Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates generally to the field of clean-
ing devices, and more particularly, it is directed to a novel, easily
usable and improved sponge mop. More especially, the present invention
relates generally to the field of sponge mops, and more particularlyl it
is directed to a sponge mop of the roller wrlnging type which functions
in an improved manner without the need for external levers or any off-
center wringing mechanism.
The design of sponge mop of the t~pe wherein a sponge is
at~ached to a handle in combination with a sponge wringing mechanism is
well known and many prior workers in the art have developed various
designs and configurations with more or less commercial success. In one
type of prior art sponge mop, as exempliEied by United States Patents Nos.
2,643,407 issued 30 June 1953 to P.S. Vosbikian et al
and 2,834,035 issued 13 May 1958 to P.S. Vosbikian et al
the sponge, with its carrier, is positioned at the lower end of a handle
and a lever type operator is employed exteriorly of the handle to fold
the sponge double for water wringing purposes. Other workers in the
field have developed sponge mop handles having rollers positioned at the
bottom thereof to wring water from a sponge as the sponge is pulled
through a constricted area defined between the rollers by use of an exter-
nal lever or operating mechanism.
While the prior art sponge mops have generally proved satis-
factory for the service, construction and operating, difficulties have
developed because of the external, lever or other type operators. Accor-
dingly, there remains a need for a simply designed, sturdy, reliable and
inexpensive sponge mop.
It is therefore an object of one aspect of the present invention
to provide an improved sponge mop of the type set forth.
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It is an obJect of another aspect of the present invention
to provide a novel sponge mop that is simple in design, inexpensive in
manufacture and trouble free when in use.
By one broad aspect of this invention, an improvement is pro-
vided in a sponge mop comprising the combination of: a hollow body of
elongate tubular configuration; an operating handle adapted for axial
reciprocation within the body between a working position and a water
wrlnging position, the handle endwardly carrying a sponge assembly con-
nector means, the sponge assembly connector means comprising a cylin-
drical, axially aligned fastener means downwardly proJecting from thehandle; a sponge squeezing assembly affixed at one end of the hollow
body, the sponge squeezing assembly comprising at least a pair of spaced
rollers to wring water from the sponge; and a sponge assembly releasably
connected to the sponge assembly connector means and comprising a sponge,
a sponge carrier and engagement to engage the sponge assembly fastener
means, the engagement means comprising a threaded nut secured to the
sponge carrier, the nut releasably engaging the fastener means, at least
a ma~or portion of the sponge being pulled between the rollers to drive
water from the sponge when the operating handle is reciprocated to its
water wringing position.
By a variant thereof, all functioning portions of the body
and all portions of the handle are positioned in axial alignment.
By another variant thereof, the fastener means comprises a
threaded stud.
By a variation thereof, the sponge mop includes means to hold
the nut to permit limited movement between the nut and the sponge carrier
to facilitate alignment and engagement of the nut with the stud.
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By a ~urther variation thereof, the sponge rnop includes an
opening provided in the sponge carrier, the means to retain the nut
being secured in the opening, whereby the nut may move within the openinX
in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the handle as necessary to
be easily engaged by the threaded stud, even when the parts are not
precisely axially aligned.
By a further variation thereof, the means to hold the nut to
permit movement of the nut within the sponge carrier opening comprises
a retainer, the retainer being secured within the opening, whereby the
retainer has no movement relative to the sponge carrier.
The sponge mop of one embodiment of the present invention com-
prises generally a hollow, cylindrical body which terminates downwardly
in a bridge of a design suitable to retain a plurality of spaced rollers
in a workable, sponge constricting arrangement. The bridge bifurcates
downwardly stationarily to position a pair of roller shafts at right
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angles to the axis of the body in parallel alignment and spaced equally
respectively outwardly from the periphery of the handle. A plurality of
rollers are carried by the roller shafts to facilitate wringing the
sponge by defining a constricted area therebetween. By pulling the
sponge upward through the constricted area, the sponge will be squee~ed
between the spaced rollers, thereby to wring or shed water retained by
the sponge. An operating handle is reciprocal within the hollow body and
includes an upper gripping portion for actuating the wringing action and
a lower, threaded stud for engaging the sponge carrier in a releasable
manner to permit replacement of the sponge assembly upon evidence of wear.
