ROTARY HEAD, METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USE WITH HARD AND SOFT SURFACES
A rotary head comprising a longitudinally extending core comprising an outer surface and defining a longitudinal centerline axis, and a covering that is disposed on the outer surface of the core and that includes a radially extending material that is configured to interact with a fluid on a surface. The rotary head is configured to couple to a rotatable shaft of a floor-care system and rotate about the longitudinal centerline axis.
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The apparatus, method and system described below relate generally to caring for hard or soft surfaces, and more specifically, to a rotary head configured to rotate about a longitudinal centerline axis and contact a hard or soft surface to mop, scrub, polish or buff the hard or soft surface.
BACKGROUNDThe typical method of cleaning surfaces such as hard floors is to use a wet mop. The mopping process traditionally involves a cycle of dipping the mop in a bucket of water, moving the wet mop across the floor to clean the surface, and dipping the same mop back in the bucket of water to remove the dirty water trapped in the mop material. The mop can be repeatedly rubbed vigorously on the floor in order to scrub particularly dirty areas or to perform more thorough cleaning. This practice is laborious, manually intensive and time-consuming. Further, this method can be somewhat ineffective and unsanitary because the water in the bucket quickly becomes dirty, and it is that same dirty water which is re-used to mop remaining parts of the floor.
Polishing or buffing a surface such as a hard floor typically requires expensive, cumbersome machinery that is specialized for those particular tasks. Thus the required equipment may not be ideally suited or economical for household use.
SUMMARYIn accordance with one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a rotary head having a longitudinally extending core with an outer surface and which defines a longitudinal centerline axis. The rotary head also has a covering that is disposed on the outer surface of the core and that includes a radially extending material. The rotary head is configured so as to couple to a rotatable shaft of a floor-care system and rotate about the longitudinal centerline axis.
In another embodiment, a method of treating a floor comprises rotating about a longitudinal centerline axis a rotary head that includes a longitudinally extending core having an outer surface and defining a longitudinal centerline axis, and a covering disposed on the outer surface of the core that includes a radially extending material. The method includes contacting the floor with the radially extending material of the rotary head and translating a floor-care system that includes the rotary head across the floor.
In another embodiment, a system comprises a floor-care system that includes a rotatable shaft and a detachable rotary head. The detachable rotary head includes a longitudinally extending core having an outer surface and a longitudinal centerline axis, and a covering that is disposed on the outer surface of the core, which includes a radially extending material. The detachable rotary head is configured to couple to the rotatable shaft and rotate about the longitudinal centerline axis.
Certain embodiments will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Selected embodiments are hereinafter described in detail in connection with the views and examples of
A rotary head 10 in accordance with one embodiment is described in connection with
The core 20 can be comprised of a one or more materials, and can generally be composed of plastics, metals or composites. A core 20 made of thermoplastic or thermoset material can have certain advantages in bonding with the materials used in the covering 30. One advantage, for example, is that when a covering 30 is secured by heat bonding or by an adhesive to a core 20 made of thermoplastic or thermoset material, the covering 30 can bond durably to the core 20 and generally will not delaminate from the core 20 even after prolonged exposure to fluids such as water, soaps, perfumes, disinfectants, cleaners, antistatic agents, polishing compounds or buffing compounds, as can occur with other materials such as, for example, high-density fiberboard. Likewise, a thermoplastic or thermoset core can also resist degradation. It will be understood by those having skill in the art that the core 20 can comprise natural materials, such as wood, or synthetic materials such as, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate, polyurethane, or polyamide. In another embodiment, the core 20 can comprise a metal alloy, for example, aluminum, stainless steel, or titanium. Composites, such as carbon fiber-reinforced polymers, are also contemplated as materials used for the core 20.
The dimensions of the core 20 can be at least partially determined by the desired weight and rigidity for the core 20. In one embodiment, the core 20 has a thickness of approximately 0.58 mm, a length of approximately 12.22 mm±0.01 mm, and an inner diameter of approximately 1.485 mm±0.060 mm.
As shown in
The covering 30 can be composed of any suitable material and can be configured to absorb fluid, carry fluid, distribute fluid, trap fluid and debris, and release fluid and debris. Examples of suitable materials for the covering 30 can include natural materials such as cotton, or synthetic materials, such as foam, sponge, acrylic, nylon, rayon, silicon, rubber, polyester or polypropylene, among others. The covering 30 can also be a blend of natural and synthetic materials.
