US2913855A

US2913855A - Floor surfacing machine

Info

Publication number: US2913855A
Application number: US713368A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank P Vinella
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-02-05
Filing date: 1958-02-05
Publication date: 1959-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 1976-11-24

Description

Nov. 24, 1959 Filed Feb. 5, [1958 F. P. VINELLA FLOOR SURFACING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IOI IOO

FIG; 6

INVENTOR. FRANK P. VINELLA ATTORNEY Nov. 24, 1959 F. P. VINELLA 2,913,855

FLOOR SURFACING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5. 195a v s Sheets-Sheet 2 N N g 3 o N u. P *3 r (9 q- (0 a N Ir m 7 W, 1mm

INVENTOR. FRANK P. VINELLA ATTORNEY Nov. 24, 1959 F. P. VINELLA 2,913,855

FLOOR SURFACING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet :s

INVENTOR. FRANK P. VINELLA ym/47gb ATTORNEY United StatesPatertt O 2,913,855- I I FLOOR SURFACING FrankP. Vinel la; Minneapolis, Minn. ApplicationFebruary 5, 1958, Serial No. 713,368, 8 Claims. c1. 51-477 invention relates to an improvementin amachine for surfacing floors employinggrinding members and more particularly to a surfacing machine having means for indicating when-the machine is not level due to wear of the grinding members, and means for adjustment of the attitude of the machine to compensate for grinder wear, and restoring themachine to a working level relative to the grinding members. i

It is an object of my invention to provide a device which allows longer life to the grindingmembers' of a flonr suffacing' machine and produce more Continuous, correct, and effective grinding It is: also. an object 'of my, invention to provide a device whichaccurately indicates by visual means when'the' grinding' mernbers of the machine are worn a predetermined amount suflicient to warrant a re-levelling of the machine.' It is a further object to provide means which allow easy, positive and fine levelling adjustment of the attitude of the machine. I I shall not here attempt to set forth and indicate all the various objects and advantages incident to my inventioh, but other objects and advantages will be referred to n or else will become apparent from that which follows.

"ice

The wheels 22 are mounted on the axle 23 supported in the frame portion 24 depending from the underside of the wheel carriage arm 17. The handle control 25 is composed of the two

arms

26 and 27 secured at the lower ends to the frame 10 by means of the bolts-28 and also includes the cross arm 29 which is gripped by the operator. Mounted on the upper ends of the arms 26v and' 27 is' the switch control box 30 into which is plugged an electric power line. The switch control box 30 is operated by the small handle 31 for operation of the motor of the machine. I I I I The numeral 32 designates a support bar which is secured to the handlev component arms: 26 and 27 and on which the cylinder 33 is mounted. Mounted in the cylinder 33' is the piston 34 to which the lower end of the rod 35 is rotatably connected. The rod 35 is threadedly engaged through the plug 36 whichcloses ofi the top ofj the cylinder 33. Secured to the top end of the rod735 is the hand wheel 37. Mounted on the lower end of the cylinder 33 is the plug 38 and extending therethrough is the orifice 39. Positive sealing contact of. the

I The invention will. appear more clearly. from the follbwing description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,rshowing by way of example a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea wherein like numerals refer to like partsthroughouh I II In the drawings forming partof this application: II Fig. l is a longitudinal elevational view of a floor surfacing machine showing my invention which is partly in section. i I I N I I Fig. 2 is a top plan. view of the machine shown in Fig. l. I II I. Fig. 3 is a section through the indicator and control mechanism with only a portion of the machine being shown. I V I II II I Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of the wheel carriage takenon the line 44 of Fig. l. I I I I Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of another modification of the visual warning system. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the visual warning system of Fig. 5. II II I Referring to the drawingsin detail, my floor surfacing machine A includes a main frame 10 on which is mounted the motor support 11. Mounted on the support 11 is the motor housing 12 which covers a motor (not shown). Secured to the frame 10 is the splash guard 13 which substantially covers twin grinding units, only one of the grinding units 14 being shown. The numeral 15 indicates the grinding stones mounted on each of the units 14, which are driven by means of helical drive (not shown) through. a flexible coupling 16.

