Polishing or grinding pad assembly
A floor polishing or grinding pad assembly is provided. In one aspects a polishing or grinding pad assembly employs a flexible pad, a reinforcement layer or ring, and multiple floor-contacting tools such as disks. In yet another aspect, at least one of the floor-contacting tools has a workpiece-contacting bottom plane having angle offset from that of a base surface of the tool, a flexible pad and/or a flexible reinforcement layer. A further aspect employs a smaller set of disks alternating between and/or offset from a larger set of the disks.
1. A pad assembly comprising:
a flexible and rotatable pad;
a first set of abrasive tools coupled to the pad; and
at least a second set of abrasive tools coupled to the pad, one of the sets of tools having a different characteristic than another of the sets of tools;
wherein the different characteristic of the tools is an abrasive pattern on a floor-facing bottom surface thereof.
2. The pad assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a reinforcement layer located between the tools and the pad, the reinforcement layer being flexible and attached to a workpiece-facing surface of the pad.
3. The pad assembly of claim 2 wherein:
a peripheral surface of the pad is circular;
a periphery of the reinforcement layer is circular and substantially aligned with the peripheral surface of the pad; and
a centerpoint of the tools are all substantially equally spaced away from a centerline of the pad.
4. The pad assembly of claim 2 , wherein the reinforcement layer is metallic, and the pad includes diamonds and fibers.
5. The pad assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
there are at least three of the first set of tools which are disks with a circular periphery; and
an apex of a tapered abrasive surface angle relative to a floor-facing pad surface, is closer to an inboard versus outboard edge.
6. The pad assembly of claim 1 , wherein the different characteristic of the tools also is peripheral size.
7. A pad assembly comprising:
a flexible and rotatable pad;
a first set of abrasive tools coupled to the pad; and
at least a second set of abrasive tools coupled to the pad, one of the sets of tools having a different characteristic than another of the sets of tools;
wherein at least one of the tools includes a floor-abrading surface including arcuate channels outwardly radiating between a centerline and periphery of the tool, the pattern further including circular channels intersecting the curved and radiating channels, the tool including a solid center without an aperture therein, and the tools all including a polymeric material.
8. The pad assembly of claim 7 , wherein the different characteristic of the tools is an abrasive pattern on a floor-facing bottom surface thereof.
9. The pad assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pad assembly is rotatable by a floor grinding or polishing machine, and an outer diameter of the pad is at least seven inches.
10. The pad assembly of claim 1 , wherein the tools are disks with each of the first set being larger in diameter than a diameter of the second set, and the disks of the first set alternate with the disks of the disks of the second set.
11. The pad assembly of claim 1 , wherein the tools of the first set are radially offset a greater distance from a pad rotational axis than those of the second set.
12. A pad assembly comprising:
a fibrous pad;
a first set of disks coupled to the pad, each of the first disks including a floor-contacting nominal surface;
a second set of disks coupled to the pad, each of the second disks including a floor-contacting nominal surface;
a reinforcement layer located between the disks and the pad;
a peripheral surface of the pad being circular;
a periphery of the reinforcement layer being circular and substantially aligned with the peripheral surface of the pad;
the first and second disks having a circular periphery;
wherein there are at least four of the first disks;
wherein there are at least four of the second disks; and
a characteristic of the second disks being different from that of the first disks, wherein the characteristic is at least one of: (a) a size of the disks, (b) a groove pattern of the floor-contacting nominal surfaces, and (c) an angle of the floor-contacting nominal surface relative to a floor-facing surface of the fibrous pad.
13. A pad assembly comprising:
a fibrous pad;
a first set of disks coupled to the pad, each of the first disks including a floor-contacting nominal surface;
a second set of disks coupled to the pad, each of the second disks including a floor-contacting nominal surface; and
a characteristic of the second disks being different from that of the first disks, the characteristic including an angle of the floor-contacting nominal surface relative to a floor-facing surface of the fibrous pad.
14. A pad assembly comprising:
a fibrous pad;
a first set of disks coupled to the pad, each of the first disks including a floor-contacting nominal surface;
a second set of disks coupled to the pad, each of the second disks including a floor-contacting nominal surface; and
a characteristic of the second disks being different from that of the first disks, the characteristic being a floor-abrading groove pattern.
