US 6,148,476 AGranted

Floor surface cleaning machine

AssigneeNilfisk-Advance, Inc.

InventorsDonald Joseph Legatt, Kurt M. Vetse, Galen M. Swenson

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Abstract

A floor scrubber (10) is disclosed including a drive lug (62) for removably connecting a scrubbing member (64) to a drive (60) and having a trough for receipt and catching of solution for passage to the surface. The mount (58) for the drive (60) is biased by a spring (67) to pivot relative to a linkage plate (46) in turn pivotably mounted to the chassis (12) at an acute angle to the forward movement direction. The vacuum assembly (92) is sandwiched in a socket (100) formed in the bottom wall of a recovery tank (90) by a mount (106) to deaden the sound generated thereby and to allow air communication inside of the socket (100) but generally preventing entry of solution therein. The squeegee assembly (152) is biased by a gas spring (150) to engage the surface at a constant force independent of the pivotal position of the squeegee mount (148). The batteries (68, 70) can be easily electrically connected and disconnected to each other in series and to the scrubber (10) by polarity type connectors (80, 82, 84, 86) for ease of removal, replacement, and interchange of the batteries (68, 70) in the scrubber (10) without requiring the use of tools. The bumper wheels (30) are secured to a first plate (32) of a pocket (28) by a pin connector (36) passing therethrough and through the legs of a U-shaped bracket (42) having a central portion flushly abutting with a second plate (38) of the pocket (28) for transferring forces thereto.

Claims15

Dependent claims

Machine for treating a floor surface comprising, in combination:

a chassis for movement on the floor surface in a forward direction;
a linkage plate pivotably mounted to the chassis about a linkage axis which is at an acute angle to the forward direction;
a drive mount pivotably mounted to the linkage plate about a mount axis which is parallel to but spaced from the linkage axis;
a drive mounted to the drive mount;
a floor surface treating member removably secured to the drive for rotation thereby about a drive axis generally perpendicular to the floor surface, with the floor surface treating member having a diametric width about the drive axis, with the linkage plate, the drive mount, the drive, the floor surface treating member, and the chassis being arranged so that rotation of the floor surface treating member on the floor surface tends to assist the movement of the chassis on the floor surface in the forward direction, with the floor surface treating member having an opposite portion opposite the mount axis from the linkage axis and having an adjacent portion on the same side of the mount axis as the linkage axis;
and means for biasing the drive mount to pivot about the mount axis in a direction to move the opposite portion of the floor surface treating member towards the floor surface and the adjacent portion of the floor surface treating member away from the floor surface and thereby engage the floor surface treating member in a cleaning pattern on the floor surface extending perpendicular to the forward direction over substantially the full diametric width of the floor surface treating member.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/179,764Filed 27 Oct 1998 · division
Priority: 17 Oct 1996
Granted: 21 Nov 2000
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification15 codes

A47L 11/4005
Installations of electric equipment: arrangements of batteries or cells; Electric power supply arrangements
A47L 11/283
Having rotary tools: the tools being disc brushes
A47L 11/30
Floor-scrubbing machines characterised by means for taking-up dirty liquid: by suction
A47L 11/4036
Parts or details of machines not provided for in groups A47L11/02 - A47L11/38, or not restricted to one of these groups, e.g. handles,…: parts or…