US3078488A

US3078488A - Carpet shampoo brush

Info

Publication number: US3078488A
Application number: US856544A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mark W Helm
Original assignee: Hoover Co
Current assignee: Hoover Co
Priority date: 1959-12-01
Filing date: 1959-12-01
Publication date: 1963-02-26
Anticipated expiration: 1980-02-26
Also published as: DE1255881B; CH373147A; NL258516A; GB948357A; NL112228C

Description

Feb. 26, 1963 M. w. HELM CARPET SHAMPOO BRUSH Filed Dec. 1, 1959 F ig./

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United States Patent Oiilice 3,078,488 Patented Feb. 2e, 1963 3,078,483 CARPET SHAB/i190@ BRUSH Mark W. Helm, Canton, hio, assigner to The Hoover Company, Canton, Ohio, a corporation of @hic Filed Dec. 1, 1959, Ser. No. 856,544 15 Claims. (C1. 15-1d) The present invention relates to rug and carpet scrubbers and more particularly to a rotary brush for attachment to a modied vertical axis two brush floor polisher raving means for dispensing a detergent solution to the brushes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary annular brush body having at least one row of brush bristles or other flexible pile contacting elements with the upper ends thereof secured in a downwardly facing recess in the body to permit lateral flexing thereof, with a surface contacting support centrally on one or both sides of the recess with its supporting surface slightly above the ends of the surface contacting elements to limit llexing thereof. Preferably an annular detergent receiving recess is formed in the body above the support with detergent dispensing openings in the bottom wall of the recess discharging detergent onto the carpet.

Specifically, according to the present invention, the upper ends of the bristles are secured to an annulus of thermoplastic material detachably received in a downwardly facing annular recess formed in an annular brush body of plastic material such as a phenolic compound adjacent to its periphery.

The bristles extend below the brush body and the downwardly facing recess is so formed that the bristles have lateral freedom for flexing movement during use.

lnter-iorly of the bristles the body is formed with an annular support with its supporting surface positioned slightly above the lower ends of the bristles so that when pressure is applied the supporting surface will limit movement of the bristles into the nap of a rug or carpet. The support is also formed to limit the inward liexing of the bristles.

Centrally and inwardly of the annular support the body is formed with a through opening, the walls of which are provided with means for detachabtly and drivingly connecting the brush to a vertical axis rotary shaft of a floor polisher. The lower end of the through opening is closed by a metallic plate which supplements the supporting action of the annular support.

In its upper side between the wall forming the central -through opening and inner wall of the downwardly facing recess, the body is formed with an annular detergent receiving recess having an annular row of detergent dispensing openings formed in the outer perimeter of its lower wall which is formed by the annular support.

If desired the outer wall of the detergent receiving recess may be tapered inwardly lto prevent detergent from climbing upwardly due to centrifugal action. The taper may be formed integrally with the outer wall of the detergent receiving recess but for better molding practice it is preferably made as a separate annular tapered ring.

The bristle supporting ring may be so made as to be frictionally held in the downwardly facing recess but preferably dimples are formed on the outer edge of the bristle supporting ring which engage over shoulders formed in the outer wall of the downwardly facing recess. ln either case knocloout openings are formed in the upper and outer walls of the downwardly facing recess. When dimples are provided the lower edge of the knock-out openings may form the shoulders which are engaged by the dimples.

The bristle supporting ring is also provided with driving lugs which interiit with recesses formed in the outer wall of the downwardly facing recess.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a top view of the shampoo brush according to the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken through the center of the brush and one of the knock-out openings.

Referring to the drawings the reference numeral 10 generally represents the brush body and 11 generally represents the removable bristle assembly.

The brush body 10 may be made of any suitable plastic material such as a phenolic compound which is rigid enough for the purpose and is easily moldable to the desired shape. The body 1li is annular in shape and is formed with a downwardly facing bristle receiving recess 12 adjacent to its periphery which is formed by an outer annular wall 13, an inner annular wall 14 and a top wall 15.

