Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – Brushing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-24
2001-10-02
Spisich, Mark (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
Brushing
C015S049100, C015S098000, C015S320000, C015S340300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295682
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Rideable assemblies which clean, scrub and wax floors are known in the art; however, none of these systems provide a cleaning assembly in which a bonnet cleaner is detachably joined to a rideable appliance.
Moreover, none of the known cleaning systems show the cleaner in a position which is forward of the operator; where it can be viewed during the cleaning operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,280, Campbell describes a rideable machine for cleaning and waxing floors. This machine includes four brushes; one for sweeping, two for cleaning and waxing and a fourth brush for polishing; however, none of these are bonnet type cleaners nor can they be easily attached or detached or viewed by the operator during the cleaning operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,178, Legatt et al. describes a rideable floor scrubber in which the novelty resides in the use of elastomeric isolator mounts for damping vibrations; the object of which is to extend the life of the cleaning machine and its batteries. However, Legatt et al. fails to show any easily detachable means for securing the scrubbing brush to the carriage which is being ridden; moreover, the brush is located behind a drive wheel and as a result, it is invisible to the operator during the cleaning process.
Schaeffer, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,402,420, describes a carpet cleaning device in which the cleaning brush is located at the front of the assembly so that it can be viewed by the operator during the cleaning process; however, this is a hand held, manually operated cleaning system.
The difficulty with the Schaeffer system is that its disc-like buffer creates a rotational energy with respect to the horizontally disposed cleaning surface and this impels the device in sidewise directions. As a result, this device requires a sustained effort on the part of the operator in order to move it in a straight-line direction.
Accordingly, there is a need for a bonnet-type cleaning system which can be easily manipulated and impelled forward in a straight line without effort by the operator.
There is also a need for a bonnet cleaner which can be ridden and whose cleaning assembly can be releasably attached and detached with ease.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a rideable appliance which is equipped with a cleaning assembly that may be easily detached for cleaning, storage and/or repair purposes. This appliance is battery-powered and its carriage is equipped with a seat and steering means.
This apparatus provides a straight-line means for cleaning against a sidewall so that the arcs and misses associated with manually operated bonnet cleaners can be avoided.
The cleaning assembly consists of a bonnet-type cleaner or power brush which is releasably mounted forward of the steering mechanism and includes means for tilting the brush assembly forward for engagement purposes and for tilting upwards when it is to be disengaged or placed in neutral.
The carriage housing is also equipped with accoutrements which may be needed by the operator while conducting a typical cleaning operation. These include an on-board dispenser for supplying cleaning solution, a hand held power sprayer and an optional wet/vac system which is mounted at the rear of the carriage.
Other embodiments which constitute points of novelty include, for example, a linking pin assembly means for releasably attaching and detaching the carriage and the bonnet cleaner to one another.
Another embodiment of this invention is a spray means by which a user may dispense cleaning solution, by hand, directly and precisely onto the area which is to be treated so that splashing onto adjacent walls or baseboards can be avoided.
Also included is a line of sight tank which provides the operator with a sight view indicator for monitoring fluid levels of cleaning solution while conducting a cleaning operation. Once the operation is concluded, a drain means is used to discharge from the tank whatever remains of the cleaning solution.
A further embodiment provides for converting the assembly of this invention from a carpet cleaner to a scrubbing assembly which can be used to strip wax from floors. In this embodiment, the carpet-cleaning bonnet is replaced by a brush which has wax-stripping capabilities and which will otherwise prepare the floor for further treatment.
Also included in this invention is means for adding to the carriage a squeegee and/or vacuum system means for clean-up purposes when a floor stripping operation is in progress.
Other aspects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and appended claims and, also, the drawings where the numbered characters correspond to the like-numbered characters in the specification.
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Spisich Mark
Wobensmith, III Zachary T.
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