AU2008200286B2

AU2008200286B2 - Cleaning implement head and cleaning implement

Info

Publication number: AU2008200286B2
Application number: AU2008200286A
Authority: AU
Inventors: P. Charlwood; A. Howley; J. Lawson
Original assignee: ED Oates Pty Ltd
Current assignee: ED Oates Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2007-01-19
Filing date: 2008-01-21
Publication date: 2012-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2028-01-21
Also published as: AU2008200292B2; AU2008200286A1; NZ565224A; AU2008200292A1; NZ565225A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cleaning implement head having a handle-receiving assembly, the assembly comprising: a housing (21) having a recess or aperture (40) therein; and 5 a connecting sleeve (18) receivable within the housing, the sleeve having a first end for receiving a handle (16) therein, and a second end (32) having a bowable member (34) extending therefrom, wherein the angle at which the sleeve extends from the housing is adjustable between a first position, when the bowable member is unbowed and a portion thereof is located in 10 the recess or aperture (40), and a second position when the bowable member is bowed and the end thereof rests against a part of the housing outside of the aperture.

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention title: Cleaning implement head and cleaning implement The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: Cleaning implement head and cleaning implement Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning implement head and to a cleaning implement including such a cleaning implement head. In particular, the present 5 invention relates to a cleaning implement head with improved means for attaching a handle thereto. Background of the Invention In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act 10 or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date: (i) part of common general knowledge; or (ii) known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned. The present invention will be described by reference to an example of a mop head 15 having a handle attached thereto. However, it will be apparent after consideration of the specification, that the present invention may be used to attach a handle to any cleaning implement head, including broom heads, brush heads, scourers and the like. 'Butterfly sponge mops', as they are known in the art, incorporate a hand-operable 20 squeeze mechanism that squeezes a sponge mounted on the mop head, to enable liquid collected in the sponge to be expelled therefrom. Butterfly sponge mops have found favour, particularly in the household market, because of their ease of use in comparison to traditional mops, which must be squeezed using foot action between rollers which are located on a mop bucket. 25 A known butterfly sponge mop is described in US Patent No. 6,698,056, assigned to the present applicant. The mop head, which has a sponge removably mounted thereon, includes a pair of hinged planar wings that are arranged in an aligned horizontal coplanar orientation for mopping, and may be pivoted out of the common plane about a respective pivot axis into a squeezing orientation, to 30 thereby squeeze the sponge and expel any collected liquid therefrom.

2 The wings are biased into the mopping orientation by a spring, which is arranged transverse to each wing's pivot axis and resiliently interconnects the upper surface of the wings. A certain amount of force is required to overcome both the spring's bias, and an amount of resilience in the sponge itself, in order to move the wings 5 into the squeezing orientation. Once this force is removed, the spring returns to its natural position to return the wings to the mopping orientation. The described mop also provides a means by which rotation of the mop handle sets the handle at a desired angle with respect to the wings. Whilst the butterfly squeeze mop described in US Patent No. 6,698,056 is a very 10 successful consumer product, it is nevertheless reasonably complex and accordingly somewhat expensive to manufacture. Summary of the invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a cleaning implement head having a handle-receiving assembly, said assembly comprising: 15 a housing having a recess or aperture therein; and a connecting sleeve receivable within the housing, the sleeve having a first end for receiving a handle therein, and a second end having a bowable member extending therefrom, wherein the angle at which the sleeve extends from the housing is adjustable 20 between a first position, when the bowable member is unbowed and a portion thereof is located in the recess or aperture, and a second position when the bowable member is bowed and the end thereof is not located in the recess, and rests against a part of the housing outside. The present invention provides a cleaning implement head, where the angle at 25 which a handle connected thereto extends may be easily adjusted so that, for example, the mop head can conveniently pass under low lying obstructions such as tables, simply by applying a force in a suitable direction, to displace the bowable member from the aperature in the housing, with the bowable member then being held in position by the weight of the sleeve and handle.

