Base for mops with cleaning cloth

Abstract

A mop base that is particularly practical in its use, above all when releasing a cloth retained along its transverse edges.

Claims

1. A base for a mop and a cleaning cloth, where said cleaning cloth to be retained on said mop base by coupling devices and having, at transverse ends for connecting to said mop base, connecting tabs, the connecting tabs comprising a lamina with an enlarged end where an end enlargement is thicker, at both a top side and a bottom side of the lamina, than a thickness of said lamina of a free end of the tab, and where said mop base is configured to retain in a removable manner said cleaning cloth and including a pair of half-frames, each hinged to a central connecting element of said base for a rotational movement of said half-frames between a flat position and a reclined position where said half-frames are brought closer together; on each of said half-frames near a free transverse side, opposite the side hinged to the central element, is hinged said coupling device comprising a lever, wherein between a first arm of said lever and the corresponding outer surface of the half-frame there is a cavity that has a cross-section corresponding to the end enlargement of the transverse end the cloth, which is configured with the end enlargement and that tapers into the lamina joining with a body of the cloth coming out of said cavity through an inlet mouth, defined with a first retention wall on the free end of the first arm of said lever and a second retention wall on the end of the free transverse side of a half-frame; whereby when said first arm of said lever is pressed, by an action of elastic devices acting on a second arm of said lever, comes next to the outer surface of the half-frame closing the inlet mouth and keeping said cavity; where the cavity has, near the inlet mouth and facing a fulcrum of the hinging of said lever, a retention wall perpendicular to the tab that crosses said mouth that connects to the outer wall of the end enlargement of the transverse end of the cleaning cloth for a relative retention of the transverse side of the cloth, the retention wall formed from an alignment of the first retention wall and the second retention wall, wherein the first retention wall and the second retention wall form the inlet mouth that provides an insertion direction of the enlarge end into the cavity that is co-planar with a base of the mop base.

2. The base of claim 1, wherein said cavity is below the first arm of said lever, with a same shape as said lever and/or a shape of the outer surface of the half-frame.

3. The base of claim 1, wherein said coupling devices, with the half-frames rotated in a lowered manner and close together for juxtaposing respective active surfaces, in a defined maintenance configuration, they are in a mirror position in order to be operated by overcoming elastic forces of the respective elastic devices acting on the second arm of said levers with two opposing and opposite pressure forces, in order to be able to reach at a same time by use of just one hand of the operator.

4. The base of claim 1, wherein said half-frames, from a planar condition, freed from a mechanical constraint of the base, are arranged side by side free oscillating downwards in a maintenance configuration, with a relative cleaning cloth leaning and held at the ends of the transverse sides, as a result of pressure on the second arm of said lever of the coupling devices, the inlet mouth opens, with an opening wider than the thicker end of a plate, creating an opening of the cavity, and the cloth because of its own weight is released from the base, falling down.

5. The base of claim 1 wherein said coupling devices are of a hinged lever type, an arm of said lever is an actuation lever and an opposing lever arm is the retention device of the tab on the transverse side of the cloth.

6. The base of claim 1, wherein the second arm of an actuation lever is kept under constant stress by elastic devices which keep it at some distance from the outer surface of the half-frame, and an opposite end of the first lever holds with constant pressure, due to the aforesaid elastic devices, the relative lamina of the cloth, pressed for retention against the outer surface of the half-frame.

7. The base of claim 1 wherein the coupling device has a gripper with one side composed of the half-frame and an opposite side composed of a terminal end of the first arm of the retention lever.

8. The base of claim 1 wherein the cloth device consists of the connection between the cavities and relative enlargement of an end part of the lamina on the transverse sides of the cloth, since the relative inlet mouth can open with a larger opening than the enlargement for insertion of said enlargement into a seat.

