Floor cleaning apparatus with offset cleaning unit

A floor cleaning apparatus for cleaning a floor, the apparatus adapted to traverse a path of travel, comprising:

• a housing;
• a plurality of wheels by which the floor cleaning apparatus is adapted to move across the floor in a direction of travel, the direction of travel at least partially defining a front end, a back end, and first and second lateral sides of the floor cleaning apparatus;
• a motive device for moving the apparatus across the floor;
• a steering mechanism operationally coupled to the wheels to change a steering direction for traversing the path of travel;
• and
• a cleaning assembly comprising;
• a cleaning unit that cleans the floor when the floor cleaning apparatus is in an operative mode;
• a swing mechanism linking the cleaning unit to the steering mechanism at a pivot wheel spaced from the steering mechanism, the pivot wheel defining an axis of rotation for pivoting the cleaning unit in synchronization with the path of travel of the floor cleaning apparatus, such that when the floor cleaning apparatus is in the operative mode, the cleaning unit reorients its position in synchronization with the path of travel of the floor cleaning apparatus by pivoting in a direction opposite to the steering direction provided by the steering mechanism, wherein the pivot wheel and steering mechanism are connected by an endless cable and define a transition ratio between a degree of turn of the steering mechanism and a degree of turn of the cleaning unit;
• and
• an offset mechanism adapted to move the cleaning unit between a non-offset position and an offset position, wherein in the offset position, the cleaning unit projects beyond only one lateral side of the floor cleaning apparatus, the cleaning unit being selectively placed in the operative mode in either of the non-offset and offset positions;
• and
• wherein in each of the non-offset and offset positions, the cleaning unit has a fixed working width that is defined by a working width of a cleaning implement of the cleaning unit that effects cleaning of the floor.

A floor cleaning apparatus for cleaning a floor, the apparatus adapted to traverse a path of travel, comprising:

• a housing;
• a plurality of wheels by which the floor cleaning apparatus is adapted to move across the floor in a direction of travel, the direction of travel at least partially defining a front end, a back end, and first and second lateral sides of the floor cleaning apparatus;
• a motive device for moving the apparatus across the floor;
• a steering mechanism operationally coupled to the wheels to change a steering direction for traversing the path of travel;
• and
• a cleaning assembly comprising;
• a cleaning unit that cleans the floor when the floor cleaning apparatus is in an operative mode;
• a swing mechanism linking the cleaning unit to the steering mechanism at a pivot wheel spaced from the steering mechanism, the pivot wheel defining an axis of rotation for pivoting the cleaning unit in synchronization with the path of travel of the floor cleaning apparatus, the pivot wheel and steering mechanism being connected by an endless cable;
• and
• an offset mechanism adapted to move the cleaning unit between a non-offset position and an offset position, wherein in the offset position, the cleaning unit projects beyond only one lateral side of the floor cleaning apparatus, the cleaning unit being selectively placed in the operative mode in either of the non-offset and offset positions;
• and
• wherein in each of the non-offset and offset positions, the cleaning unit has a fixed working width that is defined by a working width of a plurality of cleaning implements of the cleaning unit that effect cleaning of the floor.