Floor finish applicator
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A floor finish applicator comprising:
- a wheeled cart;
a floor finish spreading mop coupled to the cart;
a first elastic element coupled to a first end of the spreading mop;
a second elastic element coupled to a second end of the spreading mop; and
an actuator coupled to the spreading mop between the first elastic element and the second elastic element to selectively raise and lower the spreading mop, the actuator configured to rotate the spreading mop about a horizontal axis between a position engaged with a floor and a position disengaged from the floor;
wherein the spreading mop is rotatable from a first position to a second position about a vertical axis defined by the actuator when the spreading mop encounters an obstacle, and wherein the spreading mop is rotatable from the second position back to the first position via the first and second elastic elements,wherein the spreading mop is selectively biased into engagement with the floor by the first and second elastic elements such that the bias force causes a leading edge of the spreading mop to engage the floor with less force than a trailing edge of the spreading mop,wherein at least a portion of each of the first and second elastic elements extends below the horizontal axis in the floor-engaged position of the spreading mop, the first and second elastic elements exerting a force in this orientation to hold the spreading mop in the floor-engaged position,wherein at least a portion of each of the first and second elastic elements extends above the horizontal axis in the floor-disengaged position of the spreading mop, the first and second elastic elements exerting a force in this orientation to hold the spreading mop in the floor-disengaged position.
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Abstract
One aspect of the present Invention provides a pull-behind floor finish applicator which includes a wheeled cart constructed and arranged to receive a source of floor finish. The wheeled cart includes a selectively moveable floor finish spreader coupled to the cart with a biasing member.
18 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A floor finish applicator comprising:
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a wheeled cart; a floor finish spreading mop coupled to the cart; a first elastic element coupled to a first end of the spreading mop; a second elastic element coupled to a second end of the spreading mop; and an actuator coupled to the spreading mop between the first elastic element and the second elastic element to selectively raise and lower the spreading mop, the actuator configured to rotate the spreading mop about a horizontal axis between a position engaged with a floor and a position disengaged from the floor; wherein the spreading mop is rotatable from a first position to a second position about a vertical axis defined by the actuator when the spreading mop encounters an obstacle, and wherein the spreading mop is rotatable from the second position back to the first position via the first and second elastic elements, wherein the spreading mop is selectively biased into engagement with the floor by the first and second elastic elements such that the bias force causes a leading edge of the spreading mop to engage the floor with less force than a trailing edge of the spreading mop, wherein at least a portion of each of the first and second elastic elements extends below the horizontal axis in the floor-engaged position of the spreading mop, the first and second elastic elements exerting a force in this orientation to hold the spreading mop in the floor-engaged position, wherein at least a portion of each of the first and second elastic elements extends above the horizontal axis in the floor-disengaged position of the spreading mop, the first and second elastic elements exerting a force in this orientation to hold the spreading mop in the floor-disengaged position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A floor finish applicator comprising:
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a wheeled cart; a floor finish spreading mop coupled to the cart and having a proximal edge and a distal edge relative to the cart; and an over-center mechanism coupled to the floor finish spreading mop, the over-center mechanism including a first elongate element extending from the cart toward the spreading mop such that an end of the first elongate element is positioned closer to the proximal edge than the distal edge; and a second elongate element extending from the cart toward the spreading mop such that an end of the second elongate element is positioned closer to the distal edge than the proximal edge; wherein the spreading mop is coupled to the first and second elongate elements for over-center rotation about a horizontal axis between a position engaged with a floor and a position not engaged with the floor, wherein at least one of the first elongate element and the second elongate element is movable relative to the other elongate element to move the spreading mop about the horizontal axis over-center to each position such that the spreading mop is held in each position at least partially by the relative arrangement of the first and second elongate elements. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification