AU2311801A - Automatic wall cleansing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

I. /'8 P/00/011 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2(2)

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: AUTOMATIC WALL CLEANSING APPARATUS 9* The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us AUTOMATIC WALL CLEANSING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the invention The present invention relates to an automatic wall cleansing apparatus, and more particularly, to an automatic wall cleansing apparatus which can reduce the use of manpower and natural resources, and in addition, improve work safety.

2. Description of the Prior Art 000 0: At present, wall cleansing for a high rise building is mostly carried out by manpower, the most common procedure is to lift up •work crew with a winch car and settle them down at individual position, and then let them begin to work. However, such a conventional 15 working way has several shortcomings: 000001. A considerably large amount of labor and work time along with necessary energy such as water and electric power are required resulting in a high cost.

2. Skilful and experienced workers in this field are required.

3. For a large high rise building with wide wall area, cleansing work is not only tiresome and time consuming, but also causing a problem that formerly finished portion may probably contaminated by dust or used water coming from adjacent portion. As a result, working efficiency is low with poor finished work.

4. Work safety can not be satisfactorily assured because workmen have to work at a high altitude dangerous environment.

Although, some improvements were made for the high rise building wall cleansing technique, for example, providing a small sized electrically driven cleansing device and certain corrosive strong acidic materials that were basically effective for improving cleansing technique. Yet the device and chemical materials are bulky or dangerous to store. A more reliable idea needs to be implemented for the sake of facilitating high rise building wall cleansing work.

Therefore, an invention devoting to resolving aforesaid .10 disadvantages of current practice in cleansing a high rise building 0 .0 wall, and for saving in labor, time, water and electricity is necessary, definitely.

.0 00 S 15 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION .00* :The main object of the present invention is to provide an automatic wall cleansing apparatus which can save labor, time, water and electricity and improve work safety as well.

20 To achieve the above mentioned object, the present invention comprises a working platform, a lift unit, a supporting frame, a rotatable brush assembly, a blower unit, and a control unit. The working platform is moved up to a working position. By means of presetting with the control unit, the working platform is lifted to the topmost portion of the building and then gradually and downwardly executing cleansing work with the aid of the wind supplied by the blower unit and rubbing operation of the brush assembly against the wall. From supply of detergent, cleansing, spraying of clean water to hot wind drying, all the steps are carried out successively in order without need of working crew to be lifted up to high altitude entrained on the work platform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 10 Fig. 1 is a perspective drawing viewed from the top of the present ooo i invention; Fig. 2 is a drawing illustrating operation of the brush assembly of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a drawing showing the state wherein the apparatus of the present invention is rested on the ground; Fig. 4 is a drawing showing the operation state of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a drawing showing the brush assembly in another embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 6 is a drawing illustrating how the apparatus of the present invention is anchored on the building before operation.

Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 is a drawing illustrating another form brush assembly of the present invention is anchored on the building before operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED

EMBODIMENT

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the automatic wall cleansing apparatus of the present invention comprises: A working platform 1 for accommodating equipment to be discussed later on, and providing space 11 allowing working crew to stand thereof with a protecting railing 12 therearound.

A lift unit 2 having two lifts 21 mounted respectively at two sides of the working platform 1, each lift 21 is hung by a steel cable 22 which is anchored at the topmost position of the builiding wall 8, the working platform is thereby able to move up and down along the building wall 8 following the movement of the steel wire 22.

A supporting frame 3 with its pivot axle 31 pivoted on the I working platform 1 such that the supporting frame 3 is turnable with respect to the pivot axle 31, moreover, four castors 32 are provided 15 for the supporting frame 3, when the supporting frame 3 is turned to a position perpendicular to the ground, the castors 32 may be used to entrain the working platform thereon and move it along on the ground.

A brush assembly 4 attached to the top portion of the supporting frame 3. The brush assembly 4 is composed of a rotatable brush unit 41 formed in one piece, or several sub-brush units. A water baffle 42 is hinged, together with the brush unit 41, to the supporting frame 3, with its center of gravity set in a lower position. In doing so, the water baffle 42 may always be located at the position right behind the brush unit 41 without turning together with the supporting frame 3 thereby preventing the used water from spraying at the apparatus. In addition, a guide plate 421 is formed at the lower edge of the water baffle 42 so that used water may be gathered with a hose to directly drain away into a nearby sewage system. A row of nozzles 43 for supplying detergent by spraying is provided on the water baffle 42 at the position below the brush unit 41, the nozzles 43 are connected to a detergent container 432 (refer to Fig. 4) mounted on the working platform 1 with a hose 431. On the other hand, a row of nozzles 44 for supplying clean water 44 is provided on the water baffle 42 at the position above the brush unit 41, the nozzle 44 are connected to a water supply source (not shown) with a hose 441. With this structure, the work of cleansing building a wall can be performed orderly and effectively mixing clean water with detergent first, and then rubbing the wall surface with the brush unit 41. Meanwhile, the brush unit 41 is driven by a motor 45 mounted on the supporting o• frame 3. In addition, in order to produce a relevant pressure against the wall surface, the tilted angle of the supporting frame 3 with respect to the wall surface can be adjusted when cleansing the wall with the brush unit 41.

