Dual purpose splash guard for floor surface cleaning apparatus

Claim 1

A DUAL PURPOSE SPLASH GUARD FOR USE WITH A FLOOR CARE MACHINE INCLUDING A ROTARY FLOOR SCRUBBING MEANS DEPENDING FROM A MOTOR FRAME HAVING A PERIPHERAL EDGE PORTION SPACED ABOVE THE FLOOR WHEN THE SCRUBBING MEANS RESTS ON THE FLOOR IN OPERATIVE POSITION, SAID SPLASH GUARD COMPRISING A GENERALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED ANNULAR WALL MEMBER SHAPED SO AS TO LOOSELY ENCOMPASS THE EDGE PORTION OF SAID FLOOR CARE MACHINE AND REST ON THE FLOOR THE HEIGHT OF SAID WALL MEMBER BEING GREATER THAN THE HEIGHT OF A CONVENTIONAL QUARTER ROUND STRIP USED IN HOUSEHOLD BASEBOARD CONSTRUCTION, SAID MEMBER HAVING FIRST AND SECOND SEGMENTS POSITIONED AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID WALL MEMBER, RESPECTIVELY, SAID FIRST WALL SEGMENT HAVING A WIDTH LESS THAN THE AVERAGE WIDTH OF SAID WALL, SAID SECOND WALL SEGMENT HAVING A WIDTH MORE THAN TWICE AS LARGE AS THE AVERAGE WIDTH OF SAID WALL AND GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE AFORESAID QUARTER ROUND STRIP SO THAT WHEN THE FIRST WALL SEGMENT IS IN CONTACT WITH THE FLOOR THE SECOND WALL SEGMENT WILL BE MOVED INTO CONTACT WITH THE BASEBOARD BEFORE SAID FIRST WALL SEGMENT CONTACTS THE QUARTER ROUND STRIP AS THE FLOOR CARE MACHINE IS MOVED ACROSS THE FLOOR, SAID SECOND WALL SEGMENT HAVING A SURFACE WHICH IS ARRANGED GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE VERTICAL AXIS OF SAID ANNULAR WALL MEMBER, SAID SURFACE BEING SLIGHTLY CONVEX AND SLOPING OUTWARDLY MORE THAN THREE-QUARTERS OF ITS WIDTH SO AS TO FACILITATE MOVEMENT OF THE SPLASH GUARD OVER A RUG WHEN SAID SURFACE IS IN AN INVERTER POSITION RESTING ON THE RUG SAID FIRST WALL SEGMENT HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY DISPOSED NOTCHED PORTIONS FORMED THEREIN SO THAT WHEN THE FIRST WALL SEGMENT IS IN CONTACT WITH THE FLOOR THE ENTRANCE AND EGRESS OF A LIMITED AMOUNT OF LIQUID TO AND FROM THE FLOOR AREA ENCLOSED BY SAID WALL MEMBER IS PERMITTED.