The object of the present invention is a self-moving machine for washing and drying floors, also equipped with a driving station for an operator of the machine thereof.

As is known, cleaning walkable floor areas in civil engineering or industrial facilities of large dimensions and/or subject to intense foot traffic requires the use of special machines, which must ensure operating times that are sufficiently "limited" and cleaning and sanitary levels that are quite high. In particular, so-called "floor scrubber-driers" are currently available. These machines can be driven by an operator on board or they can be more compact in size and not necessarily have an on-board driving station.

As their name suggests, floor scrubber-driers are capable of washing, with a large amount of water and a specific chemical product, a portion of a floor surface that is passing under the moving machine. The same portion of the floor surface is then dried by the same machine during the same passage of the machine.

For example, a surface maintenance machine is described in US patent no. 3833961 for scrubbing surfaces using a scrubber head unit that is positioned frontally of the steerable wheels and can be oriented in various spatial configurations. In particular, it can be oriented in a virtually vertical configuration so as to reduce the dimensions of the front of the machine, when for example it needs to be passed through narrow spaces. However, in this prior-art machine the scrubber head is not capable of being oriented to the right or to the left of the machine body during floor cleaning procedures.

Another cleaning machine is described in patent no. WO2000/24305 as having a set of three cleaning rollers positioned in front of the two front wheels of the main carriage. This machine has the option of "widenability" of two of the three rollers by laterally displacing them from the roller-holder head, which, however, remains fixed. Even more generally, patent nos. DE 202011004106, EP2248455, US2005/132527 and WO2010/084030 disclose different types of floor cleaning machines having structures that generally differ from that of the present invention.

In any case, the two different macro-families of prior-art scrubber-driers (ride-on or walk-behind) have several drawbacks.

For example, as regards the machines that do not "transport" the operator on board, operator fatigue clearly emerges, for the operator must walk considerably long distances and in some cases while also pushing the machine (distances of up to 10 km can be travelled in the course of each cleaning shift!).

Moreover, as regards the ride-on machines, with the operator being on board, it should be pointed out that the structure thereof often comprises the presence of only one washing brush, which is positioned "centrally" with respect to the body of the machine and located between the front wheels and the rear wheels of the machine, (and they generally also have a so-called "squeegee" in a position adjacent to the washing brush or located in the "tail" portion of the machine). This structural layout makes the machines of the prior art poorly efficient in terms of the capacity to clean particularly tight floor spaces (e.g. areas in the proximity of obstacles such as pillars, benches, promotional displays and so forth).

The "spatial" drawback mentioned hereinabove entails an additional drawback related to work management, given that in order to work in areas that cannot be reached by the brush and/or squeegee, the on-board operator must resort to auxiliary manual tools, thereby increasing the cost of his/her work, extending operating times and increasing the levels of physical fatigue.

In light of the drawbacks of the prior art indicated above, an aim of this invention is to make available a machine for washing and drying floors that can overcome these same drawbacks.

In particular, an aim of this invention is to realize a scrubber-drier that is able to transport the driver on board (thus decreasing his/her fatigue) and that at the same time also maximizes the possibility of reaching, washing and drying a variety of floor areas/spatial lay-outs, which may also be particularly discontinuous and irregular or have partially limited or obstructed access.

The present invention is also aimed at devising a scrubber-drier machine that is very compact in size, combined in any case with optimal ergonomics for the operator, as well as limited overall production and management costs with respect to the overall functions of the machine. These and other aims are achieved by a self-moving (and ride-on) machine for washing and drying floors according to the invention, which is indicated in its entirety by the reference number 1 in the attached figures:

Figure 1 is an overall view of the machine according to the invention; and

- Figures 2, 3 and 4 show a structural detail of the machine appearing in Figure 1 , in three different spatial configurations.

With reference to the figures, it can be noted that the machine 1 substantially comprises a machine body 2 that houses (in addition to the usual components typical of these machines such as the driver's seat and driving members, motor and sub-systems for loading and dispensing water and detergents) at least one front wheel (for example a directional wheel) 3 and a suitable number of rear wheels (for example drive wheels) 4. The machine body 2 extends along a main axis of extension S, which is, in turn, prevalently oriented along a principal direction of advancement of the self-moving machine 1 under operative conditions.

As mentioned above, the machine 1 comprises a driver's station 5 that is apt for receiving an operator/driver "on board" (indicated by the letter G in the figures) and operatively connected at least to the wheel 3 and/or wheels 4. A washing and drying unit 6 connected to the machine body 2 is also present and it can be operatively actuated on a floor area to be washed and/or dried. Advantageously, the invention is characterized by the positioning of the washing and drying unit 6, which is located frontally of the front wheel 3, with respect to the principal direction of advancement (or in other words, with respect to the main axis of extension S). This allows for marked improvement of interaction with the driver/operator G and makes it possible to have the washing and drying unit operate in an area that is substantially "unobstructed" by the presence or the mark of the machine body 2 on the floor.

