US2165862A

US2165862A - Mop wringer

Info

Publication number: US2165862A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1939-07-11
Anticipated expiration: 1956-07-11

Description

July 1L 19m H. J. uw4

mor wRmGEn Filed Aug. 29. 195e Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

There are various types of wringers for squeez ing the water out of mops and into a pail placed to receive the water. Many of these devices employ wringer rolls of one kind or another. Where rthese wringer rolls are Vturned by other means than the mop itself, such means, so far as I know, has heretofore comprised a crank on one of the rollers. Since the wringer rolls are not ordinarily far above the floor on which the device or apparatus is standing, it means that the person using the device must stoop over and be in an i uncomfortable position when operating the wringer. Furthermore, if the mop is being pressed firmly between the wringer rollers, it takes con- 'm siderable eiiort to turn the rollers by means of the usual short crank handle; and, therefore, no considerable pressure is ordinarily employed and the mops are not wrung dry.

The object of the present invention is so to improve mop wringers that a mop may be squeezed tightly between cooperating wringer rolls and the rolls may be turned easily while the person operating the device or apparatus is in a standing or straightened position instead of being required to stoop down.

In carrying out my invention, I employ any suitable frame structure having thereon a wringer roller whose axis of rotation is fixed and having also a second wringer roller that may be moved from and toward the other and make it possible, by pressing down with one foot, to squeezel the mop tightly between the rollers. In addition, in order positively to run the mop through the wringer, I provide a long lever that is more or less upright so that it may be grasped by a person standing in the position naturally assumed when stepping on the treadle that presses the rollers together; suitable means being provided to cause the driven roller to turn in one direction during what may be termed a working stroke of the lever and to stand still while the lever is making a return stroke. Not only do I thus secure a powerful leverage applied by a person standing in the most natural position to exert a powerful effort if necessary; but, in the case of the ordi- Vnary mop, the distance through which it is fed during a working stroke of the lever may be such that a number of such strokes will be required to run it 'through the wringer, thereby giving periods of rest and relaxation between working strokes.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of a wringer device embodying the present invention, some of the parts being shown in one position in full lines and in another position in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is an end view of the wringer; Fig. 3 is a side view of the driving pinion and ratchet wheel with one of the side plates omitted; and Fig. 4 is a section, on line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, I represents the base member of a framework which may conveniently be formed of a single iron or steel strap bent at its middle to form a U. The arms of the U are bent up at right angles to the plane of the latter and then down again to form standards or pedestals 2 and 3 spaced apart from each other. The sections of each standard or pedestal are indicated at 2 and 3; the section 2 being the rising section and the section 3 being the descending section. Between the upper ends of the pedestals is journalled a wringer roller 4. Cooperating with the wringer roll 4 is a second roller 5 mounted on a movable bracket l. In the arrangement shown, this bracket consists of a second strap bent into U-shape, the arms of the U being bent along a line extending transversely of the U so that the device as viewed from the side is L-shaped. This bracket is disposed between the two pedestals, being pivotally connected to the latter by hinge pins l that may conveniently take the form of rivets. The wringer roller 5 extends between and is journalled in the upwardly-extending arm portions B of the bracket; and, when the loop portion 9 of the bracket is pressed down by one of the feet of the user, the roller 5 is carried into engagement with the roller 4. A suitable spring I0 may be placed between one of the pedestals and the swinging bracket, so as to hold the bracket in the position shown in full lines in Fig, 1 and thus permit a mop to be inserted between the wringer rolls. Upon stepping down on the loop portions 9 of the bracket, which may be said to constitute a treadle, the resistance of the spring is overcome and a mop that has been placed between the rolls will be squeezed thereby.

