Patent Publication Number: US-6701567-B2

Title: Cleaning attachment for converting a broom to a mop

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For years now, brooms have been used for both interior and exterior floor cleaning procedures. Brooms come in all types and sizes, but the most common is the type that looks like an oversized paint brush (with corn bristles) and the long handle. In particular, the most widely used type broom today on interior floor surfaces is a plastic bristled broom having bristles cut on an angle to facilitate sufficient floor sweeping and has a long handle so the user can stand upright. 
     A disadvantage of brooms is that they can only sweep up dry soil of a rather large size and have no absorbative ability on dry or wet soils. Recently, new products have been introduced into the “handled goods” market. These products are essentially disposable dust mops that will absorb dust and pet hair on hard surface flooring. These new implements use disposable, dry, nonwoven cloths sized approximately 10″ by 12″. These dry wipes are attached to a hard, flat, rectangular plastic mop head with an elongated handle. The cloths are discarded when dirty and a new one is attached. A recent variation is a wet wipe version for mopping kitchen and bathroom floors. 
     If one wants to damp mop or wash the floor the most common thing to do is to purchase another cleaning implement such as a “string mop” or sponge mop to be used with detergent, water and a bucket. Mopping wood flooring requires additional and different cleaning agents. 
     Copending application Ser. No. 09/917,069 filed Jul. 27, 2001 describes a simple attachment that could be used with a broom or other implement to accommodate disposable wipes for use with virtually all hard surface flooring, dusting, and mopping jobs. That application describes various versions of the attachment. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of this invention is to provide a variation of the types of attachments described in application Ser. No. 09/917,069. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide various wipe structures which would be particularly usable with such attachments. 
     In accordance with this invention a cleaning attachment includes a cover having end sections interconnected by a central section. Fastening structure secures the end sections together so that the cover may be placed around a cleaning head of a cleaning implement such as a broom to form an enclosure around the cleaning head with the central section disposed below the bottom of the cleaning head. The central section is divided into a pair of support surfaces which are disposed at an angle to each other to form a V. A wipe is detachably mounted to the central section. 
     In a preferred practice of this invention the central section includes a wing extending outwardly from each support surface to increase the effective size of the support surfaces. 
     Various types of wipes could be mounted to the central section. One particularly advantageous form of wipe would be a laminate comprising a pair of outer non-woven layers interconnected by a thin hydrophilic polyurethane foam located between the layers over only a portion of the area of the layers so that other portions of the layers are located outwardly of the foam layer. The foam layer could function as an adhesive for connecting the outer layer together. In addition, the foam layer could incorporate various cleaning ingredients to facilitate using the wipe for cleaning purposes. The portions of the wipe outwardly of the foam layer could function as a rinsing side of the wipe. If desired, the wipe could have at least one of its layers at a location outwardly of the foam layer cut into strips to function as a string mop. 
    
    
     THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a cleaning attachment in accordance with this invention shown mounted on a broom; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the cleaning attachment shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cleaning attachment shown in FIGS. 1-2 before being mounted on the broom; 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of an alternative form of cleaning attachment in accordance with this invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a wipe that could be used with the cleaning attachment of FIGS. 1-4; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of a wipe, such as in FIG. 5; and 
     FIG. 7 illustrates a kit in accordance with this invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention is directed to variations of the cleaning attachment described in copending application Ser. No. 09/917,069, filed Jul. 27, 2001, all of the details of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. 
     In general, the invention involves providing a cleaning attachment which could be mounted on a cleaning implement such as a broom to convert the implement into a mop. FIGS. 1-2, for example, illustrate a cleaning attachment  10  mounted around the cleaning head  12  of a broom. The cleaning head  12  is located at the end of an elongated handle  14 . The cleaning head is provided with a plurality of bristles which may be cut at an angle. 
