GB2171293A - Mop - Google Patents

Abstract

A cleaning mop comprises a canvas base fabric coated on at least its outer surface with an oil-resistant and wash-resistant elastomer. The base fabric has lines of mop cords sewn thereto and may be woven from cotton, nylon, acrylic, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, and/or polyvinyl alcohol fibres. The elastomer may be a nitrile-butadiene rubber, an acrylic rubber, a urethane rubber, a chlorosulfonated polyethylene, a fluorine rubber, or a polyvinyl chloride. The mop cords may be impregnated with an oil if the mop is used as a dry mop.

Description

SPECIFICATION Mop excellent in stain resistance Background of the invention (1) Field of the invention The present invention relates to a mop excellent in the stain resistance. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cleaning mop having a good stain resistance during the cleaning operation and a good resistance to resoiling at the step of washing the mop.

(2) Description of the prior art Most of mops used for cleaning floor surfaces have a structure in which lines of mop cords are sewn to one surface of a base fabric, another base fabric is sewn to the other surface of the base fabric and an engaging portion between the mop and holder, that is, a pocket, is formed between both the base fabrics.

A thick canvas is ordinarily used as the base fabric. This canvas fabric is inevitably stained during the cleaning operation, and the stain is not sufficiently removed by washing. Accordingly, the canvas fabric becomes disfigured while the cycle of cleaning and washing is repeated, with the result that it becomes impossible to use the mop practically.

The reason why a canvas fabric is readily stained is presumed to be that dusts and stains intrude into the texture or space of a canvas fabric, stains separated from mop cord yarns at the washing step adhere to the canvas again, or the canvas fabric acts as a filter to stains and hence, stains sink into the canvas fabric.

Moreover, while cleaning and washing are repeated, shrinkage of the canvas fabric is advanced, and this shrinkage renders separation and removal of stains difficult.

Summary of the invention It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a mop comprising a canvas as a base fabric, in which the above-mentioned defects are eliminated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning mop having a canvas fabric, which is excellent in the stain resistance at the cleaning operation and the resoiling resistance at washing and in which shrinkage of the canvas fabric by washing is controlled.

More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a stain-resistance cleaning mop comprising a canvas fabric as a base fabric and lines of mop cords sewn to the canvas fabric, wherein at least the outer surface of the canvas fabric as a base fabric is covered with a coating layer of an oil-resistant and washing-resistnt elastomer.

Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the mop of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the mop shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the base fabric of the mop shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a graph illustrating the relation between the coated amount of an elastomer and the resoiling ratio.

Detailed description of the invention As pointed out hereinbefore, a canvas fabric is a durable fabric having a relatively close texture, and it is considered that removal of stains adhering at the cleaning operation is rather hindered by this close texture and resoiling at the washing step is increased by this close texture.

The present invention is based on the finding that if a coating layer of an elastomer excellent in the oil resistance and washing resistance is formed on a canvas fabric as a base fabric of a mop, adhesion of stains at the cleaning step is effectively prevented and the efficiency of removal of stains at the washing operation is highly improved, and resoiling is effectively prevented at the step of washing the mop.

For example, as shown in the examples given hereinafter, the washing efficiency of an artificially stained fabric composed of an untreated canvas is as low as about 20%, while the washing efficiency of a covered canvas provided with a coating layer of nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) as an oil-resistant and washingresistant elastomer is as high as about 70 to about 80%. Furthermore, the resoiling ratio is in the order of 70% in case of NBR is gradually increased from zero, as shown in Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings, the resoiling ratio is drastically reduced and is saturated at such a small value of about 20%. This phenomenon is a peculiar phenomenon observed only with respect to oil-resistant and washing-resistnt elastomers.

Namely, in case of a canvas fabric coated with, for example, an ordinary soft vinyl chloride resin (paste resin), the resoiling ratio is as high as 64%. Accordingly, the above effects by oil-resistant and washing-resistant elastomers are very surprising and unexpected ones.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 showing an embodiment of the mop of the present invention, this mop 1 has a double-wall structure comprising a base fabric 2 and a base fabric (holding fabric) 3, and many lines of mop cords 5 are sewn to one fabric, that is, the lower fabric 2, through stitches 4. An opeing 6 is formed through the other fabric, that is, the upper base fabric (holding fabric) 3, and a pocket 7 is formed between the upper base fabric 3 and the lower base fabric 2. A mop holder (supporting member) 9 attached to a handle 8 is inserted into the pocket 7 between the base fabrics 2 and 3 through the opening 6, whereby the mop 1 is detachably attached to the holder 9.

