Motorized janitorial cart with accessories

A janitorial cart is small, and narrow enough for use indoors, and will pass through conventional-width doorways. The cart is electrically powered, and the batteries are mounted very low so the lower center of gravity will stabilize the cart. The steering mechanism utilizes a single, rear wheel that can be turned about 90.degree. in each direction to give the cart a small turning radius. Accessories can be mounted on the front and/or the rear of the cart. The preferred accessory for the front is a dust mop apparatus for dust mopping large floor areas, but it is contemplated that brushes, burnishers and carpet sweepers will also be used. The rear accessory is contemplated to be a container for materials or supplies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates generally to cleaning and dusting apparatus, and is 
more particularly concerned with a miniature cart carrying various 
cleaning accessories. 
2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
There are several cleaning units for cleaning large areas such as large 
warehouses, parking lots and the like. Such units include self-powered 
vacuum cleaners having powered brushes and the like, and a dust mop 
attachment for attachment to a fork lift or other industrial truck as 
disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,165,134; 5,155,884, and 5,165,136. The 
latter is efficient and economical, but does require a fork lift or other 
industrial truck for its use. 
In smaller, indoor areas, such as department stores, discount stores, 
schools, shopping malls and the like, the self-contained and self-powered 
vacuum cleaners are too large and too expensive to be reasonably usable. 
The dust mop arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,165,134; 5,155,884, 
and 5,165,136 requires a large industrial truck or the like, and is also 
not practical for the indoor areas mentioned. Thus, the prior art has not 
provided a powered, economical sweeping and dusting means for smaller 
areas. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a small, self-powered cart having means for 
receiving a plurality of accessories thereon. The cart is small enough for 
use in indoor areas, and is preferably narrow enough to pass through 
standard-width doorways. Dust mop carriers made in accordance with the 
disclosure in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,165,134; 5,155,884, and 5,165,136 can be 
readily mounted on the cart of the present invention, or another accessory 
may be used; and, an additional accessory can be carried at the rear of 
the cart. The cart is small, and has a single rear wheel that is used for 
steering, resulting in a very small turning radius for the cart. 
In one embodiment of the invention, the dust mop carrier is pivotable so it 
can be lifted from the floor for transport across areas that are not 
suitable for the use of dust mops.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and to that embodiment of 
the invention here chosen by way of illustration, FIG. 1 shows a 
janitorial cart generally indicated at 10, and having a front accessory 11 
and a rear accessory 12. As here shown, the front accessory 11 is a dust 
mop carrier with dust mops, which will be described in more detail 
hereinafter. The rear accessory 12 is simply a basket for carrying 
supplies and the like. 
The cart 10 comprises a rectangular frame 14 having an upper, rearward 
extension 15. The extension 15 is substantially at the plane of the top of 
the frame 14, and supports therefrom a single wheel assembly 16. The 
forward end of the frame mounts a pair of wheels 18, so the cart is 
supported by three wheels, and steering is by means of the rear wheel 
assembly 16. 
The rear wheel assembly 16 comprises a sleeve bearing 19 which is fixed to 
the extension 15, depending therefrom. Within the sleeve 19 is a shaft 20 
which is fixed to a yoke 21. The yoke 21 mounts the wheel itself, 22. The 
shaft 20 also has a pulley 24 fixed thereto, the pulley 24 being 
concentric with the shaft 20 so that rotation of the 24 causes rotation of 
the shaft 20, hence rotation of the wheel 22 about the centerline of the 
shaft 20. 
The frame 14 has a pan 25 carried at its lower end. The pan 25 provides a 
lower surface within the frame for supporting batteries 26. Those skilled 
in the art will understand that many forms of construction can be used, 
but the object is to place the batteries 26 very close to the floor F, or 
other supporting surface. Since the cart 10 is electric, batteries must be 
used, and the arrangement here shown both provides the power needed, and 
places a good bit of weight quite low in the cart to give the cart a lower 
center of gravity. 
Looking at FIG. 2 of the drawings, it will be observed that the cart is 
quite narrow. A prototype was constructed having a maximum width of about 
29 inches, so the cart can be driven through ordinary-width doorways. Such 
a narrow width, however, tends to make the cart easy to tip. To counteract 
this tendency, the batteries, which are lead-acid storage batteries, are 
placed low in the frame to give the cart stability. With the arrangement 
shown, it has been found that the cart is quite stable, even during the 
short-radius turns of which the cart is capable. 
It should be understood that the commercially available carts will have 
body panels to cover the cart for a pleasing appearance, and such panels 
will restrict access to the operating mechanisms and batteries. To provide 
convenient access, therefore, the top of the frame 14 is closed by only 
the seat 28. As is shown in phantom in FIG. 1, the seat 28 can be pivoted 
away from the frame to provide access to the interior of the frame. The 
seat 28 has its front edge pivoted to a link 29, the link 29 being pivoted 
to the rear of the frame at 30. A stop 31 supports the link 29 when the 
seat 28 is in position for use. 
