GB2439273A

GB2439273A - Combination mop bucket and wringer

Info

Publication number: GB2439273A
Application number: GB0612244A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Scot Young
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-06-21
Filing date: 2006-06-21
Publication date: 2007-12-27
Also published as: US20100050363A1; GB0612244D0; CN101472516B; EP2028990B1; WO2007148050A2; EP2028990A2; CN101472516A; WO2007148050A3

Abstract

A combination mop bucket and wringer unit 10 comprises a mop bucket 12 having a bottom surface 16 and a peripheral wall 18 which upstands from the bottom surface 16, a mechanical press wringer 14 which is supportable on the upper edge 30 of the peripheral wall 18 of the mop bucket 12, and means for releasably engaging the mechanical press wringer 14 with the bucket 12 to prevent separation of the mop bucket 12 and the mechanical press wringer 14. The peripheral wall 18 has an upper edge 30 which defines an opening 32 of the mop bucket 12. The mechanical press wringer 14 has a wringing basket 40 for receiving absorbent mop material, one or more movable press elements 44 for exerting a squeezing force on the mop material when in the wringing basket 40, a press mechanism 46 for moving the or each press element, and a handle 48 for operating the press mechanism. The releasable engaging means includes a pivotable clip 74 on two opposing sides of the combination mop bucket and wringer unit 10 and an engagable element 76 with which a respective pivotable clip 74 can be snap-fit releasably engaged, each said pivotable clip 74 being formed independently of the mop bucket 12 and the mechanical press wringer 14 and being pivotably engaged with one of the mop bucket 12 and the mechanical press wringer 14, and the said engagable element 76 being provided on the other one of the mop bucket 12 and the mechanical press wringer 14.

Description

I

COMBINATION MOP BUCKET AND WRINGER

The present invention relates to a combination mop bucket and wringer unit in which a mechanical press wringer can be securely engaged with a mop bucket to prevent unintentional separation, but in which the wringer can be easily separated from the bucket by a user when required.

It is known to provide a combination mop bucket and wringer unit in which a separate wringer is permanently attached to a mop bucket. The purpose of the permanent attachment was to prevent unintentional removal of the wringer by a user, especially during use. It had been found that the wringer could actually slide off the bucket under certain conditions, and this posed a potential hazard to the user. Such a combination mop bucket and wringer unit is supplied by SYR Clean Ltd of Lye, Stourbridge, DY9 8HG, United Kingdom.

It has been determined that a user of a combination mop bucket and wringer unit would, on occasion, wish to remove the wringer from the mop bucket, for example for maintenance and/or cleaning purposes.

Catches which are integrally moulded with the wringer or mop bucket and which included a living' hinge so as to be sufficiently flexible were considered.

However, through testing, such an integral catch proved to be susceptible to breakage when repeatedly flexed.

Furthermore, to keep tooling and other manufacturing costs as low as possible, an integral catch is typically narrow. During robust use of the combination mop bucket and wringer unit, the narrow integral catches tended to fail, leading to unintentional and potentially hazardous separation of the wringer from the mop bucket. Increasing the size, and thus resilience, of the integrally moulded catches increased tooling and manufacturing costs to an unacceptable level.

The present invention thus intends to solve these problems.

According to the present invention, there is provided a combination mop bucket and wringer unit comprising a mop bucket having a bottom surface and a peripheral wall upstanding from the bottom surface, the peripheral wall having an upper edge which defines an opening of the mop bucket; a mechanical press wringer which is supportable on the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the mop bucket and which has a wringing basket for receiving absorbent mop material, one or more movable press elements for exerting a squeezing force on the mop material when in the wringing basket, a press mechanism for moving the or each press element, and a handle for operating the press mechanism; and means for releasably engaging the mechanical press wringer with the bucket to prevent separation of the mop bucket and the mechanical press wringer, the releasable engaging means including a pivotable clip on two opposing sides of the combination mop bucket and wringer unit and an engagable element with which a respective pivotable clip can be snap-fit releasably engaged, each said pivotable clip being formed independently of the mop bucket and the mechanical press wringer and being pivotably engaged with one of the mop bucket and the mechanical press wringer, and the said engagable element being provided on the other one of the mop bucket and the mechanical press wringer.

Preferred and/or optional features of the invention are set forth in claims 2 to 16, inclusive.

