CLEANING CLOTH FOR A BASE FOR MOPS WITH TABS

Abstract

A cleaning cloth has on each of its transverse sides a tab designed to be automatically connected to and retained by a coupling device on a mop base.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Italian Patent Application 102018000005166, filed on May 8, 2018, and PCT Application PCT/IB2019/053670, filed on May 6, 2019, both incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention relates to a cleaning cloth that on each of its transverse sides has a connecting tab designed to be automatically connected to and held by a coupling device on a mop base.

BACKGROUND

Many mop cloths need to be held at the transverse ends of a mop base and kept taut during cleaning operations.

Very often, retention occurs between particular types and diversified structuring of connections on the base and corresponding elements for joining the transverse ends of the cloths.

In fact, the retention between base and cloth to be carried out in a reliable manner requires that the cleaning cloths have particular connection elements that often take the form of tabs.

The tabs are generally made of a plastic, thicker and more rigid than the cloth to which they are joined, and they provide a secure connection to the respective coupling element.

These cloths need to be changed during the working day as soon as they are dirty with other ones, and these replacements are numerous because of the need to carry out the activity providing maximum cleanliness.

In such cases the operator must carry out a series of operations that involve stopping the work, detaching the cloth and sending it to the laundry, and the installation of a clean cloth.

Especially this last phase can involve a considerable expenditure of time; in fact the operator must patiently arrange the coupling devices in a way that allows their connection with the tabs.

The operator must therefore open one of the coupling devices, carry out a planar alignment between the opening of the coupling with the tab, insert the tab into the open mouth of the coupling, possibly fixing the tab to the retention elements in the coupling device and finally require the coupling device to secure the retention.

In fact, very often the coupling device has, in addition to a seat purposely arranged to accommodate the tab, also other elements, such as for example pegs, flaps, strikers, holes, etc. which are connected directly with the tab, and then subsequently the coupling device can be closed again on the tab that is already joined to these strikers, only to provide the retention.

It is quite clear that the series of operations required for each new positioning of a new cloth is costly in terms of time.

The detachment of the cloth involves a series of similar operations, carried out in reverse to detach each individual tab from the relative coupling device.

It should also be kept in mind that what is set out above for a single tab, must also be replicated for the tab on the opposite transverse side.

It is therefore evident that changing a cloth, the removal of the dirty cloth and the installation of a new clean cloth, is a rather long operation for the operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to make available a cleaning cloth for a mop base (hereinafter also just a cloth or cleaning cloth) with tabs on the transverse sides (hereinafter also just cloth with tabs) which can automatically connect to the coupling devices of the aforesaid base, which can overcome all the drawbacks of the prior art described above.

Another object of the present invention is to make available a cloth with tabs that simplifies the various operations to replace the cloth on the relative base

A further object of the present invention is to make available a cloth with tabs that is extremely reliable as regards its retention on the relative base.

An important object of the present invention is to make available a cloth with tabs whose coupling operations can be carried out by the operator even with just one hand.

An important object of the present invention is to make available a cloth with tabs whose fastening operations can be conducted, performed and completed quickly.

A clear object of the present invention is to make available a cloth with tabs which is symmetrical between the two opposite transverse sides.

Explanation of the Invention

These objects and those which will be clearer in the following description are achieved by a cleaning cloth and a mop base with coupling devices, where the transverse ends of said cleaning cloth are each retained by the relative device for connecting a mop base located at the transverse end thereof, and is configured with a mouth for the input of the end of the cloth, normally held closed by elastic devices present on the coupling device; each of the two transverse ends of the cloth includes a tab, which is configured with a profile of increasing cross-section, starting from the free end, in a divergent manner and whose profile is able to open wide said mouth inlet, while, with a movement of insertion enters the mouth pushing at least on the movable part of said mouth and operating as on inclined planes, and by opening the mouth with an extension at least equal to the maximum thickness of the increased cross-section, and the section profile of said tab, after the maximum increase, decreases with a steep front, with a course approximately orthogonal to said insertion movement of said tab into said mouth, said decreasing profile is connected with the internal retaining profile of the connection device, after the mouth has closed on the connecting lamina of the section increased with the cloth, preventing the lamina slipping off following a tensioning of the cloth.

