US2331457A - Dust mop cleaner - Google Patents

Description

Oct'. 1,2, 1943. c. R. cuR-rls DUST MOP CLEANER Filed oct'. 2o, 1941 Patented Oct. 12, 1943 UNITED STATES VPATENT OFFICE l 2,331,457 t 'A 1 nusr Mor CLEANER cwunourzis,m.in'les;ca1if. y Application october zo, 1941, swarm. 415,699'v (cnrs- 12V A9. Claims.

This invention relates to a dust mop cleaner.

Most cities have ordinances prohibiting the shaking of dust mops or brooms, from a window. For this reason in apartmentl houses, hotels, and

other abodes, it is dimcult for the -users of dust mops to dispose of the dust adhering to the mops. An object of the present invention is to provide simple means for removing the dust from a dust mop in such a way as to prevent its becoming disseminated again into the air in the room; and to provide means for collecting the dust. Y

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this kind with means for facilitating the dislodgement of the dust from the mop within a casing, and associated with means for delivering the dust into a collecting bag.

A further object of the invention is to produce a cleaner element having eiective wipers or tongues for engaging the mop at a plurality of points to cooperate in dislodging the dust from the mop; also to construct the tongues inexpensively but in such a way as to givev them a high degree of flexibility, thereby tending to increase their vibration under the action of movements imparted to the same, or tothe mop.

V-Further'objects of the inventic'i'nfwill appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and. combination of parts to be described "hereinafter, all of which contributeto produce 'an emcient dust mop cleaner. v

' A preferred embodiment lof the invention is described in the following specication, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation and partial section through a dust mop cleaner embodying my invention, certain parts being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken about on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1, with a dust collecting bag broken away and shown partly in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken about on the line 3-3 of Fig. l. This view is broken away to economize space.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section taken yat the back of thel cleaner, and particularly illustrating details for the features that giveA accessibility to the dust collecting bag. This view is upon an enlarged scale, and particularly villustrates the dust bag collar plate, and means for of material which I,l employ for making the wipers ortongues that engage the mop, to kfacilitate the dislodgement of its dust.

Fig. 6 is a detail of a guide bearing that I employ for guiding astem that I employ for imparting a vibratory movement to the mop or to a cleaner elementfor assisting in dislodging the dust from the mop. 'I'he view is a vertical section through this bearing, and showing a portion of the stem that is guided through the bearing.

Referring more particularly to the parts, I indicates a box-form casing'having an opening at 2 preferably located on the upper side and normally closed by a lid 3 that may be mounted on a hinge connection 4. Within the casing and preferably in the upper portion thereof, I mount a cleaner element 5 which, in the present instance, is of box form, that is to say it has a wall capable of surrounding and contacting with a mop on all sides surrounding a space of smaller cross-sectional area than the casing, that constitutes the inlet for tlie'fan, and this wall is provided with a plurality of` fixedly supported inwardly projecting wipers or tongues 6 that come into contact with the mop when inserted through the opening at 2. At the lower end of the cleaner element 5 transverse bars or straps 'l are provided, which are of substantially V-form in side elevation as shown in Fig. 2, the middle portions of these bars being attached to a longitudinally extending frame bar S. The connections of the bars 'l to the longitudinal bar 8 may be spot welded if desired.

The bars 'l are also provided with upwardly projecting inclined wipers or tongues 6. In using this mop cleaner, the lid :i 'would be raised by means of its handle 9, and the mopwould then be introduced through the opening at 2 past two overlapping aps i0 of a flexible material such as rubber. The middle portions of these flaps have registering notches H that cooperate to form an opening to t the handle of the mop. The mop head would be located within the body 5 in contact with the wipers or tongues 6. With this construction it will be evident that a mop could be introduced and then vibrated in a vertical direction, or else agitated laterally so as't cause the tongues 6 to dislodge the dust from Y the mop. f

The dust from the mop would descend into a dust `chamber |2below ythe cleaner element 5, and in this chamberI ydevelop a ypartial vacuum to cause an inward current of atmospheric air to be drawn down at the opening 2 and past the mop. A'Ihis dust-laden yairis then forced into a dust collecting bag I3 (see Fig. 2). For this purpose I prefer to employ as a vacuum device a rotary suction fan or blower I4 .which is driven in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, by means of a small motor such as an electric motor l5. The cleaner element 5 operates as the air inlet for the fan, and the dust-laden air passes up from the fan or blower, through an opening I6; and of course the material of the bag is a fabric which will permit the air to pass through the same, leaving the dust within the bag. This air will pass out through louver openings I1 in the rear wall of the casing. The side of the bag is held away from the openings I1 by means of a grid i8.

If desired, the end walls of the bag chamber I9 may also be provided with perforations 20 to permit other escape of the air that has been filtered through the wall of the bag.

When the fanor blower I4 is in operation, a considerable reduction in pressure occurs in the dust chamber I2, which will cause the flaps I to bend downwardly as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, thereby permitting atmospheric air to flow in and move down past the mop.

