US3090985A

US3090985A - Sponge mop

Info

Publication number: US3090985A
Application number: US116220A
Authority: US
Inventors: Allan M Baum
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-05-02
Filing date: 1961-05-02
Publication date: 1963-05-28
Anticipated expiration: 1980-05-28

Description

A. M. BAUM May 28, 1963 SPONGE MOP Filed May 2, 1961 Y INVENTOR. ALLAN M. BAUM Effi? N. @MW

ATTORNEY United States Patent O" 3,090,985 SPONGE MOP Allan M. Baum, 545C Morris Ave., Springfield, NJ. Filed May 2,1961, Ser. No. 116,220 1 Claim. (Cl. 15-244) My invention relates generally to sponge mops and specifically to sponge mops having external contours shaped to fit curved articles, and further having a removable absorbent cover.

It is yamong the objects of my invention to provide a sponge mop adapted to cleanse curved surfaces.

lIt is yet another object of my invention to provide a sponge mop that enables the wielder of the mop to clean surfaces facing away from him, above which he may be standing.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a sponge mop which may be held at la convenient angle for manipulation, thereby to enable its application to a variety of surfaces having complex curvature and angular disposition.

Among the further objects of my invention is to provide a Sponge mop which is relatively inexpensive, sturdy, easy to use, and provided with a cover which is replaceable upon depletion.

'Ihese objects and advantages as well as other objects and advantages may be attained by the device shown in the drawings by way of illustration in which,

FIGURE l is a perspective view of a sponge mop illustrative of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 in FIGURE 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is la top plan view taken on the line 3-3 in FIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 in FIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the wall of the housing;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the sponge cover; and

FIGURE 7 is an elevational view of the sponge cover.

The present invention is 1a sponge mop especially designed for cleansing surfaces difficult to reach such as the near, far and curved sides of batbtubs, and similar items having surfaces which intersect in a curve. Accessibility is often impaired by reason of inability to reach or approach the surface to be cleansed, and the fact that the brush or mop does not have a surface which readily conforms to the contour or curvature of the surface being cleansed. rIhese problems are obviated by a sponge mop, having a long handle, and being provided with a curved front, and curved ends which generally conform with the internal curvature of a bathtub or a similar object. VThe person using a sponge mop made in accordance with the present invention is able to manipulate the mop so that its curved surfaces sweep the curved surfaces of the interior of the bathtub with a great degree of conformity and consequent eflicient cleansing action.

Referring now to the drawings in detail:

My invention provides a housing 11, preferably formed of plastic material although it may be made of other materials such as wood or ymetal and the like. For convenience -in molding the housing 11 of plastic materials, it may be made in several parts, divided into components at any convenient point and subsequently united to form the housing 11. The housing 11 is provided with a gen- 3,090,985 Patented May 2s, 1963 ice erally dat back 12, a generally tiat front 13 and generally at ends 1'4, 15. The back 12 connects with the

ends

14, 15 at a sharply defined corner 16. The front 13 however, intersects with the

ends

14, 15 in a gently curved, smoothly rounded corner 17. Sockets 18 are formed in the rear and

front walls

12, 13. A socket 1'8 is also formed in each of the

end walls

14, 15. The bottom 19 of the housing 11 is gently curved in general parallelism with the longitudinal axis of the housing 11. The top of the housing is enclosed by a top wall 20. An enlargement 21 extends outwardly and upwardly from the top wall 20 and defines a socket 22 for the stick 23. The socket 22 extends above the top wall 20.

As shown in FIGURE 5, the

sockets

18, 18 etc. are generally rectangular indentations. They are-provided with a generally T-shaped central enlargement 24. A cover 25 is provided having general internal conformity in correspondence with the external conguration of the housing 11. This cover 25 is preferably formed of sponge material such Ias polyurethane foam, sponge rubber or the like. If desired, the cover can be slightly `smaller in dimensions intern-ally than the external dimensions of the housing 11 so that it will have to be stretched in order to apply it to the housing 11. Formed integrally on the inside of the cover 25, pairs of hooked enlargements 26 are located. These enlargements 26 may also be cemented on the inside of the cover 25. Their hooked configuration generally conforms, as shown in FIGURE 6, with the socket 18, shown in FIGURE 5, so that the enlargements 26 may be press-fitted into the socket 18. Then the space defined between the enlargements 26, being generally T-sh'aped, will accommodate the T-shaped enlargement 24 in the socket and hold the cover 25 in place on the housing 11.

The handle 23 is preferably set at an angle of 45 degrees to the top 20 of the housing 11. It has been found that this makes for ease of manipulation of the sponge mop; the gently

contoured ends

14, 15 and front 13 will substantially accommodate themselves to the curvature of the object being cleaned so that the cleansing operation proceeds with ease even when the sponge mop is being applied to a surface `such as the near wall of the inside of a bathtub which faces Iaway from the operator of the sponge mop.

The covers 25 may wear-through, or lose their compressibility, in which case they may be easily vstripped olf and a new cover applied, thereby continuing the life of the housing indefinitely.

The foregoing description is merely intended to illustrate an embodiment of the invention. The component parts have been shown and described. They each may have substitutes which may perform a substantially similar function; such substitutes may be known as proper substitutes for the said components and may have actually been known or invented before the present invention; these substitutes are contemplated as being within the yscope of the appended claim, although they are not specically catalogued herein.

What is claimed:

A sponge mop comprising,

(a) a rigid support having a generally tubular socket 4adapted to receive a handle,

(b) a generally at rear surface on the support,

(c) a front surface on the support, a portion of the front surface being liat,

(d) the front and rear .surfaces converging toward their bottomsv and merging to dene a convex bottom Surface having a straight crest,

(e) a pair of generally parallel, at, opposed end surfaces on the support,

() the end surfaces sharply merging with the rear surface but gradually merging with the Iat portion of the front surface to define a pair of generally vertically arcuate front corner surfaces,

(g) an elasticised cover of compressible absorbent sponge material slightly smaller than the support and tted over the front, rear, end, bottom and corner surfaces,

(h) a plurality of sockets in the external surface of the support, v

(i) a T-shaped central enlargement in each of the last mentioned sockets, and

(j) pairs of hooked enlargements on theinside of the cover complementary --to the sockets in the external surface of the support `and the central enlargement and adapted to engage therewith.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,509,381 Townsend Sept. 23, 1924 2,790,193 Wlding Apr. 30, 1957 2,817,105 Di Rubbo Dec. 24, 1957 2,977,619 Franzene Apr. 4, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 263,480 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1949 503,956 France V V Mar. 29, 1920 1,110,749 France Oct. 19, 1955