Patent Application
20170231453
The present disclosure relates generally to mops, and more particularly, to mops with multiple functional components utilizing rubber and silicone.
Various types of mops have been used to clean hard floors and surfaces. Traditionally, a mop included the use of copious amounts of water with cleaning products mixed in to ensure that all dirt and grime had a sufficient amount of solvent to be removed from the floor. Unfortunately, this causes floors to be left wet, even when use of the mop's wringer is effective.
Recently, there has also been an increase in the use of steam mops, which leave very little water on the surface. However, steam mops use electricity, are generally plugged into the wall, and have various components which may fail, which cause the device to be unwieldy and expensive.
Currently, there are products on the market which utilize pre-treated cleaning pads with various cleaning fluids. One drawback to these products is that in order to dry quickly, various chemicals are used to allow the cleaning fluids to evaporate after use. Unfortunately, this means that smaller particles which are not trapped by the cleaning pad are able to resettle onto the hard floor without being easily noticed.
Many products allow for either mopping, use of pre-treated cleaning pads, brushing, squeegeeing, or picking up dirt and debris, but there are no products which provide a combination of these functions in a simple and convenient manner.
Therefore, there is a need for a new and improved mop which allows for the cleaning of hard floors without leaving behind a substantial amount of water, yet has the ability to use water to remove small particles that would otherwise resettle on the hard floor.
To minimize the limitations in the prior art, and to minimize other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present disclosure, the present specification discloses a new and improved mop.
One embodiment of the multipurpose mop may comprise a mop head; wherein the mop head may comprise a plurality of bristles on a first side of the mop head, and a fabric attachment portion on a bottom face of the mop head. The first side and a second side may be located opposite to one another on the mop head. The mop head may further comprise an attachment portion; wherein the attachment portion may be located substantially towards a center of a top surface of the mop head. The attachment portion may comprise a variable angle connector and a locking mechanism. The mop head may further comprise a restraining mechanism configured to restrain the variable angle connector relative to the mop head. The variable angle connector may allow for a plurality of utility configurations; wherein the plurality of utility configurations comprise a bristles down configuration and a mopping configuration. When the multipurpose mop is in the bristles down configuration, a distal end of the variable angle connector may face in the direction of the second side of the mop head. When the multipurpose mop is in the bristles down configuration, the variable angle connector may be releaseably restrained by the restraining mechanism. When the multipurpose mop is in the mopping configuration, the variable angle connector may face between the direction of the second side of the mop head and the first side of the mop head. The mop head may comprise a squeegee on the second side of the mop head. The utility configurations may further comprise a squeegee down configuration; wherein when in the squeegee down configuration, a distal end of the variable angle connector may face in the direction of the first side of the mop head. When the multipurpose mop is in the squeegee down configuration, the variable angle connector may be releaseably restrained by the restraining mechanism. The plurality of bristles and the squeegee may be made from rubber. The plurality of bristles may be substantially flat, parallel, and staggered with respect to one another. The multipurpose mop may further comprising a handle; wherein the mop head may be configured to be removably attachable to the handle via the attachment portion. The handle may comprise a locking mechanism receiver. The locking mechanism may comprise a stopper biased outward. The stopper and the locking mechanism receiver may be shaped such that the stopper biased outward is receivable by the locking mechanism receiver. The multipurpose mop may further comprise a dustpan; wherein the dustpan may be contoured such that the dustpan is configured to grip onto the handle for storage.
Another embodiment of the invention may be a multipurpose mop comprising: a mop head; a dustpan; and a handle; wherein the mop head may comprise a plurality of bristles on a first side of the mop head, a squeegee on a second side of the mop head, and a fabric attachment portion on a bottom face of the mop head; wherein the first side and the second side may be located opposite to one another on the mop head; wherein the mop head may further comprise an attachment portion; wherein the attachment portion may be located substantially towards a center of a top surface of the mop head; wherein the attachment portion may comprise a variable angle connector and a locking mechanism; wherein the mop head may further comprise a restraining mechanism configured to restrain the variable angle connector relative to the mop head; wherein the variable angle connector may allow for a plurality of utility configurations; wherein the plurality of utility configurations may comprise a bristles down configuration, a mopping configuration, and a squeegee down configuration; wherein when in the bristles down configuration, a distal end of the variable angle connector may face in the direction of the second side of the mop head; wherein when in the bristles down configuration, the variable angle connector may be releaseably restrained by the restraining mechanism; wherein when in the mopping configuration, the variable angle connector may face between the direction of the second side of the mop head and the first side of the mop head; wherein when in the squeegee down configuration, a distal end of the variable angle connector may face in the direction of the first side of the mop head; wherein when in the squeegee down configuration, the variable angle connector may be releaseably restrained by the restraining mechanism; wherein the mop head may be configured to be removably attachable to the handle via the attachment portion; wherein the handle may comprise a locking mechanism receiver; wherein the locking mechanism may comprise a stopper biased outward; wherein the stopper and the locking mechanism receiver may be shaped such that the stopper biased outward is receivable by the locking mechanism receiver; wherein the dustpan may be contoured such that the dustpan is configured to grip the handle for storage.
It is an object to provide a mop that is adapted to perform multiple functions, including cleaning and scrubbing surfaces, without the use of excessive water.