15. The pad assembly of claim 12 , wherein the characteristic includes at least two of (a), (b) and (c).
16. A pad assembly comprising:
a fibrous pad;
a first set of disks coupled to the pad, each of the first disks including a floor-contacting nominal surface;
a second set of disks coupled to the pad, each of the second disks including a floor-contacting nominal surface;
a characteristic of the second disks being different from that of the first disks;
a reinforcement layer located between the disks and the pad;
the internal edge of the reinforcement layer being circular such that the reinforcement layer has an annular shape; and
the pad being flexible and including diamond abrasive particles.
17. The pad assembly of claim 12 , wherein centerpoints of the first and second sets of disks are all equally located the same distance away from a rotational centerline of the pad.
18. The pad assembly of claim 13 , further comprising a reinforcement layer located between the disks and the pad.
19. The pad assembly of claim 18 wherein:
a peripheral surface of the pad is circular;
a periphery of the reinforcement layer is circular and substantially aligned with the peripheral surface of the pad;
the first and second disks having a circular periphery;
wherein there are at least four of the first disks;
wherein there are at least four of the second disks; and
wherein the characteristic is at least one of: (a) a size of the disks, (b) a groove pattern of the floor-contacting nominal surfaces, and (c) an angle of the floor-contacting nominal surface relative to a floor-facing surface of the fibrous pad.
20. The pad assembly of claim 13 , wherein the angle of the first disks is 2-10 degrees and the angle of the second disks is 0 degrees.
21. The pad assembly of claim 20 , wherein centerpoints of the second disks are further away from a rotational centerline of the fibrous pad than are centerpoints of the first disks.
22. The pad assembly of claim 12 , wherein the characteristic includes diameters of the disks.
23. The pad assembly of claim 12 , wherein the second disks are of a smaller diameter, are further away from a centerline of the fibrous pad than are the first disks, and have a different abrasive pattern than the first disks.
24. The pad assembly of claim 12 , wherein the first disks circumferentially alternate with the second disks.
25. The pad assembly of claim 12 , further comprising a central area of the pad being exposed through the hole of the reinforcement layer such that a linear dimension of the central area within the hole is greater than a linear dimension of one side of the reinforcement layer between the hole and a periphery thereof.
26. A pad assembly comprising:
(a) a flexible pad including a substantially circular periphery;
(b) a first set of abrasive tools including a floor-grinding or polishing patterned surface on a bottom thereof, the first set including at least three of the tools;
(c) at least a second set of abrasive tools including a floor-grinding or polishing patterned surface on a bottom thereof, the second set including at least three of the tools;
(d) the tools of the sets alternating with each other and being spaced apart from each other around the pad to which they are coupled;
(e) the first set of tools having a different size or patterned surface than that of the second set of tools; and
(f) a centerpoint of all of the tools being substantially equally spaced away from a rotational centerline of the pad.
27. The pad assembly of claim 26 , further comprising a reinforcement layer located between the tools and the pad, the reinforcement layer being flexible and attached to a floor-facing surface of the pad.
28. The pad assembly of claim 27 , wherein the reinforcement layer is metallic, and the pad includes diamonds and fibers.
29. The pad assembly of claim 26 , wherein the first and second sets of tools have the different size which includes a different peripheral dimension.
30. A pad assembly comprising:
(a) a flexible pad including a substantially circular periphery;
(b) a first set of abrasive tools including a floor-grinding or polishing patterned surface on a bottom thereof, the first set including at least three of the tools;
(c) at least a second set of abrasive tools including a floor-grinding or polishing patterned surface on a bottom thereof, the second set including at least three of the tools;
(d) the tools of the sets alternating with each other and being spaced apart from each other around the pad to which they are coupled; and
(e) the first set of tools having a different patterned surface than that of the second set of tools, the different patterned surface including a different quantity of circular grooves and a different quantity of spoked grooves.