The backing layer 32 and nap 34 can be formed to be contiguous. For example, the entire covering 30 can be polyester. Alternatively, the backing layer 32 and nap 34 can be separate, distinct and even materially different components. For example, backing layer 32 can be silicon and nap 34 can be an antimicrobial sponge. Additional combinations for the materials of the backing layer 32 and nap 34 are possible.
The nap 34 extends generally radially outwardly from the core 20. The nap 34 can be formed or distributed on the backing layer 32 in a variety of configurations, for example, in a particular patterned arrangement. As schematically depicted in
The rotary head 10 can be configured to be rotatably mounted to a housing 52 in a floor-care system 50, as shown for example in
When the rotary head 10 is seated in the housing 52 of a floor-care system 50, the rotary head 10 can be firmly held in place by bushing or bearing assemblies or any other such structure configured to reduce friction that is created by rotation of the rotary head 10. For example, as is depicted in
The housing 52 can include an extraction structure such as a doctor blade 58 that can be configured to extract a floor-treatment agent 72 from the nap 34 when the nap 34 contacts part of the doctor blade 58.
The intended application for the rotary head 10 can also affect the dimensions of the rotary head 10, and more specifically, the height of the nap 34. For example in a mopping or scrubbing application, as the rotary head 10 rotates, the nap 34 contacts the floor 70 and performs a mopping or scrubbing action. At least one of a floor-treatment agent 72 such as water, soaps, perfumes, disinfectants, cleaners, antistatic agents, polishing and buffing compounds can be applied to the floor 70 to aid in the mopping and scrubbing. As the rotary head 10 rotates, floor-treatment agent 72 containing dirt and debris is picked up by the centrifugal force of the rotary head 10 as well as being absorbed by the nap 34. The rotary head 10 can be positioned within the housing 52 so that a portion of the nap 34 contacts the doctor blade 58 as shown in
For applications such as polishing or buffing, it can be desirable for at least one floor-treatment agent, and in particular polishing and buffing compounds, to remain substantially in the nap 34 so as to be worked against the hard floor 70 rather than be collected by the doctor blade 58 and deposited in the trough portion 60. Nap 34 that does not contact or only makes light contact with the doctor blade 58 when the rotary head 10 is rotating can therefore be desirable, as is shown in
The length of the nap 34 can also be selected based on the desired amount of contact with the hard floor 70. A longer nap 34 will generally create an increased amount of contact with the surface of the hard floor 70. For example, if a doctor blade is not used or is not present in the housing 52, the length of the nap 34 can be determinative as to how much contact occurs and pressure is applied to the surface by the nap 34 and the effective surface area of the nap 34 that contacts the surface of the hard floor 70. A longer nap 34 will generally create more contact and apply more pressure to the hard floor to be mopped, scrubbed, polished or buffed as compared to a shorter nap. Similarly, the density of the nap 34 and the materials comprising the nap 34 can be selected based on the intended application of the rotary head 10. Further, the housing 52 can be adjustable, as is known to those of skill in the art, so as to raise or lower the rotary head 10 and thereby increase or decrease the amount of contact and pressure the rotary head 10 can apply to the hard floor 70.
A rotary head 110 can be provided in any of a variety of other suitable configurations, such as for example rotary head 110 as shown in
Belt 62 can engage rotary head 10 and couple rotary head 10 to a motorized or non-motorized rotatable shaft (not shown) as part of the floor-care system 50. Belt 62 can engage the rotary head 10 such that there is suitable friction between the belt 62 and rotary head 10, thus allowing the belt 62 to rotate the rotary head 10 without substantial slipping during operation of the floor-care system 50. In the embodiment shown in
In another configuration shown in
In an additional configuration shown in
The present use of a rotary head (e.g. 10, 110) can result in various advantages such as, for example, making mopping, scrubbing, polishing and buffing efficient and easy for household as well as commercial use. The rotary head (e.g. 10, 110) is portable, easy to operate, and when used in place of a vacuum cleaner brushroll (not shown), can provide a vacuum cleaner with the additional functionalities such as mopping, scrubbing, polishing and brushing. The rotary head (e.g. 10, 110) is easily detachable and can therefore be removed for rinsing and cleaning after use. Alternatively, the rotary head 20 can be disposable. Additionally, because fresh water is supplied and dirty water is removed, the quality of cleaning and sanitation is enhanced. Further, a lower quantity of water is required for cleaning compared to traditional mop-and-bucket mopping.