3 In preferred embodiments, the bowable member includes a beaded portion on the distal end therof for assisting movement of the bowable member into and out of the recess or aperture. Typically, the bead has a part-cylindrical shape. The sleeve may also include projections, which are locatable within longitudinally 5 extending slots in the housing, for restricting rotation of the sleeve within the housing about the central longitudinal axis of the housing. The present invention provides in another aspect a mop having a mop head and a handle, the mop head being in accordance with the third aspect of the invention above. 10 Brief description of the drawings An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mop, comprising a handle and an attached mop head in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 15 Figure 2 is a close-up plan view of the mop head which illustrates the interior of the housing of the handle-receiving assembly; Figure 3 is a plan view of a pivot nodule, which is used to attach the mop head to the mop and to allow adjustment of the angle at which the handle extends from the mop head; 20 Figure 4 is a perspective view of the pivot nodule illustrated in Figure 3; Figure 5 is an elevation view of the mop illustrated in Figure 1, showing the handle extending from the housing at a first angle; and Figure 6 is an elevation view of the mop illustrated in Figure 1, showing the handle extending from the housing at a second angle. 25 Detailed description of the drawings Turning to Figure 1, a mop 10, which comprises a mop head 12 and an attached handle 16 is illustrated. The mop is of the 'butterfly squeeze mop' variety, having a sponge 14 that is squeezable through the action of a clevis member 20 and a slider 22 which encloses the handle 16.

4 In use, the angle at which the handle 16 extends from the mop head 12 is adjustable, by way of a handle-receiving assembly provided on the mop head 10. The assembly is comprised of a pivot nodule 18, which is received within a housing 21, that is integrally formed in the mop head 12. 5 A more detailed view of the pivot nodule 18 is provided in Figures 3 and 4, showing a sleeve 30 (into which the handle 16 is received), a head 32, and a resiliently flexible bowable (ie. bendable) member 34 extending from the head 32. A pair of ears 36 are located on the head 32. As shown most clearly in Figure 2, the housing 21 includes an interior region 28 10 with grooves 38 extending along the length thereof. When the head 32 of the pivot nodule 18 is received within the housing 21, the pivot nodule ears 36 locate within the grooves 38, to thereby prevent rotation of the pivot nodule 18 and any attached handle 16, about the handle's longitudinal axis. A stop (not shown) is provided at the end of each groove 38 nearest to the opening of the interior 15 region 28. The ears 36 abut against the stop to lock the pivot nodule into the housing 21 by preventing the pivot nodule from longitudinally sliding out of the grooves 38. An recess 40 is provided in the end wall of the interior region 28, the function of which is described in detail below. 20 The angle at which the handle 16 extends from the mop head 12 is adjustable between two positions, as respectively illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. In the first position (Figure 5), the distal end of the bowable member 34 is retained in the recess 40 which is provided in the interior region of the housing. To move the handle 16 to the second position (Figure 6), the handle is simply rotated in the 25 direction of the arrow B in Figure 5. In response , a beaded portion 42, provided on the distal end of the bowable member 34 moves out of the recess 40 and thereby bows the bowable member, which comes to rest against the interior wall 27 of the housing 21 at a position adjacent to the recess 40. Similarly, the handle 16 is returned to the first position by rotating the handle in 30 the opposition direction, to thereby re-locate the distal end of the bowable member in the recess 40.

5 The word 'comprising' and forms of the word 'comprising' as used in this description and in the claims do not limit the invention claimed to exclude any variants or additions. Modifications and improvements to the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such modifications and improvements 5 are intended to be within the scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A cleaning implement head having a handle-receiving assembly, the assembly comprising: a housing having a recess or aperture therein; and 5 a connecting sleeve receivable within the housing, the sleeve having a first end for receiving a handle therein, and a second end having a bowable member extending therefrom, wherein the angle at which the sleeve extends from the housing is adjustable between a first position, when the bowable member is unbowed 10 and a portion thereof is located in the recess or aperture, and a second position when the bowable member is bowed and the end thereof is not located in the recess or aperture, and rests against a part of the housing.

2. A cleaning implement head according to claim 1, wherein the bowable member includes a beaded portion on the distal end therof for assisting 15 movement of the bowable member into and out of the recess or aperture.

3. A cleaning implement head according to claim 2, wherein the beaded portion has a part-cylindrical shape.

4. A cleaning implement head according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sleeve includes projections which are locatable within longitudinally 20 extending slots in the housing, for restricting rotation of the sleeve within the housing about the central longitudinal axis of the housing.

5. A mop head having a handle receiving assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A mop comprising a handle and a mop head according to claim 5. 25

7. A mop head substantially as herein described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.