31. The pad assembly of claim 26 , wherein a nominal plane at a bottom of the patterned surface of at least one of the sets of tools has a tapered angle relative to a nominal plane of a floor-facing bottom surface of the pad.
32. The pad assembly of claim 26 , wherein a centerpoint of all of the tools are substantially equally spaced away from a rotational centerline of the pad.
33. The pad assembly of claim 26 , wherein the pad assembly is rotatable by a floor grinding or polishing machine, and an outer diameter of the pad is at least seven inches.
34. The pad assembly of claim 30 , wherein the tools of the first set are radially offset a greater distance from a pad rotational axis than those of the second set.
35. A method of making a floor grinding or polishing pad assembly, the method comprising:
(a) attaching a flexible reinforcement layer to a surface of a flexible pad;
(b) attaching at least three abrasive disks of a first type to the reinforcement layer;
(c) attaching at least three abrasive disks of a second type to the reinforcement layer, with the different types of disks being spaced apart from and alternating with each other;
(d) a central, diamond and fiber portion of the pad being exposed through a central hole in the reinforcement layer, which is metallic;
(e) the disks of the types differing in size and abrasive surface pattern; and
(f) the pad being adapted to rotate about a centerline.
36. The method of claim 35 , further comprising flowing a liquid polishing or grinding solution, when rotating the pad assembly by a powered machine, dictated at least in part by different floor-contacting angles of the first disks versus the second disks.
37. The method of claim 35 , further comprising flowing a liquid polishing or grinding solution, when rotating the pad assembly by a powered machine, dictated at least in part by different floor-contacting channel spacing of the first disks versus the second disks.
38. The method of claim 35 , further comprising flowing a liquid polishing or grinding solution, when rotating the pad assembly by a powered machine, dictated at least in part by different floor-contacting channel curvature of the first disks versus the second disks.
39. The method of claim 35 , further comprising externally exposing the reinforcement on a floor-facing surface of the pad.
40. The pad assembly of claim 7 , further comprising a metallic reinforcement layer externally exposed on a floor-facing surface of the pad, and the pad including diamonds and fibers.
41. The pad assembly of claim 7 , further comprising:
a reinforcement layer located between the tools and the pad, the reinforcement layer being flexible and attached to a workpiece-facing surface of the pad;
the pad assembly being rotatable by a floor grinding or polishing machine; and
an outer diameter of the pad being at least seven inches.
42. The pad assembly of claim 16 , wherein centerpoints of the first and second sets of disks are all equally located the same distance away from a rotational centerline of the pad.
43. The pad assembly of claim 16 , wherein the characteristic includes an angle of the floor-contacting nominal surface relative to a floor-facing surface of the fibrous pad.
44. The pad assembly of claim 16 , wherein centerpoints of the second disks are further away from a rotational centerline of the fibrous pad than are centerpoints of the first disks.
45. The pad assembly of claim 16 , wherein the characteristic is a floor-abrading groove pattern.
46. The pad assembly of claim 16 , further comprising a central area of the pad being exposed through the hole of the reinforcement layer such that a linear dimension of the central area within the hole is greater than a linear dimension of one side of the reinforcement layer between the hole and a periphery thereof.
47. The pad assembly of claim 16 , wherein the pad assembly is rotatable by a floor grinding or polishing machine, and an outer diameter of the pad is at least seven inches.
48. The pad assembly of claim 13 , wherein the pad assembly is rotatable by a floor grinding or polishing machine, and an outer diameter of the pad is at least seven inches.
49. The pad assembly of claim 13 , wherein the second disks are of a smaller diameter, are further away from a centerline of the fibrous pad than are the first disks, and have a different abrasive pattern than the first disks.
50. The pad assembly of claim 13 , wherein the first disks circumferentially alternate with the second disks.
51. The pad assembly of claim 30 , further comprising a reinforcement layer located between the tools and the pad, the reinforcement layer being flexible and attached to a floor-facing surface of the pad.
52. The pad assembly of claim 51 , wherein the reinforcement layer is metallic, and the pad includes diamonds and fibers.
53. The pad assembly of claim 30 , wherein the pad assembly is rotatable by a floor grinding or polishing machine, and an outer diameter of the pad is at least seven inches.