Mops are used to clean floors as well as other surfaces. When mopping a floor, the head of the mop can become very dirty. Both rinsing and wringing of the mop head are required during the mopping of the floor or surface. It is desirable to provide a mop that has a head that can be wrung out without requiring the user of the mop to touch the dirty mop head.
Power wringer mops are known. Once such mop includes a reversible motor that rotates a socket shaft. The socket shaft includes a receptor or opening at its bottom. A first end of a mop head is received in the opening of the socket shaft and a second end of the mop head is sandwiched between a clamp and the base of the handle. To wring the mop, the motor rotates the motor shaft which rotates the socket shaft and the first end of the mop rotates.
A mop includes an elongated handle portion, a movable member slidably mounted on the handle portion, a rotary motor disposed in at least one of the elongated handle portion and the movable member, a controller in electrical communication with the motor and an associated power source, and a mop head. The controller regulates power to the motor as a function of a number of rotations of the motor. The mop head is detachably connected to at least one of the elongated handle portion and the movable member. The mop head is selectively connected to the motor.
A self-wringing mop includes an elongated handle, a movable member slidably connected to the handle, an electric reversible motor disposed in at least one of the handle and the movable member, a mop head attached to the elongated handle and the movable member, and a switch element in electrical communication with the motor and an associated power source. The mop head is operably connected to the motor. The mop head is movable between a use position and a wringing position by sliding movement of the movable member. The switch element comprises a first switch for delivering current to the motor in a first direction and a second switch for delivering current to the motor in a second, opposite, direction.
A self-wringing mop includes a handle, a slidable member slidably connected to the handle, a rotating member connected to the handle, a mop head connected to the slidable member and the rotating member, a motor operably connected to the rotating member, a power source compartment disposed in at least one of the handle portion and the slidable member, and a limit switch in electrical communication with the motor and the power source compartment. The mop head is connected to the rotating member and includes an absorbent material. The motor drives the rotating member which moves the absorbent material between a wrung and an unwrung position. The limit switch opens in response to the position of the absorbent material.
A mop will take form in certain parts and arrangements of parts, embodiments of which will be described in detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein:
a is a side view of the mop of
b is a side view of the mop of
a is a partial sectional view of the mop of
b is a partial sectional view of the mop of
a is a side view in partial cross section of the mop of
b is a close-up view of a circled portion of the mop of
c is a cross section of the mop of
a is a side view in partial cross section of the mop of
b is a close-up view of the circled portion of the mop of
a is a side cross sectional view of the sponge mop head of
b is a side cross sectional view of the sponge mop head of
a is an enlarged perspective view of a switch compartment and battery compartment of the mop of
b is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the battery compartment removed from the switch compartment of the mop of
Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of a mop only and not for purposes of limiting the invention to only the described embodiments,
The string mop head 12 selectively attaches to the handle portion 16. The string mop head 12 includes a hollow cylindrical portion 32. A resilient tab 34 having a small protrusion 36 formed at the end of the tab is formed in the hollow cylindrical portion 32. The cylindrical portion 32 extends from an attachment ring 38 to which a plurality of mop strands 42 are secured at one end of each mop strand. The mop strands 42 are secured at an opposite end to a flared end 44 that extends from a shaft 46. A biased button 48 extends from a side wall of the shaft 46.
The shaft 46 selectively attaches to the front tube 18. More specifically, the shaft 46 is received in the front tube 18 and the button 48 pops out into an opening 52 near a distal end of the front tube. Accordingly, by pushing the button 48 inwardly (towards a longitudinal axis of the shaft 46) the shaft 46 can be selectively attached to or removed from the front tube 18. For the shaft 46 to be received by the first tube 18, the attachment ring 38 and the hollow cylindrical portion 32 have an opening through which both the first tube 18 and the shaft 46 can protrude. It should be appreciated, however, that the shaft 46 can attach to the front tube 18 in other known ways, including being threaded onto or into the front tube 18.
The hollow cylindrical portion 32 selectively attaches to the outer housing 22. An opening 54 is located adjacent an end of the outer housing 22. The protrusion 36 at the end of the resilient tab 34 on the cylindrical portion 32 fits into the opening 54 to attach the string mop head 12 to the outer housing 22. However, the cylindrical portion 32 can be attached to the outer housing 22 in other known ways, for example a threaded connection, using fasteners, and the like.
As mentioned above, the front tube 18 and the rear tube 24 are slidable within the outer housing 22, as shown by the arrows in
For wringing, and with reference to
With reference to
With reference to
With reference now to
Likewise, the rear of the power unit housing 56, the portion adjacent the rear tube 24, includes a pair of openings 70 in the first section 62 that align with openings 72 in the second section 64. Fasteners 74 extend through the openings 70 and 72 to engage nuts 76 to attach the rear portion of the first section 62 to the rear portion of the second section 64 of the power unit housing 56. The rear tube 24 includes a pair of openings 78 that align with the openings 70 and 72 so that fasteners 74 can protrude through the openings 78 in the rear tube 24 to affix the rear tube 24 to the power unit housing 56. Connection of the rear tube 24 to the power unit housing 56 precludes the rotation of the rear tube 24 with respect to the power unit housing. Connection of the rear tube 24 to the power unit housing 56 secures together these parts for reciprocating movement inside the outer housing. The rear tube 24 and the power unit housing 56 can also be secured together via other conventional means.