It is an object to provide a mop that has multiple functions.
It is an object to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.
These, as well as other components, steps, features, objects, benefits, and advantages, will now become clear from a review of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, of the accompanying drawings, and of the claims.
The drawings show illustrative embodiments, but do not depict all embodiments. Other embodiments may be used in addition to or instead of the illustrative embodiments. Details that may be apparent or unnecessary may be omitted for the purpose of saving space or for more effective illustrations. Some embodiments may be practiced with additional components or steps and/or without some or all components or steps provided in the illustrations. When different drawings contain the same numeral, that numeral refers to the same or similar components or steps.
In the following detailed description of various embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the embodiments. However, the embodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known procedures and/or components have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.
While some embodiments are disclosed here, other embodiments will become obvious to those skilled in the art as a result of the following detailed description. These embodiments are capable of modifications of various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of protection. The figures, and their detailed descriptions, are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment shall not be interpreted to limit the scope of protection.
In the following description, certain terminology is used to describe certain features of one or more embodiments. For purposes of the specification, unless otherwise specified, the term “substantially” refers to the complete or nearly complete extent or degree of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result. For example, in one embodiment, an object that is “substantially” located within a housing would mean that the object is either completely within a housing or nearly completely within a housing. The exact allowable degree of deviation from absolute completeness may in some cases depend on the specific context. However, generally speaking the nearness of completion will be so as to have the same overall result as if absolute and total completion were obtained. The use of “substantially” is also equally applicable when used in a negative connotation to refer to the complete or near complete lack of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result.
As used herein, the terms “approximately” and “about” generally refer to a deviance of within 5% of the indicated number or range of numbers. In one embodiment, the term “approximately” and “about”, refer to a deviance of between 1-10% from the indicated number or range of numbers.
As used herein, the term “pile height” refers to the measurement from the surface of the back to the top of a cleaning pad's pile, not including the thickness of the back of the pad.
The restraining mechanism 126 may be located between the attachment portion 111 and the squeegee 130. An alternate restraining mechanism may be built into the structure of the attachment portion 111 and/or the mop head 115, such that the angle between the handle 105 and mop head 115 may be releaseably locked when the mop head 115 is pivoted such that the mop head 115 is substantially parallel with the handle 105.
Additionally, a cleaning pad or mopping attachment may be secured to an underside of the mop head 115, as shown in
The mop head 115 may have three major configurations: a bristles down configuration as shown in
In the bristles down configuration, a distal end of the attachment portion 110 may substantially point towards the squeegee 130. While in a bristles down configuration, the attachment portion 110 may also be releaseably locked by the restraining mechanism 126. Alternatively, in the squeegee down configuration, the distal end of the attachment portion 110 may substantially point towards the bristles 125. In the mopping configuration, the distal end of the attachment portion 110 may vary from pointing between the bristles 125 and the squeegee 130. As shown in
In one embodiment, when in the bristles down configuration, the restraining mechanism 126 may releaseably engage the attachment portion 110 or the handle 105, effectively locking the mop head 115 in the bristles down configuration so that a user may more effectively utilize the brush.
The dustpan 120 may be made of a rubber, silicone, or any other flexible and firm material. Preferably, the dustpan 120 is shaped to matingly engage the handle 105. The dustpan 120 may comprise a substantially flat portion and a curved gripping portion, wherein the curve substantially matches the outer edge of the handle 105. Due to the curved gripping portion of the dustpan, the dustpan 120 may apply a squeezing pressure to the handle 120, which due to friction, may keep the dustpan 120 in place along the handle 120. Thus, when not in use, the dustpan 120 may be attached to the handle 105 for storage, ensuring that the dustpan 120 is available when desired.
The attachment portion 111 may be used to removeably attach the handle 105 and mop head 115. The attachment portion 111 may comprise a variable angle connector 110 which allows the connection angle between the handle 105 and the mop head 115 to vary, thereby allowing a user to push or pull the mop at various angles. The attachment portion 111 may also comprise a locking mechanism 135 configured to be received by the handle 105 and/or the handle's 105 locking mechanism receiver 136.
In one embodiment, the locking mechanism 135 may be one or more stoppers biased outward. The one or more stoppers may take on various shapes, including being rounded, or sloped down and outward. The locking mechanism receiver 136 may be a hole cut out of the handle 105 shaped to be similar to the shape of the one or more stoppers, such that as the attachment portion 111 is inserted into the handle 105, the stoppers may be depressed, allowing the attachment portion 111 to enter the handle 105 and when the stoppers reach the locking mechanism receiver 136, the stoppers may return to their biased position and engage the locking mechanism receiver 136, thereby securing the attachment portion 111 and mop head 115 to the handle.
Unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, locations, and other specifications that are set forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, not exact. They are intended to have a reasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the above detailed description. These embodiments are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of protection. Accordingly, the detailed description is to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, although not explicitly recited, one or more embodiments may be practiced in combination or conjunction with one another. Furthermore, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment shall not be interpreted to limit the scope of protection. It is intended that the scope of protection not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims that are appended hereto.
Except as stated immediately above, nothing that has been stated or illustrated is intended or should be interpreted to cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object, benefit, advantage, or equivalent, to the public, regardless of whether it is or is not recited in the claims.
