Producing stress on surfaces

• US 8,438,901 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2010
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rohm and Haas Company (Dow, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rohm and Haas Company (Dow, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gregory, Walter Jay, Shah, Nilesh, Tysak, Theodore
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Hezron
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shabman, Mark A
• Application Number:
  US12/762,396
• Publication Number:
  US 20100297920A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 73/7
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2203/0005 Repeated or cyclic
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2203/024 Corrosive
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 3/56 Investigating resistance to wear or abrasion

Abstract

An apparatus for producing stress on a surface, comprising one or more service assembly and one or more cleaning assembly. The service assembly comprises one or more means for applying dirt to said surface, or one or more means for scuffing said surface, or one or more means for dragging a test material across said surface, or a combination thereof. The cleaning assembly comprises one or more scrubber, or one or more burnisher, or a combination thereof.

Also provided is a method of testing a surface with such an apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus for producing stress on a smooth surface, said apparatus comprising one or more service assembly, one or more cleaning assembly, and one or more measurement assembly

(a) wherein said service assembly comprises one or more means for applying dirt to said surface, or one or more means for scuffing said surface, or a combination thereof,

(b) wherein said cleaning assembly comprises one or more burnisher, and

(c) wherein said measurement assembly comprises a device for measuring gloss.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said service assembly comprises one or more means for applying dirt to said surface and one or more means for scuffing said surface.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said surface comprises a coating on vinyl, linoleum, or other resilient material.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for independently controlling the exposure of said surface to said service assembly and the exposure of said surface to said cleaning assembly.

5. A method of testing a surface with an apparatus for producing stress on a smooth surface, said apparatus comprising one or more service assembly and one or more cleaning assembly,

(a) wherein said service assembly comprises one or more means for applying dirt to said surface, or one or more means for scuffing said surface, or a combination thereof, and

(b) wherein said cleaning assembly comprises one or more burnisher, comprising the steps of

(i) one or more times, using said service assembly to apply dirt to said surface, or to scuff said surface, or a combination thereof,

(ii) one or more times, using said cleaning assembly to burnish said surface,

(iii) measuring the quality of said surface before said steps (i) and (ii), and

(iv) measuring the quality of said surface after said steps (i) and (ii),

wherein the duration of said method is 4 days or less.

6. The method of claim 5 comprising the steps of

(i) one or more times, using said service assembly to apply dirt to said surface and to scuff said surface, and

(ii) one or more times, using said cleaning assembly to burnish said surface.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said surface comprises the surfaces of two or more tiles, each with a different floor polish.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the duration of said method is 12 hours or less.

9. An apparatus for producing stress on a smooth surface, said apparatus comprising one or more service assembly, one or more cleaning assembly, and one or more measurement assembly

(a) wherein said service assembly comprises one or more means for scuffing said surface,

(b) wherein said cleaning assembly comprises one or more scrubber, or one or more burnisher, or a combination thereof;

and

wherein said means for scuffing said surface comprises means for bringing an object made of rubber into contact with said surface,

(c) wherein said measurement assembly comprises a device for measuring gloss.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said service assembly additionally comprises one or more means for applying dirt to said surface.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said surface comprises a coating on vinyl, linoleum, or other resilient material.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising means for independently controlling the exposure of said surface to said service assembly and the exposure of said surface to said cleaning assembly.

13. A method of testing a surface with the apparatus of claim 9 comprising the steps of

(i) one or more times, using said service assembly to apply dirt to said surface, or to scuff said surface, or a combination thereof,

(ii) one or more times, using said cleaning assembly to burnish said surface,

(iii) measuring the quality of said surface before said steps (i) and (ii), and

(iv) measuring the quality of said surface after said steps (i) and (ii),

wherein the duration of said method is 4 days or less.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said bringing said object made of rubber into contact with said surface causes some transfer of material from said object made of rubber to said surface.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said rubber has Durometer hardness on the Shore A scale of 100 or lower.

16. The method of claim 13 comprising the steps of

(i) one or more times, using said service assembly to apply dirt to said surface and to scuff said surface, and

(ii) one or more times, using said cleaning assembly to scrub said surface and to burnish said surface.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein said surface comprises the surfaces of two or more tiles, each with a different floor polish.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the duration of said method is 12 hours or less.