HYBRID ROLLER MOP
The present invention relates to a hybrid roller mop having a handle, a mop head with a slot defined therein, a cleaning member and a lever mechanism. The mop head can be connected to the handle at one end and have rollers connected at the other end and spaced by the slot defined in the mop head. The cleaning member and lever mechanism can be connected together by a linkage disposed in the mop handle. The lever mechanism can be configured for raising and lowering the cleaning member between the rollers and into the slot of the mop head in order to wring out excess liquid from the mop. The cleaning member can have a generally inverted “V” shape that can lie flat against a floor or similar surface and can be folded into a compressed position when pulled between the rollers and into the slot of the mop head.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/264,846, filed Dec. 8, 2015 titled HYBRID ROLLER MOP, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a floor mop, and, more particularly, to a sponge roller mop having a wringer mechanism.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONStandard floor mops commonly include a flattened rectangular sponge attached to the mop base. The flattened rectangular shape of the sponge provides an increased contact surface area with the floor and allows the user of the mop to easily move the mop head both a forward direction and a backward direction. However, standard floor mops of this type can be difficult to use because they generally do not incorporate an efficient way to wring out the sponge to remove excess liquid. One solution to this problem is the wringer roller mop. Wringer roller mops commonly include a sponge component that is retractable between a pair of space-apart rollers allowing the sponge to be compressed and wrung out, removing excess liquid, dirt, etc. In order for the sponge to be retracted between the rollers, it has a rounded shape with curved sides that allow the sponge to move easily between the rollers. However, the rounded shape and curved sides cause the sponge to bunch up against the direction of movement when the mop is in use, making the mop less efficient at moving forwards and backwards. Further, the rounded profile of the sponge causes less contact surface area during use.
Thus, a need exists for a sponge mop having both the advantages of a standard floor mop and a wringer roller mop.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a hybrid roller mop having a foldable and retractable cleaning member. The roller mop may include an elongated handle, a mop head, a cleaning member and a lever mechanism for selectively moving the cleaning member between different positions relative to the mop head. The elongated handle may be constructed as a conventional rod or shaft and may have a hollowed interior. The mop head may be connected to one end of the elongated handle and may be constructed as a frame or housing having a receiving slot defined at least partially through the mop head. The mop head may additionally include a plurality of spaced apart rollers positioned below the receiving slot.
The cleaning member may be a sponge or other suitable type of mop cleaning member structure and may be configured with a rectangular shape according to one embodiment of the present invention. The cleaning member may include a bottom surface or side and may have a plurality of sidewalls extending upward therefrom. The cleaning member may additionally include a folding region extending longitudinally through the cleaning member and creating first and second member regions on each side of the folding region. The folding region may be specifically configured to allow the cleaning member to fold about the folding region so as to press the first and second member regions together. The cleaning member may further include a raised portion above the folding region which may be adapted to be attached to a backing portion. The backing portion may facilitate connection of the cleaning member to the rest of the mop.
The cleaning member may be connected to the remainder of the mop by a lever mechanism. The lever mechanism may include a linkage component in the form of a wire or rod that is connected at one end to the backing portion of the cleaning member. The linkage component may extend through the mop head and into the hollow interior of the elongated handle. Intermediately positioned along the elongated handle may be a lever handle which may be connected to the second end of the linkage component via a linkage connector.
The lever mechanism may be configured to lift and lower the cleaning member relative to the mop head by raising and lowering the lever handle. When a user raises the lever handle, this may cause the linkage component to pull up on the cleaning member, which is attached to the linkage component via the backing portion. Upon lifting the lever handle, the cleaning member may begin to fold along the longitudinal folding region and enter into the receiving slot of the mop head. The size and shape of the receiving slot may cause the cleaning member to become compressed in order to “wring out” or otherwise remove liquid from the cleaning member.
The mop can be configured for placement in different positions by raising and lowering the lever handle of the lever mechanism. When the lever handle is in a fully lowered position, the cleaning member may be configured to be placed below the spaced apart rollers and the mop head in a flattened or use position. When resting against a surface or floor in this position, the cleaning member may have a flattened shape where its bottom surface rests substantially on the floor.
