GB2204229A

GB2204229A - Sweep mop pad holder

Info

Publication number: GB2204229A
Application number: GB08710520A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Jones
Original assignee: Scot Young Service Systems Ltd
Current assignee: Scot Young Service Systems Ltd
Priority date: 1987-05-02
Filing date: 1987-05-02
Publication date: 1988-11-09
Anticipated expiration: 2007-05-02
Also published as: GB2204229B; GB8710520D0

Abstract

A sweep mop pad holder comprising a support block 1 to which a handle mounting 3 is fixed, two pivotally mounted wire frames 4, 5 engageable in end pockets 8, 9 of mop pad 10, and a catch block 20 for releasably latching side limbs 7 of frame 5, is provided with a cross member 6 slidable along the limbs to vary the catch-engagement force at the catch block. <IMAGE>

Description

"SWEEP MOP PAD HOLDER" The invention relates to sweep mops which comprise a mop pad mounted on a pad holder attached through an articulating joint to a handle, so that the operative area of the pad lies flat on the floor as the mop is used with a sweeping action. Such mops are in general use for mopping of large floor areas, such as in hospitals and offices for example.

Particularly for use in a wet mopping system, including a mopping unit comprisiny a mop bucket combined with a wringer having two squeeze rollers between which the mop pad can be wrung out, collapsible pad holders are known which comprise two leaves hinged to a central support connected to the handle so that, when collapsed, the pad hangs down and can be pulled through the wringer. It has been proposed that the leaves should consist of wire frames with a catch arrangement which maintains the erected condition of the holder by engaging the side limbs of such a frame, in the region of the central support, and thus utilizing the flexibility and resilience of the frame for resilient catch engagement.

Although the foregoing proposal has advantages, particularly that of reduced handling, as compared with a catch arrangement employing positive latching it introduces the problem that the effective catch engagement depends on the weight of the mop pad used, such pads being available in a range of thicknesses or weights. This problem is particularly noticeable with the longer mop pads which are now coming into use, the difference in effective catch engagement with heavy and light pads having a length of say 80 cm, for example, being considerable.

In order to overcome or at least materially to reduce the foregoing problem, a wire frame the side limbs of which are engaged by the catch arrangement of a collapsible mop holder has these limbs interconnected by a cross member which can be adjustably positioned along the frame, whereby to change the catch engagement force. The "catch engagement force" as referred to herein is the force required to engage or disengage the catch arrangement, and movement of the cross member of the invention along the frame limbs changes the effective flexibility of these limbs and thus allows this force to be adjusted to suit the weight of mop pad used. The cross member is preferably slidable along the side limbs of the frame to effect positional adjustment.

Preferably the frame fitted with the cross member is one of two wire frames respectively providing the two leaves of the collapsible mop holder, with the catch arrangement being associated with the other frame. Thus the catch arrangement acts directly between the two frames, and it may comprise a catch block fitted at the inner end of said other frame inwardly of the pivotal attachment of the latter to the central support of the pad holder. This catch block is preferably moulded with side grooves for catch engagement by the side limbs of the wire frame to which said slidable member is fitted.

The slidable member may be a clip-on fit on the side limbs of the associated frame, and it may be a strip cut from an extruded length of plastics material. Said catch block mounted on said other frame may be a plastics moulding, as may the central support to which the wire frames are pivotally attached and to which the mop handle is connected.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, a sweep mop embodying a collapsible pad holder in accordance with the invention. In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic top perspective view showing the complete mop in erected condition; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the mop in collapsed condition; Fig. 3 is a partial side view illustrating a central portion of the pad holder; Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively side and top views of one of two end leaf frames of the pad holder; Fig. 6 is a top view of the other leaf frame; Fig. 7 is an end view of a catch block of the pad holder; and Fig. 8 is an end view of a cross member providing for catch force adjustment.

The mop pad holder illustrated comprises a central support block 1 to which a handle 2 is attached by means of a universally-jointed handle mounting 3. End leaves 4 and 5, in the form of wire frames, are pivotally mounted on the block 1. The frames 4 and 5 are of rectangular shape in plan view with outer ends which engage in end pockets 8 and 9 of a mop pad 10. In the erected operative condition of the holder the frames 4 and 5 are aligned, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, with the pad 10 held stretched in flat configuration below the pad holder.

Spaced cross members 11 and 12 maintain the shape of the frame 4, this section having a small central gap 13 between inner end portions 14. The frame 5 has a single integral cross member 15 towards its outer end, and in accordance with the invention an adjustable cross member 6 is slidable on the side limbs 7 of this frame for a purpose to be described. Both frames 4 and 5 are upwardly joggled to provide main outer portions, coplanar with the bottom of the support block 1, and parallel inner portions. The cross member 11 of the frame 4 and the inner end limbs 16 of the frame 5 are respectively pivotally received in cross slots 17 and 18 in the lower side of the mounting section 1, being retained therein by an attached securing plate 19.

The upwardly joggled inner end portion of the frame 4 extends beyond the handle mounting 3, and a moulded plastics catch block 20 is mounted on the inner end of this frame. The block 20 is moulded with edge recesses 23 in which the side limbs 24 of the upwardly joggled inner end portion of the frame 5 engage. Such engagement operates to provide resiliently-engaged latching of the frames 4 and 5 one to the other to retain the assembly in the erected condition illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. Movement of the side limbs 24 into and out of engagement with the recesses 23, during erection and collapsing of the pad holder, is accommodated by resilient flexing of the side limbs 24 which move over smoothly radiused catch formations 25 at the bottom lateral side edges of the block 20.On its side facing the handle mounting 3 the block 20 has a radiused cut-out 26 so that it does not impede full handle movement during use of the mop.

The catch engagement force can be adjusted to suit the weight of mop pad used by suitably positioning the cross member 6 relatively to the catch block 20, to which end the member 6 can be slid along the frame limbs 7 which it interconnects. As will be appreciated, the position of the cross member 6 determines the point about which the limbs 7 flex during catch engagement and disengagement, thus changing the effective length of the limbs so far as the catch is concerned and hence determining the catch engagement force required. The cross member 6 is a section of a plastics extrusion, say of 2.5 to 5.0 cm in length, having a cross-section as shown in Fig. 8. It has, at its bottom side edges, opposed and inwardly facing grooves 26 of part-circular cross-section which are a clip-on fit on the frame limbs 7. Thus, the limbs 7 are gripped tightly enough to preclude inadvertent displacement of the cross member 6, whilst allowing manual positional adjustment by sliding the cross member 6 along the frame 5.

In addition to providing catch means for latching the frames 4 and 5 one to the other to maintain the erected condition, the block 20 performs another important function which will be clear from the following description of the collapsing and erecting procedure.

When the mop has to be collapsed for wringing out of the mop pad the handle is held positioned as shown in Fig. 1, that is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the pad holder and directed away from the block 20. Holding the handle 2 firmly in both hands the operative gives the mop a quick shake, downwards and upwards. At the reversal of movement the inertia of the wet mop pad 10 acting on the frames 4 and 5 is sufficient to overcome the resilient latching engagement of the frame 5 with the block 20, the inertial force plus the weight loading of the wet pad providing the necessary "catch engagement force" as hereinbefore defined. The side limbs 24 open to drop down over the latching formations 25 and the frames 4 and 5 hang downwardly, in the collapsed condition of the pad holder, with the mop pad 10 draped in a loop below them as shown in Fig. 2.The mop can now be wrung out, the mop pad 10 being doubled to pass through the wringer. Thus collapsing of the mop and the wringing out can be accomplished without handling of the wet mop pad 10.

The handle 2 is now turned through 1800, so that whilst still aligned with the longitudinal axis of the pad holder it extends over the top of the block 20. Thus the handle can be held so that it engages the block 20 to hold the frame 4 at a suitable inclination for it to be engaged with the floor so that the ends of the pad 10 are spaced apart, whereupon pressing the mop down upon the floor will move the frames 4 and 5 back to the erected condition. As the frames 4 and 5 come into alignment the side limbs 24 snap over the latching formations 25 into the side grooves 23 of the block 20. Thus erection, after wringing out the mop pad 10, is also accomplished without handling of the latter. It will be appreciated that the adjustment of the catch engaging force which is provided by the invention, by appropriate positioning of the slidable cross member 6 on the frame limbs 7, is particularly advantageous with larger mop pads the effective weight of which can vary considerably according to the type of pad fitted. Thus the catch engagement force can be adjusted to suit the pad used, whereby to provide positive and reliable collapsing and erection as has been described without handling of the wet mop pad.

Claims

Claims:

1. A collapsible sweep mop pad holder having a frame providing a pivotally mounted leaf to which one end of a mop pad can be secured, a catch arrangement which is operative to latch the frame in an erected position by engagement with side limbs of the frame and which is releasable to collapse the pad holder, and a cross member which is mounted between the side limbs and which can be adjustably positioned along the frame whereby to change the catch engagement force.

2. A collapsible pad holder according to claim 1, wherein the cross member is slidable along the side limbs of the frame for positional adjustment.

3. A collapsible pad holder according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said frame is one of two wire frames which respectively provide opposite end leaves of the holder, and the catch means is associated with the other frame so as to be operative to latch the two frames together when in the erected position.

4. A collapsible pad holder according to claim 3, wherein the two frames are separately pivotally mounted on a support section of the holder to which a handle mounting is attached, and the catch arrangement comprises a catch block fitted at the inner end of said other frame inwardly of the pivotal mounting of that frame to the support section.

5. A collapsible pad holder according to claim 4, wherein the catch block is a plastics moulding and is moulded with side grooves for respective latching engagement with said side limbs.

6. A collapsible pad holder according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cross member is a clip-on fit on said side limbs of the frame to which it is fitted.

7. A collapsible pad holder according to claim 6, wherein the cross member is a strip cut from an extruded length of a plastics extrusion.

8. A collapsible sweep mop pad holder, comprising a moulded plastics support section, a universally-jointed handle mounting attached to the upper side of the support section, two generally rectangular wire frames separately pivotally attached to the support section and which provide end leaves which in the erected condition extend at opposite ends of the holder for support of an attached mop pad, a catch arrangement operative to latch the two frames together to retain them in the erected position and which has latching engagement between side limbs of one of the frames, and a cross member extending between said side limbs and adjustable therealong whereby to change the effective flexibility of said side limbs in the region of said latching engagement.

9. A collapsible sweep mop pad holder constructed and arranged substantially as herein particularly described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.