Disposed in the power unit housing 56, is a motor 84 that, via a transmission, which is disposed in a gear box 86 and will be described in more detail below, drives the rotational movement of the front tube 18. The motor 84 in a preferred embodiment is an electric reversible motor. If desired, the transmission can be a planetary gear transmission. It should be appreciated that other conventional drive mechanisms can also be used to power the front tube 18. An output shaft 88, which is connected to the transmission disposed in the gear box 86, attaches to the front tube 18. The output shaft 88 includes an opening 92 that aligns with a pair of aligned openings 94 (only one shown) in the front tube 18. A connecting pin 96 extends through the openings 92 and 94 to connect the front tube 18 to the output shaft 88.
With continued reference to
A worm gear 98 attaches to or is received on the output shaft 88. The worm gear 98 engages a limit gear 102 that rotates about an axis perpendicular to the worm gear. The limit gear 102 is attached to and coaxial with a cam 104. As the output shaft 88 rotates, the worm gear 98 also rotates driving the limit gear 102 to rotate the cam 104. The cam 104 engages a limit switch 106, which is electrically connected to the motor 84 and a power source, which will be described in more detail below. The cam 104 and the gears 98 and 102 are designed such that after a predetermined number rotations of the output shaft 88 and thus the motor 84, the cam 104 engages the switch 106 to stop the delivery of power to the motor 84. Even though a mechanical limit switch has been described, other conventional limit switches, or controllers including electronic limit switches, reed sensors and the like, can also be used to control the delivery of power to the motor 84.
With reference to
The first carrier plate pinion 124 can engage a plurality of second planetary gears 126 mounted to a second carrier plate 128. A second carrier pinion 132 attaches to a side of the second carrier plate 128 opposite the side to which the second planetary gears 126 mount. The second carrier pinion 132 also axially aligns with the drive shaft 114 and the output shaft 88.
The second carrier pinion 132 can engage a third plurality of planetary gears 134 which are mounted to a third carrier plate 136. It is apparent that the output shaft 88 protrudes from the third carrier plate 136. The motor 84 drives the drive shaft 114 rotating the pinion 116. The pinion 116 engages the planetary gears 118 which engage an inside surface 138 of the gear box 86. Since the gear box 86 does not rotate because the wings 56 are retained by the power unit housing 56 and the channels 60 of the outer housing 22, the first carrier plate 122 rotates about an axis defined by the drive shaft 114 and the output shaft 88. The rotation of the first carrier plate 122 results in the rotation of the first carrier pinion 124 which drives the second set of planetary gears 126. The second set of planetary gears 126 also engage the inside surface 138 of the gear box 56 resulting in rotation of the second carrier plate 128. Rotation of the second carrier plate 128 results in rotation of the second carrier pinion 132 which engages the third plurality of planetary gears 134. The third plurality of planetary gears 134 engages the inside surface 138 of the gear box 86 resulting in the rotation of the third carrier plate 136 which results in the rotation of the output shaft 88.
As mentioned above, the front tube 18 rotates to wring the string mop head 12. With reference to
With continued reference to
With reference to
With reference again to
While the switch 106 controls the power to the motor 84, the position of the cam 104 controls the operation of the switch. In this manner, the switch 106 can be referred to as self-positioning because power will be delivered to the motor 84 until the cam 104 returns to a predetermined position whereby the switch 106 is returned to the off position and power is no longer delivered to the motor 84.
As also seen in
The circuitry for the mop 10 can also include an overload switch 166. The overload switch 166 can be a bi-metal switch that cuts out or shorts when the current being delivered to the motor 84 is too high over a predetermined time. The overload switch can prevent motor burnout and save batteries. A current at which the overload switch 166 cuts out can be dependent upon the type of electric motor 84 and power source. The overload switch 166 cuts out power when the motor 84 stalls, such as when the string mop head 12 is fully twisted and continues to try to twist.
In addition to, or in lieu of, using conventional batteries to power the mop 10, the mop can include a rechargeable power source. With reference to
The charger/hanger housing 178 electrically connects to a conventional wall outlet (not shown). The housing 178 can include a plug inlet 186 that is electrically connected to the plug 184. The plug inlet 186 receives a plug 188 which is electrically connected to a wall transformer 192 that plugs into the conventional wall outlet. The wall transformer 192 is generally known in the art and can include a class 2 power supply. The housing 178 can include a fastener 194 so that the housing 178 can mount to a wall so that the entire unit can be hung and recharged at the same time.
In the event of a power failure, or when desirable, a user of the mop 10 can also manually wring the mop head 12. To wring manually, the attachment ring 38 is rotated when the front tube 18 is extended from the outer housing 22. To rotate the attachment ring 38, the attachment ring 38 is removed from the outer housing 22 by removing the protrusion 36 from the opening 54 in the outer housing 22. The attachment ring 38 can then be rotated.
With reference back to
With reference to
A lead screw nut 226 is threadably received on the lead screw 218. Included is an attachment member 228 to attach the lead screw nut 226 to the front tube 18. The lead screw nut 226 is retained by an internal wall 232 of the head frame 208. Accordingly, as the front tube 18 is rotated by the motor 84, the front tube turns the lead screw nut 226. Since the lead screw nut 226 can not move axially along the lead screw 218 because of the internal wall 232, the lead screw 218 is drawn axially into the front tube 18 as the lead screw nut 226 is tightened. The limit switches 106, 142 and 166 discussed above can control the movement of the lead screw 218.
An opening 234 is also provided in the head frame 208 to provide access to the attachment member 228. The opening 234 allows the user of the mop 10 to reach in and disconnect the front tube 18 from the lead screw nut 226 so that the sponge mop head 14 can be removed from the handle portion 16.
With reference to
With reference to
The mop has been described with reference to preferred embodiments. Modifications and alterations will occur to those upon reading the preceding description. All such modifications that come within the appended claims, or the equivalents thereof, are intended to be covered.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/554,122, which is herein incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60554122 | Mar 2004 | US |