When the lever handle is raised into an intermediate position, the cleaning member may fold about the folding region, which may be facilitated by the positioning of the spaced apart rollers, and enter the receiving slot of the mop head. When the lever handle is in the intermediate position, the cleaning member may be in a partially retracted scrubbing position where a majority of the cleaning member is received within the slot, but the sides of the cleaning member may remain below the spaced apart rollers. This allows the mop to efficiently be used to scrub more difficult debris on a floor surface. To increase the scrubbing capabilities of the mop in this position, the sides of the cleaning member may have scrubbing pads attached thereto. In order to allow the lever handle to be retained in its intermediate position, a rotatable component having a notched defined therethrough may be attached to the elongated handle. The notch may then be rotated below the lever handle so that it cannot be moved from its intermediate position.
When the lever handle is lifted further upward from the intermediate position, it may be placed into a fully retracted position where the cleaning member is substantially positioned within the receiving slot and above the lower end of the mop head. This allows the cleaning member to be fully “wrung out” in order to remove liquid from the cleaning member. The lever handle may then be moved to the lowered position to continue use of the mop with the cleaning member in the lowered use position.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof is shown by way of example in the drawing and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiment disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONThe invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.
Referring to the drawings particularly by reference numbers wherein like numerals refer to like parts,
Mop head 14 can comprise a frame or housing that enables cleaning member 16 to move vertically within mod head 14. As best shown in
Cleaning member 16 can comprise a generally rectangular shape (such as a rectangular prism or hyperrectangle) as shown in
As shown in
Lever mechanism 18 (including linkage component 56) can be configured for raising and lowering cleaning member 16 within receiving slot 24 of mop head 14, as illustrated in
When lever handle 20 is lifted upwards, it can cause the linkage 56 to pull cleaning member 16 upward and into receiving slot 24 as shown in
As shown in
When mop 10 is transitioned from its first configuration to its second and then third configurations, cleaning member 16 can be transitioned from its generally flatten shape (as shown in
Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a novel hybrid roller mop. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.
Claims
1. A hybrid roller mop comprising:
- an elongated handle;
- a mop head connected to said elongated handle and having a receiving slot defined therethrough;
- a retractable cleaning member positioned adjacent to said mop head; and
- a lever mechanism comprising a lever handle pivotably connected to said elongated handle and a linkage rod connecting said lever handle to said retractable cleaning member;
- wherein said lever mechanism is configured for selectively raising said retractable cleaning member into said receiving slot of said mop head by raising said lever handle.
2. The hybrid roller mop of claim 1, wherein said retractable cleaning member comprises a first member region, a second member region, and a center folding region extending longitudinally through said retractable cleaning member and separating said first and said second member regions, wherein said center folding region causes said retractable cleaning member to fold about said center folding region when raised into said mop head.
3. The hybrid roller mop of claim 2, wherein said retractable cleaning member further comprises a raised portion positioned above said center folding region and has a backing member attached thereto, wherein said backing member is attached to said linkage rod of said lever mechanism.
4. The hybrid roller mop of claim 3 wherein said raised portion urges said retractable cleaning member to fold about said center folding region when raised into said mop head.
5. The hybrid roller mop of claim 2, wherein said retractable cleaning member further comprises a substantially flattened rectangular bottom side extending across said first member region, said center folding region and said second member region when said retractable cleaning member is positioned on a floor surface and not retracted into said mop head.
6. The hybrid roller mop of claim 5, wherein said retractable cleaning member further comprises a plurality of sides extending upward from said bottom side, said plurality of sides being substantially perpendicular to said bottom side.
7. The hybrid roller mop of claim 6, wherein at least one side of said plurality of sides has a scrubbing pad attached thereto.
8. The hybrid roller mop of claim 7, wherein said scrubbing pad has a downward facing orientation when said retractable cleaning member is retracted into said mop head.
