Structure of wringable mop

Abstract

A wringable mop includes a transmission unit mounted with a driven cap at the bottom side of an actuating sleeve that is rotatable and axially movable relative to the handle unit, a cleaning body connected between the handle unit and the driven cap, and a positioning unit controlling rotation and axial movement of the actuating sleeve relative to the handle unit. When the positioning unit controls one-way rotation of the actuating sleeve relative to the handle unit, the handle unit and the actuating sleeve are rotated relative to each other to cause rotation of the driven cap relative to the handle unit, and therefore the cleaning body is twisted.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to cleaning apparatus and more particularly, to a wringable mop that can conveniently be operated to wring the cleaning body with less effort, allowing the twisted cleaning body to be automatically untwisted.

2. Description of the Related Art

U.S. Ser. No. 11/473,066 discloses a mop entitled “WRINGABLE MOP”. This design of wringable mop is functional, however it has a complicated structure. In consequence, the manufacturing cost of this design of wringable mop is relatively high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide a wringable mop, which allows the user to wring water out of the cleaning body of the wringable mop conveniently with less effort. It is another object of the present invention to provide a wringable mop, which has a simple structure that is inexpensive to make.

To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the wringable mop is comprised of a cleaning body, a handle unit, an actuating sleeve, a transmission unit, a driven cap, a positioning unit, an operating member and a telescopic sleeve. The cleaning unit has two opposite ends respective affixed to one end of the handle unit. The handle unit has a first end, a handle at the first end, a second end opposing the first end and affixed to one end of the cleaning body. The actuating sleeve is sleeved onto the handle unit and rotatable and axially movable relative to the handle unit. The driven cap is connected between one end of the actuating sleeve and the other end of the cleaning body, and rotatable and axially movable relative to the handle unit. The transmission unit is mounted between one end of the actuating sleeve and the driven cap and rotatable and axially movable by the actuating sleeve relative to the handle unit. The positioning unit is mounted on the actuating sleeve, and adapted for controlling rotation and axial movement of the actuating sleeve relative to the handle unit. The operating member is sleeved onto the actuating sleeve and movable axially to cause rotation of the actuating sleeve. The telescopic sleeve is sleeved onto the second end of the handle unit and received in the driven cap and inserted into the cleaning body in such a manner that the telescopic sleeve and the handle unit and the actuating sleeve are separately movable relative to one another. The telescopic sleeve is comprised of a plurality of tubular elements that slide one inside another. When the positioning unit controls the actuating sleeve for rotation in one direction relative to the handle unit, rotating the handle unit relative to the actuating sleeve causes rotation of the transmission unit relative to the handle unit in twisting the cleaning body.

Further, the cleaning body comprises a plurality of soft strands of water-absorbing fabric, and a resilient wire member axially embedded in each soft strand of water-absorbing fabric. Because of the effect of the resilient wire member in each soft strand of water-absorbing fabric, the stands of water-absorbing fabric are not stretched in axial direction when twisted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a wringable mop according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional assembly view of the wringable mop according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the wringable mop according to the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a schematic drawing of the present invention, showing the cleaning body of the wringable mop twisted.

FIG. 4B is a cross sectional view of the present invention, showing the arrangement of the transmission unit in the driven cap.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a part of the present invention, showing the arrangement of the adapter between the top handle and the bottom toothed bar.

FIG. 6A is a sectional view of a part of the present invention, showing the positioning arrangement between the adapter of the handle unit and the positioning unit.

FIG. 6B is a cross sectional view of the present invention, showing engagement between the linear teeth of the coupling tube of the adapter and the annular stop member of the positioning unit.

FIG. 6C is an elevational view of a part of the present invention, showing the coupling tube of the adapter of the handle unit inserted into the actuating sleeve.

FIG. 6D is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 6C, showing the coupling tube of the adapter forced into the C-shaped retaining rings and the C-shaped retaining rings expanded.

FIG. 6E illustrates the top handle lifted, the linear teeth of the coupling tube of the adapter moved out of the actuating sleeve according to the present invention.

FIG. 6F illustrates the linear teeth of the coupling tube of the adapter disengaged from the C-shaped retaining rings.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a part of the present invention, showing the top handle lifted, and the telescopic sleeve received inside the driven cap.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of a part of the present invention, showing the top handle moved downwards, the telescopic sleeve extended out of the driven cap.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 8, showing the inside annular retaining portion of the driven cap secured to the rim of the top tubular element of the telescopic sleeve.

FIG. 10 is a schematic drawing showing an untwist action of the cleaning body during downward rotation of the actuating sleeve relative to the operating member.

FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing of the present invention, showing the soft strands of water-absorbing fabric of the cleaning body twisted.

FIG. 12 is a schematic drawing of a part of the present invention, showing a reslient wire member axially positioned in each soft strand of water-absorbing fabric of the cleaning body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1˜3, a wringable mop in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a cleaning body 5, a handle unit 1, an actuating sleeve 2, a transmission unit 3, a driven cap 4, a positioning unit 24, an operating member 23, and a telescopic sleeve 6.

The transmission unit 3 is provided at the bottom side of the actuating sleeve 2. The actuating sleeve 2 has outer spiral threads 21 arranged around the periphery, a top end hole 224 at the top side, a gear house 22 at the bottom side, and a grip 222 at the top of the gear house 22. The gear house 22 has an internal gear 223 formed integral with the peripheral wall 221 (see also FIG. 4B). The operating member 23 has inner spiral threads 231 threaded onto the outer spiral threads 21 of the actuating sleeve 2. The transmission unit 3 is set between the driven cap 4 and the actuating sleeve 2. The driven cap 4 has a transverse top wall 42 at the top side of the cap body 41 thereof, a plurality of upright axles 421 upwardly extending from the transverse top wall 42, and a threaded neck 43 extending around the transverse top wall 42. The transmission unit 3 comprises a plurality of planet gears 31 respectively mounted on the upright axles 421 and meshed with the internal gear 223 of the gear house 22 of the actuating sleeve 2. A locating ring 44 is capped on the gear house 22 of the actuating sleeve 2 and threaded onto the threaded neck 43 of the driven cap 4 to secure the driven cap 4 to the actuating sleeve 2, allowing relative rotary motion between the driven cap 4 and the actuating sleeve 2.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIGS. 1˜4 again, the actuating sleeve 2, the transmission unit 3 and the driven cap 4 are rotatably and axially movably sleeved onto the handle unit 1. The handle unit 1 comprises a top handle 11, a bottom toothed bar 14, and an adapter 13 coupled between the top handle 11 and the bottom toothed bar 14. The top handle 11 has a tubular bottom coupling portion 112, a top grip 111 with a top stop 113. The bottom toothed bar 14 is a tubular bar having longitudinal teeth 141 arranged around the periphery, a first pinhole 142 transversely disposed near the top end, and a second pinhole 143 transversely disposed near the bottom end. The adapter 13 is comprised of a coupling tube 133, a lock pin 136, and a collar 137. The coupling tube 133 has a tubular body 134, a plurality of linear teeth 1331 arranged around the periphery of the tubular body 134 and sloping in one direction, a threaded head 132, a neck 138 connected between the tubular body 134 and the threaded head 132, a pinhole 135 transversely cut through the neck 138, a top extension tube 139 axially upwardly extending from the top side of the threaded head 132, a plurality of clamping strips 131 axially extending from the top side of the threaded head 132 and equiangularly spaced around the top extension tube 139, an annular coupling space 1391 defined within the clamping strips 131 around the top extension tube 139. The tubular bottom coupling portion 112 of the top handle 11 is inserted through the collar 137 into the space 1311 surrounded by the clamping strips 131 and the annular coupling space 1391 and then sleeved onto the top extension tube 139, and then the collar 137 is threaded with the inner threads 1371 thereof onto the threaded head 132 to radially inwardly compress the clamping strips 131 against the periphery of the tubular bottom coupling portion 112 of the top handle 11, and therefore the top handle 11 is locked to the top extension tube 139 of the coupling tube 133. The top end of the bottom toothed bar 14 is inserted into the tubular body 134 of the coupling tube 133, and then the lock pin 136 is inserted into the pinhole 135 of the coupling tube 133 and the first pinhole 142 of the bottom toothed bar 14 to lock the bottom toothed bar 14 to the coupling tube 133. The actuating sleeve 2, the transmission unit 3 and the driven cap 4 are rotatably and axially movably mounted around the bottom toothed bar 14. The planet gears 31 of the transmission unit 3 are meshed with the longitudinal teeth 141 of the bottom toothed bar 14. When rotating the handle unit 1, the bottom toothed bar 14 is forced to rotate the planet gears 31 and the gear house 22. Therefore, the user can rotate the actuating sleeve 2 conveniently with less effort. The coupling tube 133 further has two beveled guide edges 1332 extending around the periphery at the top and bottom ends of the tubular body 134 to facilitate mounting/dismounting of the positioning unit 24.

