Patents by Inventor Richard F. Wulff

Richard F. Wulff has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6249926
    Abstract: A cleaning machine employing a vertically shiftable brush and motor assembly, a separate vertically shiftable skirt/splash guard assembly, and a cooperative arrangement between the brush and skirt assemblies causing controlled elevation of the skirt with elevation of the brush. Both the skirt and the brush remain in optimum engagement with a floor surface during operation, but the skirt is elevated cooperatively with elevation of the brush using a lost motion engagement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2001
    Assignee: Tennant Company
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: 6115880
    Abstract: A floor cleaner comprising a base and a filter bag housing, the filter bag housing having a bag cavity which has an undulated inner wall for receiving a filter bag, the undulated wall having a plurality of elongated protrusions and adjacent intermediate elongated air flow recesses. A smooth outer wall is spaced from the inner wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2000
    Assignee: Castex Incorporated
    Inventors: Richard F. Wulff, Daniel G. Giddings
  • Patent number: 6085383
    Abstract: A vacuum cleaner comprising a housing having an elongated transverse brush cavity with an elongated cylindrical brush therein, a duct having an air flow nozzle adjacent the brush cavity for receiving dirt-entrained air from the brush cavity, a vacuum motor operably associated with the duct and nozzle to draw dirt-entrained air through the nozzle and duct, and the brush cavity having a wrap configuration geometry over the brush including an elongated reflective ledge angled laterally upwardly toward the nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Assignee: Castex Incorporated
    Inventors: Richard F. Wulff, Nilabh Narayan, Daniel G. Giddings, Dick Mason
  • Patent number: 6079080
    Abstract: An upright floor cleaner comprising a base, an upper housing and an operation handle, the upper housing and handle being pivotally mounted relative to the base, between an upright at rest condition and a lowered operation condition, the handle in the upright condition projecting upwardly above the housing and curving through an arc to a generally horizontal orientation, and in the operation condition extending diagonally rearwardly-upwardly and then curving through the arc to a generally vertical downward orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2000
    Assignee: Castex Incorporated
    Inventors: Bryce G. Rutter, Charles W. Loeb-Munson, Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: 5611106
    Abstract: A carpet maintainer comprising a mobile support having power drive for advancing the support over an underlying carpet surface, a housing on the support, a cleaning solvent vessel on the support, a discharge spray bar at the support underside for discharging cleaning solvent from the vessel onto an underlying carpet surface, a pair of powered, counter-rotational, elongated brushes at the support underside, adjacent each other, and transverse to the support, the spray bar being forward of the brushes for ejecting cleaning solution on the carpet followed by brush scrubbing and pile pick-up of the carpet, a debris hopper, a suction fan in the housing, an air and debris conducting conduit extending from the hopper to the suction fan, and a collector bag between the hopper and suction fan so that dirt and debris swept up by the brushes is deposited in the hopper or drawn by the fan into the collector bag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1997
    Assignee: Castex Incorporated
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: 5608939
    Abstract: A floor burnisher having a frame, a peripheral housing, rear wheels and a front caster, the housing having an internal cylindrical wall defining a vertical chamber having an open bottom; a floating rotational drive motor in the chamber, and a rotational pad-driver underlying and connected to the motor to be rotationally driven thereby for mounting a flexible burnishing pad; suspension links and springs between the frame and drive motor suspending the drive motor, pad-driver and pad thereon in a floating fashion relative to the frame and housing, allowing limited vertical movement relative to the cylindrical wall; a flexible, peripheral, floor-engagement skin suspended from the peripheral housing shroud, and an air flow control sealing member between the motor and annular wall for preventing excessive air flow between the floating motor and wall into the burnisher wall chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 11, 1997
    Assignee: Castex Incorporated
    Inventors: Steve Waldhauser, Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: 4956891
    Abstract: A five in one floor cleaning machine supported on wheels intermediate the front and rear of the machine, there being adjacent the rear a clean water outlet, a scrub brush, a dirty water pickup nozzle, a clean rinse water outlet, and a dirty rinse water pickup nozzle. A pair of concentric chambers retain the clean and dirty water, the first chamber surrounding an inner chamber which is defined by a flexible spherical wall. As clean water empties from one chamber, and dirty water fills the other, the center of gravity stays substantially the same. The flexible wall of the inner chamber folds in under the force of surrounding increasing water pressure to decrease the size of the inner chamber as it empties of clean water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 1990
    Date of Patent: September 18, 1990
    Assignee: Castex Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: 4756042
    Abstract: A floor polishing machine is shown having a one piece, rotationally molded base formed from a synthetic, non conductive material. The base has a pad receiving portion integrally formed of the synthetic material for receiving a polishing pad. A pair of wheels are mounted on opposite sides of the base by means of an axle which passes transversely through the base. A motor compartment is formed in the rotationally molded base to contain an electric motor used to drive the pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 12, 1988
    Assignee: Southwest Manufacturers & Distributors, Inc.
