GB1586313A - Mop wringers - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN MOP WRINGERS (71) We, SABCO LIMITED, an Australian Company, of Botting Street, Albert Park, State of South Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to improvements in mop wringers, more particularly to a wringer for removing excess liquid or moisture from a mop of cotton or other suitable fibre.

In our earlier Patent Specification No.

1,477,883 there is provided a mop wringer comprising a flared open ended tubular member having guide m-eans adjacent its smaller end for guiding the tubular member, in use, with the wringer fitted to a mop, along the handle of the mop, and a pair of opposed substantially parallel rollers each mounted in a respective pair of-opposed guide slots in the tubular member, the pairs of slots being situated at the larger end of the tubular member and being inclined towards each other in the direction towards the guide means whereby movement of the wringer along the handle of a mop to which it is fitted and over the head of the mop such that the rollers engage the mop head, causes the rollers to be inoved towards each other to apply an increasing pressure to the mop head.

Such a mop effectively squeezes and removes excess liquid and moisture from the mop head itself but it has been found that the tubular member is at times difficult to move downwardly over the mop head and also at times due to the mop head itself being circular that there is a greater concentration of the strands and fibres at the centre of the rollers so that high pressures are created at this point whereas lesser squeezing actions occur towards the ends of the rollers.

According to the present invention there is provided a mop wringer comprising flared open ended tubular member having guide means adjacent its smaller end for guiding the tubular member, in use, with the wringer fitted to a mop, along the handle of the mop, and a pair of opposed substantially parallel resiliently flexible rollers each mounted in a respective pair of opposed guide slots in the tubular member, the pairs of slots being situated at the larger end of the tubular member and being inclined towards each other in the direction towards the guide means whereby movement of the wringer along the handle of a mop to which it is fitted and over the head of the mop such that the rollers engage the mop head, causes the rollers to be moved towards each other to apply an increasing pressure to the mop head.

Because the rollers are made with a degree of flexibility of resilience they can deform and accommodate themselves more easily to the shape or contours of the mop head being squeezed.

In this way downward movement of the tubular member is made easier and the squeezing action and removal of fluid from the mop head is more efficiently carried out.

Each of the rollers is made with a degree of resilience so that it can flex and bend during the squeezing action. In a preferred form of the invention each roller is formed with a central supporting core of suitable semirigid material and this core is provided with an outer sheath of a softer resilient and rubber-like material.

The central supporting core can be of nylon or other similar semi-rigid material thus to provide strength and the necessary squeezing pressure on the mop head and the outer sheath can be of rubber or suitable rubber-like material natural or synthetic.

In a preferred form the core can be formed of nylon and the outer sheath be provided by rubber or a rubber-like material, such as soft synthetic rubber.

Preferably the core has end flanges of an outer diameter which is the same as the final diameter of the roller, and the sheath of soft synthetic rubber is enclosed between the flanges.

In a preferred form the rubber sheath is moulded by injection mdulding about the core. It is preferred also that at the centre of the roller there is provided a third flange which is again generally of a diameter equal to the final diameter of the roller, so that in effect there are two sheaths injection moulded about the core, each sheath extending between its respective flanges.

As each sheath is of soft synthetic rubber it is preferred that there be the two sheaths separated by the central flange, in order to assist in stabilising the soft rubber to prevent the rubber working or tending to move to one end or the other end of the roller. Also a further advantage arises from the central flange in that the core is thus easier to centrally locate in the mould to allow the soft synthetic rubber to be injected about the core.

It is realised of course that it is not essentidal that a central flange be provided, but that a single sheath of soft synthetic rubber be injected, about the core could well be satisfactory in many instances.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a mop wringer; Figure .2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a roller of the mop wringer of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is an exaggerated diagrammatic view of the operation of the mop wringer of Figure 1.

The mop wringer shown in the drawings comprises a basically tubular member, having at one end guide means in the form of a sleeve portion 2 to slide loosely along a handle 3 of a mop 4. The tubular portion 5 at its lower or open end is provided with squeezing means in the form of a pair of rollers 6:disposed to engage the head of the mop, and as the wringer is moved downwardly along the handle 3, i.e. in the direction towards the mop head, to apply a squeezing action to the mop head, the rollers moving towards each other as they pass over the mop head.

By proyiding the rollers with stub axles 7 or the like which can move in inclined slots 8, the action of the mop head on the rollers causes the rollers 6 to roll along the slots 8 and towards each other. Thus the slots 8 when looking at the wringer from the side, as seen in Figure 1, diverge from each other in a downward direction or in other words towards the open end of the tubular member.

Thus the rollers will be in the lowermost ends of the slots when the wringer is positioned upwardly along the handle, and when moved downwardly the rollers engage the mop head. On further downward movement the rollers by rolling on the mop head itself will move along the slots and thus towards each other so providing an increasing squeezing action on the mop head effectively to remove all excess water from the mop head.

The open end of the tubular member is flared at 10 to form a basically rectangular opening, so that the sides 11 of the member in which the slots are provided are substantially planar and parallel to each other.

One of the rollers 6 is shown in Figure 3.