The present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a combination mop bucket and wringer unit, in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the combination mop bucket and wringer unit shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a further enlarged view of the combination mop bucket and wringer unit shown in Figure 1, showing a pivotable clip by which the bucket and wringer are releasably engaged; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the pivotable clip on one side of the unit disengaged from the wringer; Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, showing the wringer being lifted away from the mop bucket of the unit, following disengagement of both pivotable clips; Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the combination mop bucket and wringer unit shown in Figure 1; Figure 7 is a view from one end of the pivotable clip; and Figure 8 is a view of the pivotable clip, in the direction labelled A-A in Figure 7.

Referring to the drawings, a combination mop bucket and wringer unit 10 comprises a, typically moulded plastics, mop bucket 12, a mechanical press wringer 14, and means for releasably engaging the mechanical press wringer 14 with the mop bucket 12.

The mop bucket 12 comprises a continuous bottom surface 16 and a continuous peripheral wall 18 which upstands from the bottom surface 16. The peripheral wall 18 defines a front wall 20 having an integrally formed pour spout 22, a rear wall 24 which is opposite the front wall 20, and two side walls 26 which extend between the front wall and the rear wall 24. Each side wall 26 includes a shoulder 28 which extends from the top of the mop bucket 12 to or towards the bottom surface 16.

Typically, at least the peripheral wall 18 of the mop bucket 12 is of thin-wall configuration, so as to be susceptible to bending and buckling when the mechanical press wringer 14 is in use. The phrase thin-wall' is well known within the field to mean a wall thickness of 3 millimetres (mm) or less, and typically between 1.5 mm and 2 mm.

The peripheral wall 18 defines an upper edge 30 of the mop bucket 12, opposite the bottom surface 16. The upper edge 30 defines an opening 32 of the mop bucket 12.

The peripheral waIl 18 includes an outwardly extending inverted U-shaped or substantially inverted U-shaped upper lip 34 or rim. The upper edge 30 of the mop bucket 12 forms part of the upper lip 34 of the peripheral wall 18.

The mop bucket 12 also includes four outrigger legs 36 which project outwardly from or adjacent to the bottom surface 16 of the mop bucket 12. Each outrigger leg 36 is located at a corner of the mop bucket 12. Typically, the outrigger legs 36 are formed integrally as part of the mop bucket 12, but they can be separate elements which are connected after manufacture of the mop bucket 12.

Each outrigger leg 36 includes a pivotable wheel 38 or castor via which the combination mop bucket and wringer unit 10 is in use supported on a surface.

The mechanical press wringer 14 includes a wringing basket 40 which defines a channel having a uniform or substantially uniform lateral cross-section along its longitudinal extent, one or more, in this case two opposite, movable press elements 44 which can move along the channel 42, a geared press mechanism 46 which mechanically and simultaneously operates the press elements 44, and a pivotable handle 48 which activates the press mechanism 46, thus causing the press elements 44 to move along the channel 42.

The wringing basket 40 includes multiple drainage openings 50, and its in use upper edge 52 defines a mop material receiving opening 54.

Absorbent mop material, typically forming part of a mop, can be inserted into the channel 42 of the wringing basket 40 via the opening 54. The movable press elements 44 are elongate plates or bars which extend across the channel 42 and which, in use, then urge and squeeze the absorbent mop material into the channel 42 as they move into the channel 42.

The handle 48 is pivotably mounted over the opening 54 of the wringing basket 40, so as to substantially centralise the force imparted by the user and thus reduce undesirable twisting moments being imparted to the unit.

Opposite side walls 56 of the wringing basket 40 project upwardly from the channel 42, and the wringer 14 includes side covers 58 which cover the geared press mechanism 46. The side covers 58 extend downwardly to form a skirt 60 which, in use, snugly covers an adjacent portion of the upper lip 34 of the peripheral wall 18 of the mop bucket 12. The skirt 60 extends from or adjacent to a front edge 62 of the wringer 14 to or adjacent to a rear edge 64 of the wringer 14.

A front upper edge 62a of the wringing basket 40 is provided with a reinforcing element 66 for reinforcing the side walls 26 of the mop bucket 12 against inwards and outwards bowing. The reinforcing element 66 includes an abutting element 68 at each end thereof. Each abutting element 68 forms part of the releasable engaging means and, in use, abuts a respective said side wall shoulder 28 of the mop bucket 12 to prevent slidable removal of the wringer 14.

The abutting element 68 includes a cranked and inverted channel 70 for receiving the upper lip 34 of the peripheral wall 18 of the mop bucket 12. The cranked channel 70 is dimensioned to extend across the side wall shoulder 28, in a front-to-rear direction of the mop bucket 12. The abutting elements 68 can thus sit on the upper edge of the mop bucket 12 and engage the respective shoulders 28, thus locking the wringer 14 against sliding movement on the mop bucket 12.

Although, in this embodiment, the abutting elements 68 do not include catches for engagement with the mop bucket 12, to thus prevent or limit vertical displacement of the wringer 14 relative to the mop bucket 12, integrally formed catches could be provided. If catches are provided on the abutting elements 68, then the catches can, for iS example, engage the downwardly depending free edge 72 of the upper lip 34 of the peripheral wall 18.

The abutting elements 68 can be provided at any position on any kind of wringer 14, providing the mop bucket 12 also includes shoulders 28 or cranked portions with which the abutting elements 68 can engage to prevent sliding movement of the wringer 14 relative to the bucket 12. Although the abutting elements 68 are formed as part of a reinforcing element 66, the abutting elements 68 can be provided alone and can be simply intended to prevent sliding movement of the wringer 14.

The rear edge 64 of the wringer 14, opposite the reinforcing element 66, includes one or more downwardly depending integrally formed rear clips (not shown).

The or each rear clip forms an independent part of the said releasable engaging means and is engagable with the downwardly depending free edge 72 of the upper lip 34.

Alternatively, one or more apertures in the upper edge 30 can be provided so that the or each rear clip can extend through the upper lip 34 to engage with a lower surface thereof.

The skirt 60 of the wringer 14 can extend from the sides along the rear edge 64 so as to, in use, snugly cover the adjacent portion of the upper lip 34 of the mop bucket 12.

The means for releasably engaging the mechanical press wringer 14 with the mop bucket 12 also comprises two, typically moulded plastics, pivotable clips 74 and two corresponding engagable ledge elements 76.

Each pivotable clip 74 is formed independently of the mop bucket 12 and wringer 14. In this embodiment, the mop bucket 12 is provided with three discrete hinges 78. As such, three integrally moulded spaced clip hinge projections 80 on each side wall 26 are provided, adjacent to the upper edge 30 and partway between the front wall 20 and rear wall 24. Each pivotable clip 74 has an inverted F-shape or substantially inverted F-shape lateral cross-section, as best seen in Figure 7. An in use lower edge 82 is formed with three spaced hinge recesses 84 for receiving the hinge projections 80 on the mop bucket 12. The hinge projections 80 and the hinge recesses 84 can be provided with respective mating stud projections and recesses (not shown), so that the pivotabk clip 74 pivotably engages with the mop bucket 12 following insertion of the hinge projections 80 in the respective hinge recesses 84.

Alternatively, the hinge projections 80 and the lower edge 82 of the pivotable clip 74 can be provided with alignable openings to receive a hinge pin coaxially with the pivot axis of the pivotable clip 74.

It has been found that a single hinge projection and corresponding recess is not sufficiently robust, and separation and breakage of the pivotable clip frequently occurs.

Although two spaced hinge projections and corresponding recesses can be utilised, it is preferred that three or more spaced hinge projections and corresponding recesses are util ised.

A wringer engagement arm 86 of the pivotable clip 74 includes a downwardly projecting lip 88.

A back portion 90 of the pivotable clip 74 projects beyond the wringer engagement arm 86 to provide an outwardly turned clip release element 92 which is urgeable in an outwards direction by a user.

The ledge elements 76 are integrally moulded on the opposing side covers 58 of the wringer 14, as part of or adjacent to the skirt 60 and partway, typically midway, between the front and rear edges of the wringer 14. The ledge elements 76 thus project, typically horizontally, outwardly away from the wringer 14, and include one or more upstanding engagement ridges 94 which extend in a front-to-rear direction of the wringer 14.

In use, the mechanical press wringer 14 is either placed directly and squarely over the upper edge 30 of the mop bucket 12, with the rear clips of the wringer 14 snap-fit engaging with the upper lip 34 simultaneously or substantially simultaneously with the abutting elements 68 engaging with the side shoulders 28 of the mop bucket 12, or the wringer 14 is tilted in a rear-to-front direction onto the mop bucket 12, so that firstly the rear clips of the wringer 14 engage with the upper lip 34 of the mop bucket 12, and then the abutting elements 68 are brought down to sit across the side shoulders 28 of the mop bucket 12.