It will therefore be seen that the seat 28 can be lifted and pivoted 
forward, leaving the link 29 in place; or, the seat 28 can be lifted and 
urged rearwardly, pivoting the link 29 about the pivot 30. In either case, 
full access is provided to the interior of the frame 14. The seat can 
subsequently be easily put back in place for use. 
Turning now to the forward end of the cart 19, the frame 14 supports a 
forward extension 27 from the lower end of the frame 14. As here shown the 
extension 27 is angled slightly up for comfortable placement of the 
controls for the cart. At the forward end of the extension 27 there is a 
stanchion 32 generally perpendicular to the extension 27. The stanchion 32 
is off-set rearwardly, and carries a steering column 34. The steering 
column 34 includes bearings for rotatably mounting a shaft 35 therein. The 
upper end of the shaft 35 carries a steering wheel 36, and the lower end 
of the shaft 35 has the steering cable 38 fixed thereto. 
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 it can be seen that the steering cable 38 
extends around the shaft 35 and, since the cable is fixed to the shaft, 
the cable 38 will be moved in alternate directions as the shaft 35 is 
rotated in alternate directions. The cable 38 extends rearwardly and 
passes over pulleys 39 to keep the cable 38 away from the motor 40. The 
two courses of the cable 38 cross each other, and the cable 38 is fixed to 
the pulley 24 in the rear wheel assembly 16. 
In view of the above described construction, it will be understood that, 
when the wheel 36 is rotated clockwise, as for a right turn, the shaft 35 
will be rotated clockwise as viewed in FIG. 2. The course of the cable 38 
on the left side of the cart will be pulled forward, and this will pull 
the right side of the pulley 24 forward to rotate the wheel 22 
counterclockwise. The rear of the cart will therefore move to the left, 
causing the front end of the cart to move to the right for the expected 
right turn. It will therefore be understood that the steering system of 
the present invention is very simple and effective, and allows rotation of 
the rear wheel 22 about 90.degree. in each direction for a minimum turning 
radius of the cart. 
The motor 40 is an electric motor, and is mounted on the front of the frame 
14. The shaft of the motor is connected to a transmission designated at 
42. The transmission 42 is a conventional piece of equipment, so no 
detailed description is required. The transmission 42 is of the type used 
on lawn mowers and the like, and includes a differential, with shafts 
extending outwardly to carry drive wheels. In the cart of the present 
invention,the wheels 18 are mounted on the shafts of the transmission 42, 
so operation of the transmission 42 is conventional. 
An accelerator pedal 44 is placed at the forward, right side of the forward 
extension 27. This is the location where the accelerator would be 
expected, so the placement is natural and comfortable. The pedal 44 is a 
variable resistance as is conventional in electric motor controls; and, 
there is a motor controller 45, also of conventional design. At the left 
side of the forward extension there is a brake pedal 46. The pedal 46 
simply connects to the transmission 42 to operate the usual braking 
mechanism included therein. 
For convenience in use, it is preferable to include a battery charger on 
the cart of the present invention. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, a battery 
charger 48 is fixed to the rear extension 15. The battery charger 48 will 
be permanently wired to the electric system so that one needs only to plug 
the supply cord 49 into a standard outlet, and the batteries 26 will be 
charged. 
The front and rear accessories 11 and 12 are easily attachable to and 
removable from the cart 10. The front of the cart 10 carries a pair of 
sleeves 50 for receiving the accessory 11, and the rear of the cart 10 
carries a pair of sleeves 51 for receiving the accessory 12. If desired, 
the sleeves 50 and 51 can be the same size, and spaced the same so 
accessories are interchangeable between the front and rear. On the other 
hand, if one wishes to use only certain accessories on the front and 
others on the rear, the sleeves 50 and 51 can be different so the 
accessories will not be interchangeable. 
Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the sleeves 51 may be 
simply the ends of the extension 15. The tubing making up the rear 
extension 15 can be extended a little further and used as the accessory 
mount. 
The dust mop carrier shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 is a slightly modified form 
of the device of the same inventor disclosed in previously issued patents. 
The basic device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,288, issued Feb. 5, 
1991. A modified form of the device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,134, 
issued Nov. 24, 1992. Bumpers for the mop frames are shown in U.S. Pat. 
No. 5,155,884, issued Oct. 20, 1992; and, a novel mop head for use with 
the bumpers is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,136, issued Nov. 24, 1992. 
All these patent disclosures are incorporated herein by reference. Those 
skilled in the art will understand that any of these devices can be 
incorporated into a mop carrier for use with the cart of the present 
invention, the cart being in essence a small industrial truck. 
