GB2285213A - Mop with replaceable cover - Google Patents

Abstract

A mop comprises a duster cloth unit 3 replaceably filled on a cloth holder plate 2 by flexibly folding the cloth holder plate 2 into halves and inserting its opposite end portions into pockets 6 on the duster cloth unit 3, the cloth holder plate 2 being constituted by a single flexibly foldable plate of resilient material such as rubber, soft synthetic resin material or the like. Reinforcing ribs 11 may be provided on the upper side of the plate 2 to prevent the ends of the plate from turning upward. The duster cloth is formed from overlapping sheets of fibrous material having open pockets 6 on the top side and being cut into narrow strips 7 on the outer side of the pockets to form fringes. <IMAGE>

Description

A MOP CONSTRUCTION This invention generally relates to mops, and more particularly to a mop construction which permits replacements of the mop or duster cloth assembly or unit.

There have been known in the art various mop constructions which are arranged to permit replacements of duster cloth. For example, in a known mop construction as shown in Fig. 3, pockets 6 are provided centrally on the upper side of a duster cloth unit 3, the pockets 6 having openings 8 to receive the opposite wing portions of a cloth holder plate 2 therethrough. At the time of putting on a duster cloth unit 3, the cloth holder plate 2 is folded at its center, turning its opposite wing portions downward for insertion into the pockets 6 through the respective openings 8. By so doing, the duster cloth 3 is fitted on the cloth holder plate 2.

The cloth holder plate 2 in the mop of this sort is usually constituted by a couple of plate-like members of hard synthetic resin or metallic material which are flexibly and foldably connected with each other through hinge means, and a stopper means which holds the duster cloth holder plate 2 in a flatly stretched state, making the mop construction complicate and expensive. Besides, the cloth holder plate which is formed of a rigid material is apt to cause damages to furniture or other furnishings when it is hit thereagainst during cleaning work. Especially, in case of disposable duster cloth of relatively thin material, it is very likely that collisions of a cloth holder plate of a hard material result in greater impacts which will cause detrimental damages to the surfaces of furniture. In addition, due to lack of flexibility in the cloth holder plate, difficulties are often experienced in flexibly pressing the duster cloth against the surface to be cleaned, failing to wipe up the surface to a sufficient degree.

It is a primary obJect of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive mop construction employing a cloth holder plate which is constituted by a single foldably flexible member and which permits to press the duster cloth flexibly on a cleaning surface to wipe it up to a sufficient degree with less possibilities of damaging furniture surfaces even when it is hit thereagainst.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handy mop employing a cloth holder plate of a flexible material which is restricted of excessive flexure except at the time of fitting a duster cloth unit thereon.

In accordance with the present invention, the above-stated objectives are achieved by the provision of a mop of the type including a gripping stick, a cloth holder plate attached to the stick, and a duster cloth unit replaceably fitted on the cloth holder plate and having a couple of open pockets to receive opposite end portions of the cloth holder plate therein, the cloth holder plate being foldable at the center thereof at the time of inserting the opposite end portions of the cloth holder plate into the pockets of the duster cloth unit, characterized in that: the cloth holder plate is constituted by a single flexible plate of a resilient material and provided with a connector member centrally on the upper side thereof; and the duster cloth unit is constituted by a plural number of fibrous sheets connected with each other in an overlapped state and having open pockets centrally on the top side thereof for insertion of the cloth holder plate, the fibrous sheets being cut into narrow strips by a multitude of slits on the outer side of the pockets.

In a preferred form of the invention, a couple of longitudinal reinforcing ribs are provided separately on the upper side of the cloth holder plate longitudinally on the opposite sides of the connector member in order to prevent undesirable excessive flexures of the cloth holder plate.

Preferably, the inner ends of the respective ribs are each extended to a position close the connector member in such a manner that the cloth holder plate is prevented from warping in a downwardly convex shape in an excessive by abutment of the inner ends of the ribs against the opposite sides of the connector member.

