US3089173A

US3089173A - Floor squeegee

Info

Publication number: US3089173A
Application number: US86950A
Authority: US
Inventors: George B Hunt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-02-03
Filing date: 1961-02-03
Publication date: 1963-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 1980-05-14

Description

May 14, 1963 G. B. HUNT 3,089,173

FLOOR SQUEEGEE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 3, 1.961

INVENTOR. fiarye 5 M/,

May 14, 1963 G. B. HUNT FLOOR SQUEEGEE Filed Feb. 3, 1961 INVENTOR.

farye 5 41m,

Wis.

The present application is directed to new and useful improvements in floor Squeegees, and is particularly concerned with simplified and improved means for supporting a rubber squeegee blade from an elongated manipulating handle.

A major purpose of the present invention is the provision of simplified hinge elements between a rubber squeegee blade and an elongated handle, which elements allow limited relative rotation between the general plane of the squeegee blade and the axis of the manipulating handle, thereby allowing the general plane of the squeegee blade to be disposed at an inclination to the floor surface during both forward and reverse strokes of the squeegee, and as a consequence allowing the use of shorter or stiffer rubber blades in the squeegee while reducing operator pressure required for the proper use of the squeegee.

Another purpose of the present invention is the provision of simplified fastening means for securing a squeegee blade to a hand-manipulated support.

Other purposes of the invention include the provision of a hanged bracket and hinged elements for connection between a manipulating handle and a squeegee blade which provide a simple, sturdy, and economical construction, the provision of improved hinge elements between the handle and squeegee blade that simplify the assembly of the handle and squeegee blade, and the provision of hinge elements between a squeegee blade and handle therefor which permit relative rotation of the squeegee blade and handle as aforesaid without binding of the parts of the hinge, these and other purposes of the invention being more apparent when taken with the following specification and accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the squeegee construction of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the squeegee construction illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the squeegee construction illustrated in FIGURES l and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the squeegee construction illustrated in FIGURES l, 2, and 3 and taken on a section line passed through the handle of the assembly and extending transversely to the squeegee blade;

FIGURE 5 is a front view of the squeegee construction illustrated in FIGURES l4; and

FIGURE 6 is a top View of one of the hinge elements illustrated in FIGURES 1-6.

Like elements are designated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

With particular reference now to the drawings and in the first instance in FIGURE 1, 10 designates a squeegee blade which, as is seen in the drawings, may be of a split construction so as to provide both a forward section 1011 and a rear section 10b for the squeegee blade, the two sections extending downward from the single section at the upper portion of the blade. Squeegee blade 10 is supported on an elongated angle iron type support 11 which has one downwardly extending leg 12 thereof in surfaceto-surface and side-to-side contact with the upper portion of the squeegee blade 10 and the other leg 13 thereof extending transversely thereto and over the top of the squeegee blade. Support 11 can be made of many materials such as iron, steel, aluminum, or the like.

An elongated handle 14 of the customary floor broom or floor mop length extends upwardly and rearwardly from the squeegee blade 10 and is fixed to the squeegee tent O f 3,089,173 Patented May 14, 1963 ice blade for limited relative rotation by means assembly, generally designated at 15.

Removable clamping means are provided for holding the squeegee blade 113 to support 11, as is best seen in FIG- URES 2, 4, and 5. A clamping bar 16 is positioned in side-to-side contact with the upper portion of the squeegee blade 10 so as to clamp the upper portion of the squeegee blade 10 securely between the clamping bar 16 and the depending leg .12 of the angle iron.

Bolt and nut fasteners 17 are spaced along the length of the support 11 and with the bolts passed through the depending leg 12of the support 11, through the clamping bar 16, and through the upper portion of the squeegee blade so as to removably fix these elements together.

Hinge assembly 15 includes a bracket 18 which is fixed to the leg 13 of the support at the central portion thereof so as to define spaced

confining walls

19 and 20 and an upper wall 21 spaced from the surface of the leg 13. The bracket 18 is fixed to the leg 13 as by means of bolts 01' screws 22 which are passed through outwardly extending flanges of the bracket and into the body of the leg 13. Handle 14 has a hinge arm 23 fixed thereto as by means of a screw 24 carried by the lower end of the handle. Arm 23 includes an outwardly extending pontion '25 which is received and retained within the space between the

walls

19 and 20, wall 21, and upper surface of the leg 13. The outwardly extending end portion 25 of arm 23 is angu-alr- 1y offset with respect to a portion 26 that abuts against the end of the handle 14 and together with the portion 25 makes an obtuse angle.

