Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
TITLE
[0001] A Mop
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The present application relates generally to a mop, more particularly
it relates to a mop having a
hinged mop head.
BACKGROUND
[0003] This section provides background information to facilitate a better
understanding of the various
aspects of the invention. It should be understood that the statements in this
section of this document
are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
[0004] Large mops can be cumbersome to use as they become quite heavy when
wet. This makes the
process of mopping a large area tiresome and can result in strains or injuries
to the people utilizing the
mop. It is also common to have different styles of mops for different
purposes. A large push type mop is
often not well suited to use on stairs. This can slow the process of cleaning
significantly as user's are
required to swap out mops for different purposes.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0005] There is provided a mop that has an elongated shaft and a mop head. The
elongated shaft has a
top end and a bottom end. The bottom end has a rolling device that extends
downwards from the
elongated shaft. The mop head is attached adjacent to the bottom end of the
elongated shaft above the
rolling device. The mop head has a cleaning element. The mop head is movable
between a non-rolling
position and a rolling position. The non-rolling position places the rolling
device between the cleaning
element and the elongated shaft. The rolling position allows the mop head to
pivot such that the rolling
device is contactable with a surface to be cleaned. A locking mechanism is
provided for locking the mop
head in the non-rolling position.
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Date recu/Date Received 2020-07-07
[0006] In one embodiment, the rolling device is a caster or wheel. It will be
understood by a person
skilled in the art that other suitable rolling devices may be used.
[0007] In one embodiment, the mop head has an elongated shaft attachment for
attaching to the
elongated shaft and a mop attachment.
[0008] In one embodiment, the elongated shaft attachment of the mop head has
an arcuate shape.
[0009] In one embodiment, the locking mechanism is a slidable sleeve
positioned on the elongated
shaft. The slidable sleeve has a catch for holding the mop head when the mop
head is in the non-rolling
position.
[0010] In one embodiment, the catch is a pair of slits extending upwards from
a bottom edge of the
slidable sleeve. The pair of slits is sized such that at least a portion of
the mop head is slidably
engageable within the pair of slits.
[0011] In another embodiment, the locking mechanism is a latch positioned
adjacent a top of the mop
head for latching the mop head to the elongated shaft. The latch having a pair
of movable arms
positionable on either side of the shaft such that the mop head is held in the
non-rolling position.
[0012] In another embodiment, the locking mechanism is a removable dowel
insertable through at
least one locking aperture positioned adjacent a top of the mop head and an
elongated shaft aperture.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] These and other features will become more apparent from the following
description in which
references are made to the following drawings, in which numerical references
denote like parts. The
drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in
any way limit the scope of
the invention to the particular embodiments shown.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a mop with a slidable sleeve
locking mechanism in the rolling
position.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of a mop with a slidable sleeve
locking mechanism in the non-
rolling position.
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Date recu/Date Received 2020-07-07
[0016] FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of a mop with a slidable sleeve locking
mechanism in the non-
rolling position.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a mop with a slidable sleeve locking
mechanism in the rolling
position.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of a mop with a latch locking
mechanism in the rolling position.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of a mop with a latch locking
mechanism in the non-rolling
position.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of a mop with a dowel locking
mechanism in the non-rolling
position.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a front elevation view of a mop with a dowel locking
mechanism in the rolling position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] A mop, generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be
described with reference to
FIG. 1 through FIG. 8.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, a mop 10 has an elongated shaft 12 and a mop head
14. Elongated shaft 12
has a top end 16 and a bottom end 18. Bottom end 18 has a rolling device 20
that extends downwards
from the elongated shaft. Rolling device 20 may be a caster, a wheel or any
other suitable rolling device
known to a person skilled in the art. In the embodiment shown, rolling device
20 is positioned in vertical
alignment with elongated shaft 12 along vertical axis 22. Mop head 14 is
attached to elongated shaft 12
adjacent to bottom end 18 above rolling device 20. Mop head 14 has a cleaning
element 31 such as a
sponge, cloth pad, textile ropes or any other cleaning element 31 known to a
person skilled in the art.
Mop head 14 is attached to elongated shaft 12 such that it is movable between
a non-rolling position
and a rolling position. Referring to FIG. 3, in the non-rolling position,
rolling device 20 is positioned
between cleaning elements 31 attached to mop head 14 and elongated shaft 12.
In the non-rolling
position it is not possible for rolling device 20 to contact a surface to be
cleaned when elongated shaft
12 is vertical in orientation. Referring to FIG. 4, in the rolling position,
mop head 14 pivots in relation to
elongated shaft 12 such that rolling device is contactable with a surface to
be cleaned. In the rolling
position, mop head 14 may be pivoted into a horizontal orientation while
elongated shaft 12 may be in a
vertical orientation. Mop head 14 may pivot in more than one direction. A
locking mechanism 24 is
provided for locking mop head 14 in the non-rolling position.
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Date recu/Date Received 2020-07-07
[0024] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, mop head 14 has an elongated shaft
attachment end 26
and a mop attachment end 28. When in the non-rolling position, rolling device
20 is positioned between
elongated shaft attachment end 26 and mop attachment end 28 in a central
aperture 30. In the
embodiment shown, elongated shaft attachment end 26 has an arcuate shape,
however it will be
understood by a person skilled in the art that different shapes may also be
acceptable. In the
embodiment shown, mop attachment end 28 allows for the replacement of cleaning
elements 31 when
they become worn. Screws 33 and nuts 35 allow for cleaning element 31 to be
replaced as needed.
[0025] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 through FIG. 4, locking mechanism 24
is a slidable sleeve 32
positioned on elongated shaft 12. Referring to FIG. 3, slidabe sleeve 32 has a
catch 34 for holding mop
head 14 in the non-rolling position. In the embodiment shown, catch 34 is
shown as a pair of slits 36
extending upwards from a bottom edge of slidable sleeve 32. Pair of slits 36
is sized such that at least a
portion of mop head 14 is slidably engageable within pair of slits 36.
[0026] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, locking mechanism 24 is a
latch 38 positioned
adjacent a top 40 of mop head 14 for latching mop head 14 to elongated shaft
12. Latch 38 has a pair of
movable arms 42 positionable on either side of elongated shaft 12 such that
mop head 14 is held in the
non-rolling position. A latch lock 44 may also be included to hold latch 38 in
a locked position.
[0027] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, locking mechanism 24 is a
removable dowel 46
insertable through locking apertures 48 positioned adjacent top 40 of mop head
14 and an elongated
shaft aperture 50. Locking apertures 48 and elongated shaft aperture 50 are
aligned to allow for
insertion and removal of removable dowel 46.
[0028] Any use herein of any terms describing an interaction between elements
is not meant to limit
the interaction to direct interaction between the subject elements, and may
also include indirect
interaction between the elements such as through secondary or intermediary
structure unless
specifically stated otherwise.
[0029] In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-
limiting sense to mean that
items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned
are not excluded. A
reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not exclude the
possibility that more than one
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Date recu/Date Received 2020-07-07
of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be
one and only one of the
elements.
[0030] It will be apparent that changes may be made to the illustrative
embodiments, while falling
within the scope of the invention. As such, the scope of the following claims
should not be limited by the
preferred embodiments set forth in the examples and drawings described above,
but should be given
the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
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Date recu/Date Received 2020-07-07