I further provide the flat arm or wheel carriage which is pivotally mounted on the rear of the frame 10 by means of the pin 18. Extending from the rear of. the

flat arm 17 1s I the extension, 19 formed with the open slot 20 in which is mounted the lower end of the bolt 21.

piston 34 with the inner wall of the cylinder 33 is made by means of the O-ring 40 mounted inthe annular recess 41 formed in the piston. In addition, the plug 38 is sealed in the cylinder 33 by means of the O-ring42 placed in the annular recess 43 formed in the plug 38 The plugs 36- and 38 are maintained in position in the cylinder 33 by means of the

circular spring clips

44 and 45 respectively. Maintained in the chamber formed between the piston 34 and the plug 38 is the fluid 45'.

The orifice 39 is connected with the line 46 which leads to and is connected with the cap 47 mounted on thestationary head 48. The plug or stationary head 48 is maintained in the cylinder 49 by means of the spring rings 50, and a seal is made between the head 48 and the inner wall of the cylinder 49 by means of the O-ring 51 mounted in the annular recess 52. Mounted in the stationary head 48 is the short plug 53 haying a passage. way 54 connecting with the hollow cap 47. Sealing'contact between the plug 53 and the head 48 is made by the O-ring 53. The passageway 54 connects with the recess 55 formed. in the upper end of the bolt 21, and leading from the recess 55 to the inside of the cylinder 49 at. a point above the ram 56 is the orifice 57. I I

The ram 56 is slidably mounted on the bolt 21, and sealing contact with the bolt is made by the O-

r'ing's

58 and 59. Sealing contact is made between the outer surface of the ram 56 and the inner surface of the cylinder 49 by means of the O-

rings

60 and 61. The lower end 62 of the ram 56 is formed somewhat conical, and the same is positioned in a similar conical seat 63 formed in the raised frame portion 64, part of the frame 10. Ex tending through the frame 10 and the raised portion 64 is the hole 65 through which the bolt 21 extends. The bolt 21 has mounted on the lower end thereof the conical washer 66 allowing moving contact with the under" side of the extension portion 19 of the arm 17.

Further provided are the coil springs 17' and 17" positioned in recesses 18' and 18" respectively which. are formed in the upper surface of the arm 17. The upper ends of the springs 17' and 17" bear against the underside of the frame 10 and tend to urge the arm 17 in a downward direction against the restraining action of the bolt 21 connection.

, Secured to the frame 10 adjacent the raised portion 64 is the cylindrical mount 68, and mounted on the top of the mount 68 is the cylindrical dome 69 which forms the chamber 69'. The lower end of the dome 69 is mounted in a recess formed on the top of the mount 68 and sealing engagement is made by means of the O-ring 7,0. Access to the interior of the dome 69 is made through an opening in the top thereof closed off by means of the screw-plug 71. The mount 68 has formed therein the vertical restricted orifice 72 which leads from the chamber 69 to the passageway 73 which in turn connects with the conduit 74. The chamber 69' is directly over the center line of the Wheels, therefore unless the hydraulic unit setting is changed, the level in chamber 69 will remain constant. The conduit 74 connects with the cylindrical mount 75 which has formed therein the restricted orifice 76 connecting with the vertical passageway 76 terminating in the reservoir 77 formed in the upper end of the mount 75. The orifice 76' is restricted to prevent surging of the liquid electrical conductor therein such as mercury. Formed integral with the mount 75 is a primary reservoir 77 for retaining a body of electricalconductor fluid such as mercury as indicated by the reference character X. A secondary reservoir 75 surround the primary reservoir 77. Formed within the mount 75 is a vertically disposed surge channel 78 which is connected with the secondary reservoir 75 at its upper end and with the conduit 75 at its lower end.

A needle valve 81 has screw threaded engagement with the mount 75 and is in axial alignment with the conduit 74. This needle valve is constructed and arranged to adjustably limit and control the electrical conductor fluid X. It will be seen that by restricting the flow of said conductor fluid at the needle valve 81', any surging thereof will be by-passed through the surge channel 78 into the secondary reservoir 75 to thus maintain a constant level of the fluid X when the machine is in motion.

Mounted in a recess formed on the upper end of the mount 75 is the cylindrical member 78, and sealing engagement therebetween is made by a gasket 79. Porcelain insulators 80 are secured within the cylinder 78 and spaced from the reservoir 77. Mounted in the insulators 80 are the two spaced electrical contacts 81 which are connected to the

wires

82 and 83, the wire 82 passing through the conduit 84 and connected to the bar 85 and thence to the end of the bulb 86. The cap 86' mounts the

wires

82 and 83 and closes off the cylinder 78. The wire 83 passes through box 87 mounting the bulb 86 and down to the outlet box 88. The wire 89 is connected to the bar 90 which is connected to the side of the bulb socket. The wire 89 passes through the conduit 91 to the outlet box 88 which is connected to a source of electrical power.

