DUAL-PURPOSE SPIN DRY MOP BUCKET

The present invention relates to mop buckets, including a housing, a spin basket mounted in the housing, and a driving mechanism rotating the spin basket. The present invention uses the driving mechanism to rotate an agitator for stirring and rubbing the mop head to remove dirt and solid matters and to synchronously rotate a spin basket for drying the mop head of the mop. Further, the present invention utilizes gears and one-way couplings to transfer driving force for rotating the agitator and the spin basket at the same time, saving much installation space and facilitating mop cleaning and drying operations.

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Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to mop buckets and more particularly, to a dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket, which can clean the mop head as well as spin-dry the mop head.

2. Description of the Related Art

Mop is a tool commonly used for floor cleaning. A mop bucket may be used with a mop for removing water from the mop. A conventional mop bucket uses squeezer means to squeeze water out of the cotton strips of the mop. FIG. 1 illustrates a mop bucket 50 constructed according to Taiwan Utility Model M338534. According to this design, the mop bucket 50 comprises a housing 51, a mount 52, and a rotating unit 53 which comprises a support device, a rotating shaft, a transmission mechanism and a push bar unit that are coupled to one another for rotating a spin basket 54 to spin-dry the cotton or micro-fiber mop head 61 of the mop 60 inserted therein. This design of mop bucket 50 has drawbacks. It simply provides a vertical rinsing space 55 for rinsing the mop 60 in vertical.

In actual application, moving the mop 60 vertically (Y-Y direction) in the vertical rinsing space 55 cannot effectively clean the cotton or micro-fiber mop head 61. Rinsing the mop head 61 in this manner cannot remove dirt from it effectively. Therefore, this prior art mop bucket design can simply spin dry the mop but cannot effectively clean the mop head.

Further, dirt deposited in the bottom of the vertical rinsing space of the mop bucket may be adhered to the mop head again during vertical movement of the mop head in the vertical rinsing space, causing the mop head to be contaminated again.

Further, the mechanism for rotating the spin basket is complicated, not convenient for smooth operation. Therefore, there is room for improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is primary object of the present invention to provide a dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket, which uses one same driving mechanism to rotate an agitator for stirring and rubbing the mop head of the mop to remove dirt and solid matters and to synchronously rotate a spin basket for drying the mop head of the mop.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket, which utilizes gears and one-way couplings to transfer driving force for rotating the agitator and the spin basket at the same time, saving much installation space and facilitating mop cleaning and drying operations.

To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, a dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket comprises a housing having a top open side, a recessed accommodation area in a front part of a bottom side of the housing, a spin basket mounted in said housing above said recessed accommodation area, and a driving mechanism mounted in said recessed accommodation area inside said housing and adapted for rotating said spin basket. Further, said driving mechanism comprises a base having two upright supports at two opposing lateral sides, a pedal having a tubular shaft located on a front end and pivotally connected between said two upright supports of said base and an extension wall at one lateral side of said pedal, and an arched tooth rack mounted on said extension wall of said pedal.

The driving mechanism also comprises a first gear pivotally mounted on said base, a second gear coaxially mounted on a top side of said first gear and meshed with said arched tooth rack, a third gear pivotally mounted on said base and meshed with said first gear, a first one-way coupling coaxially mounted on said third gear, and a first transmission shaft having a bottom end thereof connected to said first one-way coupling and a top end thereof inserted through said recessed accommodation area and coupled to a connector at a bottom side of said spin basket for rotating said spin basket;

The driving mechanism further comprises a transmission gear set consisting of a series of meshed gears pivotally supported on said base, one of the gears of said transmission gear set being meshed with said third gear, a fourth gear pivotally supported on said base and meshed with one gear of said transmission gear set, a second one-way coupling coaxially mounted on said fourth gear, a second transmission shaft having a bottom end thereof connected to said second one-way coupling and a top end thereof extending out of a bearing block in said housing, and an agitator coupled to said second transmission shaft and suspending at a top side of said bearing block in said housing and rotatable by said second transmission shaft to stir and rub a mop head of a mop being attached to said bearing block.

Thus, when compared to conventional spin buckets, the invention provides an additional agitator for stirring and rubbing the mop head to remove dirt and solid matters from the mop head. Further, the same power source for rotating the spin basket is utilized to rotate the agitator, saving much components and installation space. After cleaning of the mop head by the agitator, the mop head is spin-dried by the spin basket. Thus, cleaning and drying of the mop head can be done efficiently by the dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an oblique elevation of a mop bucket constructed according to Taiwan Utility Model M338634.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an elevational assembly view of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cutaway view of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic applied view of the present invention, illustrating a mop head cleaning action.

FIG. 7 is a schematic applied view of the present invention, illustrating a mop head drying action.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 7, a dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing 10 includes a top open side 11, a recessed accommodation area 12 in a front part of a bottom side of the housing 10, a driving mechanism 30 mounted in the recessed accommodation area 12 and adapted for rotating a spin basket 20. In this preferred embodiment, a carrying handle 14 as shown in FIG. 2 arranged at the top side of the housing 10. The carrying handle 14 is an arched bar having a pivot rod 141 located on each of the two distal ends and respectively pivotally coupled to a respective pivot hole 13 at the housing 10.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a water retaining ring 21 is mounted at the top side of the spin basket 20 mounted in the housing 10 and the recessed accommodation area 12, having a water baffle 22 downwardly suspending at one side for stopping water from splashing on the surroundings outside the housing 10.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the driving mechanism 30 comprises a base 31 having two upright supports 311 at two opposing lateral sides, a pedal 34 having a tubular shaft 341 located on a front end and pivotally connected between the two upright supports 311 of the base 31 and an extension wall 343 at one lateral side of the pedal 34, and an arched tooth rack 35 mounted on an extension wall 343 at one lateral side of the pedal 34. Besides, the tubular shaft 341 of the pedal 34 has its one end loaded with a return spring 342 for automatic return.

