GB2604166A

GB2604166A - Floor Cleaner Dock

Info

Publication number: GB2604166A
Application number: GB2102783.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dodgson Oliver
Original assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Current assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-26
Filing date: 2021-02-26
Publication date: 2022-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 2041-02-26
Also published as: GB202102783D0; CN116940271A; WO2022180385A1; GB2604166B

Abstract

A dock for receiving a floor cleaner 10 with a cleaning head including a removable cleaning pad 40, the dock comprises a receiving unit (32, fig 2) for receiving the cleaning head, a cleaning pad removal unit arranged to remove a cleaning pad from a cleaning head received in the receiving unit, and a cleaning pad mounting unit arranged to mount a cleaning pad to a cleaning head receiving in the receiving unit. The cleaning pad removal unit can be a scraper (62, fig 6) and the dock may further include a cleaning pad conditioning unit and a cleaning pad supply unit that preferably contains a reel of cleaning pads 44. The dock may further include a charging unit, a waste liquid reservoir and a cleaning fluid reservoir. A method of changing a cleaning pad of a floor cleaner is also claimed.

Description

Floor Cleaner Dock

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a dock for a floor cleaner. More particularly, but not exclusively, this invention relates to a dock for cleaning a floor cleaner.

Background of the Invention

Various types of floor cleaner are available. They include "dry" floor cleaners such as vacuum cleaners, and "wet" floor cleaners. Wet floor cleaners apply a cleaning fluid to the floor as part of the cleaning process. Wet floor cleaners often include a reservoir for holding cleaning fluid, means by which to apply the cleaning fluid to the floor, cleaning pads arranged to be in contact with the floor and for agitating the cleaning fluid once applied to the floor, and potentially a waste liquid reservoir for receiving waste liquid, i.e. the cleaning fluid once it has been in contact with the floor and agitated by the cleaning pads. The wet floor cleaner may also comprise at least one flexible blade, or squeegee, to help contain the cleaning fluid in the cleaning area during the cleaning process. The wet floor cleaner will also often contain a power source, for example a rechargeable battery, which powers some or all of: the application of cleaning fluid to the floor; driving the cleaning pads to agitate the cleaning fluid in contact with the floor; and removing the waste liquid into the waste liquid reservoir as required.

As such, floor cleaners, and in particular wet floor cleaners, may have several service requirements, including but not limited to: refilling cleaning fluid; emptying waste fluid; recharging the power source; conditioning the cleaning pads; and general cleaning and sanitising of the floor cleaner. The present invention seeks to address at least some of these service requirements.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect, the invention provides a dock for receiving a floor cleaner with a cleaning head including a removable cleaning pad, the dock comprising: a receiving unit for receiving the cleaning head; a cleaning pad removal unit arranged to remove a cleaning pad from a cleaning head received in the receiving unit; and a cleaning pad mounting unit arranged to mount a cleaning pad to a cleaning head receiving in the receiving unit.

Advantageously, the invention allows a dirty cleaning pad to be changed for a clean cleaning pad. The invention may allow the changing of a dirty cleaning pad for clean cleaning pad without requiring a user of the floor cleaner to touch the cleaning pads. This may improve the user experience, and/or increase hygiene levels.

The dock may comprise a cleaning pad conditioning unit, the cleaning pad conditioning unit arranged to receive and condition cleaning pads removed from a cleaning head of a floor cleaner received in the receiving unit. Such an arrangement may improve efficiency and/or reduce wastage compared to single use cleaning pads. The cleaning pad conditioning unit may comprise one or more of a heater, dryer, agitator, chemical sterilisation unit, or UV light treatment.

The cleaning pad supply unit may be arranged to supply cleaning pads for mounting to a cleaning head received in the receiving unit. The cleaning pads may comprise a cleaning face for contact with a floor during a cleaning operation, and a fastener face for fastening the cleaning pad to a cleaning head. The fastener face and cleaning head may comprise complimentary hook and loop faces to allow removable mounting of a cleaning pad to the cleaning head.

The cleaning pad supply unit may contain a reel of cleaning pads. The reel of cleaning pads may comprise a continuous reel of cleaning pad material divided by regular perforated sections to allow easy separation of individual cleaning pads. Such an arrangement may reduce the frequency at which the cleaning pads need replacement in the cleaning pad supply unit. This may improve efficiency and/or improve the user experience. The reel of cleaning pads may comprise a reel of backing material with cleaning pads loosely adhered to the backing material.

The cleaning pad removal unit may comprise a scraper. The scraper may be arranged to be moved across the cleaner head to engage with and remove the cleaning pad. The scraper may include one or more hooks, or a lipped portion in order to catch and remove the cleaning pad.

The dock may further comprise a charging unit, the charging unit arranged to charge a battery of a floor cleaner received in the receiving unit. The dock may further comprise a waste liquid reservoir for receiving waste liquid from a floor cleaner received in the receiving unit. The dock may further comprise a cleaning fluid reservoir for supplying cleaning fluid to a floor cleaner received in the receiving unit The cleaning head of the floor cleaner may be an oscillating cleaning head, with a planar cleaning pad attached to the cleaning head. The cleaning head of the floor cleaning may comprise a rotating cylinder, around which a cleaning pad is secured.

