Description of the Invention

Technical Field of Invention

This invention relates to mechanisms used in apparatuses, that are 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 cleaner buckets opposite to the target window to be cleaned, fa- 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 is not 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. 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...etc.

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 either 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, or to invent apparatuses that simulate their cleaning procedures.

Four patents applications were published at 2013 to achieve these requirements, they are: Top-Wing Aerobotic Glass Cleaner, publication No.: WO/2013/076712; Aerobotic Glass Cleaner, Publication No.: WO/2012/076711 ; In- Cage Motorized Glass Cleaner Apparatus, publication No.: WO/2013/105001; and On-Chair Facade Cleaner Apparatus, publication No.: WO/2013/1081411.

But the inner details of these patents applications, reveal that the invented mechanisms are still in need for further improvements for improving its quality of cleaning, and safety of the apparatus, such as: 1- The cleaner head is moving in an arc track against the glass, not parallel against it, to be in complete touch with it all the time, 2- When the cleaner head moves down against the glass until facing a protrusion, wherein the cleaner head is then retarded back, the wiper has no chance to wipe the last cleaned part, because it is located over the cleaner head, and retarded back with it 3- There is no assisting safety and standby sensor, that stops the cleaner head from reciprocating, once the cleaner head approaches or reaches a horizontal protrusion. These week points are solved for these four inventions, in this invention. Disclosure of Invention

Brief Description

To provide a motorized cleaning mechanism, that is further effective and safe, in supporting the reciprocation motion, wiping, and stop/safety tools in a prior art invented apparatuses, depending mainly on the reciprocation of the cleaner head.

The mechanism is illustrated in the invention via an on-chair facade cleaner apparatus as a selected example for illustration. The reciprocating tool is modified such that the cleaner head is not reciprocating in an arc track against the fagade, but it is reciprocating up and down in a completely parallel vertical track against the fagade, as a result, at the part of the cleaner head telescopic shaft that is extending inside the housing, two springs separated by a distance, are connected in-between the bottom side of the cleaner telescopic shaft, and the base of the housing, where in-between these two springs a cam is installed at the end of a motor shaft, to push vertically up the telescopic shaft, while the springs retard it vertically down

As the wiper is dragged over the cleaner head in prior art, it means when the cleaner head reaches an end of a lower side of a fagade part ending with a protrusion, then the cleaner head should be pulled back to pass the protrusion to a new fagade part, but the left cleaned wet part, will not get the chance to be wiped by the wiper, as a result, the wiper is designed such that it can be moved down in-between the cleaner head and the fagade at that precise step.

To know when the reciprocating cleaner head should stop just before a horizontal protrusion, the distance sensors are not be enough to protect the cleaner head from hitting the protrusion contineously if the sensor got idle, as a result, a tilting rod sensor is used, to close an electric circuit, to either send data to a control unit, or via a timed delay relay, to stop the motor, at the moment when the tilting rod hits gently the protrusion, and tilts up due to the apparatus downward motion. Brief Description of the Drawings:

• FIG. 1: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for an on-chair apparatus with the modified mechanisms.

• FIG. 2: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the wiper rubber and the tilt- rod sensor parts in operation.

• FIG. 3: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the cleaner head and wiper while both are retarded back.

• FIG. 4: Illustrates a work flow chart, for the safety and stop mechanism and circuit. 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 the 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...

1- On-chair apparatus with the modified mechanisms (FIG. 1):

The provided active mechanism 20 includes many mechanisms:

A- A main reciprocating mechanism 21 which is enclosed by a housing 22, the cleaner head 23 is not reciprocating in an arc track against the facade surface 24, like in the prior art, but it reciprocates up and down in a completely parallel vertical track against the fagade 24, as a result, two springs 25 separated by a distance, are connected in-between the bottom side of the cleaner telescopic shaft 26, and the base 27, where in-between these two springs 25, a cam 28 is installed at the end of a motor shaft 29, to push vertically up the telescopic shaft 26, while the springs 25 retard it vertically down Active wiping mechanism (FIG. 2):

As the wiper 30 is dragged over the cleaner head 23 in the related prior art, it means when the cleaner head 23 reaches a lower end of a facade surface 24 part eover a protrusion 31, then the cleaner head 23 should be pulled back and returned to pass this protrusion 31 to a new facade 24 part, but the left cleaned wet part, will not get the chance to be wiped by the wiper 30, which was moved back with the cleaner head 23 as in the prior art, because the wiper 30 arm is attached to the cleaner head 23, as a result, the wiper 30 is designed here to move independently from the cleaner head 23 up/down, or front/back motions, such that it can be moved down in-between the cleaner head 23 and the fagade 24 at that precise step, where the cleaner head 23 is retarded a little back from the fagade surface 24, while the wiper 30 can be moved manually in-between them.

