WO2004047607A1

WO2004047607A1 - An apparatus for drying floors

Info

Publication number: WO2004047607A1
Application number: PCT/IE2003/000155
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hugh Rogers Mclaughlin
Original assignee: Hugh Rogers Mclaughlin
Priority date: 2002-11-28
Filing date: 2003-11-27
Publication date: 2004-06-10
Also published as: IES20030893A2; AU2003294174A1

Abstract

An apparatus for drying a floor comprises a flat rectangular pad 20 rotatably mounted in a housing 10 and a roller 26 likewise mounted in the housing with is axis of rotation 28 parallel to the axis of rotation 22 of the pad. The roller has a continuous roll of absorbent sheet material 40 wound thereon whose free end is attached to the pad such that the sheet material may be drawn from the roller to become wound around the pad by rotation of the latter. Absorbent sheet material on either major surface of the pad may be brought flat into contact with the floor by rotation of the pad and when the sheet material on a given major surface of the pad is exhausted fresh material may be brought into a position for contact with the floor by rotating the pad through substantially 180°.

Description

An Apparatus For Drying Floors

This invention relates to an apparatus for drying floors such as those made of tiles, ceramics or plastics.

Such floors, after being washed or after the removal of liquid spillage, still remain slippery to the extent that persons walking on them are liable to slip and injure themselves. Thus public places with tiles floors such as hospitals, supermarkets, airports, toilets and restaurants are often cordoned off for a considerable time after such spillages or after washing.

It is desirable to provide an apparatus for drying such floors by removing the thin layer or residue of water which floor mops and like devices leave on the floor after washing or spillage removal.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus for drying a floor, comprising a housing, a substantially flat rectangular member ("drying pad") mounted in the housing fox rotation about an axis between and substantially parallel to one pair of opposite edges of the pad, and a roller mounted on the housing for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the drying pad, the roller having a continuous roll of absorbent sheet material wound thereon whose free end is attached to the drying pad such that the sheet material may be drawn from the roller to become wound around the drying pad by rotation of the latter, wherein the drying pad is mounted at a position in the housing where absorbent sheet material on either major surface thereof may be brought flat into contact with the floor by rotation of the pad and when the sheet material on a given major surface of the pad is exhausted fresh material may be brought into a position for contact with the floor by rotating the pad through substantially 180 , the roller and sheet material thereon remaining out of contact with the floor.

An embodiment of the invention will .now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an apparatus for drying a floor;

Fig. 2 is further perspective view omitting the absorbent sheet material;

Fig. 3 is a partly broken-away view similar to Fig. 2 to show the inner components ;

Fig. 4 is side view of the apparatus of Fig. 1 seen from the opposite side of the housing;

Figs. 5(a) and 5(b) illustrate how the supply roller is removed and replaced in the housing; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the free end of the absorbent sheet material;

Fig. 7 shows how the free end of the sheet of absorbent material is fixed to the supply roller;

Figs. 8(a) to 8(c) are cross-sectional views of the apparatus of Fig. 1 showing successive stages in loading a fresh roll of absorbent material;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus showing how the housing can be rotated while the drying pad remains flat in contact with the floor; and

Figs. 10(a) to 10(c) are cross-sectional views of the apparatus of Fig. 1 showing how the drying pad is rotated to bring fresh absorbent material into position for drying the floor.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus comprises a housing 10 including a top plate 12 and a pair of substantially parallel side plates 14 depending from opposite side edges of the top plate. The side plates are tied together by a rod 16 which is bolted to the side plates 14 at each end.. An elongate handle 18 is fixed at its lower end to the top plate 12 and is inclined upwardly towards the rear of the housing 10, away from a drying pad 20 mounted at the front of the housing. The drying pad 20 is a substantially flat rectangular member having opposite major surfaces A and B, Fig. 3. The pad 20 is mounted on a shaft 22 between the side plates 14 for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to and midway between the opposite edges 20a

TM and 20b of the pad 20. A Velcro strip 24a is fixed to the major surface A of the pad along and adjacent to the edge 20a. In this embodiment the shaft 22 is non- rotatably bolted at each end to the side plates 14 and the pad 20 rotates on the shaft 22, but alternatively the pad 20 could be fixed to the shaft with the pad 20 and shaft 22 together rotatable relative to the housing. The pad 20 is pivoted at the extreme front of the housing 10 and sufficiently low down that either major surface A or B can -be brought flat against the floor by rotation of the pad.

A roller 26 is mounted on a further shaft 28 between the side plates 14 for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the pad 20. In this case the roller 26 is fixed to the shaft 28 which is rotatabLe relative to the housing 10. To this end one end of the shaft 28 is rotatable in a circular hole 30 in one side plate 14, while a circular boss 32 on the other end of the roller 26, the boss 32 being coaxial with and of larger diameter than the other end of the shaft 28, is rotatable in a larger circular hole 34 in the other side plate 14 - see Figs. 4, 5(a) and 5(b) . A spring 36, Fig. 3, is under compression between the end of the roller 26 facing the hole 30 and the corresponding side plate 14. This spring biases the roller 26 towards the opposite side plate 14 and thus ensures that in normal use the boss 32 is retained in the hole 34 and hence the roller 26 is retained in the housing. However, a slot 38 having a width just larger than the diameter of the shaft 28, but not as large as that of the boss 32, allows the roller 26 to be removed by pushing it manually towards the hole 30 so as to compress the spring 36 and. disengage the boss 32 from the hole 34. Then the enό of the shaft 28 can be slid down the slot 28 to tilt the roller 26 until the other end of the shaft disengages the hole 30, whereupon the roller is freed. The rolILer 26 can be replaced by the opposite procedure.

_The spring 36 also serves to maintain a frictional engagement of the other end of the roller 26 against the inside surface of the corresponding side plate 14, so that the roller 26 is ^retained against free rotation in the housing 10.

In use a continuous lengtti of highly absorbent sheet material 40 is wound on ttie roller 26 prior to mounting the latter in the housing 10. To this end the roller 26 and one end of the material 40 have complementary Velcro™ strips 42a, 42b irrespectively, Fig. 7, the material 40 being attached to the roller 26 by attaching the Velcro™ strips 42a, 42b together and rotating the roller 26 until all the material 40 is wound on the roller. The free end of the length of material 40 has a second Velcro TM stri.p 24b complementary to the strip 24a near the edge 20a of the pad 20.

A particularly advantageous form of material 40 is that known as microfibre cloth manufactured by Dahmmi Ind. Co. Ltd of South Korea. The fibres used to produce the cloth weigh less than lg per 9km of length. It generally comprises two polymers, a polyester and a polyamide, which combine to form a single thread. The material can be non-woven, woven or knitted. Some of the features of the material are as follows :

a. Microfibre contains microscopic fibres 100 times thinner than a human hair - These thin fibres penetrate even the smallest crevices of the surface to be dried. Microfibres are split when they are produced so they possess sharp wedge shaped edges that improve contact with the work surface and trap particles inside the fibre. One of the microfibre polymers is lyophilic, i.e. it has an affinity to oil so that oil and grease adhere directly to the filores so preparatory treatment with chemicals is not necessary. This is also the reason why microfibre cloths do not rinse well and once saturated require laundering.

b. Due to the microfibre material's fine pores, any droplets that remain on a cleaning surface after cleaning evaporate quickly leaving a clean steak-free surface. The superior cleaning ability of microfibre material enables the reduction in need for chemicals and detergents up to 80%. The capillary effect created between the polyester filaments and the polyamide core creates very high absorbency that enables the cloth to clean and polish at the same time.

c. It absorbs liquid much more than conventional textiles due to the capillary action created by the microfibre .

d. It can be used many times and can last up to two years .

e. The microfibre material does not require the use of chemicals that are harmfτ_ιl to the environment for cleaning.

f . _The microfibre material is extensively washable. _The knitted cloths can be laundered up to 500 times at 90 degrees Celsius using a standard detergent without the need of a softener oir rinse aid.

