Abstract:
A mop assembly with flexible ear portions and/or an elastically deformable ring member and/or a generally concave front peripheral portion, which creates an open pocket that helps to maintain floor debris in front of the mop as the mop is moved across the floor.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of the following prior filed U.S. provisional patent applications, which are each hereby incorporated by reference for all that is disclosed therein: U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/013,161 filed Jun. 17, 2014 for Floor Mop with Liquid Reservoir in Mop Head of Correll, et. al.; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/015,211 filed Jun. 20, 2014 for Mop Head Assembly with Debris Catcher of Correll, et al.; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/015,202 filed Jun. 20, 2014 for Mop Pad With Stiffening Ring Member of Correll, et al.; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/017,953 filed Jun. 27, 2014 for Mop With Flexible Ears of Correll, et al.; and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/017,659 filed Jun. 26, 2014 for Floor Mop with Multiple Use Collapsible Flexible Bag of Correll et al. This application also claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ filed Jun. 8, 2015 for Floor Mop With Collapsible Flexible Bag Reservoir, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all that it discloses. 
         [0002]    Many modern floor mops include an elongate handle that is pivotally attached to a mop head. A mop pad made from fabric material is removably attached to the mop head and may be easily removed for cleaning or replacement. More recently, some floor mops had been provided with liquid dispensing systems that allow floor cleaner, floor polish or the like, to be dispensed from the mop as it moves across the floor. 
     
    
     SUMMARY 
       [0003]    Disclosed herein is a mop assembly including a mop head having a top portion and a bottom portion, a mop pad having a top portion a bottom portion a front portion and a back portion and opposite lateral ends and ear portion located at opposite lateral ends of said front portion. The mop head and said mop pad are constructed and arranged such that the ear portions of the mop pad are resiliently upwardly deflectable relative to the remainder of the mop pad when the mop pad is attached to said mop head. 
         [0004]    Also disclosed is a mop pad including a flexible fabric pad having a bottom portion adapted to engage a floor, a top portion positioned opposite the bottom portion; and a peripheral edge portion. The mop pad also includes an elastically deformable ring member that is stiffer and more elastic than the flexible fabric pad that is mounted on the top portion of the flexible fabric pad. 
         [0005]    Also disclosed is a mop assembly with a generally concave front peripheral portion, which creates an open pocket that helps to maintain floor debris in front of the mop as the mop is moved across the floor. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a first floor mop. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a second floor mop. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of a third floor mop. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a floor mop head and mop pad. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of another floor mop head and mop pad. 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a frontal isometric of a floor mop head and attached handle. 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a bottom isometric view of the floor mop head and attached handle of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  is a top isometric view of a floor mop head having an inwardly concave front edge and a linear rear edge. 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  is a top plan view of another mop assembly. 
           [0015]      FIG. 10  is a bottom plan view of a floor mop pad. 
           [0016]      FIG. 11  is a schematic cross-sectional view of fabric strips of the floor mop pad of the type shown in  FIG. 10 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 12  is an isometric view of the mop of  FIG. 2  with a front panel removed from an enclosure for a collapsible flexible bag reservoir. 
           [0018]      FIG. 13  is a side elevation view of a handle for a mop having a collapsible flexible bag reservoir. 
           [0019]      FIG. 14  is a top plan view of a disassembled mop having a collapsible flexible bag reservoir. 
           [0020]      FIG. 15  is a side elevation view of the mop of  FIGS. 13 and 14 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 16  is a top plan view of another embodiment of a mop having a collapsible flexible bag reservoir, shown in a disassembled state. 
           [0022]      FIG. 17  is a front isometric view of another embodiment of the mob having a collapsible flexible bag reservoir. 
           [0023]      FIG. 18  is a top plan view of one embodiment of a multiple use collapsible flexible bag reservoir. 
           [0024]      FIG. 19  is a side elevation view of the collapsible flexible bag reservoir of  FIG. 18 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 20  is an end elevation view of the collapsible flexible bag reservoir of  FIGS. 18 and 19 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 21  is an isometric view of the collapsible flexible bag reservoir of  FIGS. 18-20 . 
           [0027]      FIG. 22  is a top plan view of another embodiment of a collapsible flexible bag reservoir. 