I further provide the small conduit 92 connecting the chamber 69' to the chamber 77' which equalizes entrapped air, particularly where the machine is tilted for the change of grinding stones 15. Hydraulic liquid 45 is contained in the chamber in the cylinder 33 and throughout the line or conduit 46 and thence into the chamber formed between the top of the ram 56 and the head 48.

A liquid electrical conductor such as mercury is maintained in the chamber 69, the conduit 74 and the reservoir 77. The level of mercury maintained in the reservoir 77 is such that the lower ends of the contacts 81 do not touch the same when the frame is parallel with the floor B on which the machine A is resting. Such position is the correct one for the grinding stones 14 for grinding, and with the mercury in reservoir 77 is out of contact with the contacts 81 the warning light 86 is off inasmuch as no circuit is completed. As the stones 14 wear, the front of the machine A is thereby lowered in proportion to stone wear, the lowering being done on the pivot point of the wheels 22. As a result of the above and with a predetermined amount of wear on the stones, the mercury in the reservoir 77 rises and touches the electrodes 81 thereby closing the contacts and lighting the lamp 86 indicating that resetting of the stones 14 is necessary. It will be noted that when the light 86 is caused to go on, the front of the machine is low but that the rear of the machine is substantially the same.

' To re-level the stones, the handwheel 37 is turned causing the piston 34 to move downwardly thereby forcing liquid through the line 46, the passageway 54, and into the space in the cylinder 49 between the top of the ram 56 and the underside'of the stationary head 48 thereby causing the bolt 21 to be moved upwardly and draw the arm 17 upwardly against the action of the springs 17' and 17" somewhat into the position of Figure 3 from the position shown in Figure 1. The movement of the bolt 21 upwardly is effected due to the fact that the head 48 is a point of resistance and the seat 63 is a second point of resistance and as the liquid 45' is forced into the cylinder, the cylinder is moved upwardly on the ram 56 and inasmuch as the bolt is connected to the cylinder 56 through the head 48, the bolt is moved upwardly thereby drawing the arm 17 and wheels 22 upwardly. As a result of the above, the rear end of the machine is lowered thereby levelling the stones 14 and frame 10, for the frame 10 is fulcrumed about the stone spider shaft line 43. As a further result of the lowering of the rear end of the machine the mercury in the reservoir 77 in the cylinder 78 will drop away from the contact points 81 thereby breaking the circuit and the light 86 goes out. In reversing the direction of the hand wheel 37, the piston 34 rises and the ram 56 also rises Within the cylinder thereby allowing the bolt to lower, and the pressure of springs 17' and 17" lift the frame for stone levelling in a new position when new stones are inserted.

As a modification of the electrical conductor fiuid system and its visual warning indicator as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, I provide a switch box having a base 94 that is rigidly attached to the upper surface of the motor housing 12. Said switch box is provided with a detachable cover member 95 having formed therein a light aperture 96 and a warning light bulb 97 is mounted on said cover member 95 in a light socket 98 in register with the aperture 96. Said socket is grounded to the cover 95 by a bolt 99. Mounted in the base 94 at one end thereof, is a conventional, horizontally disposed mercury switch 100 that is hingedly mounted on the base 94 of the switch box and an adjusting screw 101 has screw threaded engagement with the other end portion of the mercury switch 100 for levelling adjustment after installation of new grinding stones 15. It will be understood that this modification is conventionally wired and fused.

While there are herein disclosed but a limited number of embodiments of the structure, process and product of the invention herein presented, it is possible to produce still other embodiments without departing from the inventive concept herein disclosed, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations be imposed on the appended claims as are stated herein, or required by the prior art.

What I claim is:

1. In a floor surfacing machine having a frame, handle, and motor driven grinding members, the improvement for maintaining the grinding members in substantially level grinding position, said improvement comprising a first enclosed chamber mounted on said frame, a second enclosed chamber mounted on said frame and spaced from said first chamber, a conduit connecting said first and second chambers and having a liquid electrical conductor therein at a predetermined level in said chambers, electrical indicating means, wire contacts extending into said second chamber and connected to said indicating means and a source of electrical energy whereby a predetermined change in the attitude of said frame due to Wear on said grinding members causes said liquid to rise in said second chamber and contact said wire contacts to complete a circuit and energize said indicating means, means for levelling said frame whereby said liquid is removed from said wire contacts to deenergize said electrical indicating means.

