Generally, floor-washing implements fall into one of the following main categories: floor wipers (“squeegees”) and mops made of cords.
Floor wipers comprise an elongated wiper fixed to the bottom end of a broomstick, with or without a rubber blade pointing downwards. A floor washing cloth or rag is spread over the wiper. At first, the rag is soaked in water and used to wet the floor. Then, the rag is manually squeezed dry, and used for absorbing the water from the floor.
Sometimes the floor is first wiped by the wiper blade and then dried by the rag.
In both cases, the rag needs to be separated from the broomstick for soaking it in a bucket of water, or to squeeze it, as the case may be.
Working the cords mops is different (see
Each of the above described methods has its relative advantages and drawbacks. The wiper washing quality and thoroughness are higher than those achieved by the cords mop method. However, the need to repeatedly dismount the rag and manually dipping or squeezing it is tiresome and unaesthetic.
On the other hand using the cords mop does not require the user to wet her/his hands, but the results are comparatively poor in rate and quality of floor cleaning.
It is therefore the general object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks but gain the benefits of both methods.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a floor washing implement that uses a rag as the floor washing element but does not dictate physical contact therewith.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a support for the floor rag, which is collapsible from an extended position where it acts like the conventional wiper into a folded position whereby it becomes small enough to be squeezed with the standard strainer bucket.
According to the invention there is provided a floor washing implement comprising a broomstick; a slider device slideable over the broomstick; a pair of pivotal arms coupled to the broomstick and to the slider device so that sliding the device in one direction causes the arms to pivot one way from the other (“the floor washing position”) and sliding the device in the other direction causes the arms to pivot one towards the other (“the wringing position”); and means for releasably attaching a piece of cloth to the free ends of the arms.
These and additional constructional features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood in the light of the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
The floor washing implement generally designated 10 in
Mentioned at this stage is the fact that sliding the device upwards will cause double-armed wings 16a and 16b to pivot one in the direction of the other to reach the folded position illustrated in
A piece of cloth 18, most preferably of the type known as “microfiber” (see below) is attached to the distal ends of the wings 16a and 16b, the cloth being provided for that purpose with sewn eye-lets 18a and 18b. The wings are provided with restraining heads 16c and 16d. Obviously, any other fastening arrangement is applicable as long as the cloth 18 is easily placed and removed, at will.
The use of microfiber is highly recommended thanks to its well-known properties as high liquid absorption capacity and easy dry-squeezing, which are most favorable for the purpose of reducing the present invention into practice.
The sliding device 14 comprises an inner sleeve 20, which is fixedly mounted to the broomstick 12, preferably from below intermediate cone-shaped portion 20a screwed on beveled portion 12a. The sleeve 20 can also be nailed to the broomstick or press-fitted thereto. The sleeve 20 comprises a radially flanged portion 20b having a pair of oppositely located slots 20c and 20d (see
Slider member 22 is provided, freely slidable on the sleeve 20. It further comprises a cap-shaped portion 22a (see
There are formed two less than half-circulars distanced, cavities 20e and 20f at the external surface of the sleeve 20 along a common generatrix thereof. These cavities cooperate with spring urged ball 24, which is adapted to click thereinto in the upper (
The third component of the slider device 14 is a ram member 26, which is affixed to the sleeve 20 at its bottom by a screw 28 (or can be directly nailed to the broomstick 12).
The operation of the floor washing implement is self-explanatory. In the spread-apart position of
After wetting the cloth, by simply dipping it in the bucket of water B. the user proceeds with the floor washing job.
For drying the floor, the slider 14 is clicked in the upper position (
While the invention has been illustrated by way of example by the above embodiment, it is apparent that further embodiments could be developed within the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should be understood that such modifications and adaptations are within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as set forth in the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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171498 | Oct 2005 | IL | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IL06/01193 | 10/17/2006 | WO | 00 | 10/9/2008 |