With reference to FIG. 5, the driving mechanism 30 further comprises a first gear 32 pivotally mounted on the base 31, a second gear 33 coaxially mounted on a top side of the first gear 32 and meshed with the arched tooth rack 35 is a bevel gear fitting the configuration of the arched tooth rack 35, a third gear 36 pivotally mounted on the base 31 and meshed with the first gear 32, a first one-way coupling 37 coaxially mounted on the third gear 36, and a first transmission shaft 38 having a bottom end and connecting to the first one-way coupling 37 and a top end thereof inserted through the recessed accommodation area 12 and coupled to a connector at a bottom side of the spin basket 20 for rotating the spin basket 20.

The driving mechanism 30 further comprises a transmission gear set 39 consisting of a series of meshed gears pivotally supported on the base 31, one of the gears of the transmission gear set 39 being meshed with the third gear 36, a fourth gear 43 pivotally supported on the base 31 and meshed with one gear of the transmission gear set 39, a second one-way coupling 42 coaxially mounted on the fourth gear 43, a second transmission shaft 41 having a bottom end thereof connected to the second one-way coupling 42 and a top end thereof inserting through a bearing block 15 in the housing 10, and an agitator 40 coupled to the second transmission shaft 41 and inserted through a top side of the bearing block 15 in the housing 10 and rotated by the second transmission shaft 41 for stirring and cleaning a mop head 61.

Thus, when the user steps on the pedal 34 during the use of the dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket, the tubular shaft 341 of the pedal 34 is rotated, causing movement of the arched tooth rack 35 and further rotation of the second gear 33, and at the same time, the first gear 32 is rotated with the second gear 33 to drive the third gear 36 in upwardly forcing the first one-way coupling 37 to rotate the first transmission shaft 38 in one single direction and simultaneously in laterally forcing the transmission gears 39 to rotate the fourth gear 43 and the second one-way coupling 42 and to further rotate the agitator 40 on a bearing block 15 at the bottom side in the housing 10. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, attach the mop head 61 of the mop 60 to the top side of the agitator 40, enabling dirt and solid matters to be forced away from the mop head 61 by a centrifugal force, and then, as shown in FIG. 7, insert the mop head 61 of the mop 60 into the spin basket 20 for drying.

Based on the aforesaid arrangement, one single driving mechanism 30 can synchronously rotate the agitator 40 and the spin basket 20 for cleaning and drying the mop head 61. Therefore, the invention involves an inventive step.

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 dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket, comprising:

a housing having a top open side and a recessed accommodation area in a front part of a bottom side thereof;
a spin basket mounted in said housing above said recessed accommodation area; and
a driving mechanism mounted in said recessed accommodation area inside said housing and adapted for rotating said spin basket;
wherein:
said driving mechanism comprises
a base having two upright supports at two opposing lateral sides thereof;
a pedal having a tubular shaft located on a front end thereof and pivotally connected between said two upright supports of said base and an extension wall at one lateral side thereof;
an arched tooth rack mounted on said extension wall of said pedal;
a first gear pivotally mounted on said base;
a second gear coaxially mounted on a top side of said first gear and meshed with said arched tooth rack;
a third gear pivotally mounted on said base and meshed with said first gear;
a first one-way coupling coaxially mounted on said third gear;
a first transmission shaft having a bottom end thereof connected to said first one-way coupling and a top end thereof inserted through said recessed accommodation area and coupled to a connector at a bottom side of said spin basket for rotating said spin basket;
a transmission gear set consisting of a series of meshed gears pivotally supported on said base, one of the gears of said transmission gear set being meshed with said third gear;
a fourth gear pivotally supported on said base and meshed with one gear of said transmission gear set;
a second one-way coupling coaxially mounted on said fourth gear;
a second transmission shaft having a bottom end thereof connected to said second one-way coupling and a top end thereof extending out of a bearing block in said housing; and
an agitator coupled to said second transmission shaft and suspending at a top side of said bearing block in said housing and rotatable by said second transmission shaft to stir and rub a mop head of a mop being attached to said bearing block.

2. The dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a carrying handle pivotally arranged at a top side of said housing.

3. The dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a water retaining ring mounted at a top side of said spin basket, said water retaining ring having a water baffle downwardly suspending at one side thereof.

4. The dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second gear is a bevel gear fitting the configuration of said arched tooth rack.

5. The dual-purpose spin dry mop bucket as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tubular shaft of said pedal has a return spring loaded on one end thereof for automatic return.

Patent History
Publication number: 20120047675
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 11, 2011
Publication Date: Mar 1, 2012
Inventor: SHU-HSUN CHU (GUANGDONG)
Application Number: 13/179,753
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Mop Wringers (15/260)
International Classification: A47L 13/58 (20060101);