     The broom could be used in a customary manner by, for example, sweeping floors. Under certain conditions, however, it would be desirable to convert the broom to a wet or dry mop. This is accomplished by mounting the attachment  10  around the broom head  12  so as to create an enclosure around the broom head. As shown in FIGS. 1-3 the attachment  10  is in the form of a cover having an inner surface and an outer surface. The cover has end sections or walls  16 ,  18  interconnected by a central area  20 . The cover may take any suitable form such as the forms described in application Ser. No. 09/917,069. In the illustrated form end section  16  is bifurcated and includes a pair of spaced flaps  22 , 22  which would bend over the broom head  12  as best shown in FIG.  1 . Any suitable fastening structure such as hook and loop formations  24  would be located on the inner surface of flaps  22 , 22  for engagement with complementary fastening structure such as hook and loop formation  26  on the outer surface of end section  18  to form an enclosure around the cleaning head  12  with the inner surface of the cover or attachment disposed toward the implement or broom and the central section  20  disposed below the bottom of the cleaning head as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The cover  10  is provided with reusable mounting structure on its outer surface to detachably mount the detached wipe  28  to the outer surface below the cleaning head to convert the implement to a mop and to detachably remove the wipe after use so that a different wipe may be selectively mounted to the outer surface of the central section. In the illustrated practice of the invention the reusable mounting structure is the hook formations  30 , 30  provided on wings  32 , 32  extending from the central section. The wings would snag the material of wipe  28  to detachably mount the wipe to the central section. The invention could be practiced with other forms of reusable mounting structure. 
     As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 the central section  20  is divided into a pair of support surfaces  34 , 34  which are disposed at an acute angle to each other to form a V. The support surfaces  34 , 34  may be considered as the portions of the central section which are confined between the two end sections  16 , 18 . The wings  32 , 32  may be integral extensions of the support surfaces  34 , 34  which extend outwardly beyond the end sections to increase the effective size of the support surfaces. In the broad practice of the invention, however, the support surfaces  34 , 34  may be of sufficient size to hold a wipe and permit the attachment to function in its intended manner. The extended size resulting from the wing portions, however, represents the preferred practice of the invention. 
     As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 each wing  32  is a coplanar extension of its adjacent support surface  34 . As a result, two planar surfaces would be provided to create two cleaning areas for wipe  28  as illustrated in FIG.  1 . If desired, the wings or a portion of the wings could be bent at an angle to its adjacent portions so as to create additional cleaning surfaces. Thus, for example, a wipe could be used which includes different types of cleaning components in different areas with each area designed to be held by a different cleaning surface of the central section. In the simplest and preferred practice of the invention, however, only two such cleaning areas are provided resulting from the bend or V apex  36  which separates the two sets of support surfaces and wings. 
     By shaping the central section  20  into a pair of cleaning support surfaces the attached wipe  28  has two separate cleaning surfaces. This allows for cleaning a floor surface with one side or portion of the wipe  28  and then turning the broom or implement over to expose a fresh side of the wipe from the attachment to result in better cleaning. In addition, the V-shape allows for the creation of a whole new series of dual-sided disposable sheets or wipes, both dry and wet that could be specifically designed for various uses. The V-shape also provides for better cleaning under overhanging areas such as refrigerators, counters, etc. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a variation of the invention wherein the cleaning attachment is constructed as a one piece substrate bent to its intended shape. As shown therein each end section  16 , 18  merges into an offset portion  38 , 38  which then bends around to form a continuous intermediate portion  40 . The portion  38  is secured to its adjacent portion  40  in any suitable manner such as by gluing or an adhesive  42  or by being sewed together. Thus, the wing sections comprise a two layer laminate secured together with the layers preferably being in surface to surface contact. The central section would then be bent or folded along its transverse center line to form the V-shape. If desired, a crease line may be located at the center line to facilitate the bending or folding. 
     The cover or attachment  10  is preferably made of a flexible, bendable material to readily accommodate different size and shapes of various cleaning implements or brooms. The invention, however, may be practiced where the attachment is made of a stiff material to assure holding its intended shape. 