Alternatively, for preventing the cloth holder plate from warping into an upwardly convex shape during a cleaning operation, the longitudinal ribs on the opposite sides of the connector member may be connected with each other by a removable pin or pins.

In another preferred form of the present invention, the cloth holder plate is provided with reinforcing ribs both on the upper and lower sides thereof, the ribs on the upper side of the cloth holder plate including longitudinal ribs provided separately on the longitudinally opposite sides of the connector member and having the respective inner ends extended to such a close position to the connector member as to be abutted against the latter when the cloth holder plate is warped into a downwardly convex shape to prevent its excessive warping during cleaning work, the ribs on the lower side of the cloth holder plate including a short center rib and a couple of longer ribs formed separately and longitudinally on the opposite sides of the short center rib, the center rib being formed in such a reduced thickness or height as to be able to fall to one side or as to make the mop cloth holder foldable at the center thereof into an inverted U-shape at the time of fitting a duster cloth unit thereon.

In this instance, in order to prevent the cloth holder plate from warping into a downwardly convex shape during cleaning work, it is desirable that the ribs which are formed separately on the longitudinally opposite sides of the connector member be connected with each other by means of a removable pin or pins.

When cleaning floor surfaces, furniture or other appliances with the mop of the present invention which is arranged in the above-described manner, the cloth holder plate is pressed against the cleaning surface in the same manner as ordinary mops which are generally used for these purposes. On such occasions, however, due to the flexibility of the mop cloth holder plate, the mop cloth can be flexibly pressed against a cleaning surface with a moderate pressing force, gripping the cleaning surface securely to produce better cleaning effects while precluding the possibilities of causing damages to furniture or other furnishings by collisional contacts therewith.

Spent mop cloth, with a lowered dust holding capacity due to dust deposition, is removed from the cloth holder plate and replaced by a fresh one. The mop cloth can be replaced in an economical manner because its replacement is restricted to a consumable part, that is to say, restricted to the assembly of fibrous sheets of paper or woven or non-woven fabric.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the mop construction according to the invention, showing its major components; Fig. 2 is a front view of the mop of Fig. I; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view of a duster cloth assembly unit employed by the mop of Fig. I; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a cloth holder plate of modified form; Fig. 6 is a front view of the cloth holder plate of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is front view of major components in another modification of the cloth holder plate; Fig. 8 is a plan view of major components in still another modification of the cloth holder plate; Fig. 9 is a plan view of major components in a further modification of the cloth holder plate; Fig. 10 is a plan view of major components in a further modification of the cloth holder plate; and Fig. II is a front view of major components in another modification of the cloth holder plate.

Hereinafter, the invention is described more particularly by way of its preferred embodiments shown in the drawings.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, there is shown a mop which is largely constituted by a gripping stick 1, a cloth holder plate 2 which is attached to the fore end of the stick 1, and a duster cloth assembly unit 3 replaceably fitted on the cloth holder plate 2.

The cloth holder plate 2 consists of a single flexibly foldable plate, which is formed of a material with suitable resiliency and flexibility, such as rubber, soft synthetic resin material or the like, and provided with a connector member 5 centrally on its upper side for connection to the stick l.

As shown particularly in Fig. 4, the duster cloth assembly 3 is constituted by a suitable number of overlapped fibrous sheets of paper or woven or non-woven fabric, which are connected to each other at a suitable position or positions, and centrally provided with pockets 6 side by side to receive the cloth holder plate 2 therein. On the outer side of the pockets 6, the duster cloth 3 is cut into narrow strips 7 by a multitude of slits in such a manner as to form fringes around the pockets 6. The pockets 6 are provided with openings 8 opposingly in a suitably spaced relation for insertion of the cloth holder plate 2. The duster cloth assembly unit 3 may be impregnated with a dust depositing agent at least in the narrow strip portions 7.

For fitting a duster cloth assembly 3 on the cloth holder plate 2, the opposite ends of the flexible holder plate 2 are turned downwardly toward each other and placed into the openings 8 of the pockets 6 on the upper side of the duster cloth assembly unit 3, letting the holder plate 2 stretch gradually until its opposite end portions are fully fitted into the pocket 6 of the duster cloth assembly 3 in the state as shown in Fig. 3.

The mop of the above-described arrangements is used by pressing the duster cloth 3 against a floor surface or a surface of furniture or other furnishings to be cleaned, in the same manner as ordinary mops. However, due to the resiliency and flexibility of the cloth holder plate 2, the duster cloth 3 can be flexibly pressed against a cleaning surface with a moderate force free of possibilities of causing damages to furniture or the like even when the cloth holder plate 2 is brought into collisional contact with them.

A spent duster cloth unit 3, which has collected dust to its dust depositing capacity, is removed from the cloth holder plate 2 and replaced by a fresh one. On such an occasion, it suffices to replace only the duster cloth unit 3 consisting of fibrous sheets of paper or woven or non-woven fabric, restricting the replacement to the least consumable part in an economical manner.

The cloth holder plate 2 has flexibility as described hereinbefore, so that it is desirable to provide reinforcing ribs on the holder plate to prevent its excessive flexure during use. Figs. 5 and 6 show an example of the cloth holder plate which is provided with such reinforcing ribs. In this particular example, a couple of longitudinal ribs 11 are formed on the upper side of a cloth holder plate 10. These ribs 11 are formed separately on the longitudinally opposite sides of a connector 12, so that the cloth holder plate 10 can be flexibly folded at its center at the time of fitting a duster cloth assembly thereon. However, in order to prevent the opposite ends of the cloth holder plate 10 from being turned upward, that is to say, in order to prevent the cloth holder plate 10 from being flexed into a downwardly convex shape during use, the inner ends 11a of the respective reinforcing ribs are arranged to abut against the connector member 12 when the holder plate 12 is substantially in a flatly stretched state.

The provision of these longitudinal ribs 11 contributes not only to prevent unnecessary flexure of the cloth holder plate 10 but to enhance its bouncing flexibility in cleaning operations as well as its holding force on the duster cloth unit by augmenting the thickness of the cloth holder plate 10.

Referring now to Figs. 7 through 10, there are shown arrangements in which the ribs on the opposite sides of the connector member are connected with each other by a removable pin or pins to keep the cloth holder plate in a straight form, preventing same from being flexed into an upwardly convex shape by its own weight or by the weight of the duster cloth when the mop stick is lifted up, since otherwise the duster cloth may fall off the cloth holder plate quite easily.

Namely, shown in Fig. 7 is an example in which a couple of ribs 15 on the upper side of a cloth holder plate 14 are connected with each other at the respective inner ends 15a by means of a removable pin 17 which at the same time connects the connector member 18 of the duster cloth holder plate 14 to a gripping stick 16. In the example shown in Fig. 8, a couple of ribs 22 on the upper side of a cloth holder plate 20 are directly connected with each other by pins 23 at the respective inner ends 22a which are shaped in such a way as to embrace a connector member 21 on the upper side of the holder plate 20. Fig. 9 shows an example wherein the inner ends of 27a of a couple of longitudinal ribs 27 are extended to the opposite sides of a connector member 26, which is fomed on the upper side of a cloth holder plate 25 in a direction parallel with the longitudinal direction of the latter, and connected with each other by a pin 28 through the connector member 26 which is sandwiched between the inner ends 27a of the respective ribs 27. Further, shown in Fig. 10 is an example in which the inner end of one of longitudinal ribs 31 and 32 on the upper side of a cloth holder plate 30 is bifurcated as indicated at 31a and extended astride of and to the other side of a connector member 33. The inner end 32a of the other rib 32 is fitted in the bifurcated end 31a of the rib 31 and connected thereto by a pin 34.

