Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIND OF TOE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a holder for receiving
the handle and for securing the yarn of yacht mop or the like.
BACRGRO~ND OF To INVENTION
Traditionally, a wooden handle yacht mop, consisting of
long lengths of yarn or string, has been made by wrapping wire
about the upper ends of the lengths of yarns positioned about
the end of the handle, so that the yarns are secured in this
manner to the handle. As the mop was used and became worn, the
entire mop was thrown away and replaced with a new one. With
the increasing cost of materials in more recent times, it has
been desirable to develop holders for the yarn of yacht mops in
which either the holders and yarn, or yarn alone, can be
detached from the handles and replaced. In this way the handle
or handle and holder can be salvaged or continued use.
In my earlier U.S. Patent No. 4,417,364 issued November
29, 1983, one such holder device is described and illustrated
in which there is a sleeve to receive in one end the handle of
a mop. A base is provided having a concave interior against
which the yarn of the mop is to be held The base is centrally
secured to the other end of the sleeve. Through a pair of
spaced slots provided in the base a flexible bundling strap is
passed, the bundling strap wrapping around and holding securely
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in position in the holder, the yarn of the mop. The holder and
yarn may be thrown away and replaced with another holder and
yarn as required saving the handle for reuse. In another such
device illustrated in Canadian Patent No. 1,070,064 issued
January 22, 19~0 of Stevenson (U.S. Patent No. 4,135,272 issued
January 23, 1979), there is described a holder for the strings
of a yacht mop which consists of a dome-shaped base having a
flexible strap extending through a slot in one side of the
base about the midpoint of a bundle of yarn, and out a slot on
the other side thereof where the strap is secured. When the
strap is tightened, it clamps the yarn against the interior
surface of the base. It has been found however with such a
holder that even by pulling the strap tightly, lengths of yarn
which are located about the center of the dome-shaped base tend
not to be held sufficiently tightly and become displaced or
completely removed from the mop.
Other patents of general background interest describing
and illustrating mops or the like in which the yarn (or the
equivalent is held in position in a holder head by a strap or
the like, include Canadian Patent No. 238,945 of Pendergast
issued March 25, 1924, U.S. Patent No. 2,242,543 of Fops
issued May 20, 1941, U.S. Patent No. 2,201,732 of Johnson
issued May 21, 1940, Canadian Patent No. 161t058 of Humphries
issued March 2, 1915, Canadian Patent No. 135,561 of Lackey
issued September 12, 1911 and U.S. Patent No. 4,377,879 of
Christ issued March 2g, 1983.
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OBJECTS OF To INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a
holder for yarns or strings for a yacht mop or the like which
can securely hold the yarn in place during use, and yet release
the yarn when required for cleaning or replacement.
Summery OF THY INVENTION
According to the present invention such a holder is
provided comprising a sleeve to receive in one end the handle
of the mop or brush and a base having an exterior surface, a
concave interior surface against which the yarn is to be held,
and a lower rim which defines an opening to the interior
surface of the base, through which opening the yarn, when held
in position, is to extend. The base is centrally secured to
the other end of the sleeve. A bar, one end of which is hinged
to one side of the opening extends centrally across the opening
when in closed position and swings clear of the opening when in
open position. The other end of the bar is provided with a
catch means. The corresponding side of the base is provided
with a slot to receive the other end of the bar. The catch
means cooperates with the base in the vicinity of the slot when
the bar is in closed position to securely hold yarn in the base
against the concave interior surface and to prevent
unpurposeful disengagement of the bar. The catch means is
to
manually releasable from its co-operation with the base as
required to permit this other end of the bar to be removed from
the slot so that the bar may be pivoted to open position. A
socket means is associated with the holder to receive a
clinching eyelet of a flexible bundling strap which
circumscribes and securely holds the yarn, when the clamp bar
is in closed position, and to hold the bundling strap and yarn
in position in the holder.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
slot means is centrally positioned in the bar.
The mop holder according to the present invention
provides a relatively simple, economical construction which has
the ability to grip the yarn of the mop very tightly to
minimize the chances of lengths of yarn held thereby becoming
dislodged or loose. At the same time the construction permits
the ready replacement of the yarn, without the need to throw
away the holder thereby providing greater economy in use of
such a device over prior art devices which require throwing
away of the holder portion as well as the yarn when dirty or
worn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects and advantages of the invention
will become apparent upon reading the the following detailed
description and upon referring to the drawings in which:
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FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a holder for the yarn
of a yacht mop according to the present invention;
FIGURE 2 is a side section view of the holder of FIGURE
1 in which yarn is secured
FIGURE 3 is a plan view from the bottom of the holder
of FIGURE 1 in which yarn is secured; and
FIGURE 4 is a plan view from the bottom of an
alternative embodiment of holder in accordance with the
invention, in opened position and empty of yarn.