Advantageous Characteristics of the Invention

Advantageously, said augmented section extends only towards the movable opening side of the mouth on which the cloth retention devices act, allowing the cloth to be inserted into the mouth with a rectilinear movement and aligned with the lamina connecting with the cloth.

Advantageously said augmented section has a symmetrical profile facilitating its application to the transverse sides of the cloth itself.

Advantageously, said decreasing profile of the lamina is facing and returned towards the free end of the tab, preventing the decreasing profile from causing the inner wall of the connection device to open.

Advantageously, in combination with the preceding characteristic, the internal profile of the retention mouth is complementary to the aforementioned re-entering profile, creating a greater retention force for the closure of the mouth against every effort to extract the cloth.

Advantageously, the profile of the mouth can facilitate and replace the divergent propensity of the front face of the free end of the tab, so as to perform the identical automatic coupling function, opening the mouth wide following the pressure of the end of the tab against the outer surface of the mobile part of the mouth to then close again as soon as the maximum opening range determined by the thickness of the fin has been exceeded.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a cleaning cloth that has tabs on the ends of the transverse sides configured according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows the cloth of FIG. 1 connected to a mop base that has coupling devices at the ends of the transverse sides.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged cross-section, according to a longitudinal symmetry plane, the details of the transverse edge and the terminal tab, which clearly shows the increasing front from the free end towards the attachment of the lamina to the cloth and the decreasing steep profile that joins to the lamina.

FIG. 4 shows the tab of the previous figure in which the decreasing profile is re-entering towards the free end of the tab.

FIG. 5 shows the tab of FIG. 3 but with a symmetrical profile with respect to the main longitudinal axis of the lamina of the tab;

FIG. 6 shows what is shown in FIG. 5 in which the decreasing profiles are curved inwards towards the free end of the tab.

FIG. 7 shows an enlarged cross-sectional and perspective view of the cleaning cloth, the tab of which is connected to a coupling device located at the free end of the transverse side.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-section of a main longitudinal plane of the cleaning cloth, in which the tab is placed near the mouth of the connection device.

FIG. 9 shows the continuation of the connection mode, following FIG. 8 in which the tab is pushed inside the mouth, the movable part of which opens, due to the action of the divergent profile, operating as urged by an inclined plane, of the free end of the tab, overcoming the elastic forces of the connection device which tend to keep the mouth closed.

FIG. 10 shows the next step in the continuation of the insertion of FIG. 9 with the maximum divarication of the movable part of the inlet mouth of the connecting device at the maximum thickness of the tab.

FIG. 11 shows the final connected condition of the tab, whose end part is inserted and retained by the coupling device of the base; the movable part is returned, under the effect of the elastic devices to its normally closed condition, and the decreasing profile is connected with the internal retaining wall of the coupling device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the figures, the cloth 1 of the invention has at the two ends of the transverse sides 2, 3 a laminar connection element 4, 5, generally known as the tab.

Said tab 4, 5 on one side is cantilevered fixed to the transverse side of the cloth 2, 3, being on the opposite side free to be connected by the coupling devices 6, 7 of the base 8.

In particular, the free side 9 of the tab 4 is configured to be able to connect automatically to the relative coupling device 6, by means of a single and unidirectional insertion movement against the mouth 10 of the coupling device 6, where said mouth 10, although normally closed, under the effect of the elastic devices 11, is forced to open, precisely due to the conformation of the free side 9 of the tab 4, and then close again on the lamina 12, once the retaining part of the descending profile 13 has been inserted completely inside the seat 14 in the coupling device 6.

In fact, said free side 9 of the laminar element 4 has an increasing front 15, starting from the free end 9 of the tab towards the connection of the lamina 12 to the cloth 1, with an increased cross-section 15, and which is able as an inclined surface to enter by opening wide the retaining mouth 10 of the coupling device 6.