     Various types of wipes could be used in the practice of this invention such as described in copending application Ser. No. 09/917,069. FIG. 5 illustrates a particularly advantageous wipe  28  which may be considered as a dual sided disposable cleaning cloth. As shown therein the wipe  28  is formed as a laminate having outer layers  44 , 44  which are connected to each other by an intermediate layer made of an adhesive material. A particularly suitable material would be a very thin hydrophilic polyurethane foam wherein the foam layer  46  is located over only a portion such as ½ of the area of outer layers  44 , 44  thereby leaving other areas free of the foam layer  46 . FIG. 5 illustrates layer  46  to be located at one side of the wipe  28 . The invention, however, could be practiced where layer  46  is centrally located or is located off-center but inwardly of the sides. Layer  46  may be as large as and thus conterminous with the outer layers  44 , 44  but preferably is of lesser size such as ½ or between ⅓ and ⅔ the area tube thereby leave some of wipe  28  free of the foam layer. Wipe  28  could be considered as having a cleaning section where the foam layer  46  is located and a rinsing section which is free of the foam layer. The cleaning section could incorporate various cleaning ingredients including conventional cleaning ingredients. The foam layer  46  could include a filler having short fibers to facilitate the movement of the cleaning agents (surfactants) from the foam out to the surface. This would provide for faster more efficient cleaning, coupled together with the fibers could be abrasives such as feldspar, pumice or other inorganic materials (nano particles). These abrasives could be held in the foam by using a very small amount of organo silane which bridges the particle and the polymer matrix. Fragrances and preservatives could be used to provide a fresh odor to the cleaning step and the cloth itself. Preservatives could be used to prevent bacterial and fungal growth. The polymer particularly useful is a hydrophilic polyurethane that reacts with water to form a foam in situ at room temperature or slightly warm temperatures. Polymers such as Trepol® A-62 (Rynel), Hypol® 3000 (Dow), etc. could be used. These are usually partially reactive mixtures of polyols and toluene di-isocyanate. All of these ingredients would be mixed in the water phase and then mixed with the polymer under controlled conditions and coated on the appropriate substrate. The resulting foam cures providing a tough resilient open cell coating. Reference is made to copending application Ser. No. 09/995,134, filed Nov. 27, 2001 entitled “DUAL SIDED DISPOSABLE CLEANING CLOTH”, all of the details of which are incorporated herein. 
     If desired, one of the layers  44  in the portion which is located beyond the foam  46  could be cut into strips  45  to form a more mop like construction, as shown in FIG.  6 . Alternatively, both layers could be cut into strips or one or both layers could be provided with an additional outer layer secured at its edge most remote from the foam layer with the additional outer layer cut into strips. The portions of one or both layers  44 , 44  could also be provided with enhancements such as cleaning ingredients, fragrances, preservatives, etc. 
     Layers  44 , 44  are preferably made of a non-woven needle punched material which provides a suitable cleaning surface and which could readily be snagged by the hook formations  30  for being mounted on the cleaning attachment  10 . 
     While the attachment  10  is preferably made of a flexible material various portions of attachment  10  could have different degrees of flexibility. For example, the end sections could have sufficient flexibility or bendability to facilitate accommodating different cleaning head structures. The central section, which supports the wipe, however, may be made of stiffer less readily bendable material to provide a stiffer support for the wipe. 
     Although the mounting structure for the wipe is preferably located on the central section and particularly on the wings, the invention could be practiced where the mounting structure is on the end sections so that the wipes would wrap around the bottom of central section  20 . This, however would require larger size wipes and would also result in portions of the wipes being used solely for mounting purposes and not for cleaning purposes. 
     Although FIG. 5 illustrates the wipe  28  to be of laminate structure including an intermediate foam layer  46 , the wipes could be constructed without such a foam layer and wherein a portion of the wipe is cut into strips to more closely function as a mop. Such portion with strips could be an additional outer layer or could be a layer which extends outwardly beyond the central section  20  or could be confined to the central section  20 . 
     In practice when it is desired to convert a cleaning implement, such as a broom to a mop the attachment  10  would be easily mounted to the cleaning head of the implement. The attachment could be provided in kit form with various sets of wipes. A suitable wipe, such as a dry wipe, a wet wipe, or a wipe having various cleaning ingredients would then be selected and mounted to the central section  20  of attachment  10 . FIG. 7 shows a kit  47  containing an attachment  10  and also containing a set of wet wipes  28 A and a set of dry wipes  28 B. As a result of the V-shape wipe  28  would have two different cleaning portions. The broom or other implement could then be used as a mop where one of the cleaning portions of wipe  28  performs the cleaning function as shown in FIG.  1 . By rotating the cleaning implement the other portion of wipe  28  could then be used as a mop to complete the cleaning or for other cleaning operations. If desired, the wipe  28  could be readily removed and replaced by a different wipe  28  having the same or different characteristics as the previous wipe.