Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L13/00—Implements for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
  • A47L13/10—Scrubbing; Scouring; Cleaning; Polishing
  • A47L13/20—Mops
  • A47L13/24—Frames for mops; Mop heads
  • A47L13/25—Wire frames
  • A47L13/253—Wire frames of adjustable or foldable type

Definitions

• floor-washing implements fall into one of the following main categories: floor wipers ("squeegees”) and mops made of cords.
• Floor wipers comprise an elongated wiper fixed to the bottom end of a broomstick, with or without a rubber blade pointing downwards.
• a floor washing cloth or rag is spread over the wiper.
• the rag is soaked in water and used to wet the floor.
• the rag is manually squeezed dry, and used for absorbing the water from the floor.
• the floor is first wiped by the wiper blade and then dried by the rag.
• the rag needs to be separated from the broomstick for soaking it in a bucket of water, or to squeeze it, as the case may be.
• Working the cords mops is different (see Fig. 1).
• the bundle of cords A is inseparable from the broomstick. Therefore, wetting the floor takes place after the mop head has been soaked by dipping it in a water bucket B. Drying the floor needs first to squeeze or wring the bundle of cords A. This is achieved by forcing the bundle against a meshed receptacle or strainer C, usually seated over the rim of the bucket, above the water level. By pressing and twisting the mop broomstick, water is squeezed out and the bundle of cords is ready for the floor drying process.
• a floor washing implement comprising a broomstick; a slider device slideable over the broomstick; a pair of pivotal arms coupled to the broomstick and to the slider device so that sliding the device in one direction causes the arms to pivot one way from the other ("the floor washing position") and sliding the device in the other direction causes the arms to pivot one towards the other ("the wringing position"); and means for releasably attaching a piece of cloth to the free ends of the arms.
• Fig. 1 illustrates the routine of squeezing a conventional cord mop using a bucket-strainer
• Fig. 2 shows a floor working implement designed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in the operational position
• Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the implement of Fig. 1
• Fig. 4 is a side view of the implement in the folded position
• Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of Fig. 4;
• Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 illustrates the squeezing operation over a conventional strainer.
• the floor washing implement generally designated 10 in Fig. 2 comprises a broomstick 12 to which a slider device designated 14 is moveably mounted as will be described below in greater detail. Mentioned at this stage is the fact that sliding the device upwards will cause double-armed wings 16a and 16b to pivot one in the direction of the other to reach the folded position illustrated in Figs. 5 and 7.
• a piece of cloth 18, most preferably of the type known as "microfiber” is attached to the distal ends of the wings 16a and 16b, the cloth being provided for that purpose with sewn eye-lets 18a and 18b.
• the wings are provided with restraining heads 16c and 16d.
• any other fastening arrangement is applicable as long as the cloth 18 is easily placed and removed, at will.
• the use of microfiber is highly recommended thanks to its well-known properties as high liquid absorption capacity and easy dry-squeezing, which are most favorable for the purpose of reducing the present invention into practice.
• the sliding device 14 comprises an inner sleeve 20, which is fixedly mounted to the broomstick 12, preferably from below intermediate cone- shaped portion 20a screwed on beveled portion 12a.
• the sleeve 20 can also be nailed to the broomstick or press-fitted thereto.
• the sleeve 20 comprises a radially flanged portion 20b having a pair of oppositely located slots 20c and 2Od (see Fig. 5) through which the wings 16a and 16b are freely passed. These slots serve as guide cams for the spreading apart of wings as will be described below.
• Slider member 22 is provided, freely slidable on the sleeve 20. It further comprises a cap-shaped portion 22a (see Fig. 5) with a pair of ears 22b at one side and a pair of ears 22c at the other side, located underneath the cap 22a. Respective holes are made for securing the bent ends of the wings 16a and 16b respectively (see Fig. 6), serving as pivots for the wings.
• cavities 2Oe and 2Of there are formed two less than half-circulars distanced, cavities 2Oe and 2Of at the external surface of the sleeve 20 along a common generatrix thereof. These cavities cooperate with spring urged ball 24, which is adapted to click thereinto in the upper (Figs. 6 and 7) or the lower (Figs. 2 and 3) positions of the sliding device as will be explained below.
• the ball retaining component marked 24a is shown as an attachment to the slider member 22, but other arrangements can be employed as a matter of design.
• the third component of the slider device 14 is a ram member 26, which is affixed to the sleeve 20 at its bottom by a screw 28 (or can be directly nailed to the broomstick 12).
• the slider 14 For drying the floor, the slider 14 is clicked in the upper position (Fig. 6) whereby the cloth 18 becomes folded together into a bundle small enough to be inserted into the strait 30. The bundle is twisted to wrap around the base 26 (Fig. 7). Draining of the water soaked in the cloth is effected by pressing against the bottom of the strait bucket, for which the ram member 26 is particularly useful. Obviously, there is no need to detach the cloth from the broomstick for the squeezing operation.

Landscapes

• Cleaning Implements For Floors, Carpets, Furniture, Walls, And The Like (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=37684043

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (4)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 2005
  • 2005-10-20 IL IL171498A patent/IL171498A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2006
  • 2006-10-17 US US12/090,916 patent/US20090151099A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2006-10-17 EP EP06809760A patent/EP1945087A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2006-10-17 CN CN2006900000585U patent/CN201524041U/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2006-10-17 WO PCT/IL2006/001193 patent/WO2007046092A1/en active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events