9. The hybrid roller mop of claim 1 further comprising at least two spaced apart rollers connected to said mop head directly below said receiving slot and on each side of said receiving slot.
10. The hybrid roller mop of claim 1 further comprising:
- a channel defined into said elongated handle adjacent to said lever handle; and
- a linkage connecter extending through said channel and connecting said lever handle and said linkage rod contained within said elongated handle;
- wherein said channel has an elongated shape configured to allow said lever handle to be selectively moved between a lowered position and a fully raised position;
- wherein said lever handle raises said linkage rod within said elongated channel when said lever handle is moved between said lowered and fully raised positions.
11. The hybrid roller mop of claim 10, wherein when said lever handle is in said lowered position, said linkage rod positions said retractable cleaning member into a use position where said retractable cleaning member is positioned below said mop head, and wherein when said lever handle is in said fully raised position said retractable cleaning member is in a fully retracted position wherein said retractable cleaning member is positioned within said mop head in a folded configuration.
12. The hybrid roller mop of claim 11, wherein said lever mechanism further comprises a rotatable component positioned around said elongated handle and extending at least partially over said channel, wherein said rotatable component includes a notch defined therethrough and is configured for selective rotation around said elongated handle for positioning said notch over said channel.
13. The hybrid roller mop of claim 12, wherein said notch is configured to receive said linkage connector when said rotatable component is rotated over said channel to maintain said lever handle in a partially raised position intermediate said lowered position and said fully raised position, wherein said linkage rod positions said retractable cleaning member in a partially retracted scrubbing position when said lever handle is in said partially raised position, wherein said retractable cleaning member is partially within said mop head when in said partially retracted scrubbing position.
14. The hybrid roller mop of claim 13, wherein said retractable cleaning member includes front and rear sides, and wherein said front and rear sides remain positioned below said mop head when said and face away from said mop head when said retractable cleaning member is in said partially retracted scrubbing position.
15. The hybrid roller mop of claim 14, wherein at least one of said front and said rear sides have a scrubbing pad attached thereto.
16. A hybrid roller mop comprising:
- an elongated handle having a mop head connected to one end thereof;
- a slot defined partially through said mop head, said slot extending upward from a lower end of said mop head and at least partially along a height of said mop head;
- a pair of spaced apart rollers positioned on each side of said slot and directly below said mop head;
- a retractable cleaning member configured for being selectively positioned between a raised position within said slot and a lowered position below said mop head; and
- a lever mechanism configured for raising and lowering said retractable cleaning member between said raised and lowered positions, said lever mechanism comprising: a lever handle connected to said elongated handle; a linkage rod extending through said elongated handle and mop head and connecting said elongated handle to said retractable cleaning member;
- wherein said retractable cleaning member includes a center folding region extending longitudinally through said retractable cleaning member, said center folding region configured for urging said retractable cleaning member to fold in a longitudinal direction when entering said slot of said mop head.
17. The hybrid roller mop of claim 16, wherein said retractable cleaning member has a rectangular shape and comprises a generally flat bottom side, front and rear sidewalls, and first and second member portions, said first and second member portions separated by said center folding region.
18. The hybrid roller mop of claim 17, wherein said front and rear sidewalls include a scrubbing pad.
19. The hybrid roller mop of claim 18, wherein said lever mechanism is configured to selectively retain said lever handle in an intermediate position where said retractable cleaning member is folded about said center folding region and partially received within said mop head, wherein said front and rear sidewalls remain below said mop head and spaced rollers when said lever handle is placed into said intermediate position.
20. The hybrid roller mop of claim 19, wherein said lever mechanism includes a rotatable handle component positioned around said elongated handle and containing a notch for securing said lever handle in said intermediate position when said rotatable handle is rotated about said elongated handle.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 8, 2016
Publication Date: Jun 8, 2017
Inventors: Michael A. Schiavo (Mt. Ephraim, NJ), Jace Weaver (Gilbertsville, PA), Ryan Sheckels (Marlton, NJ)
Application Number: 15/372,549