Floor cleaning machine

In a floor-cleaning machine including a cleaning element for removing dirt from the floor and delivering the removed dirt to a dirt container:

• a retracting arm pivotally mounted at a proximal position to said machine and pivotally mounted at a distal position to said dirt container to move said dirt container between a use position and a dumping position;
• a power actuator arranged to raise and lower said retracting arm;
• a parallel arm connected at a distal end to said dirt container and having a proximal end;
• a latch mechanism releasable by an operator of said machine for selectively releasably securing said proximal end of said parallel arm to said machine while permitting said parallel arm to pivot, or releasing said parallel arm to permit said proximal end of said parallel arm to move away from said machine to tilt said container to a dumping position;
• and
• a guide member to guide said proximal end of said parallel arm to said latch mechanism when said container is lowered to a use position;
• whereby when said parallel arm is secured to said machine by said latch mechanism, said parallel arm acts to maintain said dirt container in substantially the same orientation relative to a horizontal plane as said power actuator is extended and retracted over a range to raise and lower said dirt container;
• and when said parallel arm is not secured to said machine by said latch mechanism, said retracting arm is in a raised position for dumping, said dirt container is free to rotate under the weight of its contents to dump the contents, and when said dirt container is thereafter lowered to the use position, said guide member guides said proximal end of said parallel arm to be secured by said latch mechanism.