GB2261158A - Mop wringer - Google Patents

Abstract

A mop wringer comprises a body 1 having a fixed surface 6 against which a mop P may be wrung out, a roller 7, and means 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 for traversing the roller along a path close to the fixed surface with a spacing therefrom so as to squeeze the mop between the roller and the fixed surface. The surface 6 may be flat and vertical. The traversing means may include guide means 9, 10 to positively define the path along which the roller 7 is traversed. <IMAGE>

Description

"MOP WRINGER" The invention relates to a wringer usable with, or combined with, a bucket and operable to wring out a mop during a wet or damp mopping operation. It is particularly applicable to a wringer for a so-called "flat" or "sweep" mop comprising a mop pad mounted on a pad holder attached to a handle so that the operative area of the pad lies flat on the surface being mopped as the mop is used with a sweeping action.

Sweep mops are in general use for the wet or damp mopping of large surface areas, and the pad holder of such a mop is commonly collapsible so that when collapsed the still-attached mop pad hangs down in a loop for rinsing in, and wringing out into, a mop bucket. Known wringers as commonly used comprise a pair of rollers between which the hanging-down pad is nipped. The rollers are closed together manually, by a lever handle or foot pedal, after the mop has been dropped down between them, and wringing out is achieved by drawing the mop pad upwardly between the rollers by means of the mop handle. Thus wringing out is a twostage procedure, the latter stage of which involves considerable manual effort.

The object of the invention is to provide a wringer the operation of which is a simpler procedure and which does not require the physical effort of pulling the mop through the wringer whilst being squeezed.

In a wringer according to the invention a mop is wrung out whilst held stationary, being squeezed between a fixed surface and a roller which traverses the surface along a path appropriately close to the surface.

Thus the wringer comprises said surface and means for traversing the roller close to the surface with a spacing therefrom which will in use provide an adequate squeeze pressure on the stationary mop.

Preferably said surface is flat, and it may be disposed vertically. The roller preferably traverses the surface in an upward direction whilst squeezing out the mop. Means may be provided to guide the roller as it traverses said surface during a wringing operation, whereby positively to define said path. Although the wringer of the invention may be combined with a mop bucket, in a preferred embodiment it is a separate entity designed to mount on the rear wall of the bucket and with an open bottom through which the mop can pass into the bucket for rinsing out therein.

Guiding of the roller may be by means of guide tracks engaged by guide rollers at the ends of the roller, and these tracks may comprise guide shoulders or ribs moulded internally on side walls of the wringer.

The guided path of the roller may be adjustable, and whilst adjustment may be provided at the guide tracks it is preferred that the guide rollers be readily replaceable by others of different diameter, to vary the nip spacing between the roller and said surface to suit the mop thickness and/or provide the degree of wringing out required.

The guide tracks may run parallel to said surface for even squeezing of the mop and then, at the top end, diverge rapidly therefrom so that the roller releases the mop which can then be withdrawn from the wringer without effort. The mechanism for moving the roller is conveniently manually operated, suitably by means of a hand-operated lever mounted on a wringer shaft carrying articulated arms between which the roller is rotatably supported.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which; Fig. 1 is a fore-and-aft cross-sectional view of a wringer in accordance with the invention; and Fig. 2 is a front view half-sectioned on the line II-II in Fig. 1.

The wringer illustrated has a hollow moulded plastics body 1 which is open at top and bottom and is of generally rectangular plan shape. The side walls 2 of the body 1 are moulded at 3 to project beyond the rear wall 4 of the body 1 as mounting hooks. These enable the wringer to be mounted on a conventional mop bucket (not shown), hooked on to the rear wall of the latter.

The front wall 5 of the body 1 has a flat internal surface 6 which is disposed vertically when the wringer is mounted on the bucket. A roller 7 extends horizontally and laterally within the body 1 parallel to the surface 6 and can be traversed upwardly over the 'surface, from the resting position illustrated in the drawings, by a manually-operable operating mechanism 8 During such traversing movement the roller 7 is guided, so as to have a positively determined spacing S with respect to the surface 6, by means of two guide rollers 9 mounted at the respective ends of the roller 7 and running along guide tracks 10 moulded as shoulders or ribs on the inner sides of the side walls 2. As a modification these guide tracks could be replaced by guide slots in the side walls 2.

The mechanism 8 comprises articulated arms, each comprising links 12 and 13 pivotally interconnected at 14, supporting the roller 7. The roller is freely rotatable between the links 13, and the links 12 are rigidly secured to a pivot shaft 15 which is pivotally supported by the side walls 2 through one of which it projects to mount an operating lever handle 16 During a mopping operation the operator will frequently collapse the mop holder and pass the hanging mop pad through the wringer, behind the roller 9, into the bucket to rinse out the mop before it is wrung out and the mop holder re-erected to continue mopping. For wringing out the rinsed-out pad is laid flat against the surface 6, as illustrated at P in Fig.

1, and the roller 7 traversed as has been described by the operator pulling the handle 16 forwardly. This squeezes out the mop pad P as the roller 7 moves upwardly over it, at the upper end each guide track being radiused as at 10a so that the roller moves rapidly away from the mop pad P which is thus freed for removal from the wringer before the roller is returned to its normal resting position by means of the handle 16. The uppermost limit position of the roller 7 is as shown in broken lines in Fig. 1.

The guide rollers 9 are readily removable, being retained on the roller spindle by removable clips, and replaceable by rollers of a different diameter to suit a different mop thickness and/or vary the degree of wringing out provided, i.e to change the dampness of the mop after wringing out. Not only does the invention obviate the physical effort required with prior wringers in which the mop has to be drawn upwardly through the nip between two squeeze rollers, but the length of handle 16 can be chosen to provide the desired leverage to suit the strength of a typical female operative. Thus the strength of the operator need no longer impose a limit on the degree of wringing out which is achievable.

Claims (14)

1. A mop wringer comprising a body having a fixed surface against which a mop may in use be wrung out, a roller, and means for traversing the roller along a path close to said fixed surface with a spacing therefrom so as in use to squeeze the mop between the roller and said fixed surface.

2 A mop wringer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixed surface is flat.

3. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the fixed surface is disposed vertically in use.

4 A mop wringer as claimed in any one of claims l to 3, wherein means are provided to guide the roller as it traverses said path close to the fixed surface so as to positively define said path.

5. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 4, wherein the guide means comprises a guide roller at each end of the first mentioned roller and guide tracks along which the guide rollers can travel.

6. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 5, wherein the guide tracks comprise shoulders or ribs moulded internally on opposite side walls of the body.

7. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the guide tracks run parallel to said fixed surface for even squeezing of the mop and then diverge rapidly therefrom so that the mop can be withdrawn from the wringer without effort.

8. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the nip spacing between the roller and the fixed surface is adjustable.

9. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 8, when dependent on any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the guide rollers are replaceable by others of different diameter to vary the nip spacing between the first mentioned roller and the fixed surface.

10. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the traversing means is manually operable.

11. A mop wringer as claimed in claim 10, wherein the traversing means comprises a hand-operated lever, a shaft rotatable by the lever and two arms which extend from the shaft and between which the roller is rotatably supported, each arm comprising two arm parts pivotably connected together, one part of each arm being connected to the shaft and the other parts of the arms supporting the roller.

12. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body includes means for mounting the wringer on a bucket.

13. A mop wringer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body has an open bottom.

14. A mop wringer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.