Description of the Invention

Technical Field of Invention

This invention relates to apparatuses, used in cleaning of high rise buildings outer windows surfaces, and buildings facades.

Background Art

Commonly, the cleaning of the facades of high rise buildings, including glazed surfaces, and sealed windows, is carried out by means of manual operation, by a swinging worker, suspended by ropes, these workers follow three steps to clean the windows: a- using their tools, they position themselves and their suspended cleaners buckets opposite to the target window to be cleaned, b- using a brush soaked in a cleaning fluid to brush or scrubb a window, c- using a squeegee or rubber blade, to scrape all the excess liquid, from the glazed window. Anyway, This common method of low quality cleaning is expensive, uncomfortable, time consuming, and considered as one of the most dangerous occupations in industry.

Another method used, is a scaffold (3D open cage) vertically suspended by a rope from the roof of the building, pulled up depending on top mounted motors, moving down depending on gravity, the scaffold is carrying inside it the workers, and their materials, this method is not far differren from the prior one, even the workers here are not suspended directly, but still there should be a space kept in-between the metallic box, and the facade, so that it will not be scratched or damaged by the box. Recently, for an improved safety, labor, and time saving; numerous inventions have been proposed, aiming to replace the workers and their cleaning materials, either by providing an apparatus (casing or rectangular box) with self contained means, cotrolled by an operater, remotely located upon the ground, e.g: Pat. No.s U.S.: 3298052; 3,715,774, or by remote control means, aiming to control remotely the use of mechanical devices in e.g a suspended carriage with wheels, to raise and lower the cleaning head, along the building glazed facade, and to control the sprays of the fluid, and scurpping the facade with brushes, these involve the use of rotating, or non-rotating brushes, these are available in the prior art, such as: U.S. Pat. No.s 3,344,454; 4,025,984; 4,198, 724. A most recent remote controlled apparatus, for cleaning building facades, without the need of guides, or tracks on the facade, is disclosed in Pat. No.: US 7,823,242, wherein it is using a suspended master frame, containg the cleaning tools, with installed counterweights, and outer sliding pads wheels, the entire cleaning operation is effected and monitored, by an operator in a safe remote location, for example, by means of closed circuit television, with cameras mounted as desired on the carrier frame. A television receiver is mounted at the remote control station, to permit for the operator, to monitor and control the cleaning process.

Despite most of the remotely controlled apparatuses can carry out the cleaning relatively, still they are extremely expensive to buy, highly expensive to rent, only cleaning flat facades without protrusions, do not have a technique that closes the opened windows, even manually, spraying the water against the glass, which may create more water consumption, spraying, and drizzling.

In total, even the most famous, practical, and cheap way used until today, is cleaning using suspended workers, the newly developed invented devices did not replace it, which means that cleaning depending on suspended workers, still gains much trust and satisfaction; as a result, the best way to solve the drawbacks of suspended workers cleaning, is not to cancel and replace them totally, but to provide them with an apparatus, that can help in deleting most of the negative drawbacks of their old traditional cleaning and suspending tools.

The cleaning apparatus to be invented, and to be used by these workers, should remove the bulky untidy tools that are carried or suspended with them, cancel the need for using tools to attach themselves to the wall, to reposition themselves and their tools before each cleaning step, such a device will save their time, and end their need to reposition themselves or lean against the wall, which are laborious for them, and put more tension on the suspending ropes. Disclosure of Invention

Brief Description

To provide a time, fluid, and labor saving glass cleaner apparatus, that is further effective and safe, depending mainly on a motorized cleaning apparatus, suspended with the worker, and moving with him up/down, or sideways opposite to the glass, where the worker will monitor and control the apparatus.

The apparatus is consisting of a chair for seating the worker, and an apparatus extending horizontally from the facade side toward the seated worker, where the housing of the mechanism takes from the rear side an arc shape surrounding the chest of the worker, and engaging with the chair back, which is taking a semi-circular shape. The apparatus is then to be supported to the horizontal position, by a beam, that is extending from the front edge of the flat seat, to be positioned with an angle over the horizontal direction.

Supported from its back horizontally on the tubular disc, there is a housing, enclosing the cleaning mechanism, that is supported from its lower side on a horizontal base plate of the houing, a motor is installed on the base plate to drive the rotation of a camshaft, which is in touch with the rear end of a telescopic shaft, that moves up/down, and as a result creating an up/down reciprocating movement of a cleaning brush, which is part of the cleaning head that is connected to the front far end of the telescopic shaft.

Using a square bracket shaped rod, connected via a ball joint to the front end of the top surface of the front small diameter shaft, the worker can push forward or backward (outside or to inside of the big diameter shaft) then installing the rear vertical end of the rod inside any mating hole of a hole set created on the top surface of the rear big diameter shaft, as a result the cleaning head, forward and backward movement is adjustable, that is to make the worker capable to clean facades with protrusions, vertical parts curving inwards, or outwards, and even corners in-between facade protrusions, and the glass. Drying is carried out by a wiper rubber that is permanantly fixed over the brush, and supported to the apparatus top side via a wiper arm. Brief Description of the Drawings:

• FIG. 1: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the whole apparatus suspended with the worker, through part of the working area.