In fact the mouth 10 includes a movable part, normally held in the condition of closure towards the body of the base 8 by elastic devices 11, and which under the effect and due to the thrust, like a wedge, of the front part 9 of said tab 4, overcomes the strength of the elastic devices 11, penetrating inside the mouth 10 which gradually opens up while the tab 4 advances with a unidirectional entry movement.

Once the maximum thickness 16 of the tab 4 has been exceeded, so that the decreasing profile 13 is completely within the seat 14 of the coupling device 6, the movable part of the coupling device 6 automatically closes behind it under the thrust of said elastic devices. 11. In fact after the section increases up to the maximum increase 16 of the front profile, the tab 4 has a rapidly decreasing profile 13 until it connects with the lamina 12 for connecting the tab 4 with the cloth 1. The course of this decreasing profile 13 is approximately perpendicular to the axis of the movement of the insertion of the tab 4 inside the mouth 10.

After the entry of this tab 4, in its particularly configured part of the free side 9, with the closure of the inlet mouth 10, the automatic connection for holding the cloth 1 to the base 8 is obtained, without the operator having to carry out any other action to ensure said retention.

Optionally, the decreasing profile 13 can advantageously curve inwards 17 towards the free end 9 when it joins the lamina 12, to ensure even greater reliability in retaining the relative end part of the cloth 1.

In fact, in combination with a complementary profile of the internal walls 20 of the said mouth 10, following a tension force of the cloth 1 (due to an extraction stress, which would tend to extract it from the coupling 6), an even greater closure of the mouth 10 is obtained, which guarantees it does not come out.

A possible improvement can be implemented with a symmetrical profile 18 of the tab 4, with respect to the symmetry surface of the lamina 12 and/or of a symmetrical profile of the inner walls 20 of the mouth 6 which is connected with the decreasing profile 13 of the tab 4; in this way the operator can quickly engage the tab 4 for connecting the cloth 1 within the coupling devices 6 without a preliminary check of the direction or using cloths 1 with a double active surface for floor cleaning.

A possible alternative could be that of shaping one or both the profiles of one or both outer walls 19 of the mouth in a manner re-entering towards the seat 14 so as to cooperate and/or replace the profile of the front 15 with an increased section 16 of the tab 4 opening wide the mouth 10 as a result of the insertion movement of the said tab 4 into the aforementioned mouth 10.

Claims

1. A cleaning cloth for a mop base with tabs on transverse sides that can automatically connect to the coupling devices of the mop base placed at transverse ends of said base, where each coupling device is configured with an inlet mouth for the entrance of the end of the cloth, which is normally closed by elastic devices on the coupling device, wherein each of the two transverse ends of the cloth comprises a tab, which is configured with a profile that has an increasing cross-section, starting from a free end, and is able to open wide said inlet, while, with an insertion movement, it enters the mouth opening it wide with an extension at least equal to a maximum thickness of the increasing cross-section, and a sectional profile of said tab, after the maximum thickness, decreases with a steep front of the decreasing profile that is orthogonal to said movement for inserting said tab inside said inlet, said decreasing profile joins to the profile of an internal wall for retaining the coupling device, after the inlet has closed on a connecting lamina of the increased section with the cloth.

2. The cleaning cloth of claim 1 wherein said profile with an increasing section extends only towards a movable opening side of the inlet mouth on which the elastic devices for holding the cleaning cloth act.

3. The cleaning cloth, of claim 1 wherein said profile with an increasing section extends on both sides of the tab with a symmetrical profile.

4. The cleaning cloth of claim 1 wherein said decreasing profile of the tab, has a profile that curves inwards and pointing towards the free end of the tab.

5. The cleaning cloth of claim 4 wherein the profile of the internal retaining wall of the mouth is complementary to the inwardly curved profile to which it joins even more with each effort to extract the cloth.

6. The cleaning cloth of claim 5 wherein in combination with or taking the place of the increasing section profile of the tab, the front wall of the inlet is shaped with a tapered inclined plane towards a seat to receive and/or work together with the free end of the tab opening wide the inlet following the insertion of the tab through the inlet until it is completely inserted within the seat.