In accordance with the teachings of aspects of the present
invention, all necessary uwpardly directed forces required to wring water
from the sponge or downwardly directed forces to expose the sponge below
the rollers for cleaning action are axially applied by reciprocating the
handle within the hollow body. All forces necessary for sponge wringing
purposes are applied directly in axial alignment whereby the reciproca-
tion of the sponge above and below the rollers can be accomplished with
minimum forces in a fully balanced manner, thereby to assure most effic-
ient application of force. The simplified wring meanS design requires
the utilization of only a minimum number of operating parts.
In the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters
refer to similar parts throughout the several views,
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the sponge mop constructed in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded, perspective view of the sponge mOp of
Figure l;
Figure 3 is an enlarged, crossOsectional view taken along line
3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and
Figure 4 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view similar to Figure
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3, showing the sponge in sqlleez~d positi~n to wring o~lt water therefrom.
~ efe~ring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in
Fiys. 1 and 2 a sponge mop generally designated 10 which
comprises a hollow, cylindrical, elongate body 12 to which is
bottomly connected a sponge squeezing assembly comprising an
arched bridge 14, means for holding rollers in parallel, spaced
relationship at right angles to the axis of the body and a
p]urality of rollers. The body 12 terminates upwardly in a
grip portion 44 to facilitate axial operation of the device in
the manner hereinafter more fully set forth.
lo The bridge 14 includes a plurality of depending legs
16, which legs are arranged in left and right pairs to secure
the roller shafts 18, 2~ below the body equidistantly from the
axis of the body 12. The shafts 18, 20 are outwardly equally
spaced from the axis of the body 12 to secure rollers in spaced
relationship from the bGdy axis below the bottom terminus of
the body. A plurality of rollers 22 are rotatively retained on
the shaft 18 and a similar plurality of rollers 24 are
rotatively retained in the shaft 20. The rollers function to
squeeze or wring water from the sponge 32 as the sponge mop is
operated in the manner hereinafter more fully set forth.
Preferablyr both the body 12 and the bridge 14 are fabricated
of metal which can be treated in known manner to resist rust
and other deterioration. The interconnection between the body
12 and bridge 14 may be made in any known, sturdy manner, for
example by crimping, spot welding, swaging, etc.
A handle 26 is reciprocal within the interior o~ the
body 12 and extends upwardly therefrom as best seen in Fig. 1
for grasping purposes to facilitate both using the mop in the
usual manner and for wringi-ng water from the sponge in the
manner more fully hereinafter discussed. A sponge assembly
connector means, which may be threaded stud 28, bottomly
projects from the operating handle 26 and may be secured
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1 therein in any suitable, known manner. For example, if the
handle 26 is fabricated of ~ood, then the stud 28 could be
threadly engaged therein or perhaps could be adhesively secured
within a suitable, predrilled bore (not shown). In the
embodiment illustrated, as best seen in Figs. 3 and 4, the
operating handle 26 is fabricated of hollow, metallic or
plastic tubing of suitable strength. In this em~odiment, a
bottom, plastic filler plug 30 is secured at the bottom of the
operating handle 26. The filler plug 30 may be a press fit or
optionally may be cemented or otherwise secured in place in
known manner. The threaded stud 28 is secured axially within
the filler plug 30 to project downwardly from the bottom of the
operating handle 26.
A replaceable sponge assembly which includes a sponge
32, ~hich may be of knownr suitable sponge plastic or natural
sponge material is fabricated of length equal to the length of
the left and right rollers 22, 24 and is upwardly sécured
within a metallic sponge carrier 34. As best seen in Figs. 3
and 4, the carrier 34 is generally trape~oidal in
cross-sectional configuration and includes a planar top and
legs depending therefrom, the legs being downwardly constricted
to form a restricted neck 42 to thereby squeeze and retain
within the carrier 34 the top, longitudinal portion of the
sponge 32. The planar top of the carrier 34 is provided with a
central opening 36 which is positioned in axial alignment with
the body 12 when the sponge 32 is longitudinally aligned with
respect to the left and right rollers 22, 24. See Fig. 1.
