The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
An exemplary scrubbing device 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure is shown in
The cam lock 28 can be operated in a first condition, which permits the head assembly 18 to pivot relative to the yoke 16, and a second condition that locks the head assembly 18 relative to the yoke 16. This permits the head assembly 18 of the scrubbing device 10 to be readily adjustably fixed to desired angles between the head assembly 18 and the yoke 16 or allows the head assembly 18 to pivot freely relative to the yoke 16.
With additional reference to
The battery 24 can be any type of battery cell, such as nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion, or alkaline battery, and can be permanently or removably received into the interior cavity 52. As will be appreciated, the battery 24 can further include a rechargeable battery or a replaceable/disposable battery and a terminal block (not shown) can be employed to electrically couple the battery 24 to the wiring harness. For example, the battery 24 can be a FIRESTORM® HPB14 14.4V or HPB18 18V battery pack marketed by Black & Decker Corporation of Towson, Md. In the example provided, a spring (not shown) is disposed between the housing structure 50 and the battery pack and biases the battery pack in a direction outwardly from the interior cavity 52. The connection of the battery pack to the wire harness (not shown) is outside the scope of this disclosure but can employ a terminal block as those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate. An exemplary battery pack-terminal block interface is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,788 which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth in detail herein.
The cap 36 can include a cap handle 60 and first connector portion 62. The housing structure 50 can further include a shoulder 64; a second connector portion 66; and the first seal member 42, which can be an o-ring or a rubber disc that can be affixed (e.g., permanently) to the cap 36. The cap 36 can be coupled to the housing structure 50 by placing the cap 36 over the interior cavity lip 64 so that the first connector portion 62 can be translated past the second connector portion 66 and thereafter rotated to lockingly engage the first connector portion 62 to the second connector portion 66 and sealingly abut the cap 36 against the first seal member 42 and the first seal member 42 against the shoulder 64. The cap handle 60 can be employed to turn the cap 36 by a predetermined amount, such as about 90° in a predetermined rotational direction relative to the housing structure 50. It will be appreciated that although the first and second connector portions 62 and 66 are illustrated to be helical thread-like structures that matingly engage one another, various other types of coupling means can be employed in the alternative. For example, the cover 36 could be hingedly coupled to the housing structure 50.
With reference to
The handle 54 can be disposed between the battery 24 and the switch mount 38 and can be generally cylindrical in shape. The switch mount 38 can be employed to house the switch 40 and can form a guard that can extend around the switch 40 to resist inadvertent actuation of the switch 40. The switch 40 can be any type of switch, including a sealed or water-resistant switch, and can be employed to selectively control the transmission of electrical energy from the battery 24 to the motor assembly 26. The second seal member 44 can be employed to seal the interface between the housing assembly 12 and the support structure 14. In the particular example provided, the second seal member 44 is an o-ring that is located within the aperture 72 in the housing structure 50 and which sealing engages the support structure 14 and the housing structure 50.
The support structure 14 can be a one piece structure that can connect the housing assembly 12 to the yoke 16. In the example provided, however, the support structure 14 includes a support member 80 that can include a tubular body and a second coupling portion 90 that can be engaged to the first coupling portion 70 of the housing structure 50 to thereby couple the support structure 14 to the housing assembly 12. In the particular example provided, the second coupling portion 90 includes a shaft portion 92 and a plurality of through-holes 94. The shaft portion 92 is sized to be received in the aperture 72 of the housing structure 50 and the through-holes 94 are sized to receive the bosses 74 to thereby non-rotatably couple the support member 80 to the housing assembly 12.
A second handle H2 can also be included on the support structure 14. The second handle H2 can be placed on the support structure 14 on a side of the center of gravity of the scrubbing device 10 opposite the housing assembly 12. Positioning the handle 54 and the second handle in this manner provides improved balance when the scrubbing device 10 is grasped with both handles.
With reference to
With specific reference to
The first yoke arm 102 can include a body portion 140 and a first arm member 142. The body portion 140 can be sized to be slidingly received into the yoke arm aperture 130 and can include a first body portion 146 and a second body portion 148. The first body portion 146 can be generally cylindrically shaped and can include a seal groove 150 and a fastener aperture 152. The second body portion 148 can have a shape that conforms to the outer surface of the first body portion 146 and can form a shoulder 156 where the second body portion 148 abuts the first arm member 142. A wire harness bore 158 can be formed through the body portion 140. The wire harness bore 158 can include a grommet bore 160, which can extend through the first body portion 146, and an opening 162 that can be defined by the second body portion 148. The first arm member 142 can be integrally formed with the body portion 140 and can have a one-half U shape that is configured to wrap around a portion of the head assembly 18.
The second yoke arm 104 can include a mating body portion 170 and a second arm member 172 that can be mirror images of the second body portion 148 and the first arm member 142, respectively, except as noted. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the mating body portion 170 can have an exterior surface that is complementary to the exterior surface of the second body portion 148 and that the second arm member 172 can have a one-half U-shape that can wrap about a side of the head assembly 18 opposite the first arm member 142. The second arm member 172 can define a lever locking feature, such as a recess 180 and/or a tab 182, and a pin passage 184. The pin passage 184 can extend through the second arm member 172 on a side opposite the mating body portion 170 in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the lever locking feature (e.g., the recess 180 and the tab 182). In the particular example provided the first and second arm members 142 and 172 include a plurality of screw bosses 190 that can be employed to fixedly but removably couple the first and second yoke arms 102 and 104 to one another via a plurality of threaded fasteners (not shown). Such coupling means are well known in the art and as such, a detailed description of this coupling means need not be provided herein.
The intermediate wire harness 114 can extend through the wire harness bore 158 in the first yoke arm 102 and can include a plurality of wires 200, a first grommet 202 and a second grommet 204. The wires 200 can be electrically coupled to the wire harness WH and to the head assembly 18. In the particular example provided, the wires 200 are coupled to electrical terminals 208 that are mounted in the stem 122 of the yoke collar 100. The electrical terminals 208 are configured to matingly engage mating terminals 209 that are associated with a mating connector C that is electrically coupled to the wire harness WH. It will be appreciated that the mating connector C can be sealingly engaged to the support member 80. The first grommet 202 can be received in the grommet bore 160 and can sealingly engage the first body portion 146 and the wires 200.
The first yoke seal 108, which can be an O-ring, can be received into the seal groove 150. The yoke 16 can be inserted into the yoke collar 100 such that the body portion 140 and the mating body portion 170 are received into the yoke arm aperture 130, the first yoke seal 108 sealingly engages the annular wall member 126, the fastener aperture 152 is aligned to the collar fastener aperture 132 and the shoulders 156 defined by the second body portion 148 and the mating body portion 170 can be abutted against the flange 128. The fastener 116 can be received through the collar fastener aperture 132 and engage the body portion 140 to fixedly couple the first yoke arm 102 and the yoke collar 100. It will be appreciated that the first yoke seal 108 and the first grommet 202 can form a water resistant seal that inhibits fluids and debris from entering the interior of the pole scrubber 10 through the first yoke arm 102 or the interface between the first yoke arm 102 and the yoke collar 100.
The outer cover 106 can be disposed about a portion of the end of the support member 80 and can threadably engage the threaded outside diameter 128 of the yoke collar 100. The outer cover 106 can cover the fastener 116 to thereby inhibit its removal from the yoke collar 100. The second yoke seal 112 can be disposed between the outer cover 106 and the support member 80 to render the coupling between the yoke 16 and support structure 14 water-resistant. The spacer 110 can abut the second yoke seal 112 and the yoke collar 100 and can maintain the second yoke seal 112 in sealing engagement with the outer cover 106 and support structure 14. It will be appreciated that the outer cover 106, the spacer 110 and the second yoke seal 112 can be associated with and coupled to the support member 80 so as to remain with the support member 80 if the support structure 14 is separated from the yoke collar 100. It will also be appreciated that the yoke collar 100 and the support member 80 can be “keyed” to one another in any appropriate manner to facilitate electrical connection of the terminals 208 and 209 in a desired manner.
