AU6807400A - Tilt mop - Google Patents

Description

C

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Tilt Mop r The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: TILT MOP Field of the Invention This invention relates to mop head assemblies for use in tilt mops and in a particular nonlimiting aspect relates to tilt mops employing mop head assemblies in which the components of the assemblies are manufactured from plastics and can be readily snap fitted together.

•Background of the Invention Modern mops are typically provided with a handle, a sponge and an assembly for holding and squeezing the sponge to wring out excess water. Such mops have been used commonly as household cleaning implements for many years.

Typically, the assembly for holding the sponge includes a pair of wing members which can be pivoted towards each other in order to squeeze the sponge. The central part of the assembly generally includes a socket member for receipt of the handle of the mop. There is also an arrangement of a slidable collar and arms associated with the handle and the assembly for rotating the wing members towards each other to squeeze the sponge.

In more advanced versions of such mops, provision has even been made for tilting of the sponge with respect to the handle. This is in order to facilitate use of the mop under items of furniture such as chairs or tables. the tilting of the handle with respect to the mop allowing the user to reach under the item of furniture concerned without the mop handle getting in the way.

Such assemblies have quite successfully been made of metal parts. However, because of the inherent costs involved in fabricating assembly components in metal and the labour associated with assembling a relatively large number of metal components the overall cost of a tiltable mop constructed with a metal assembly can be prohibitive.

:"1 3 To reduce costs, alternative constructions have been manufactured in plastics material.

However, it has been found that these are prone to failure. This can be because the assembly often includes an integral pivot between the socket and wings. The pivot is formed as an integral line of thin plastic between the socket and wing assembly which can readily be broken during normal use of the mop.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an alternative form of mop head assembly.

Disclosure of the Invention S For this purpose the invention provides a mop head assembly comprising, a support for an absorbent material, a socket member including a socket for receiving a handle of a mop, S.pivot means for facilitating pivoting of the handle and socket member with respect to the support, locking means forward of the pivot means, and *o limiting means forward of the pivot means, oo.o.i wherein the locking means are adapted to releasably lock the socket member in a first configuration with respect to the support, and the limiting means are adapted to prevent the handle pivoting beyond a predetermined angle with respect to the support when the locking means are released to allow the socket member to pivot from the first configuration.

Suitably, an intermediate member is provided as a separate component of the assembly.

The intermediate member may be constructed so that it fits between the socket member and the support. Thus the mop head may comprise three separate components which may be snap fitted together.

The pivot means may comprise a hook pivot and a holding member such as a bar around which the hook pivot may pivot. They may be provided on the intermediate member and the socket member.

The locking means may include one or more snap fitting elements on the intermediate member or socket member which are adapted to releasably interact with the other member.

The snap fitting elements may comprise one or more snap fit hooks. These may be provided on the socket member. The snap fit hooks may be adapted to catch underneath ledges or abutments which are complementary to the snap fit hooks. These may be provided on the intermediate member. Alternatively, the snap fit hooks may be provided on the intermediate member and the ledges or abutments may be provided on the socket member. Suitably the locking means are provided towards the forward ends of the socket member and intermediate member.

6%#o •"The limiting means suitably include one or more extensions or depending walls adapted to interact with one or more abutments to limit pivoting beyond a predetermined configuration. The limiting means may be provided on the socket member and intermediate member. Most suitably there are two such abutments provided in an opening on the intermediate member which fit within corresponding slots or tracks provided on depending walls of the socket member. The slots or tracks of the limiting means may be provided on the socket member intermediate the locking means and the pivot means.

The intermediate member may be secured to the support by securement means. The securement means may include one or more securement snap fit elements provided on the intermediate member or socket member. The one or more securement snap fit elements may include one or more hook members adapted to snap fit into openings or recesses.

These may be provided on the opposite member. Suitably the support includes two such hook members adapted to hook into openings provided in the intermediate member.

The mop head assembly may also include a guiding arrangement to guide snap fitting between the securement means of the support and the intermediate member. The guide arrangement may include an integral hook. The integral hook may be provided on any of the support, socket member or intermediate member. However, it is preferred that the integral hook be provided on the support. Most suitably the integral hook is provided at the rear of the support. It may protrude upwardly and forwardly on the support.

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The integral hook may be arranged to hook onto the socket member and/or the intermediate member. Most suitably it is arranged to hook onto the socket member in a region at or near the rear end of the socket member. It may fit into one or more recesses provided at the rear of the socket member.

Suitably the integral hook is designed so that pushing down upon the forward end of the socket member or intermediate member has the effect of holding the rear end of the three components forming the mop head together while pivoting their forward ends together so that the snap fitting members may interact to lock the respective components to each other.

