Mobile wall-, ceiling-, and floor-washing apparatus

Claim 1

An applicator for applying a liquid selected from a plurality of sources of liquids under pressure to a surface to be treated and for removing the applied liquid under a source of a supplied vacuum means, said applicator comprising: a substantially hollow rectangular receptacle formed of an airand liquid-impervious material and including a base wall, an opposed pair of spaced confronting sidewalls, an opposed pair of spaced confronting end walls, said side and end walls projecting laterally from one side of said base wall to form a continuous flange, said receptacle being open at that side thereof opposite said base wall; a substantially hollow rectangular housing formed of air- and liquid-impervious materials, said housing being disposed in said receptacle and including an inner wall, an opposed pair of sidewalls, and an opposed pair of end walls, said last-named pairs of side and end walls projecting laterally from one side of said inner wall and cooperating among themselves to form a continuous flange, said last-named sidewalls being reverted to form a pair of spaced confronting flanges projecting beyond the other side of said inner wall; said last-named side and end walls having a plurality of openings extending transversely therethrough; said inner wall having a plurality of domes formed therein opening in the direction of said one side of said inner wall and each of said domes having an opening extending transversely therethrough at the apex thereof; said inner wall having a continuous concave-convex channel formed therein opening in the direction of its said one side and being in open communication with each adjacent pair of said domes; said housing being disposed in said receptacle; means securing said housing in said receptacle with said inner wall laterally spaced from and in confronting relationship relative to said base wall and cooperating therewith to form a first compartment, said flanges extending in the direction of said open side of said receptacle and being spaced from and substantially parallel to said receptacle side walls to form second chambers therebetween; an insert formed of a resilient flexible air and liquid porous material having a pair of opposed sides, said insert having opposed pairs of edges and ends, respectively, and a groove extending inwardly from one side thereof adjacent, respectively, each of its said ends and edgEs; said insert being disposed in said receptacle with its said one side engaging said inner wall, said flanges releasably engaging in said groove adjacent each of said edges to position, releasably, a marginal edge portion of said insert within, respectively, each of said second chambers, said housing and walls releasably engaging in said grooves adjacent each end of said insert, and said insert being of such size as to substantially fill said receptacle and to partially extend through said open side thereof to provide an opposite side laterally spaced from said open side of said receptacle for engagement on the surface to be treated; means releasably securing said insert on said receptacle, said means comprising a brush for each of said second compartments, each brush having a rigid head and a plurality of bristles having one of their ends fixedly connected in said head, a pivot pin connecting one end of each of said heads on the adjacent one of said receptacle sidewalls for movement into the adjacent one of said second chambers and to thereby engage said marginal edge portions of said insert to releasably clamp the same against said flanges; means embedded in said insert for connection at one of its ends with said selected liquid source, said embedded means having a second end extending through said insert and terminating adjacent to but spaced inwardly from said opposite side thereof to conduct said selected liquid thereto to wet the same for application to said surface to be treated; means for connecting said receptacle with said vacuum source including an elongated substantially rigid hollow pipe having one end thereof connected to a hollow flexible conduit, the other end of said hollow flexible conduit being in open communication with said housing, and the other end of said pipe affording connection to said vacuum source; means pivotally supporting said receptacle on said one end of said pipe; means extending between and connecting said one end of said pipe and said receptacle to constantly bias said pipe and said receptacle for movement towards one another; and conduit means extending through said pipe and said hollow flexible conduit for connection with said liquids under pressure and said embedded elements.