Mop

Aug. 5, 1941

T. J. THOMAS

MOP

2,251,384

Filed April 21, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1

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INVENTOR

Thomas &lt;J. Thows

BY

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ATTORNEYS

Aug. 5, 1941.

T. J. THOMAS

MOP

2,251,384

Filed April 21, 1938

Sheets-Sheet 2

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Patented Aug. 5, 1941

2,251,384

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,251,384

MOP

Thomas J. Thomas, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor of one-sixth to Cynthia Eleanor Daugherty, Cleveland, Ohio, one-ninth to Belle M. Doran, Lakewood, Ohio, one-ninth to Belle M. Doran, Lakewood, Ohio, as guardian of Kathleen L. Doran, and one-ninth to Josephine D. Henry, Parma, Ohio

Application April 21,1938, Serial No. 203,304

Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in mops, and more particularly to improvements in so-called “self-wringing” wet mops, that is, mops provided with means by which the operator may wring out the mop.

Self-wringing mops employing a divided head which permits the mopping material to be compressed between the head portions are wellknown to the art. Such mops have not proved entirely satisfactory however, since in order to insure that all portions of the mopping surface were fully and equally compressed, it was necessary, heretofore, to space the divided head portions of the mop. This resulted in a mop which was comparatively large and unwieldly for the amount of mopping surface presented. If a continuous mopping surface were used with the divided head, the mopping material could not be wrung out satisfactorily, since the portion of the mopping material near the hinge joining the divided head was pinched and the portions away from the hinge were subjected to substantially no compression.

It is the object of this invention to provide a self-wringing mop presenting a continuous mopping surface, which may be satisfactorily wrung out, the mopping material being subjected to a full and equal compression throughout.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mop-wringing means which is simple, sturdy, inexpensive, and positive in its action.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a mop-wringing means which, while compact, will provide a large mechanical advantage and enable the operator to subject the mopping material to great compression with a minimum of effort. It is a further object of the invention to provide a mop-wringing means which will allow the mophandle to be angularly adjustable.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide al means for removably securing the mopping material to the mopping head. Other and further objects and advantages will be apparent in the specification and appended claims.

Like reference characters represent like parts in the following description and in the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of this invention, showing the mop in the normal position;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken along line 2—2 of Fig. 1, but showing the mop in the actuate position;

(Cl. 15—119)

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bottom of the mop head with the mopping material removed;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken on line 2—2 of Fig. 1, showing a modification of this invention; and

Fig. 5 is also a cross-section taken on line 2—2 of Fig. 1, showing a further modification of this invention.

In the drawings, the mop head I is comprised of two plates 3 and 4 joined together and normally maintained in the same plane by an offset spring hinge 5. The mop head plates may be perforated by holes 6, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 in order to allow water to pass therethrough, but these perforations may be conveniently omitted, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Extending around the outside edges of plate 3 is a depending flange 7 and extending around the outside edges of plate 4 is a depending flange 8. Rubber bumper strips 9 and 10 may ibe attached to the flanges 7 and 8, respectively, by countersunk rivets or any other suitable means.

The mopping material is comprised preferably of two blocks of cellulose sponge, though blocks of sponge rubber, natural sponge, or other highly absorbent and compressible material may be used. The block of sponge ii completely covers the underside of the plate 3 and extends a considerable distance below the flange 7. Similarly, the block of sponge 12 completely covers the underside of plate 4 and extends below the flange 8 substantially the same distance that the block 11 extends below the flange 7. The two blocks of sponge, thereby, normally present a continuous mopping surface.

The hinged plates 3 and 4 are shown as being rectangular, but they may be made in any convenient shapes which will be symmetrical about the parting line 13 formed by the abutting edges of the plates 3 and 4. The offset spring hinge 5 is attached to the underside of the plates 3 and 4 astride the parting line 13. The hinge pin 14 is parallel to the parting line 13 and the hinge plates (5 and 16 are secured to the plates 3 and 4, respectively, by rivets or other suitable securing means. The hinge pin 14 preferably extends beyond the hinge plates 15 and 16 and carries the torsion springs 17 and 18, which engage the plates 3 and 4 and tend to maintain the plates in their abutting and coplanar position. The hinge pin 14 is offset below the plates 3 and 4 a distance greater than the depth of the depending flanges 7 and 8 and substantially equal to the thickness to which the sponges should be compressed to wring them out properly.

2,251,384

The mop handle 20 may be adjustably mounted on the mop head I, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Two U brackets, each having a pair of upstanding wing members 21 and 22 and 23 and 24, respectively, are secured adjacent each other on plate 4 5 adjacent the parting line 13. The wing members 22 and 23 are drilled to receive a bolt 25 and a wing nut 26. A pivot flange 27 of a socket member 28 pivots upon the bolt 25 between the wing members 22 and 23. The socket member 28 re- 10 ceives the mop handle 20, which is secured therein by a pin 29. The handle 20 may thereby be secured at a convenient angle to the mop head I by tightening the wing nut 26 after the desired angle of the handle to the head has been ob- 15 tained. The pivot flange 27 may be scored or corrugated to insure a proper frictional grip between the pivot flange and the wing members 22 and 23.