A blower unit 5 including a blower body 51 is mounted on the working platform 1, the blower body 51 has a wind output exit 52 connected to the blower body 51 with a hose 53. The wind exit 52 is disposed above the brush assembly 4 when cleaning the wall, and the wind exit 52 is stretchable and retractable for conveniently performing the work. With this construction, the wall surface 8 can be quickly dried after cleansing. Also, a heat accumulator 54 may be installed in the blower body 51 or at the wind output exit 52 so as to supply hot wind for performing instant drying of said wall surface.

A control unit 6 is mounted on the working platform 1 for control of the lift unit 2, the supporting frame 3, the brush assembly 4, and the blower unit 5 to work relevantly. A control board 61 is extended out of the control unit 6 therefrom both for automatic and manual operation.

Several detector units 7 are scatteringly equipped on the blower unit 5, on the wind output terminal 52, or on the brush assembly 4 for detecting the distance between the cleansing apparatus and the wall surface 8 thereby automatically adjusting the brush assembly 4 to maintain the most suitable inclined angle with the wall surface 8.

As shown in Fig. 3, the cleansing apparatus of the present invention can be mounted on the ground 9 with the castors 32 of the supporting frame 3 and rolled along the ground 9 together with the working platform 1 thereon.

As shown in Fig. 4, the steps of operating the cleansing apparatus of the present invention are; First, lift the working platform 1 slightly off the ground 9, and turn the brush assembly 4 to a relevant working angle by adjusting the supporting frame 3.

Next, operate the control board 61 to preset operation procedures of each component described above; Then, lifting the working platform 1 to the topmost position of the building with lifts 21, and aim the detectors 7 at the wall surface 8. Bring down gradually the working platform 1 from its highest point and at this moment the control unit 6 will automatically assign the brush assembly 4 to start working by driving the brush unit 41 to rotate with the motor and rubbing the wall surface 8 with water mixed with detergent supplied by the nozzles 43. Finally, spray the wall surface 8 with clean water supplied by the nozzles 44, and blow the wall surface 8 with hot wind by the blower unit 5 if quick drying is required.

After the work is completed, bring the working platform 1 down to the ground 9 and restore the supporting frame 3 to its normal 10 upright state with the control unit 6, and then assure all components restore the stand by state.

S* As mentioned above, the information of distance between the cleansing apparatus and the wall surface 8 is transmitted to the control unit 6 with a signal outputted from the sensor 7 equipped at 15 the wind output terminal 52 or at other places so as to adjust the tilted angle of the brush assembly 4 to a relevant value thereby upgrading the cleansing quality. The used water mixed with **detergent and dust on the wall surface 8 is partially flowing down along the wall surface 8 however, most of it would have scattered here and there by rotating of the brush assembly 4 if there had not been for installation of the water baffle 42. The water baffle 42 gathers most of used water and conducts it into the sewage system with the hose by the guide plate 421 so as to avoid environmental contamination. Other than automatic control, the cleansing work can be carried out manually by working crew standing on the platform 1 and to operate the control board 61 step by step.

Fig. 5 shows the brush assembly 4 in another embodiment, in the embodiment, an auxiliary rotatable brush 46 is attached to each side of the brush unit 41. The auxiliary brush 46 is used to clean corners, recessed portions and other similar locations where the ordinary figured brush unit 41 can not reach to clean. In the case the auxiliary brush 46 is not required, it can be detached while-the vacancy thereof can be alternatively plugged in a soft protective filler not shown so as to protect the cleansing apparatus from being inclined owing to attack of strong wind.