According to a second aspect, the invention provides a method of changing a cleaning pad of a floor cleaner, the floor cleaner comprising a cleaning head including a removable cleaning pad, the method comprising the steps of: docking the floor cleaner with a dock as claimed in any preceding claim such that the floor cleaner is received in the receiving unit of the dock, and the cleaning pad removal unit removing the cleaning pad from the cleaning head, and the cleaning pad mounting unit mounting a different cleaning pad to the cleaning head.

It will of course be appreciated that features described in relation to one aspect of the present invention may be incorporated into other aspects of the present invention. For example, the apparatus of the invention may incorporate any of the features described with reference to the method of the invention and vice versa.

Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings of which: Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a floor cleaner; Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a floor cleaner and dock; Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of components of the dock shown in figure 2; Figure 4 shows a schematic view of a floor cleaner received in a dock with a first cleaning pad mounting unit; Figure 5 shows a schematic view of a floor cleaner received in a dock with a second cleaning pad mounting unit; and Figure 6 shows a schematic view of a floor cleaner received in a dock with a third cleaning pad removal unit.

Detailed description

Figure 1 shows a floor cleaner 10, which comprises a cleaning head 12, a body 14 pivotally attached to the cleaning head 12, and a handle 16 extending away from the body 14. The cleaning head 12 comprises two cleaning pads 18, which are arranged to contact a floor and oscillate during use, and a front squeegee 20 and rear squeegee 22, respectively positioned in front of and behind the cleaning pads 18. The terms "front" and "rear" will be understood by the skilled person to mean the front and rear of the cleaning head 12 when the floor cleaner 10 is being used by a user. In figure 1, the front squeegee 20 is shown in a retracted position, and may also be folded down into a deployed position, in which the front squeegee 20 makes contact with the floor. The body 14 comprises a cleaning fluid reservoir, a waste fluid reservoir, and a battery (not shown). The cleaning fluid reservoir is arranged to hold cleaning fluid and apply the cleaning fluid to the floor during use of the floor cleaner 10. The cleaning pads 18 oscillate during use of the floor cleaner, thereby agitating the cleaning fluid on the floor, providing a cleaning effect. The cleaning fluid becomes dirty during agitation, and the waste liquid reservoir is arranged to suck up and store the waste liquid during use of the floor cleaner. The battery is arranged to power the application of cleaning fluid to the floor, the oscillation of the cleaning pads 20, and the sucking up of the waste liquid. The handle 16 comprises a user interface 24 which turns on and off the floor cleaner functions. The skilled person will appreciate that different floor cleaner configurations may be presented, for example a floor cleaner with a rotating rather than an oscillating cleaning pad.

Figure 2 shows a floor cleaner 10 and a dock 30. The dock 30 comprises a receiving unit 32 which receives the cleaning head 12 of the floor cleaner 10, and a support arm 34 against which the handle 16 of the floor cleaner 10 rests. The dock 30 further comprises a power connection 36 to mains electricity.

Figure 3 shows some additional components of the dock 30. In particular, the dock 30 comprises a charging unit 24 connected to mains electricity via the power connection 36. The charging unit 24 is arranged to supply charge to battery of the floor cleaner 10, either by wireless charging or by wired charging. The dock 30 also comprises a waste liquid tank 25, a cleaning fluid tank 26, and a control unit 27. The waste liquid tank 25 is arranged to receive waste liquid from the waste liquid reservoir of the floor cleaner 10. The cleaning fluid tank 26 is arranged to feed cleaning fluid into the cleaning fluid reservoir of the floor cleaner 10. The control unit 27 is arranged to control any active service functions of the dock 30, including the charging of the floor cleaner 10. Therefore, the dock 30 is able to perform several service functions on the floor cleaner 10, including charging the floor cleaner 10, emptying waste liquid from the floor cleaner 10, and refilling the floor cleaner 10 with cleaning fluid.

Figure 4 shows floor cleaner 10 with a cleaning pad 40. The cleaning pad 40 is removably attached to the cleaning head 12, such that the cleaning pad 40 may be removed and replaced with an alternative cleaning pad 42. The removal of the cleaning pad 40 is undertaken by a scraper, as shown in more detail in figure 6. The cleaning pad 42 is supplied on a reel 44 of cleaning pads. Each of the cleaning pads includes a hook and loop fastening side, which corresponds with a hook and loop fastening portion of the cleaning head 12, which facilitates the removal and replacement of the cleaning pads. The cleaning side of the cleaning pads is opposite to the hook and loop fastening side, and be textured and/or made out of many suitable materials as would be understood by the skilled person. For example, different textures or materials may be provided depending on the intended use of the floor cleaner, for example the type of floor being cleaned, and/or whether and what cleaning fluid is being used. The cleaning side of the fresh cleaning pad 42 may be loosely secured to a backing reel of material 46, such that when the soiled cleaning pad 40 has been removed from the cleaning head 12, the hook and loop fastening side of the cleaning pad 42 is moved into contact with the hook and loop fastening portion of the cleaning head 12, such that the loosely fixed cleaning pad 42 is moved away from the backing reel 46 due to the stronger attachment to the cleaning head 12. The floor cleaner 10 may then be used in the normal way, and the reel of cleaning pads moved on, such that a fresh cleaning pad is presented for replacing the cleaning pad 42 in the next replacement cycle.

