Patent Application
20230034140
The disclosure relates to cleaning machines for carpeted surfaces, and more particularly to an extractor head for a vacuum cleaner, carpet-cleaning machine, or floor wand tool for use in cleaning a carpeted surface.
A vacuum extraction head, such as those on a rotary vacuum cleaner, carpet-cleaning machine, or floor wand tool for use with such a cleaner or machine, is used for extraction of liquids and cleaning solution from fabric typically have one or more rotary heads with an extractor head attached to the bottom of the rotary head. The extractor head is connected to a vacuum suction and glides over the carpeted surface. Cleanings spray jets that precede the extractor head in the path of the machine discharge cleaning solution and fluids onto the carpet surface. The extractor head then passes over the surface and sucks the cleaning fluid, water, dirt, or other materials from the surface of the carpet into the vacuum pathway.
A primary concern of any vacuum extractor head is efficiency of extraction. A more efficient extractor head permits additional cleaning liquid and other liquids or solids to be removed from the carpet in an efficient and effective manner.
In some instances, the invention concerns a cleaning machine extractor head configured to withdraw fluid from a carpeted surface, the extractor head having an elongated base plate configured to be movably disposed on the carpeted surface, and having a tapering cross section with a flat wide upper surface and a narrow lower surface; and a plurality of apertures extending from the upper surface to the lower surface, wherein each aperture is beveled at the lower surface.
In other instances the invention concerns a cleaning machine extractor head configured to withdraw fluid from a carpeted surface, the extractor head having an elongated base plate configured to be movably disposed on the carpeted surface, and having a tapering cross section with a wide upper surface having a trough and a narrow lower surface; and a plurality of apertures extending from the upper surface to the lower surface, wherein each aperture is beveled at the lower surface.
The invention is directed to other aspects as may be determined from the detailed description below.
The cross section of the base plate 18 may be V-shaped, with an angled forward surface 32 that creates a narrow lower surface 30. The narrow lower surface 30 advantageously is better able to penetrate into the carpeted surface, and thus locate the apertures 22 closer to the bottom of the carpeted surface, and the fluid. The lower surface 30 can be rounded to facilitate movement through the carpet. The apertures 22 are formed in an array along the length of the base plate 18. The array of apertures 22 can be linearly aligned, as shown. The base plate 18 has a lower surface 30 with a defined width.
On the upper surface 26 of the base plate 18 is located a projection 40 that surrounds the apertures 22. Only this projection 40 is inserted into the wand or other nozzle of the vacuum system. A gasket that is well known in the art is placed around the projection 40 to form a seal when the device is attached to the wand or other nozzle. The projection 40 prevents the gasket from inadvertently obstructing any aperture 22.
On the lower surface 30 of the base plate 18, the apertures 22 can be countersunk to minimize the risk of snagging carpet fabric fibers and to assist in blending the stream of air that flows into each aperture 22.
A head device 10 such as shown in
In the following descriptions of new embodiments, each embodiment is described with reference to the description set forth in
These various embodiments have been tested on different surfaces for cleaning liquids. These surfaces included carpets using nylon, polyester, and olefin fibers. One measurement of efficiency is to perform, first for each “run,” a wet or cleaning pass over a defined carpet area with a 50% overlap which deploys and then vacuums up the solution, and then second, a dry pass with the same 50% overlap to extract the remaining solution. A 50% overlap is making a first pass line across a carpet with a vacuum, repositioning the vacuum so that it covers half of the first pass line while the other half is positioned over unvacuumed carpet, and making a second pass line, and so on, until the entire area of the carpet to be cleaned has been passed. Using a 50% overlap effectively results in the cleaned area having two pass lines per pass of the vacuum over the whole area while minimizing the total number of pass lines for cleaning the carpet. (It should be noted that the left-most and right-most portions of the carpet may only have a single pass line if bounded by a wall such that the vacuum cannot make a half-pass over the left-most or right-most line, and if not otherwise passed over using a cleaning wand, small area nozzle, or similar device for cleaning small areas near walls. So long as the testing below is performed uniformly (i.e., the left-most and right-most areas are either cleaned using the same method, or not cleaned at all), this will have no effect on the efficiency testing.) It will be appreciated that developments in efficiency of the extraction head will improve the carpet cleaning device by reducing the dry times associated with vacuum extraction and allows the carpet to be ready for use more quickly after cleaning.
To measure efficiency per run, the following test was conducted. For each run for a set of extractor heads, a 25 square foot area of carpet was sprayed down with 0.2183 US liquid gallons (27.94 US fl oz, 0.8264 L) of water. The area of carpet was then vacuumed using a wet pass for 30 seconds using a 50% overlap. The area of carpet was then vacuumed using a dry pass for 30 seconds using a 50% overlap. After completing the dry pass, the vacuum or cleaning machine was permitted to run an additional 30 seconds in order to ensure that all waste removed from the carpet passed through the cleaner and into the extraction tank. No heat was applied during either cleaning pass. The tank was weighed to determine the water absorption for the given run.
The vacuum extractor heads were tested using the following carpet fiber types: nylon, olefin, and two types of polyester. Multiple runs (at least five) were made for each extractor head embodiment for each carpet being tested. The water extracted from each run was measured and compared to the amount of water actually applied, and a percentage of water extracted was calculated for the run. The average percent of water extracted in connection with a given extractor head embodiment for a particular type of carpet was then calculated. These averages are shown in Table 1 below.
For purposes of this test, each extractor head was approximately 5.56″ wide, and had a distance between the upper surface and the bottom of the lower surface of approximately 0.34″. For those embodiments with a trough on the upper surface, the trough was approximately ⅛″ deep from the upper surface. For those embodiments with a groove on the lower surface, the groove was approximately 1/16″. Each embodiment with circular apertures had 10 apertures across the base plate, wherein the circular apertures were 0.2″ in diameter. The embodiments with oval apertures had 10 apertures, each aperture having a major diameter (i.e., the measurement of the length of the oval cross-section) of approximately ¼″.
To provide a comparison between the various embodiments, Table 2 below shows the percentage of water extracted compared against the first set of runs on the embodiment of
The results demonstrate significant improvements shown in the embodiments of
It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while the present invention has been shown in the drawings and fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims.
