Hand guided floor treatment machine

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of floor treatment machines for scrubbing, polishing, sanding or burnishing floors, and in particular machines in which one or more driven rotatable work heads (such as scrubbing brushes) are provided for agitating the floor surface. The disclosure provides a hand guided, walk-behind floor treatment machine comprising: a base portion provided with and supported by at least one rotatable work head for treating the floor, drive means for rotating the work head with respect to the base portion, guide wheel means for supporting the handle portion and/or base portion on the floor, the guide wheel means having a substantially transverse axis of rotation with respect to the base portion so as to permit machine travel over the floor in a working direction, a handle portion for steering or guiding the machine in the working direction of travel, a lower region of which handle portion is provided with an articulated joint arrangement which permits pivoting of the handle portion with respect to the base portion during machine operation, the handle portion lower region being connected to the guide wheel means so as to permit yaw steering by manipulation of an upper region of the handle, wherein a motor traction drive is provided for driving the guide wheel means so as to permit self-propulsion of the machine over the floor and a motor controller for controlling the operation of the motor traction drive. The motor controller permits the traction drive to be activated or de-activated. The motor controller may be configured to permit motor traction drive control independent of the operation of the work head drive means. The motor controller is configured to provide traction drive speed control. The motor controller is adapted to permit continuously variable speed control, and/or stepped incremental speed control, and/or the adoption of one of a plurality of discrete single speed settings. The motor controller may be configured to provide a user-selectable reverse drive mode of the guide wheel means so that the machine may be propelled backwards.

1 . A hand guided, walk-behind floor treatment machine comprising:
 a base portion provided with and supported by at least one rotatable work head for treating the floor,   drive means for rotating the work head with respect to the base portion,   guide wheel means for supporting the handle portion and/or base portion on the floor, the guide wheel means having a substantially transverse axis of rotation with respect to the base portion so as to permit machine travel over the floor in a working direction,   a handle portion for steering or guiding the machine in the working direction of travel, a lower region of which handle portion is provided with an articulated joint arrangement which permits pivoting of the handle portion with respect to the base portion during machine operation, the handle portion lower region being connected to the guide wheel means or base portion so as to permit steering by manipulation of an upper region of the handle,   wherein a motor traction drive is provided for driving the guide wheel means so as to permit self-propulsion of the machine over the floor and a motor controller is provided for controlling the operation of the motor traction drive.   
     
     
         2 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the motor controller permits the traction drive to be activated or de-activated. 
     
     
         3 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the motor controller is configured to permit motor traction drive control independent of the operation of the work head drive means. 
     
     
         4 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the motor controller is configured to provide traction drive speed control. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the guide wheel means comprise one or more wheels, preferably a single wheel. 
     
     
         8 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the guide wheel means has a fixed transverse axis of rotation with respect to the machine base portion, so that the base portion turns correspondingly left or right as the wheel means is yaw steered. 
     
     
         9 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the guide wheel means comprises two wheels disposed side by side. 
     
     
         10 . A machine as claimed in  claim 9  wherein the wheels are mechanically connected to one another by a differential transmission mechanism which permits rotation of one wheel at a different rate or direction with respect to the other. 
     
     
         11 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the motor traction drive comprises at least one electric motor combined with a transmission which comprises a chain, a gear train, a transmission band or a toothed drive belt or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         12 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the motor traction drive is disposed on or in the guide wheel in the form of a wheel hub drive. 
     
     
         13 . A machine as claimed in  claim 12  wherein a user interface for the motor controller is provided which interface includes controls for operation of the motor traction drive, wherein the user interface is provided with user-operable controls adapted to permit user-selective on/off actuation of the motor traction drive, and optionally user selective speed control of the motor traction drive, and optionally selective operation to provide forward drive in the working direction or reverse drive in the opposite direction. 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the handle portion's articulated joint arrangement is adapted to permit fore/aft and side to side pivoting of the handle portion with respect to the base portion and wherein the joint arrangement also permits the transfer of steering torque applied by a user to the upper handle portion to the guide wheel means or base portion, thereby to permit yaw steering of the guide wheel means left or right. 
     
     
         16 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the joint arrangement comprises a cardan joint configured to act on the guide wheels means to yaw steer the guide wheel means along with the base portion to which the guide wheel means is connected. 
     
     
         17 . A machine as claimed in  claim 15  wherein a transversely oriented pivot of the joint arrangement is provided by an axle of the guide wheel means. 
     
     
         18 . A machine as claimed in  claim 17  wherein a wheel fork forming a lower region of the handle portion is connected to the axle to permit up/down pivoting of the handle portion along the direction of travel of the machine. 
     
     
         19 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein in use the weight of the machine is supported partially by the guide wheel means and partially by the work head(s). 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the machine is provided with a suction drive and an associated squeegee collection apparatus which is arranged to be trailed behind the work head(s) to collect and store used cleaning fluid lifted from the floor in a dirty water tank. 
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the guide wheel means is coupled to the base portion by a linkage arrangement which permits vertical up/down travel of the base portion and associated work head or heads with respect to the guide wheel means. 
     
     
         26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . (canceled) 
     
     
         28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . (canceled) 
     
     
         32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . (canceled) 
     
     
         34 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the base portion and associated work head or heads are provided at a front region of the machine, the guide wheel means is disposed between or aft of the work head or heads. 
     
     
         35 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  configured and arranged so that work head rotation on the floor provides substantially no net propulsive effect on the machine. 
     
     
         36 . A machine as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the drive means comprises one or more electric motors carried by the base portion and coupled to the work head or heads. 
     
     
         37 . A floor treatment machine as claimed in  claim 36  wherein there are two generally disc-shaped work heads disposed side-by-side and oriented to rotate about respective parallel vertical axes of rotation. 
     
     
         38 . A floor treatment machine as claimed in  claim 37  wherein the motor or motors are configured and/or controlled to cause the work heads to contra-rotate with respect to one another. 
     
     
         39 . (canceled)