US2039903A - Floor machine - Google Patents

Description

May 5, 1936. F* C. H|LD 2,039,903

FLOOR MACHINE Filed July 30, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1 zz MAM@ @//eWz/f'f May 5, '1935 F. c. HILD l 2,039,903

FLOOR MACHINE Filed July 30, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 5, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

My invention relates to door machines and has for its object improvements which will adapt a well known form of floor machine to operate in a superior manner for the washing of carpets and rugs while they are on the floor where they are intended to remain.

A machine of this kind usually has a circular v frame on the top of which is carried an electric motor, and from the side of which there is a handie corresponding to the handle of a carpet sweeper. Beneath the frame is an annular brush of substantially the same diameter as the frame, and one which is removably connected to a vertical axle driven by the motor.

There are two types of these machines. In one type, the entire weight of the machine rests upon the brush and is eiective as pressure in scrubbing, waxing and polishing iioors. This form of machine is self-propelled over the iioor, and the directicn of movement is controlled by manipulating the handle. The other type of floor machine rests partly on Wheels journaled in the frame, and is propelled over the floor by the operator. While not so eiiicient in scrubbing and polishing, it is preferred by persons not skillful in operatingthe self-propelled machine.

One object to be attained in adapting a floor machine to the washing of carpets, rugs and other fabrics is to regulate the pressure of the brush on the surface being washed so as not to injure it. This is accomplished by providing wheel journals which are adjustable on the frame of the machine. By adjusting the position of the journals, the pressure on the surface being washed is regulated, and by moving the wheels out of operative position, the machine is of the rst type described.

In washing fabrics in situ, the practice has been to pour a soap solution, or other liquid cleanser, on the face of the fabric, and then run the brush over it. This causes an initial unequal distribution of liquid which is wasteful in operation and Wets a heavy rug thru to the floor. When a rug or carpet is thus saturated with the cleansing liquid, it requires much time for it to dry, and that is objectionable because of keeping occupants out of the room. I overcome that objection by delivering the solution uniformly to the bristles of the brush, down which it iiows to the surface of the fabric. As grease and dirt in a rug are confined principally to the upper surface, it is only necessary to use enough solution to penetrate about half Way thru. A second object of my invention is to provide means for conveying the cleansing liquid t`o the fabric face by way of the bristles of the brush as distinguished from pouring it mst on the fabric and afterwards having it engaged by the brush.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine complete;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan of the brush used in washing; and l Fig. 5 is a still more enlarged section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and illustrating the course of the cleansing fluid used in washing.

In the said drawings, the frame I0 has a motor I I mounted thereon. 'I'he motor has a horizontal 15 shaft which is connected thru gears In the housing I2 and frame I 0 with a vertical shaft located under the motor.

Secured to one side of the frame I0 is a handle I4, on which is a liquid holding reservoir or tank I5 having a discharge pipe I6. Conveniently supported on the handle I4 is a rod I'I by which the operator may control the flow of liquid from the tank I5.

So far, the description applies to machines Well known on the market as being used for washing rugs and carpets on the floor. In those machines, the discharge from the pipe I6 is directly to the floor at about the place where the wheels 33 are shown in Fig. 1. In the pres- 30 ent construction, the discharge from pipe I6 ls thru a pipe or hose I8 to a nipple I9 (Fig. 5) supported in the frame and discharging on the top of the brush over its innermost ring of bristles. 35

'Ihe bristles of the-brush are secured in a metal back instead of the ordinary wooden one so that it will notbe affected by the liquid discharged thereon, said back being provided with a huh 25, whereby it may be attached to the 40 usual shaft (not shown) driven by the motor II. The bristles 2| are secured in annular rows as is customary with other brushes. 'Ihe upper face of the back 20 has recesses or grooves 22 between the rows of bristles, and in these grooves are holes 23 for the passage of liquid discharged from the nipple I9. The brush is attached to and released from the driving spindle by a bayonet lock 34 which is the same as the bayonet lock used in connecting and removing the ordinary brush.

