US2874396A - Brushing and scrubbing machine - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 24, 1959 A. H. SMITH 2,874,396

BRUSHING AND SCRUBBING MACHINE Filed July 19, 1952 b M 2 iii .X aro n 76 57726570 396 BRUSHING AND soRUBBINo Aaron IhSmith, Lynn, Mass assignor, to Signal Manug i y n M s a rpor t o nt Lassac use s Application July 19,1952, Serial Nu. 299,789

1 Claim. (or. 15-42 o This invention relates to aPParatusfor brushing and scrubbing and more especially to improved apparatus of the foregoing kind for operating on door coverings such as rugs to remove the dirt embedded in the pile and thus to restore it to its natural luster.

Recently, certain cleaning compounds have been developedwhich if scrubbed into the pile of a rug and then brushed out serve to remove the embedded dirt and hence to restore the rug to its original brilliance. The use of such material both inliquid and powder form has up until now been effected manually, that is a hand brush was employed to scrub the compound into' the pile and to remove it therefrom. This is a tiresome, slow-"and uneconomical process. Resort was therefore made to power driven brushes end a conventional "wax'applying and polishing machine was tried. Such machines have one or more motor driven bru'shes mounted'f0r rotation about vertieal axes on a supporting frame which itself has two or, more wheels to permit -free'm'o'v'eine'n't over the surface to be operated on. The operating surfaces ofthe brushes are pressed against the surface being operat d u on, by h h of, th c i a i some instances by spring pressure. Because of the rapid "rotation of the brushes the pressure of the brushes you .the pile andthe high frictional resistance to rotation produced by the pile such machines behaved badly, that is they dug into the pile, jumped and gyrated-over its Surface and were generally unmanageable in addition to not operating effectively-to clean the carpet.

T he principal object of thisv invention 'is to modify the construction and operation ofa single or double brush, power operated polishing machine such as referred to above in such manner asfto' adapt; it to scr'ubbing a cleaning compound into the pile surfaee of arug'and removing it' therefrom along with the extraneous dirt without injuring the. rug or causing undue wear of the pile. A further object is to provide'a machine of the foregoing kind which will be manageable in u'se-an'd will not tend to run away, that is to getout hand and 'gyra'te into the wall and/orfurniture nor dig into the surface of the pile so as to shear the pile from its base or otherwise injure, damage or mar the surface of the rug. A further object of the invention is to provide a machine in which uniform working pressure is automatically efiec'tedi A still further object is to provide a special brush which may be substituted for the conventional brush, easily and without special tools or alternately a special coupling for attaching a conventional brush in such a 'manner as toprovide the same advantages.

In accordance with the foregolfig, the machine which for a the purpose ofillustrating the inventionwill be described as equipped with double brushes is raised at a predetermined distance from the floor by a dolly consisting of auxiliary wheels mounted on a frame'which in turn is fastened'to the frameof the machine so that the; we ght of the machine is borne by the dolly andso that the working-surfaces of the brushes do not press deepl y into the pile, preferably being held to a penetration of about 2,874,396 1 atented Eeb- 24, 1.9.5.9

2 three-eighths of'an inch. In addition to being supported a predetermined distance above the base the brushes are mounted on their drive shafts so that they are free'to move vertically, that is from their lowermost point. of three-eighths inch penetration to a point clear of the upper surface of the rug, their vertical movement being approximately one-half inch. This free floating of the brushes maintains a uniform working pressure, on the pile regardless .of its height thus preventing the bristles from digging into the surface of the pileand is effected by couplings consisting of concentrically arranged elements made fast respectively to the brush shaft and. to the brush. The elements are movable relative to each other axially that is, parallel to the axisof the shaft but, are prevented from rotation relative to each other by interengagement of parts carried thereby. The brush block contains the elements, that, is the block has a central hole of large enough diameter to receive and contain wholly within it the aforesaid concentrically arranged elements.

The invention will now be described in greater detail} with reference tofthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view illustrating a two-brush; machine supported on a dolly;

Fig. 2 is a diametrical vertical section through a brush block showing the preferred form of the coupling con-v tained within the brush block; and

,Fig. 3 is a diametrical vertical section for abrush block showing an alternative construction of the preferred form.

Referring to the drawinggfig. 1 shows; a two-brush machine 10 which consists of a housing 12 'on which there is mounted am otor M and brushes 141-14. Suitable gearing and shafts, not shown. are contained within the housing 12 and areldrivenby the motor M to effect rotation of the b ru shes 1'4;14 in, Opposite, directions. The o n ha at Opp s e end t nni pins 16.-1 on y one of which is shown on which are jour'naled a handle, y wh hema in s. mo ed bo jin us A two brush machine of thekind briefily outline above. makes a very effective waxing and polishing machine for floors and floor coverings which have a smooth surface and for further and more detailed description thereof reference may be had to Patent No. 2,748,408.

