Patent Application
20220265114
This US patent application claims priority to German patent application no. DE 10 2021 104 030.2, filed Feb. 19, 2021, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a holder for a mop cover of the type used in particular in cleanrooms for cleaning hard-to-reach areas in corners, behind or between equipment and furnishings, or high up on walls. The invention further relates to a mop cover suitable for this holder and a cleaning device comprising at least one holder and a mop cover arranged on the holder.
In addition to the usual cleaning of surfaces, it is necessary, in particular in the case of commercial cleaning of clinical, pharmaceutical and other cleanrooms, to clean the surfaces of the equipment, furnishings, machines, etc. located there in accordance with the high cleanroom requirements. For this purpose, in particular hand-held holders are used, which are significantly narrower and longer compared to mop cover holders used for surface cleaning and, above all, are less rigid. This means that they can also be guided in curves behind blocking objects, in gaps below or behind them, or in other areas that are difficult to access.
In particular in the field of commercial cleanroom cleaning, reusable products, which must be appropriately treated for reuse after a cleaning process, are used in addition to disposable products. This treatment is primarily done by autoclaving.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a holder which is particularly suitable and easy to handle for this purpose.
The object of the present invention is achieved by a holder for a mop cover, comprising a core of a plurality of reversibly bendable, dimensionally stable strands or of a flat material strip, wherein strands or material strip are each completely embedded in a wrapping, further comprising a first end and a second end, wherein at least the first end has a portion which is formed to be cross-sectionally wider and/or thicker than the wrapping immediately axially preceding the portion.
Particularly advantageously, the arrangement according to the invention of mechanically stable strands which are reversibly bendable multiple times, yet dimensionally stable before and after bending, and which are combined to form a core, or of a flat material strip having corresponding properties, enables optimum adaptability to the respective changing location of use. The core according to the invention allows bending at any position, a plurality of bendings, even in opposite directions, and a very wide range of bending radii. Compared with a one-piece core, these cores made of strands have the great advantage of being optimally and easily adaptable in their mechanical properties to the conditions of use of the holder comprising these strands, for example by selecting the number, the diameter, the spacing between individual strands and the material of the strands. Here, these strands are preferably made of a metal, preferably formed as wire. It is again particularly advantageously if the strands are completely embedded in a wrapping and thus protected from contact with the environment. At the same time, this wrapping ensures that microcracks possibly occurring in a strand due to tensile and compressive or even torsional forces do not form a gateway for impurities during multiple bendings, since these possibly existing microcracks are shielded by the material of the wrapping. The same applies to the configuration of the core as a flat material strip.
By configuring at least one end of the holder with a portion which is wider in cross-section and/or thicker than the wrapping directly surrounding said portion, a holder for a mop cover which is pulled over the holder according to the invention when in use is created in the simplest manner. This mop cover fits tightly against this portion, so tightly that it cannot unintentionally slip off the holder during mopping movements.
In a configuration of the invention, it is provided that the strands are arranged in the same orientation relative to each other, in particular parallel to each other, preferably equidistantly parallel to each other. According to the invention, the strands are primarily formed as round wires, but can also have an oval, rectangular or other cross-sectional area. According to the invention, the strands can also be arranged in two or more layers on top of each other within the wrapping, wherein the individual strand layers—but also the individual strands—may differ from each other in their properties. According to the invention, they can also be arranged in a plurality of horizontally spaced vertical rows, formed as a two- or three-dimensional lattice structure, as long as the strands allow the desired dimensionally stable bendability of the holder.
Even a core in the form of a flat strip, in particular of metal, is in accordance with the invention.
The equidistantly parallel arrangement of the strands according to the invention is particularly simple in terms of design so that, after overmolding or dipping or other wrapping method, it is possible in a simple manner to produce an endless strip consisting of core and wrapping, which is then cut to the desired lengths and provided with end portions to form holders according to the invention.
If the strands are formed from a different material than the wrapping, the respective positive properties of two materials can be advantageously combined. In principle, a holder made of a single material would also be in accordance with the invention, in particular if this material can form both thick strands and the thin wrapping thereof. According to the invention, the material of the wrapping is primarily a plastic material which can be autoclaved, in particular also multiple times and can be bent several times without crack formation. In particular silicones or thermoplastic elastomers are in accordance with the invention. The material of the strands or of the flat material strip is preferably a metal, in particular a steel or iron, wherein due to the wrapping, expensive stainless steel can particularly advantageously be dispensed with, where appropriate, and less expensive iron materials can be used. Particularly preferred are plastics with self-healing properties, i.e. those that can counteract cut-like damage or crack formation by closing the cut/crack.
Depending on the cleaning location and conditions, such a holder according to the invention can be manufactured in the widths and lengths required, thus, it can be formed from very long and narrow to short and wide, wherein the mop cover, likewise according to the invention, is then formed according to these contours.
In a configuration of the invention, it is provided that the second end also has such a portion and/or the portion is shaped in a bone-like manner or has a contour formed asymmetrically with respect to a longitudinal axis of the holder. In order to make the operation of the device as simple as possible for a user, the ends are shaped in such a manner that, due to this shaping and the selected dimensions, they independently securely hold a pulled-on mop cover even when force is applied by mopping movements, as a result of which it is advantageously possible to dispense with separate holding devices, such as snap fasteners, Velcro strips and the like, for the mop covers on the holder. The holding effect is based primarily on an elongation of the mop cover caused by the holder within the elasticity modulus of the mop cover so that the fabric structure thereof is not disturbed and the mop cover automatically returns to its original shape when it is pulled off the holder.
