Floor Grinding Machine
The present invention is a floor grinder assembly for grinding a floor. The assembly includes first and second rails configured for being mounted spaced apart from and parallel to one another. A plurality of stands is configured for mounting the first and second rails above the floor. The stands have an adjustable length for adjusting a height position of the first and second rails such that the rails define a plane above the floor. A truss is configured to mount between the rails and to be movable along a length of the rails. A grinding assembly includes a grinding wheel and a motor driving the grinding wheel. The grinding assembly is configured for mounting to the truss and for being movable along a length of the truss.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/922,056, filed on Apr. 5, 2007, entitled Floor Grinding Machine; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the InventionThe invention relates to a machine for grinding concrete floors that need to be flat, more specifically, to a grinding machine that can be installed to grind a floor, thereby making the floor planar.
Existing floor grinders are not able to produce a flat floor or a level floor that is flat over its entire surface area. For many years floor-covering professionals have gone to great lengths to remove high and low spots commonly found on concrete floors. While most floor grinders have reduced the time necessary to prepare a floor, by quickly removing adhesives and excess cement, they still have not been able to produce a flat surface to work on. Conventional floor grinders have rotating discs that make the floor flat within an area limited to the surface area of the discs but not relative to the rest of the area of the floor. Furthermore, these grinders are moved around the floor by way of wheels which simply roll over the high and low spots and therefore, they do not compensate for the varying elevations of the floor. The operator of the grinder, while working on area of the floor, has no idea how it correlates to the other areas of the floor. In order to see these high and low spots one must put a straight edged tool on the floor in both an “x” and “y” direction. Therefore, use of such conventional grinders relies greatly on skill and the time spent devoted to leveling the floor.
The popularity of larger ceramic and marble tiles and smaller grout joints has made it even more difficult for installers to produce a flat finished product. Many installers will attempt to make a floor flat by “floating” it. This is a costly and time consuming process in which the low spots are filled in with cement to make them even with the high spots. Once again, this is only possible by using a straight edge. Marble or stone applications require that the installer must raise the entire floor up on a bed of cement in order to accommodate the unevenness of the floor. This installation process requires an enormous amount of cement and is extremely time consuming. The ability level the floor before putting down the tiles would greatly cut installation costs.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a floor grinding machine which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and which provides a floor grinding machine that is accurate, easily manufactured, easy to maintain, quick and simple to use, has a great deal of versatility, and is reliable.
The present invention has the advantages that it can be set up on any floor surface and level a floor that is highly uneven.
The simplicity of the present invention allows anyone with various skill levels to successfully the use the floor grinding machine. It is very lightweight and extremely portable and can be set up to cover surface areas of varying shapes and sizes.
The present invention pertains to a floor grinding machine used to remove irregularities in the surface of concrete floors so that they may be covered easily and maintain a flat or level appearance. The present invention uses straight, level beams as guides to grind away the elevation variations commonly found in the surface of concrete floors. The floor grinding machine not only removes excess matter left behind by previous floor coverings but also produces an ideal surface to be covered with new flooring. The floor grinding machine has the advantage of a rate of production associated with the popular multidisc grinders while surpassing the shortcomings thereof by eliminating uneven areas in the floor. The present invention does not roll across the floor on wheels leaving uneven areas unaddressed. To the contrary, the floor grinding machine is suspended above the floor by a level framework of beams that act as a guide for removal of the uneven areas.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention a floor grinder assembly for grinding a floor. The assembly includes first and second rails configured for being mounted spaced apart from and parallel to one another. A plurality of stands is configured for mounting the first and second rails above the floor. The stands have an adjustable length for adjusting a height position of the first and second rails such that the rails define a plane above the floor. A truss is configured to mount between the rails and to be movable along a length of the rails. A grinding assembly includes a grinding wheel and a motor driving the grinding wheel. The grinding assembly is configured for mounting to the truss and for being movable along a length of the truss.
With the rails in a north-south direction and the truss in an east-west direction, together they form a plane above the floor. This plane can be manipulated very precisely to be level or pitched. The manipulation and height of the plane comes by way of adjustable stands located on both ends of each rail. The concept of the level plane is actually the basis of the invention. Once the level plane has been established, and the machine has passed over the entire floor, the floor itself will be a level plane. The mounting of the truss establishes a plane above the floor, which can be manipulated to be level, pitched or flat and acts as a guide by which the floor will be planed. The advantage of such a machine is that it produces the most ideal surface of a concrete floor to be covered.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the assembly includes a carriage, said carriage has a housing configured for selectively mounting said grinding assembly to said truss.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention the housing has rollers configured to roll on said truss and a hinged wall for releasably attaching said housing to said truss.