_Alternatively, one could use a cotton cloth towelling or other suitable textile such as one made from a combination of cellulose fibre and polypropylene, which has highly absorbent qualities . In any event, the material 40 is provided with a water-impervious backing sheet 44 (Fig. 6) such as a film of plastics material.

In use, Fig. 8(a), a full roll 26 of the absorbent sheet material 40 is first fitted to the housing 10 in the manner described previously. Next, Fig. 8(b), the free end of the material 40 is drawn downwardly over the top major surface A of the drying pad 20 and attached thereto at the edge 20a by pressing the M TM

Velcro strip 24b to the Velcro strip 24a. The pad 20 is now rotated through 180 , Fig. 8(c), to draw the material 40 off the roller 26 and bring the major surface A, covered with material 40, to the underside of the pad 20.

Now, using the handle 18, the housing 10 is moved back and forth across a wet area of floor so that the area of material 40 on the underside of the pad 20 slides back and forth across the floor and absorbs the thin layer of water or other 1 iquid remaining on it from previous mopping. The above described frictional engagement of the roller 26 with the side plate 14 prevents material 40 from, coming off the roller 26 unintentionally. At all times the roller 26 and material 40 still remaining thereon remains out of contact with the floor. Since the housing 10 is able to rotate relative to the pad 20 while the latter remains flat against the floor, as shown in dashed outline in Fig. 9, the operator is able to push the pad 20 back and forth from a fixed standing position.

When the part of the material 40 on the underside of the pad 20 has become too soiled/wet for further efficient use, the pad 20 is rotated through 180° once again to bring fresh material onto the underside of the pad 20, Figs. 10(a) to lθ(c). This process is repeated each time the material 40 on the underside of the pad 20 is exhausted, until finally all the material is used up and has been transferred to the pad 20 from the roller 26. At this point the exhausted material is unwrapped from the pad 20 and sent with the empty roller 26 for laundering, and a fresh roller 26, bearing clean material 40, is fitted as described.

Since the drying pad 20 is pivoted at the extreme front edge of the housing 10, so that the edge 20a or 20b which is currently the front edge of the pad 20 extends forwardly of the front edge of the housing, the rotation of the pad 20 through 180 can be effected, if desired, by turning the housing 10 over on its back by twisting the handle 18 and then swinging the handle right over to bring the housing right side up again while the pad remains flat on the floor.

_The invention is not limited to the embodiment described herein which may be modified or varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for drying a floor, comprising a housing, a substantially flat rectangular member ("drying pad") mounted in the housing for rotation about an axis between and substantially parallel to one pair of opposite edges of the pad, and a roller mounted on the housing for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the drying pad, the roller having a continuous roll of absorbent sheet material wound thereon whose free end is attached to the drying pad such that the sheet material may be drawn from the roller to become wound around the drying pad by rotation of the latter, wherein the drying pad is mounted at a position in the housing where absorbent sheet material on either major surface thereof may be brought flat into contact with the floor by rotation of the pad and when the sheet material on a given major surface of the pad is exhausted fresh material may be brought into a position for contact with the floor by rotating the pad through substantially 180 , the roller and sheet material thereon remaining out of contact with the floor.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pad extends forwardly of a front edge of the housing such that the pad can be rotated to bring fresh material into position by manipulation of the housing with the pad engaging the floor.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , wherein the path of the material from the roller to the pad is over the top surface of the pad to the front edge of the pad.

4. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the axis of rotation of the pad is substantially midway between the said opposite edges.

5. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the roller is frictionally retained against free rotation.

6. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the housing has an elongate handle inclined upwardly away from the pad. ,