The cart of the present invention does not have movable forks or the like 
for adjusting the height of the mop carrier in accordance with the 
disclosures in the above identified patents, so some modification was 
needed. The height of the sleeves 50 is set at a good height for the 
carrier frame 60; however, some means is still desirable to lift the mops 
from the floor for transport, for example across carpeted areas, or areas 
of rough concrete or the like. 
Looking primarily at FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing, it will be seen that the 
primary support structure of the mop carrier includes a transverse beam 61 
having shafts 62 fixed perpendicularly thereto. The shafts 62 are properly 
placed and sized to be received in the sleeves 50. A rectangular frame 64 
is carried by the support structure by means of a pintle 65. The pintle 65 
extends through holes in the forward ends of the shafts 62, and through 
the ends of the frame 64. As a result of this construction, it will be 
understood that the frame 64 can be pivoted up, clockwise as shown in 
FIGS. 1 and 4. Downward pivoting, counterclockwise, is limited because the 
flanges 66 are fixed to the frame 64, and engage the beam 61. 
When the frame 64 is in its most downward position, it is oriented to carry 
the dust mops for the preferred contact with the floor. As is disclosed in 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,288, there are three arms 68, 69 and 70. The arms 68 
and 70 are pivoted from the flanges 66 which are fixed to the rear edge of 
the frame 64. The arms 68 and 70, then, extend angularly down and forward 
and mount dust mops 71 and 72 at their lowermost ends. The arm 69 is 
pivoted from flanges 74 generally centrally of the frame 64, at the front 
edge thereof, and extends angularly down. The arm 69 carries a dust mop 75 
at its lower end. Springs 73 and 77 hold the dust mops in position. This 
construction is as in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,288 and should be well 
understood. 
The apparatus of the present invention includes a control frame designated 
at 76. The frame 76 is pivoted to the pintle 65 and angles down. A control 
pin 78 passes through the arms 68 and 70, and the frame 76 extends to this 
pin so the control pin also passes through the control frame 76. From the 
pin 78, the frame 76 extends forward, generally horizontally. It will be 
noted that the pin 78 passes below the arm 69. 
With the described construction, it will be understood that one can grasp 
the forward edge of the control frame 76 and lift. The pin 78 will prevent 
the arms 68 and 70 from dropping down because the pin 78 passes through 
the arms. The pin 78 will also keep the arm 69 from dropping down because 
the arm 69 is above the pin. Thus, the entire assembly will rotate about 
the pintle 65. When the dust mops are to be removed from contact with the 
floor F, the assembly will be rotated up as described; and, the forward 
end of the control frame 76 will engage a tab 79 on the stanchion 32 (FIG. 
1). A pin can be passed through the tab 79 and the hole 80 in the control 
frame to hold the assembly in position. It should also be recognized that 
the front end of the control frame 76 can act as a handle for manually 
carrying the dust mop assembly. When the frame 76 is grasped, the assembly 
will assume a vertical position, and the control frame 76 with the control 
pin 78 will hold the frame 64 and arms together conveniently. 
The controls for the cart of the present invention are shown schematically 
in FIG. 5 of the drawings. The batteries 26 are shown connected in series, 
so four six-volt batteries will provide 24 volts to operate the motor 40. 
A main switch 82 will preferably be a keyed switch to turn the device on 
and off. The switch 80 is a double-pole-single-throw, and will be mounted 
conveniently, such as on the steering column. There is another switch 81 
in series with the switch 80, the switch 81 being to select forward or 
reverse. The switch 81 is a conventional double-pole-double-throw switch 
for reversing the polarity of the motor 40. The switch 81use. Then, in s 
as desired for convenient use. Then, in series with the switch 81 there is 
the potentiometer 44 for varying the speed, through the controller 45, of 
the motor 40. 
The battery charger 48 is connected in parallel with the batteries 26, so 
one needs only to plug in the power cord to charge the batteries 26. 
It will therefore be seen that the present invention provides a cart, or 
miniature industrial truck, that can be used in relatively small spaces 
for cleaning, transporting material and the like. The cart is narrow 
enough to pass through standard doorways, and is maneuverable enough for 
use in small spaces. The cart can carry dust mops for floors, or may carry 
brushes, carpet sweepers, burnishers or the like for cleaning and/or 
polishing various surfaces. The rear accessory may be a simple basket for 
carrying supplies, or may be a more specialized container for restroom 
cleaning supplies or the like. Those skilled in the art will readily 
devise numerous forms of accessories for use with the cart of the present 
invention. 
It will therefore be understood by those skilled in the art that the 
particular embodiment of the invention here presented is by way of 
illustration only, and is meant to be in no way restrictive; therefore, 
numerous changes and modifications may be made, and the full use of 
equivalents resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the 
invention as outlined in the appended claims.