Bathtub abrading system
First Claim
1. An abrading machine for directing a high velocity stream of abrasive particles against a surface to be abraded, said machine adapted to travel in a forward direction and said machine having a carriage movable in a direction lateral to said direction of forward travel to permit said abrasive fluid stream to be applied to said surface in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel, comprising:
- a drive means;
a first shaft rotatably mounted in said machine and capable of being mechanically connected to said drive means,a first clutch means for selectively interconnecting said drive means and said first shaft;
means connected to said carriage for translating rotation of said first shaft into linear reciprocal motion of said carriage;
an abrading head supported by the carriage, said abrading head including means for fluidizing abrasive particles into a stream of abrasive particles and nozzle means for directing said particle stream toward the surface to be abraded;
a second shaft rotatably mounted in said machine and capable of being mechanically connected to said drive means, said second shaft having a pair of wheels connected at opposite ends thereof to permit said machine to travel in the direction of forward travel;
a second clutch means selectively activated for interconnecting said drive means and said second shaft to enable said machine to travel in the forward direction; and
a control means connected to said first and second clutch means for selectively activating one or the other of said clutch means and deactivating the other of said clutch means to selectively enable said machine to travel in the forward direction or to enable the carriage to traverse the surface to be abraded in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable system (10) for abrading the floor of a bathtub (26) to render it slip resistant. The system contains a portable power unit (12) containing an air compressor providing compressed air to abrading unit (14) via compressed air hose (20) and provides a source of electrical power to an abrading unit (14) via a power cable (18). The abrading unit (14) is adapted to direct a high velocity stream of abrasive particles against the floor of a bathtub through perforations in a particle impervious template (24). The unit (14) which is adapted to travel in the forward direction (indicated by the arrow), has a carriage movable in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel. An abrading head (38) is supported by and reciprocally movable with a carriage to apply the particle stream in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel and normal to the bathtub surface. A vacuum unit (16) is connected to a filter-hopper (40) mounted on top of the abrading unit for exhausting spent abrasive particles, filtering them and recycling them for further use. A control mechanism is provided for selectively advancing the unit in a forward direction or causing the abrading head to reciprocally traverse the unit in response to the location of perforations in the template.
27 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An abrading machine for directing a high velocity stream of abrasive particles against a surface to be abraded, said machine adapted to travel in a forward direction and said machine having a carriage movable in a direction lateral to said direction of forward travel to permit said abrasive fluid stream to be applied to said surface in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel, comprising:
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a drive means; a first shaft rotatably mounted in said machine and capable of being mechanically connected to said drive means, a first clutch means for selectively interconnecting said drive means and said first shaft; means connected to said carriage for translating rotation of said first shaft into linear reciprocal motion of said carriage; an abrading head supported by the carriage, said abrading head including means for fluidizing abrasive particles into a stream of abrasive particles and nozzle means for directing said particle stream toward the surface to be abraded; a second shaft rotatably mounted in said machine and capable of being mechanically connected to said drive means, said second shaft having a pair of wheels connected at opposite ends thereof to permit said machine to travel in the direction of forward travel; a second clutch means selectively activated for interconnecting said drive means and said second shaft to enable said machine to travel in the forward direction; and a control means connected to said first and second clutch means for selectively activating one or the other of said clutch means and deactivating the other of said clutch means to selectively enable said machine to travel in the forward direction or to enable the carriage to traverse the surface to be abraded in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A portable system for abrading a surface to be abraded, comprising:
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a source of compressed air; a source of electrical power; a supply of abrasive particles; an abrading machine for directing a stream of abrasive particles against a surface to be abraded, said machine adapted to travel in a forward direction and said machine having a carriage movable in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel to permit a stream of abrasive particles to be applied to the surface in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel, said carriage adapted to support an abrading head connected to said source of compressed air and said supply of abrasive particles and reciprocally movable therewith, said abrading head including means for fluidizing abrasive particles into a stream of abrasive particles and nozzle means for directing said particle stream to the surface to be abraded; said machine including a drive means connected to said electrical power source, a first shaft rotatably mounted in said machine and having a pair of helical camming grooves formed therein, a first clutch capable of being selectively activated to interconnect said drive means and said first shaft, a second shaft rotatably mounted in said machine and having a pair of wheels connected to opposite ends thereof to permit said machine to travel in a forward direction, a second clutch capable of being selectively activated to interconnect said drive means and said second shaft and means connected to said carriage for translating rotational movement of said first shaft into linear reciprocal movement of said carriage; a template formed of a particle impervious material and adapted to be disposed over the surface to be abraded, said template having at least one perforation for exposing a selected area of said surface to be abraded to the particle stream through said perforations; a control means connected to said first and said second clutches for selectively activating one of said clutches and deactivating the other of said clutches; and said control means including a first means for sensing when said carriage has reached the extreme of traverse in one of said directions perpendicular to said forward direction of travel, a first switching means responsive to said first sensing means and connected to said first clutch and to said second clutch for activating said second clutch and deactivating said first clutch when the extreme of traverse is sensed by said first means, second means for sensing the location of said template and a second switching means responsive to said second sensing means and connected to said first and said second clutches for deactivating said second clutch and activating said first clutch when the location of one or more perforations is sensed by said second sensing means. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An abrading machine for making the floor of a bathtub slip resistant by abrading selected portions of the floor with a high velocity stream of abrasive particles applied to the floor through perforations formed in a template impervious to the particle stream, said apparatus connected to a source of compressed air, a supply of abrasive particles, a vacuum source and a source of electric power, said apparatus adapted to travel in a forward direction and said apparatus having a carriage movable in a direction lateral to said direction of forward travel to permit said particle stream to be applied to said surface in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel, comprising:
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a drive means connected to the source of electrical power; a first shaft rotatably mounted in said apparatus and capable of being mechanically connected to said drive means, said first shaft having a pair of oppositely directed helical camming grooves formed therein; a traverse clutch capable of being selectively activated to interconnect said drive means and said first shaft; a sliding nut connected to said carriage and slidably mounted on said first shaft for engaging one at a time of said helical camming grooves, said nut automatically engaging the other of said camming grooves at opposite extremes of traverse thereof to convert rotational movement of said first shaft into linear reciprocal movement of said nut and said carriage; an abrading head supported by the carriage and reciprocally movable therewith, said abrading head connected to the source of compressed air and to the supply of abrasive particles and including means for fluidizing abrasive particles into said particle stream, said head also including nozzle means for directing said particle stream toward the surface to be abraded; a second shaft capable of being mechanically connected to said drive means, said second shaft having a pair of wheels connected at opposite ends thereof to permit said apparatus to travel in the direction of forward travel; a forward-drive clutch capable of being selectively activated for interconnecting said drive means and said second shaft to enable said machine to travel in the forward direction; and a control means connected to said traverse clutch and to said forward-drive clutch for selectively activating one or the other of said clutches to selectively enable said machine to travel in the forward direction or to enable the carriage to traverse the surface to be abraded in a direction lateral to the direction of forward travel. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification