Cleaning Apparatus for Cleaning Mop Material

Abstract

An apparatus for cleaning mop material for use with a bucket, said apparatus comprising a wringer and a scrubbing apparatus, said scrubbing apparatus comprising a first scrubbing member and a second scrubbing member, said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member arranged substantially opposite one another, said first scrubbing member resiliently biased towards said second scrubbing member, such that the distance between said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member is variable to engage mop material inserted between said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member.

Claims

1. An apparatus for cleaning mop material for use with a bucket, said apparatus comprising a wringer and a scrubbing apparatus, said scrubbing apparatus comprising a first scrubbing member and a second scrubbing member, said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member arranged substantially opposite one another, said first scrubbing member resiliently biased towards said second scrubbing member, such that the distance between said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member is variable to engage mop material inserted between said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member.

2. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of claim 1, wherein said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member are arranged in a spaced relationship.

3. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of claim 2, wherein said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member are arranged to form a channel.

4. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of claim 3, wherein said channel's cross-sectional area can vary along its length.

5. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of claim 1, wherein said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member are resiliently biased to abut one another in the absence of mop material inserted between said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member.

6. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of any preceding claim, wherein at least one of said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member comprise bristles.

7. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of any preceding claim, wherein said bristles are generally perpendicular to the plane of the scrubbing member on which they are located.

8. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of any preceding claim, wherein said resilient bias is provided by a resiliently deformable member.

9. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of claim 7, wherein said resiliently deformable member comprises a spring.

10. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of any preceding claim, wherein at least one of said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member comprises a resiliently deformable material.

11. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of any preceding claim, wherein said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member are orientated substantially parallel with respect to one another.

12. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of any preceding claim, wherein said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member are substantially planar.

13. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of any preceding claim, wherein mop material is inserted between the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member through an opening.

14. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of any preceding claim, wherein at least one of said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member comprises a guide element.

15. The apparatus for cleaning mop material of any preceding claim, wherein said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member together have a substantially rectangular cross-section.

16. A cleaning device comprising a bucket and the apparatus of any one preceding claim.

17. The cleaning device of claim 15, wherein said apparatus for cleaning mop material extends into said bucket.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic isometric view of an apparatus for cleaning mop material in accordance with the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a schematic isometric view of an apparatus for cleaning mop material in accordance with the present invention;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a schematic top-down view of a scrubbing apparatus in accordance with the present invention; and

[0026] FIG. 4 is a schematic side on view of a scrubbing apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 of the drawings, there is depicted an embodiment of a cleaning apparatus for cleaning mop material 10. The apparatus 10 is situated within a bucket 20 and comprises two parts: a scrubbing apparatus 30 and wringer 40. The scrubbing apparatus 30 is attached to the material wringer 40 and is located above the bucket's 20 base. The gap between the bucket walls 60 and the scrubbing apparatus 10 allows the insertion of the material mop being cleaned into the bucket 20 before insertion into the cleaning apparatus 10. This gap is also orientated and located so that the material being cleaned can be inserted into the bucket's fluid, then the material surface cleaner 30 and then the wringer 40 without rotation of the material.

[0028] Referring now to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 of the drawings, there is depicted a top-down view of the an apparatus for cleaning mop material 10 and in particular the scrubbing apparatus 30. The scrubbing apparatus 30 comprises a first scrubbing, or structural, member 80 and a second scrubbing, or structural, member 90.

[0029] The first scrubbing member 80 has a generally squared U-shape cross-section and is elongated in the direction perpendicular to the U-shaped cross section, such that it forms a generally U-shaped channel where the channel's width is substantially constant along its length. The first scrubbing member 80 forms a U-shaped channel via a base 100, two side walls 110 and a guide portion 95, all of which have substantially rectangular faces.

[0030] Each of the two side walls 110 comprises an array of apertures 120. The arrays 120 are aligned and evenly spaced along a substantially straight line, and the apertures 120 are substantially parallel to the top and bottom edge of the side walls 110 and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the first scrubbing member 80. The arrays 120 comprise five apertures, three central apertures which are substantially circular 130 and two peripheral apertures which are substantially rectangular with rounded corners 140. The rounded rectangular aperture's 140 longitudinal axis is perpendicular with the straight line orientation of the aperture array 120.

