Floor grinding machine, method of operating floor grinding machine

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a floor grinding machine for grinding floor surfaces of stone or stone-like material. Such a machine comprises a machine frame, a grinding head 2, supported by and being rotatable relative to the machine frame, a grinding head hood 2, which defines a space in which the grinding head 1 is rotatable, a hollow and resilient member 4, arranged in the space, and a pressurized fluid source, operatively connected to the hollow member 4 to supply said pressurized fluid, whereby the hollow member 4 is resiliently expandable upon supply of said fluid.

Claims

1. A floor grinding machine for grinding floor surfaces, the machine comprising: a machine frame, a grinding head, supported by and being rotatable relative to the machine frame, a grinding head hood, which defines a space in which the grinding head is rotatable, a resilient member arranged inside the space in which the grinding head is rotatable, and a pressurized fluid source, operatively connected to the resilient member to supply said pressurized fluid, whereby the resilient member, or a portion thereof, is resiliently expandable upon supply of said fluid and provides a dimensional change in at least one direction and exhibits a force sufficient to remove grinding residues accumulated on or proximate to the resilient member upon supply of the of the fluid.

2. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resilient member is hollow, the pressurized fluid source is operatively connected to supply the pressurized fluid to an interior of the resilient member and the dimensional change in at least one direction comprises at least 5% upon supply of said fluid.

3. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hollow member comprises a tubular body.

4. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hollow member is arranged on, or forms part of, a wall of the hood.

5. The floor grinding machine as claimed claim 2, wherein the hollow member is arranged along an inner surface of the hood.

6. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hollow member is arranged at a transition portion between an upper horizontal portion of the hood and a downwardly extending edge portion of the hood.

7. The floor grinding machine as claimed claim 2, wherein the hollow member comprises at least one aperture for allowing the fluid to escape.

8. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein the aperture is substantially closed when the hollow member is at a normal ambient pressure, and opened when pressurized by supply of said fluid from inside of the hollow member.

9. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein a plurality of apertures are arranged on the hollow member along a circumferential direction of the hood.

10. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein the aperture is a slit.

11. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 10, wherein the slit is openable less than 2 mm in a direction across a longitudinal direction of the slit, on supply of the fluid.

12. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 10, wherein the slit extends along a longitudinal direction of the hollow member.

13. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 10, wherein the slit extends along a direction which is non-parallel with the longitudinal direction of the hollow member.

14. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resilient member comprises a hollow body and extends along at least 50% of a circumference of the grinding head hood.

15. A floor grinding machine for grinding floor surfaces, the machine comprising: a machine frame, a grinding head, supported by and being rotatable relative to the machine frame, a grinding head hood, which defines a space in which the grinding head is rotatable, a resilient member arranged inside the space in which the grinding head is rotatable, and a pressurized fluid source, operatively connected to the resilient member to supply said pressurized fluid, whereby the resilient member, or a portion thereof, is resiliently expandable upon supply of said fluid, and wherein the resilient member comprises a closure which is biased towards a position where it closes an aperture, and wherein the resilient member is movable to allow fluid to flow through the aperture on supply of said pressurized fluid.

16. The floor grinding machine as claimed in claim 15, further comprising a hollow member, an interior of which is connected to the pressurized fluid supply and whereby the aperture is arranged in a wall of the hollow member.

17. A method of operating a floor grinding machine for grinding floor surfaces, comprising: providing a resilient member on a grinding head of the floor grinding machine, and applying a pressurized fluid to the resilient member such that the resilient member expands upon supply of said pressurized fluid and provides a dimensional change in at least one direction and exhibits a force sufficient to remove grinding residues accumulated on or proximate to the resilient member, wherein the resilient member is arranged inside a space in which the grinding head is rotatable.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the resilient member is a hollow expandable member, and wherein applying the pressurized fluid comprises causing the resilient member to expand such that the dimensional change in at least one direction comprises at least 5%.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising feeding the fluid through at least one aperture of the resilient member, such that the fluid is allowed to exit from the resilient member.

20. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the resilient member comprises a closure of a hollow member, and wherein the pressurized fluid is applied to an interior of the hollow member, such that the closure is moved away from an aperture of the hollow member, whereby the fluid is allowed to exit from the hollow member.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view from behind of a floor grinding machine, in which the concepts according to the present disclosure may be applied.

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a grinding head with a fluid supplied into a space inside of a grinding head hood.

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a tubular body of a hollow member.

(4) FIGS. 4a-4b schematically illustrate a hollow member having a closure -.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a floor grinding machine 100. The grinding machine 100 comprises a machine frame 101 which supports a grinding head 1 and a motor 102. The grinding head 1 is driven by the motor 102 to rotate.

(6) The grinding head 1 may comprise a grinding head hood 2, which may be arranged to enclose the grinding head casing 5. The grinding head casing 5 may be rotatable inside the hood 2.

(7) The hood 2 may contain grinding residues which can be readily collected by e.g. a collection device as will be further described.

(8) The machine 100 may thus further comprise a collection device for collecting grinding residues, such as dust, water and the like. The collection device may comprise a hood connector, such that a space enclosed by the hood is in fluid connection with a dust collector, and optionally a channel, such as a hose or a pipe 104. A hose 104 leading to the dust collector, such as a vacuum cleaner, may be directly connectable to the hood connector, or to the channel.

(9) The machine 100 may further comprise a handle frame 105 extending from an upper rear portion of the machine frame 101. The handle frame 105 may support a handle 106 for a user to grip and/or steer the machine 100, and optionally a user interface 107.

(10) The user interface 107 may comprise an output device, such as a display, which may be a touch screen, for displaying information. The user interface may further comprise one or more input devices, such as a touch screen, buttons, knobs and/or a keyboard for the user to control the machine 100.

(11) The machine 100 may be supported by wheels, such as by a pair of coaxial wheels 108. The wheels may provide part of the support, with additional, or even most, support provided by the grinding head 1.

(12) The wheels may be freely rotatable, whereby the machine 100 may be propelled entirely by being pushed and/or pulled by the user.

(13) As another option, the wheels may be driven by one or more motors. For example, the wheels may be individually drivable, whereby steering of the machine 100 by e.g. radio control may be enabled.

(14) The machine 100 may comprise a control unit, which contains functionality for controlling the machine 100 and/or feeding back information, such as setting a speed of the rotating discs, and reporting a temperature of grinding discs.

(15) The grinding head 1 as illustrated herein is formed as a planetary type grinding head, i.e. the grinding head casing 5 is rotatable relative to the machine frame 101, and in turn carries two or more grinding disks, each of which being rotatable relative to a grinding head casing 5.

(16) The grinding head hood 2 may define a space in which the grinding casing 5 is rotatable.

(17) The machine 100 comprises a hollow and resilient member 4, arranged in the space, and a pressurized fluid source 50, operatively connected to the hollow member 4 to supply said pressurized fluid 6. The hollow member 4 is resiliently expandable upon supply of said fluid 6. In the following description, the fluid will be described as water, which is what is normally used. However, other types of fluids, including liquids and gases, may be used.

(18) The pressurized fluid source 50 may be provided by a connection to a sufficiently pressurized water supply. In the alternative, the pressurized fluid source 50 may be provided by an onboard water tank which may supply water via a pump. As another alternative, a connection to an external water source may be supplemented by an onboard pump.

(19) The hollow member 4 may be expandable so as to provide a dimensional change. The dimensional change may be in at least one direction. The dimensional change may be of at least 5% in said direction, upon supply of said fluid 6. The change may be of at least 10%, at least 20% or at least 30%.

(20) The change of the hollow member 4 may be decreased upon a decreased pressure of the supplied pressurized fluid. The change may be decreased upon a stop of the supply of the pressurized fluid 6.

(21) The hollow member 4 may be made of an extensible material, such as a polymer or resin. The hollow member 4 may be made of a flexible material, such as rubber.

(22) The hollow member 4 may comprise a tubular body, as illustrated in FIGS. 2-3. As shown in FIG. 2, the tubular body may be arranged along an inner surface of the hood 2.

(23) The hollow member 4 may be arranged at a transition portion between an upper horizontal portion 2a of the hood 2 and a downwardly extending edge portion 2b of the hood 2.

(24) The hollow member 4 may extend at least 40%, preferably at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70% or at least 80%, of an inner circumference of the hood 2.

(25) A plurality of hollow members 4 may be arranged in the space. Each of them may be individually supplied by a pressurized fluid source 50. Such plurality of hollow members 4 may be spaced apart from each other in the space. They may be arranged along the inner circumference of the hood 2. Alternatively, at least two of the hollow members 4 may be overlapped with each other.

(26) The hollow member 4 may comprise at least one aperture 3 for allowing the fluid 6 to escape.

(27) The aperture 3 may be substantially closed when the hollow member 4 is at a normal ambient pressure. The aperture 3 may be opened when pressurized by supply of said fluid 6 from inside of the hollow member 4.

(28) The aperture 3 may be provided with a lid. The lid may be arranged to block the aperture to isolate the inside of the hollow member 4 from outside. The lid may be pressurized to open by the supply of said fluid 6 from the inside of the hollow member 4. A plurality of apertures 3 may be arranged on the hollow member 4 along a circumferential direction of the hood 2.

(29) The aperture 3 may be a slit. The slit may extend along a longitudinal direction of the hollow member 4. Such a slit may be openable, on supply of the fluid, by less than 2 mm, preferably less than 1 mm or less than 0.5 mm.

(30) The machine 100 may comprise a nozzle 7 operatively connected to the hollow member 4 to receive said fluid 6 and to spray the same.

(31) The nozzle 7 may be arranged outside of the hood 2 such that the nozzle 7 sprays in a direction substantially parallel to a forward moving direction of the machine 100.

(32) Referring to FIG. 4a, there is disclosed a hollow member 30, which may be formed of a material that is flexible, whereby a portion of the hollow member provides a closure portion 31 of an aperture 32. Hence, the closure portion 31 is integrated with the hollow member 30.

(33) The closure 31 may be biased towards a closed position, i.e. a position wherein the aperture 32 is effectively closed by the closure portion 31.

(34) When supplying a pressurized fluid to the hollow member 30, e.g. as described above, the fluid pressure will cause the closure portion 31 to move and thus to open the aperture, such that fluid may escape.

(35) Accordingly, the movement of the closure portion 31 may cause grinding residues accumulated on or in the vicinity of the hollow member 30 to crack and become more easily released, while fluid may be supplied to e.g. an inside of the hood 2.

(36) FIG. 4b discloses another hollow member 40, which may be formed of an effectively rigid material, such as metal, wherein a closure member 41 is provided as a separate part, which may be attached to the hollow member 40, such that it is biased towards the hollow member and resiliently movable when the hollow member is pressurized, such that fluid is allowed to escape through the aperture 42, analogously with what was disclosed with reference to FIG. 4a.

(37) It is recognized that the present device may be arranged on an inside of the hood 2, as described above, so as to supply the fluid to the inside of the hood 2, or to an outside of the hood 2, whereby the fluid is supplied on the outside of the hood 2.

(38) The fluid may be supplied towards the floor surface, towards a wall of the hood 2 or towards the grinding head 1.