Cleaning and Dressing Tool for Buffing Pads

The present invention pertains to a tool for cleaning rotary power driven foam buffing pads and, more particularly, to a hand-held tool which may be held against the driven pad to remove caked materials or to abrasively dress the pad edges.

Pads made from reticulated foams such as flexible polyurethane, have become very popular for use in the auto finishing industry. These pads are formed in a circular or cylindrical shape and mounted for power driven rotation. When used for buffing, waxing, or polishing, oxidized paint, and other soils build up on the surface of the pad, typically as a hard cake-like layer. In addition, the original rounded or radiused edge of the circular pad may become worn and flattened. However, if the pad surface can be cleaned and the edges and other portions of the pad dressed, the pads can be given substantially extended useful lives before they are worn to the point of discarding.

Removing the pad from the drive unit and dressing the same by hand is tedious and difficult. It is preferable, therefore, to have a tool by which the pad can be cleaned and dressed while operatively mounted and being rotatably driven. However, any hand tool which is brought into contact with the rotating pad for cleaning or dressing should be constructed so it does not cause excessive tearing of the foam, leave excessive discoloration marks on the pad, or expose the user to any unnecessary risks from flying debris.

In accordance with the present invention, a hand held cleaning and dressing tool includes a handle which is preferably in the form of a pistol grip and a tool supporting end attached to and extending from one end of the handle. Preferably, the tool supporting end is formed integrally with the grip and extends angularly away from the grip in pistol-like fashion. A plurality of toothed cleaning wheels are mounted for independent rotation on a common shaft which is attached to the tool supporting end. The shaft and a major portion of the cleaning wheels are preferably enclosed in a shroud on the supporting end of the tool to which they are attached. The cleaning wheels are preferably nonmetallic and most preferably made of plastic. An abrasive pad dressing device is also attached to the tool supporting end on the outside of the shroud. The dressing device preferably comprises a semicylindrical metal grating surface.

FIG. 1 shows the cleaning and dressing tool of the present invention in operative engagement with a foam buffing pad.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the cleaning and dressing tool of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the tool shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail of the abrasive dressing device forming a part of the tool.

The cleaning and dressing tool 10 of the present invention includes a pistol grip handle 11 and an integral tool supporting end 12. The handle and tool end are formed from two injection molded plastic halves 13 secured together with suitable threaded connectors 14.

The connected tool halves 13 define at the remote end of the tool a semicylindrical shroud 16 between opposite end faces 17. A shaft 18 has its opposite ends supported in openings in the end faces 17 and a series of toothed cleaning wheels are mounted for independent rotation on the shaft along the full axial length thereof between the end faces 17. Each wheel, as indicated, rotates independently on the shaft and is separated from an adjacent wheel or from an end face 17 by a suitable spacing washer 21.

On the outside surface of the portion of one tool half 13 forming the shroud 16, there is mounted an abrasive dressing tool 22. The dressing tool 22 preferably comprises a semicylindrical section 23 having an abrasive convex outer surface 24. The abrasive section 23 preferably comprises a thin stainless steel sheet having a closely spaced pattern of sharp pointed teeth formed therein in the manner of a conventional grating tool. However, the abrasive dressing tool may be made from conventional sandpaper mounted on an appropriate backing or a grinding stone. The dressing tool 22 includes a flat semicircular plate 26 extending from one edge of the semicylindrical section and shaped to substantially cover that portion of the supporting end 12 of the tool half 13 between the abrasive section 23 and the edge of the shroud 16. The flat plate 26 protects the surface of the plastic tool half from abrasion by the rotating pad which is brought into contact with the dressing tool, as will be described below. Preferably, the ends of the dressing tool 22 are provided with flat tabs 25 provided with holes for mounting. Most conveniently, the tool 22 is fixed in position by the two threaded connectors 14, on opposite sides of the shroud 16, to simultaneously secure the tabs 25 to the face of the tool half.

In use and referring to FIG. 1, the tool is held with the toothed cleaning wheels 20 in direct engagement with the surface of a buffing pad 28 mounted on a conventional pad support 30 which, in turn, is mounted on a conventional power buffer 31 or similar electric motor operated driving mechanism. The toothed cleaning wheels 20 are pressed into the surface of the pad 28 and are caused to rotate along with the driven rotation of the pad and effectively loosen caked material which is adhering to the surface of the pad. In a similar manner, the abrasive dressing tool 22 may be held against the driven pad 28 to remove material from and dress the outer surface of the pad. In particular, the dressing tool 22 may be used to restore the rounded or radiused circular peripheral edge 32 of the pad 28.

Because the major portions of the toothed cleaning wheels are recessed and enclosed within the shroud 16, caked material removed from the surface of the pad 28 and thrown by rapid rotation of the pad and the cleaning wheels will tend to be captured in the shroud 16. Thus, the shroud acts in the manner of a fender on a wheeled vehicle to block the trajectories of particles picked up and thrown by rotation of the wheels.

Various modes of carrying out the present invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.