In the particular example provided, the capability to separate the support structure 14 from the yoke collar 100 permits additional support members, e.g., support members 80a and 80b (
The cam lock 28 can include a lever 210, a cam 212, a lock member 214, a retaining pin 216 and a latch or pin receptacle 218. The lever 210 can define a tab aperture 220 and can be fixedly coupled (e.g., integrally formed with) to the cam 212. The tab aperture 220 can be sized to receive the tab 182, while the lever 210 can be sized to be received in the recess 180 in a particular orientation. The cam 212 can be generally U-shaped with a pair of arm members 224. A retaining pin aperture 226 can be formed through the distal ends of the arm members 224. The lock member 214 can include a circular head portion 230 and a pin portion 232 that is concentric with the circular head portion 230. The pin portion 232 can be received through the pin passage 184 in the second yoke arm 104. An aperture 234 can be formed through the pin portion 232 generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the lock member 214. The retaining pin 216 can be disposed through the retaining pin apertures 226 in the cam 212 and the aperture 234 in the pin portion 232 to pivotally couple the cam 212 (and the lever 210) to the lock member 214. The pin receptacle 218 can be fixedly coupled to the head assembly 18 and can define first and second body members 240 and 242 that are fixedly coupled to one another. The first body member 240 can be disposed adjacent the head assembly 18 and can define a first U-shaped slot 244. The second body member 242 can be abutted against the first body member 240 on a side opposite the head assembly 18 and can define a second U-shaped slot 246 that can be narrower and shorter than the first U-shaped slot 244. The circular head portion 230 can be received into the first U-shaped slot 244 and the pin portion 232 can extend outwardly through the second U-shaped slot 246. It will be appreciated that the first body member 240 can be relatively thicker than the circular head portion 230 to provide lateral clearance for the circular head portion 230 that can permit the lock member 214 to rotate within the pin receptacle 218.
As illustrated in
The lever 210 can at least partially fit within the lever receiving pocket 180 of the first yoke arm 102 and the tab 182 can be received into the tab aperture 220 when the lever 210 is positioned in the first position. It will be appreciated that the disposition of the lever 210 in the lever receiving pocket 182 helps to inhibit rotation of the lever 210 relative to the second yoke arm 104. It will be further appreciated that the disposition of the tab 182 in the tab aperture 220 can also help to inhibit rotation of the lever 210 relative to the second yoke arm 104.
With reference to
When the lever 210 is pivoted outward to the second position, the lever 210 and cam 212 can be rotated about the longitudinal axis of the lock member 214 to align the second cam portion 262 to the second yoke arm 104 (i.e., so that the second cam portion 262 will abut the outboard face 250 when the lever 210 is returned to the first position). The second cam portion 262 can be configured such that a second force, which has a magnitude that is less than a magnitude of the first force, is generated when the lever 210 is positioned in the first position and the second cam face is abutted against the outboard face 250. The second force can be light enough to permit the head assembly 18 to pivot (e.g., freely or with some resistance) relative to the yoke 16.
In this regard, the center of the coupling aperture 226 in the cam 212 can be offset such that the distance from the center to the first cam portion 260 on one side of the cam 212 is greater than the distance from the center to the second cam portion 262 on the other side of the cam 212. Consequently, placing the lever 210 in the first position proximate to the second yoke arm 104 can either engage the cam lock 28 and fix the head assembly 18 relative to the yoke 16 (when the first cam portion 260 faces and abuts the outboard face 250) or can allow the head assembly 18 to freely pivot relative to the yoke 16 assembly (when the second cam portion 262 faces and abuts the outboard face 250) depending upon which of the first and second cam portions 260 and 262 is engaged against the outboard face 250.
