SCRUBBER HEAD FOR FLOOR CLEANER
A mobile floor scrubber includes an orbital scrub head attached to a forward portion of its chassis. The scrubber head includes a rotary motor, an eccentric drive assembly and a floor engaging scrubbing pad which engages and cleans the floor. The eccentric drive mechanism introduces vibration in the orbital scrub head which is transferred to the chassis which reduces the energy used to perform the scrubbing task and reduces the operating efficiency of the floor scrubber. The floor scrubber further includes a cleaning fluid delivery system for providing a cleaning fluid to the scrubbing pad for application to the floor during the cleaning operation. The scrub head includes a first upper plate and a second lower plate arranged in vertically spaced relation, with both plates being generally planar and rectangular in shape. Disposed between and coupled to the upper and lower plates are plural spaced vibration isolators to reduce the transmission of vibration from the lower plate produced by action of the eccentric drive assembly to the upper plate and to isolate the floor scrubber's chassis from this vibration. Any vibration produced in the scrub head is further prevented from transmission into the scrubber's chassis by mounting the scrub head in closely spaced relation relative to the motor's rotary axis.
This invention relates generally to mobile floor cleaners having a scrubber head with a pad for engaging and cleaning the floor while undergoing eccentric movement without completely spinning
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSelf-propelled mobile floor cleaners typically incorporate a scrubber head having a pad which engages and cleans the floor while transiting the floor. The scrubber head is typically attached to a forward portion of the chassis of the floor cleaner and operates in combination with a liquid floor cleaner delivery system to apply a cleaning solution to the floor while the pad engages and removes debris and dirt from the floor. The orbital motion of the cleaning pad is typically provided by an eccentric drive arrangement which includes a rotary motor and an off-axis drive arrangement which imparts an orbital motion to the scrubbing pad.
The typical orbital scrub head includes three generally flat, rectangular plates arranged in a spaced manner from one another. An upper plate is attached to the floor cleaner's chassis and is further coupled to an intermediate plate which, in turn, is connected to a lower bottom plate to which the scrubbing pad is attached. The top plate is attached to the intermediate plate by a first set of threaded couplers, while the intermediate plate is coupled to the bottom plate by means of a second set of threaded couplers. Each of these threaded couplers is inserted through a respective vibration isolator, with each threaded coupler maintaining its associated vibration isolator in position. The rotary motor drives the bottom plate to which the scrubbing pad is attached, while the intermediate plate remains in fixed position relative to the motor. This drive arrangement produces vibration between the orbitally displaced bottom plate and the top and intermediate plates. The rotary motor typically operates at a speed greater than 2000 RPM which places great stress on the components in the orbital scrub head. Current scrub heads typically incorporate a first set of vibration isolators disposed between the top plate and the intermediate plate, and a second set of vibration isolators disposed between the intermediate and bottom plates. These vibration isolators are designed and positioned so as to absorb vibration produced by the moving bottom plate. The top, or upper, set of vibration isolators are exposed to greater shear forces and vibration levels than the bottom, or lower, set of vibration isolators, and thus require more frequent replacement than the bottom set of vibration isolators. The top vibration isolators are also exposed to axial loads when the head is in a transport/storage position. This is an additional stress that contributes to premature top isolator failure. Shear force is also applied to the top set of vibration isolators when the scrub head engages a stationary object such as a wall or other vertical structure during operation. The present invention eliminates the aforementioned top plate and top vibration isolators, while maintaining acceptable floor scrubber chassis isolation from the high vibration levels produced in the orbital scrub head for increasing floor scrubber reliability, and extending floor scrubber operating lifetime and maintenance intervals.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, it is an object of the present invention to reduce the vibration transmitted from the scrub head of a floor cleaner to its chassis for improved floor cleaning operation, reliability and longevity.
It is another object of the present invention is to reduce the complexity and cost of a mobile floor scrubber by reducing the number of parts in the scrubber.
It is another object of the present invention is to increase the reliability and operating lifetime of a mobile floor scrubber.
A further object of the present invention is to direct more energy produced in the form of high levels of vibration in the scrub head of a mobile floor cleaner to the scrub head's floor engaging pad and less energy to the floor cleaner's chassis.
The present invention is directed to a scrub head for use in a mobile floor scrubber, the scrub head comprising: a rotary motor coupled to an eccentric drive assembly for providing high speed orbital motion; a fixed mounting plate having plural connectors for coupling to the mobile floor scrubber and an aperture adapted to receive and provide support for said rotary motor and eccentric drive assembly combination; a lower oscillating plate coupled to the upper mounting plate and having a floor scrubbing pad attached to a lower portion thereof for engaging and cleaning a floor, wherein the lower oscillating plate is further coupled to the motor and the eccentric drive assembly for undergoing orbital motion in displacing the floor scrubbing pad, and wherein the lower oscillating plate is subject to vibration during operation when displaced by the motor and eccentric drive assembly; and plural vibration isolators disposed between and coupled to the upper mounting plate and the lower oscillating plate for reducing the vibration transmitted from the lower oscillation plate to the upper mounting plate and to the floor scrubber.
The appended claims set forth those novel features which characterize the invention. However, the invention itself, as well as further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where like reference characters identify like elements throughout the various figures, in which:
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Disposed on, or attached to, the upper surface of motor mount plate 64 are first and second chassis mounting couplers 76a and 76b, each of which includes a respective aperture 78a and 78b, for attaching the orbital scrub head 60 to the floor scrubber's chassis by means of appropriate linkage which is not shown in
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. Therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the claims when viewed in their proper prospective based on the prior art.
Claims
1. For use in a mobile floor scrubber, a scrub head comprising:
- a rotary motor coupled to an eccentric drive assembly for providing high speed orbital motion;
- a fixed mounting plate having plural connectors for coupling to the mobile floor scrubber and an aperture adapted to receive and provide support for said rotary motor and eccentric drive assembly combination;
- a lower oscillating plate coupled to said upper mounting plate and having a floor scrubbing pad attached to a lower portion thereof for engaging and cleaning a floor, wherein said lower oscillating plate is further coupled to said motor and said eccentric drive assembly for undergoing orbital motion in displacing said floor scrubbing pad, and wherein said lower oscillating plate is subject to vibration during operation when displaced by said motor and eccentric drive assembly; and
- plural vibration isolators disposed between and coupled to said upper mounting plate and said lower oscillating plate for reducing the vibration transmitted from said lower oscillation plate to said upper mounting plate and to the floor scrubber.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 11, 2017
Publication Date: Mar 14, 2019
Inventors: Steven J. Leibrandt (Norton Shores, MI), Jeremy C. Stoddard (Holland, MI), John M. Hill (Naperville, IL), Brett A. Caudill (Holland, MI)
Application Number: 15/700,341