'"In turn this secures the intermediate member to the support and hence the socket member to the mop head assembly by virtue of its connection to the intermediate member.

0 00 The support suitably has a planar configuration during normal use of the mop. It may include a pair of wings which may pivot towards each other to squeeze the absorbent material in order to wring out liquid. The foldable wings may be provided on opposite sides of a central portion. The foldable wings may be attached integrally to the central portion by a line of plastics of reduced thickness. Thus the wings may each pivot about each line of reduced thickness with respect to the central portion to squeeze the absorbent material.

Suitably the absorbent material is a sponge. Suitably the securement means forming part of the support are included on the central portion of the support.

The socket member may include a socket constructed with attachment means for facilitating attachment of the handle to the socket. Thus, where the handle is in the form of an elongate member of tubular cross-section, the socket may include an internal spigot adapted to fit within the tubular portion of the handle. This may assist with securement of the handle to the socket by a friction or snap fit.

In a particularly preferred aspect of the invention there is provided a mop which includes a mop head assembly as defined hereinbefore. Suitably the mop includes means for pivoting the wings together to squeeze a sponge. The squeezing means may include a collar arranged to surround the handle. The collar may be axially movable with respect to the handle.

The collar may include a push mechanism adapted to push the wings together when the collar is moved axially along the handle towards the mop head assembly. The push mechanism may include a pair of arms. Each of the arms may be associated with one of the wings to pivot the respect wings towards each other. The arms may have shoulders adapted to push upon the wings when the collar is moved towards the assembly. A push rod may connect the arms to the collar. In turn, the push rod may be pivotally connected to the collar. It may also be pivotally connected to the arms.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings oooo Figure 1 shows a side view of a tiltable mop including a mop head assembly constructed in accordance with the invention, Figure 2 shows a side view to a larger scale of the head of the mop shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 shows a plan view of the mop head assembly of Figure 1, Figure 4 shows a plan view of the mop head assembly of Figure 1 with the socket member removed, Figure 5 shows a plan view of a mop head assembly as shown in Figure 3 with the intermediate member removed, Figure 6 shows a cross section on line 6-6 on Figure 3, Figure 7 shows a cross section similar to Figure 6 but with the socket member in a tilted configuration, Figure 8 shows a cross section of an assembly of components forming a mop head assembly with the components separated, and Figures 9, 10 and 11 show cross sections taken on lines 9, 10 and 11 on Figure 6.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to Figures 1 and 2 in the accompanying drawings, the tilt mop 1 shown therein in broad outline includes an assembly generally designated 3 forming the mop head. The assembly is made up of three separate components, namely a support 5, an intermediate member 7 and a socket member 9. A sponge 11 is attached to the underneath of the assembly.

The tilt mop also includes a tubular handle 13. This is provided with squeezing means •for compressing the sponge 11 to wring out water.

Features of the individual components making up the tilt mop are now discussed with reference to Figures 2 to 11.

The support 5 may be manufactured from thermoplastics material using conventional molding processes, such as injection molding. It is molded as a single piece and includes a pair of wings 17. The wings are attached to a central portion 19 of the support by a line of go•• reduced thickness 21 provided on both sides of the support.

The plastics material from which the support is manufactured, is chosen so that the line of reduced thickness on either side of the central portion allows the wings to pivot about the line so that they be pushed together to squeeze the sponge when this becomes necessary.

The nature of the plastics material will be such as to allow the wings to pivot readily without the plastics forming the line of reduced thickness breaking.

Each of the wings has a raised portion 23 which surrounds a recess Each recess includes an aperture 27 which may be used for securing the sponge to the support by means of a fastening clip 29 protruding through aperture.

8 The underneath of the wings as shown more clearly in Figure 6 and 7 is provided with a plurality of ribs 31 which lend stiffness to the wings.

The rear of the central portion includes an upstanding wall 32. Both sides of this upstanding wall include a forwardly directed horizontal protrusion terminating in a knob forming an integral hook 33. Figures 4 and 5 more clearly show that the integral hook 33 is provided on either side of the upstanding portion.

An upstanding securement post 35 is provided at an intermediate region of the central portion 19. It includes extended lips 37 which extend on either side of the top of the post •in the direction of the respective wings.

An upwardly projecting post 39 is provided towards the forward end of the central portion.

A slot 41 in the central portion is located immediately forward of the post.

