EP2028990B1 - Combination mop bucket and wringer unit - Google Patents

Combination mop bucket and wringer unit Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP2028990B1
EP2028990B1 EP07733205.4A EP07733205A EP2028990B1 EP 2028990 B1 EP2028990 B1 EP 2028990B1 EP 07733205 A EP07733205 A EP 07733205A EP 2028990 B1 EP2028990 B1 EP 2028990B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
bucket
combination
wringer
mop bucket
wringer unit
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Not-in-force
Application number
EP07733205.4A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP2028990A2 (en
Inventor
Ronald Alexander Young (Scot)
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of EP2028990A2 publication Critical patent/EP2028990A2/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP2028990B1 publication Critical patent/EP2028990B1/en
Not-in-force legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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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
    • A47L13/50—Auxiliary implements
    • A47L13/58—Wringers for scouring pads, mops, or the like, combined with buckets

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a combination mop bucket and wringer unit in which a wringer unit can be securely engaged with a mop bucket to prevent unintentional separation, but in which the wringer unit can be easily separated from the bucket by a user when required.
  • Figures 7 to 9 of EP-A-0981993 suggested the use of pins, removably to connect the bucket and wringer, but such a connection is difficult to manipulate, especially when it is desired to remove the wringer from the bucket.
  • the present invention provides for a reliable but yet readily releasable connection between the bucket and the wringer unit.
  • the pivotable clip and corresponding engagable element are provided part way, e.g. mid way, between a front edge and a rear edge of the wringer unit when supported on the bucket.
  • Each pivotable clip may be pivotably engaged with the mop bucket or the wringer unit via at least two discrete hinges which are spaced from each other in a direction from the front edge to rear edge of the wringer unit.
  • each pivotable, clip may include on outwardly turned clip release element.
  • a lateral cross-section of each pivotable clip has an inverted 'F' shape or substantially inverted 'F' shape although other configurations are possible.
  • inter-engagable formations may be provided at the rear of the combination mop bucket and wringer unit.
  • the mop bucket and wringer unit combination may further include shoulders formed at opposing sides of the peripheral wall of the bucket, and the releasable engaging means may further include two spaced abutting elements, each of which is engagable with a respective shoulder, when the wringer unit is supported on the mop bucket, to prevent sliding removal of the wringer from the mop bucket.
  • Each abutting element may include a cranked channel and the shoulders may be formed in the peripheral wall of the mop bucket, the shoulders being receivable by the channels.
  • the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the bucket may thus form part of an inverted U-shaped or substantially U-shaped upper lip.
  • the wringer unit when supported on the mop bucket, may cover only a portion, e.g. a rear portion, of the opening of the mop bucket, but the wringer unit may cover all or substantially all of the extent of the upper edge of the bucket of the portion of the opening.
  • the wringer unit may include a skirt which, when the wringer is supported on the mop bucket, extends downwardly below the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the covered portion. The skirt may thus extend from or adjacent to a front edge of the wringer unit to or adjacent to a rear edge of the wringer unit, and if desired along a rear edge of the wringer unit.
  • a combination of a mop bucket and wringer unit 10 comprises a, typically moulded plastics, mop bucket 12, a mechanical press wringer unit 14, and means for releasably engaging the wringer unit 14 with the bucket 12.
  • the bucket 12 includes a continuous bottom surface 16 and a continuous peripheral wall 18 which upstands from the bottom surface 16.
  • the peripheral wall 18 defines a front wall 20 having an integrally formed pour spout 22, a rear wall 24 which is opposite the front wall 20, and two side walls 26 which extend between the front wall 20 and the rear wall 24.
  • the peripheral wall 18 of the mop bucket 12 is of thin-wall configuration, which tends to make it susceptible to bending and buckling when the mechanical press wringer 14 is in use.
  • thin-wall is well known within the field to mean a wall thickness of 3 millimetres (mm) or less, and typically between 1.5 mm and 2 mm.
  • the peripheral wall 18 defines an upper edge 30 of the mop bucket 12, opposite the bottom surface 16.
