US20250302265A1

US20250302265A1 - Floor treatment machine

Info

Publication number: US20250302265A1
Application number: US18/705,269
Authority: US
Inventors: Nicholas Putt
Original assignee: Numatic International Ltd
Current assignee: Numatic International Ltd
Priority date: 2021-10-29
Filing date: 2021-10-29
Publication date: 2025-10-02
Also published as: WO2023073332A1; DE212021000580U1

Abstract

A floor treatment machine has a handle portion movably connected to a base portion. The base portion is provided with at least one floor treatment workhead, a cleaning fluid outlet, and a suction collector assembly having an inlet. The inlet is connected to a waste fluid conduit, and the suction collector assembly is arranged to selectively suction and collect waste fluid in use. A spillage prevention attachment is configured for attachment to the waste fluid conduit such that the spillage prevention attachment positions and orients a portion of the waste fluid conduit to collect and substantially retain waste fluid on removal of suction from the suction collector assembly.

Description

The present invention relates to a floor treatment machine, such as a floor scrubber drier. Particularly, though not exclusively, the invention relates to a wet floor treatment machine having a spillage prevention attachment to substantially restrict spillage of waste fluid.
Known floor scrubbers typically have at least one workhead formed from an annular rotatable scrubbing portion including bristles or a polishing pad. The workhead(s) are driven by electric motors via a battery or mains electric power. Typical scrubbers have a cleaning fluid dispenser from which detergent or dilute cleaning solution can be distributed over the surface to be cleaned, in advance of, or through the workhead. A squeegee suction collector trails behind the workheads to entrain and collect dirty liquid from the floor surface. The dirty liquid is sucked through a waste fluid return hose and is collected and stored in a separate waste fluid tank within the machine. When the machine is switched off and suction removed from squeegee collector, the column of dirty fluid in transit to the waste fluid tank runs down the waste fluid return hose under gravity and may leak out from the machine onto the floor.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a floor treatment machine which substantially restricts spillage of dirty fluid from the waste fluid return hose when the machine is switched off.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a floor treatment machine for cleaning and/or treating a floor surface, the floor treatment machine comprising:

- a handle portion movably connected to a base portion such that the handle portion is arranged to guide movement of the base portion;
- wherein the base portion is provided with at least one floor treatment workhead, a cleaning fluid outlet for selective delivery of cleaning fluid to the floor treatment workhead, and a suction collector assembly having an inlet located proximate the floor treatment workhead, the inlet connected to a waste fluid conduit, wherein the suction collector assembly is arranged to selectively suction and collect waste fluid in use; and
- a spillage prevention attachment configured for attachment to the waste fluid conduit such that the spillage prevention attachment positions and orients a portion of the waste fluid conduit to collect and substantially retain waste fluid on removal of suction from the suction collector assembly.

