Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
TITLE: MODULAR GRINDER VEHICLE
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present disclosure relates to devices for smoothing, abrading,
leveling and
finishing the surface of concrete and stone floors by grinding.
[0002] Freshly poured and cured concrete floors often have a rough and uneven
surface. The
installing of floor cladding such as floor tiles generally requires the
surface of the floor to be
level and relatively smooth. In order to achieve the required surface
characteristics, workers
must go over the surface of the rough floor with a grinder to grind away the
bumps and ridges
which make the surface excessively rough and uneven. Floor grinders are
electrically
powered devices which consist of a grinding wheel, or a series of grinding
wheels, powered
by one or more electric motors. The grinding wheel or wheels and the electric
motor are
retained in a housing which is provided with wheels and a handle allowing the
operator to
push the back and forth across the surface of the floor. Concrete dust and
other particulate
matter is generated by the floor grinders as the floor grinder operates;
hence, most grinders
are provided with an exhaust mechanism for drawing the dust off the floor and
venting the
dust through a long flexible exhaust hose.
[0003] Electric grinders are highly effective, but they suffer from several
drawbacks. Firstly,
they are large and heavy requiring a great deal of physical effort to operate.
Secondly, since
each grinder requires an operator, several operators will be required to
completely finish a
floor with a large surface area. Furthermore, several operators working
several grinding
machines at the same time on the same floor require careful coordination of
the operators to
ensure that the job proceeds efficiently and safely while ensuring that no
unfinished patches
of floor are left or that no portions of the floor are ground excessively. The
expense of hiring
multiple operators and coordinating them is a significant drawback. The
present invention
seeks to solve these drawbacks so as to make the process of floor finishing
safer and more
efficient.
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SUMMARY
[0004] The apparatus of the present invention is a floor grinder for finishing
the surface of a
floor. The apparatus includes a self propelled vehicle having a driver seat
mounted on a top
portion and facing a front end of the vehicle and a steering mechanism adapted
to steer the
vehicle mounted adjacent the driver seat. Three separate grinders are
releasably attached to
the vehicle by three elongated mounting arms which project from the vehicle
and position the
three grinders adjacent each other in front of the vehicle. One of the
grinders is positioned
directly in front of the vehicle by one of the mounting arms which projects
from the front of
the vehicle, said grinder projecting slightly forward of the remaining
grinders. The remaining
grinders are position to the left and right of the forward grinder by their
mounting arms which
mount to a left and right side of the vehicle, respectively. Each of the
mounting arms are
pivotally coupled to the vehicle to permit the mounting arms to pivot up and
down relative to
the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present invention showing the
grinder units
installed;
[0006] Figure 2 is a side view of the present invention showing the grinder
units installed;
[0007] Figure 3 is a perspective view taken from the rear of the invention
shown in figure 1
without the grinder units installed;
[0008] Figure 4 is a perspective side view of the invention shown in figure 1
without the
grinder units installed;
[0009] Figure 5 is a perspective front view of the invention shown in figure 1
without the
grinder units installed.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] Referring firstly to figure 1, a self propelled floor grinding device
made in accordance
with the present invention is shown generally as item 10 and consists of a
central vehicle
portion 12 and grinder units 14, 16 and 18 which are coupled to the central
vehicle portion by
elongated arms 20, 22 and 24, respectively. Vehicle portion 12 has a forward
facing driver
seat 28 perched on top of chassis 30 of the vehicle portion. Steering
mechanism 32 is
positioned adjacent seat 28 and is adapted to control front wheels 34 of the
vehicle. A drive
mechanism (not shown) is contained within chassis 30 to provide motive power
to wheels 34
to allow the vehicle portion to drive. Standard electrically powered drive
mechanisms
consisting of electric motors coupled to rechargeable batteries and motor
controllers are
generally available in the market and can be tailored for use in constructing
vehicle portion
12. A foot shield 11 is mounted to front end 15 of vehicle portion 12 to
protect the operator's
feet and keep them clear from the grinders mounted in front of the vehicle
portion.
[0011] Grinders 14, 16 and 18 are each pivotally coupled to central vehicle 12
by means of
elongated arms 20, 22 and 24. With reference to elongated arm 24, the features
of each of the
arms shall now be discussed. Arm 24 has opposite ends 36 and 38, with a yoke
40 formed on
end 36. Yoke 40 is configured to securely attach to grinder 18 by means of
screws and nuts
or any other releasable attachment means. End 38 is pivotally connected to
transverse arm 42
by pivotal connection 41. Transverse arm 42 is releasably mounted to mounting
socket 44 by
means of screws and nuts or any other releasable attachment means. Preferably
arm 24 and
transverse arm 42 are made of rectangular tube steel to ensure a strong and
rigid mount for the
grinder to the vehicle. Pivot 41 provides for arm 24 to pivot up and down
relative to vehicle
12.
[0012] Arms 20, 22 and 24 are each releasably attached to both a grinder (14,
16 and 18
respectively) and vehicle portion 12. Arm 20 couples to and extends directly
from the front of
vehicle portion 12 and positions grinder 14 directly in front of end 15 of
vehicle 12. Arm 24
is mounted via transverse arm 42 to the left side of vehicle portion 12 and
the arm is
dimensioned to position grinder 18 to left of and slightly behind grinder 14.