Referring to FIGS. 6A˜6F, the positioning unit 24 comprises an end cap 25 sleeved onto the coupling tube 133 and capped on the top end of the he actuating sleeve 2 to close the top end hole 224 of the actuating sleeve 2, an annular stop member 241 mounted in the top end hole 224 of the actuating sleeve 2 and having an engagement portion 242 meshed with the linear teeth 1331 of the coupling tube 133, and a plurality of C-shaped retaining rings 243 mounted in the top end hole 224 of the actuating sleeve 2 and fastened to the neck 138 of the coupling tube 133. When moving the actuating sleeve 2, the transmission unit 3 and the driven cap 4 axially relative to the handle unit 1 to the position where the linear teeth 1331 of the coupling tube 133 entered the actuating sleeve 2 and the C-shaped retaining rings 243 and annular stop member 241 of the positioning unit 24, the actuating sleeve 2 can only be rotated relative to the handle unit 1 in one single direction. By means of the effect of the C-shaped retaining rings 133 that are fastened to the neck 138 of the coupling tube 133, the liner teeth 1331 are maintained in the operation position inside the actuating sleeve 2.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 and FIG. 1 again, the cleaning body 5 may be made of thick lengths of yarn, soft strands of water-absorbing fabric or wettex, or nonwoven fabric. According to the present preferred embodiment, the cleaning body 5 consists of soft strands of water-absorbing fabric 53. Further, the cleaning body 5 has a top side 51 and a bottom side 52. The top side 51 of the cleaning body 5 is affixed to the periphery of the bottom side of the driven cap 4. The bottom side 52 of the cleaning body 5 is affixed to the bottom end of the toothed bar 14 with a mop clip 7. The mop clip 7 has a top coupling portion 71 coupled to the bottom end of the toothed bar 14, a pinhole 72 transversely cut thrugh the top coupling portion 71 for receiving a lock pin 73 that is inserted into the second pinhole 143 of the toothed bar 14 to lock the mop clip 7 to the toothed bar 14, and a bottom clamping portion 74 that clamps the bottom side 52 of the cleaning body 5.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, each soft strand of water-absorbing fabric 53 of the cleaning body 5 has a resilient wire member 531 axially embedded therein. Therefore, when the cleaning body 5 is twisted, the resilient wire member 531 prohibits the respective soft strand of water-absorbing fabric 53 from being stretched axially, maintaining the water absorbing efficiency.