In further detail, it can be observed that the washing and drying unit 6 comprises a predetermined number of scrubbing brushes 7 (and this represents a further element of functional improvement with respect to the ride-on machines of a known type, which generally only have one scrubbing brush). These scrubbing brushes 7 are preferably present as a pair alongside each other, along an axis substantially transverse to the main axis of extension S of the machine 1 , and they can be set into concordant or discordant rotational movement.

Naturally, the scrubbing brush(es) 7 are mounted on respective mounting axles and in accordance with the invention these mounting axles are positioned frontally of the axis of rotation of the front wheel 3 with respect to the main axis of extension S. This makes the use of the washing and drying unit even more efficient in terms of the possibility of reaching areas with difficult access.

For proper operation on the floor surface areas, the washing and drying unit 6 further comprises means for dispensing/supplying water and/or detergents and/or disinfectants towards the floor area to be washed. The relative positioning of the scrubbing brushers 7 and this dispensing/supplying means is such as to enable the brushes 7 to be activated on the water, the detergents and the disinfectants, which, in turn, impact the area to be washed.

In the figures which illustrate a possible embodiment of the invention, the presence of a squeegee 8 can also be noted. The squeegee 8 cooperates with the scrubbing brushes 7 and it is apt for collecting and diverting the water and/or detergents and/or disinfectants dispensed by the washing and drying unit 6 and that have interacted with the same scrubbing brushes 7.

The squeegee 8 is bow-shaped so as to be efficient in its collecting function, and it extends along an axis that is substantially transverse to the main axis of extension S.

The squeegee 8 can of course be shaped differently; for example it can be shaped in the form of an inverted V or it can be straight or rectilinear.

If the need exists, the machine 1 can be equipped with a drying unit apt for removing the water and/or detergents and/or the disinfectants. If present, this drying unit can cooperate with the squeegee 8 and even the squeegee 8 can be an integral part of the drying unit.

Again, with the aim of maximizing the efficiency and safety in use characteristic of the invention, the drying unit can also be positioned so as to prove to be operatively active on water and/or detergents and/or disinfectants in a position located frontally of the directional wheel 3 with respect to the main axis of extension S.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, a means for changing the relative position of the washing and drying unit 6 with respect to the machine body 2 is present so that the washing and drying unit 6 can be traversed so as to have it even more easily reach operating positions that cannot be implemented with the ride-on scrubber- driers of the prior art.

This position-changing means thus operates so as to position the washing and drying unit 6 selectively and reversibly at least in a centred state with respect to the main axis of extension S and at least in two laterally offset positions in opposite half-planes defined by the main axis of extension S (that is to say, to the right or to the left with respect to the axis S of the machine body 2).

Taking advantage of a very simple, but equally efficient kinematic principle in terms of achievable travel, precision of movement and structural coherence, the position-changing means for changing the relative position of the washing and drying unit 6 can be based on a sliding linkage mechanism interposed between the machine body 2 and at least the scrubbing brushes 7.

Importantly, the position-changing means for changing the relative position of the washing and drying unit 6 can also be active on the squeegee 8 and/or on the drying unit, so that the latter can also be oriented and thus further improve the efficiency thereof.

The invention achieves the aims pointed out previously.

In fact, owing to the particular arrangement of the cleaning unit with respect to the main machine body, the controllability and above-all the steerability towards very small and tight floor areas to be cleaned (or more generally, that are "topologically challenging") can be maximized.

Furthermore, in any case, the relative positioning of the various functional sub-assemblies of the machine 1 makes it possible to achieve an optimal level of drivability for the driver, who can, among other things, see the very precise point where the machine is actually performing its washing and drying action. Advantageously, this makes it possible for example to successfully reach an area flush with the interior perimeter walls of a facility and to perform floor washing and drying that is also "flush with the walls" without leaving areas untouched or without forcing the operator to manoeuvre the machine to be able to wash the floor by moving parallel to the wall and abutting the wall very closely.

A further resulting advantage is that of being able to constantly observe the distance of the washing unit from obstacles, simply by looking downwards, and thus avoiding that the operator has to look backwards while driving the vehicle and thus risking dangerous accidents.

Moreover, this invention allows for a substantial improvement as regards driving and operating safety of the scrubber-dryer, in that as the drying unit is located ahead of the directional wheel, there is no substantial risk of the directional wheel getting wet or dirty from the water and detergent poured out by the washing and drying unit. This has positive effects on driving safety and as regards the absence of possible causes leading to re- depositing of the dirt on the floor surface by the wheel that is still wet as it passes over the floor surface.

Regarding this last advantageous effect, note that it is also achieved owing to the fact that the so-called "squeegee" is, in this invention, located behind the set of scrubbing brushes. This means that immediately following the scrubbing action of the brushes, the passage of the scrubber- drier machine involves the immediate operation of the squeegee, which then provides for eliminating any possible wet areas, constituting a source of slipperiness, from the path of the wheel.