It is understood that the described embodiments of the rotary head are merely examples of the many suitable varieties of rotary heads that are capable of manufacture and use in accordance with the teachings herein.
The foregoing description of embodiments and examples have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the forms described. Numerous modifications are possible in light of the above teachings. Some of those modifications have been discussed and others will be understood by those skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described for illustration of various embodiments. The scope is, of course, not limited to the examples or embodiments set forth herein, but can be employed in any number of applications and equivalent devices by those of ordinary skill in the art. Rather it is hereby intended the scope be defined by the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a rotary head comprising: a longitudinally extending core comprising an outer surface and defining a longitudinal centerline axis; and a covering that is disposed on the outer surface of the core and that comprises a radially extending material that is configured to interact with a fluid on a surface; and
- wherein the rotary head is configured to couple to a rotatable shaft of a floor-care system and rotate about the longitudinal centerline axis.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the core is configured to rotate using at least one friction reducing structure.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the friction reducing structure is selected from the group consisting of a bushing and bearing assembly.
4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the core has an inner surface that is configured to accept the at least one friction reducing structure.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the covering further comprises a backing layer in contact with the radially extending material.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radially extending material is nap.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the nap is comprised of individual elements.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the individual elements are each selected from the group consisting of strings and loops.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radially extending material is of a length that is between approximately 8 millimeters and approximately 13 millimeters.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radially extending material is of a length that is selected to cause at least one millimeter of the radially extending material to contact an extraction structure of the floor-care system when the rotary head is rotating about the longitudinal centerline axis.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the radially extending material is of a length that is selected to cause a gap of at least one millimeter between the radially extending material and an extraction structure of the floor-care system when the rotary head is rotating about the longitudinal centerline axis.
12. A method of treating a floor, comprising:
- rotating, about a longitudinal centerline axis, a rotary head that includes a longitudinally extending core having an outer surface and defining the longitudinal centerline axis, and a covering disposed on the outer surface of the core that includes a radially extending material;
- contacting the floor with the radially extending material of the rotary head; and
- translating a floor-care system that includes the rotary head across the floor.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein rotating comprises coupling a rotatable shaft of the floor-care system to the rotary head with a belt without substantial slipping when a floor-treatment agent is present in the radially extending material.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the floor-treatment agent is selected from at least one of the group consisting of water, a soap, a perfume, a disinfectant, a cleaner, an antistatic agent, a polishing compound and a buffing compound.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
- collecting a floor-treatment agent, by an extraction structure of the floor-care system, from the radially extending material when the rotary head is rotating about the longitudinal centerline axis.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:
- depositing a floor-treatment agent onto the floor; and
- removing the floor-treatment agent by a plurality of individual elements of the radially extending material, wherein the individual elements are each selected from the group consisting of strings and loops.
17. A system comprising:
- a floor-care system that comprises a rotatable shaft; and
- a detachable rotary head, comprising a longitudinally extending core having an outer surface and defining a longitudinal centerline axis, and a covering that is disposed on the outer surface of the core and that includes a radially extending material, and
- wherein the detachable rotary head is configured to couple to the rotatable shaft and rotate about the longitudinal centerline axis.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the floor-care system further comprises an extraction structure, and wherein the radially extending material is configured such that at least one millimeter of the radially extending material contacts the extraction structure when the rotary head rotates about the longitudinal centerline axis.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the floor-care system further comprises an extraction structure, and wherein the radially extending material is configured to cause a gap of at least one millimeter between the radially extending material and the extraction structure when the rotary head rotates about the longitudinal centerline axis.
20. The system of claim 17, further comprising:
- a belt configured to couple the rotatable shaft of the floor-care system to the rotary head, and
- wherein the belt and the radially extending structure each comprise one or more materials configured to allow the belt to rotate the rotary head without substantial slipping when a floor-treatment agent is present in the radially extending structure, and
- wherein the floor-treatment agent is selected from at least one of the group consisting of water, a soap, a perfume, a disinfectant, a cleaner, an antistatic agent, a polishing compound and a buffing compound.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 21, 2014
Publication Date: Aug 27, 2015
Applicant: The Scott Fetzer Company (Westlake, OH)
Inventors: Joseph Adams (Strongsville, OH), John Crossen (Brook Park, OH), Joseph Gardner (Euclid, OH), John Lackner (Independence, OH)
Application Number: 14/186,943