Inwardly of the wal-l 14 is an annular support 16 which also forms the bottom wall of an annular detergent receiving recess 17 formed in the upper side of the body 10.

Centrally the body 1lb is formed with a through opening 18., the annular wall 19 of which also forms the inner wall of detergent recess 17. lnteriorly the opening is formed with a driving connection 20 of any suitable character for .drivingly connecting the body 10 to a vertical axis drive shaft of a floor polisher.

At the corner between the annular support 16 and the annular wall 14, the support 16 is provided with an annular row of detergent dispensing openings 21 which connect the detergent recess 17 to the space beneath the support 16 for a purpose which will presently appear.

The outer wall 14 of detergent recess 17 may be tapered inwardly toward the top to prevent detergent from being thrown out by centrifugal acti-on. However, such a construction would be diilcult to mold and for that reason a separate tapered annulus 22 may be provided for the same purpose.

In claiming that feature it is to be understood that the annulus 22 is to be considered as a part of wall 14 whether it be integral therewith or not.

The outer wall 13 and the top wall 1S of recess 12 are formed with a plurality of cut-outs 23 which form shoulders 24 for a purpose which will later appear.

'Ihe outer wall 13 of recess 12 is formed with an offset 25, in which is formed a plurality of drive recesses 26 which form a part of a driving connection between the body 10 and the brush assembly as will later appear.

The bristle assembly 11 includes an annular ring 27 of suitable thermoplastic material having the necessary strength and into which staples may be driven. The ring 27 is of a suitable outside diameter that it will frictionally engage the inner periphery of wall 13 so as to be held in place by friction alone or dimples 23 may be provided for engaging over shoulders 24 as shown in FIG. 2. The ring 27 is of sufficient resiliency that pressure may be applied to it at the cut-outs 23 to remove the dimples 2S from the shoulders 24 and thus release the brush assembly from the brush recess 12.

A plurality of bristle receiving openings 29 are formed in the ring 27 and into each of which are stapled bristle tufts 30 to form an annular row of bristles. The tufts 3d are of sufficient length to extend below the annular support 16 so as to support the brush when no pressure is applied. The recess 12 is wide enough to permit lateral flexing of the tufts 30 when the device is in use, the amplitude of the exing being limited by the lower edge of wall 13 and the outer perimeter of the support 16.

Drive lugs 31 are formed on the outer periphery of ring 27 and coact with the drive recesses 26 to positively rotate the bristle assembly 11 with the body 10.

aoc/ease A metallic closure plate 32 closes the lower end of central opening ll and aids the annular support lo in its supporting function as will appear.

rl`he lugs 33 are primarily for molding purposes but also will cause the detergent in recess i7 to rotate with the body 1d and thus help guide it to the dispensing openings 2l.

Operation Two of the assembled brushes as shown in FlG. 2 are drivingly attached to the vertical axis rotary shafts of a iioor polisher having means for delivering etergent solution to the recesses 17. The polisher is moved onto a piled fabric such as a rug or carpet, the polisher energized to rotate the brushes through drive connections 2u and detergent solution such as soapy water dispensed into the recess 17 of each of the brushes.

Rotation of the bodies lll will cause rotation of the brush assemblies ll through drive recesses 26 and drive lugs 3l. The detergent in the recesses 17 will be thrown outwardly by centrifugal action aided by the lugs 33 and llow through the dispensing openings 2l onto the piled fabric beneath the supports 16 and within the perimeters f the annular rows of bristles.

As the brushes are rotated and the polisher moved about on the ends of the bristles, suds will be formed and the penetration of the ends of the bristles into the pile will thoroughly scrub and shampoo the rug or carpet. The annular support i6, the lower edge of wall 13 and the closure plate 32 will prevent the ends of the bristles from penetrating too deeply into the pile so that the polisher will be more easily manipulatable. As the polisl'ier is moved back and forth across the floor the bristles being long and flexible will flex back and forth and thus do a better cleansing operation.