Referring to Figure 3 showing the sectional structure of the base fabric 2 (3), the base fabric 2 (3) used in the present invention comprises a canvas fabric 10 and coating layers 11, 11 of an oil-resistant and washing-resistant elastomer formed on both the surfaces of the canvas fabric 10.

As the canvas fabric, there may be optionally used canvas fabrics formed by weaving spun yarns of cotton fibres, polyvinyl alcohol fibres, polyester fibers, nylon fibers, acrylic fibers and polyvinyl chloride fibers singly or in combination. Use of a canvas composed of polyvinyl alcohol fibers (Vinylon fibers) is preferred from the viewpoint of the stain resistance.

Any of known oil-resistant and washing-resistant elastomers can be used, so far as the intended effects are attained. Use of a nitrile-butadiene rubber or a composition comprising a nitrile-butadiene rubber and an acrylic rubber is especially preferred. Namely, these rubbers are excellent in the oil resistance and washing resistance and show an especially excellent stain resistance, and they also are excellent in the adhesion to the canvas fabric and the abrasion resistance. Furthermore, as the oil-resistant and washing-resistant elastomer, there can be mentioned an acrylic rubber, a urethane rubber, a chlorosulfonated polyethylene (Hypalon), a fluorine rubber (fluoropropylene/vinylidene fluoride copolymer) and an oil-resistant polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The lower limit of the amount of the coating layer formed on the canvas fabric is determined so that the texture of the canvas fabric is filled with the elastomer and the upper limit is determined in view of the touch of the canvas fabric and from the economical viewpoint. Although the amount of the coating layer is changed according to the density of the texture of the canvas fabric and other factors, the amount of the coating layer is ordinarily 50 to 700 g/m2 and preferably 150 to 400 g/m2.

From the viewpoint of the appearance, the coating layer may be formed only on the outer surface of the canvas fabric, but in order to prevent shrinkage of the canvas fabric while the mop is used for a long time, it is preferred that the coating layer be formed on both the surfaces of the canvas fabric.

The mop of the present invention may be used as a so-called water mop which is used in the state wetted with water, but the mop of the present invention is especially suitable as a so-called dry mop which is used for cleaning not using water. In this case, mop cords sewn to the base fabric are subjected to an oil impregnation treatment with a mineral oil, a synthetic oil or a vegetable oil. The base fabric of the present invention is advantageous in that the base fabric shows a sufficient resistance even if this oil impregnation treatment and washing treatment are repeated many times.

In the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, a pocket is formed by two canvas fabrics.

However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and the present invention may be applied to an embodiment in which mop cords are sewn to one canvas fabric and this canvas fabric is combined with a predetermined mop holder.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the following examples that by no means limit the scope of the invention.

Example 1 A canvas fabric composed of Vinylon yarns (20/3) as warps and wefts, which had a weave density of 45 warps per 2.5 cm and 36 wefts per 2.5 cm, was coated with a nitrile-butadiene rubber latex having a vulcanizer, a vulcanization promotor and an antioxidant incorporated therein and a solid content of 40%, so that the coated amount was 200 g/m2 as the solids, and the coated canvas fabric was heated and dried to obtain a base fabric for a mop.

An artificial stain shown in Table 1 was rubbed into the coated canvas fabric and the untreated canvas fabric under the same conditions, and with respect to each fabric, the adhesion of the stain film was measured by a color meter (SM Color Computer SM4 supplied by Suga Tester Kabushiki Kaisha) and the color change on the canvas surface before and after staining was evaluated based on the Yvalues. The stained canvas fabrics were washed in a Terg-O-Tometer (supplied by Uejima Seisakusho) with an anionic detergent (Arrowtac supplied by Duskin) at a concentration of 3.6 g/l. The rotation number was 100 rpm, the washing temperature was 50 C and the washing time was 15 minutes, and the number of washed fabrics (10 cm x 10 cm) was 6 per liter. The obtained results are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 1 Composition of Stain Stain Component Amount (parts by weight) Liquid paraffin 30 Hardened beef tallow having 10 melting point of 60 C Carbon black (supplied by 3 Tada Co.) Dust specified in JIS 4 TABLE 2 Sample before staining after staining after washing Untreated 73 8 20 fabric Coated 62 21 50 fabric Example 2 A coated base fabric for a mop was prepared in the same manner as described in Example 1 except that an elastomer shown in Table 3 was coated in an amount of 200 g/m2 instead of the NBR latex used in Example 1.

