US3325848A - Pad mount for floor machines - Google Patents

Description

June 1967 F. D. DOLAN ETAL PAD MOUNT FOR FLOOR MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 15, 1964 June 20, 1967 D. DOLAN ETAL 3,325,343

PAD MOUNT FOR FLOOR MACHINES Filed July 15, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 m 2 6 m & a m nifl i 4% E 5 a d W W I: .1 1L 8 6 i5rai I? W 4 ad 4 E United States Patent 3,325,848 PAD MOUNT FOR FLOOR MACHHNES Francis ll). Dolan, Toledo, and Russell J. Barthel, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignors to American-Lincoln Corporation, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed July 15, 1964, Ser. No. 382,881 7 Claims. (Cl. 15-23017) This invention relates to a pad assembly for a floor machine and more particularly to mounting means for fastening a floor pad to a rotatable driving member of a floor machine.

Floor machines for cleaning, crubbing, stripping wax, polishing, buffing, etc., are well known in the art. One type of pad frequently can be used for more than one purpose, such as for scrubbing and stripping wax, for example. Heretofore, floor pads were not attached to the floor machine but simply placed in contact with a driven member or plate which had a roughened surface to engage and drive the pad with the weight of the floor machine aiding in the driving en agement. With no mechanical attachment between the pad and the machine, the floor pad became separated from the machine when picked up and transported to another site. In view of this deficiency, attempts have been made to provide a suitable connection between the floor pad and the machine, although the results have been unsatisfactory. The mounting arrangements heretofore tried have been too expensive, hard to manipulate, too fragile, and have tended to mar the floor as the pad compresses and wears.

The present invention relates to a new floor pad and mounting means for connecting the pad to a floor machine. The new mounting arrangement is so inexpensive that a portion of the fasteners employed can be discarded when the pad is thrown away. The new arrangement also is easy to use so that a pad can be attached to afioor machine and removed therefrom in a matter of seconds.

In addition, the new fasteners cannot mar a floor on which the machine is used no matter how badly the pad may be worn or how much it is compressed.

.It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide improved mounting or fastening means for connecting a floor pad to a floor machine, which means has the advantages outlined above.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a floor machine using a floor pad and mounting arrangement according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in perspective of a fioor pad assembly and a driving member about to be connected thereto;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged view in vertical cross section taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical cross section of a mounting fastener and pad shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, exploded view in vertical cross section of a fastener used to connect the floor pad to a drive plate;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but with the fastener elements assembled with a pad;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view showing a tool for forming part of the floor pad;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view in vertical cross section similar to FIG. 4 of a slightly modified fastener assembled with a pad; and

FIG. 9 is a view in perspective of a means for connecting part of the fastener of FIG. 8 to the pad.

Referring to FIG. 1, a floor machine 10 includes a drive housing 12, a handle 14 and wheels 16. The wheels pivot or tilt relative to the driven 16 enable the machine to be easily transported by tilting the machine back to place the wheels in contact with the floor. Heretofore, when the machine was to be transported on the wheels, the floor pad remained on the floor, requiring that it be picked up and carried separately when the machine was transported. Some attempts have been made to provide a connection between the machine and the floor pad but the results have had various deficiencies, as pointed out earlier.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 2,: a fioor pad assembly 18 includes a driven member or plate 20, shown as being made of wood, a backing pad 22, and a floor pad 24. The driven plate 20 is rotated by a drive member 26 which is connected through a suitable gear reducer to a motor in the housing 12. The drive member 26 is connected to the driven plate 20 through a gim-bal ring 28. The gimbal ring 28, in turn, is fastened tothe driven plate 20 by bolts30 andnuts 32, and spaced above a recess 34 of the driven plate by spacers 36 and flat wing nuts 38. With this'arr angement, the gimbal ring 28 can plate 20 on an axis through the bolts 30. i