2. In a floor surfacing machine, a frame, grinding members connected to said frame, means for rotating said grinding members, means connected to said frame ing the attitude of said frame to effect said indicating means.

3. In a floor surfacing machine, a frame, grinding members connected to said frame, means for rotating said grinding members, a first enclosed chamber mounted on said frame and a second enclosed chamber mounted on said frame spaced from said first chamber, communicating means connecting said chambers, a conducting liquid in said chambers and said communicating means at a predetermined level, electrical contact means in said second chamber adapted to be contacted by said conducting liquid when said grinding members wear to a predetermined point, said contact means connected to light means mounted on the machine, means for energizing said light means when contact is made between said contact means and said conducting liquid, and means for levelling said frame to level said grinding members and move said conducting liquid from contact with said contact means to de-energize said light means.

4. In a floor surfacing machine, frame means, grinding members connected to said frame means, means for rotating said grinding members, means connected to said frame means for containing and maintaining a level of liquid electrical conductor responsive to changes in attitude of the frame means, light means mounted on the machine, contact means connected to said light means and extending into said liquid conductor container means adapted to contact said liquid conductor at a predetermined attitude of the frame means and energize said light means, and means for changing the attitude of said frame means to move said liquid conductor out of contact with said contact means to deenergize said light means.

5. In a floor surfacing machine, frame means, grinding members connected to said frame means, means for rotating said grinding members, means for containing a liquid conductor the level of the conductor responsive to the attitude of said frame means, light means, contact means connected to said light means and said containing means and adapted to be contacted by said liquid and energize said light means when the attitude of said frame means is changed a predetermined amount, and means for changing the attitude of the frame member to move said liquid conductor out of contact with said contact means to deenergize said light means.

6. In a floor surfacing machine, frame means, grinding members connected to said frame means, means for rotating said grinding members, handle means connected to said frame means, a first cylinder mounted on said handle means, a piston mounted within said first cylinder, a second cylinder mounted on said frame, a bolt secured at its upper end within said second cylinder, a ram slidably mounted on said bolt and slidable within said second cylinder, the lower end of said ram fixedly mounted on said frame, a wheel carrying arm pivotally mounted on said frame, spring means urging said arm away from said frame, the lower end of said bolt connected to said arm, conduit means connecting said first cylinder with said second cylinder and leaving a liquid therein, and means for moving said piston downwardly in said first piston to cause said liquid to move said second cylinder upwardly upon said ram and thereby move said bolt upwardly to draw up said wheel carrying arm to relevel the frame means after wear on said grinding members, and visual means for indicating when said grinding members are worn a predetermined amount;

7. In a floor surfacing machine, a supporting frame,

grinding members connected to said frame, means for rotating said grinding member s, enclosed means having an electrical conducting liquid therein, electrical indicating means connected to said frame, contact means extending into said enclosed means and connected to said indicating means and a source of electrical energy, whereby a predetermined change in the attitude of said frame due to wear on said grinding members causes said liquid to contact said contact means completing a circuit and energizing said indicating means.

8. In a floor surfacing machine having a frame, handle, and motor driven grinding members, the improvement for maintaining the grinding members in substantially level grinding position, said improvement comprising a first enclosed chamber mounted on said frame, a second enclosed chamber mounted on said frame and spaced from said first chamber, a conduit connecting said first and second chambers and having a liquid electrical conductor therein at a predetermined level in said chambers, electrical indicating means, wire contacts extending into said second chamber and connected to said indicating means and a source of electrical energy whereby a pre determined change in the attitude of said frame due to wearon said grinding members causes said liquid to rise in said second chamber and contact said wire contacts to complete a circuit and energize said indicating means, a first cylinder mounted on the handle means, a piston mounted within said first cylinder, a second cylinder mounted on said frame, a bolt secured at its upper end within said second cylinder, a ram slidably mounted on said bolt and slidable within said second cylinder, the lower end of said ram fixedly mounted on said frame, a wheel carrying arm pivotally mounted on said frame, spring means urging said arm away from said frame, the lower end of said bolt connected to said arm, conduit means connecting said first cylinder with said second cylinder and leaving a liquid therein, and means for moving said piston downwardly in said first piston to cause said liquid to move said second cylinder upwardly upon said ram and thereby move said bolt upwardly to draw up said wheel carrying arm to relevel the frame after wear on said grinding members whereby said liquid is removed from said wire contacts to deenergize the electrical indicating means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS