A wall-supported conical wringer for round-based string mops and method of making said wringer is provided with some new features integrated into a special mounting system which permits the conical wringer to be attached and held in a usable position at any kitchen twin sink divider or can be used on a utility or washroom sink sidewall. The device provides a convenient means of removing the excess water from a water-soaked mop without the need of a wringer equipped mop bucket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to mop wringers. In particular it pertains to a mop wringer, which can hang on the divider in the kitchen sink or on the wall of other utility or washroom sink stationary receptacles, where it can be used to wring the excess water from a round-based string type mop.

2. State of the Art

A number of mop wringers are known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,422, MOP WRINGER, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,892, PAIL COVER HAVING MOPWRINGER, provide mop wringer devices, which are conical in form. Although water removal is accomplished by operator force, the application is different. Both these devices are applied in accompaniment with separate water receiving receptacles, specifically, buckets or pails, portable receptacles.

They are not adapted to mount on sink dividers and other utility or washroom sink sidewalls. Further, their conical elements are difficult to manufacture, and impede water escape. The device described below provides a device, which is less costly, and wrings out round-based string type mops more efficiently into a kitchen sink, or other utility or washroom sink for ease of disposal and rinsing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a method of construction of/and a mop wringer having a conical wringer with an open rim end adapted to accommodate the head of a round string mop. The open rim leads into a conical compression chamber having drain holes in the bottom end of the compression chamber. As a user forces the head of the mop into the compression chamber, with downward twisting force, water is squeezed out of the mop head through the drain grooves and bottom drain holes. It has an integral extended hanger mounting bracket with a hooked rear mounting foot to removably mount and suspend the mop wringer onto a sink divider or wall of a utility or washroom sink. A snap-on spacer may be included to reduce the distance between the mounting bracket and rear mounting foot to accommodate and secure to thinner sink divider and/or other utility or washroom sink walls.

The mop wringer, when positioned to hang from any sink divider or other utility or washroom sink sidewall, is rigidly secured thereto to drain excess water from water-soaked round-based string mops into the sink or other utility or washroom sink for disposal. It securely positions the device in a desired accessible location and orientation for use. Thus mounted, it fully absorbs the mop twisting torque, which is encountered during use. When mopping is completed, it is readily removed for storage and reuse.

Preferably, the rim thickness of the conical wringer is twice the height and width of the wall thickness of the conical section for strength needed during the downward and twisting force, which occurs during use. Typically, the wall thickness of the conical section of the said conical wringer is approximately 0.100 plus/minus 0.02 inches if molded via plastic injection to reduce costs and reduce cooling time.

The inside surface of the conical mop wringer may include equally spaced slanting longitudinal drain grooves to assist in water removal. The drain grooves provide additional means for water escape. The drain grooves are cheaper to manufacture than including additional holes in the sidewalls of the conical compression chamber. These drain grooves preferably run the length of the inside surface of the conical wringer and are as wide as the thickness of the walls of the conical wringer, which are approximately one-eighth inch. The open longitudinal curvature shapes of these drain grooves also add strength to the walls of the conical compression chamber as corrugated reinforcing ribs.

The bottom of the conical wringer is preferably flat and has a diameter of approximately one-half the length of the conical compression chamber. Preferably, the flat bottom is equipped with six equally spaced exit drain holes. In the preferred embodiment, the drain holes are oblong in shape and are positioned such that one end of each is directly below one of each of the vertical drain grooves. The length of each drain hole is preferably approximately three times the width with the length of each oriented radially. Alternatively, the width of the drain holes may be the same as the width of the vertical drain grooves.

The main structural member of the said hanger mounting bracket is a hanger mounting bracket arm, which preferably is approximately three-quarter inch thick to withstand tensile, shear, and bending forces without cracking or failure during normal use. The securing surfaces of the hanger mounting bracket foot and outer surface of the mop compression chamber hold the device in position to withstand shear and bending forces, which occur during use. An additional side-of-cone stabilizer pad may be included to hold the device horizontally against vertical support dividers during use and adds stability and rigidity.

The preferred method for making the hang-on mop wringer is injection molding of the unit. It comprises the steps of: designing and building mold tooling; selecting plastic injection material; selecting injection parameters; and finishing of parting lines and flash. The preferred material used for construction is any standard plastic, nylon, or polymer normally used in the industry for such applications where a reasonable degree of strength is required.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1is a bottom perspective view of a preferred embodiment of unibody construction of the mop wringer invention1made of injection molded nylon or plastic with reduced wall thickness.FIG. 2is a top perspective view of the preferred embodiment ofFIG. 1. This design allows for faster, greater ease, and less expense in its manufacture by plastic injection molding. This preferred design has a larger diameter conical compression chamber to accommodate larger mop heads. Ribbed reinforcing structure is incorporated to reduce weight while retaining necessary strength. It also includes a snap-on spacer clip to allow proper fit on both narrow and wide sink dividers.

The labeled components of the invention1shown in the drawings are:2. Drain Grooves3. Drain Holes4. Conical Compression Chamber4a. Bottom of Conical Compression Chamber5. Hanger Mounting Bracket with6. Hooked Rear Mounting Foot7. Stabilizer Foot Pad8. Right Outer Hanger Mounting Bracket Rib9. Right Intermediate Hanger Mounting Bracket Rib10. Mid Hanger Mounting Bracket Rib11. Left Intermediate Hanger Mounting Bracket Rib12. Left Outer Hanger Mounting Bracket Rib13. Top of Hanger Mounting Bracket14. Mounting Foot Face Wall15. Right Outer Mounting Foot Rib16. Left Outer Mounting Foot Rib17. Right Intermediate Mounting Foot Rib18. Mid Mounting Foot Rib19. Left Intermediate Mounting Foot Rib20. Top of Mounting Foot21. Mounting Foot Rear Wall22. Right Conical Compression Chamber Support Foot Rib23. Left Conical Compression Chamber Support Foot Rib24. Conical Compression Chamber Support Foot Face25. Clip-On Spacer Attachment

FIG. 2is a top perspective view of the invention shown inFIG. 1. It shows the relative width and length of the rim of the conical compression chamber4and its attached hanger mounting bracket5and its mounting foot6. The mounting bracket5is attached to the conical compression chamber4with six longitudinal drain grooves2in its walls. The wall thickness of the conical compression chamber is approximately 0.100 plus/minus 0.02 inches. The drain grooves2run lengthwise down the inside surface of the conical compression chamber4and direct water collected therein to exit through drain holes3passing through its flat bottom base4aimmediately below the grooves2. There are six equally spaced exit drain holes3. The drain holes3are oblong in shape and are radially spaced and positioned such that each is directly below a drain groove2. The length of each drain hole3is approximately three times its width, with the length of each oriented radially.

FIG. 3is a side sectional view showing the conical compression chamber4, with attached connecting hanger mounting bracket5and its mounting foot6. It shows the position of the conical compression chamber4stabilizer footpad7, which positions the device securely against a vertical planer support surface, such as a sink divider. To reinforce the hanger mounting bracket5, a right outer hanger mounting bracket rib8, a right intermediate hanger mounting bracket rib9, a mid hanger mounting bracket rib10, a left intermediate hanger mounting bracket rib11and a left outer hanger mounting bracket rib12are included. These ribs8,9,10,11and12are located beneath the top13of the hanger mounting bracket5. To reinforce the conical compression chamber4, a stabilizer foot pad7adds reinforcement as well as stability. It has rib reinforcement comprising: a right outer mounting foot rib15, a left outer mounting foot rib16, a right intermediate mounting foot rib17, a mid mounting foot rib18, and a left intermediate mounting foot rib19. These are located beneath the top20of the hanger mounting bracket5proximate the mounting foot rear wall21.

Shown inFIG. 3is a clip-on spacer25to adjust the attachment spacing of the hanger mounting bracket5when mounted on a sink divider or other utility or washroom sink sidewall.

FIG. 4is a rear view of the invention1showing the right outer mounting foot rib15, the left outer mounting foot rib16, the right intermediate mounting foot rib17, the mid mounting foot rib18, and the left intermediate mounting foot rib19. To further reinforce the stabilizer foot pad7rear wall21, a right conical compression chamber support foot rib22, and a left conical compression chamber support foot23are included as shown inFIG. 4.

FIG. 6is another top view of the invention ofFIG. 3with hidden lines showing the part extensions.

FIG. 7is another side sectional view of the invention ofFIG. 4with hidden lines also shown the part extensions.

FIG. 8is another rear sectional view of the invention ofFIG. 5with hidden lines showing the part extensions.

FIG. 9is a top view of a preferred clip on spacer25showing its preferred ribbed construction in hidden lines.

FIG. 10is a side view of the preferred clip on spacer25ofFIG. 9.

FIG. 11is a rear view of the preferred clip on spacer25ofFIG. 9.

The invention thus provides a single piece conical mop wringer1with no moving parts, which can hang on various sized sink divider, or other utility or washroom sink sidewalls. It has a hanger mounting bracket5with mounting foot6, which grasps vertical support walls to hold the entire device in position. The conical mop wringer1removes excess water from string type mops by a user inserting a mop head therein and exerting a downward twisting force. The inside surface drain grooves2of the conical mop wringer1direct water to exit through drain holes3beneath the drain grooves2.

Although this description has referred to illustrated embodiments, it is not intended to restrict the scope of the claims. The claims themselves recite those features deemed essential to the invention.