[0031] The base 100 of the first scrubbing members comprises an area of bristles 150 or other scrubbing surface, where the bristles 150 protrude in a general perpendicular orientation to the base 100. The bristles 150 comprises many individual bristles in a substantially rectangular shape. The bristles 150 are occupies approximately the whole width of the base 100 and approximately 70-80% of the base's length.

[0032] The second scrubbing member 90 comprises two portions, a generally squared U-shaped channel 160 and a guide portion 170. The U-shaped channel portion 160 is similarly proportioned and complementary to the first scrubbing member 80. The length of the portion 160 is substantially similar to the length of the first scrubbing member 80; the channel portion 160 comprises an area of bristles 190 substantially similarly sized and proportioned to the bristles of the first scrubbing member 150; and the portion 160 comprises an evenly spaced straight-line array of five substantially circular apertures 200 along its walls 180 that substantially align with the apertures of the first scrubbing member 130,140. The portion's base 165 has a slightly narrower width than the base 100, and the walls of the portion 180 are smaller in height than the walls of first scrubbing member 110 by approximately 40-60%. As such the second scrubbing member 90 can be inserted into the first scrubbing member 80 such that the two sets of walls 110,180 substantially abut along their height and length and that the aperture arrays 120,200 align. However, the two peripheral apertures of the array 200 are circular unlike the elongated rounded rectangular peripheral apertures 140 of the first scrubbing member 80.

[0033] The first and second scrubbing members 80,90 are moveably attached by four couplings 210. The couplings 210 comprise a nut, bolt and washer and they are threaded through the aligned peripheral apertures of the aperture arrays 120,200, such that the first and second scrubbing members are attached 80,90 is such a way that the second scrubbing member 90 is movable relative to the first scrubbing member 80 along an axis.

[0034] The attachment of the first scrubbing member 80 to the second scrubbing member 90 forms a substantially rectangular cleaning channel 220 between them. The bristle areas of the scrubbing members 150,190 face into the channel and reduce the channel's cross-sectional area. The channel 220 is open ended at either end. The insertion of cleaning material into the cleaning channel 220 is guided by the guide portions of the first and second scrubbing members 95,170, respectively. The guide portions 95,170 are generally planar and rectangular and extend in the same direction as one another, from the base of their respective scrubbing member's 80,90 U-shaped channel.

[0035] Now referring to FIG. 4 of the drawings, each coupling mechanism 210 is itself attached to an anchor element 230 on the outside of the first scrubbing member 80 via a spring 240. The anchors 230 and springs 240 are orientated and attached to the coupling mechanisms 210 such that the springs 240 are stretched when the first and second scrubbing members 80,90 are moved apart. The coupling mechanism 210 is attached internally to the walls 180 of the second scrubbing member 90 via its circular peripheral apertures 200, whilst externally the coupling 210 is movably attached to the rounded rectangular aperture 140. Thus, the coupling mechanisms 210 can translate along the rounded rectangular aperture 140 and translate the second scrubbing member 90 relative to the first scrubbing member 80. The channel's 220 area is adaptive. Additionally, the two coupling mechanisms 210 located on a wall of the first scrubbing member 110 maybe translated independently from one another, i.e. the springs 240 along a side 110 can be compressed or stretched independently from the other on that side 110, such that the channel's 220 cross-sectional area can vary along the length of the channel 220.

[0036] The second scrubbing member 90 comprises two parts: a main scrubbing member 250 and a resiliently deformable scrubbing member 260. The main scrubbing member 250 comprises a substantially U-shaped channel, whereas the flexible scrubbing member 260 is substantially rectangular and sheet-like. The flexible member 260 is attached to the main member 250 at the top edge of the guide portion 170, this attachment forms a plenum of air between the flexible member 260 and the base 165. The resiliently deformable member 260 extends from the top guide of the guide portion 170 to the bottom of the channel 220 and comprises the area of bristles 190 on its surface. The resiliently deformable member 260 may be resiliently deformed towards the main member 250.

[0037] In use, mop material is inserted into the channel 220 of the scrubbing apparatus 30 and agitated predominantly in a direction along the longitudinal axis of the channel 220. The channel 220, the resiliently deformable nature of the channel 220, scrubbing members 80,90 and the resiliently deformable member 260 help to ensure that the bristle areas 150,190 engage the surface of the material to be cleaned.

[0038] The scrubbing apparatus 30 can be attached to a bucket 20, wringer 40 or similar using the attachment member 270 and the guide portion of the first scrubbing member 95, both of which have apertures for accepting attachment means.