  • the upper edge 30 defines an opening 32 of the mop bucket 12.
  • the peripheral wall 18 includes an outwardly extending inverted U-shaped or substantially inverted U-shaped upper lip 34 or rim.
  • the upper edge 30 of the mop bucket 12 forms part of the upper lip 34 of the peripheral wall 18.
  • Parts of the upper edge 30 indicated at 28, provide shoulders at opposite sides of the bucket 12.
  • the mop bucket 12 also includes four outrigger legs 36 which project outwardly from or adjacent to the bottom surface 16 of the mop bucket 12. Each outrigger ieg 36 is iocated at a corner of the mop bucket 12. Typically, the outrigger legs 36 are formed integrally as part of the mop bucket 12, but they can be separate elements which are connected after manufacture of the mop bucket 12.
  • Each outrigger leg 36 includes a pivotable wheel 38 or castor via which the combination mop bucket and wringer unit 10 is in use supported on a surface.
  • the wringer unit 14 includes a wringing basket 40 which defines a channel having a uniform or substantially uniform lateral cross-section along its longitudinal extent, one or more, in this case two opposite, movable press elements 44 which can move along the channel 42, a geared press mechanism 46 which mechanically and simultaneously operates the press elements 44, and a pivotable handle 48 which activates the press mechanism 46, thus causing the press elements 44 to move along the channel 42.
  • a wringing basket 40 which defines a channel having a uniform or substantially uniform lateral cross-section along its longitudinal extent, one or more, in this case two opposite, movable press elements 44 which can move along the channel 42, a geared press mechanism 46 which mechanically and simultaneously operates the press elements 44, and a pivotable handle 48 which activates the press mechanism 46, thus causing the press elements 44 to move along the channel 42.
  • the wringing basket 40 includes multiple drainage openings 50, and its in use upper edge 52 defines a mop material receiving opening 54.
  • Absorbent mop material typically forming part of a mop, can be inserted into the channel 42 of the wringing basket 40 via the opening 54.
  • the movable press elements 44 are elongate places or bars which extend across the channel 42 and which, in use, then urge and squeeze the absorbent mop material into the channel 42 as they move into the channel 42.
  • the handle 48 is pivotably mounted over the opening 54 of the wringing basket 40, so as substantially to centralise the force imparted by the user and thus reduce undesirable twisting moments being imparted to the unit.
  • Opposite side walls 56 of the wringing basket 40 project upwardly from the channel 42, and the wringer unit 14 includes side covers 58 which cover the geared press mechanism 46.
  • the side covers 58 extend downwardly to form a skirt 60 which, in use, snugly covers an adjacent portion of the upper lip 34 of the peripheral wall 18 of the mop bucket 12.
  • the skirt 60 extends from or adjacent to a front edge 62 of the wringer unit 14 to or adjacent to a rear edge 64 of the wringer unit 14.
  • a front upper edge 62a of the wringing basket 40 is provided with a reinforcing element 66 for reinforcing the side walls 26 of the mop bucket 12 against inwards and outwards bowing.
  • the reinforcing element 66 includes an abutting element 68 at each end thereof.
  • Each abutting element 68 forms part of the releasable engaging means and, in use, abuts a respective side wall shoulder 28 of the mop bucket 12 to prevent slidable removal of the wringer 14.
  • the abutting element 68 includes a cranked and inverted channel 70 for receiving the upper lip 34 of the peripheral wall 18 of the mop bucket 12.
  • the cranked channel 70 is dimensioned to extend across the side wall shoulder 28, in a front-to-rear direction of the mop bucket 12. The abutting elements 68 can thus sit on the upper edge 30 of the mop bucket 12 and engage the respective shoulders 28, thus locking the wringer unit 14 against sliding movement on the mop bucket 12.
  • the abutting elements 68 do not include catches for engagement with the mop bucket 12, to thus prevent or limit vertical displacement of the wringer 14 relative to the mop bucket 12, integrally formed catches could be provided. If catches are provided on the abutting elements 68, then the catches can, for example, engage the downwardly depending free edge 72 of the upper lip 34 of the peripheral wall 18.
  • the abutting elements 68 can be provided at any position on any kind of wringer 14, providing the mop bucket 12 also includes shoulders 28 or cranked portions with which the abutting elements 68 can engage to prevent sliding movement of the wringer unit 14 relative to the bucket 12.