• FIG. 2: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the used apparatus with its outer shape and inner and outer tools.

• FIG. 3: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the safety suspending mechanism.

• FIG. 4 (A, B, C): Illustrates the adjustment of the cleaning head positioning against the facade, by the square bracket shaped rod.

• FIG. 5 (A, B): Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for apparatus operation steps upon part of a facade.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention:

Detailed description of operation

In order to make it easy to carry out the invention, a detailed description of the parts of the invention, supported with figures is provided here, as each part has many features, we made it easy to read, by referring to each feature with a number included in the parts description text, and in the parts numbering list, the numbering of parts features is indicated here by starting it sequentially from number 20, whenever a part feature appears in a text, it is directly assigned its required serial number. As example in FIG. 1, the parts' features are arranged sequentially from number 20 to 21, 22...

- Safety suspending of the apparatus 20 (FIG. 1):

The whole apparatus 20 is suspended, by suspending the chair 21, via four ropes 22, each one of the ropes 22 is connected to one corner of the flat seat 23 of the chair 2 . Each two of the four ropes 22 meet up over the worker, and then one rope from each side extends up toward a conventional motorizing mechanism, installed on the roof edge. The worker job here is more relaxing and safer, and provides extra benefits, by letting the worker concentrate on monitoring and controlling the apparatus and the cleaning performance, with no twisting or tension, either on his body, or the suspending ropes.

2- The whole apparatus 20 view relative to the worker, and a target area to be cleaned. (FIG. 1):

The apparatus 20 consists mainly of the chair 21, the apparatus mechanism 24 and its housing 25, the arc base 26, the cleaning head 27, the water supply hose 28, and the wiper 29, these are working like in the following:

a- The cleaning mechanism (FIG.s. 1, 2, 3):

To simulate the cleaning operation followed by a worker, wherein he uses his hand to move up/down a spongy rubber brush against a window glass, it is required here in this invention basically to have a spongy flat rubber brush 30, that is moved up and down against the window glass 31, via a motorized mechanism, this means the following parts are needed to achieve these tasks:

a- The spongy flat (rubber) brush 30 (FIG.s 1-5):

The selected shape for the brush 30 is to be flat, to provide a firm attach against the glass, while moving up and down,

b- The wiper rubber 29 (FIG.s 1-5):

A double wiper rubber 29 is used for wiping the excess water after the glass is cleaned by the wet spongy brush 30, while it is going down, it should have many features: 1- its support arm 32 is installed to the mechanism housing 25 top surface, 2- the support arm 32 is to be telescopically adjusted to be advanced forward or retarded backward, depending on the facade depth, or protrusions. 3- it is adjusted to be always in touch with the top dead edge, that the brush 30 may reach. 4- it is moving down with the movement of the whole apparatus 20.

c- Brush reciprocating mechanism (FIG.s 2, 3):

To make the brush 30 reciprocates (Up/Down), it need to be moved through a connected reciprocating shaft 33. A selected mechanism to make this shaft 33 move up and down from its front end (brush 30 side), is to connect it to the brush 30 through a ball joint 34, while from it is rear end, it is required to install it over a rotating camshaft 35, at a distance a little forward from its far end toward the brush 30, the camshaft 35 is rotated by an electric motor 36, mounted on the base 26, meanwhile, at the location where the camshaft 35 is in touch with the reciprocating shaft 33, a partially elliptical protrusion 37 is made, to prevent the damage of the reciprocating shaft 33 edge, and to smoothen its movement.

The reciprocating shaft 33, should be pivoted to the mechanism housing 25 opening 38 via side pivots 39, to assist the stable reciprocation of the shaft 33, but still the reciprocating shafts 33, does not retard (reciprocate) up, unless a tensioned spring 40 is used, the spring 40 is put under tension, when the front end of the reciprocating shaft 33 is moved down, due to being pushed up from the rear side by the camshaft 35, when the cam effect is released from the reciprocating shaft 33 rear end, the tension of the spring 40 lifts the front end of the reciprocating shaft 33, and as a result the brush 30 is lifted up too.

Note 1 : The reciprocating speed of the brush 30, is controlled by the side motor 36 that is rotating the camshaft 35, the motor's 36 speed is controlled by the worker.

Note 2: The housing 25 is having from its front side a vertical slot (opening) 38, to let the reciprocating shaft 33 extend out through it, and to move up/down.

Note 3: the retard spring 40 is supported from one side to a beam 41, installed on the top surface of the housing 25.