Arm 22 is
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mounted to the right side of vehicle portion 12 in an identical but "right
handed" way as alill
24. Arm 22 is dimensioned to position grinder 16 to the right of and slightly
behind grinder
14. The
lengths of the elongated arms and transverse arms are dimensioned such that
the
grinders do not touch each other; however, the grinders are place sufficiently
close to each
other that the grinding width of the three grinders overlap sufficiently that
the device grinds
continuously from grinder 16 to 18.
[0013] Vehicle 12 is provided with a framed housing 46 which is dimensioned
and configured
to hold a control box 48 configured to couple to external 3-phase power chord
3 and provide
3-phase electric power to each of grinders 14, 16 and 18. Grinders 14, 16 and
18 are
preferably standard floor grinders which are powered by AC current, and
control box 48 is
configured to transfer 3-phase current suitable to drive all three grinder
units simultaneously.
The operation of the grinders is controlled by a control panel 50 which is
coupled to control
box 48. Control panel 50 has control boards 52, 54 and 56 which in turn
control the operation
of grinders 18, 14 and 16, respectively. Control box 48 is configured to
couple to an onboard
rechargeable battery/inverter (not shown) for powering the electric motors
(not shown) for
driving vehicle 12. Control box 48 is provided with a socket for plugging the
box into a
standard 3-phase AC current line 3.
[0014] Referring now to figure 2, the grinder units will now be discussed in
greater detail
with reference to grinder unit 18. Grinder 18 is a standard floor grinder as
is commercially
available from a plurality of different manufacturers. Each grinder has an
electric motor 68
and a skirt 58 containing the grinding elements. Skirt 58 is provided with an
exhaust port 60
coupled to a flexible house 62 one end of which couples to left side port 64.
The operation of
grinder 18 is controlled by panel 50. When engaged, grinder 18 grinds the
surface of the floor
to which it is resting upon causing the release of dust which is forced out of
port 60 and out
through hose 62. Referring now to figure 3, an elongated conduit 70 is
provided within
chassis 30 and extends from front end 15 to back end 17 of the vehicle. A
transverse
extension 74 extends from conduit 70 towards the right side of chassis 30 to
terminate in port
66. Another extension 76 extends from conduit 70 towards the left side of
chassis 30 to
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terminate in port 64. The rearmost end of conduit 70 terminates in port 68
while the foremost
end of conduit 70 terminates in port 72. Ports 64, 66 and 72 are coupled to
grinders 18, 16
and 14 respectively by flexible hoses as shown in figure 2. An elongated hose
(not shown)
can be attached at rear port 68 to vent the exhaust from all three grinders
away from the work
area if required. A vacuum dust capture system (not shown), such as a dust
capture bag or
filter unit, can be attached at rear port 68 to control the release of dust
into the work
environment.
[0015] Referring now to figure 4, mounting socket 44 is a rectangular member
mounted
securely to chassis 30 and is dimensioned and configured to receive an end of
the transverse
member 42 (see figure 1). An identical socket is formed on the right side of
vehicle portion
12. A further mounting socket 80 is formed on the front end 15 of the vehicle
portion for
pivotally mounting arm 20 thereto (see figure 1). Each of the mounting sockets
are
rectangular to ensure that when the corresponding mounting arm is attached, a
rigid
connection is formed preventing the arms from rotating or twisting.
[0016] Referring now to figure 5, front end 15 of vehicle 12 is provided with
three electrical
ports 82, 84 and 86 for electrically coupling the grinders by power chords
attached to each of
the grinders. Electrical ports 82, 84 and 86 are coupled to panel 50 and
provide an easy
electrical connection between the control panel and the grinders.
[0017] Referring back to figure 1, each of the grinders 14, 16 and 18 can be
removed from
vehicle portion 12 simply by detaching arms 20, 22 and 24 (respectively) from
the vehicle and
unplugging their respective power chords and hoses. Grinders 14, 16 and 18 are
standard
electrically powered heavy duty floor grinders of the type commonly found in
the market by
suppliers such as HusqvarnaTm, Prep/MasterTm, and the like. As mentioned
previously, the
grinders are positioned adjacent each other with grinder 14 slightly in front
of grinders 16 and
18 such that the grinding paths of grinder 14 slightly overlaps the grinding
paths of both
grinder 16 and grinder 18. This close orientation of the grinders results in a
single floor
grinder device which has a very wide grinding path extending from grinder 16
to grinder 18,
the entirety of which is controlled by a single operator seated on seat 28.
Since each of the
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grinders is mounted by an elongated mounting rod which can pivot in only one
direction,
namely up and down relative to vehicle 12, the grinders can essentially float
relative to each
other allowing the device to deal with uneven surfaces. Since only a single
operator is used,
labor costs are reduced, and since each of the grinders can be removed, the
device can be
disassembled for easy storage and transportation. Furthermore, each grinder
can be detached
and used individually should the need arise. Finally, since the dust from each
grinder is
exhausted through an exhaust conduit system, dust from the grinding operation
can be more
easily controlled and captured if need be.
[0018] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,
including the best
mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the
invention, including
making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated
methods. The
patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include
other examples
that occur to those skilled in the art.
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