GB2347848A

GB2347848A - Thin-walled mop bucket having cross-members to improve rigidity of walls

Info

Publication number: GB2347848A
Application number: GB0004484A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ronald Scot Young
Original assignee: Scot Young Research Ltd
Current assignee: Scot Young Research Ltd
Priority date: 1999-03-17
Filing date: 2000-02-28
Publication date: 2000-09-20
Anticipated expiration: 2020-02-28
Also published as: GB2347848B; GB0004484D0

Abstract

A mop bucket has a bottom 13 and an upstanding peripheral wall 15 with an upper rim (24, Fig 3). The peripheral wall has a front 18, a back 19 and two opposite sides 16 and 17 and is of thin-wall configuration and susceptible to bending and buckling on application of a downward force. A cross member 35 connects the two opposite sides of the bucket intermediate the front and back of the bucket to hold the two sides rigid with respect to one another at positions where the cross member is connected to the side walls to reduce bending and buckling of the side walls upon a downward force applied to the bucket. The bucket is preferably supplied in combination with a wringer.

Description

MOP BUCKET This invention relates to mop buckets and particularly but not necessarily exclusively to a combination mop bucket and wringer unit.

The usual mop bucket and wringer consists of a bucket having a bottom with wheels mounted to it so that it can roll across a floor. A wringer unit is suspended in the top of the bucket and is commonly held therein by the use of rear and side hangers or hooks which fit loosely over the rim of the bucket and suspend the wringer unit in the top of the bucket. The bucket must be relatively sturdy and of heavy duty construction to resist the bending forces applied thereto by the wringer mounted on the bucket side walls.

According to the present invention, there is provided a mop bucket having a bottom and an upstanding peripheral wall with an upper rim, the peripheral wall having a front, a back and two opposite sides and being of thin-wall configuration and susceptible to bending and buckling upon exertion of downward force, and a cross member connecting the two opposite sides of the bucket intermediate the front and the back of the bucket to hold the two sides rigid with respect to one another at positions where the cross member is connected to the side walls to reduce bending and buckling of said side walls upon a downward force applied to the bucket.

Preferred and/or optional features of the invention are set forth in claims 2 to 10, inclusive.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of one embodiment of a mop bucket according to the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of the bucket shown in Figure 1 with the wringer omitted, Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line X-X of Figure 2 with the wringer included, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the cross member.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown therein a combined mop bucket and wringer unit 10. The combined unit 10 comprises a mop bucket 11 and a wringer 12.

The mop bucket 11 is of thin-walled construction and comprises a bottom 13 with wheels 14 (not shown) mounted thereto for movement over the floor surface and an upstanding peripheral wall 15 which includes two opposite side walls 16 and 17, respectively, and front and rear walls 18 and 19, respectively. A pour spout 20 is formed in the front wall 18 for ease of pouring mop water from the bucket 11. The peripheral wall 15 is of generally rectangular section and is arranged with the pour spout 20 projecting forwardly. Mid-side support walls form vertical steps 21 in the side walls 16 and 17. The steps 21 provide strength to the walls 16 and 17 to inhibit buckling or undue flexibility. Forward of the steps 21, the bucket is wider than to the rear of the steps 21. The steps 21 taper downwardly to join smoothly with the side walls 16 and 17 approaching the bucket bottom 13.

The bucket 11 has an inverted U-shaped rim 24 formed to provide strength and reduce buckling.

The bucket 11 is formed of synthetic plastics material, such as polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane or other synthetic resinous material. The wall thickness of the bucket 11 is unusually thin for the capacity of the bucket. For example, the preferred wall thickness is between. 058" and. 078" (1.50 and 2.00 mm.) and typically. 068" (1.72 mm.) within a range of plus or minus. 010" (. 25 mm.).

The wringer 12 fits on top of the bucket 11 and is chiefly composed of a plastics material. The wringer includes upstanding side walls 30 which support an internal compression arrangement, typically in the form of wringer presses 32, operatively connected to a level operating handle 33.

The combined unit 10 also comprises a separate cross member in the form of a plastics strap 35. The strap 35 has an elongate substantially horizontal top wall 36 with inclined ends 37 which terminate in downwardly depending clip portions 38 snap-fittably engageable beneath the underside of the rim 24 of the bucket as shown in Figure 3. The strap 35 also has a depending wall 39 extending downwards from the top wall 36 intermediate the elongate sides thereof and transverse reinforcements 40 adjacent to opposite ends of the depending wall 40. Recesses 41 are provided in the ends of depending wall 40 adjacent to respective clip portions 38 for receiving the inverted U-shaped rim 24 of the bucket. A slot 42 is formed in the top wall 36. This slot 42 is open at its front end to receive and support the handle of a mop.

The strap 35 holds the side walls 30 and 31 rigid with respect to one another at positions where the strap 35 is connected to the side walls 16 and 17. This reduces bending and buckling of the side walls 16 and 17 when a downward force is applied to the wringer 12. In this manner, a lighter weight combination mop bucket and wringer unit 10 can be constructed thereby conserving materials and bringing a lesser price to the market place.

Other means of securing the strap 35, either releasably or permanently, to the bucket could be used. For example, the strap 35 could have lugs at opposite ends at which lugs are slidable in a downwards direction into sockets on opposite side walls of the bucket.

The strap 35 also serves as a splashguard against water spurting from the wringer 12 when water is being squeezed from a mop.

Each side wall, in particular of taller buckets, could be provided with an inwardly extending wall portion (not shown) in its lower region to give these side walls added strength. The inwardly extending wall portions could be horizontal or substantively horizontal and, in this case, will define internal ledges which could be used to support a filter.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A mop bucket having a bottom and an upstanding peripheral wall with an upper rim, the peripheral wall having a front, a back and two opposite sides and being of thin-wall configuration and susceptible to bending and buckling upon exertion of downward force, and a cross member connecting the two opposite sides of the bucket intermediate the front and the back of the bucket to hold the two sides rigid with respect to one another at positions where the cross member is connected to the side walls to reduce bending and buckling of said side walls upon a downward force applied to the bucket.
2. A mop bucket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cross member connects the two opposite sides of the bucket at or adjacent to the upper rim of the bucket.
3. A mop bucket as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the cross member is releasably connected to the two opposite side walls.
4. A mop bucket as claimed in claim 3, wherein the cross member is snap fittably engageable with the upper rim of the bucket.
5. A mop bucket as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the peripheral wall of the bucket is of plastics material and has a thickness in the range of 1. 50 to 2. 00 mm.
6. A mop bucket as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each side wall is provided with an inwardly extending wall portion in its lower region.
7. A mop bucket as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bucket includes a pour spout.
8. A mop bucket as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bucket has wheels for movement over a floor surface.
9. A mop bucket as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in combination with a wringer which includes a cap-like body fitting over part of the upper lip of the peripheral wall of the bucket.
10. A combination as claimed in claim 10, wherein the wringer has an internal compression arrangement for squeezing water from a mop and a wringer handle arrangement operably connected to said compression arrangement.
11. A mop bucket substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.