           [0028]      FIG. 23  is a side elevation view of the collapsible flexible bag reservoir of  FIG. 22 . 
           [0029]      FIG. 24  is an end elevation view of the collapsible flexible bag reservoir of  FIGS. 22 and 23 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 25  is an isometric view of the collapsible flexible bag reservoir of  FIGS. 22-24 . 
           [0031]      FIG. 26  is a side elevation view of another embodiment of collapsible flexible bag reservoir. 
           [0032]      FIG. 27  is a side elevation view of the collapsible flexible bag reservoir of  FIG. 26  with a hand spray assembly mounted thereon. 
           [0033]      FIG. 28  is a side elevation view of another embodiment of a collapsible flexible bag reservoir. 
           [0034]      FIG. 29  is a side elevation view of the collapsible flexible bag reservoir of  FIG. 28  with the hand spray assembly mounted thereon. 
           [0035]      FIG. 30  is an isometric view of a collapsible flexible bag reservoir supported in a bottle enclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0036]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example mop  10  having an elongate mop handle  12  attached to a mop head  14  that has flexible ear portions  15 . The mop head  14  may be attached to the handle  12  by a conventional handle attachment assembly  16 . This assembly  16  enables the handle  12  to pivot about both a horizontal and a vertical axis. A mop pad  18  is removably attached to the mop head  14 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 2  illustrates another example floor mop  20 . The mop has an elongate handle  22  attached to a mop head  24  by a conventional handle attachment assembly  26 . The mop head  24  may have flexible ear portions  25 . A mop pad  28  is removably attached to the mop head  24 . The elongate handle  22  comprises a reservoir assembly  32  that holds a collapsible flexible bag reservoir  34  filled with liquid, such as floor cleaner or polish. A trigger assembly  36  is provided at the top of the handle for actuating a conventional mechanical pump that causes a mist to be discharged from a spray nozzle  38  located at the lower front portion of the handle  22 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 3  illustrates another example floor mop  40 . Mop  40  has an elongate handle  42  attached to a mop head  44  by a conventional handle attachment assembly  46 . Mop head  44  comprises an internal reservoir filled with floor cleaning or other for treating solution. Access to the interior reservoir is provided through an opening in the top portion of the mop head  44  that is covered by a closure member  45 . A mop pad  48  is attached to the mop head  44 . A liquid dispensing system provided on the mop comprises a spray nozzle  52  located on the mop handle  42 , as shown, or on the mop head  44 . The liquid dispensing system also includes an internal pumping assembly driven by an internally mounted electric motor and battery assembly. The electric motor and battery assembly may be mounted in the head  44  or in the mop handle  42 . A motor actuator switch or button  54  may be provided at the upper end of the handle  42 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a mop head  60  which is constructed from a relatively rigid material such as stiff plastic or the like. The mop head comprises a handle attachment portion  62  which may be a conventional double pivot assembly  64 . The mop head has a generally trapezoid shaped periphery  66  with rounded corners. 
         [0040]    A mop pad  80  is attached to the mop head  60 . The mop pad  80  has a flexible fabric portion  82  with an outer peripheral edge  84 . A front portion  86  of the outer peripheral edge  84  has a generally arcuate shape. For example the dimension “1” between the most remote points at the front of the mop pad  80  may be about 18 inches, and the largest gap distance “g” between the front peripheral edge  86  and a cord drawn between the outer corners of the front peripheral edge  86  may be about 0.5 inches. The mop pad  80  has rounded front corners  88 . An over molded stiffening ring  92  may be integrally attached to the flexible fabric portion  82  of the mop pad  80 . The stiffening ring may be constructed from rubber or a resilient plastic that is sufficiently stiff to help the flexible portion hold its shape and resiliently return to that shape after deformation. However, the stiffening ring is sufficiently flexible to allow bending of the pad when it encounters a fixed object, such as a wall or furniture. This stiffening ring  92  may enable use of a smaller mop head  60  than would be required if the entire mop pad  80  were made from flexible fabric material. The stiffening ring  92  may have an inner periphery  94  conforming to the outer periphery  66  of the mop head  60 . The mop pad  80  has two flexible “ear” portions  96  which are located at the outer front corners of the mop pad. These ear portions  96  flex upwardly when the mop head is moved along a wall allowing the mop pad to engage the floor all the way up to the wall, as well as a small portion of the wall, as it is moved across the floor. Once the mop head is moved away from the wall or other object, the ears  96 , assisted by the stiffening ring  92 , resiliently return to their original flat shape in generally coplanar relationship with the rest of the mop pad  80 . 
         [0041]    In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4  each flexible ear is comprised primarily of an “ear triangle” that has an altitude line “a” extending from an outer edge point  81  at the center of the associated ear portion  88  to the nearest point  61  on the mop head periphery  66 . The base “b” of this “ear triangle” is perpendicular to altitude line “a” and extends to the outer edge  84  of the mop pad  80 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of a mop head  110 , which is similar to the mop head  60 . The mop head  110  may have a conventional handle attachment portion  112  including a mop handle pivot assembly  114 . The mop head has a peripheral edge  116 , which has a generally trapezoid shape with rounded corners. 
         [0043]    A mop pad  120  is removably mounted on the mop head  110 . The mop pad  120  comprises a flexible portion  121  with an outer peripheral edge  122 . The peripheral edge  122  may have the same shape as that described above with respect to mop pad  80 , in which the front edge  123  of the mop pad functions as a debris catcher. In the assemblies of both  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the inwardly concave, arcuate shapes of each mop head and compliment the debris catcher function of the mop pad. Because the front edge of the mop head is generally the same shape as that of the mop pad it may be positioned relatively nearer to the front edge of the mop pad along its entire arcuate shape and thus better stiffens and supports the mop pad. 
         [0044]    The mop pad  120  may have a 3-D printed stiffening ring  124  formed from plastic. The stiffening ring  124  has an inner periphery  126  conforming generally to the outer periphery  116  of the mop head  110 . An arcuate slot  128  may be provided in the ring  124  at corner portions  125 . These slotted corner portions of the stiffening ring  124  and the adjacent portions of the mop pad flexible material portion  121  form the resilient ears  130 . 
         [0045]      FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate a mop head  140  which may be formed entirely from relatively stiff plastic. The mop head  140  has a generally trapezoidal shape with a top surface portion  141 , a bottom surface portion  143  and an outer periphery  142 . The outer periphery has a front edge  144 , which may be arcuate and inwardly concave and adapted to support a mop pad (not shown) of that is slightly larger and of that same general shape. The mop head  140  may have relatively flexible front ear portions  146  to facilitate flexing of the mop head and attached mop pad when the mop encounters an object near a lateral end of the mop head  140 . The ear portions  146  may be separate, generally L-shaped, flexible members attached to a stiffer main body member  147  of the mop head  140 . In another embodiment, relatively flexible ear portions are provided in a single piece, integrally formed mop head by cutting holes  148  in the mop head to form each ear portion. 
         [0046]    As best illustrated by  FIG. 7 , a plurality of attachment strips  150 , which each comprise a first portion of a hook and loop fastener system, such as Velcro®, are attached, as by adhesive, to the bottom portion  143  of the mop head  140 . Corresponding fastener strips (not shown) are attached to the top surface of an associated mop pad, which may be the same as or similar to the other mop pads disclosed herein. 
         [0047]      FIG. 8  illustrates a mop head  160 , which may have a main body portion  161  made from relatively stiff material be made such as polypropylene and ear portions  162  made from a relatively more resilient material, such as santoprene. Mop head  160  has a generally trapezoidal shape with rounded corners and front flexible ears  162 . The flexible ears  162  may each have a central cutout portion  163  that enhances the ability of the ears to flex and change shape when encountering an object. In some embodiments the maximum thickness of an ear portions in a unitary mop head is about 0.8 inches and the minimum thickness is about 0.3 inches. Unlike the mop heads shown in  FIGS. 4-7 , the rear/trailing edge  164  of the mop head  160  is a straight line that facilitates cleaning right up to the interface with linear surfaces, such as baseboards. The front/leading edge  166  has an arcuate shape, which, in combination with a similarly shaped mop pad (not shown) serves as a “debris catcher.” The front edge  166  of the mop head and the corresponding shape of an associated mop pad (not shown in  FIG. 8 ), because of the arcuate shape, tends to retain collected debris at the front of the mop head, even when changing the direction of forward movement. A linear edge, in contrast, would allow the collected debris to “spill out” at the lateral ends of the mop head  160  and associated mop pad. 
         [0048]    It will be appreciated from the above discussion that a mop assembly may be provided with flexible ear portions that allow the lateral ends of an associated mop pad to resiliently flex when encountering a wall or other object. In some embodiments the resilient operation is enabled entirely by the structure of the mop pad. In other embodiments the resilient operation of the mop pad ear portions is enabled by co-operation of both structure of the mop pad and structure of the mop head. 
         [0049]      FIG. 9  is a top plan view of another mop head  180  having a relatively rigid main body portion  181  and flexible ear portions  186 . The flexible ear portions may have central holes  188  therein. The mop head  180  may have an arcuate rear edge portion  182  and an arcuate front edge portion  184 , which may be substantially concentric. The mop pad  170  may have a generally rectangular or slightly trapezoidal shape. 
         [0050]      FIG. 10  is a bottom plan view of a mop pad  190 , which may have the same general shape as the mop pad  170  shown in  FIG. 9  or other shapes. The mop pad  190  has an outer peripheral edge portion  192  and an interior portion  194 . The interior portion  194  comprises a plurality of alternating parallel strips  196   198 . As shown schematically by  FIG. 11 , the strips  196  are constructed from a material having fibers which are inclined forwardly i.e. in the direction in which the mop is pushed. The strips  198  are constructed from material having fibers that are inclined rearwardly. Applicants have discovered that providing a mop with such strips  196   198  on the mop pad facilitates the cleaning action of the mop  190 . 
         [0051]      FIG. 12  illustrates a portion of the mop assembly  20  of  FIG. 2 . The mop assembly  20 , as previously indicated, has a housing assembly  32  that is adapted to receive a collapsible flexible bag reservoir, such as those illustrated in  FIGS. 13-30 . At the bottom of the housing assembly  32  is a coupling portion  37 , which is adapted to engage an orifice portion of a collapsible flexible bag reservoir in sealed relationship therewith. This coupling portion  37  may comprise threads, a clamping assembly, gaskets, or other structure that is used to couple the collapsible flexible bag reservoir to the housing assembly  32 . When thus coupled, the collapsible flexible bag reservoir discharges liquid therefrom into a liquid pumping assembly, which terminates in a spray nozzle  38 . In one embodiment the pumping assembly is a mechanical assembly operated through deflection of a mechanical lever or trigger such as illustrated at  222  in  FIGS. 13 and 14 . In another embodiment the pumping assembly is an electrical pumping assembly, which may be actuated by a switch on the handle (not shown). 
         [0052]      FIGS. 13-15  illustrate another embodiment of a mop assembly  210  having a collapsible flexible bag reservoir therein. This mop assembly  210  comprises a segmented handle assembly  212 . The handle assembly  212  includes a first, bulbous, handle portion  214  that is adapted to receive a flexible reservoir  217  supported therein. This bulbous handle portion  214  has a cover plate  215  it may be removed or pivoted away from the remainder of the handle portion to allow insertion of a collapsible flexible bag reservoir. 
         [0053]    The handle assembly includes a second handle portion  218  that includes a handgrip  220  with a deflectable trigger  222  at one end thereof. Squeezing the trigger  222  causes liquid from the collapsible flexible bag reservoir to be discharged from spray nozzle  216 . As liquid is emptied from the collapsible flexible bag reservoir it collapses within the first handle portion  214 . Such collapse occurs because the collapsible flexible bag reservoir is very thin walled and flexible, unlike most containers such as plastic bottles and the like. 
         [0054]    Mop assembly  210  may also include a mop head  224 , which is attached by a pivot assembly  226  to the handle assembly  212 . A mop pad  228  may be attached to the bottom of the mop head  224 . 
         [0055]    Another mop assembly  230  is illustrated in  FIG. 16 . This mop assembly  230  may comprise a segmented handle assembly  232 , which includes a bulbous handle portion  234  that is adapted for receiving a collapsible flexible reservoir therein. The bulbous handle portion  244  differs from the handle portion  214  shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15  in shape. The handle portion  244  is less wide and extends farther in a forward direction than handle portion  214 . The mop assembly  230  may also include a mop head  236  and a mop pad  238 . 