The coated fabric was tested in the same manner as described in Example 1. The obtained results are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Sample Elastomer Y Values No.

before after after staining staining washing 1 urethane 64 20 29 2 Hypalon 60 12 35 3 acrylic rubber 61 10 25 4 oil-resistant PVC 69 10 25 5 untreated 73 8 20 From the results shown in Table 3, it is seen that by forming a coating layer of an oil-resistant and washing-resistant elastomer, the stain resistance can be improved.

Example 3 Mops having a shape shown in Figure 1 were prepared by sewing cotton spun yarns (1/2) to an NBR-coated base fabric prepared in the same manner as described in Example 1, an untreated Vinylon canvas fabric, a base fabric obtained by coating a mixture comprising 50% of NBR and 50% of an acrylic rubber in an amount of 200 g/m2 on both the surfaces of an untreated Vinylon canvas fabric and a base fabric obtained by coating a vinyl chloride paste resin in an amount of 300 g/m2 on both the surfaces of an untreated Vinylon canvas fabric.

A mixed solution comprising 97% of spindle oil, 1% of an ethylene oxide adduct of nonyl phenol and 2% of 2-oleylimidazoline was dispersed in water having a pH value adjusted to 4.5 by an organic acid, and the mop was dipped in this solution and shaken in a thermostat tank maintained at 25#C, so that the spindle oil was adsorbed in the mop in an amount of 20%. The mop was then subjected to centrifugal separation at of 3000 rpm for 5 minutes to remove water from the mop, and the mop was dried at 80 C for 30 minutes.

The mops were used for cleaning for one month and then washed together with 490 stained oil-impregnated mops by a washing machine (Model 600FLA supplied by Inamoto Seisakusho). In this washing process, washing using a detergent was conducted 3 times at 40 to 60 C, rinsing was conducted 6 times at room temperature, and the mop was impregnated with an oil at the final step. This operation was repeated 20 times (stained mops were used each time), and the state of resoiling of the canvas portion of the sample mop was examined with the naked eye. Moreover, the shrinkage ratio of the canvas portion was determined.

The obtained results are shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Resoiling and Shrinkage Ratio of Canvas Sample Material Coated Resoiling Shrinkage Ratio (%) of Canvas Amount in Longitudinal (slum2) Direction Vinylon canvas Vinylon - X 13 both surfaces coated Vinylon 200 (G) 5 with NBR both surfaces coated Vinylon 200 0 5 with NBR/acrylic rubber at 50/50 both surfaces coated Vinyl 300 X 6 with vinyl chloride paste resin Note : slight staining, O: relatively slight staining, X: prominent staining Example 4 A mop was prepared by using a canvas of Vinylon (SV 40727 supplied by Kuraray) having both the surfaces coated with a nitrile-butadiene rubber in an amount of 130 to 430 g/m2, and the resoiling resistance of the mop was examined in the same manner as described in Example 3. The resoiling ratio of the canvas was calculated according to the following formula: Yvalue before staining - Yvalue Resoiling after staining x 100 Ratio Y value before staining The obtained results are shown in Figure 4. From the results, it is seen that with increase of the coated amount of the elastomer, the resoiling resistance is increased and it becomes saturated when the coated amount of the elastomer exceeds a certain level.

Claims (10)

1. A stain-resistant cleaning mop comprising a canvas fabric as a base fabric and lines of mop cords sewn to the canvas fabric, wherein at least the outer surface of the canvas fabric is covered with a coating layer of an oil-resistant and washing-resistant elastomer.

2. A stain-resistant cleaning mop according to claim 1, wherein the elastomer is coated in an amount of 50 to 700 g/m2.

3. A stain-resistant cleaning mop according to claim 1, wherein the elastomer is coated in an amount of 150 to 400 g/m2.

4. A stain-resistant cleaning mop according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mop cords are composed of oil-impregnated fibres.

5. A stain-resistant cleaning mop according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elastomer is a nitrile-butadiene rubber.

6. A stain-resistant cleaning mop according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the elastomer is a mixture of a nitrile-butadiene rubber and an acrylic rubber.

7. A stain-resistant cleaning mop according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coating layer of the elastomer is formed on both the surfaces of the canvas fabric.

8. A stain-resistant cleaning mop according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein an engaging portion between the mop and a mop holder is a pocket portion defined by the base fabric to which lines of mop cords are sewn and a holding fabric piled up on the base fabric and having the periphery sewn to the base fabric.

9. A stain-resistant cleaning mop according to claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

10. A stain-resistant cleaning mop according to claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the Examples.