It will be seen that a heavy squeezing pressure may be applied to a mop because, if necessary, the entire weight of the person wringing the mop may be imposed on the treadle. However, while it is possible thus to apply a strong pressure, this does not require any particular effort on the part of the user. It is also my purpose to make possible the running or feeding of the mop through the wringer, while under heavy pressure, without causing fatigue to the user or making the work heavy. To this end I provide a long lever that extends up from a pivot point on the frame below the wringer rollers, so that itl may be conveniently grasped by a person standing in the position natural to him when he steps on the treadle to close the rollers on a mop; suitable driving connections being interposed between the lever and one of the rollers to produce positive rotation of the roller during what may be termed Aa forward stroke of the lever. In other words, standing with his foot on the treadle, the user or operator simply pushes forward on the upper end of the long lever and thus, with little effort, causes the mop to be fed by the rollers while, at the same time, they are subjecting the mop to a` powerful squeezing pressure. Since it will ordinarily not be desirable simply to run the mop back and forth between the wringer rollers, the driving mechanism for the driven roller is preferably so constructed that it will be idle during the return strokes of the lever.

In the particular arrangement illustrated, the immediate driving mechanism is a rack and pinion device; there being a ratchet wheel II xed to one end of the shaft I2 for the wringer roller 4, conveniently through making that end of the shaft square and providing the ratchet wheel with a square central hole into which the shaft lits. The ratchet wheel II is surrounded by a pinion I3 having therein radial slots I4 in which are arranged sliding dogs or pawls I5 behind which are springs I6 to press them into engagement with the teeth on the ratchet wheel. The ratchet wheel has short hubs I'I on opposite sides; and, surrounding and rotatable on these hubs are washer-like metal plates I8 that overlap the center or body portion of the pinion and are secured thereto by screws I9. Thus the pinion may rotate freely around the ratchet wheel in one direction but, when the pinion is turned in the opposite direction, the pawls lock it to the ratchet wheel so that the ratchet wheel and the roller 4 are compelled to turn with the pinion.

The pinion I3 meshes with a gear segment 20 arranged in the plane thereof and carried upon the upper end of a frame-like device 2| that is pinned to one of the pedestals 2, as indicated at 22, somewhat below the corresponding hinge pin for the bracket 6. Overlying` the toothed segment is a long bar of spring metal 23, the main portion of which overlies the pinion and is in the form of an .arc of a circle having its center at 22, while its end portions are curved downwardly and inwardly into approximately semi-circular shapes; the extreme end portions being bent radially, as indicated at 24, and inserted in holes in the ends of the segment bar. Fixed to the center of the curved rod or bar is a ferrule 25 into which a suitable handle or hand lever 26 ts.

The handle or lever 26 is sufliciently long to enable the user of the apparatus to stand upright, holding the mop handle in one hand and the handle of the machine in the other hand.

The roller 5 being in the position shown in full lines in Fig. l, the mop may be lowered behind the roller 4, underneath a bucket standing on the floor underneath this roller, and may then be lifted until the upper part thereof is just back of this roller, Then, by pressing down upon the treadle end 9 of the bracket 6, the roller 5 is swung forward so as to squeeze the mop between the same and the roller 4. The user then swings the hand lever back ,and forth, causing the roller 4 to be turned during a movement of the hand lever in one direction and to remain stationary during the return stroke of the hand lever. The parts are so proportioned that when the roller 4 turns it is in the direction to feed the mop upwardly from between the rollers. Accordingly, depending upon the length of the toothed segment, a predetermined number of back and forth movements of the hand lever serve to feed the mop step by step upwardly and out from between the rollers. In this way the mop may be given a powerful squeeze between the rollers and yet, since the leverage exerted by the user in causing the rollers to turn is very great, very little strength or exertion on the part of the user is required to squeeze a mop dry.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a wringer apparatus comprising a frame, a wringer roller mounted in the frame, a second wringer roller, means, including a treadle on the lower part of the frame, supporting the second roller and permitting it to be pressed against the rst roller or be moved away therefrom, of a long upright hand lever supported by the frame for limited oscillatory movements in both directions from a vertical position in position to be grasped by a person standing upright and having a foot on the treadle, the lever being movable in a plane parallel with the plane of movement of the treadle, and means actuated by said lever to turn one of said rollers, when the lever is moved in one direction and permit that roller to stand still during a return movement of the lever.