As shown in Fig. 6, the steel wire 22 of the lift 21 is drawn up and fixed at a anchor base 81 fixed on the topmost portion of the S• wall surface 8. When both lifts 21 are started, the working platform 1 is moved up and down along the wall surface 8 by pulling force of the steel wire 22.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the cleansing apparatus of the present invention is carried out in another form wherein the brush assembly 4 is formed into a plurality of plan contact circular disc brush units 47 whose adjacent unit rotate in opposite direction each other driven by an internal driving mechanism and a gear unit (not shown), similar to the previous embodiment, after said wall surface 8 has been cleaned by spraying the detergent with said nozzles 43 thereon, it is rubbed and cleaned by said plurality of plan contact circular disc brush units 47 rotating in opposite direction one another, afterward the clean water 44 is sprayed at said wall surface 8 so as to finish the cleaning work, then the wall surface 8 is dried with wind supplied from said blower unit 5, said detector 7 is equipped at a proper position on said brush assembly 4 so as to detect the distance between said cleansing apparatus and said wall surface 8 thereby auto mati'cally adjusting the tilted angle of said brush assembly to the most preferable direction for work.

After having finished reading over the above detailed description of the present invention, one may clearly understand that the automatic wall cleansing apparatus of the present invention is definitely more economical in the interest of labor, time, water and electricity, and much safer compared to resembling apparatuses 10 made according to conventional techniques.

A variety of modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is S•therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specially described thereinabove.

o*

Claims (17)

1. An automatic wall cleansing apparatus comprising: a working platform for entraining all equipment described below; a lift unit mounted on said working platform for moving said working platform up and down: a supporting frame turnably pivotted to said working platform; a brush assembly attached to the top portion of said supporting frame for cleansing a wall surface; 10 a blower unit mounted on said working platform, said blower unit being located above said brush unit for supplying hot wind after said wall surface is cleansed; and a control unit mounted on said working platform for controlling working function of said lift unit, said supporting frame, said brush assembly, and said blower unit.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a working space protected with a railing is provided for working crew to stand thereon.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said lift unit includes two lifts each hung by a steel cable which is anchored at the topmost position of the building wall thereby driving said working platform to ascend or descend along the wall surface.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said supporting frame is pivotted to said working platform with a pivot axle such that said supporting frame is turnable with respect to said pivot axle, moreover, several castors are provided at the bottom portion so said supporting frame so that when said supporting frame is turned to a position perpendicular to the ground, said castors are used to entrain said working platform thereon and move around on the ground.

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said brush assembly has a rotatable brush unit, a water baffle provided behind said brush unit is hinged to said supporting frame together with said brush unit, a row of nozzles for supplying detergent by spraying is provided on said water baffle at the position below said brush unit, said nozzles are connected to a detergent container mounted on said working platform with a hose, on the other hand, a row of nozzles for supplying clean 10 water is provided on said water baffle at the position above said brush ooelo unit, said water nozzles are connected to a water supply source with 4. 4. S: a hose, with this structure, the work of cleansing said wall surface is performed orderly and effectively by mixing clean water with detergent, and then rubbing said wall surface with said brush unit. 44** ee. 15

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said rotatable brush unit is o. formed in one whole piece or divided in several pieces.

7.The apparatus of claim 5,wherein said brush unit is formed of a plan contact circular disc brush. *444

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said brush unit is driven by a motor mounted on said supporting frame.

9. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein an auxiliary rotatable brush is optionally attached to each side of said brush unit for cleansing uneasily reachable corners of said wall surface.

The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a soft protective filler is plugged into each side of said brush unit so as to protect said cleansing apparatus from being inclined owing to attack of strong wind causing damage to said wall surface or said cleansing apparatus.

1 1.The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a guide plate is formed at the lower edge of said water baffle so that used water is gathered thereat and directly discharged into a nearby sewage system.

12.The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the center of gravity of said water baffle is set in a lower position so that said water baffle is always located at the position right behind said brush unit without turning together with said supporting frame.

13.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said blower unit includes a S.. 10 blower body mounted on said working platform, said blower body has S a wind output exit connected to said blower body with a hose, said wind exit is formed stretchable and retractable for convenience of 5 •performing work.

14.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a heat accumulator is installed in said blower body or at said wind exit so as to supply hot wind for S• performing instant drying of said wall surface.

15.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a control board is extended out of said control unit.

:16.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a detector unit is equipped on said blower unit for detecting the distance between said cleansing apparatus and said wall surface.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, a detector unit is equipped on said brush assembly for detecting the distance between said cleansing apparatus and said wall surface. DATED this 20th day of February, 2001 CHUJNG-YI LIN WATERMARK PATENT TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS Hawthorn, Victoria 3122