The top wall 21 of the bracket includes a central depression 27 which, as is seen best in FIGURE 4, is of a generally V-shaped form so as to provide a fulcrum within the space between the

opposed walls

19 and 20. The angularly offset portion 25 of the hinge arm is also of a generally V-shaped form, although of a shallower inclination than the V-shaped depression 27, thereby enabling the apex of the portion 25 to bear against the apex of the portion 27.

The outer portion 25 includes

recesses

28 and 29 along the side edges thereof, which recesses extend for a length slightly greater than the width of the

walls

18 and 19, so that the ends of the

walls

18 and 19 are received within the

spaced edges

30 and 31 of these recesses, thus precluding removal of the hinge arm from the bracket, while allowing rocking movement of the hinge arm within the bracket.

Hinge arm 23 includes spaced

ribs

32 and 33 on the undersurface thereof so that the ribs not only strengthen the hinge arm, but also provide what are essentially lineal surfaces which bear against the leg 13 of the support 11, thus reducing frictional contact between the hinge arm and bracket and leg 13 of support 11.

The depression 27 should extend downwardly sufficiently far that the apex thereof is spaced from the surface of the leg 13 by a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the arm'23 and the

ribs

32 and 33 so as to allow easy rocking movement of the hinge arm relative to the bracket 21 and the squeegee blade supported thereby.

The construction is easily assembled by inserting the hinge arm 23 within the U-shaped bracket and then fixing the bracket to the leg 13. Handle 14 may be secured to the arm 23, either prior to the assembly of the arm with the support or after such assembly. Similarly, the squeegee blade may be affixed to the support 11 either before or after the hinge arm 23 is secured between the bracket 21 and the support 11. v

In operation, the hinge arm 23 may rock within the bracket 18 as limited by contact with the upper portion of the top wall 21 of the bracket. In this connection it should be noted that the inclination of the outer portion of a hinge such that one leg of the V-shaped form (as, for example, the outermost leg as seen in FIG- URE 4) lies substantially flat against the upper surface of the support 11 while the other leg of the V-shaped form sufliciently close to the upper wall 21 of the bracket that relatively little play is possible therebetween. Thus, the hinge arm, when in the position illustrated in FIG- URE 4, bears against the surface of the blade 13 and against the upperwall 21 of the bracket, thus providing stability of the squeegee support relative to the handle 14 and substantially precluding twisting of the squeegee blade about the axis of the support. When in the position illustrated in FIGURE 4, which corresponds to the position of the elements when the user is drawing the squeegee towards himself, the assembly allows the operator to exert firm and substantially even contact all along the length of the squeegee blade. On the reverse stroke of the squeegee, as when the operator is pushing the squeegee away from himself, the squeegee support 11 and bracket 18 rock about the apex of the V-shaped depression 27 and apex of the V-shaped outer portion 25, so that the outer end of the portion 25 is brought up into contacting relation with the upper wall 21 of the bracket 18, while the

ribs

32 and 33 on the inner leg portion of the arm portion 25 are brought into surface-to-surface contact with the upper leg 13 of the support. Thus, during the forward stroke of the squeegee, the hinge arm 23 is securely confined between the leg 13 and the wall 21, preventing twisting of the squeegee blade about the axis of handle 14.

The several elements of the hinge construction may be proportioned so that hinge arm may rotate through an angle on the order of approximately to 30 degrees between the extreme positions, thus properly disposing the squeegee blade at an acute angle with respect to the direction of travel of the blade during either forward or reverse strokes of the squeegee blade. Rotation of approximately degrees is preferred.

The assembly is, in efiect, loose jointed and yet provides a strong and sturdy support for the squeegee operation.

The particular support for the squeegee blade allows convenient removal of the squeegee blade so as to allow the replacement of a worn blade with a new one. The hinge construction allows successive wiping actions by each of the opposite edge surfaces of the blade during forward and reverse strokes of the blade.

By using the hinging action, the squeegee blade is dis- 3 25 of the hinge arm is posed at the proper angle for the wiping operation, without as much fiexure of the squeegee blade as is required in non-hinged blades thus permitting the use of a shorter or a stitter blade while greatly reducing the pressure which the user must apply to the handle in order to cause the blade to follow the depressions in the floor.

Whereas I have shown and described an operative form of the invention, it should be understood that this showing and description thereof should be taken in an illustrative or diagrammatic sense only. There are many invention which will fall with- I claim:

1. A floor squeegee construction including an elongated manipulating handle and a support bar extending transversely to the axis of said handle, a squeegee blade supported by said bar in depending relation thereto, said support bar having an upstanding generally U-shaped bracket thereon, and a hinge arm fixed to the end of said handle 2. A fioor squeegee construction including an elongated handle and a squeegee blade support, said squeegee blade support being comprised of Tan angle member extending generally transversely of the axis of said handle, a squeegee blade fixed to a depending leg of said angle member and extending parallel thereto, a hinge bracket positioned on the other leg of said angle member, a hinge arm fixed to the end of said handle and inserted within Said bracket, said hinge arm including a first portion abutting against the end of said handle and a second portion angularly offset with respect to said first portion, said angularly oifset portion being inserted within said bracket, said angularly offset portion having recesses in the side edges thereof for engagement with spaced walls of said bracket, the end edges of said recesses being disposed on opposite sides of said walls of said bracket, thereby retaining said hinge arm within said bracket while allowing limited angular movement of the blade relative to the axis of said handle.

3. A floor squeegee construction including an elongated handle and a squeegee blade support, said squeegee blade support being comprised of an angle member extending generally transversely of the axis of said handle, a squeegee blade fixed to a depending leg of said angle member and extending parallel thereto, a hinge bracket positioned on the other leg of said angle member, a hinge arm fixed to the end of said handle and inserted within said bracket, said hinge arm including a first portion extending transversely to the axis of said handle and a second portion angularly ofiset with respect to said first portion, said angularl-y offset portion being received within said bracket, said bracket having a top wall spaced from said other leg of said blade support, said bracket having a generally V-shaped depression in the top wall thereof, said angularly offset portion having a generally V-shaped configuration of shallower depth than the V-shaped depression in said bracket, said bracket and said angularly offset portion having means for retaining said angularly offset portion within said bracket while allowing limited rocking movement of said angularly offset portion about the apex of said V-shaped depression.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said angularly offset portion includes spaced ribs on the under surface thereof and positioned for engagement with the other leg of said angle member.

5. A hand manipulable squeegee including an elongated handle and a squeegee blade having a supporting plate fixed above the lower edge of the blade and extending generally parallel thereto, bracket means defined by spaced walls on said plate, an arm fixed to and extending forwardly of the end of said handle, said walls being spaced to define a space therebetween for receiving said arm, said bracket means having portions spaced from said plate and overlying said space, said arm being positioned within said space with the lateral displacement of said arm being limited by contact with said walls and angular movement of said blade relative to the axis of said handle being limited by said portions, said portions being spaced from said plate by a distance such as to allow movement of said arm to positions at varying inclinations to the general plane of said blade while limiting such movement by contact between said arm and portions, and interengageable means carried by said plate and said arm for preventing removal of said arm from said space while allowing such movement. a

6. A hand manipulable squeegee construction including a supporting angle, a squeegee blade fixed to one leg of the angle and extending generally parallel thereto, a retaining bracket positioned on the other leg of said angle, an elongated handle having an arm extending beyond the end thereof, said arm being received within said bracket, said arm and bracket having a loose fit with one another so as to allow relative motion therebetween, and means allowing relative movement of said arm and'bracket while 5 limiting such movement and preventing removal of said 2,226,817 arm from said bracket. 2,806,241

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 564,458 1,897,726 Hillyard Feb. 14, 1933 1,035,344

6 Hranicka Dec. 31, 1940 Oishei Sept. 17, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Belgium Feb. 28, 1958 France Apr. 15, 1953

Claims

1. A FLOOR SQUEEGEE CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING AN ELONGATED MANIPULATING HANDLE AND A SUPPORT BAR EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TO THE AXIS OF SAID HANDLE, A SQUEEGEE BLADE SUPPORTED BY SAID BAR IN DEPENDING RELATION THERETO, SAID SUPPORT BAR HAVING AN UPSTANDING GENERALLY U-SHAPED BRACKET THEREON, AND A HINGE ARM FIXED TO THE END OF SAID HANDLE AND INSERTED WITHIN SAID U-SHAPED BRACKET, SAID BRACKET AND HINGE ARM HAVING COOPERATING RECESSES AND PROJECTIONS THEREIN SO AS TO HOLD SAID HINGE ARM IN SAID BRACKET, SAID COOPERATING RECESSES AND PROJECTIONS BEING FORMED AND ADAPTED TO ALLOW RELATIVE ANGULAR MOVEMENT IN A LIMITED DEGREE BETWEEN THE AXIS OF SAID HANDLE AND THE GENERAL PLANE OF SAID SQUEEGEE BLADE.