In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the rails and said truss are formed of rail segments. The segments have locating pins and corresponding holes configured for axially mounting said segments to one another.
In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, said truss includes sliding sleeves configured for being selectively affixed to opposite ends of said truss, the sleeves are configured for movably mounting said truss to said rails.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the stands each have: a harness configured for removeably mounting said stand to said rails, a base, a threaded piston projecting from said base and being attached to said harness, and a threaded coupling disposed on said base for adjusting position of said threaded piston and thus said harness.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the carriage has a pair of spaced apart legs mounted on said housing. The said legs each have a respective sleeve mounted thereon opposite said housing. The grinding wheel is rotatably mounted between said sleeves.
In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the legs each have a respective array of holes and said sleeves each have a respective array of holes. Pins are configured to be inserted into corresponding holes thereby locking said sleeves with respect to said legs and establishing a height of said grinding wheel with respect to the truss and the floor.
In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, one of said legs has a step for offsetting a bottom portion of said leg thereby allowing said grinding wheel to travel beyond said rail facing said leg with said step.
In accordance with still another feature of the invention, the housing has a locking device configured for locking the carriage at a fixed position on said truss.
In accordance with still yet another feature of the invention, the grinding wheel has a protective shroud.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied as a floor grinding machine, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to
It is possible for the sleeves 4 to be constructed in a similar manner to the housing 19. Although not shown in the drawings, it is possible for the carriage 5 to have drive for advancing the carriage 5 along the truss 3. Furthermore, it is possible for the truss 3 to include a drive for advancing the truss 3 along the rails 1. It follows that the sensors and a control unit can be included to control the drives for the advancement of the carriage 5 and the truss 3 based on appropriate cutting feed rates and to control the motor 6 for setting appropriate cutting speed rates. It within the scope of the invention to employ laser-leveling devices for leveling and adjusting the rails 1 with respect to one another.
Claims
1. A floor grinder assembly for grinding a floor, the assembly comprising: first and second rails configured for being mounted spaced apart from and parallel to one another;
- a plurality of stands configured for mounting said first and second rails above the floor, said stands having an adjustable length for adjusting a height position of said first and second rails such that said rails define a plane above the floor;
- a truss configured for mounting between said rails and for being movable along a length of said rails; and
- a grinding assembly including a grinding wheel and a motor driving said grinding wheel, said grinding assembly being configured for mounting to said truss and for being movable along a length of said truss.
2. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a carriage, said carriage having a housing configured for selectively mounting said grinding assembly to said truss.
3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein said housing has rollers configured to roll on said truss and a hinged wall to releasably attach said housing to said truss.
4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said rails and said truss are formed of rail segments, said segments have locating pins and corresponding holes configured to axially mount said segments to one another.
5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said truss includes sliding sleeves configured to be selectively affixed to opposite ends of said truss, said sleeves are configured to movably mount said truss to said rails.
6. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said stands each have:
- a harness configured for removeably mounting said stand to said rails;
- a base;
- a threaded piston projecting from said base and being attached to said harness; and
- a threaded coupling disposed on said base for adjusting position of said threaded piston and thus said harness.
7. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein said carriage has a pair of spaced apart legs mounted on said housing, said legs each have a respective sleeve mounted thereon opposite said housing, said grinding wheel is rotatably mounted between said sleeves.
8. The assembly according to claim 7, wherein said legs each have a respective array of holes formed therein and said sleeves each have a respective array of holes formed therein, and pins configured to be inserted into corresponding holes to lock said sleeves with respect to said legs and establish a height of said grinding wheel with respect to the truss and the floor.
9. The assembly according to claim 8, wherein one of said legs has a step to offset a bottom portion of said leg and allow said grinding wheel to travel beyond said rail facing said leg with said step.
10. The assembly according to claim 9, wherein said housing has a locking device configured to lock the carriage at a fixed position on said truss.
11. The assembly according to claim 10, wherein said grinding wheel has a protective shroud.
12. The assembly according to claim 7, wherein said grinding wheel has an axis of rotation that is substantially parallel to said truss.
13. The assembly according to claim 7, wherein said grinding wheel has an axis of rotation that is substantially horizontal.
14. A method of grinding a floor comprising:
- installing the floor grinding machine according to claim 1, on a floor; and
- moving the grinding wheel across the floor for making the floor flat with respect to itself.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 21, 2008
Publication Date: Oct 9, 2008
Applicant: (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Inventor: David Craycraft (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Application Number: 12/053,232
International Classification: B24B 1/00 (20060101);