Riding Apparatus for Polishing and Cleaning Floor Surfaces

• US 20100291843A1
• Filed: 01/18/2008
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Onfloor Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: Onfloor Technologies LLC
• Inventors: Strickland, Timothy Alan
• Granted Patent: US 8,678,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 451/350
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/16 the tools being disc brushes
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/24 Floor-sweeping machines, motor-driven
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/283 the tools being disc brushes
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/40 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, arrangements of switches, skirts, buffers, levers

Abstract

A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface has a main steering and drive wheels and a forwardly located seat for an operator and at least one foot rest for feet of the operator. The vehicle has a polishing and cleaning deck mounted in front of the vehicle and is operably connected to the main vehicle. A clearance gap is formed between the vehicle and the polishing and cleaning deck. The at least one foot rest has a gap therebetween for providing a line of sight for the operator through the gap to view the floor surface directly behind the deck.

Claims

1. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface comprising:

a main motorized vehicle having steering and drive wheels and a forwardly located seat for an operator and left and right foot rests for feet of the operator;

a polishing and cleaning deck mounted in front of said vehicle and operably connected thereto to be moved thereby with a clearance formed between a front of said main motorized vehicle and a rear of said polishing and cleaning deck; and

said left and right foot rests spaced apart to form a gap therebetween with said gap and said clearance aligned with said seat located for providing a line of sight for the operator through said gap and said clearance to see said floor surface between said polishing and cleaning deck and said main motorized vehicle.

2. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

a low profile rear body section positioned to have its upper surface located below the normal eye level of the operator when seated on said seat such that a 360°

field of vision is directly available to an operator.

3. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 2 further comprising:

said upper surface being sloped downwardly from a position immediately behind said seat to a rear end of said riding apparatus.

4. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 3 further comprising:

an upper positioned swing arm pivotably connected about a substantially vertical pivot axis point behind and above said operator seat and constructed to horizontally swing to the left and to the right of a rearwardly extending position down a center line of said main motorized vehicle; and

having a length more than one-half the width of said vehicle such that said swing arm has sufficient length to extend said restrained section of said cord beyond a left and right side of said vehicle when swinging to its full left or right position; and

said power cord having a restrained section near a distal end of said swing arm and operably connected to said polishing and cleaning decks for transferring electric power to said deck.

5. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 4 further comprising:

said pivot constructed to provide said swing arm to swing approximately 90°

to either side of the centered rearwardly extending position.

6. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 5 further comprising:

said vehicle having two front wheels and a rear wheel; and

said rear wheel being steerable and operably connected to an electric motor for driving said vehicle.

7. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 6 further comprising:

said electric motor powered by an on-board battery source; and

said battery source being rechargeable via said power cord when plugged into a remote electric power source.

8. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

said vehicle having two front wheels and a rear wheel;

said rear wheel being operably connected to an electric motor for driving said vehicle; and

said rear wheel being steerable for steering said vehicle.

9. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 5 further comprising:

said polishing and cleaning deck being pivotably connected to said vehicle through a raisable link arm; and

said polishing and cleaning deck being pivotably mounted to a front distal end of said raisable link arm along a generally horizontal laterally extending axis to pivot said deck to a generally vertical position to expose the underside of said deck when said deck is in a raised position off of said floor surface.

10. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 9 further comprising:

said link arm having a notch at a distal end and a closable latch for being movable between a closed position to retain said deck to be pivotably mounted to said link arm and an open position to allow said link arm to vertically move and disengage from said deck when in its lower floor engaging position.

11. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 10 further comprising:

a sweeping deck mounted under said vehicle behind said polishing and cleaning deck through a linkage that allows for relative vertical movement of the sweeping deck with respect to said vehicle; and

said sweeping deck comprises a motorized brush for sweeping a floor, a hopper for receiving dust from said brush and a castor wheel for providing a lower stop for said sweeping deck.

12. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

said polishing and cleaning deck being pivotably connected to said vehicle through a raisable link arm; and

said polishing and cleaning deck being pivotably mounted to a front distal end of said raisable link arm along a generally horizontal laterally extending axis to pivot said deck to a generally vertical position to expose the underside of said deck when said link arm is in a raised position off of said floor surface.

13. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 11 further comprising:

said link arm having a notch at a distal end and a closable latch for being movable between a closed position to retain said deck to be pivotably mounted to said link arm and an open position to allow said link arm to vertically move and disengage from said deck when in its lower floor engaging position.

14. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 13 further comprising:

a sweeping deck mounted under said vehicle behind said polishing and cleaning deck through a linkage for relative vertical movement with respect to said vehicle; and

said sweeping deck comprises a motorized brush for sweeping a floor, a hopper for receiving dust from said brush and a castor wheel for providing a lower stop for said sweeping deck.

15. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

a sweeping deck mounted under said vehicle behind said polishing and cleaning deck through a linkage for relative vertical movement with respect to said vehicle; and

said sweeping deck comprises a motorized brush for sweeping a floor, a hopper for receiving dust from said brush and a castor wheel for providing a lower stop for said sweeping deck.

16. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

said polishing and cleaning deck having an edge grinder connected thereto to extend laterally therefrom to a wall or floor surface edge to polish and clean the edge of said floor surface.

17. A riding apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

a front facing seat positioned on a forward section of said main motorized vehicle having a seat surface at a position between 35″ and

45″

above said floor surface.

21. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 17 further comprising:

said polishing and cleaning deck being pivotably connected to said vehicle through a raisable link arm; and

said polishing and cleaning deck being pivotably mounted to a front distal end of said raisable link arm along a generally horizontal laterally extending axis to pivot said deck to a generally vertical position to expose the underside of said deck when said link arm is in a raised position off of said floor surface.

22. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 21 further comprising:

said link arm having a notch at a distal end and a closable latch for being movable between a closed position to retain said deck to be pivotably mounted to said link arm and an open position to allow said link arm to vertically move and disengage from said deck when in its lower floor engaging position.

23. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 22 further comprising:

a sweeping deck mounted under said vehicle behind said polishing and cleaning deck through a linkage for relative vertical movement with respect to said vehicle; and

said sweeping deck comprises a motorized brush for sweeping a floor, a hopper for receiving dust from said brush and a castor wheel for providing a lower stop for said sweeping deck.

24. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 17 further comprising:

a sweeping deck mounted under said vehicle behind said polishing and cleaning deck through a linkage for relative vertical movement with respect to said vehicle; and

said sweeping deck comprises a motorized brush for sweeping a floor, a hopper for receiving dust from said brush and a castor wheel for providing a lower stop for said sweeping deck.

18. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface comprising:

a main electric powered motorized vehicle having a steering and drive wheel and a forwardly located seat and said polishing and cleaning deck connected to the main electric power motorized vehicle;

an upper positioned swing arm having a length more than ½

of the width of said vehicle sufficient to extend beyond a left and right side of said vehicle when swinging to a respective full left and right position from a rearwardly extending center position about a substantially vertical pivot axis point behind and above said operator seat; and

said power cord having a restrained section being restrained near a distal end of said swing arm and operably connected to said polishing and cleaning deck for providing electric power to said polishing and cleaning deck.

19. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 18 further comprising:

said pivot constructed to provide said swing arm to swing approximately 90°

to either side of the rearwardly extending center position.

20. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 19 further comprising:

said vehicle having two front wheels and a rear wheel; and

said rear wheel being operably connected to an electric motor for driving said vehicle and being steerable.

25. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface having a main motorized vehicle body and a front mounted polishing and cleaning deck;

said riding apparatus further comprising;

a sweeping deck mounted under said vehicle body behind said abrasive cleaning and abrasive deck through a linkage system for relative vertical movement with respect to said vehicle body; and

said sweeping deck comprises a motorized brush for sweeping a floor, a hopper for receiving dust from said brush and a castor wheel for providing a lower stop for said sweeping deck.

26. A riding apparatus as defined in claim 25 further comprising:

said hopper being operably connected to a vacuum source for emptying said hopper from dust.

27. A riding apparatus as defined in claim 26 further comprising:

said hopper having a closure for closing said hopper for wet scrubbing to prevent wet slurry from entering said hopper.

28. A riding apparatus as defined in claim 25 further comprising:

said linkage system includes a lifting actuator to raise said sweeping deck and when in a floor engaging position allows said sweeping deck to lift with respect to said vehicle body when encountering a raised said floor surface or obstacle under said vehicle body wheels.

29. A riding apparatus as defined in claim 25 further comprising:

said sweeping deck having a rear seal behind said brush; and

said rear seal connected to a subassembly that hangs on a hanger hook and can be removed therefrom;

pull pins engage through the hanger hook and assembly to lock said rear seal in place.

30. A riding apparatus as defined in claim 25 further comprising:

said motorized brush having an adjustment mechanism for adjusting it closer to the floor surface as it wears and its diameter decreases.

31. A riding apparatus as defined in claim 25 further comprising:

dust wipers positioned in front of two front wheels of said main motorized vehicle body and abutting said floor surface for directing dust to between said front wheels.

32. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface having a main motorized vehicle body and a front mounted polishing and cleaning deck;

said riding apparatus further comprising;

a sweeping deck mounted under said vehicle body behind said abrasive cleaning and abrasive deck;

said sweeping deck comprising a motorized brush for sweeping a floor, a hopper for receiving dust from said brush and a castor wheel for providing a lower stop for said sweeping deck; and

said brush constructed for wet and dry brushing applications on said floor surface.

33. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface comprising:

a main motorized vehicle having steering and rive wheels;

a polishing and cleaning deck mounted in front of said vehicle and operably connected thereto to be moved thereby; and

a front facing seat positioned on a forward section of said main motorized vehicle having a seat surface at a position between 35″ and

45″

above the floor surface.

34. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface as defined in claim 33 further comprising:

a low profile rear body section positioned to have its upper surface located below the normal eye level of the operator when seated on said seat such that a 360°

field of vision directly available to an operator.

35. A power cord handling system for a riding apparatus for treating a floor surface having a polishing and cleaning deck powered from a power cord;

said power cord handling system comprising;

an upper positioned swing arm pivotably connected to said riding apparatus about a substantially vertical pivot axis;

said power cord having a restrained section being restrained near a distal end of said swing arm and operably connected to said polishing and cleaning deck for providing electric power to said polishing and cleaning deck;

said pivot point constructed to horizontally swing said swing arm to the left and to the right of a rearwardly extending position when a torque is exerted thereon;

said swing arm having a length more than one-half the width of said vehicle such that said swing arm has sufficient length to extend beyond a left and right side of said riding apparatus when swinging to its full left or right position to position said restrained section of said cord beyond said respective left and right side of said vehicle;

a stop mechanism for preventing said swing arm from further horizontal rotation beyond said full left and full right position; and

a remote power cord reel assembly for allowing said power cord to be unreeled therefrom when said riding apparatus is moving away from said reel;

said reel assembly being constructed to substantially take up slack of said power cord when said riding apparatus is moving toward said reel.

36. A power cord handling system as defined in claim 35 further comprising:

said reel assembly having a spring loaded rotatable reel and a weighted frame to stabilize against horizontal torque force exerted by said spring loaded reel.

37. A power cord handling system as defined in claim 36 further comprising:

a torque sensor connected to said swing arm that provides an alarm indicating if a torque above a predetermined amount is exerted on said swing arm.

38. A power cord handling system as defined in claim 36 further comprising:

said reel assembly having a wiper to engage the power cord as it is pulled out and taken back into the reel to clean the power cord from dust.

39. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface comprising:

a main motorized vehicle having steering and drive wheels and a seat for an operator;

a polishing and cleaning deck mounted in front of said vehicle and operably connected thereto to be moved thereby; and

said polishing and cleaning deck having an edge grinder connected thereto that extends laterally therefrom to a wall or floor surface edge to polish and clean the edge of said floor surface.

40. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface having a main motorized vehicle body and a front mounted polishing and cleaning deck, said riding apparatus further comprising:

a water tank and on board delivery system to deliver water in proximity with said deck for wet grinding;

a rear squeegee for gathering said water to one area;

a vacuum pick up system for picking up said water after being used with said polishing and cleaning deck; and

a holding tank for holding said water.

41. A riding apparatus as defined in claim 40 further comprising:

a power brush mounted under the main motorized vehicle body constructed to be used for wet use and for dry use.

42. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface comprising:

a main motorized vehicle having steering and drive wheels and a seat for an operator;

a polishing and cleaning deck mounted in front of said vehicle and operably connected thereto to be moved thereby;

said polishing and cleaning deck being pivotably connected to said vehicle through a raisable link arm; and

said polishing and cleaning deck being pivotably mounted to a front distal end of said raisable link arm along a generally horizontal laterally extending axis to pivot said deck to a generally vertical position to expose the underside of said deck when said deck is in a raised position off of said floor surface.

43. A riding apparatus as defined in claim 42 further comprising:

said raisable arm also being operable to a lower position to add some weight of said main motorized vehicle onto said deck to exert a greater downward force on said floor surface by said deck.

44. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface comprising:

a main motorized vehicle having steering and drive wheels and a seat for an operator;

a polishing and cleaning deck mounted in front of said vehicle and operably connected thereto to be moved thereby;

said polishing and cleaning deck being connected to said vehicle through a quick connect fastener at an end of an operating arm to disengage from said main motorized vehicle to place said deck on said floor surface; and

a second polishing deck positioned on said floor to be engaged to said main motorized vehicle.

45. A riding apparatus for treating a floor surface comprising:

a main motorized vehicle having steering and drive wheels and seat for an operator;

a polishing and cleaning deck mounted in front of said vehicle and operably connected thereto to be moved thereby;

a vacuum system for vacuuming up dust created by said polishing and cleaning deck;

said vacuum system having filter media for filtering dust from re-entering the ambient surrounding; and

said vacuum system having a back flush system for cleaning said filter media.