The outer annular wall 13 is not absolutely essential but it does prevent detergent from being thrown outwardly to some extent, helps to support the polisher and forms a limiting stop for the outward flexure of the bristles 30. The inner wall 14 forms a limiting stop for the inward iiexure of the bristles.

As the bristles are iiexed about the lower edges of walls 13 and i4 they become in effect short bristles and perform a better scrubbing operation than would otherwise be the case.

While I have shown and described a single embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that that embodiment is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. l do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown and described but wish to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A shampoo brush comprising an integral molding of plastic material, said molding including an inner vertically extending annular wall having a bore formed with means for the attachment of the brush to the drive shaft of a floor polisher, a second vertically extending annular wall spaced radially outward from said first annular wall, a bottom wall connecting the bottom ends of said iirst and second annular walls and formed with openings extending therethrough adjacent the lower end of said second annular wall, the space between said rst and second annular walls forming an upwardly opening deep annular cavity for receiving detergent solution for application to the floor being cleaned, a third vertically extending annular wall spaced radially outward from said second annular wall, a top wall connecting the upper ends of said second and third annular walls, the lower end of said third annular wall being in alignment with the lower surface of said bottom wall, the spaceV between said second and third annular walls forming a downwardly opening annular recess adjacent the periphery of said molding and an annular brush positioned in said annular recess, said brush including an annular ring positioned in said annular recess against said top wall and an annular row of bristles secured to said ring and extending downwardly to slightly below the lower end of said third annular wall whereby the latter and the lower surface of said bottom wall form a supporting surface to take the greater portion of the load when the brush is applied to a piled fabric.

2. A brush as in claim l in which 1itnock out openings are formed in said top wall through which an instrument may be inserted to facilitate removal of said brush from said annular recess.

3. A rotary scrub brush comprising an integral annular molding of plastic material provided with means centrally thereof for attachment to a vertical axis rotary shaft of a door polisher, said molding including a vertically extending peripheral annular wall, a second annular wall spa-ced radially inward from said peripheral annular wall, a top wall extending between the upper ends of said annular walls and a lower wall extending inwardly from the lower end of said second annular wall and having its lower surface in alignment with the lower rim of said peripheral annular wall, the space between said annular walls forming a deep downwardly opening annular recess and an annular brush positioned in said annular recess, said brush including an annular supporting ring positioned within said annular recess against said top wall and an annular row of long stiif bristles secured to said supporting ring and extending downwardly to slightly below the lower surface of said lower wall, the body of said bristles being spaced from the walls of said recess to permit lateral ilexure of said bristles whereby said lower wall will support the greater portion of the weight when the brush is presented to a piled fabric.

4. A shampoo brush comprising, an annular rotary brush body for attachment to a vertical axis rotary shaft of a floor polisher, an annular row of comparatively long stiff brush bristles, means for securing the upper ends of said bristles to said body adjacent its peripheral edge, said body being formed with an annular wall extending downwardly along and spaced inwardly of said annular row of bristles to permit radial iiexing of said bristles, a surface contacting support formed on said body and extending inwardly from the lower end of said annular wall within said annular row of bristles with its surface engaging face positioned slightly above the bottom ends of said bristles to limit the radial inward flexing of said bristles, an annular liquid receiving recess formed in said body above said support and liquid dispensing openings formed in the wall of said recess at its lower outer periphery so as to discharge liquid inwardly of said bristles.

5. A shampoo brush according to claim 4 in which said bristle securing means is in the form of a ring of thermoplastic material to which the upper ends of said bristles are secured and an annular recess adjacent the periphery of said body in which said ring is detachably secured.