A forward hook member 43 more clearly shown in Figure 5 projects upwardly from the central portion at the forward edge of the central portion. The top of the forward hook member is provided with a forwardly protruding lip for the purposes of facilitating a snap fit engagement with the intermediate member 7 as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

The sides of each of the wing members facing the central portion are provided with an aperture 45 located so that the spring member 49 may protrude there through on both sides of the central portion. A post 47 depends from the underneath of each wing member to provide a securement point for each end of the spring. Thus the spring acts to urge the wing members to assume a horizontal configuration.

The wall 32, apart from including a vertical portion for holding the hook pivots, bends over to form a horizontal extension 50 connecting with the central portion. This forms a recess 51 between the horizontal extension and the edge of each wing.

The intermediate member at its rear end includes two depending legs 53 located on the underside of the intermediate member so that they protrude into the two recesses 51 and abut the edges 52 of the recesses.

It is noted that the intermediate member should also be formed of a thermoplastics material, preferably the same plastics material chosen for the molding of the support. Thus all the elements to be described in relation to the intermediate member as in the case of the support and the yet to be described socket member are integrally formed as part of the respective component during the molding process.

:o•The intermediate portion includes a rectangular sunken area 54 between the side walls 56.

horizontal bar 55 extends between the side walls 56.

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An elongated opening 57 is provided centrally in the rectangular sunken area in a position where it can be lined up with the securement post 35 during assembly so that the extended lips 37 snap fit over the top of the edges of the opening 57 to hold the intermediate portion and support together through a snap fit engagement.

A forward slot 59 adapted to receive the forward hook member 43 of the support is provided at a forward edge of the intermediate member.

.i The recesses 60 and openings 62 are provided in the intermediate member to receive the push rod arms 97. The recesses 60 include downwardly depending integral J shaped members 61 arranged to receive and hold the forward ends of the push rod arms.

Downwardly depending tongue 63 ending in a hooked or expanded portion is arranged so that it fits into the slot 41 on the support.

Abutments 67 extend horizontally into the rectangular sunken area 54 from the side walls 56. The abutments are ramped so that the bottom edges of the depending walls 78 can slide over them.

An aperture 69 just forward of the sunken area is provided to receive the post 39.

Opposite sides of the aperture are provided with a defined edge 71 which is adapted to co-operate with snap fit hooks 74 forming part of the socket member.

As best seen in Figures 4, 6 and 7, the socket member includes depending walls 78 provided on opposite sides of the member in line with the slots 65 on the central portion.

The depending walls each include a tracking slot 77 arranged so that the abutments 67 may fit therein.

As can be seen in Figure 10, the upper faces of the abutments are ramped so that the forward edges of the depending walls may slide over them to locate the abutments in the slots.

The rear of the socket member is provided with a pair of pivot recesses 79 adapted to receive the integral hook 33.

oeeoe As shown in Figures 6 and 7 an integral tubular socket 81 is provided centrally on the socket member and the forward end of the tubular socket includes an internal tubular spigot 20 83. The tubular socket and internal tubular spigot between them define an annular recess The annular recess is shaped so that it may receive the end of the tubular handle 13 in a tight fitting engagement.

Two snap fit hooks 74 are provided on a forward portion of the socket member. Their faces are ramped so that they may co-operate with complementary defined edges 71 of the intermediate member to lock the socket member in one configuration when the handle is at its most upright position. However the ramping on the faces is bi-directional so that when substantial pivotal pressure is applied the snap fit hooks release to allow the handle to be pivoted.

The squeeze mechanism shown more clearly in Figures 1 and 2 includes a collar 87 adapted to slide up and down the handle. The collar includes a hand grip portion 89 and a 11 forward expanded portion 91 which includes a connection aperture 93. The push rod hooks through the connection aperture at one end and connects to a push rod arm 97 via the pivotal connection 99 at its other end.

Assembly of the mop is a relatively straight forward operation as the various components with the possible exception of the sponge can simply be fitted together without the use of tools. To illustrate this it is best to consider the exploded configuration shown in Figure 8.

Initially, after the collar 87 has been slid up on the handle and the push rod and push rod •.arm have been connected together, the push rod arm is located so that it protrudes through 10 the opening 62 provided on the intermediate member and fits into the recesses Following assembly of the squeeze means in this fashion, the support, intermediate :.7 member and socket member which are arranged one above the other are snap fitted o together. During this snap fit operation, the hook 73 fits under the horizontal bar 15 Similarly, the pivot recesses 79 receive the knob ends of the integral hook 33 to hold the entire rear end of the assembly together. In the initial stages of putting the three 0 components of the assembly together, the rear ends of the three assembly components fit together whilst the forward edges of the three components will be spaced. The second step in assembly involves pushing the forward edges down together so that the abutments 67 fit 20 into the tracking slots 77. Also the extended lips 37 of the securement post 35 push through the elongate opening 57 so that the lips overlap the top edges of the elongate opening and prevent separation between the support and intermediate member. At the same time, the forward hook member 43 of the support snap fits into the forward slot 59 of the intermediate member to hold the forward edges of the two together.