9. The base of claim 1 wherein the enlarged end enlargement has a thickness that is three times that of the lamina.

10. A cleaning device comprising: a cleaning cloth having: connecting tabs having, an enlarged end, at opposite ends thereof; and a lamina joining the connecting tabs to a body of the cleaning cloth, wherein: the enlarged end has a thickness expanding both above and below a thickness of the lamina; a mop base having: a pair of half-frames, each having a first side hinged to a central connecting element of said mop base for a rotational movement of said half-frames between a flat position and a reclined position where said half-frames are brought closer together; coupling devices on each of said half-frames, near a free transverse side, opposite the first side; a lever pivotable about a fulcrum, the lever defining a cavity between the fulcrum and an outer surface of the half frame, the cavity have a cross-section adapted to receive the enlarged end; an inlet mouth providing access to the cavity, the inlet mouth defined by a first retention wall on a free end of the lever and a second retention wall an outer end of the free transverse side of a half-frame; wherein the cavity has, near the inlet mouth and facing the fulcrum of the hinging of the lever, a retention wall perpendicular to the lamina that crosses said inlet mouth for a relative retention of the enlarge ends of the cleaning cloth, the retention wall formed from an alignment of the first retention wall and the second retention wall, wherein the first retention wall and the second retention wall form the inlet mouth that provides an insertion direction of the enlarge end into the cavity that is co-planar with a base of the mop base.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The technical characteristics of the invention, according to the aforesaid objects, can clearly be seen in the content of the claims below, and its advantages will become more readily apparent in the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment, which is purely exemplary and not limiting, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a mop base in the working configuration, comprising two half-frames constrained in a planar and rectilinear arrangement to which, on the active surfaces, a cleaning cloth is connected.

(3) FIG. 2 shows the device of FIG. 1 according to a section view of a vertical longitudinal plane without the relative cloth, from which the positioning of the coupling devices located at the transverse ends of the half-frames is evident.

(4) FIG. 3 shows a section along a vertical plane parallel to the longitudinal side of the base and approximately mid-center, which shows the positioning of the cavity interposed between the coupling device and the outer surface of the half-frame; furthermore, we can see the structure of the coupling device present on the opposite side to the active one, consisting of a double lever, the first arm of which realizes the opening mouth together with the transverse end edge of the half-frame, and the second of which, opposite to the first with respect to the approximately central fulcrum point, is above the elastic devices which normally keep the opening mouth, constituted by the first lever, closed.

(5) FIG. 4 shows, a section view of the base for mops in a maintenance configuration, with the half-frames rotated in a reclined manner and lowered, and the active surfaces joined together; the cloth hangs with its terminal ends on the coupling devices on the outer surface of the half-frames.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a flat plan view of what is shown in FIG. 4, from which the specular and opposite positioning of the coupling devices is evident.

(7) FIG. 6 shows, in an enlarged manner, the connection part of the ends of the cloth shown in FIG. 4, graphically representing the opposing forces A acting on the second lever, which open wide the inlet mouth and the consequent release by the falling, according to the movement represented by the arrows B, of the ends of the cloth.

(8) FIG. 7 shows what is set out in FIG. 6 according to a plan view, which explicitly highlights the opposite direction of the pressure forces A on the second lever, and the falling, in the direction of the arrows B, of the ends of the cloth, having opened the cavity formed between the first lever, and below it, and the terminal part, towards the free transverse edge, of the half-frame, which is able to accommodate the enlarged end of the lamina that joins to the transverse side of the cloth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXAMPLE OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(9) With reference to the figures, the base is composed of two half-frames 1, 2 hinged at one end of a side transverse to a common central element 3.

(10) The sleeve 4 is connected to this central element 3.

(11) The half-frames 1, 2 constrained in the flat configuration, keep the cleaning cloth 5 taut on their active surface 6, 7, namely on the surface that will be facing the floor, with the cloth 5 interposed, during normal cleaning operations.

(12) Said cloth 5 is held at the base by its transverse ends.

(13) Each of these transverse ends of the cloth 5, in order to be connected to the base, bring to a cantilevered continuation a laminar, or tab, extension, consisting of a lamina 9 whose free end has an enlargement 10.