         [0056]    Another mop assembly  240  is illustrated in  FIG. 17 . This mop assembly  240  also includes a collapsible flexible bag reservoir receiving bulbous handle portion  244 . The bulbous handle portion  244  extends rearwardly from the mop handle  242  in this embodiment. Mop assembly  240  may also comprise a mop head  246  having a mop pad  248  removably attached thereto. 
         [0057]      FIGS. 18-21  illustrate a first embodiment of a collapsible flexible bag reservoir  260 . Bag reservoir  260  has a top portion  262  a bottom portion  264  and a middle portion  266 , which may be formed from sheets of flexible plastic material that are seamed together at opposite lateral side portions  268 ,  270  thereof. A closure member  272  may be threaded into an orifice member (not visible) with matching threads. This collapsible flexible bag reservoir  260  may be used in a mop assembly such as illustrated at  20 ,  210 ,  230 , and  240  herein. It may also be used as a separate liquid dispensing container with a spray nozzle or other liquid dispensing head attachment provided thereon. In some embodiments liquid may be poured onto an applicator cloth or a surface to be treated, directly from a reclosable opening such as a threaded spout that is adapted to receive a screw-on cap. 
         [0058]      FIGS. 22-25  illustrate a second collapsible flexible bag reservoir  280  constructed from flexible plastic sheets, similar to collapsible flexible bag reservoir  260 . Collapsible flexible bag reservoir  280  includes a top portion  282 , a bottom portion  284 , and a middle portion  286 . Plastic sheets forming the bag  260  are seamed together at lateral seams  288  and  290 . A screw on threaded cap  292  may be used to close a threaded orifice  291  (hidden threads of orifice shown in dashed lines) protruding from the top portion  282 . 
         [0059]      FIG. 26  illustrates a collapsible flexible bag reservoir  310  formed from flexible plastic sheets, which may be similar in construction to collapsible flexible bag reservoir  260 , and  280 .  FIG. 27  illustrates a collapsible flexible bag reservoir  310  provided with a spray head assembly  316 . 
         [0060]      FIGS. 28 and 29  illustrate another collapsible flexible bag reservoir  320  that may have a threaded closure member  322 . Threaded closure member  322  may be replaced by a hand actuated spray pump assembly  324 . 
         [0061]      FIG. 30  illustrates a bag and bottle enclosure assembly  330 . A bottle  350 , which may be a plastic bottle, has an upper end portion  352 , which terminates in an upper end opening  352 . A lower end or base portion  356  is adapted to support the bottle  350  in an upright position when placed on a flat horizontal surface  358 . A collapsible flexible bag  332  with an open upper end portion  334  is supported within the bottle  350 . The upper open end portion  334  of the bag is attached to the bottle at the upper end portion  352  of the bottle  350 . Thus, liquid poured into the bottle open end portion  352  also passes through bag open end portion  334  and into the collapsible flexible bag  332 . The upper end portion  352  of the bottle  350  may comprise threads or other structure to facilitate coupling of the bottle opening  352  to an interior reservoir and/or pump assembly of a floor mop, e.g. floor mop  20 , shown in  FIGS. 2 and 12 . At least one vent hole  362  is provided at the lower end portion  356  of the bottle  350  allowing air to enter the bottle  350  as the contents of the plastic bag  330  is dispensed. 
         [0062]    It will be appreciated from the foregoing that various embodiments of a collapsible flexible bag reservoir for a mop that are disclosed herein may be constructed as free standing liquid containers, which may be used as part of or independently from an associated mop assembly. In other words, in one mode of use, such collapsible flexible bag reservoirs operate as liquid reservoirs for spray mops of various configurations and, in another mode of use, such collapsible flexible bag reservoirs operate like traditional spray bottles. Various types of liquids including cleaning liquids, polishes and other liquids may be dispensed. 
         [0063]    Certain specific embodiments of mop assemblies have been expressly described herein. Various alternative embodiments of such mop assemblies and associated methods of use will occur to those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure. It is intended for the language of the appended claims to be broadly construed to cover such alternative embodiments, except as limited by the prior art.