    Inventors: Vincent P. Genovese, Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: 4186459
    Abstract: A carpet brush attachment for a floor treating machine including a circular machine supporting plate having a circular hub extending axially therefrom. The circular plate has formed adjacent the outer edge thereof and spaced from the hub an annular flange acting as a stop for a ring brush. The ring brush is formed with spaced holes through which extensions formed on the plate freely extend which rotate the brush and allow the brush to move vertically upon the extensions and thereby rest floatingly on a carpeted surface to be cleaned with the plate on the surface and supporting the machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1978
    Date of Patent: February 5, 1980
    Assignee: Advance Machine Company
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: 4158901
    Abstract: A mobile surface cleaning machine with rear mounted steerable wheels steered by a steering wheel, first and second squeegee blades pivotally mounted on each side, respectively, on the rear of the machine. A cam carried by the rear wheels with first and second levers pivotally mounted on the machine, each of the levers having a roller mounted thereon for contact with the cam. A first flexible cable connected to the first lever and the first squeegee and a second cable connected to the second lever and said second squeegee. A sprocket carried by the cam. A chain carried by said sprocket and the steering wheel whereby actuation of the steering wheel to turn the machine in one direction lowers one of said squeegees to a surface on which the machine is operated and maintains the other squeegee raised from the machine with both squeegees maintained in raised positions when the machine is steered in a forward direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 1977
    Date of Patent: June 26, 1979
    Assignee: Advance Machine Company
    Inventors: Richard F. Wulff, Everett E. Johnson
  • Patent number: 3930277
    Abstract: A Mobile Floor Sweeper including a rotatable cylindrical brush mounted on a mobile chassis, lever means for raising and lowering said brush relative to the chassis with plate means pivotally mounted on the chassis adjacent the brush together with lever means connecting the plate means with the means for raising and lowering the brush whereby the plate means follows the brush as it is raised and lowered and means for adjustably positioning one end of the brush relative to the chassis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1974
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1976
    Assignee: Advance Machine Company
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: 3930630
    Abstract: Apparatus for supporting and tilting the collecting chamber of a vacuum cleaner is disclosed including a chassis rollable over a floor surface, having a pair of upstanding arms, a pair of arm members pivotally connected to the upstanding arms of the chassis, and a handle pivotally connected to the arm members. The handle can be locked in either of two positions, with the first push position being such that the gripping portion of the handle is placed above the pivot point of the arm member to the chassis such that the gripping portion is in a position convenient to the operator for rolling the chassis over the floor surface and with the second tilt position being rotated from the first push position about the pivotal connection of the handle with the arm members such that the gripping portion lies below the pivot point to allow pivoting of the arm members on the chassis to tilt the collecting chamber of the vacuum cleaner so that it empties the contents therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1974
    Date of Patent: January 6, 1976
    Assignee: Advance Machine Company
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: D316765
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 7, 1991
    Assignee: Castex Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: D337185
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 1990
    Date of Patent: July 6, 1993
    Assignee: Castex Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: D343932
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1992
    Date of Patent: February 1, 1994
    Assignee: Castex Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard F. Wulff, Luciano Hernandez, IV
  • Patent number: D345035
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1994
    Assignee: Castex Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff
  • Patent number: D352146
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 1, 1994
    Assignee: Castex Incorporated
    Inventor: Richard F. Wulff