Although my invention can be practiced by using only the apparatus already described, I prefer to provide means 'for causing a relative vibratory movement between the cleaner element and the mop. This may be accomplished either by vibrating the cleaner element or vibrating the mop, or vibrating both the mop and the cleaner element. to provide a cam or eccentric 2I on the end of the shaft 22 of the motor I5. Inthe present instance I provide an eccentric sheave 23 indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 2, and this sheave rotates in an eccentric strap 24 carryingv an eccentric Y rod or stem 25 that vextends upwardly with its upper end guided through a loose bearing 26. The rod 25 is formed with an arm 21 that extends over to a point under the frame bar 3 so that when the eccentric rod is actuated by the eccentric, the end of this arm'21will strike. the bar 3 and impart vibratory upward jarring movements to the cleaner element 5 at a rapid rate. The rate of imparting these vibrations will be very high where theshaftof the eccentric rotates at the same speed asthe motor shaft. In the present instance, this isuaccomplished by coupling the electric motor directly to'the fan, and having the eccentric mounted on an extension shaft from the fan.

In order to adjust the point of contact of the arm 21 with the under side of the bar 8, I prefer to provide the bar` with a contact screw or bolt 28. the tip of which projects slightly above the` arm 21. This screw or bolt can be. adjusted up or down as desired. l The cleaner element 5 is mounted substantially xed within the casing but so that it is capable of a limited yielding vibratory movement. For this purpose I providefour or more hanger bolts 29 see Fig. 2) which are supported from brackets 3U on the front wall of the casing, and on the partition wall 3i. These bolts are surrounded with cushion blocks 32 Aof yielding-material such as rubber. When vthe arm 21 engages the bar B and pushesl the body 5 upwardly, these blocks 32 will be compressed and will immediately force the body 5 down toward its original position.

There 'is a great variety in the size and shape of dust mops, and in order to increase the emciency of this cleaner device and to enable the In order to accomplish this I prefer mop head to be vibrated if desired, either instead of vibrating the cleaner body 5, or vibrate it in addition to the vibration of the body 5, I prefer to provide means for engaging the under side of the head of the mop. These mops usually have a wire frame or a head of some kind of solid material to which the soft portions of the mop are attached. The construction, therefore, preferably also includes a mop head vibrator 33 in the form of an arm that may be pivotally attached at 34'on the upper portion of the eccentric rod 25. This vibrator projects across the upper side of a longitudinal bar or mop rest 35. This bar 35 is to make contact with the rigid head or rigid body that carries the soft portion of .the mop, and it extends longitudinally of the casing and its ends are supported on cushion blocks 36 held in socket brackets 31 (see Fig. l). These blocks 36 are in slight compression, and are limited in their upward movement by stops 38 welded to the inner side of the end walls of the casing. The vibrator4 arm 33 is secured by an adjusting screw 39 to the arm 21. This adjusting screw 39 is threaded in the arm 33 and passes loosely through the arm 21, being provided with two clamping nuts 40 to clamp this screw in any desired position. The under side of the arm 33 at its tip may be provided with a nib 4I that will always maintain contact with the bar 35 at about the axis of the bar regardless of any adjusting movements of the vibrator arm 33.

If desired, the bar 35 maybe provided with a plurality of wipers or tongues 6a, which have substantially the same construction as the Wipers 6 already described in Fig. 2. These wipers 6a -are omitted from Figure 2 so as to enable the vibrating means to be more clearly disclosed, but they are shown in Fig. 1, and also in Fig. 3. The use of this vibrator 33 and vibrator rest 35 is advisable, particularly for enabling very small mops to be cleaned; that is to say, mops that are so small that they would not make an effective contact with the wipers or tongues 6 projecting in fromV the side. In such a case, however, the rapid vibration of themop head would operate to dislodge the dust.

.The amount of vibrator movement imparted by the vibrating device need not be great; infact, a stroke of one-quarter of an inch or less should be suiilcient'to enable the dust to be dislodged Onaccount of the lateral movement that would be given to the lower end of the eccentric rod 25,

I prefer to use a bearing 26 that will permit con- Ato wabble considerably at the bearing. As the balls, or small' chilled shot 42 would constantly rotate on their centers with the movements of the center rod 25, it is evident that this bearing would have very little Wear, and even if it did wear considerably, this wouldhave very slight e'ect upon efcient operation of the vibrating mechanism.

The dust chamber I2 is formed with a false bottom by employing two inclined plates 43 that are elevated toward their ends so that dust falling on them will gravitate down to the intake opening 44 in the fan housing.

'Ihe motor I5 is preferably mounted on cushions 45 of rubber or similar material located at the bolts IB that support the motor on an inner i bottom wall I'I.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the opening I8 from the ian housing up into the bag I3, may be oi oval form. 'Ihe dust bag I3 is provided with a neck 48 (see Fig. 4) that is secured on a sleeve 49 by means of a split ring or collar 50. This sleeve 49 is carried on a sliding plate 5I, the edges of which are guided by guide flanges 52 on a plate 53. This `plate is preferably movably mounted on the casing to facilitate removal of the slide I. In the present instance it is connected by a hinge connection 54 so as to enable the plate 53 to be swung upwardly toward a vertical position. When swung up in this way the slide 5I can be pulled out to disconnect the bag from the swinging plate 53. The dust can then be emptied from the bag and the bag replaced.