The brush is driven at from to 200 revolutions per minute according to size or special requirements. The liquid which is discharged from the stationary nipple I9 falls on the back 65 of the revolving brush and is thrown by centrifugal force into the nearest groove 22. From here, part of the liquid passes down thru the holes 23 and engages the bristles, as indicated by the short arrows, and part of it is thrown by centrifugal force over the bridge 2l to the next outer groove or channel 22. Here the operation is repeated. Part of the liquid passes down thru holes 23, and part is thrown over to the third channel. At the outer edge of the back 20 is an annular lip 25 high enough to prevent liquid being thrown out over the floor beyond the brush instead of by way of the bristles.

The discharge of liquid to and from the nipple I9 is controlled manually by the operator thru the rod I1. The movement of the liquid after leaving the nipple is determined partly by the speed of rotation, and by the depth of the channels and the sizes of the holes, and partly by the spacing of the holes in the channels. These are all variables which are determined with respect to each other. In this connection it may be noted that the liquid which falls into a channel between the holes therein is thrown over into the next channel.

Mounted in the frame I0 is a rotatable shaft 2B having teeth 21 cut at the central portion thereof. Supported to reciprocate in a bracket 28 is a block 29 having corresponding teeth cut in a concave face thereof, and a screw 30 operates to move the teeth of block 29 to and from contact with the teeth 21 on shaft 26. This is a device for securing the shaft 26 rmly at any one of a large number of positions which differ from each other by small adjustments.

Secured to the ends of shaft 26 are arms 3l which carry pins 32 which form journals for wheels 33. These wheels may rest on the floor as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, or they may be raised therefrom as shown in dotted lines.

The bristles of a brush are yielding and not rigid things, and the load on the top of the brush is rather heavy. The object to be operated upon by a brush may vary from a solid floor to a fabric which would be damaged by a load which was less than one-half of the load appropriate for a solid floor. Also, a brush which has been used for some time is as good as it was before, but its bristles are shorter as the result of wear. It will be evident that the parts from 2B to 33 furnish means for adjusting for wear on the bristles, and also for regulating the pressure of the brush upon the object which it engages. The adjustment involved is by fine degrees, and is one which cannot be displaced by vibrations due to high speed in running a brush over a floor.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for cleaning the pile of a carpet, a circular brush back provided with a central hub adapted to engage an operating shaft, and having a plurality of rows of openings therein, bristles depending from the lower face of said brush back and so located with respect to said openings that cleansing solution deposited upon the upper face of said back will ow through the openings to the upper portions of approximately all of the bristles, and will travel downwardly thereover to the area to be cleaned; and means on the top face of said back and contiguous to said openings for effecting approximately uniform distribution of said cleansing solution to all of said openings under the iniiuence of movements imparted to the brush during cleaning operations.

2. In a machine for cleaning the pile of a carpet, a circular foraminous brush back adapted to be rotatively mounted in said machine, bristles depending from the lower face of said back and so arranged with respect to the openings that cleansing fluid deposited upon the upper surface of said back will flow downwardly through the openings to the upper portions of approximately al1 of the bristles and will travel downwardly thereover to the area to be cleaned, and bridges on the top face of said brush back located contiguously to said openings for effecting approximately uniform distribution of the deposited cleansing fluid to all of the openings under the influence of centrifugal force developed by said rotation.

3. In a floor machine of the character described, a brush back, bristles secured to the back and projecting from one face thereof in a manner to provide a series of concentric annular brushes, the other face of said back having concentric annular recesses therein, the bottom walls of said recesses having perforations extended through the back to the brush surface thereof at positions so located as to direct liquid flowing into said channels through said perforations to the upper parts of said bristles.

4. In a floor machine vof the character described, a brush back having top surface provided with a plurality of concentric bridge portions separated by concentric open-topped channels having perforations in their bottom walls, and bristles secured to the lower face of said head so as to provide a plurality of concentric annular brushes, the channels in the top face of said back being so positioned that the perforations of each channel are located between two annular brushes, said perforations being so located as to direct liquid from the recesses to the upper parts of the bristles.

5. In a machine of the character described, a brush back having a plurality of annular bridge portions separated by annular opentoppedchannels having perforations therein and bristles secured to the back and projecting from the lower face thereof, said bristles being arranged in the form of concentric annular brushes coinciding with the respective bridge portions, so that each of said channels is located between two annular rows of bristles, the channels and the perforations therein being to located as to direct flowable liquid from said channels to the upper parts of the bristles, and an annular rib arranged at the periphery of the brush and extended above the plane of said bridge portions.

FRED C. HILD.

eil

Images