6. A shampoo brush according to claim 5 in which said ring receiving recess includes an annular wall spaced from and surrounding said bristles and extending downwardly to a point adjacent the lower ends of said bristles to limit their outward radial flexing movement.

7. A shampoo brush according to claim 5 in which the inner annular wall of said ring receiving recess also forms the outer wall of said liquid receiving recess.

8. A shampoo brush according to claim 5 including dimples formed on the outer periphery of said ring and shoulders formed in the wall of said ring receiving recess against which said dimples abut for detachably securing said ring in said ring receiving recess.

9. A shampoo brush according to claim 8 including knock-out openings formed in the uper wall of said ring receiving recess above said shoulders so that said ring may be easily removed from said body.

l0. A shampoo brush according to claim 5 including drive recesses formed in a wall of said ring receiving recess in which drive lugs extending from said ring are engaged for drivingly connecting said ring to said body.

1'1. A shampoo brush according to claim 4 in which the inner Wall of said liquid receiving recess also forms an annular Wall for a through opening in said body by which it may be secured to the rotary shaft of a floor polisher.

12. A shampoo brush according to claim 11 including a metal closure plate for the lower end of said through opening for supplementing the supporting action of said support.

13. A shampoo brush according to claim 4 in which the outer wall of said detergent recess slopes inwardly toward the top of said body.

14. A shampoo brush according to claim 13 in which said inward slope is formed by an annular ring tapered in cross section in contact with the outer wall of said detergent receiving recess.

15. A shampoo brush comprising, an annular rotary body for attachment to a vertical axis rotary shaft of a oor polisher, an annular row of comparatively long sti bristles, means for securing the upper ends of said bristles to said body adjacent its peripheral edge, sa-id body being formed with an annular wall extending downwardly along and spaced inwardly of said annular row of bristles to allow a limited inwardly radial flexing of said bristles while providing a means for preventing a further inwardly radial flexing of said bristles, a surface contacting `support formed on said body and extending inwardly from the lower end of said annular wall within said annular row of bristles, the surface contacting area of said support being so large in relation to that of the lower ends of said bristles that said support allows a limited penetration of the lowerends of said bristles into said surface while providing a support for limiting a further penetration into said surface, an annular liquid receiving recess formed in said body above said support and liquid dispensing openings formed in the wall of said recess adjacent its outer periphery so as to discharge liquid inwardly of said bristles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Y1,206,031 Ritter et al Nov. 28, 1916 )1,371,249 Lampkin Mar. 15, 1921 1,433,964 Mills Oct. 31, 1922 1,606,821 Anderson Nov. 16, 1926 1,630,995 Withycombe May 31, 1927 1,693,908 Marshall Dec. 4, 1928 2,039,356 Smalley May 5, 1936 2,310,554 Seyfrued Feb. 9, 1943 2,633,595 Berberian Apr. 7, 1953 2,967,314 Kowalewski Ian. 10, 1961 2,967,315 Helbig et al. Jan. 10, 1961

Claims

3. A ROTARY SCRUB BRUSH COMPRISING AN INTEGRAL ANNULAR MOLDING OF PLASTIC MATERIAL PROVIDED WITH MEANS CENTRALLY THEREOF FOR ATTACHMENT TO A VERTICAL AXIS ROTARY SHAFT OF A FLOOR POLISHER, SAID MOLDING INCLUDING A VERTICALLY EXTENDING PERIPHERAL ANNULAR WALL, A SECOND ANNULAR WALL SPACED RADIALLY INWARD FROM SAID PERIPHERAL ANNULAR WALL, A TOP WALL EXTENDING BETWEEN THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID ANNULAR WALLS AND A LOWER WALL EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE LOWER END OF SAID SECOND ANNULAR WALL AND HAVING ITS LOWER SURFACE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE LOWER RIM OF SAID PERIPHERAL ANNULAR WALL, THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID ANNULAR WALLS FORMING A DEEP DOWNWARDLY OPENING ANNULAR RECESS