(14) This enlargement 10 is intended to be retained by the connecting devices 11 within a suitable seat configured as a retention cavity 12 comprised and defined between the same coupling elements 11 and the outer surface 13, 14, opposite to the active surface 6, 7, of each half-frame 1, 2.

(15) Said connecting devices 11 are on the free transverse ends of each of the two half-frames 1, 2; and are configured as a rocker arm formed by a double lever 15, 16 and pivoted, with axis 17 parallel to the transverse edge, on said half-frame 2.

(16) The terminal end of the first lever arm 15, facing the edge of the transverse free end of the half-frame 2, forms, together with the free transverse end of the half-frame 2, an inlet mouth 19 for inserting the lamina 9 with the enlarged end 10.

(17) Said inlet mouth 19 is normally kept closed by elastic devices 18 acting on the second lever arm 16 opposite the first lever 15.

(18) Therefore the inlet mouth 19, kept constantly closed by the elastic devices 18, acts as a clamp on the lamina 9.

(19) The second lever arm 16, opposite the first lever 15, is slightly spaced apart and raised with respect to the underlying surface 14 of the half-frame 2, so that it can be pressed (as shown by the arrows A) by the operator, acting on the surface facing outwards, overcoming the force of the elastic devices 18 and opening the inlet mouth 19 and retaining the transverse ends 8 of the cloth 5.

(20) The opening of the mouth 19 creates a large enough gap to make the enlargement 10 of the lamina 9 itself pass through with a rectilinear movement, along the axis of the lamina 9.

(21) In a coupling phase between the tab and the coupling device, with the tab that has passed the mouth 9 and reached the cavity 12 of the seat reached, the enlargement 10 remains retained, allowing the first lever arm 15 to return, under the pressure of the elastic devices 18, to its normal closed configuration.

(22) One of the prerogatives of an automatic coupling of the cloth 5 to the base is therefore released, since it does not require the operator to perform other operations (usually the case in the devices of the prior art) in addition to the aforementioned ones: it is not necessary to move the end part of the cloth to connect to pegs or undercuts, or carry out other operations to keep the cloth held at the base.

(23) The release of the cloth from the base is even more practical and simplified with the base that is the object of the invention.

(24) From the situation of the base in a maintenance configuration, namely with the half-frames 1, 2 left free to oscillate downwards, and with the active surfaces 6, 7 facing each other, next to each other or close to each other, the coupling devices 11 are mirrored on the outer surfaces 13, 14 of the half-frames 1, 2.

(25) At this point the operator with a single hand is able to use both second arms of the levers 16 of both the coupling/release devices 11 simultaneously, applying pressure, shown with the arrows A, which will act on each single lever 16 in a counter and opposite direction, being able to raise opening wide the mouth 19 of both coupling/release devices 11.

(26) The cloth 5, whose enlargements 10 are no longer retained in the respective cavities 12 of the seats, can therefore detach from the base and fall to the ground, according to the movement indicated by the arrows B.

(27) All this without the operator having to intervene or handle any part of the cloth 5, which is now dirty, to be removed from the base and replaced with a clean part to continue the cleaning operations.

(28) To improve the retention of the cloth 5 on the base, the coupling mouth 19 includes at least one retention wall facing the fulcrum 17 of the coupling lever, and located either on the free end of the half-frame 1, 2 and/or on the free end of the first lever arm 15 capable of joining with the enlargement 10 on the free cantilevered end of the tab.

(29) Advantageously at least one said retention wall has ab orthogonal position to the lamina 9 of the tab that crosses said coupling mouth 19 capable of connecting to a mirror wall of the end enlargement 10 of the tab, guaranteeing a secure and stable retention of the transverse side of the cleaning cloth 5.

(30) In order to improve the retention of the tab inside the cavity 12, the thickness of the enlargement 10 is at least three times greater than the lamina 9 and preferably divided between the two opposite sides of the tab itself.