In order to assure a dust-proof connection, the dust opening I6 should be provided with a gasket 55 between the cover plate 53 and the plate 56 in which the opening I6 is formed.

Access'is had to the bag by swinging down the rear wall 51 of the casing on a hinge connection 58 at its lower edge.

The tongues or wipers 6 may be attached to the body 5 or other supports in the device, in any suitable manner. In the case of the body 5, they may be if desired, threaded through properly placed perforations. The material of which these wipers are formed, is very inexpensive and consists of a helical coil or body 59 which is quite iiexible. Of course, at the bends of these tongues at their tips, there will be a tendency for these coils to open up and form crevices in which the fibers of the mop could become caught. However, in order to prevent this, I provide the shell 59 with a exible core or cord 60 of ordinary heavy twine or small rope. This construction gives great flexibility to these tongues, which is very desirable. The more they vibrate, the more eiective they will be in dislodging the dust.

The casing is provided with an electric cord indicated at 6I in Fig. 1, which will be provided with an electric plug f not illustrated) that could be plugged into an electric socket adjacent the point where this cleaner is to be used.

The forward wall of the casing may be provided with a door 62 (see Fig. 2) attached by a spring hinge 63. This opening gives accessibility to the motor and fan, and the adjusting screws of the vibrators.

Many other embodiments of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing having an opening thereinA for introducing the mop head, a cleaner element mounted in a substantially xed position within said opening, and having a wall for surrounding the mop head, said wall having fixedly supported flexible vibrator wipers for contacting the mop head, a suction fan located in the casing and operating to draw atmospheric air in an air current in through the opening and past the mop head, and means for imparting rapid vibratory impulses to the cleaner element to vibrate the wipers and dislodge the dust from the mop head.

2. A dust mop cleaner constrepired as defined in claim l, combined with a rest for supporting therigid body of the mop head, with a connection from the vibrating means for imparting vibratory impulses at a rapid rate said rest.

3. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing having an opening for the introduction of the mop. a substantially fixed cleaner element having a wall to surround the mop and guide incoming atmospheric air past the same, said cleaner element having a plurality offiexible wipers for engaging the mop, means for supporting the cleaner element in a substantially fixed position, but so as to permit. vibratory movement thereof, a collecting bag for the dust, means for imparting vibratory impulses to the body of the cleaner element to dislodge the dust from the mop, and a blower for developing a partial vacuum within the casing to draw a current of atmospheric air from the exterior past the mop and deliver the dust-laden air into the bag.

4. In a dust mop cleaner, a cleaner element having a box-form body with rectangularly disposed walls for surrounding the mop head, and having a plurality of resilient flexible tongues flxedly carried thereby for engaging the mop, said tongues capable of vibrating when vibratory impulses are imparted to the said body.

5. In a dustw mop cleaner, the combination of a cleaner element having a box-form body with rectangularly disposed walls for surrounding the mop head, and having a plurality of resilient flexible tongues iixedly carried thereby for engaging the mop, and capable of Vibrating by reason of their own resiliency, means for imparting vibratory movements tothe mop to dislodge the dust, and means for collecting the dust shaken from the mop.,

6. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing closed above and having an opening on its upper side for the introduction of the mop, a cleaner element mounted below the opening having inwardly projecting means for engaging the mop, means for yieldingly supporting the cleaner element in a substantially xed position within the casing and so as to permit vibratory movement of the same, a collecting bag for the dust removably mounted within the casing, a blower for drawing a current of air downwardly through said opening as the air inlet for the fan, past the. mop, and for moving the dust-laden air into the dust-collecting bag, said blower shaft having an extension shaft rigid therewith, and means including a moving part for striking against the cleaner element actuated by the said extension shaft for imparting vibratory impulses to the cleaner element.

7. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing closed above and having an opening on its upper side for the introductiongpf the mop, a cleaner element mounted below "'e opening having inwardly projecting iixedly supported resilient means for engaging the mop, projecting in a general horizontal direction, supporting means for the mop and for yieldingly supporting the cleaner element in a substantially fixed position within the casing and so as to permit vibratory movement of the same, a blower for drawing a current of air downwardly through said opening as the inlet for 'the fan, past the mop, said blower having an extension shaft, and means actuated by the said extension shaft for vibrating the mop supporting means.

8. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing having an upper opening therein through which the mop head can be introduced, a cleaner element constructed as a receiver for the mop, having a substantially vertical wall-for surrounding the mop on all sides, said wall having vibrator tongues secured thereto and extending inwardly so as to contact the soit portion oi 9. A dust mop cleaner constructed as deilned the mop head, means for suspending the cleaner in claim 8. in which the vibrating means includes element including a. resilient part. and means for a moving part for repeatedly striking against a imparting vibratory impulses to the cleaner elepart oi the cleaner element to impart the viment at a rapid rate in a substantially vertical 5 bratoryimpulses to the same.

direction, thereby developing vibratory movements in said vibrator tongues for dislodging the CECIL R. CURTIS. dust from the soit portion of the mop.

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