Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIOW
This invention relatas to new and useful improvement~
in mop connector~, particularly connector~ which are adapt~d
to receive a handle on one side and a ~tring type or yacht
type mop hç~ad on the otherD
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~ormally, cumbersome clamps have b~en used to clamp
the string type mop head~ to a connactor which are bulky,
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20 complicated and relatively axpensive ina~much a~ they nor-
ma~ ly include sevsral operating parts which can corrode or
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes this principal
disadvantage by providing a connector which is readily
manufactured from synthetic plastic materials and which
is extremely compact in configuration.
One aspect of the invention consists of a mop
connector for a string type mop head having a central por-
; tion comprising in combination a handle receiving end and
a mop head receiving end, and means to secure the associa-
10 ted mop head into said mop head receiving end, said means
including a flexible strap held by one end thereof to one
side of said mop head receiving end and adjustably secured
in locking relationship to the other side of said mop head
receiving end, said strap passing around the central por-
tion of the associated mop head and holding same firmly
; within said mop head receiving end and a slot formed through
adjacent the upper side of said mop head receiving end and
on the other side thereof, a plurality of ratchet teeth
type projections formed on the outer side of said strap,
said ratchet teeth type projections operatively engaging
the boundary of said slot when said other end of said strap
is pulled through said slot thereby locking said strap .
.. against disengagement from said slot, said mop head receiv-
; : ing end being substantially hollow dome-shaped, and means
projecting downwardly from adjacent the upper inner sur-
face of said mop head receiving end engageable within the
central portion of said mop head to prevent relative move-
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ment between said mop head and said connector when said
mop head is installed therein.
~nother advantage of the invention is to pro-
vide a device of the character herewithin described in
which a conventional handle is readily attachable to the
other end of the connector, either by screw threading same
or, alternatively, by rivetting same, depending upon de-
sign parameters.
A yet further advantage of the invention is to
provide a device of the character herewithin described in
which the attachment of the mop head to the connector com-
prises a rapid and simple operation.
Still another advantage of the invention is to
provide a device of the character herewithin described in
which the attaching strap is locked into position upon the
connector when the mop head is installed thus preventing
inadvertent disengagement of the mop head from the connec- ~ -
tor.
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A still further advantage of the invention is
~0 to provide a device of the charac-ter herewithin described
which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture
and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it is
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designed.
With the foregoing in view, and other such
advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in
the art to which this invention relates as this specifi-
cation proceeds, my invention consists essentially in the
arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter
more particularly described, r~ference being had to the
accompanying drawings in which:-
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of the
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connector showing a portion of the handle and a mop head
attached therQto.
~igure 2 is a top plan view o the co~nector per se~
Figure 3 is an underside view of the connector per ~e.
Figure 4 i5 a sectional view of the connector per se~
Figure 5 i9 a side elevation of the attaching strap.
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Figure 6 is a view simular to Figure 5~ but showing
the ~trap in what may be termed the installed position~
Figure 7 is a plan view of one side of the strap.
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Figure 8 i~ a view of tha opp~site side of the strap~ .
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Figure 9 i9 a ragmentary ~ross sectional view o
~igure 1 ~howing the mop head and strap in~talledO
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In the drawings like characters of referencs indicate
corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Proceeding therefore to describe the invention in de-
tail, reference character 10 illustrates a convantional
string type mop head somatimes known as a ya~h~ type mop
head. It consists of a plurality of ~trands 11 of twisted
material which are held centrally within a connector collec-
tively designated 12 and the portion of the mop head held
within the connector is designated by reference character : :
13 and constitutes a central section or portion~
The ~onnector 12 is preferably made of synthetic plas-
tic by injection moulding or the like and includes an upper
substantially cylindrical portion 14 constitut m g a handle
receiving portion, and a lower sub3tantially doma-~haped
portion 15 constituting a mop head receiving portion~
The upper portion 14 includes the smooth hored part
16 and a screw threaded lower part 17~ A handle 18 is pro-
vided with a slightly reduced diameter screw threaded end
19 which screw threadably engages within the port:io~ 17
thus drawing the part 20 of the handle downwardly into the
smooth bored portiGn 16 theraby giving a firm att:achment o
the handle to the connector 12~
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Strengthening ribs 21 extend be-tween the han-
dle receiving portion 14 and the mop head receiving por-
tion 15 on the outer surface thereof as clearly shown in
Figures 1 and 2.
The interior of the dome-shaped mop head re-
ceiving portion 15 is provided with an annular shoulder
22 intermediate the open lower side 23 and the upper in-
ner side or surface 24. A pair of diametrically opposite
shoulders 25 and 26 are formed on the outer surface 27A
of the dome-shaped portion 15 as illustrated in the draw- ~ .
ings and an aperture 27 extends downwardly through the
shoulder portion 25 to the interior of the dome-shaped
portion and is bounded by a downwardly projecting rein-
forcing portion 2~. ~
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The opposite shoulder 26 is provided with a
relatively narrow slot 29 which extends downwardly into
the interior of the dome-shaped portion and this is bound-
ed by a larger reinforcing portion 30 which is spaced
from the inner wall 31 as clearly shown in Figure 4.
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A plurality of mop head central portion enga-
:~ ging pins or projections 32 extend downwardly into the
interior o~ the dome-shaped portion from the area sur-
. rounding the lower end of the screw threaded portion 17
:~ of the handle receiving
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portion 14, the purpose of which will be hereinafter des-
cribed.
Also to be noted is the provisic,ll of one or more re-
latively small vertically situated ribs 33 situated on the
surface of the reinforcing part 30 bo~ding khe slot 29.
An attaching strap collectively designated 34 is pro-
vided also preferably manufactured from flexible synthetic
plastic material. This strap which is an elongated strip,
is provided with a head 35 on one end thereof and a plura-
lity of projecting pins 36 are provided on one surface 37
of the strap adjacent this headed end~
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A plurality of ratchet teeth type projections 38 ex-
tend from the opposite side of the strap adjac~nt the dis-
tal and 40 thereof and these p.ins 36 and ratchet teeth type
pro~ections 38 are clearly shown in Figures S throuyh 8.
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The distal end 40 o the strap is passed downwardly
through the aperture 27 from the outside o tha connector
with the pins 36 facing inwardly and the teeth 38 facing . -
; ou~wardly.
~he central portion 13 of the associated mop head 10
~q37~
is then placed across the open end 23 of the mop head re-
ceiving portion 15 o the connector whereupon the strap i8
passed around this central section and the di~tal end 40
is ed upwardly through the relatively narrow ~lot 29 as
S shown in Figura 90
It should be noted that the dimensions of slot 29
are just su~ficient to take the distal end 40 of the strap
34 and further movement of the strap through slot 29 i~
restricted by the first ratchat tooth type projection
specifically designated 38Ao
An aperture 41 is provided adjacent the distal end
40 thus enabling a hooked tool (not illustrated3 to be en-
, gaged therein or, alternatively~ to enable this distal end
of the strap to be attached to a fixed anchoring point (not
illustrated30
Either method allows the strap to be forced through
the slot 2g, the resiliency of the teeth 3.8 allowing ~hem
to pass through the ~lot 29 and to snap outwardly onca they
are clear~ . . -
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~ha strap is pulled tightly thus compress~lg the c0n-
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tral portion 13 of the mop head and forcing same into
engagement with the downwardly facing projection 320
The pins 36 also frictionally engage within the central
sections so that when -the strap is pulled as tightly as
possible, the mop head is firmly clamped in position wi-th-
in the mop head receiving portion 15, it being observed
that it is forced upwardly through the open end 23 to the
position shown in Figure 9.
At this point, one of the ratchet teeth speci-
fically designated 38A engages the outer surface 42 of the
shoulder 26 and prevents the strap from releasing. In
other words, the strap is held in fixed locking relation-
ship around the central section 13 of the mop head thus
holding same firmly to the connector and preventing any
inadvertent disengagement with the projections 32 and pins
36 preventing any relative movement o~ the mop head with
the connector.
Finally, if desired, the end projecting above
the shoulder 26 may be cut off and a staple or the like 43
engaged through the side of the connector, through the
strap and into the reinforcing portion 30.
Since various modifications can be made in my inven-
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tion as hereinabove described, and ~any apparently widely
diff0rent embodiments of same made within the spirit and
scope of the claims without departing from such spirit
and ~cope, it is intended that all matter contained in
the accompanying specification shall b0 interpreted as
illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
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