A pair of openings 40 are located on a line perpendicular to the axis throughthe bolts 30, with the openings being designed to receive and engage drive lugs 42 of the drive member 26, The drive lugs 42 have enlarged heads which support the gimbal ring 28 when inserted through the openings 40 and the ring 28 is twisted slightly. Again, the gimbal ring 28 can tilt on an axis through the drive lugs 42 and the openings 40 relative to the drive member 26. In this manner, the driven plate '20 can pivot in all directions relative tothe drive member 26 and the machine 10 to accommodate uneven floors;

Referring now in more detail to 'the fioor pad assembly 18 and to'FIGS. 3 and 4, the backing pad 22 preferably is in the order of A1" to thick to extend below the driven plate 20 a distance approximately equal to the extent of protrusion of the nuts 32 and the bolts-30. The pad 22 can be attached to the driven plate 20 by a waterproof contact cement or resinous adhesive. The pad 22 preferably is of a fibrous nature, having a rough surface to provide good driving engagement with the floor pad 24. One suitable material for the pad 22 constitutes coarse fibers of nylon orother plastic material bonded together by latex to produce an open but integral fibrous mat. Such material can be obtained from Armour-Alliance Company of Alliance, Ohio, under the name Nylab. Rather than the fibrous material, a coarse plastic or rubber foam material can also be employed, by way of further example.

The floor pad 24 preferably is of approximately the same size or slightly larger than the backing pad 22 but is much thicker, being three or four times as thick. The pad 24 can be of the same plastic, fibrous material as the backing pad 22 and also preferably has a rough back to engage the backing pad 22. With this arrangement, the drive path from the drive member 26 to the pad 24 is through the gimbal ring 28, the bolts 30, the driven plate '20, the backing pad 22, and directly to'the floor pad 24.

In accordance with the invention, the floor pad 24 is affixed to the remaining components of the floor pad assembly 18 by several, and specifically three, quick-acting fasteners 44 (FIGS. 4-6). The fasteners 44 each include a stud 46 which is fastened to the driven plate 20 by a screw 48. The studs 46 preferably are located around the plate 20 at angles of 120, with the studs extending through holes 50 (FIG. 3) in the backing pad 22. A socket 52 and a button 54 also constitute part of each of the fasteners 44 with the socket and button connected by a rivet 56 integral with the button 54, as shown in FIG. 5. The rivet is projected through a central opening 53 in the socket 52 and is peened over to complete the shown in FIG. 6. The socket 52 contains a diameter such as to assembly, as resilient split ring 60 which is of a engage firmly the head of the stud 46.

For the purpose of fastening the socket 52 and the button 54 to the floor pad 24, the pad has a plurality of recesses or openings 62 located therearound, one for each of the fasteners 44, and aligned with the holes or apertures 50 in the backing pad 22. As shown in FIG. 7, the openings 62 can be made by moving a heated tool or rod 64 part way through the pad 24, and preferably at least three-fourths of the way therethrough, with the pad backed up by a suitable support 66. The heated rod 64 tends to melt the plastic fibers and force the plastic and the latex binder into a densified layer or connecting means 68 near the back surface of the pad 24, toward the driven member 20. The layer 68 provides effective connecting means for the socket 52 and the button 54, with the rivet 56 of the button 54 pushed through the dense layer 68 and riveted in the usual manner to the socket 52 to form the assembly shown in FIG. 4.

The quick-acting fasteners 44 provide a very effective means for fastening the pad 24 to the driven plate 20. The pad 24 can be assembled to the member 20 quickly to facilitate interchanging the pads when the machine is to be used for different applications, and also for the pur pose of replacing the pads 24 when worn. The socket 52 and the button 54 of the fastener 44 are inexpensive and can be simply thrown away with the pad 24 when no longer of use. The studs 46, of course, remain part of the driven member 20. With the mounting arrangement of the socket and button, the button 54 is substantially flush with the backing pad 22 so that it is substantially impossible for the button to mar the floor no matter how badly the pad 24 is worn.

