Tennant Company

Lindbergh Manufacturing, Inc.

David W Berg

Bruce F Field

Earl Oscar Krueger, Jr

Joseph S Keute

Michael Steward Wilmo

Warren L Larson

Ronald W Lehman

Joseph L Pouliot

Paul W Kimzey

Steven Vincent Feeny

Joseph D Berg

Norman William Gill

Deone E Johnson

Dennis R Johnson

Bruce W Forsman

David J Brenner

A tubular type brush for use in a cleaning machine includes a generally cylindrical driver tube adapted to be rotated about its axis for use in cleaning an adjacent floor surface. The driver tube has an exterior surface with circumferentially and axially located bristles extending outwardly therefrom. The bristles extend, when the driver tube is in an at rest position, in a direction which is closer to parallel with the driver tube exterior surface than perpendicular to the driver tube exterior surface. The bristles have tips which move outwardly from the driver tube exterior surface as the tube rotates, with the degree of the outward movement being dependent, at least in part, upon rotary speed of the driver tube.

Variable diameter cleaning brush

A mobile surface maintenance machine has a cleaning brush and a dust collection system mounted on the machine. The dust collection system includes a vacuum fan, a filter housing having an air inlet and a pleated filter element positioned within the housing with its upstream side being in communication with the housing air inlet. The filter housing has separate, side-by-side, chambers on the downstream side of the filter. There are electrically operated valves located in the filter housing on the downstream side of the filter element, with the valves being in communication with the vacuum fan. There is one valve controlling air flow from each chamber. The filter element is functionally divided into separate, but joined, pleated sections, with each section being aligned with one of the chambers. There is an electric actuator mounted on the downstream side of each pleated filter section and there is a pleat moving element associated with and movable by each electric actuator. The pleat moving elements each are in engagement with only the pleats in one filter section. The application of electric power to the actuators causes movement of the pleat moving elements which move the filter pleats in a vibratory manner in a direction generally perpendicular to folds in the pleats. There is a control circuit for coordinating the application of power to the actuators and the valves whereby when power is applied to an actuator to impart vibratory motion to one pleated section, the valve associated with the chamber aligned with the one pleated section is operated to essentially shut off air flow through the one pleated section.

Electromagnetic filter cleaning system

A process for applying a coating to a floor surface and curing that coating after application includes the steps of first spreading a photochemically curable liquid coating in a thickness of from about 0.003 to about 0.006 inches on a floor surface. After the coating has been applied, it is exposed to ultraviolet radiation at a power level of about 40 watts per inch of width of coating being cured and at two different sequentially applied wavelengths. This cures the liquid coating instantly to a durable solid coating. The first applied ultraviolet radiation may have the wavelength of about 365 nm and the second applied ultraviolet radiation may have a wavelength of about 254 nm. The ultraviolet radiation is provided by an array of UV lights on a mobile, self-powered vehicle which moves over the floor coating at a speed in the range of 20 to 40 feet per minute.

Curing of floor coatings using long and short wave ultraviolet radiation

The present inventive device generally allows a user to easily engage and push or pull heavy and unwieldy object(s), most notably a line of nested shopping carts, effectively and without undue strain. The cart is designed specifically with universal utility in mind. The power is supplied by either an electrically driven motor or internal combustion engine. Power is transmitted to a transaxle with belts or an electric motor electronically controlled. A simple forward/reverse control via throttle handles causes cart movement and steering is achieved through dual rear castors. The front of the cart contains a receiver that allows easy attachment for a multitude of attachments for a variety of uses. A square tube fitment with a quick release device lets the cart be configured for different markets and easy field change. One such attachment is a shopping cart adapter, which attaches to the cart through the receiver connection. It has two quick connect devices that attach to the rear of most available shopping carts. It has a center pivot that facilitates steering and positioning one or several carts.

Powered utility cart having engagement adapters

A surface maintenance machine for use in sweeping and collecting dust and debris from inside and outside areas has a frame and wheels for supporting the frame for movement along the surface to be cleaned. There is a debris hopper on the frame and a rotary sweeping brush on the frame mounted to direct dust and debris from sweeping a surface into the hopper. A vacuum fan is located on the frame and there is an air flow path on the frame from the hopper to the vacuum fan. A dust collection container in the form of a flexible bag is positioned within a vacuum chamber in said air flow path and is in a generally upright disposition. The dust collection container has an air flow entrance adjacent the upper end thereof. During operation of the sweeping brush, dust and debris are directed into the hopper, with the vacuum fan moving dust from the hopper along the air flow path to the dust collection upper air inlet with the debris remaining in the hopper.

Surface maintenance machine with improved dust collection system

A surface maintenance machine includes a body, wheels for supporting the body, a sweeping brush and a debris hopper adjacent the sweeping brush and positioned to receive debris swept by the brush. The hopper has a floor, walls, and a top, all formed of a plastic material, preferably one rated as not supporting combustion in a horizontal direction. There is a heat shield attached to the underside of the hopper top, with the heat shield being formed of a non-combustible material.

Sweeper with hopper heat shield

An improved scrub head for a cleaning wand to be used with a floor cleaning machine. The scrub head is supplied with vacuumized air and pressurized cleaning solution through the wand from the machine. The scrub head has a nozzle for applying cleaning solution to the floor, a powered rotating tool such as a brush or a pad for scrubbing the floor, and a vacuum pickup shoe or squeegee for picking up soiled cleaning solution. The squeegee, when used, has flexible lips of a novel and improved design. The rotating tool is driven by an air turbine which takes in its air from essentially clean ambient atmosphere, and a valve selectively and automatically connects the vacuumized air to either the turbine outlet, thus causing the turbine and tool to rotate for scrubbing the floor, or to the pickup shoe or squeegee for picking up soiled cleaning solution and debris.

Vacuum powered scrub head

This is concerned with a disc brush suspension or arrangement for a scrubber or sweeper or the like. The arrangement uses a flexible bellows which may be of rubber or a suitable rubber substitute which functions as the total or primary suspension for the disc brush and its drive motor.

Growing community of inventors

Plymouth, MN, United States of America

David W Berg