It comprises a resilient, nylon core 16 having two end flanges 17 and a central flange 18.

On each side of the central flange 18, between it and the end flanges 17, there are sheaths 20 which are made of soft synthetic rubber.

The stub-axles 7 project from the flanges'17.

The rollers can be smooth or if desired small ridges, corrugations or flutes may be provided on the rollers so that a more positive action occurs to cause the rollers to rotate and thus move up the rollers to each other.

When the rollers move over the mop-héad on downward movement of the wringer over the mop head, the rollers are resiliently deformed as shown in Figure 3. This causes a more even distribution of pressure on the mop head 21 than would be obtained if the rollers 6 were rigid. As the rollers 6 clear the end of the mop head, they jerk and drop to the lower ends of the slots, apart from each other, so that the mop head in its wet compressed state can readily pass through the now spread apart rollers upon return movement of the wringer.

Thus there is provided a self-squeezing action whereby it is merely necessary to move the wringer down over the mop head and the rollers automatically squeeze the mop head by moving up the slots to the innermost position.

The mop head can be a known cotton mop head or can be formed with a socket moulded of suitable plastics material the socket having pairs of holes into which a staple or staples can be fixed, the staple(s) passing through and over the strands of the mop head so that by simply fixing the staple(s) the strands are affixed to the socket to form the mop head.

Preferably the socket is moulded from one of the plastics materials possessing high strength and moisture resistance suitable for moulding, preferably nylon and also the tubular member forming the wringer is also formed of a suitable plastics material. Thus the tubular member when the mop is in use is light and does not appreciatively add t,o the weight of the mop and also it does not inconvenience the user in the use of the mop.

If desired a stop may be provided to limit the sliding movement of the tubular member upwardly along the handle while downward movement prior to effecting squeezing can be limited by the rollers resting on the mop head or by a detent or the like to limit downward movement until the suer pushes the wringer downwardly to cause the squeezing action.

As shown there is provided a sliding button 14, having a tongue adapted to be pressed against the handle by sliding over a guide or abutment so that the tongue can grip the handle to hold the wringer in the inoperative position. Vents 15 can be provided, if desired, so that air and possibly water can pass therethrough to allow easier operation of the wringer.

Although one particular form of the invention has been described it will be realized that various modifications and alterations thereof could be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A mop wringer comprising a flared open ended tubular member having guide means adjacent its smaller end for guiding the tubular member, in use, with the wringer fitted to a mop, along the handle of the mop, and a pair of opposed substantially parallel resiliently flexible rollers each mounted in a respective pair of opposed guide slots in the tubular member, the pairs of slots being situated at the larger end of the tubular member and being inclined towards each other in the direction towards the guide means whereby movement of the wringer along the handle of a mop to which it is fitted and over the head of the mop such that the rollers engage the mop head, causes the rollers to be moved towards each other to apply an increasing pressure to the mop head.

2. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 1, in which each roller comprises a central supporting core of semi-rigid material which is provided with an outer sheath of a softer resilient material.

3. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 2, in which the core is made of nylon.

4. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 2 or 3, in which the sheath is made from natural or synthetic rubber.

5. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, in which the core has end flanges.

6. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 5, in which the end flanges have the same diameter as the complete roller.

7. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, in which the core has a central flange.

8. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 7, in which the central flange has the same diameter as the complete roller.

9. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 7 or 8, in which the outer sheath is in two portions, one on each side of the central flange.

10. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, in which the sheath is applied to the core by injection moulding.

11. A mop wringer substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (11)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. 14, having a tongue adapted to be pressed against the handle by sliding over a guide or abutment so that the tongue can grip the handle to hold the wringer in the inoperative position. Vents 15 can be provided, if desired, so that air and possibly water can pass therethrough to allow easier operation of the wringer. Although one particular form of the invention has been described it will be realized that various modifications and alterations thereof could be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A mop wringer comprising a flared open ended tubular member having guide means adjacent its smaller end for guiding the tubular member, in use, with the wringer fitted to a mop, along the handle of the mop, and a pair of opposed substantially parallel resiliently flexible rollers each mounted in a respective pair of opposed guide slots in the tubular member, the pairs of slots being situated at the larger end of the tubular member and being inclined towards each other in the direction towards the guide means whereby movement of the wringer along the handle of a mop to which it is fitted and over the head of the mop such that the rollers engage the mop head, causes the rollers to be moved towards each other to apply an increasing pressure to the mop head.

2. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 1, in which each roller comprises a central supporting core of semi-rigid material which is provided with an outer sheath of a softer resilient material.

3. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 2, in which the core is made of nylon.

4. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 2 or 3, in which the sheath is made from natural or synthetic rubber.

5. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, in which the core has end flanges.

6. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 5, in which the end flanges have the same diameter as the complete roller.

7. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, in which the core has a central flange.

8. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 7, in which the central flange has the same diameter as the complete roller.

9. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 7 or 8, in which the outer sheath is in two portions, one on each side of the central flange.

10. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, in which the sheath is applied to the core by injection moulding.

11. A mop wringer substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.