2. The combination with a wringer apparatus comprising a frame, a wringer roller mounted in the frame, a second wringer roller, means, including a treadle, supporting the second roller and permitting it to be pressed against the rst roller or be moved away therefrom, of a long upright hand lever supported by the frame in position to be grasped by a person having a foot on the treadle and movable in a plane parallel with the plane of movement of the treadle, a toothed wheel coaxial with one of said rollers, a toothed segment carried by said lever and meshing with said toothed wheel, and a clutch between said toothed wheel and the latter roller for permitting that roller to remain stationary when the lever is swung in one direction and cause it to rotate when the lever is moved in the opposite direction. ,f

3. The combination with a wringer apparatus comprising a frame, a wringer roller mounted in the frame, a second wringer roller, means, including a treadle, supporting the second roller and permitting it to be pressed against the rst roller or be moved away therefrom, of a long upright hand lever supported by the frame in position to be grasped by a person having a foot on the treadle and movable in a plane parallel with the plane of movement of the treadle, and means, including a rack and pinion device, actuated by said lever to turn one of said rollers when the lever is swung in one direction and permit it to remain stationary on the return stroke of the lever.

4. The combination with a wringer apparatus comprising a frame, a wringer roller mounted in the frame, a second wringer roller, means, including a treadle, supporting the second roller and permitting it to be pressed against the first roller or be moved away therefrom, of a long upright hand lever supported by the frame in position to be grasped by a person having a foot on the treadle and movable in a plane parallel with the plane of movement of the treadle, a shaft projecting from one end of the first roller, a ratchet wheel fixed to said shaft, a pinion surrounding and loose on said ratchet wheel, a pawl carried by said pinion and spring pressed into engagement with said ratchet wheel, and a toothed segment carried by said lever and meshing with said pinion.

5. The combination with a wringer apparatus comprising a frame, a wringer roller mounted in the frame, a second wringer roller, means, including a treadle, supporting the second roller and permitting it to be pressed against the rst roller or be moved away therefrom, of a long upright hand lever supported by the` frame in position to be grasped by a person having a foot on`the treadle and movable in a plane parallel with the plane of movement of the treadle, a shaft projecting from the first of said rollers, a ratchet wheel fixed to said shaft and having projecting hubs on opposite sides thereof, a pinion surrounding the ratchet wheel, a spring-pressed pawl on the pinion engaged with the ratchet wheel, washer-like plates surrounding and journalle-d on said hubs and fastened to the pinion, and a toothed segment carried by the said lever and meshing with said pinion.

6. The combination with a wringer apparatus comprising a frame, a wringer roller mounted in the frame, a second wringer roller, means, including a treadle on the lower part of the frame, supporting the second roller and permitting it to be pressed against the first roller or be moved away therefrom, of a long upright hand lever supported by the frame in position to be grasped by a person standing upright and having a foot on the treadle, the lever being movable in a plane parallel with the plane of movement of the treadle, said lever being pivotally connected to the frame near the bottom of the latter, and means including a long toothed segment connected to said lever to cause one of said rollers to be turned wh-en the lever is moved in one direction and permit that roller to stand still during a return movement of the lever.

7. The combination with a wringer apparatus comprising a frame, a wringer roller mounted in the frame, a second wringer roller, means, including a treadle on the lower part of the frame, supporting the second roller and permitting it to be pressed against the first roller or be moved away therefrom, of a long upright hand lever supported by the frame in position to be grasped by a person standing upright and having a foot on the treadle, the lever being pivotally connected at its lower end to the frame at a point near the bottom of the latter so as to be movable in a plane parallel with the plane of movement of the treadle, and means including a cooperating toothed wheel on one of the rollers and a toothed segment connected to the lever, to cause that roller to be turned when the lever is moved in one direction and to stand still during a return movement of the lever, the center of the circle on which said segment is struck being at the pivotal axis of the lever.

HARRY J. LAU.