The spillage prevention attachment may be provided to substantially restrict spillage of waste fluid when the machine transitions from an operational to a non-working configuration. Advantageously, the spillage prevention attachment of the invention enables the waste fluid conduit of the floor treatment machine to be arranged into a position in which the column of waste fluid within the conduit is captured and retained once the machine is turned off and suction removed from the suction collector assembly.
The floor treatment machine may comprise a fluid trap for the collection and retention of waste fluid. The spillage prevention attachment may be arranged to position and orient the waste fluid conduit to form a fluid trap in which fluid from the waste fluid conduit may be collected and retained. The waste fluid trap may be created by the attachment of the spillage prevention attachment to the waste fluid conduit.
The spillage prevention attachment may be configured to position and orient the waste fluid conduit to form a U-shaped portion. One end of the waste fluid conduit may be connected to the fluid inlet of the suction collector assembly and an opposing end of the waste fluid conduit may be connected to a waste fluid tank. The spillage prevention attachment may be attachable to the waste fluid conduit such that the U-shaped portion is selected to have a capacity that is greater than the volume of the column of fluid in the waste fluid conduit between the U-shaped portion and the waste fluid tank.
The spillage prevention attachment may comprise at least two gripping members, each gripping member configured to grip a portion of the waste fluid conduit. Preferably the spillage prevention attachment may comprise three gripping members, each gripping member adapted to grip a portion of the waste fluid conduit.
The gripping members may be configured and arranged to engage the fluid conduit such that a fluid trap is created in the conduit. The gripping members may be configured and arranged to form a U-shaped portion in the waste fluid conduit.
At least one of the gripping members may comprise a resilient gripping member. The resilient gripping member(s) may be shaped to retain a portion of the waste fluid conduit in use and resiliently deformable to facilitate attachment to the waste fluid conduit.
The resilient gripping member(s) may comprise a C-shaped portion having a diameter that is similar to, or less than, the diameter of the waste fluid conduit, such that the conduit is retained by the gripping members. The thickness and material of the C-shaped gripping members may be selected such that end portions of the C-shaped gripping members are inherently resilient. Thus, each resilient gripping member may be constructed and arranged to retain the portions of the waste fluid conduit in the required orientation and also comprise resilient end portions that are resiliently deformable on application of a force to enable removal of the waste fluid conduit therefrom.
At least one of the gripping members may comprise a substantially cylindrical cut-out within the spillage prevention attachment. The cut-out may have a diameter that is similar to, or slightly greater than, the waste fluid conduit, such that the waste fluid conduit may be inserted through the substantially cylindrical cut-out for retaining the waste fluid conduit in a particular orientation.
The spillage prevention attachment may comprise three gripping members arranged to selectively attach to and orient portions of the waste fluid conduit such that a waste fluid trap is created. The spillage prevention attachment may comprise three gripping members arranged to selectively attach to and orient portions of the waste fluid conduit such that a U-shaped portion is formed in the waste fluid conduit.
The gripping members of the spillage prevention attachment may each have an associated axis and the axes of the gripping members may be spaced in triangular relation.
The spillage prevention attachment may comprise a centrally located gripping member having a cylindrical cut-out and two resilient gripping members alongside the centrally located gripping member and angled relative thereto.
The spillage prevention attachment may be an integral attachment. The spillage prevention attachment may comprise an integrally moulded plastic component.
The spillage prevention attachment may comprise transverse portions or ribs for additional strength. The ribs may extend transversely across the attachment to provide additional strength.
The spillage prevention attachment may be attachable towards a lower end of the waste fluid conduit. The spillage prevention attachment may be attachable to the waste fluid conduit proximate the base portion. The spillage prevention attachment may be attachable to the waste fluid conduit at the rear of the floor treatment machine with respect to a forward direction of travel. Thus, the fluid prevention attachment may be conveniently located at the back of the floor treatment machine close to the floor to substantially restrict spillage of waste fluid trapped in the waste fluid conduit on the removal of suction.
The spillage prevention attachment may be selectively detachable from the waste fluid conduit. A detachable spillage prevention attachment enables the waste fluid conduit to be flexed and extended for cleaning, flushing and/or blockage removal as required.
Preferably, the waste fluid conduit may comprise a flexible conduit. The waste fluid conduit may comprise a waste fluid hose or pipe. The waste fluid conduit may comprise a corrugated plastic tube.
The spillage prevention attachment may comprise a clip.
The machine may further comprise a tank module having a clean fluid reservoir and a waste fluid tank. The tank module may be selectively detachable from the machine. The tank module may be located on the handle portion.
Electric drive motors may be included in the base portion to rotate the workheads in an operational configuration. The floor treatment machine may comprise a cleaning fluid conduit for selective fluid communication between the clean fluid reservoir and the cleaning fluid outlet. The cleaning fluid outlet may be located in advance of the workheads or in the region of the workheads to deliver cleaning fluid thereto in the operational configuration.
The waste fluid collection tank may be fed by the suction collector assembly which may be towed behind the workhead(s). The suction collector assembly may be provided with a conduit to a suction generator for drawing up waste fluid from the collector.
The suction collector assembly may comprise a squeegee collector shaped to assist the feed of waste fluid into the waste fluid collection inlet and conduit. The squeegee collector may be disposed behind the base portion with respect to a forward direction of travel.
The suction collector assembly may be provided with a tilt mechanism and latch, which latch is activated automatically when the squeegee collector is tilted up from the floor greater than a predetermined amount. This allows unhindered transport of the machine between work tasks, and enables storage of the machine without the squeegee collector being deformed under the weight of the suction collector assembly.
The handle portion may be movably connected to the base portion such that the handle portion may be angled with respect to the base portion to aid guiding and movement of the machine in an operational configuration when the machine is in use. The handle portion may be reclinable with respect to the base portion in the operational configuration.
The handle portion may be positioned in an upright configuration that is substantially perpendicular relative to the base portion in a non-working configuration. The base portion and the handle portion may be lockable in a substantially vertical position with respect to the base portion when in the non-working configuration.
The floor treatment machine as hereinbefore described may be configured as a walk-behind wet floor scrubber drier. The floor treatment machine may be a compact floor scrubber drier machine.
The machine is preferably configured as a compact floor treatment machine which has a generally upstanding handle portion for directing the machine. The handle portion may be connected to the base portion via an articulation which permits reclining of the handle portion. The articulation preferably comprises a twin axis universal joint arrangement which permits movement of the handle portion in multiple directions, while permitting torque to be applied via the handle portion to the base portion for swivel steering.
The first aspect of the invention may be combined with any other feature or embodiment described in the specification or shown in the figures.

One embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are side and rear views of a floor treatment machine including a spillage prevention attachment according to the invention;

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are perspective and side views of one embodiment of a spillage prevention attachment showing three gripping members with associated axes;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the spillage prevention attachment of FIGS. 3 and 4 attached to the waste fluid conduit;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the spillage prevention attachment of FIG. 5 showing the section A-A;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the spillage prevention attachment of FIG. 5 showing the section B-B;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are upper and lower isometric views respectively of the spillage prevention attachment;

FIG. 10 is an exploded isometric view of the squeegee collector, spillage prevention attachment and waste fluid conduit; and

FIGS. 11 a to 11 f are isometric, front, rear and side views of the squeegee assembly showing the orientation of the spillage prevention attachment and waste fluid conduit.

A first embodiment of a floor treatment machine according to the invention is shown generally at 20 in the figures. The floor treatment machine 20 is a walk-behind compact wet floor scrubber drier. The machine 20 has an upright handle portion 40 and a base portion 30. The handle portion 40 is connected to the base portion 30 via an articulation (not shown) which permits reclining of the handle portion 40. The articulation comprises a twin axis universal joint arrangement which permits a range of movement of the handle portion 40 up and down and side to side, while permitting torque to be applied via the handle portion 40 to the base portion 30 for swivel steering. This makes the machine 20 highly manoeuvrable and easy to steer and swivel around a pair of primary wheels 22. One machine of this type is disclosed in WO2019207290A2 (Numatic International).
The base portion 30 carries a motor housing 21 which houses drive motors (not shown) arranged to rotatably drive respective disc-shaped workheads 31. The pair of primary support wheels 22 are provided at a rear end region of the base portion 30. A squeegee suction collector assembly 23 shown in a raised, tilted configuration in FIG. 1 is attached to the rear end region of the base portion 30. The collector assembly 23 comprises a squeegee blade 24, a fluid collector inlet (not shown) and a waste fluid conduit in the form of a flexible plastic corrugated return hose 35 that acts as a fluid communication line from the fluid collector inlet into a waste fluid collection tank. A pair of side support wheels 38 and a central support wheel 27 are used to support the collector assembly 23 when the squeegee blade 24 is brought into contact with a floor surface in use.
An upper end region of the upright handle portion 40 is provided with a T-bar 42 which includes left- and right-hand grips (seen in FIG. 2 ). A battery pack and tank module 50 is attached to a front facing edge of the upright handle portion 40. The tank module 50 includes a cleaning fluid reservoir for delivering cleaning fluid to the workheads 31 in use via two cleaning fluid connecting hoses 32. The tank module 50 also contains a waste fluid collection tank for collecting waste fluid from a region behind the workheads 31 in use via the waste fluid collection hose 35.
FIG. 1 shows the floor treatment machine 20 in a non-working configuration in which the handle portion 40 is substantially perpendicular to the base portion 30. In the non-working configuration, the handle portion 40 is lockable in a vertical or substantially vertical position (perpendicular) with respect to the base portion 30. Such a locking mechanism is shown in WO2019207289A1 (Numatic International). The floor treatment machine 20 is transportable in the non-working configuration of FIG. 2 . The squeegee suction collector assembly 23 is in its resting configuration, tilted upwards away from the floor behind the machine 20. The primary wheels 22 support the machine 20 for transport, with the user steering the machine 20 using the handle portion 40. The handle portion 40 may be tilted back during transport so that the workheads 31 are lifted from the floor surface.
A spillage prevention attachment in the form of a clip 70 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 3, 4, 8 and 9 . The clip 70 is an integrally moulded plastic component having a centrally located gripping member in the form of a cylindrical cut-out 71 with two resilient gripping members in the form of C-shaped portions 72, 73 angled outwardly therefrom. The cylindrical cut-out 71 and the C-shaped portions 72, 73 each define central axes 75, which axes 75 are arranged in a triangular configuration (FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The clip 70 has hollow portions on its underside as seen in FIG. 9 and is provided with transverse ribs 74 to provide additional strength.