The fasteners 44, it may be noted, do not form a driving connection between the driven member 20 and the floor pad 24 since this is accomplished by the engagement between the backing pad 22 and the floor pad 24. The fasteners 44 are used only to retain the pad on the machine when it is raised. Hence, no undue stress is placed on the areas of the pad 24 adjacent the openings 62.

The stud 46, the socket 52, and the button 54 are commercially available and can be obtained, for example, from the Carr Fastener Company of Cambridge, Massachusetts, under parts numbers 459; C548; and 670, respectively.

Rather than making the pad openings in the form of the recesses 62 with the aid of the heated tool 64, the openings can be punched completely through the pad. Referring more particularly to FIGS. 8 and 9, openings 70 are formed entirely through a floor pad 72 with the openings 70 being formed at the same time the pad is cut to the circular configuration. The button 54 is then affixed to the socket 60 through a metal clip or connector 74, with the rivet 56 extending through an opening 76 in a web 78. The clip 74 is of thin, resilient metal and also includes a pair of legs 80 extending from the web 78 and a pair of projections 82 extending from the legs. The dimension across the projections 82 exceed the diameter of the opening 70. The legs 80 include openings 84 therein which are sufiiciently large to receive the prongs of a plier-like or tweezer-like tool which can be inserted into the opening 70 from below and into the leg openings 84. The legs 80 are then squeezed together to move the projections 82 toward one another and free them from the pad 72. The fastener assembly can be re-assembled with the pad in the opposite manner, first squeezing the pro jections 82 and then inserting the assembly into the open ing 70 until the button 54 is approximately flush with the opposite surface of the pad.

Of importance with the construction of FIGS. 8 and 9 is the fact that the openings 70 in the pad 72 can be formed in a one-step operation as the paid is cut, as noted above, Also, the pad can be reversed, if for example, the one side becomes impregnated with wax to the point of being unusable. In such an instance, the clips 74 are removed from the openings 70, the pad turned over, and the clips then inserted from the opposite side. The assembly constituting the button, the socket, and the clip 74 also can be retained when the pad is thrown away and used with the next pad. This achieves a slightly lower cost for the overall pad. While the clips are shown as being resilient, they also can be stiff'with the projections pushed sequentially into the pad on opposite sides of the opening 70.

Various modifications of the above-described embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is to be understood that such modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, if they are within the spirit and the tenor of the accompanying claims.

What we claim is:

1. In combination, a driven member, a backing pad having apertures, fastener studs screwed into said member through said apertures, means attaching said backing pad to said driven member, a thick, resilient pad of plastic fibrous material, said resilient pad having a plurality of recesses, one for each of said fastener studs, said recesses extending from a face of said resilient pad opposite said driven member part Way therethrough, said resilient pad having dense layers at the bottoms of said recesses, a fastner socket on the face of said resilient pad opposite each of said recesses and engaged with one of said studs, a fastener button in each of said recesses, and a rivet extending through each of said dense layers and connecting said sockets and said buttons to engage and hold said dense layers therebetween and to affix said sockets to said resilient pad. 1

2. In combination, a driven member, a backing pad having apertures, first fastener elements afiixed to said member through said apertures, a resilient lightweight pad of plastic material, said resilient pad having a plurality of recesses, one for each of said fastener, elements, said recesses extending from a face of said resilient pad opposite said driven member part way therethrough, said resilient pad having dense layers at the bottoms of said recesses, a second fastener element on the face of said resilient pad opposite each of said recesses and engaged with one of said first fastener elements, a third fastener element in each of said recesses, and means extending through each of said dense layers and connecting said second fastener elements and said third fastener elements to engage and hold said dense layer therebetween and to afi'ix said second fastener elements to said resilient paid.