The linkage employed to operate the mop head 20 to wring out the mop comprises a pair of bellcrank members 31 and 32. The bell-crank 32 comprises a lever arm 34 and an arcuate arm 36 integral therewith, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The bell-crank 32 is pivotably secured to the wing 25 member 24 by the pivot pin 38. The bell-crank 31 is of a similar configuration, having a lever arm 33 and an arcuate arm 35, and is pivotably secured to the wing 21 by the pivot pin 37, the pivot pins 37 and 38 being co-axial. The arcuate 30 arms 35 and 36 are spaced and braced midway of their length by a cross-brace 39, and the free ends of the arcuate arms carry a roller pin 40, which extends laterally of the arcuate arms. The ends of the roller pin carry the rollers 41 and 42, which 35 engage the plate 3. The roller pin 40 may also carry a spacer 43 between the arcuate arms 35 and 36.

The end portions of the lever arms 33 and 34 are bent toward each other at right angles to the ⁴⁰parallel planes of the bell-cranks 31 and 32 and are provided with upstanding ends which receive a pivot pin 44. The pivot pin 44 pivotably secures one end of a connecting link 45 between the ends of the lever arms 33 and 34. The other end of the ⁴⁵connecting link 45 is pivotably connected to the sleeve 46, which is slidably mounted on the handle 20.

The operation of a mop constructed according to this invention is as follows: When the oper- ⁵⁰ator wishes to wring out the mop, the operator grasps the handle 20 in one hand and with the other hand pushes down on the sleeve 46, which slides down the handle. As the sleeve 46 slides down the handle, the connecting link 45 causes ⁵⁵the bell-cranks 31 and 32 to pivot about their coaxial pivot pins, depressing the plate 3 which pivots about the hinge pin 14. The rollers 41 and 42 traverse the face of the plate 3 as it pivots about the hinge pin 14, first toward the parting 6θ line 13 and then, after the plate 3 has pivoted more than 90°, toward the cutside edge until, after the plate 3 has been rotated approximately 180°, the rollers 41 and 42 engage the plate 3 at the point of maximum leverage about the hinge pin ^β·⁵14, as shown in Fig. 2. This mechanical advantage is further increased by the leverage afforded by the bell-cranks 31 and 32. Thus, the operator may subject the sponge blocks 11 and 12 to a tremendous pressure by the application of a small force on the sleeve 46.

When the plate 3 has been pivoted 180°, it will be parallel to plate 4, but spaced therefrom a distance twice the amount of offset of the hinge pin 14. Because the plates 3 and 4 are parallel ‘⁵ to each other when in the position shown in Fig. 2, the sponges 11 and 12 will be fully and evenly compressed between the plates and the soiled liquid absorbed by them will be satisfactorily expressed therefrom. Because the sponge blocks separate along the parting line 13 as the plate 3 is pivoted, there will be no tendency for the sponges to be pinched adjacent the hinge 5. To return the plates to their normal co-planar position after the sponges are wrung out, the operator simply releases the sleeve 46 and the spring hinge 5 snaps the plates back to the normal position.

It is apparent from Fig. 1 that the upward movement of the adjustable mop handle I is limited by the ends of the lever arms 33 and 34 and that the downward movement is limited by the plate 4. The handle may be set at any position between these limits without affecting the operation of the mop-wringing linkage, the adjustment in the angle of the mop handle simply changing the normal position of the sleeve 46 on the handle 20 and varying the angle of the connecting link to the handle 20.

It may be desirable, however, to have the handle 20 fixed with respect to the mop head 1, as shown in Fig. 4. This may be accomplished by substituting for the pair of U brackets a single and wider U bracket having an upstanding central member 50. This central member 50 terminates in a pair of straps 51 which substantially encircle the end of the handle 20. A wing nut and bolt 53 passes through the ends of the straps 51, and by tightening the wing nut and bolt, the handle 20 is secured at a fixed angle to the mop head I. When the angularity of the handle is fixed, as in Fig. 4, it may be desirable to form the arcuate arms and the lever arms of the bellcranks separately and then to rivet them together to form an integral bell-crank. Thus, in Fig. 4, the arcuate arm 35α is formed separately from the lever arm 34α, the two being secured together as an integral bell-crank by the rivet 60 and the pivot pin 38α. The angularity between the arcuate arm 36α and the lever arm 34α is preferably such that, with the roller 42 engaging the plate 3 in the normal position, the end of the lever arm 34α bears against the handle 20. By so constructing the bell-crank arms, the mopwringing linkage is maintained in a fixed position while the mop is in use and rattling and jarring of the linkage is prevented.

Cellulose sponge is the preferred mopping material to be used for the sponge blocks in this invention, not only because it apparently has good wearing qualities, but also because blocks of cellulose sponge may be very satisfactorily secured to the plates 3 and 4 by means of waterproof cellulose adhesives, several types of which are well known to the art. It may be desirable, however, to provide mops made according to the invention with easily replaceable sponge blocks, as is illustrated in Fig. 5. Thin sponge plates 71, cut to the size of the underneath area of plates 3 and 4, are held against the plates 3 and 4 by the depending lugs 72. The sponge blocks are secured to the sponge plates by a suitable adhesive or other convenient securing means. The sponge blocks are then inserted and removed from the mop head by bowing the sponge plates 71 to clear the lugs 72. Where the width of the sponge plates 71 is such that, during use, the weighted sponge may cause the sponge plates to bow and slip out of the lugs 72, the sponge plates may be additionaly secured to the plates 3 and 4 by small machine screws 73 extending through the plates 3 and 4 and tapped into the sponge plates 71.

This invention has been disclosed in an embodiment intended for use primarily as a floor mop, but it may be applied to many other embodiments, as, for example, window mops and squeegees, and like applications. It is, therefore, to be understood that this invention is not to be limited, either in whole or in part, to the specific embodiments and modifications disclosed, but only by the appended claims.