosened matenals drawn out of the tool 1 is drawn into the vessel 60 through the inlet 62, which is preferably angled tangentially to cause the water to swirl inside the vessel 60 under the influence of gravity Solids 63 sink to the bottom of the vessel 60 which causes a vertical displacement of the water which, when it reaches a level above the upper extent of the tube 61, overflows into the tube 61 The overflow is then delivered, via a conduit 46, for filtration by the filtering device 47 typically of the type manufactured by Aussie Red Carpet Equipment of Castle IIill, New South Wales, Australia
Duty waste water is discharged, via a waste pump 48 and conduit 59 into a sewer The solids 63 are drained from the separator device 45 and the filtering device
47 at the completion of cleaning operations and collected in a suitable waste container for disposal, preferably at a land fill waste facility
In this case, the waste pump 48 is a REGENT model 102ibsn manufactured by Regent Pumps of Dingley, Victoria which is of centrifugal configuiation with a discharge rate of approximately 134 litres per minute The filtering device 47 is positioned above the vacuum pump 20 and is also preferably elevated above the waste pump 48 to permit gravity feed The filtenng device 47 is connected to the waste pump
48 by a conduit 49 In this case, the conduit 49 is a wire reinforced hose Dirty waste water is discharged into the sewei via a PVC lay flat hose 58 connected to a 3/4" (18 75 mm) ngid walled hose 59 Suction from the vacuum pump 20 causes the PVC lay flat hose 58 to be flattened When the waste pump 48 is running at a speed within a range ol approximately 2800 - 3300ipm, pressure from the waste pump 48 eventually exceeds the i educed pressure exerted by the vacuum pump 20, causing the PVC lay flat hose 58 to be opened and pei nutting discharge of the dirty waste watei into the sewer via the rigid walled hose 59
The vacuum pump 20 is typically a centrifugal pump wheie an impeller rotates water within a cylinder An example of such a pump is the type manufactured under the WATERING tiade mark by Flowmax International of Ellerslie, Auckland, New
IN \L1Bww|00138 CJM hrn
Zealand. The vacuum pump 20 requires a constant water supply. In this case, approximately 4 5 6 5 litres per minute is lequned and supplied from the supply tank 33 via a conduit 51 The vacuum pressure created is approximately 15 inches of meicury Watei supplied to the vacuum pump 20 is compressed and heat is generated The vacuum pump 20 discharges that heated water
Extending fiom the vacuum pump 20 is a conduit 52, configured to transport air and vatei dischaiged from the vacuum pump 20 to the supply tank 34, The supply tank 34 also contains a separator device 35, typically utilising a baffle arrangement, which 1 cpaiat^s the discharged air and water Extending fiom the separator outlet ol the supply tank 34 is a conduit 53, typically a pipe, configured to tianspoit dischaiged an into the atmosphere
A pnnie mover 54, for example, a diesel motor model 41elpw01 manufactured by Isuzu of Japan, and water cooled by a radiator 55 is provided The prime movei 54 pieferably directly drives the vacuum pump 20 via a shaft 56 The vacuum pump 20 preferably being connected to the pressure pump 38 by a pulley and belt arrangement 57
Fig 9 shows a schematic illustration of another embodiment of a clean and uiptuie system 100 in which like components with the arrangement of Fig 6 have been allocated the same reference number and to which the corresponding description applies
In order to improve filtration and waste water discharge, a water an separatoi device 65 is provided In this case the separator device 65 is of the type manufactured undei the FLYNTECH trade mark by Ideal Milking Machines of 483 Mangitikei Stieet, Palmuston Noith, New Zealand
In this embodiment, saturated air and watei lrom the vacuum pump 20 is discharged via a conduit 64 to the separator device 65 which causes the water to tall to the bottom of the sepaiator device 65 to be then drawn into a conduit 66 before being re tinned, via conduit 46, to the filtration device 47 befoie eventual discharge to the sewer through the waste pump 48 Saturated air separated from the water by the
[N \LIBwvw|00138 CJM Ian
X '
V' ^
separator dcvice 65 is allowed to escape to atmosphere via a conduit 67, typically a pipe The inclusion of the separator device 65 is advantageous because it permits fine particulate (non-buoyant) matter such as sand and silt, as well as buoyant matter such as dislodged moss and other vegetable matter, to be discharged Otherwise, as with the embodiment of Fig 6, in the absence of regular maintenance and cleaning of the filtiation device 47, this mattei tends to accumulate in excess levels and may be diawn into the air hose 50 and returned, via conduit 52, to the supply tank 34 and through the pressuie pump 38 This matter may cause wearing of the pressure regulator valve 39
It can also be seen that, in the embodiment of Fig 9, air and water is no longei letuined to supply tank 34 from the vacuum pump 20 and as such the water air sepatator device 35 is omitted from the supply tank 34
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the prime movei 54 is, for example, a 15 kilowatt 4 pole electric motor of the type manufactured by CMG Electric Motors of 19 Corporate Ave, Rowville, Victoria, Australia The prime mover 54 prefeiably directly drives the vacuum pump 20 via the shaft 56 The vacuum pump 20 is preferably connected to the pressure pump 38 by a direct coupling
The foregoing describes only preferred embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention
For example, rather than being a mobile unit, either clean and capture system 30 or 100 may be permanently installed and fitted at a site which requires regular cleaning, foi example, a shopping centre or factory
Wheels, preferably letractable, may be provided on the brackets 2 The wheels facilitate moving the tool 1 to the site to be cleaned, but would be retiacted when the tool 1 is in operation
IN \LIBwwl00138 CJM lam