Returning to
With reference to
With additional reference to
The detent passage 308 extends radially outwardly through the hub portion 306 of the output member 304, while the flange portion 312 extends circumferentially outward from one end of the hub portion 306. The shaft portion 314 can extend along a rotational axis A and can form the output shaft engagement aperture 316. In the particular example provided, the output shaft engagement aperture 316 is threaded to receive a threaded end of the output shaft 302. Alternatively, the output shaft engagement aperture 316 could be formed with flat sides (not shown) and the output shaft 302 could be shaped as a flat fir-tree that is forced into the output shaft engagement aperture 316.
The hub portion 306 can define an accessory connector aperture 350 that can have a shape that can receive a shaft portion of an accessory and transmit drive torque therebetween. In this regard, the accessory connector aperture 350 can have a non-circular shape, such as a hex shape. The detent passages 308 can intersect the accessory connector aperture 350.
The detent members 318, which can be spherical balls, can be received in the detent passages 308. The spring 326 can be disposed about the hub 306 and abutted against the flange portion 312. The release ring 320 can received over the hub 306 and abutted against the spring 326, which biases the release ring 320 away from the flange portion 312. The washer 328 and the retaining ring 330 can be employed to limit the distance by which the release ring 320 is positioned away from the flange portion 312 by the spring 326. In its “normal” position, which is illustrated in
The release ring 320 may be manually moved in a direction parallel to the rotational axis A to align the second ring portion 324 to the detent members 318. In the particular example provided, the second ring portion 324 is radially outwardly tapered from the first ring portion 322 and as such, movement of the release ring 320 toward the flange portion 312 by a sufficient distance will permit the detent members 318 to translate radially outwardly to a second position so that it does not extend into the accessory connector aperture 350.
The accessory 20 can include an accessory portion 400, shown as a brush, and the accessory connector 402 having the drive portion 404 and a retaining portion 406. The retaining portion 406 is shown as a circumferential detent that is formed about the perimeter of the drive portion 404. The drive portion 404 can be sized and shaped to fit within the accessory connector aperture 350. In the particular example provided, the drive portion 404 has a hex-shaped outer surface 410, which slidingly engages the accessory connector aperture 350, and an aperture 412 that is sized to receive the shaft portion 314 therein. The retaining portion 406 can be configured to cooperate with the detent members 318 to fixedly but releasably couple the accessory 20 to the hub portion 306. In the particular example provided, the retaining portion 406 is a groove that extends about the circumference of the drive portion 404 having a generally circular cross-sectional shape that is configured to receive the detent members 318 when the drive portion 404 is inserted into the accessory connector aperture 350. The retaining portion 406 provides space in a radially inwardly direction for the detent members 318 when the detent members 318 are urged radially inwardly by the first ring portion 322 of the release ring 320.
The accessory 20 can be coupled to the head assembly 18 by urging the release ring 320 against the spring 326 that disposed between the release ring 320 and the flange portion 312 of the output member 304. This moves the first ring portion 322 of the release ring 320 away from the detent members 318 and brings the second ring portion 324 of the release ring 320 towards the detent members 318. The second ring portion 324 permits the detent members 318 to move from a first detent position generally radially outwardly in the detent passage 308 to a second detent position. The drive portion 404 of the accessory connector 402 is then disposed between the hub portion 306 and the shaft portion 314 of the output member 304, unobstructed by the detent members 318. Once the retaining portion 406 of the accessory connector 402 is aligned with the detent passage 308, the spring 326 is allowed to return the release ring 320 to its original position, with the first ring portion 322 of the release ring 320 moving the detent member 318 from the second position back to the first position where the detent members 318 engage the retaining portion 406 of the accessory connector 402, thereby retaining the accessory 20 coupled to the head assembly 18.
Alternative features can be incorporated into various aspects of the scrubbing device 10 as disclosed. Non-limiting examples of various accessory portions 400 include pads, brushes, sponges and combinations thereof. In addition, various features of the present disclosure can be made water-resistant such that the pole scrubber can be operated in wet conditions or even submerged. Furthermore, various motorized drive actions can be employed for powering the accessory, including rotary, orbital, and reciprocating drives. Alternatively, a yoke 16 with a single yoke arm can be used.
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.