Application of Krammes, Patent Appeal No. 6938.

CourtUnited States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals
Citation314 F.2d 813,137 USPQ 60
Docket NumberPatent Appeal No. 6938.
PartiesApplication of Don C. KRAMMES.
Decision Date20 March 1963

Richard R. Fitzsimmons, North Canton, Ohio, for appellant.

Clarence W. Moore, Washington, D.C. (Raymond E. Martin, Washington, D.C., of counsel), for the Commissioner of Patents.

Before RICH, Acting Chief Judge, and MARTIN, SMITH, and ALMOND, Judges.

MARTIN, Judge.

This is an appeal from the decision of the Board of Appeals of the United States Patent Office affirming the examiner's rejection of claims 18, 19, 23 through 27 and 29 of appellant's application for a patent for a floor scrubber. One claim stands allowed.

The following claims are representative:

"18. A unitary floor scrubbing and drying appliance comprising, a water pick up suction nozzle for contact with a floor to be scrubbed, suction creating means, a suction line connecting said suction creating means to said nozzle for sucking up dirty detergent from said floor in the suction air stream, an outer open topped receptacle forming a reservoir for clean detergent solution, a detergent dispensing opening adjacent the bottom of said outer receptacle, an inner collapsible receptacle removably mounted on the open top of said outer receptacle and being nested therein, and means in said suction line for supplying dirty detergent solution into said inner receptacle, the arrangement being such that said collapsible receptable will float on top of liquid in said outer receptacle when said collapsible receptacle is empty so that the bottom of said collapsible receptacle will follow the liquid level in said outer receptacle as liquid is dispensed therefrom, and as liquid is collected in said collapsible receptacle it will occupy the position formerly occupied by the liquid dispensed from said outer receptacle.
"23. A unitary floor washing and drying appliance comprising, a suction nozzle for contact with a floor to be cleaned, an air pump having a suction inlet, a suction line connecting said suction inlet to said nozzle for picking up liquid from said floor in the suction air stream, a reservoir for cleaning liquid carried by said appliance, means for discharging liquid by gravity from the lower part of said reservoir onto said floor at said nozzle and a dirty water receptacle removably mounted on and nested within the upper end of said reservoir, said suction line including means forming a separable closure for both said reservoir and said receptacle, said closure means being formed to discharge dirty water from said air stream into said receptable."

The references relied on by the examiner and board are:

                  Deutscher       1,687.283  Oct.  9, 1928
                  Breton          1,690,472  Nov.  6, 1928
                  Jerome          1,892.347  Dec. 27, 1932
                  Sussman et al.  2,333,451  Nov.  2, 1943
                  Gerstmann       2,639,005  May  19, 1953
                  Lau (Denmark)      67,806  Oct.  4, 1948
                

The invention relates to a unitary device for scrubbing and drying floors. The device includes a main or "dual-function" receptacle which can dispense clean detergent solution to the floor and provides a space for receiving dirty detergent solution from the floor through a suction nozzle arranged for contact with the floor. Clean detergent solution is placed directly in the main receptacle. A collapsible receptacle or bag is disposed in the main receptacle so that it initially floats in a collapsed state on top of the clean solution. A separating chamber is superimposed on the main receptacle in communication with the air stream from the suction nozzle to separate the dirty solution recovered from the floor from the air stream and permit it to fall into the collapsible receptacle or bag. Thus essentially the same space in the main receptacle which holds the clean solution before it is dispensed subsequently accommodates the dirty solution without contaminating any remaining clean solution. The separating chamber is hinged to the main receptacle so that the open end of the collapsible receptacle or bag may be removably supported at the top of the latter.

Deutscher discloses a floor cleaner provided with a rotatable scrubbing brush and a wick disposed in a suction nozzle and in engagement with the floor. The device includes a tank from which cleaning liquid is supplied to the brush by gravity. A motor driven fan draws air through the wick a suction passage and the top part of a tank in which most of the dirty water drawn from the floor is separated from the air and permitted to fall into the tank.

Breton discloses scrubber and dryer constructions in which dirty water is drawn up from the floor by suction means including a fan and is collected in a receptacle.

Jerome discloses a unitary floor washing and drying machine wherein a flexible, water-impervious diaphragm divides a removable container into a lower chamber for cleaning liquid to be dispensed and an upper chamber for receiving dirty liquid recovered from the floor. The cleaning liquid is supplied by gravity to a rotary brush and means are provided for collecting dirty liquid in a trough where the action of a gear pump "will suck it out" and pass it into the upper chamber above the diaphragm.

Sussman et al. relates to a ball type marking device. Suitable dispensing pressure is imposed on the marking fluid by inflating a collapsible bag which has its upper end confined between the upper end of the fluid container and a rubber bulb member and can expand into space initially occupied by the ink as the level of the ink drops.

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