- Fluid feeding to the brush:

Because spraying the water directly on the windows surface ahead of the spongy rubber, and because the scrubber brushes and removal means are generally positioned to the location at which the washing liquid is sprayed on the window surface, a large amount of liquid is needed, in addition to that a large amount of water is wasted, to overcome such issues, it is required to apply a film of cleaner instead of a spray, which will dry rapidly, and when subsequently brushed off, the glass is cleaned very effectively. To feed the water to the brush 30, the water from a roof top mounted tank is sent through the fluid hose 42, and clamped to the housing 25 external side, then forwarded directly toward the brush 30 back, where a modified spongy rubber brush 30 is provided in this invention, which is getting the fluid fed directly to inside it from its back, which is that with a strong but flexible plastic or rubber, the water is passed toward an elongated cylindrical groove made along the center of the sponge, wherein the fluid is directed through nozzles towards the front part of the brush 30, which is facing the glass 31, but this fluid is not sprayed out of the brush 30, because its nozzles ends are closed by the spongy rubber from the front side of the brush 30, that is to let the fluid penetrate the brush 30 to its front side, but without being sprayed out, instead it will make the front side of the brush 30, wet enough to apply the fluid to the glass 31 , as a film of fluid.

- The drainage mechanism:

Any rinse/compress conventional mechanism used in the art for similar cleaning brushes can be used.

- The adjustment mechanism (FIG.s 1, 2, 4 ):

Using a square bracket shaped rod (adjustment rod) 43, connected via a ball joint 44 to the front end of the top surface of the front small diameter reciprocating shaft 45, the worker can push forward or backward (outside or to inside of the big diameter shaft 46) using a handle 47, then installing the rear vertical end 51 of the adjustment rod 43, inside any mating hole of the holes set 48, that created on the side surface of the rear big diameter shaft 46, as a result the cleaning head 27, forward and backward movement is adjustable, that is to make the worker capable to clean facades with protrusions, vertical parts curving inwards, or outwards, and even corners in-between facade protrusions, and the glass 31.

Note: The reciprocating shaft 33 is the same telescopic shaft that is made from the small diameter shaft 45, and the big diameter shaft 46. - The apparatus 20 installation on the chair 21 (Fig.s 1, 2): The arc base 23, which is the shape of the housing from the rear side, is installed from its side edges to the end sides of the semi-circular shaped chair back 49, by conventionally sliding two protrusion on both sides of it, through two grooves on the seat back semi-circular 49 part front edges, while from the chair flat seat 23 front side, a beam 50 is extending up with an angle forward, to support the apparatus 20 from its lower side. Totally, the apparatus will be supported from three points

Brief steps of the adjustment mechanism operation FIG.s 4 (A, B):

- FIG. 4- A: The telescopic shafts 33, IS fully extended.

- FIG. 4- B: The adjustment rod 43 is released out from its hole 48, and just to be pulled back by the handle 47.

- FIG. 4- C: The telescopic shaft 33 is pulled back by the adjustment rod 43 to full length of its small diameter shaft 45, and the adjustment rod 43 is installed from its vertical end 51 to inside the hole 48 of the big diameter shaft 46.

Brief steps of cleaning operations FIG.s 5 (A, B).

- FIG. 5- A: the cleaning brush 30 moved up and cleaned upwards, due to the pulling up of the retard spring 40 on the reciprocating shaft 33.

- FIG. 5- B: the cleaning brush 30 moved down and cleaned downwards, due to the pulling up of the camshaft 35 on the big reciprocating diameter shaft 46 rear end, as a result, the front end in touch with the brush 30 moved down. Industrial applicability

The subject invention has the following benefits, which make it easier to be industrially applicable: 1- All the apparatus devices: the chair, motorizing mechanisms, water supply tube, tank, pump, and the supporting frames can be easily manufactured from available tools and materials used successfully in other types of arts with easy modifications.

2- Installing the apparatus on the cage, to be a safer and relaxing cleaning apparatus for civil services.

3- For the first time, an apparatus can change the cleaning laborers tasks, from a laborious, manual, difficult, low quality, time consuming job, to monitoring and controlling a high quality, quick, and easy cleaning of detailed facades, with protrusions.

4- Fast installation of the apparatus, compared to the manners and devices in the art.

5- Fast cleaning than any other apparatus or a laborer cleaner, due to the use of workers that would not bear or lean against the facade, in addition to using a fast reciprocating cleaner.

6- Inner water supply and distribution to the cleaning brush, will guarantee water consumption saving to extreme limits.

Parts Drawing Index:

20 Motorized cleaning apparatus. 41 Beam.

21 Chair. 42 Fluid hose.

22 Ropes. 43 Adjustment rod.

23 Flat seat. 44 Ball joint.

24 Apparatus mechanism. 45 Small diameter shaft 45.

25 Housing. 46 Big diameter shaft.

26 Arc base. 47 Handle.

27 Cleaning head. 48 Holes set.

28 Water supply hose. 49 Chair semi-circular back.

29 Wiper. 50 Support beam.

30 Flat brush 51 Vertical end.

31 Glass.

32 Wiper's support arm.

33 Reciprocating shaft.

34 Ball joint.

35 Camshaft.

36 Motor.

37 Elliptical protrusion.

38 Opening (vertical slot).

39 Side pivots.

40 Spring