Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – Brushing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-13
2001-02-20
Moore, Chris K. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
Brushing
C015S320000, C015S385000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189174
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a carpet extractor and more particularly to a floating powered brush assembly for use with an upright extractor (of the type taught in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,673) having powered floor cleaning brushes.
Heretofore carpet extractors having powered brushes to assist scrubbing of the surface being cleaned have generally affixed the powered brush and/or brushes to the main body of the machine in such a way that, except for the rotary motion of the brush, the brush assembly did not move relative to the main body. Thus the rotary action of the powered brush tends to lift the liquid suction nozzle upward and away from the surface being cleaned resulting in lost efficiency of the system as a whole.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The herein invention overcomes the above stated disadvantage of prior art extractors by disclosing a novel, free floating, powered, brush assembly and associated fluid supply system whereby the brush assembly is free to float atop the surface being cleaned in such a way that the brush assembly supports none of the extractor's weight nor imparts any forces to the machine that would otherwise tend to lift the liquid recovery suction nozzle upward from the surface being cleaned.
The present invention teaches a floating brush support system particularly useful for supporting a multiplicity of laterally disposed cup-like scrubbing brushes rotatable about, generally parallel, vertically aligned, axis of rotation.
The brush assembly generally comprises an elongate brush support beam having integrally molded, spaced apart, vertically aligned cylindrical bearings each receiving therein a vertically directed axle shaft of an associated rotary scrubbing brush.
The rotary brushes generally comprise a spur gear configuration having tufts of brush bristles retained within each gear tooth and directed axially downward toward the surface being cleaned. The spur gear configurations, of each rotary brush, intermesh with the adjacent rotary brush thereby creating a gear train such that rotating any one rotary brush causes the entire gear train to rotate thereby powering all brushes with one driving brush. The intermeshing of the brush gear teeth and their associated brush bristles assures that no unbrushed area will be present between adjacent brushes.
The axial thickness of each gear tooth includes an upper and lower profile. The upper profile provides the tooth involute that engages the tooth involute of the adjacent gear brush. The lower profile is inwardly offset from the upper profile to allow circumferential expansion (or bulging) of the profile upon insertion of the brush bristles that otherwise may cause binding or interference between intermeshing gear teeth.
A gear brush guard, affixed to the gear support beam, surrounds the periphery of all brushes and is provided with an internally directed flange at the bottom of the guard sidewall extending inward beyond the outer locus of the gear teeth thereby restricting each gear brush within its associated cylindrical bearing on the support beam.
Preferably four outwardly directed tangs, two on either side of the peripheral brush guard, engage vertically disposed guide slots in the brush assembly cavity of the extractor base module thereby permitting the brush assembly to translate or float vertically while retaining the brush assembly therein. To assist and guide the brush assembly as it floats vertically, a vertically directed flange is integrally molded onto the brush support beam, one at each end, which slidingly engage vertically disposed tracks or slots integrally molded into the end walls of the brush assembly cavity. None of the machine's weight is supported by the floating brush assembly. Generous tolerances between all moving parts namely: between the brush axles and cylindrical bearings, between the lower gear tooth surface and the brush guard peripheral flange, and the support beam vertical guide flanges and guide slots are provided such that the brush assembly may float in skewed positions and that the gear brush axle shafts may slightly tilt omnidirectionally from the vertical thereby permitting the scrubbing gear brushes to follow and remain engaged with any unevenness of the surface being scrubbed or to automatically adjust for carpet height
The brush assembly further comprises a unique “snap together” structure for ease of assembly on a typical mass production assembly line.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1093820 (1914-04-01), Beach
patent: 1433021 (1922-10-01), Michael
patent: 1506016 (1924-08-01), Lundgren
patent: 1557244 (1925-10-01), Domingue
patent: 2073145 (1937-03-01), Flint
patent: 2644189 (1953-07-01), Calvin
patent: 4733432 (1988-03-01), Novoselsky
patent: 4771498 (1988-09-01), Torta
Crouser Darwin S.
Hisrich Timothy B.
Maurer Edgar A.
Moore Chris K.
The Hoover Company
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