Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 022~2819 1998-10-29
107995 APK/CHW
1998-04-22
TITLE:
TiLtable mop frame for cleaning floors, etc.
TECHNICAL FIELD:
The present invention relates to a tiltable mop frame for
cleaning floors, etc. of the kind which is commonly used
- 10 especially for cleaning of surfaces in homes, in
workplaces, public buildings, stairs, etc.
PRIOR ART:
Mops for above-mentioned purposes are well known and they
consist principally of a plate on the underside of which
the cleaning arrangement itself, for example a piece of
fabric, is arranged, which plate on the upper side is
hingeably joined to an elongated handle. The mops are
usually used dry or in such a way that they are humidified
or dipped into water and are pulled or pushed over a floor,
whereby the dirt is partly dissolved and partly absorbed by
the mop. The plate usually consists of aluminium or a
similar light material, such as plastic. Hook and loop
fastener "males" are usually inserted in grooves on the
underside thereof. Before the mop is used, the plate with
the hook and loop fasteners on the underside is pushed
against the cleaning fabric which is to be used and the
assembly is thereby finished. If the cleaning element is to
be removed, one can press one's foot against it and tear
off the aluminium plate without further inconvenience. The
handle which is hingeably joined to the plate is usually a
telescopic tube of such a length that the person who is to
handle the mop can use both hands while in an upright
position.
When the mop is used, it is pushed and pulled alternately
over the surface that is to be cleaned. A certain pressure
must be put on the mop by the person who is holding the mop
handle but the main pressure is created by the weight of
the mop.
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A certain friction arises between the mop fabric and the
surface to be cleaned, which friction is necessary for the
purpose but must not be too great so that the user of the
mop becomes exhausted or develops injuries. This friction
is dependent on the fabric which is arranged on the
underside of the mop. One example of such a fabric is
disclosed in the Swedish patent 9403398-2.
Different types of mops are known. An example thereof is
disclosed in the British Patent 1360882 which shows a
trough- like holder of V-shaped cross-section for a sleeve
or pad o~ cleaning material. The V-shaped construction of
the holder is intended for simplifying the squeezing of
washing liquid by means of a V-shaped device into which the
holder is pressed.
Further examples of mops are described in the U.S Patent
3329988, 3012264 and 5426809 and the Swedish Patent 329031.
TECHNICAL PROBLEM:
When a mop with a plane underside is moved forwards or
backwards on a dirty surface, that part of the cleaning
fabric which is at the front in the direction of the
movement will loosen and collect the dirt, whereas that
part which is further or furthest to the rear collects a
smaller part of the dirt and carries out no real cleaning
work. When the direction of movement is reversed, the same
occurs in reverse order. This means that a mop which has a
certain width is used less for that part which lies between~ 30 the dirt-collecting surfaces, which part can be close to
half of the total lower surface of the mop. This is, of
course, not desirable and gives a poor utilisation of the
mop fabric.
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The friction between the underside of the mop and the
surface to be cleaned may sometimes also be larger than is
desirable, which leads to the above-mentioned
disadvantages. This friction is greater the greater
contacting surface the mop has.
SOLUTION:
To remedy the above disadvantages and solve the problems
which are connected with mops having a plane underside, a
mop frame has been created according to the present
invention for cleaning floors, etc. comprising an elongated
plate which, with its other side provided with a cleaning
cloth, is intended to be pushed forwards and pulled
backwards over the surface which is to be cleaned, and an
elongated handle hingeably joined to the upper side of the
plate, which mop is characterized in that the underside of
the plate is provided with an elongated protrusion which
extends crosswise to the forwards and backwards direction
of the mop during use and is arranged in the middle of the
mop plate, the elongated protrusion being an edge between
angled parts of the plate, whereby the angle can be up to
10 ~ .
The elongated protrusion can further consist of a
combination of an edge between angled parts of the plate
and a bulge on the edge.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES:
The invention will now be described more in detail with
reference to the attached figures, where:
Fig. 1 in a perspective view shows a
conventional mop, where
~5 Fig. 2 shows the conventional mop according
to Fig. 1 from the underside, where
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Fig. 3 shows from the underside the mop plate
according to the present invention,
where
Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show a mop according to the invention
seen from the short side.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
Fig. 1 shows a mop of conventional kind having a plane
plate 1 to which a handle in the form of a telescopic tube
is joined. The telescopic tube is joined on the upper side
of the plate 1 by means of a joint 3 and the plate 1 can
accordingly by swung around this joint. When the mop is
used, it is pushed forwards or pulled backwards with one of
the longer sides to the front.
Fig. 2 shows the underside of the plane plate 1 to which
a cleaning cloth is attached and after this cleaning cloth
has been used for a certain time. As appears from the
figure, the dirt 4 is collected at the long sides to an
increasing degree the closer one comes to these long sides,
whereas the middle part of the mop cloth is mainly not
used.
Fig. 3 shows an underside of the plate 1 of the mop
according to the present invention without any attached
cleaning cloth. On this underside strips 5 of hook and loop
fasteners are arranged, which strips are intended to attach
the cleaning cloth in a known way. At the middle of this
plate an edge 6 is shown on the figure, which edge consists
of a protrusion on the underside. This edge 6 can have been
made as is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 by the plate 1 having
been bent at a certain angle. As is shown in Fig. 5, this
angle edge 6 may be further increased by an added bulge 7.
AMENDED SHE~T
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Figs. 4 and 5 are somewhat enlarged compared to Figs. 2 and
3. As appears from Fiys. 4 and 5, a mop cloth 8 is attached
to the underside of the plate and secured by the hook and
loop fasteners 5.
When the mop according to Figs. 4 and 5 is to be used and
it is pushed, for example, to the left in the figure, then
the left half of the mop cloth will lie against the surface
whereas the right half will be swung up and will
accordingly be completely inactive. With a reversed
direction of movement the right half will lie against the
surface whereas the left half will be free. In this way the
mop cloth 8 will be used also at the middle part since this
part will lie against the surface with a greater force than
at the edges. By letting the contact surface against the
surface to be cleaned become smaller, the friction will
also be decreased since this depends on a certain suction
effect and this suction effect will of course be less when
the surface is smaller.
The angle at which the plate 1 should be bent is not
critical but it can suitably be between 0-10~. It can be 0
because a bulge 7 can in some cases be sufficient. The
bulge can also be dispensed with or combined with an angle
bending as is shown in Fig. 5.
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