Furthermore, there may be employed a cloth holder plate 35 which is provided with longitudinal ribs 36 and 37 on the upper and lower sides thereof as shown in Fig. 11. In this instance, similarly to the reinforcing ribs of Figs. 5 and 6, the ribs 36 on the upper side of the holder plate 35 are formed separately on the longitudinally opposite sides of a connector member 38 in such a way that the inner ends 36a of the respective ribs 36 are abutted against the connector member 38 when the holder plate 35 is in a flatly stretched state. On the other hand, the ribs 37 on the lower side of the holder plate 35 are constituted by a couple of lengthy ribs 37a and a short center rib 37b which is discretely interposed between the lengthy ribs 37a. In this case, in order to permit the duster cloth holder plate 35 to be flexibly foldable into an inverted U-shape at the time of fitting a duster cloth unit thereon, it is desirable for the short center rib 37b to have a smaller wall thickness (height) than the lengthy ribs 37a, or to have such a small width as to be able to fall to one side when flexibly folding the cloth holder plate.

As clear from the foregoing description, the mop of the present invention employ a cloth holder plate of a resilient and flexible material, so that the duster cloth can be pressed flexibly against a cleaning surface with a moderate force free of possibilities of damaging furniture or other furnishings which may come into hitting contact the mop.

Besides, the use of the cloth holder plate which consists of a single plate contributes to make the mop construction simple and inexpensive as compared with the conventional counterparts employing a couple of hinged plate members in combination with a stopper means which retains the plate members in a flatly stretched state.

Claims (7)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A mop construction including a gripping stick, a cloth holder plate attached to the stick, and a duster cloth assembly unit replaceably fitted on said cloth holder plate and having a couple of open pockets to receive the opposite end portions of said cloth holder plate therein, said cloth holder plate being foldable at the center thereof at the time of inserting the opposite end portions thereof into said pockets of said duster cloth unit, characterized in that: said cloth holder plate is constituted by a single flexible plate of a resilient material and provided with a connector member centrally on the upper side thereof; and said duster cloth assembly unit is constituted by a plural number of fibrous sheets connected with each other in an overlapped state and having open pockets centrally on the top side thereof for insertion of said cloth holder plate, said fibrous sheets being cut into narrow strips by a multitude of slits on the outer side of the pockets.

2. A mop construction as defined in claim 1, wherein said cloth holder plate is provided with a couple of longitudinal reinforcing ribs on the upper side thereof separately on the longitudinally opposite sides of said connector member.

3. A mop construction as defined in claim 2, wherein the inner ends of said longitudinal ribs are each extended to such a position close to said connector member and arranged to be brought into abutment against said connector member to prevent same from warping in a downwardly convex shape in an excessive degree.

4. A mop construction as defined in claim 2 or 3, wherein said longitudinal ribs on the opposite sides of said connector member are connected with each other by a removable pin or pins to prevent said cloth holder plate from warping into an upwardly convex shape during a cleaning operation.

5. A mop construction as defined in claim 1, wherein said cloth holder plate is provided with reinforcing ribs on both the upper and lower sides thereof, the ribs on the upper side of said cloth holder plate including longitudinal ribs formed separately on the longitudinally opposite sides of said connector member and having the respective inner ends extended to such a close position to the connector member as to be abutted against the latter when said cloth holder plate is warped into a downwardly convex shape in an excessive degree, the ribs on the lower side of said cloth holder plate including a short center rib and a couple of longer ribs formed separately and longitudinally on the opposite sides of said short center rib, said center rib being formed in a reduced thickness or height to make the mop cloth holder flexibly foldable at the center thereof into an inverted U-shape at the time of fitting a duster cloth unit thereon.

6. A mop construction as defined in claim 5, wherein said longitudinal ribs on the upper side of said cloth holder plate are connected with each other by a removable pin to prevent said cloth holder plate from flexing into an upwardly convex shape during a cleaning operation.

7. A mop construction substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.