Floor wax stripping apparatus

A handle equipped wheel supported horizontal base rotatably supports a motor having its drive shaft parallel with the plane of the base. A vertically adjustable forward platform on the base transversely supports a split sleeve clamp for receiving one end portion of a flexible drive shaft axially connected at its other end with the motor drive shaft. The clamp connected end of the flexible shaft is axially secured to a scrub brush rotating in a vertical plane laterally of the base platform for frictional contact with a floor surface adjacent a mopboard or wall.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to building maintenance and more particularly 
to a floor wax stripping apparatus. 
It is common practice to remove floor wax by using a conventional floor 
scrubbing and wax buffing machine in which a scouring pad replaces the wax 
buffing pad wherein the scouring pad is horizontally rotated in contact 
with the floor. This type of wax removing apparatus functions 
satisfactorily with the exception that a relatively narrow strip of 
approximately one or two inches adjacent the wall or mopboard is not 
removed thus requiring this area to be stripped of wax by manually 
scrubbing the area. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The most pertinent prior art is believed to be U.S. Pat. Nos. 942,830; 
1,907,904 and 1,936,449. 
The Hoy U.S. Pat. No. 942,830 discloses a roller supported angularly 
rotated frame, having a horizontal axle, around which an endless dressing 
pad or sheet of sandpaper is disposed for contacting a floor. One end of 
the axle is connected with an elongated handle movable in a vertical plane 
about the axis of the axle for reversing direction of travel of the frame. 
The handle supports manually operated drive wheels drivably connected with 
the frame axle for angular rotation of the frame in contact with a floor. 
The Emburg et al U.S. Pat. No. 1,907,904 discloses a handle manipulated 
flexible drive shaft having a sanding wheel mounted thereon for sanding a 
floor adjacent a mopboard which also features vacuum suction means for 
removing dust. 
The DeMarchi U.S. Pat. No. 1,936,449 discloses a mobile platform having a 
motor driving a jack shaft in turn driving a flexible shaft having a 
grinding head secured to its end opposite the jack shaft. The flexible 
shaft and grinding head are supported by a floor contacting base when 
manually moved across a floor by handles and features a vacuum suction 
tube for removing dust. 
This invention is distinctive over these patents by providing a mobile 
platform having a motor driving a flexible shaft connected at one end with 
the motor and adjustably supported at its other end with respect to the 
surface of the floor by a platform for disposing a wax removing brush 
adjacent the floor and a mopboard wherein manual linear movement of the 
device removes wax from the floor. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A handle equipped wheel supported generally horizontal frame rotatably 
supports a motor having the axis of its drive shaft horizontally disposed. 
A horizontal forward platform extension of the base, lying in a plane 
below the plane of the base, is vertically adjustably secured thereto. A 
split sleeve clamp, transversely supported by the forward end portion of 
the platform, grips one end of an elongated flexible shaft axially 
connected at its other end to the motor drive shaft. The platform mounted 
end of the flexible shaft is axially secured to a cylindrical wax removing 
disk for angular rotation in a vertical plane at one side of the platform 
and in frictional contact with the floor surface. The disk equipped end of 
the shaft may be removed from the platform clamp for positioning the disk 
against the vertical plane of a wall or other wall areas, such as the 
corners of a room, not capable of being cleaned by a floor machine. 
The principal object is to provide a power driven wax stripping disk or 
brush for removing floor wax adjacent a wall or mopboard and in which the 
disk or brush may be manually positioned against other surface areas not 
capable of being stripped of wax by a wax removing machine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the 
drawings in which they occur. 
In the drawings: 
The reference numeral 10 indicates the device, as a whole, comprising a 
handle equipped mobile frame. The frame 12 comprises a generally 
horizontal plate having a depending flanged edge 13 supported by a pair of 
forward wheels 14 and a pair of rearward caster wheels 16, only one of 
each being shown. The rearward end of the frame is provided with angularly 
upward inclined telescoping box-channel handles 18 for manipulating the 
frame 12. 
