Tennant Company

Robert A Geyer

Michael L Blehert

Anthony John Hamline

Michael Steward Wilmo

Terence Alan Peterson

Michael Thomas Basham

Warren L Larson

Karl R Hansen

Laurence A Jensen

Steven A Burke

Mark J Fleigle

Mark D Kinter

Christopher K Pearce

Richard Allen Nelson

Ian Taylor

Albert S Swanson

A squeegee mount and assembly which cooperate to permit both pivotal and linear motion of the squeegee assembly relative to the machine frame. To avoid contact with a stationary object, the squeegee assembly can be both pivoted and linearly moved relative to the surface maintenance machine, thereby preventing damage to the squeegee assembly and/or the surface maintenance machine. The squeegee mounting assembly includes a mounting arm, a subframe, a return spring coupled between the subframe and the frame, and a stop. A squeegee assembly comprised of a squeegee blade, an arcuate squeegee blade holder, and a link which couples the blade holder to the squeegee mounting assembly. A guard rail is also coupled to one end of the blade holder and rotatively coupled along another end to the frame.

Tool mounting assembly for a surface maintenance machine

A device and method of use for cleaning a ground surface with pressurized cleaning solution is disclosed. The device includes a transportable deck having at least a first chamber and a second chamber, each first and second chamber being in open communication with the surface, said first chamber having a nozzle for directing a pressurized cleaning solution toward the ground surface, and said second chamber having a vacuum outlet for removing cleaning solution and debris from the surface. Additional embodiments of the present invention may include a solution recycling system for reusing recovered solution.

Brushless scrub head for surface maintenance

The present invention provides an adjustment mechanism and methods for adjusting the alignment of a powered cylindrical brush mounted to a surface maintenance vehicle relative to a surface to be maintained or cleaned by the vehicle. The device is preferably disposed upon the idler-side of a powered rotating cylindrical brush assembly and the adjustment preferably occurs via use of an eccentric cam member providing a range or motion, or pivot location, through or about which the idler-side mounting location of the cylindrical brush may be adjusted to improve contact with the surface. The present invention enables such adjustment without decoupling the rotating brush from its couplings (both supportive and rotational coupling), and any coupling to a drive mechanism for driving the rotating brush into rotation. The rotating brush so adjusted will benefit from improved mechanical cooperation between the bristles of the brush and the surface to be cleaned. If at least two counter-rotating cylindrical brush assemblies are disposed on a single surface maintenance vehicle each may be adjusted with respect to the surface and to the other brush disposed therein. Another aspect of the present invention is to allow a single operator to perform brush taper adjustments without disassembly of any connecting components for operating the rotating cylindrical brush assembly during cleaning operations, including even the side covers or other brush mounting components and any drive gear associated thereto. The apparatus and methods of the present invention are intended to readily accommodate rapid adjustment in the course of surface cleaning operations by a single manual operator or technician preferably either by hand or via use of a single rudimentary adjustment instrument operating upon a single adjustable mounting location to change the state of the single adjustable mounting location from a partially-released state to a fully-coupled state.

Cylindrical brush idler-side taper adjustment assembly

A collectorless vacuum fan for floor maintenance machines has a backplate with an inlet plate attached thereto in spaced relationship, and an impeller between the backplate and inlet plate. Both the backplate and the inlet plate extend radially beyond the periphery of the impeller. A shaft mounts the impeller for rotation. The inlet plate has a central opening providing air to the hub of the impeller. Vanes on the impeller discharge air out through a diffuser channel defined by the space between the inlet plate and the backplate outside the periphery of the impeller. Attachment elements for mounting the inlet plate on the backplate leave the diffuser channel substantially unobstructed so that air is discharged about the entire periphery of the impeller. The fan has increased air flow compared to a conventional fan having an integral collector housing and decreased noise compared to a fan having a 360 degree discharge and no diffuser.

Low noise fan

An operator controlled scrubbing machine includes a body, wheels for supporting the body, a scrub brush on the body and a mechanism for raising and lowering the scrub brush. There is a squeegee on the body and a mechanism for raising and lowering the squeegee. The body includes a drive for moving the machine in forward and reverse directions and an operator controlled foot pedal for controlling the drive. There is a connection between the foot pedal and the drive providing for limited foot pedal movement prior to translating foot pedal movement into machine movement. There is a first sensor to sense machine forward movement of the foot pedal, which sensor is connected to the mechanism for raising and lowering the scrub brush. There is a second sensor to sense machine reverse movement, with the second sensor being connected to the mechanism for raising and lowering the squeegee. The first and second sensors are positioned to sense foot pedal machine forward and foot pedal machine reverse movements prior to such movements being translated into machine forward and machine reverse movements so that the scrub brush will be lowered prior to the machine moving forward and the squeegee will be raised prior to the machine moving in a reverse direction.

Lost motion foot pedal linkage

A floor scrubber has four wheels for stable support on the floor. These wheels are attached to the underside of a resilient molded plastic frame so that any vertical movement of any of the wheels is transmitted directly to the frame. The frame is ribbed to be stiff in longitudinal bending, but torsionally the frame is somewhat flexible. The scrubber body, which is attached to the upper side of the frame and is supported by the frame, is also a molded plastic part which is somewhat flexible. The weight of the body and its contents keeps all four wheels on the floor at all times, even when the floor is uneven, by flexing the frame and body as needed. This structural flexibility eliminates any need for an additional means to keep all the wheels on the floor, such as a sprung suspension or a center pivoted axle.

Torsionally flexible frame structure

A small floor scrubbing machine is powered by a centrally located battery pack, with a recovery tank for used scrubbing solution comprised of connected chambers located on four sides of and beneath the batteries, and a tank for clean solution in a lid over the recovery tank and batteries. A partial partition in the chamber behind the batteries effectively divides it into two chambers. A vacuum fan draws air and used solution into one rear chamber of the recovery tank and exhausts air to atmosphere from the other rear chamber. The extended airflow path from one rear chamber to the other around three sides of the battery pack allows mist and foam to settle out of the air stream before it reaches the vacuum fan inlet. The front and rear chambers provide plenum space to reduce the airflow velocity. Openings in the partition between the rear tanks bypass increasing amounts of air directly from one rear chamber to the other as the recovery tank fills with water, thus compensating for the diminishing airflow space above the water and controlling the velocity of the airflow. The arrangement provides improved foam control in the limited space available in a small scrubber, a constant center of gravity as the solution tank empties and the recovery tank fills during normal operation, and easy access to the recovery tank for cleaning.

Tank configuration for a small floor scrubber

A floor scrubbing machine uses two parallel cylindrical scrub brushes. Each brush is rotated by a separate drive means, and these are at opposite ends of the brushes. This balances the weight of the drives so the brushes exert a uniform pressure on the floor. The brushes are axially offset enough that each brush extends out as far as the drive means of the other brush, thus permitting the machine to scrub close to a wall on either side. The brushes have a more aggressive bristle fill at their ends which extend out under the drive means, where only one brush is scrubbing the floor, so the appearance of the scrubbed floor is essentially the same where scrubbed by one brush as where scrubbed by two brushes.

Scrubbing machine having offset cylindrical brushes

A floor scrubbing machine has a chassis mounted on front and rear wheels and a scrub head attached to the front of the chassis by a system of articulated links. Structure is provided for absorbing the kinetic energy of the moving machine in the event that the scrub head strikes a fixed object. On impact the geometry of the linkage system causes the front wheels to be lifted off the floor, thereby quickly lifting considerable weight. Also, a pair of heavy springs stretch, and parts of the chassis deform elastically. By this structure the kinetic energy is absorbed within the machine. No heavy protective shrouds are needed, and a simple flange along the front edge of the scrub head housing provides adequate stiffness.

Floor scrubbing machine having impact energy absorption

An improved flexible wiping blade for the vacuum pickup squeegee of a floor scrubbing machine. A series of small protuberances with spaces between them are provided at the lower edge of the blade on its surface that leads when the machine moves backward. At that time the reverse flexing of the blade moves the protuberances under the blade and they hold it off the floor, thus allowing any standing water on the floor to move under the squeegee. They do not interfere with normal flexing of the blade under normal down pressure, and they permit its wiping action to be free of streaks when the scrubbing machine moves forward.

Squeegee blade

A floor scrubbing machine has scrub brushes and their drive motors mounted in a scrub head located amidships under the machine frame. Provision is made to move the scrub head laterally on occasion to a position where it extends beyond one side of the machine frame to facilitate scrubbing along walls, thereby eliminating the need for a scrubbing side brush. The scrub brushes bear evenly against the floor regardless of the lateral position of the scrub head even though a variable down force may be applied to the scrub head. The scrub head is resiliently attached to the means for moving it laterally so that if it encounters a solid obstacle while it is extended it will be yieldably pushed back under the machine frame with a minimum likelihood of damage, and then will automatically extend out again after the obstacle is past.

Floor scrubber having laterally variable scrub brush position

This is concerned with an air filter cleaning arrangement in which the filter element, meaning the pleated filter media and its frame, is functionally connected to a vibrator so that it is resiliently or vibrationally isolated from the surrounding structure. The major effective component of the vibratory motion applied to the filter media is across the width of the filter pleats. The invention is used primarily in an industrial sweeper. It can also be used in other machines or equipment which have air filter.

Apparatus for cleaning an air filter

A scrubbing machine is described which may be operated either in a single cycle scrubbing mode or in a recirculating scrubbing mode. The scrubbing machine includes a body structure which is supported on a plurality of wheels. The scrubber has a pair of tanks one of which is a collector tank and the other of which is a solution feeding tank. A conduit and a pump are provided for moving the solution from the collector tank to the feeding tank. The collector tank may include a filter structure including a flexible conduit and a filtering element.

Scrubbing machine with selective recycle

A scrubbing machine is provided including a vacuum squeegee water pickup system. The machine is supported on a pair of drive wheels and a pair of pivotable wheels or casters. The squeegee is drawn by a principal arm and the location of the squeegee is controlled by a steering arm.

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Champlin, MN, United States of America

Robert A Geyer