The sponge carrier opening 36 is perferably equlpped
with a r~tainer 40 o~ known construction to hold therein an
engagement means such as a conventional nut 38 in a generally,
loose, floating arrangement immediately below the top of the
carrier. The retainer 40 functions to always maintain the nut
38, in loose engagment and the nut 38 is always generally
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1 axially positioned to receive therein the threaded stud 28 of
the operating handle 26. By providing the floating nut
arrangement, engagement of the nut with the stud is simiplified
inasmuch as the parts need not be precisely aligned in order to
threadedly engage the nut 38 by ro~ating the operating handle
26 (and the afixed stud 28).
As best seen in Figs. 3 and 4, when the floating nut
38 is engaged by the threads of the stud 28, the sponge carrier
34 will be pulled tightly against the bottom of the operating
handle 26 to secure the sponge 32 to the handle~ When the
sponge 32. has worn and it is desired to replace the sponge
assembly, this can simply be accomplished by moving the sponge
a~sembly to the position illustrated in Fig. 3 and then
threadedly disengaging the stud 28 from the threaded, floating
nut 38 by rotating the handle 26 to thereby allow the sponge 32
and its carrier 34 to be disposed and replaced by another
similar, new sponge and carrier combination assembly.
In order to operate the sponge mop 10 of aspects of the present
invention, the loose parts are assembled and positioned as
illustrated in Fig. 3 by engaging the floating nut in the stud
28. The hand grip 44 of the body 12 can be grasped in one hand
and the portion of the operating handle 26 exposed above the
body 12 can be grasped by the the other hand of the operator
(not shown). Then by pulling upwardly on the operating handle
26 relative to the body 12, the handle 26 can be urged axially
upwardly within the hollow interior of the body 12. Upward,
axial movement of the handle 26 within the body 12 causes the
attached sponge and carrier assembly 34 to ride upwardly within
the ~pace defined between the plurality of depending legs 16 of
the bridge 14 from the position illustrated in Fig. 3 to the
position illu~strated i~ Fig. 4. Upward movement af the handle
26 relative to the body 12 will be limited by the engagement of
the planar top of the carrier 34 against the underside of the
web of the bridge 14. See Fig. 4.
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A As the carrier 34 is upwardly urged within the space
defined between the legs 16 of the bridge 14, the
interconnection between carrier 34 and the sponge 32 at the
restricted neck 42 will cause the sponge 32 also to be upwardly
urged with the carrier a~ a unitary assembly. It will be noted
that the space defined between the left and right roller~ 22,
24 is considerably less than the width of the sponge 32 in its
unstressed condition. See Fig 3. Accordingly, as the sponge
32 rides upwardly within the space defined between the left and
right rollers 22, 24, water will be squeezed from the sponge 32
in a highly efficient manner upon the application of minimum,
upward axially directed forces. The axial alignment of the
operating handle 26 within the hollow interior of the body 12
assures that only axially directed forces will be applied to
the sponge 32 through the connected carrier 34. Following
wringing of the water from the sponge 32, a reversal of the
axial forces by pushing downwardly on the handle 26 relative to
the body 12 will cause the sponge 32 to ride downwardly between
the rollers 22, 24 until the carrier 34 is positioned between
the rollers 22, 24 as indicated in Fig. 3 and the sponge 32
itself is positioned below the bottom of the rollers 22, 24.
In this position~ the sponge is fully expanded for cleaning
purposes. When the sponge 32 becomes dirty, or when it is
desired to apply a fresh solution, the sponge 32 can be dipped
into the solution (not shown) and excess solution can then be
wrung from the sponge by reciprocation of the parts from the
position illustrated in Fig. 3. to the position shown in Fig. 4.
Th~ls it is seen that only axially dlrected forces can
be applied between the body 12 and the handle 26 and
accordingly, only axially aligned ~orces can act upon the
sponge carrier 34 to pull the sponge 32 to the wringing
position as illustrated in Fig. 4 and then to pus~ the carrier
downwardly until the sponge 32 assumes the cleaning position as
illustrated in Fig. 3. It will be observed that a minimum
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1 number oE working parts will be required and that the axial
arrangernent of all working parts Eunctions to avoid wear,
unbalance and any need to apply excess forces having force
vectors that are not axially aligned and that cannot be
directly applied in the sponge wringing process.
