Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – Brushing
Patent
1995-08-07
1997-10-07
Soohoo, Tony G.
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
Brushing
15 87, 451353, A47L 1116, A47L 1124
Patent
active
056734506
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a brush pressure system and is particularly applicable to floor cleaning or sweeping apparatus and machines using rotating brushes for example to scrub and/or sweep and/or polish a floor surface.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Known floor cleaning machines use rotating brushes to scrub or polish a floor. The brushes are mounted on a wheeled frame which is pedestrian controlled or in larger models is ridden on by the operator. Pressure on the brushes for cleaning or sweeping is provided by the weight of the brush heads and motor assemblies in combination with the weight of the water tanks. However in known machines only a particular fixed pressure can be applied; there is no provision for a variety of pressures to be chosen to suit different cleaning or sweeping tasks, or different floor types. Although pressures of up to 200 lbs. pressure can be achieved with the known pedestrian machines, this may not be adequate for heavy duty cleaning on very contaminated floors and is often too high a pressure for normal maintenance cleaning. If the brush pressure is high then the brushes wear down very quickly. The sort of brushes used in this equipment are very expensive and excessive wear is unacceptable. In any case, excessive prolonged brush pressure may damage certain floor surfaces. On the other hand, if the brush pressure is too light then the cleaning machine will not be effective on heavily soiled floors. In addition as brushes wear down the effective cleaning pressure necessarily decreases and hence the cleaning power is less satisfactory.
Some recent pedestrian machines have tried to compensate for brush wear by incorporating small springs into the brush heads so as to take up the wear in the brushes. These however have been found to be unacceptably unreliable in many circumstances because the springs have a tendency to lock over rough surfaces and this causes damage to the driving motors. In any case, in known machines, the maximum pressure is limited and there is no way of adjusting the pressure to be applied by the brushes.
Furthermore, known machines make no allowance for uneven ground and tend to malfunction unless the floor to be cleaned is smooth and flat. Also, since known machines rely for the applied pressure on the weight of part of the machine such as the water tanks and such like, then they are difficult and heavy to operate and maneuver and this makes them difficult for example for less strong operators such as women to use.
The present invention seeks to provide a cleaning or sweeping apparatus which does not have the disadvantages of previously known apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a cleaning or sweeping apparatus comprising: brushed; and frame and the brush assembly.
According to preferred embodiments, the brush pressure can be varied by controlling the biasing means, for example by controlling tension in a spring means or pressure in a gas strut or volume of fluid in a hydraulic or pneumatic system. An actuator can be used to control this tension, for example by compressing the spring means; the greater the compression the greater the brush pressure on the floor and the more effective the cleaning power of the machine. The actuator is preferably an electrically driven ram though it could be hydraulically or even manually driven.
The extent of the bias, e.g. the spring tension, and thus the pressure, may be set in the factory when the cleaning or sweeping machine is manufactured or by a service engineer when the cleaning or sweeping machine is serviced to suit a particular cleaning task. According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the pressure is adjustable by the operator in situ to suit the task being performed. For light cleaning or polishing, a light pressure is preferable and minimises brush wear, whereas for heavy cleaning on highly contaminated floors, more pressure is needed. Preferably means are provided for entry and display of a desired pressure
REFERENCES:
patent: 3496681 (1970-02-01), Oswald
patent: 4041567 (1977-08-01), Burgoon
patent: 4218798 (1980-08-01), Block
patent: 4674142 (1987-06-01), Meili
patent: 4729141 (1988-03-01), Berg et al.
patent: 4910824 (1990-03-01), Nagayama et al.
patent: 5006851 (1991-04-01), Kaneaki et al.
patent: 5016310 (1991-05-01), Geyer et al.
patent: 5048141 (1991-09-01), Huppi
patent: 5481776 (1996-01-01), Briscoe
LandOfFree
Brush pressure system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Brush pressure system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Brush pressure system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2348063