Referring to FIGS. 7˜9 again, the telescopic sleeve 6 is comprised of a number of tubular elements 61 that slide one inside another. Further, the telescopic sleeve 6 is sleeved onto the toothed bar 14 of the handle unit 1 and received inside the driven cap 4 and the cleaning body 5. The handle unit 1, the actuating sleeve 2 and the telescopic sleeve 6 can be separately moved relative to one another. When rotating the actuating sleeve 2 and the driven cap 4 relative to the handle unit 1 to twist the top side 51 of the cleaning body 5 relative to the bottom side 52 of the cleaning body 5 around the telescopic sleeve 6 before interfering with rotation of the toothed bar 14, the bottom side 52 of the cleaning body 5 is still rotatable with the actuating sleeve 2 and the driven cap 4 relative to the top side 51 of the cleaning body 5 till that the cleaning body 5 has been fully twisted to force water away. Further, the driven cap 4 has an inside annular retaining portion 431 secured to the rim 62 of the top tubular element 61 of the telescopic sleeve 6 so that the telescopie sleeve 6 is positioned inside the driven cap 4 and can be completely received inside the cap body 41 of the driven cap 4 when the handle unit 1 is lifted relative to the actuating sleeve 2.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 10, when in use, the handle unit 1 is pushed downwards to move the coupling tube 133 of the adpater 13 through the C-shaped retaining rings 243 and the annular stop member 241, keeping the linear teeth 1331 of the coupling tube 133 inside the actuating sleeve 2.

Thereafter, hold the grip 222 of the actuating sleeve 2 with one hand, and rotate the handle unit 1 with the other hand. At this time, the linear teeth 1331 of the coupling tube 133 of the adapter 13 are meshed with the annular stop member 241, allowing rotation of the actuating sleeve 2 relative to the handle unit 1 in one direction and prohibiting rotation of the actuating sleeve 2 relative to the handle unit 1 in the reversed direction, and therefore the cleaning body 5 is prohibited from reverse rotation when it is being twisted. During rotation of the toothed bar 14, the planet gears 31 and the gear house 22 are driven to rotate efficiently, and the top side 51 and bottom side 52 of the cleaning body 5 are respectively rotated with the the driven cap 4 and the toothed bar 14 in reversed directions, wringing water from the cleaning body 5. When wringing the cleaning body 5, the soft strands of water-absorbing fabric 53 are twisted, producing a reversing force to pull the bottom end of the handle unit 1 upwards, forcing the neck 138 away from the C-shaped retaining rings 243, and therefore the\linear teeth 1331 of the coupling tube 133 are released from the constraint of of the annular stop member 241, allowing the handle unit 1, the actuating sleeve 2 and the driven cap 4 to be separately rotated relative to one another. At this time, hold the operating member 23 with the hand, allowing the actuating sleeve 2 to be rotated downwards relative to the operating member 23 by the gravity weight of the wringable mop. When the actuating sleeve 2 is rotating downwards relative to the operating member 23, the soft strands of water-absorbing fabric 53 of the wringing the cleaning body 5 are untwisted by the produced centrifugal force.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wringable mop, comprising:

a cleaning body, said cleaning body having two opposite ends

a handle unit, said handle unit having a first end, a handle at said first end, a second end opposing said first end and affixed to one end of said cleaning body;

an actuating sleeve sleeved onto said handle unit and rotatable and axially movable relative to said handle unit;

a driven cap connected between one end of said actuating sleeve and the other end of said cleaning body and rotatable and axially movable relative to said handle unit;

a transmission unit mounted between one end of said actuating sleeve and said driven cap and rotatable and axially movable by said actuating sleeve relative to said handle unit;

a positioning unit mounted on said actuating sleeve and adapted for controlling rotation and axial movement of said actuating sleeve relative to said handle unit;

an operating member sleeved onto said actuating sleeve and movable axially to cause rotation of said actuating sleeve; and

a telescopic sleeve sleeved onto the second end of said handle unit and received in said driven cap and inserted into said cleaning body in such a manner that said telescopic sleeve and said handle unit and said actuating sleeve are separately movable relative to one another, said telescopic sleeve being comprised of a plurality of tubular elements that slide one inside another;

wherein when said positioning unit controls said actuating sleeve for rotation in one direction relative to said handle unit, rotating said handle unit relative to said actuating sleeve causes rotation of said transmission unit relative to said handle unit in twisting said cleaning body.

2. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuating sleeve comprises a plurality of outer spiral threads; said operating member comprises a plurality of inner spiral threads meshed with the outer spiral threads of said actuating sleeve in such a manner that moving said operating member axially causes rotation of said actuating sleeve.

3. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transmission unit comprises a set of gears mounted on said driven cap and meshed between said handle unit and said actuating sleeve.

4. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein said driven cap comprises a transversely extending top wall, a plurality of upright axles disposed at said transversely extending top wall, and a threaded top neck extending around said transversely extending top wall; said actuating sleeve comprises a bottom gear house, an internal gear fixedly mounted inside said bottom gear house, and an internally threaded locating ring capped on said gear house and threaded onto said threaded top neck of said driven cap; said transmission unit comprises a plurality of planet gears respectively mounted on said upright axles of said driven cap and meshed between said handle unit and said internal gear.

5. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein said handle unit comprises:

a handle, said handle having a grip at a top end thereof;

a toothed bar, said toothed bar comprising a plurality of longitudinal teeth arranged around the periphery thereof; and

an adapter coupling said toothed bar to said handle, said adapter comprising a coupling tube comprising a tubular body sleeved onto a top end of said toothed bar, a plurality of linear teeth longitudinally arranged around the periphery of said tubular body and sloping in one direction, a threaded head, a neck connected between said tubular body and said threaded head, a pinhole transversely cut through the neck of said adapter, a plurality of clamping strips axially extending from said threaded head, an coupling space defined within said clamping strips and adapted for receiving a bottom end of said handle, a collar threaded onto said threaded head of said coupling tube to radially inwardly compress said clamping strips against the periphery of the bottom end of said handle and to secure said coupling tube to said handle, and a lock pin inserted through said pinhole of said coupling tube and the top end of said toothed bar to lock said coupling tube to said toothed bar.

6. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 5, wherein said toothed bar is inserted through said transmission unit to have the longitudinal teeth thereof in mesh with said planet gears of said transmission unit such that rotating said handle causes said toothed bar to rotate said transmission unit and said driven cap.

7. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 5, wherein said positioning unit is mounted in a top end hole of said actuating sleeve, comprising a plurality of C-shaped retaining rings and respectively clamped on said coupling tube of said adapter and an annular stop member sleeved onto said coupling tube of said adaptor and adapted to limit rotation of said adapter in one direction, said annular stop member comprising an engagement portion for engaging the linear teeth of said coupling tube; when moving said actuating sleeve and said transmission unit and said driven cap axially relative to said handle unit to let said annular stop member enter into said actuating tube and go through said C-shaped retaining rings and said annular stop member, said actuating sleeve is rotatable relative to said handle unit in one direction and prohibited from rotation relative to said handle unit in the reversed direction, and at the same time said C-shaped retaining rings are clamped on the neck of said coupling tube to keep said annular stop member in said actuating sleeve.

8. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cleaning body comprises a plurality of soft strands of water-absorbing fabric, and a resilient wire member axially embedded in each said soft strand of water-absorbing fabric.

9. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telescopic sleeve is mounted in said cleaning body between said handle unit and said driven cap and axially movable relative to said handle unit and said actuating sleeve and said driven cap.

10. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein said driven cap comprises an inside annular retaining portion stopped against a rim at a top side of said telescopic sleeve such that said telescopic sleeve is received together inside said driven cap when lifting said handle unit relative to said driven cap and said actuating sleeve.

11. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 5, wherein said coupling tube of said adapter further comprises a top extension tube axially upwardly extending from said threaded head and inserted into the bottom end of said handle.

12. The wringable mop as claimed in claim 5, wherein said coupling tube of said adapter further comprises two beveled guide edges respectively extending around the periphery of top and bottom ends of said tubular body.