The function of the clip 70 is to orient and position the flexible return hose 35 such that a waste fluid trap in the form of a U-bend 76 portion is created. FIGS. 5 to 7 show the arrangement of the clip 70 around the return hose 35. As shown in FIG. 10 , the return hose 35 is curved into a U-shape at its lowest point and curved again through 180 degrees such that a lower end of the return hose 37 is fed through the cylindrical cut-out 71. The resilient C-shaped gripping portions 72, 73 are then used to attach and secure the clip 70 to the portions of hose 35 on either side of the cylindrical cut-out 71. This orientation of the return hose 35 using the clip 70 creates the U-bend 76. In use, the U-bend 76 acts to prevent dirty fluid 36 from spilling onto the floor when a suction force is removed from the floor treatment machine 20 and the waste fluid column falls down the return hose 35 under the action of gravity.
The squeegee suction collector assembly 23 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 10 to 11 f. These figures show the squeegee assembly 23 separate from the remainder of the floor treatment machine 20 in order to illustrate the position and configuration of the clip 70 with greater clarity. The clip 70 is located on the return hose 35 to the rear of the machine 20 with respect to the direction of travel. The clip 70 is located as close to the base portion 30 and the floor. The capacity of the U-bend 76 created by the clip 70 is selected to ensure that the U-bend 76 can retain the full volume of waste fluid 36 located in the column between the base of the U-bend 76 and the waste fluid tank such that all waste fluid 36 is retained by the machine 20 when suction is removed to prevent spillage.
In use, the floor treatment machine 20 is moved into an operational configuration (FIG. 2 ) where the workheads 31 contact the floor and take the weight of the motor units in housing 21 so as to provide a good scrubbing force. In the cleaning or operational configuration, the handle portion 40 is reclined and the workheads 31 are in working contact with the floor surface. Cleaning fluid is fed from the clean fluid reservoir to the clean fluid outlet ahead of the workheads 31 such that the workheads 31 scrub the floor surface with cleaning solution. Dirty water is deposited behind the workheads to be retrieved by the squeegee suction collector assembly 23. The collector assembly 23 uses the combined action of the squeegee blade 24 and suction to collect dirty fluid via the waste fluid inlet through the connectors 33, 37 and into the return fluid hose 35. The waste fluid hose 35 transfers the dirty fluid to the waste fluid tank located on the handle portion 40.
When the cleaning session has finished, and an operator switches off the machine 20. The suction force applied to the squeegee suction collector assembly 23 is removed meaning that the column of waste fluid already in the return hose 35 is no longer drawn into the waste fluid tank and drops towards the floor under the action of gravity. The clip 70 prevents spillage by catching and retaining the waste fluid 36 within the U-bend 76.
Should an operator wish to flush or clean the return hose 35, the clip 70 may be easily detached by applying a pulling force to the C-shaped resilient gripping members 72, 73 to detach them from the return hose 35. The hose 35 may then be pulled through the cylindrical cut-out 71 to enable full extension of the return hose 35 as required.
Modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Relative terms such as “upper”, “lower”, “base”, “rear” and/or “front” are used for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The floor treatment machine 20 of the present embodiment is powered by battery. According to alternative embodiments, the machine 20 may be powered via a mains electricity supply. Although the above-described embodiment covers fluid reservoirs and collection tanks that are located on the handle portion, it is common to have separate clean and waste tanks arranged in spaced locations on the body of the floor treatment machine. The clip 70 can be used in conjunction with any alternative arrangement of scrubber components and/or tanks to create a U-bend 76 in the return hose 35 and prevent spillage of dirty liquid once power to the machine 20 is stopped and suction to the squeegee collector assembly 23 lost.