  • the abutting elements 68 are formed as part of a reinforcing element 66, the abutting elements 68 can be provided alone and can be simply intended to prevent sliding movement of the wringer unit 14.
  • the rear edge 64 of the wringer unit 14, opposite the reinforcing element 66, includes one or more downwardly depending integrally formed rear clips 64a.
  • the or each rear clip 64a provides a formation which is interengaged with a corresponding interengagable formation 64b provided by the upper lip 34 of the upper edge 30.
  • one or more apertures in the upper edge 30 can be provided so that one or more rear clips can extend through the upper lip 34 to engage with a lower surface thereof.
  • the interengaging formations 64a, 64b can only be engaged and disengaged when the wringer unit 14 can be suitably orientated with respect to the bucket 12, i.e. when the pivoting clips 74 described below, are released.
  • the skirt 60 of the wringer unit 14 can extend from the sides along the rear edge 64 so as to, in use, snugly cover the adjacent portion of the upper lip 34 of the mop bucket 12.
  • the means for releasably engaging the wringer unit 14 with the bucket 12 includes two, typically moulded plastics, pivotable clips 74 and two corresponding engagable ledge elements 76.
  • Each pivotable clip 74 is formed independently of the mop bucket 12 and wringer unit 14. in this embodiment, the mop bucket 12 is provided with three discrete hinges 78. As such, three integrally moulded spaced clip hinge projections 80 on each side wall 26 are provided, adjacent to the upper edge 30 and partway between the front wall 20 and rear wall 24. Each pivotable clip 74 has an inverted F-shape or substantially inverted F-shape lateral cross-section, as best seen in Figure 7 . An in use lower edge 82 is formed with three spaced hinge recesses 84 for receiving the hinge projections 80 on the mop bucket 12.
  • the hinge projections 80 and the hinge recesses 84 can be provided with respective mating stud projections 82a and recesses 82b (see Figure 7 ), so that the pivotable clip 74 pivotably engages with the mop bucket 12 following insertion of the hinge projections 80 in the respective hinge recesses 84.
  • the hinge projections 80 and the lower edge 82 of the pivotable clip 74 can be provided with alignable openings to receive a hinge pin coaxially with the pivot axis of the pivotable clip 74.
  • a wringer engagement arm 86 of the pivotable clip 74 includes a downwardly projecting lip 88.
  • a back portion 90 of the pivotable clip 74 projects beyond the wringer engagement arm 86 to provide an outwardly turned clip release element 92 which is urgeable in an outwards direction by a user.
  • the ledge elements 76 are integrally moulded on the opposing side covers 58 of the wringer 14, as part of or adjacent to the skirt 60 and partway, typically midway, between the front and rear edges of the wringer 14. The ledge elements 76 thus project, typically horizontally, outwardly away from the wringer unit 14.
  • the wringer unit 14 is either placed directly and squarely over the upper edge 30 of the mop bucket 12, with the rear interengaging formations 64a, 64b of the wringer unit 14 snap-fit engaging simultaneously or substantially simultaneously with the abutting elements 68 engaging with the side shoulders 28 of the mop bucket 12, or the wringer unit 14 is tilted in a rear-to-front direction onto the mop bucket 12, so that firstly the rear interengaging formations 64a, 64b of the wringer unit 14 engage and then the abutting elements 68 are brought down to sit across the side shoulders 28 of the mop bucket 12.
  • the wringer unit 14 covers all or substantially all of the upper edge 30 of the mop bucket 12 which defines in part the covered portion B of the opening 32.
  • pivotable clips 74 are then hinged towards the wringer 14, and the wringer engagement arm 86 of each pivotable clip 74 engages with the respective ledge element 76 of the wringer unit 14.
  • each pivotable clip 74 rides over the engagement ridge 94 of the respective ledge element 76 to prevent or limit undesirable or accidental disengagement of the pivotable clip 74 from the ledge element 76.
  • the clip release elements 92 may be used to facilitate engaging the lip 88 and ledge elements 76.
  • each pivotable clip 74 is urged in a direction away from the wringer unit 14 to release each pivotable clip 74 from the wringer unit 14, and the wringer unit 14 is lifted off the mop bucket 12.
  • each pivotable clip 74 is described as being provided on the mop bucket 12, the pivotable clips 74 can be provided on the wringer unit 14. in this case, the ledge elements 76 would be formed on the mop bucket 12. consequently, the pivotable clips 74 would hinge downwardly to engage the elements 76, instead of upwardly.
  • the outrigger legs 36 and/or wheels and castors 38 can be dispensed with if so desired, so that the bucket 12 contacts a supporting surface via the bottom surface 16 of the bucket 12.