A horizontal platform 20 projects forwardly of the frame 12 in a plane 
below the plane of the frame 12 and is vertically adjustably secured 
thereto by an upstanding flange 22 at its rearward end. The flange 22 is 
provided with a pair of vertical slots 24 for receiving thumb screw bolts 
26 projecting through suitable apertures formed in the forward depending 
flange of the frame 12. Adjacent its forward end 28, the platform 20 has 
transversely secured thereto one-half 30 of a cylindrical split sleeve 
clamp 32 containing a resilient sleeve 44. The clamp 32 is preferably 
centrally disposed between opposing sides of the platform for the reasons 
presently apparent. The other or top half 34 of the clamp is hingedly 
connected to the bottom half 30 and fastened by suitable toggle link 
clamps 36. 
The frame 12 supports a turntable 38 centrally connected to the frame top 
by a bolt axle 40 for angular rotation in a horizontal plane. 
A motor M, connected with a source of electrical energy, not shown, is 
mounted on the turntable 38 and is rotatable therewith. The horizontal 
drive shaft of the motor is coaxially connected with one end of an 
elongated flexible shaft 42. The shaft 42 is conventional, characterized 
by a sheath contained flexible core angularly rotated by the motor. The 
other end portion 46 of the shaft 42 is surrounded by the split clamp 32 
with the end of the shaft core opposite the motor projecting beyond one 
side of the platform 20. A cylindrical-like brush 50, preferably formed 
from synthetic material, such as Nylon, is coaxially connected to the end 
of the flexible shaft core projecting beyond the platform 20. 
A fender-like dust guard 52 loosely overlies the brush 50 and is normally 
held in brush guard position by a rod 54 extending transversely of the 
platform 20 rearwardly of the split clamp 32 angularly rotatable in a set 
screw equipped sleeve 56 centrally secured to the platform 20. 
Synthetic resilient fibrous material circular buffing pads are 
conventionally used with floor scrubbing machines wherein the pad 
underlies the scrubbing brush. A relatively small diameter circular center 
section 60 (FIG. 5) of these fibrous circular buffing pads are cut out 
during manufacture and are normally discarded. These circular center 
sections 60 are utilized by the device of this invention and are connected 
to the shaft 42 in place of the brush 50. This is accomplished by a stub 
shaft 62 which is threadedly engaged with the flexible shaft 42 and 
includes a washer-like flange 64 having a plurality of synthetic material 
prongs 66 generally perpendicular to one face of the flange for engaging 
one face of the pad 60. A similar prong equipped companion flange 68 
engages the opposite side of the disk 60 with the two flanges 62 and 68 
held in place in gripping relation with respect to the disk 60 by a nut 70 
which, by the resilience of the pad, disposes the nut within the plane of 
the adjacent side of the pad 60. 
Operation 
In operation, the brush or disk and guard are disposed on a selected side 
of the platform 20 and it is vertically adjusted by the wing nuts 26 so 
that the brush 50 or disk 60 bears against the surface 72 of a floor. The 
device 10 is then manually moved by the handle 18 so that the disk 60 is 
disposed on a marginal edge of the floor 72 adjacent a mopboard 74 secured 
to a wall 76 wherein forward or rearward movement of the device 10, with 
the motor M running and revolving the disk 60, removes wax, or the like, 
from the surface of the floor 72 without damage to the mopboard. 
The device is also useful for removing wax, dirt or grime from normally 
inaccessible areas around bathroom fixtures, walls or floor areas by 
removing the brush equipped end of the flexible shaft from the split clamp 
32 and applying the brush or disk to the area to be cleaned by manually 
grasping the end portion of the flexible shaft adjacent the brush or disk. 
Obviously the invention is susceptible to changes or alterations without 
defeating its practicability. Therefore, I do not wish to be confined to 
the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein.