US3641607A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Building maintenance apparatus
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1969-03-17
•
Granted: 1972-02-15
•
Expires: 1989-03-17
Abstract
Abstract A building maintenance apparatus is provided for performing automatic operations on the facing of tall buildings such as the operation of automatically cleaning the windows or side panels thereof. Automatic cleaning machinery is suspended from a cable which is supported from above on a fixture which is movable laterally across the sidewall of the building to position the suspended cable and cleaning machinery with respect to particular locations such as vertical rows of windows or side panels. The cable is raised and lowered either automatically or intermittently to position window- or panel-cleaning machinery with respect to individual windows or panel sections which machinery automatically operates either continuously or intermittently to clean said windows or panels. In one form of the invention, two cleaning machines or fixtures are provided, one at each end of a cable having a length approximately equal to the height of the building or portion thereof to be cleaned and these machines serve to counterbalance each other with respect to a winch which is supported from above and selectively positionable with respect to different rows of windows. Automatic means are provided for not only moving the cable-supported cleaning machines vertically first in one direction and then in the other in the act of cleaning windows or building panels but also for shiftably locating the cable support to bring the machines into alignment with new portions of the building to be cleaned.
Inventors
- 👤 Jerome H Lemelson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 09:45
CPC Classifications
A; A47; A47L; A47L11/00; A47L11/40; A47L11/4002; A47L1/00; A47L1/02; A47L11/38; A47L11/4011; A47L11/4061; A47L11/4063; A47L11/4066; A47L11/4072; E; E04; E04G; E04G23/00; E04G23/002; A47L2201/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
408 words
An apparatus for maintaining portions of the siding of buildings and the like comprising: a. a first carriage, b. guide means for said first carriage extending substantially horizontal and supported by said building, c. means for power driving said first carriage along said guide means, d. winching means for supporting and driving a cable supported by said first carriage, e. a cable having both ends extending downwardly from said first carriage substantially parallel to the side wall of said building, f. reversible drive means for said winching means and operative to effect the raising of a first end of said cable and the lowering of the other end thereof when operating in a first mode and the lowering of said first end and raising of the other end thereof when operating in a second mode, g. control means for said winching means drive means, h. power operated building maintenance means supported at one end of said cable and counter balancing means at the other end of said cable, sequential control means for controlling operation of said means driving said carriage and said power means for said winching means to predeterminately alternately move and stop said carriage whereby said building maintenance means is first located with respect to a first pathway extending vertically of the sidewall oF the building and is driven by said winching means in a first vertical direction along said pathway and upon reaching the end of its travel is stopped while said carriage moves to position said maintenance means in alignment with a second vertically extending pathway adjacent the side of the building. i. sequential control means for controlling operation of said means driving said carriage and said power means for said winching means to predeterminately move and stop said carriage whereby said building maintenance means is first located with respect to a first pathway extending vertically of the sidewall of the building and is driven by said winching means in a first vertical direction along said pathway and upon reaching the end of its travel is stopped while said carriage moves to position said maintenance means in alignment with a second vertically extending pathway adjacent the side of the building. j. said sequential control means including means for operating said winching means to reverse the direction of travel of said cable to cause said building maintenance means to travel in the opposite direction to that travelled in its movement along said first vertical pathway.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
408 words
An apparatus for maintaining portions of the siding of buildings and the like comprising: a. a first carriage, b. guide means for said first carriage extending substantially horizontal and supported by said building, c. means for power driving said first carriage along said guide means, d. winching means for supporting and driving a cable supported by said first carriage, e. a cable having both ends extending downwardly from said first carriage substantially parallel to the side wall of said building, f. reversible drive means for said winching means and operative to effect the raising of a first end of said cable and the lowering of the other end thereof when operating in a first mode and the lowering of said first end and raising of the other end thereof when operating in a second mode, g. control means for said winching means drive means, h. power operated building maintenance means supported at one end of said cable and counter balancing means at the other end of said cable, sequential control means for controlling operation of said means driving said carriage and said power means for said winching means to predeterminately alternately move and stop said carriage whereby said building maintenance means is first located with respect to a first pathway extending vertically of the sidewall oF the building and is driven by said winching means in a first vertical direction along said pathway and upon reaching the end of its travel is stopped while said carriage moves to position said maintenance means in alignment with a second vertically extending pathway adjacent the side of the building. i. sequential control means for controlling operation of said means driving said carriage and said power means for said winching means to predeterminately move and stop said carriage whereby said building maintenance means is first located with respect to a first pathway extending vertically of the sidewall of the building and is driven by said winching means in a first vertical direction along said pathway and upon reaching the end of its travel is stopped while said carriage moves to position said maintenance means in alignment with a second vertically extending pathway adjacent the side of the building. j. said sequential control means including means for operating said winching means to reverse the direction of travel of said cable to cause said building maintenance means to travel in the opposite direction to that travelled in its movement along said first vertical pathway.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
78 words
An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, whereby said building maintenance means comprises a window-cleaning machine, said control means being operative to predeterminately locate said carriage whereby said machine is aligned on the cable supported by said carriage with different rows of windows extending vertically of the sidewall of the building, and means for operating said machine when aligned with a vertical row of windows and vertically moved on said cable, to wash the windows of said row.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, said counterbalancing means comprising a second building maintenance machine, and means for simultaneously operating both said machines to respectively operate on different vertical pathways as one machine is conveyed upwardly and the other is conveyed downwardly on the ends of said cable.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
161 words
An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, said building maintenance means including carriage means having wheels disposed thereon and protruding downwardly therefrom so as to support said carriage means on a surface, there being a supporting surface adjacent the sidewall of said building for receiving said carriage means wheels when said carriage means is fully lowered by said winching means, motor means for driving said wheels to drive said carriage means parallel to the sidewall of said building in the direction of and at substantially the same rate of travel as said first carriage when said wheels are on said supporting surface, means for initiating the operation of said motor means to drive said carriage means substantially upon initiation of the power means driving said first carriage and control means for terminating the driving of said carriage means by said motor means when said maintenance means is in alignment with a second pathway vertical of the side wall of said building.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
69 words
Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, said latter control means including marker means for indicating the locations of various vertical pathways parallel to the side wall of the building, means on said carriage for scanning said marker means, and control means responsive to the activation of said scanning means for stopping the means driving the wheels of said carriage means when the latter is aligned with a selected pathway.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
50 words
An apparatus in accordance with claim 3, including auxiliary means for power driving each of said maintenance machines in a horizontal direction when each is at the lowermost position in its travel whereby said first carriage operates only to carry the machine located at the other end of said cable.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
50 words
An apparatus in accordance with claim 6, said machines comprising window cleaning machines, said building having parallel rows of windows which are substantially equispaced one above the other, and means for intermittently operating each machinE simultaneously when they become aligned with respective windows of different window rows of said building.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
51 words
An apparatus in accordance with claim 6, said machines comprising respective window-washing machines, said building having parallel rows of windows disposed to define respective pathways for said machines and means for continuously operating each machine as it travels vertically to wash each window of a row as it passes the window.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
Apparatus in accordance with claim 6, including guide means comprising rails supported said building parallel to each pathway and serving to guide each machine in its travel upwardly and downwardly along said vertical pathways.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
218 words
Building maintenance apparatus for cleaning the windows of a multistory building having a substantially vertical side wall and a plurality of parallel vertical rows of windows, guide means comprising a plurality of parallel tracks extending vertically along said side wall of said building and parallel to said rows of windows, there being at least one track associated with each row of windows, and a window-cleaning machine including a carriage adapted to travel vertically along and be guided by said tracks past respective rows of said windows first vertically upward while cleaning one row of windows and after reaching the upper end of its travel, to be reversed in its direction of travel and move downwardly while cleaning another row of windows on the way down, the improvement comprising: means operative when said window-cleaning machine is at both ends of its travel past respective rows of windows for automatically controlling movement of said machine to shift horizontally to bring it into alignment with the next track associated with the next row of windows to be cleaned and further control means operative when said carriage has been shifted into alignment with said next track for reversing the travel of said machine so that it will move along said next track in the opposite direction to clean the windows associated therewith.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
218 words
Building maintenance apparatus for cleaning the windows of a multistory building having a substantially vertical side wall and a plurality of parallel vertical rows of windows, guide means comprising a plurality of parallel tracks extending vertically along said side wall of said building and parallel to said rows of windows, there being at least one track associated with each row of windows, and a window-cleaning machine including a carriage adapted to travel vertically along and be guided by said tracks past respective rows of said windows first vertically upward while cleaning one row of windows and after reaching the upper end of its travel, to be reversed in its direction of travel and move downwardly while cleaning another row of windows on the way down, the improvement comprising: means operative when said window-cleaning machine is at both ends of its travel past respective rows of windows for automatically controlling movement of said machine to shift horizontally to bring it into alignment with the next track associated with the next row of windows to be cleaned and further control means operative when said carriage has been shifted into alignment with said next track for reversing the travel of said machine so that it will move along said next track in the opposite direction to clean the windows associated therewith.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-02-14 | 1975-08-16 | 1976-02-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-02-14 | 1979-08-16 | 1980-02-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-02-14 | 1983-08-16 | 1984-02-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |