The present invention relates to a floor mop, and, more particularly, to a floor mop having a retractable scrubber for removing difficult spills or engrained items on a floor or similar moping surface.
Conventional mops generally allow a user to clean or dust floors, walls and similar surface by moving a mop head across the surface via a mop handle. Routinely, mops include a cleaning sheet or pad that contacts the surface and removes dirt, dust, and debris. However, such conventional mops are generally inefficient or incapable of removing items on the floor or surface that are stuck or engrained on the surface. Typically, when the user pushes the mop head across the floor, the cleaning pad fails to remove difficult stuck or engrained items on the floor or surface. Often, regardless of how much force the user exerts on the mop handle (and thereby, the mop head), the cleaning sheet or pad is insufficient to properly clean the floor. The user generally ceases using the mop and instead employs a scrubber or similar device to remove such items before resuming the use of the mop.
Thus, a need exists for a mop that can allow the user to effectively and easily remove stuck or engrained items on the floor or similar moping surface.
The present invention relates to a mop that includes a handle and a mop head having a handle connector and selectively retractable scrubbing mechanism. The mop head can include a platen and a cleaning pad on the undersurface of the platen that can remove dirt, dust and other loose objects from a floor, wall, or similar moping surface. The handle connector may secure the mop head to the mop handle and house the components of the scrubbing mechanism. The handle connector and scrubbing mechanism may be located within an opening formed in the platen and cleaning pad. The scrubbing mechanism may include a spring and slide housed within a cavity located in the handle connector. Affixed to the slide may be an axle that is secured to the platen of the mop head. Beneath the handle connector may be a scrubbing plate with a scrubbing pad affixed thereto. The spring in the connector cavity allows the user of the mop to apply a force to the handle that compresses the spring, thereby forcing the scrubbing pad downward below the undersurface of the cleaning pad, enabling the user to employ the scrubbing pad to clean stuck or engrained items located on the cleaning surface. Once the user is finished removing the stuck or engrained items, the user may reduce the downward force applied to the handle, thereby causing the spring to move back to its uncompressed position where the scrubbing pad is located above the undersurface of the cleaning pad, allowing the user to resume moping the cleaning surface.
The scrubbing mechanism allows the user of the mop to go from moping to scrubbing by simply applying the requisite force to the handle to place the scrubbing mechanism into an extended position. The user may then resume moping by reducing the force applied to the handle to place the scrubbing mechanism back into a retracted position.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof is shown by way of example in the drawing and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiment disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.
Referring to the drawings particularly by reference numbers wherein like numerals refer to like parts,
As can be seen in
As best shown in
Within opening 44 may be the handle connector 16 and scrubbing mechanism 18. As best seen in
The cavity 58 within housing 56 may hold a spring 72, slide 74, and axle 76 that collectively operate the scrubbing mechanism 18. The cavity 58 may be in the form of an elongated channel open at one end as best shown in
The axle 76 mounts the handle connector 16 to the platen 20 of base 14. The axle 76 may be a rod or shaft, having a generally rounded cross-section and constructed from metal, plastic, wood or other suitable material. The axle 76 may also have a rectangular or other shaped cross-section in alternative embodiments. The axle 76 includes two terminal ends 84 that are designed to be received within mounting points (not shown) located in the left and right walls 50 and 52 of opening 44 of platen 20 that may rotatably or fixedly mount axle 76 to the platen 20. In an alternative embodiment, the axle 76 may be mounted to the front and rear walls 46 and 48 of opening 44.
Located within the cavity 58 and above the axle 76 is the slide 74 and spring 72 as best shown in
As shown in
Located beneath the handle connector 16 and housing 56 may be a scrubbing plate 90 and scrubbing pad 92, as best shown in
The operation of the mop 10 and scrubbing mechanism 18 will now be described with particular reference to
A sufficient force F2 may be applied to the spring 72 that is greater than Fc and sufficient to compress the spring 72. The axle 76 is secured to the base 14, and therefore the axle 76 and slide 74 maintain their position. However, as the spring 72 is compressed, the housing 56 moves downwardly such that the top wall 82 of the cavity 58 moves closer to the slide 74 and axle 76. As the scrubbing pad 92 is connected to the housing 56, the scrubbing pad 92 also moves downwardly with the housing 56. As a result, when a sufficient force F2 is applied to the spring 72, the scrubbing pad 92 may engage the surface by extending below the undersurface 42 of the cleaning pad 22.
A user of the mop 10 may selectively place the mop 10 and scrubber mechanism 18 in either the retracted position (by applying a force less than Fc) or the extended scrubbing position by placing a force on the handle (not shown), and in turn, the handle connector 16. When the user places a normal moping force F1 on the handle when pushing the mop 10 across a surface, the force F1 is less than the compression force Fc of spring 72 and the spring 72 does not compress. As a result, the handle connector 16 and scrubbing mechanism 18 remain in the retracted position where the scrubbing pad 92 is located above the undersurface 42 of the cleaning pad 22. However, when the user desires to use the scrubbing pad 92, the user may place a greater downward force F2 on the handle (not shown), and in turn the handle connector 16. The sufficient downward force F2 is greater than the compression force Fc of the spring 72, thereby compressing the spring 72 a distance X within the cavity. The housing 56 may then move downward with respect to the axle 76 the same distance X. As a result, the scrubbing pad 92 is lowered below the undersurface 42 of the cleaning pad 22, enabling the user to use the scrubbing pad 92. When the user is finished using the scrubbing pad 92, the user may reduce the force applied to the handle to a force less than the compression force Fc of the spring 72 in order to place the mop 10 and scrubbing mechanism 18 back into the retracted position.
Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a novel mop with scrubber mechanism. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/128,991, filed Mar. 5, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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8166597 | Levitt | May 2012 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20160256029 A1 | Sep 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62128991 | Mar 2015 | US |