If the holder according to the invention has a connecting device for connection to a joint or if it itself has a joint, in particular arranged on the wrapping, preferably in the region of the second end, it is particularly movable and can also be attached to extensions, such as a handle.
In a refinement of the invention it is provided that the holder has a handle portion in the region of the second end. This refinement saves design expenses for a joint, reduces the manufacturing costs and is particularly suitable for a purely hand-held use at medium room height.
The object of the invention is further achieved by a mop cover which has a shape corresponding to the shape of the holder as described. It is formed to be correspondingly long and narrow, in particular as a hose closed on three sides.
According to the invention, this tubular shape is seamless; however, a seam on one side or even a circumferential seam is not excluded according to the invention. Due to its shape and its elastically tensioning material, it is held by itself on the holder, in particular non-positively by radial tensioning forces of the mop cover material and axial frictional forces between the inner surface of the mop cover and the surface of the holder.
If it has a mopping surface made of a fiber material, in particular a microfiber material, it is particularly well suited for use in cleanrooms.
Finally, the object of the invention is further achieved by a cleaning device comprising at least one holder as described and a mop cover as described, arranged on the holder.
The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the figures in the drawing of some exemplary embodiments. In the figures:
The partial figure b) shows an embodiment according to the invention of the core 3 with three cross-sectionally rectangular metal strips as the core 3, likewise oriented parallel to one another but with their longer side in each case oriented vertically. They are enwrapped in a wrapping 4 according to the embodiment schematically shown in partial figure a).
Partial figure c) shows in a top view and cross-section a further embodiment of the core 3 according to the invention, which is formed here as a lattice structure.
Partial figure d) shows a further embodiment according to the invention of the core 3, which is formed here from a flat metal strip.
The wrapping 4 in all these embodiments is formed to be sufficiently thick to protect the completely enclosed core from environmental influences of any kind. It is also sufficiently thick to resist minor damages to the surface by, for example, sharp objects or edges in such a manner that they cannot penetrate through to the respective core. However, it is not so thick that it cannot be repeatedly bent.
Partial figure a) shows a complete holder 1 in which a core 3 with wrapping 4 is arranged on a handle portion 10. By forming here the core as multiple parallel strands according to
The first end 5 of the holder 1 is formed asymmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the holder 1, that is, the area of the end 5 on one side of the longitudinal axis is larger than that on the opposite side. A circular through opening 13 is provided in an axial end portion of the holder 1 which is formed without a core 3. On the one hand, this through opening 13 serves to make the end region of the holder more flexible so as to be able to better hold the mop cover, and on the other hand, it provides a possibility for suspended storage of the holder or holders 1 and also saves wrapping material.
In this case, the end 5 is injection-molded onto the strand of core 3 and wrapping 4 which has previously been formed into a continuous shape and then cut to length. This increases manufacturing efficiency while reducing costs at the same time. A mop cover 11, shown in dotdashed lines, which is formed elongated to correspond to the holder 1 is slid onto this holder 1. On its mopping side, the mop cover preferably has a fiber material, in particular a microfiber material or consists entirely of it. The mop cover 11 is held on the holder because its material tensions over the holder 1 due to its flexibility. Here, the tensioning force is greatest in the region of the first end 5, but the holder 1 also has a holding effect over its axial length due to the static friction between the mop cover 11 and the wrapping 4. This is all the more true the stronger or more bends are introduced in the holder 1 by the user.
The mop cover 11 is formed to be correspondingly elongated, in particular as a hose closed on three sides. It is provided with a hand loop, not shown, sewn on in the region close to the handle, which makes sliding onto the holder 1 according to the invention much easier. A grip area which makes it easier to pull the mop cover 11 off the holder 1 is provided at the opposite closed end of the mop cover 11. The intended removal of the mop cover 11 preferably takes place in a curved removal movement outside the longitudinal axis of the holder 1, and accidental, unintentional removal during the mopping process is precluded by the holding and frictional forces between the holder 1 and the mop cover 11 which is correspondingly shaped and fits thereon elastically in a nonpositive manner.
Partial figure b) shows another embodiment of the first end 5 in the form of a more elongated, rather rectangular portion molded symmetrically around the longitudinal axis. This embodiment of the holder 1 has a joint 9 between a handle portion 10 and the holding portion for the mop cover which has a connecting portion 8 through which it is either fixedly or releasably connected to the joint 9. Due to the bendability and dimensional stability of the core 3 after bending, such a joint 9 is not absolutely necessary since the holder 1 can be bent into almost any required shape, including such shapes that have multiple and possibly also oppositely directed bends. However, it is of advantages in order to further facilitate the handling of the invention. This configuration with a holder portion releasably connected to the joint has the advantage that a user can use differently shaped holders after replacement with the same handle, depending on his cleaning task.
Particularly advantageously, the invention enables the use of a holder for cleaning surfaces in cleanrooms that can also be autoclaved multiple times and thus supplements the surface cleaning devices known there, so that cleanroom-compatible devices are available to a cleaning specialist for any cleaning location. Due to its enwrapped core, the holder according to the invention can be bent at any position, also multiple times along its longitudinal axis, even in opposite bending directions, wherein the type and material of the core ensure dimensional stability after bending and allow repeated bending at intervals without damage, embrittlement or the like. Due to its low manufacturing costs, the holder according to the invention can also be used as a disposable device in an economically viable manner, in particular if it has no joint and the grip area is simply formed by an end portion of the wrapped core which is not covered by the mop cover when in use.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102021104030.2 | Feb 2021 | DE | national |