While the invention will be described in conjunction
with example embodiments, it will be understood that it is not
intended to limit the invention to such embodiments. On the
contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives,
modifications and equivalents as may be included within the
spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended
claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TEN INVENTION
In the following description, similar features have
been given similar reference numerals.
Turning to the drawings there is illustrated in FIGURE
1 a holder 2 for yarn for a yacht mop in accordance with the
present invention. The holder 2 comprises a cylindrical sleeve
4 to receive the end 6 of a handle 8 for a yacht mop. To the
bottom end of sleeve 4 is integrally, centrally secured a
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to
cup-shaped base 10. As can be seen in FIGURES 1 and 2, base 10
has a concave interior surface 12. Rim 14 (FIGURE 3)
circumscribes the bottom of base 10 at the entrance to interior
surface 12.
Clamp bar 15 is secured to base 10 by means of pivot
16, at one side of base 10 near rim 14, and pivots as
illustrated in FIGURE 2 to extend centrally across the bottom
of holder 10. The free end 18 of bar 15 extends upwardly, as
illustrated, 'through slot 20. Outwardly extending ear 22 rests
on the exterior surface 24 of the corresponding portion of base
10 to hold bar 15 in closed position as illustrated in FIGURE
2, when yarn 26 is being held in holder 2 as illustrated. Bar
15 is preferably made of a somewhat resilient material. Yarn
26 acting against bar 15 provides a downward bias to hold ear
22 in seated position when bar 15 is in closed position on such
yarn. Latch guard ribs 28 spaced on either side of slot 20
prevent ear 22 from coming unintentionally dislodged from
seated position. When it is desired to open bar 15, the user
merely laterally moves end 18 in slot 20, so that ear 22
becomes dislodged from its seated position on exterior surface
24 of base 10. When ear 22 clears the corresponding edge of
slot 20, end 18 is free to pass through slot 20 thereby
permitting bar 15 to be opened. As can be seen in FIGURES 2
and 3, support ribs 30 extend inwardly, vertically on the
inside surface 12 of base 10, and are positioned so as guide
end 18 towards slot 20 when bar 15 is being closed. Once in
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AL 2 7
closed position, ribs 30 also provide support against twisting
or lateral movement of bar 15.
The yarn 26~ which is he'd within base 10 by means of
bar 15 when in closed position, is circumscribed, at a central
position, by a flexible bundling strap or cable tie 32 (FIGURE
3), the strap having an elongated body portion one end of which
is a tail 34 and the other end of which is a clinching eyelet
36. When tail 34 extends through eyelet 36 it cannot normally
be removed or loosened. The strap is tightened about yarn 26
so that the yarn is securely held within the bundling strap.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the clamp
bar 15 is provided with a slot 38 which receives the clinching
eyelet of the bundling strap 32 in such a manner that the yarn
is not only centered within base 10, but also is prevented,
when bar 15 is in closed position, from becoming dislodged
therefrom. If the yarn held within bundling strap 32 is pulled
from either end, when held in base 10 by bar 15, it cannot be
removed from base 10 since eyelet 36 is held in position by the
edges of slot 38. Thus the yarn remains positioned during
normal use, even through twisting or other motions.
In the alternative embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 4,
instead of the slot for eyelet 36 being formed in bar 15, that
slot 40 is formed in an appropriate location in inner surface
12 of base 10 Nat the top thereof in this illustration). In
both embodiments, it is preferred to provide a channel 42 at
the top of the base to extend on either side of the
I
corresponding portion of bundling strap 32 about yarn 26, to
further assist in centering the yarn and prevent its becoming
dislodged by lateral movement. This channel 42 is formed by
spaced, parallel lines of teeth I which teeth extend into
yarn 26 when in position to thereby further assist in
preventing its becoming dislodged.
It will be readily understood that when it is desired
to clean or replace existing yarn in a mop having a holder in
accordance with the present invention, one only need open bar
15 and replace the existing bundle of yarn 26 with a new bundle
thereof (circumscribed by a bundling strap of the type in
question), placing the bundling strap in the proper orientation
and ensuring that clinching eyelet 38 is in the appropriate
slot in the strap or interior surface of holder 10.
Thus it is apparent that there has been provided in
accordance with the invention a holder that fully satisfies the
objects, aims and advantages set forth above. While the
invention has been described in conjunction with specific
embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,
modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled
in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly,
it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications
and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the
invention.