Recently, cleaning compounds have been developed in both liquid and powde form which if worked into the surface of a rug so as to penetrate the pile and then brushed out will remove the extraneous matterembedded at the base of the pile and restore the rug to its original brilliancy. Such compounds have heretofore been worked in manually, that is with the use of a brush and caused alternately to jump over the surface and thendig into it in a very unsatisfactory and unmanageable way. This condition was aggravated bythicker and deeper piles. in'accor'dance with the present invention the machine is supported on an auxiliary carriage or dolly so that the weight of the machine is borne by the carriage rather. than by the operating surfaces of the brushes. The car-H riage is designed to support the brushes with their operatingor working surfaces at a predetermined distance abovethe base of the :rug, that is'so that: the :zb'rusht.

To eliminate the foregoing difficulties and 3 bristles are limited in their penetration into the pile. Since the brushes cannot dig into the pile the frictional engagement of the rotating surfaces of the brushes with the pile will be uniform and thus anytendency' alternately to jump and then dig into the surface of the pile will be eliminated.

The supporting dolly as shown in Fig. 1 consists of a forwardly and rearwardly extending stiff strap 20, for example a strip of sheet metal which is fastened to the underside of the housing 12 so as to lie between the brushes. A horizontal transversely extending bar 22 is fastened to the rear end of the strap 20, for example by welding and has at its opposite ends axles 24 on which are mounted wheels 26. The forward end of the strap 20 is bent upwardly as at 28 and has fastened to its lower side a strap 30, the free end of which is spaced from the part 28 and between these spaced end portions there is mounted a bearing sleeve 32. A caster 34 having a pivot pin 36 fast thereto is thrust through the bearing 32 and made rotatably secure therein by suitable means thus pivotally to support the forward end of the carriage. As thus constructed the operator may by pushing on the handle 18 move the machine over the surface of the rug uniformly. While a three-wheeled dolly is here illustrated it is within the scope of the invention to use a four-wheeled dolly if desired, that is the caster may be replaced by a second bar corresponding to the bar 22 and a pair of wheels corresponding to the wheels 24. The supporting dolly whether of the three-wheeled type or of the four-wheeled construction will support the machine so that brushes are held at a predetermined distance above the base of the rug and hence it is impossible for them to dig into the pile. Thus, use of the dolly partially solves the problem of making. the machine useful for cleaning rugs. A certain freedom of movement of the brushes on their shafts vertically with respect to the surface of the rug, is also desirable automatically to maintain a uniform pressure on the pile regardless of its depth. This is attained by permitting the brushes to rise and fall to conform to the height of the pile as they operate on the surface so as to maintain the same weight or working pressure at all times. The brushes are limited in their vertical movement to a lowermost position controlled by the dolly and movable from that position through about one-half inch vertically on their shafts. Only the weight. of the brushes operate on the pile, no spring pressure being employed. As thus mounted their action is uniform and elfective without being harsh thereby eliminating wear. To this end as illustrated in Fig. 2, each brush is provided with a special coupling for making it fast to its drive shaft so that it has a limited amount of vertical movement preferably approximately one-half inch. Each brush 14 consists of a rigid brush block 38 made of wood or some equivalent material which has a central circular opening 40 and at one side an annular body of bristles 42 concentric with the circular opening. Arranged within the circular opening 40 is a coupling comprised of concentrically arranged elements 43 and 44 which are free to move relative to each other along an axis coinciding with their centers and with the center of the hole 40 which is the axis of rotation of the brush with its drive shaft. The concentric elements have cylindrical, substantially vertically arranged walls 46 and 48. The wall 48 is of somewhat smaller diameter than the wall 46 and telescopes within it. Each of the elements has extending from the lower end of its cylindrical wall an annular flange 50, 52 respectively, the

flanges being horizontal and vertically spaced with respect to each other. The annular flange 50 has in it one or more vertically arranged holes 54 and the annular flange 52 has fast to it a corresponding number of pins 56 which extend upwardly through the holes 54 thus locking the elements togetherso that rotation imparted to one will be transmitted to the other without inhibiting relative movement of the elements along their axis of rotation. At the outer extremity of the annular flange 50 there is a cylindrical wall 58 concentric with the wall 46, of such diameter as to fit closely against the inside surface of the hole 40. At the upper end of the wall 58 there is a second annular flange 60 which overlies and has contact with the block 38, marginally of the opening 40. The element 43 is made fast to the block 38 by screws 62 passed through the flange 60 and screwed into the wood of the block. The element 44 has at the upper end of its wall 48 an inwardly directed flange 64 which provides a circular opening 66 within which is seated a hub 68 having a sleeve-like body 70 and an attaching flange 72 at one end. The attaching flange 72 is made fast to the flange 64 by one or more screws 74 and the hub has in it a central opening 75 concentric with the axis of the center of the brush for reception of the drive shaft S. Preferably, the drive shaft and the hole 75 are multisided so that when the hub is engaged with the shaft it will be non-rotatably locked thereon for rotation with the shaft although it is to be understood that a cylindrical hole and shaft could be employed with a spline. To hold the brush on the shaft that is to prevent it from dropping off at the lower end, a latch 78 is pivotally fastened to the flange 52 by a rivet 80, the latch having a thumb tab 82 by which it may be grasped and moved to bring an edge of it which is cut away into engagement with an annular groove in the lower end of the shaft.