The snap fit hooks 74 during this assembly process snap fit under the defined edges 71 of the intermediate member to hold the forward part of the socket member flat against the top of the intermediate member. However, as the hooks 74 are formed with ramped upper and lower faces, they do not permanently lock the socket member into position. Rather, they provide a snap fit connection which can be readily disconnected by the application of pressure on the pivotal connection 99. When the pivotal connection and handle are squeezed together the snap fit hook 74 slides out of engagement with the defined edges 71 to allow the assembly to move from the configuration shown in Figure 6 to that shown in Figure 7. As shown in Figure 7 pivoting of the handle and socket member with respect to the other two components of the assembly is limited by the abutment 67 which fits within the tracking slots 77.

In the normnnal configuration of the tilt mop shown in Figure 6 the handle is shown at an angle which suits use of the mop on a flat floor. However where the mop must extend underneath an item of furniture such as a chair etc, the handle and pivotal connection can be squeezed together to unlock the snap fit hooks 74 and pivot the handle to a lower 10 position whereby the tilted mop may be pushed underneath a low obstacle.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. I is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations and modifications. The invention also o 15 includes of the steps, features, materials and other aspects referred to or indicated in this specification, individually or collectively and any and all combinations of any two or more of said steps or features.

It is to be understood that the word comprising as used throughout the specification is to be i 20 interpreted in its inclusive form ie. use of the word comprising does not exclude the addition of other elements.

Claims (15)

1. A mop head assembly comprising, a support for an absorbent material, a socket member including a socket for receiving a handle of a mop, pivot means for facilitating pivoting of the handle and socket member with respect to the support, locking means forward of the pivot means, and 10 limiting means forward of the pivot means, wherein the locking means are adapted to releasably lock the socket member in a first configuration with respect to the support, and the limiting means are adapted to prevent the handle pivoting beyond a predetermined angle with respect to the support when the locking means are released to allow the socket member to pivot from the first configuration.

2. A mop head assembly according to claim 1 wherein the assembly comprises three separate components in the form of a support, a socket member and an intermediate member and the three separate components are adapted to be snap fitted together. 20

3. A mop head assembly according to claim 2 wherein the pivot means comprises a hook pivot provided on the socket member and a holding member on the intermediate member the hook pivot being adapted to hook onto the holding member whereby the socket member may pivot about the holding member.

4. A mop head assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the locking means comprise one or more snap fit hooks adapted to catch underneath complementary ledges or abutments.

A mop head assembly according to claim 4 wherein there are at least two snap fit hooks provided on the socket member and the complementary ledges or abutments are provided on the intermediate member. 14

6. A mop head assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the limiting means comprise one or more slots or tracks adapted to interact with one or more abutments to limit pivoting beyond a predetermined configuration.

7. A mop head assembly according to claim 6 wherein the limiting means comprise a pair of depending walls formed integrally on the socket member the depending walls having slots or tracks and the abutments are integrally formed on the intermediate member.

8. A mop head assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the 10 limiting means are provided intermediate the locking means and the pivot means.

9. A mop head assembly according to any one of claims 2 to 8 wherein the support includes an integral hook protruding upwardly at the rear of the support, the integral hook being adapted to guide the components into snap fitting engagement.

A mop head assembly according to claim 9 wherein the integral hook is adapted to hook onto the socket member by fitting into one or more recesses provided at the rear of oooo• the socket member. .i 20

11. A mop head assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the support comprises a pair of wings each joined to a central portion by a line of plastics of reduced thickness.

12. A mop head assembly according to claim 11 wherein the support includes resilient means for urging the support to a planar configuration.

13. A mop comprising, a mop head assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 12, a handle, a sponge attached to the support, and squeezing means for squeezing the sponge.

14. A mop according to claim 13 as appended to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein the squeezing means comprise, a collar axially movable with respect to the handle and arranged to surround the handle, a push rod connected to the collar, and a pair of arms pivotally connected to the collar and wings, wherein the arrangement is such that the wings may be pushed to pivot towards each other by moving the collar downwardly on the handle. 10

15. A mop head assembly according to claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 23rd day of October 2000 E D Oates Pty Ltd by their patent attorneys Morcom Pernat .o