Figure 5 shows a cleaning head 10 with a cleaning pad 50 attached. In this arrangement, a fresh cleaning pad 52 is stored in the dock and is attached to the cleaning head once the cleaning pad 50 has been removed, for example with the cleaning pad removal apparatus described with reference to figure 6. The attachment of the cleaning pad 52 to the cleaning head may be actuated automatically by an actuation mechanism in the dock 30, or alternatively a user may locate the cleaning head 10 over the cleaning pad 52 after removal of the cleaning pad 50, and bring the cleaning head 10 and cleaning pad 52 into contact such that the cleaning pad 52 becomes attached to the cleaning head 10, for example via hook and loop fasteners. The cleaning pad 50 may remain in the dock 30 in a cleaning pad conditioning unit 54, and be treated with one or more of heat, chemical sterilisation, UV light, and fluid agitation. The cleaning pad 50 may then be reconditioned ready for further use, and once the cleaning pad 52 is dirty and needs replacement, the pads may be swapped. The cleaning pad 52 may also be reconditioned in a similar way, thereby ensuring a fresh cleaning pad is always available, whilst reducing the use of single use consumables.

Figure 6 shows the cleaning head 10 received in the dock 30, with a cleaning pad removal unit in the form of a scraper 62. The scraper 62 is arranged to be moved by an actuator across the cleaning head 10 as indicated by the arrow in the figure. The end of the scraper 62 catches the edge of the cleaning pad 60, such that the cleaning pad 60 is removed from engagement with the cleaning head 10 as the scraper 62 moves across. The pad 60 may fall into a pad receiving unit, which may store the cleaning pad 60 until disposal by a user, or alternatively, the pad receiving unit may recondition the cleaning pad 60 for future use, as described with reference to figure 5.

The pad changing operation may be automatically controlled by the control unit 27 of the dock 10, for example where a pad is changed after every use of the floor cleaner, or after a set period of time has expired, for example weekly. Alternatively or additionally, the pad changing operation may be initiated by a user, for example if they deem it necessary to changing cleaning pads after or during use of the floor cleaner.

Whilst the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention lends itself to many different variations not specifically illustrated herein. For example, the examples above have been described with reference to planar cleaning pads being replaced on an oscillating cleaning head. In an alternative arrangement, a rotating cylindrical cleaning head may be provided. In such an arrangement, a cleaning pad may be wrapped around the cylindrical cleaning head, and removed arid replaced according to the same principles as described above.

Where in the foregoing description, integers or elements are mentioned which have known, obvious or foreseeable equivalents, then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth. Reference should be made to the claims for determining the true scope of the present invention, which should be construed so as to encompass any such equivalents. It will also be appreciated by the reader that integers or features of the invention that are described as preferable, advantageous, convenient or the like are optional and do not limit the scope of the independent claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that such optional integers or features, whilst of possible benefit in some embodiments of the invention, may not be desirable, and may therefore be absent, in other embodiments.

Claims

Claims 1. A dock for receiving a floor cleaner with a cleaning head including a removable cleaning pad, the dock comprising: a receiving unit for receiving the cleaning head; a cleaning pad removal unit arranged to remove a cleaning pad from a cleaning head received in the receiving unit; and a cleaning pad mounting unit arranged to mount a cleaning pad to a cleaning head receiving in the receiving unit 2. A dock as claimed in claim 1, comprising a cleaning pad conditioning unit, the cleaning pad conditioning unit arranged to receive and condition cleaning pads removed from a cleaning head of a floor cleaner received in the receiving unit.3. A dock as claimed in claim 1, comprising a cleaning pad supply unit, the cleaning pad supply unit arranged to supply cleaning pads for mounting to a cleaning head received in the receiving unit.4. A dock as claimed in claim 3, wherein the cleaning pad supply unit contains a reel of cleaning pads.5. A dock as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the cleaning pad removal unit comprises a scraper.6. A dock as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a charging unit, the charging unit arranged to charge a battery of a floor cleaner received in the receiving unit.7. A dock as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a waste liquid reservoir for receiving waste liquid from a floor cleaner received in the receiving unit.8. A dock as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a cleaning fluid reservoir for supplying cleaning fluid to a floor cleaner received in the receiving unit.9. A method of changing a cleaning pad of a floor cleaner, the floor cleaner comprising a cleaning head including a removable cleaning pad, the method comprising the steps of: docking the floor cleaner with a dock as claimed in any preceding claim such that the floor cleaner is received in the receiving unit of the dock, and the cleaning pad removal unit removing the cleaning pad from the cleaning head, and the cleaning pad mounting unit mounting a different cleaning pad to the cleaning head.