3. In combination, a driven member, a backing pad having apertures, fastener studs screwed into said driven member through said apertures, means attaching said backing pad to said driven member, a thick, resilient pad having a plurality of openings therein, one for each of said fastener studs, said openings extending from a face of said resilient pad opposite said driven member at least part way therethrough, said resilient pad having connecting means extending across each of said openings, a fastener socket affixed to each of said connectingmeans on the side of said connecting means toward said driven member and engaged with one of said studs, a fastener button in each of said openings on the side of the connecting means opposite the associated socket, and a rivet extending through each of said connecting means and connecting said sockets and said buttons to hold and engage said connecting means therebetween and to affix said sockets to said resilient pad.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said connecting means is a metal clip having a dimension measured transversely of the associated opening exceeding the diameter of the opening.

5. In combination, a driven member, a backing pad adjacent said member, firs-t fastener elements aflixed to said member through said pad adjacent said backing pad, a resilient lightweight pad, second fastener elements near the face of said resilient pad facing said driven member and engageable with said first fastener elements, and a clip aflixing each of said second elements to said resilient pad, with one of said first and second elements being sockets and the other of said first and second elements being studs.

6. In combination, a resilient floor pad having an opening extending therethrough, connecting means extending across said opening, said connecting means comprising a metal clip having a pair of opposed projections, the distance across which exceeds the largest transverse dimension of said opening, said projections extending into said pad on opposite sides of said opening, a fastener element on one side of said connecting means, a fastener button on the opposite side of said connecting means, and means extending through said connecting means to connect said element and said button to engage and hold said connecting means therebetween and to affix said element relative to said pad.

7. In combination, a resilient floor pad having an opening extending at least part way therethrough, connecting means extending across said opening, said connecting means being of thin resilient metal and comprising a Web, a pair of legs diverging from opposite ends of said Web,

and a pair of projections extending in opposite directions from the ends of said legs opposite said Web, the distance across the tips of said projections exceeding the largest transverse dimension of said opening, said diverging legs having openings therein to receive a tool, a fastener element on one side of said Web, and means connecting said fastener element to said Web to affix said element relative to said resilient pad.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,598,699 6/1952 Jordan 15-244 X 2,769,994 11/1956 Sutton 15-98 2,840,839 7/1958 Benedetti 15535 2,842,904 7/1958 Ralys 51358 2,991,596 7/1961 Walters 51-376 3,008,168 11/1961 Doyle. 3,078,489 2/ 1963 Miller et a1. 15209.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 227,840 4/ 1960 Australia. 1,259,236 3/1961 France. 1,097,853 1/1961 Germany.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN COMBINATION A DRIVEN MEMBER, A BACKING PAD HAVING APERTURES, FASTENER STUDS SCREWED INTO SAID MEMBER THROUGH SAID APERTURES, MEANS ATTACHING SAID BACKING PAD TO SAID DRIVEN MEMBER, A THICK, RESILIENT PAD OF PLASTIC FIBROUS MATERIAL, SAID RESILIENT PAD HAVING A PLURALITY OF RECESSES, ONE FOR EACH OF SAID FASTENER STUDS, SAID RECESSES EXTENDING FROM A FACE OF SAID RESILIENT PAD OPPOSITE SAID DRIVEN MEMBER PART WAY THERETHROUGH, SAID RESILIENT PAD HAVING DENSE LAYERS AT THE BOTTOMS OF SAID RECESSES, A FASTENER SOCKET ON THE FACE OF SAID RESILIENT PAD OPPOSITE EACH OF SAID RECESSES AND ENGAGED WITH ONE OF SAID STUDS, A FASTENER BUTTON IN EACH OF SAID RECESSES, AND A RIVET EXTENDING THROUGH EACH OF SAID DENSE LAYERS AND CONNECTING SAID SOCKETS AND SAID BUTTONS TO ENGAGE AND HOLD SAID DENSE LAYERS THEREBETWEEN AND TO AFFIX SAID SOCKETS TO SAID RESILIENT PAD.

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