Claims

1. A floor treatment machine for cleaning and/or treating a floor surface, the floor treatment machine comprising:

a handle portion movably connected to a base portion such that the handle portion is arranged to guide movement of the base portion;

wherein the base portion is provided with at least one floor treatment workhead, a cleaning fluid outlet for selective delivery of cleaning fluid to the floor treatment workhead, and a suction collector assembly having an inlet located proximate the floor treatment workhead, the inlet connected to a waste fluid conduit, wherein the suction collector assembly is arranged to selectively suction and collect waste fluid in use; and

a spillage prevention attachment configured for attachment to the waste fluid conduit such that the spillage prevention attachment positions and orients a portion of the waste fluid conduit to collect and substantially retain waste fluid on removal of suction from the suction collector assembly.

2. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spillage prevention attachment is arranged to position and orient the waste fluid conduit to form a fluid trap in which fluid from the waste fluid conduit is collected and retained to substantially restrict spillage of waste fluid when suction is removed from the suction collector assembly.

3. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein one end of the waste fluid conduit is coupled to the inlet of the suction collector assembly and an opposing end of the waste fluid conduit is coupled to a waste fluid tank, and wherein the spillage prevention attachment is arranged to position and orient the waste fluid conduit to form a U-shaped portion.

4. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the spillage prevention attachment is attachable to the waste fluid conduit such that the U-shaped portion is selected to have a capacity that is greater than the volume of the column of fluid in the waste fluid conduit between the U-shaped portion and the waste fluid tank.

5. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spillage prevention attachment comprises at least two gripping members, each gripping member configured and arranged to grip a portion of the waste fluid conduit such that a fluid trap is created in the conduit.

6. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein at least one of the gripping members comprises a resilient gripping member that is shaped to retain a portion of the waste fluid conduit in use and resiliently deformable to facilitate attachment to the waste fluid conduit.

7. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the resilient gripping member comprises a C-shaped portion having a diameter that is similar to, or less than, the diameter of the waste fluid conduit such that the conduit is retained by the gripping members in use and wherein the thickness and material of the C-shaped gripping members is selected such that end portions of the C-shaped gripping members are inherently resilient.

8. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein at least one of the gripping members comprise a substantially cylindrical cut-out having a diameter that is similar to or slightly greater than a diameter of the waste fluid conduit, such that the waste fluid conduit is insertable through the substantially cylindrical cut-out.

9. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein the spillage prevention attachment comprises three gripping members arranged to selectively attach and orient portions of the waste fluid conduit such that a waste fluid trap is created.

10. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein the gripping members of the spillage prevention attachment each have an associated axis and the axes of the gripping members are arranged in a triangular configuration.

11. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spillage prevention attachment comprises an integrally moulded plastic component having transverse ribs for additional strength.

12. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a tank module having a clean fluid reservoir and a waste fluid tank, wherein the tank module is selectively detachable from the machine.

13. A floor treatment machine according to claim 12, wherein the tank module is located on the handle portion.

14. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the suction collector assembly comprises a squeegee collector shaped to assist the feed of waste fluid into the waste fluid conduit and provided with a connection to a suction generator for drawing up waste fluid from the collector.

15. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 14, wherein the suction collector assembly is provided with a tilt mechanism and latch, which latch is activated automatically when the squeegee collector is tilted up from the floor by a predetermined amount.

16. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the handle portion is connected to the base portion via an articulation which permits reclining of the handle portion and wherein the articulation comprises a twin axis universal joint arrangement.

17. A floor treatment machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor treatment machine comprises a compact floor scrubber drier machine.

18. A kit of parts comprising component parts of the floor treatment machine according to claim 1.