To achieve that, the wiper rubber 30, is to be supported to a frame 32 (FIG.s 1, 2), that is connected to double arced handles 33, when the cleaner head 23 is retarded back a little from the fagade surface 24, then the arced handles 33 are pushed down by the worker hands, the frame 32, will help the wiper to stay in touch with the fagade 24, and to move the wiper 30 down in-between the standstill cleaner head 23, and the fagade 24 to wipe the uncleaned area, while the frame is moving down the wiper, the frame will not hit the cleaner head, but it will let the cleaner head pass through it while moving down.

Note 1: in the prior art, the wiper 30 arm is rigid, and can not be moved down in-between the cleaner head 23, and the fagade 24, also the wiper 30 has no frame 32 like the one designed here, to pass the cleaner head 23 through it, while cleaning the remaining part of the fagade 24 over a protrusion 31.

Note 2: The arced handles 33 are pushed by the worker hands down, to push the wiper 30 down. The handles 33 are designed like this, to pass down the apparatus 20 obstacle frames 34, while its vertical ends are pressing against retard springs 35, to retard the arced handles 33, wiper's arms 36, and frame 32, to retard the wiper up, when its job is completed at facades lower part near the protrusion 31. Safety/stop mechanism

Tilt rod sensor (FIG.s 1, 2, 3): knowing that the reciprocating cleaner head 23 should stop just before hitting a horizontal protrusion 31, a conventionally installed distance sensor 37 installed at any of the front parts of the cleaning tools (Fig. 3), is not be enough to protect the cleaner head 23 from reciprocately hitting the protrusion 31, whenever this distance sensor 37 got idle, as a result, a tilting rod sensor 38 is used, to close an electric circuit, to either send data to a control unit, or via a timed delay relay, to stop the motor of the apparatus, and to warn the worker to stop descending the apparatus, this can be achieved when the tilting rod 38 hits gently the protrusion 31 and tilts up due to the apparatus 20 downward motion, as a result, the tilt rod 38, will press from its other end (apparatus side) on a switch 39, that either will cut the electric current to the motor, or close a circuit of a timed delay relay to switch off the motor, or to close the circuit to send this data to an electic control unit, that will stop the motor, the water pump, and any other electric circuits (Fig. 4), wherein all these reactions are actuated a fter a precalculated (programmed or set) timing, depending on the descending spped of the apparatus, and the speed of the reciprocation driving motor, wherein these will stop directly once the cleaner head is reaching the end of the fagade part, over the protrusion.

Note: The programmed (precalculated or set) data, are these data that are saved in the electronic control unit (ECU), depending on experimental precalculation of measurements took from the distance sensor 37, the reciprocating mechanism motor speed, and the apparatus descending motor speed, according to these data, it can be calculated at a precise calculated distance in-between the distance sensor 37 and the protrusion 31, with the signal coming from the safety/stop switch 39, at what moment the control units (ECU) should switch off the motors and cleaner water pump, in a more clear way, by comparing the recent data with the pre-programmed data, the control unit, calculates how much time remained for it to switch off these devices, at the moment just before the cleaner head 23 hits the protrusion 31, but with assuring that the cleaner head 23 has accomplished cleaning of the last cm of the whole facade part 24 over the protrusion 31.

Industrial applicability

The subject invention has the following benefits, which make it easier to be industrially applicable:

1- All the main mechanism devices and other tools, can be easily manufactured from available tools and materials used successfully in other types of arts with easy modifications.

2- Effective cleaning of the whole facade parts in-between the protrusions.

3- Effective wiping of the whole facade parts in-between the protrusions.

4- Active cheap safety system for the cleaning tools.

Parts Drawing Index:

20 Active mechanism.

21 Reciprocating mechanism.

22 Housing.

23 Cleaner head.

24 Facade surface.

25 Springs.

26 Telescopic shaft.

27 Base.

28 Cam.

29 Shaft.

30 Wiper.

31 Protrusion.

32 Frame.

33 Double arced handles.

34 Obstacle frame.

35 Retard spring.

36 Wiper's arms.

37 Distance sensor.

38 Tilting rod sensor.

39 Switch.