Landscapes

  • Cleaning Implements For Floors, Carpets, Furniture, Walls, And The Like (AREA)
EP07733205.4A 2006-06-21 2007-06-13 Combination mop bucket and wringer unit Not-in-force EP2028990B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0612244A GB2439273A (en) 2006-06-21 2006-06-21 Combination mop bucket and wringer
PCT/GB2007/002199 WO2007148050A2 (en) 2006-06-21 2007-06-13 Combination mop bucket and wringer unit

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2028990A2 EP2028990A2 (en) 2009-03-04
EP2028990B1 true EP2028990B1 (en) 2013-07-24

Family

ID=36803577

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP07733205.4A Not-in-force EP2028990B1 (en) 2006-06-21 2007-06-13 Combination mop bucket and wringer unit

Country Status (5)

Country Link
US (1) US20100050363A1 (zh)
EP (1) EP2028990B1 (zh)
CN (1) CN101472516B (zh)
GB (1) GB2439273A (zh)
WO (1) WO2007148050A2 (zh)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2460879B8 (en) * 2008-06-14 2012-06-13 Ronald Alexander Scot Young Combination of wringing mechanism and container
USD756582S1 (en) 2014-11-11 2016-05-17 The Libman Company Mop bucket
CA3081843C (en) * 2015-05-01 2023-01-03 Ecolab Usa Inc. Mop bucket
US11576550B2 (en) 2018-05-29 2023-02-14 Unger Marketing International, Llc Flat headed mop
USD923896S1 (en) * 2019-05-28 2021-06-29 Unger Marketing International, Llc Floor cleaning system

Family Cites Families (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH383569A (de) * 1961-04-07 1964-10-31 Staub Ludwig Bodenreinigungsgerät
US3346733A (en) * 1964-11-17 1967-10-10 Old Pal Inc Lighted tackle box
DE3421147C2 (de) * 1984-06-07 1986-12-18 Fa. Carl Freudenberg, 6940 Weinheim Putzeimeraufsatz
GB2200942B (en) * 1987-01-26 1991-08-21 Gio Style Assemblies comprising articles fastened together
US5333353A (en) * 1990-02-13 1994-08-02 Scot Young Research Limited Mop wringers and buckets
GB9003175D0 (en) * 1990-02-13 1990-04-11 Brute Ltd Mop wringers and buckets
ES1027080Y (es) * 1994-02-17 1995-01-16 Ind Tayg S L Nueva caja para herramientas.
JPH0976176A (ja) * 1995-09-13 1997-03-25 I Beam:Kk 手提げケース
CN2270459Y (zh) * 1996-01-17 1997-12-17 王和平 拖布清洗挤水桶
BE1011903A7 (nl) * 1998-05-08 2000-02-01 Babylon Bvba Wring-inrichting voor dweilen en dergelijke.
US5918343A (en) * 1998-08-28 1999-07-06 Young; Ronald Scot Combination bucket and wringer
CN1118267C (zh) * 1998-10-05 2003-08-20 吴冀生 一种网式脱水脱液器
NZ537287A (en) * 2004-12-14 2005-10-28 Sist Plastics Ltd Moulded lid assembly with pivoting latch and stop formation to restrict the latch being levered free of the lid
CN2759372Y (zh) * 2005-01-18 2006-02-22 上海镁嘉实业有限公司 圆拖挤干装置

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US20100050363A1 (en) 2010-03-04
GB0612244D0 (en) 2006-08-02
GB2439273A (en) 2007-12-27
CN101472516B (zh) 2012-05-30
WO2007148050A2 (en) 2007-12-27
EP2028990A2 (en) 2009-03-04
CN101472516A (zh) 2009-07-01
WO2007148050A3 (en) 2008-02-28

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