As thus constructed it is clear that the elements 43 and 44 may move relative to each other axially through a distance a as represented on Fig. 1 which is approximately one-half inch so that as the brush is operating on the rug it floats, adjusting itself to a height which corresponds with its weight and the resistance of the pile to penetration. Vertical movement of the brush is limited at its lowermost point by contact of the flange 50 with the flange 52 and at its upward point by contact of the upper edge 76 of the wall 46 with the underside of the flange 72.

An alternative constructed coupling for effecting the same results is illustrated in Fig. 3. As there illustrated the brush consists of a brush block 38 having a central hole 40 and an annular body of bristles 42. The coupling which is contained Within the central hole 40 comprises concentrically arranged elements and 92, each of which has a cylindrical wall 94 and 96 respectively, the wall 94 being of such diameter as to slidably fit within the wall 96. Each element has formed at the lower end of its wall a horizontal annular flange 98 and 100 respectively, the flanges being so located that they are vertically spaced and parallel. The annular flange 98 has in it one or more vertical openings 102 and the flange 100 has fast thereto a corresponding number of pins 104, the upper ends of which project through the openings 102. The pins 104 may have at their upper ends grooves or holes for receiving locking rings or pins (not shown) for a purpose which will appear hereinafter. As thus constructed the elements 90 and 92 are compelled to rotate in unison upon imparting rotational movement to one of them but may move relative to each other along an axis coinciding with the center of rotation of the brush. The wall 96 of the element 92 is of such diameter as to fit against the inside wall of the hole 40 and has at its upper end an outwardly extending annular flange 106 for contact with the surface of the brush block marginally of the hole 40. The element 92 is made fast to the brush block by one or more screws 108, inserted through the flange 106 into the body of the block. The element 90 has at the inner extremity of its flange 98 an upstanding cylindrical wall 110 from the upper extremity of which projects inwardly an annular flange 112 thereby providing a circular opening 114 and within this opening there is seated a hub germane 115. The hub 115 has a body 116 and a flange 118 at one end which overlies the annular flange 112 and is made fast thereto by screws 120. A central hole 122 is formed in the body of the hub of such shape as to receive the drive shaft S and preferably is multisided as is the drive shaft so as to avoid the use of a spline or key. A latch such as shown in Fig. 1 may be attached to the lower end of the hub so as to hold the brush on the end of the shaft and since it would be identical with that shown in Fig. 1 is not described herein again with reference to the modified brush.

As thus constructed the brush will rotate with the drive shaft and at the same time will be permitted to float vertically on the drive shaft through a distance I: of approximately one-half inch. The uppermost movement of the brush is limited by contact of the flange 100 with the flange 98 and the lowermost movement is limited by engagement of the locking ring or pin at the upper end of the pins 104 with the flange 98.

While as illustrated in Fig. l the machine is supported by an auxiliary carriage or dolly so as to hold the operating surfaces of the brushes at a predetermined distance from the surface to be operated upon and While this is the most convenient way of adapting a waxing machine to the foregoing use, it is to be understood that any suitable means may be employed for supporting the ordinary waxing machine with its brushes at a fixed distance above the surface to be operated upon. For example, it is contemplated to be within the scope of the present invention that instead of using an auxiliary carriage or dolly, the frame of the waxing machine itself may have mounted thereon wheels for supporting it at three or more points and means for adjusting the wheels on the frame so as to raise or lower the latter with respect to the surface to be operated upon. This may effectively be accomplished by mounting the wheels on bearings, the latter being made fast to the frame so as to be vertically adjustable thereon and so as to be fixed at any predetermined adjustment thus to hold the frame and hence the brushes at a predetermined distance above the surface to be operated upon.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is forthe purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A multi-purpose machine for polishing and scrubbing floor coverings without and with pile surfaces, comprising the combination with a machine mounting a motor, and

a pair of vertically disposed, spaced parallel shafts for rotation thereby, a pair of brushes mounted on the shafts, each of said brushes containing a centrally located hole through which one of said shafts extends, and a coupling situated in each of said holes about the corresponding shaft, removably attaching the brush to the shaft for unbiased freedom of movement vertically and for rotation with the shaft about the vertical axis of the shaft, each coupling comprising a pair of telescoping, concentrically arranged sleeves, circular flanges extending radially from the sleeves in vertically spaced, parallel relation, means non-rotatably fastening one of the sleeves to the brush and the other to the shaft, one of said flanges containing a hole disposed eccentrically of the shaft axis, a driving pin fast to the other of said flanges with its axis parallel to the shaft and its opposite end engaged within the hole in said one flange, so that rotation of the sleeve fast to the shaft effects rotation of the sleeve fast to the brush without interfering with axial movement of the brush on the shaft, each coupling including stop means limiting separation of the sleeves axially to a predetermined amount, and a latch carried by the other of the sleeves engageable with the shaft to retain the brush at the lower end thereof and disengageable from the shaft to permit removal of the brush; of an auxiliary supporting frame upon which the machine is demountably supported with the brushes suspended above the floor when the latter are at their lowermost vertical position, and wheels on the auxiliary frame supporting the latter for movement and hence for movement of the machine relative to the floor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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