Once so positioned, although the mechanical press wringer 14 only covers a portion of the opening 32 of the mop bucket 12, the wringer 14 covers all or substantially all of the upper edge 30 of the mop bucket 12 which defines in part the said portion of the opening 32.

The pivotable clips 74 are then hinged towards the wringer 14, and the wringer engagement arm 86 of each pivotable clip 74 engages with the respective ledge element 76 of the wringer 14. Ill

The downwardly projecting lip 88 of each pivotable clip 74 rides over the engagement ridge 94 of the respective ledge element 76 to prevent or limit undesirable or accidental disengagement of the pivotable clip 74 from the ledge element 76.

The above-described process is reversed to remove the wringer from the mop bucket. The clip release element of each pivotable clip is urged in a direction away from the wringer to release each pivotable clip from the wringer, and the wringer is lifted off the mop bucket.

Although each pivotable clip is described as being provided on the mop bucket, the pivotable clips can be provided on the mechanical press wringer. In this case, the ledge elements are formed on the mop bucket. Consequently, the in use pivotable clips will hinge downwardly to engage, instead of upwardly.

Although an integrally formed rear clip is described as being provided on the wringer, a separate third pivotable clip or other suitable connector element can be utilised.

Alternatively, the rear clip(s) can be dispensed with.

The outrigger legs and/or wheels and castors can be dispensed with, so that the unit contacts a supporting surface via the bottom of the bucket.

The embodiments described above are given by way of examples only, and various other modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit comprising: a mop bucket having a bottom surface and a peripheral wall upstanding from the bottom surface, the peripheral wall having an upper edge which defines an opening of the mop bucket; a mechanical press wringer which is supportable on the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the mop bucket and which has a wringing basket for receiving absorbent mop material, one or more movable press elements for exerting a squeezing force on the mop material when in the wringing basket, a press mechanism for moving the or each press element, and a handle for operating the press mechanism; and means for releasably engaging the mechanical press wringer with the bucket to prevent separation of the mop bucket and the mechanical press wringer, the releasable engaging means including a pivotable clip on two opposing sides of the combination mop bucket and wringer unit and an engagable element with which a respective pivotable clip can be snap-fit releasably engaged, each said pivotable clip being formed independently of the mop bucket and the mechanical press wringer and being pivotably engaged with one of the mop bucket and the mechanical press wringer, and the said engagable element being provided on the other one of the mop bucket and the mechanical press wringer.

2. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pivotable clip and corresponding engagable element are provided partway between a front edge and a rear edge of the mechanical press wringer when supported on the bucket.

3. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the pivotable clip and corresponding engagable element are provided midway between a front edge and a rear edge of the mechanical press wringer when supported on the bucket.

4. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in any one of claims I to 3, wherein each said pivotable clip is pivotably engaged with the mop bucket or the mechanical press wringer via at least two discrete hinges which are spaced from each other.

5. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each said pivotable clip includes an outwardly turned clip release element via which a user can engage or disengage the pivotable clip with or from the respective engagable element.

6. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a lateral cross-section of the pivotable clip has an inverted F' shape or substantially inverted F' shape.

7. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the releasable engaging means further includes a connector element which connects the mop bucket and mechanical press wringer at the rear of the combination mop bucket and wringer unit.

8. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein the connector element is spaced from the pivotabie clips.

9. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mop bucket further includes a shoulder formed in opposing sides of the peripheral wall, and the releasable engaging means further includes two spaced abutting elements, each of which engages a respective said shoulder, when the mechanical press wringer is supported on the mop bucket, to prevent sliding removal of the wringer from the mop bucket.

10. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein each abutting element includes a cranked channel in which the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the mop bucket can be received.

11. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the mop bucket forms part of an inverted U-shaped or substantially U-shaped upper lip.

12. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mechanical press wringer, when supported on the mop bucket, covers only a portion of the opening of the mop bucket, the mechanical press wringer covering all or substantially all of the upper edge of the mop bucket which defines in part the said portion of the opening.

13. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mechanical press wringer includes a skirt which, when the wringer is supported on the mop bucket, extends downwardly below the upper edge of the peripheral wall.

14. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in claim 13, wherein the skirt extends from or adjacent to a front edge of the mechanical press wringer to or adjacent to a rear edge of the mechanical press wringer.

15. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the skirt extends along a rear edge of the mechanical press wringer.

16. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the peripheral wall of the mop bucket is of thin-wall configuration as hereinbefore defined, so as to be susceptible to bending and buckling when the mechanical press wringer is in use.

17. A combination mop bucket and wringer unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.