Patent Publication Number: US-8978191-B2

Title: Mop structure

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a household washing or cleaning appliance, and more particularly, to an appliance for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls and wall coverings. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     In conventional flat mop structures, a cleaning part is fixed to a flat mount of the mop through adhesion or clamping, and the cleaning part is used to wipe a floor to be cleaned so that dirt on the floor is transferred to the cleaning part, thus achieving the purpose of cleaning the floor. For example, although mop products currently available in the market generally adopt a cleaning part of a flat structure in order to obtain a large cleaning area, the cleaning part is only applicable to dry-type or electrostatic-type cleaning part structure, and this not only wastes the resources but also increases the burden of environmental protection. Additionally, for some obstinate dirt, a wet cleaning part must be used to wipe it in order to obtain a thorough cleaning effect. However, the flat mop structures currently available still cannot be wrung through a dewatering process but have to be wrung by hands, which is very inconvenient and doesn&#39;t look nice in public places. As another example, a flat foam mop such as is shown in the prior art Taiwan Patent Taiwan Patent No. M357951 issued in Dec. 12, 2008, entitled “Flat Foam Mop Having an Improved Structure” comprises a base plate, a handle, an outer tube, a middle tube, an inner tube, a main shaft, a main shaft head, a first linking part, a second linking part and a third linking part. The aforesaid components are linked together by means of a fixing pin, a plurality of connecting components, a plurality of pivoting shafts and an elastic component to accomplish the dewatering purpose through wringing. Although this can solve the problem of dewatering the cleaning part through wringing, there are still some problems. For example, the components required are too many and complex, and must be interlinked by means of a plurality of linking parts. This increases the material cost and manufacturing cost and makes the manufacturing and assembling processes relatively complex, which the cost is ineffective. 
     Accordingly, an urgent need exists in the art to make improvements on the aforesaid conventional flat mop structures so that they can be used by users more conveniently and manufactured at the lowest cost. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To overcome the aforesaid shortcomings, the present invention provides a mop structure, which comprises a shaft body, a rotary disc and a coupling assembly. The rotary disc has a rotary disc hole. The coupling assembly is inserted through the rotary disc hole and connects the shaft body with the rotary disc. The rotary disc is formed with an extending part at two ends corresponding to the rotary disc hole respectively, and the extending parts are bendable with respect to the rotary disc. Thereby, bending the extending parts makes it convenient to perform the dewatering operation. In this way, the purpose of dewatering the mop can be achieved and the shortcoming of the conventional flat mop that the cleaning and dewatering processes cannot be performed at the same time is overcome. 
     Preferably, each of the extending parts further has at least one first connecting part, the rotary disc further has at least one second connecting part disposed corresponding to the at least one first connecting part, and the extending parts are coupled to the rotary disc by means of the at least one first connecting part and the at least one second connecting part. 
     Preferably, the rotary disc is further provided with at least one positioning strip near the at least one second connecting part. 
     Preferably, the mop structure further comprises a pair of elongated parts coupled with the extending parts respectively. 
     Preferably, each of the extending parts has a third connecting part, each of the elongated parts further comprises a fourth connecting part, the third connecting parts and the fourth connecting parts are disposed in one-to-one correspondence, and the extending parts are coupled to the elongated parts by means of the third connecting parts and the fourth connecting parts respectively. 
     Preferably, the mop structure further comprises a cleaning appliance disposed at a bottom portions of the rotary disc, the extending parts and the elongated parts. 
     Preferably, the cleaning appliance has first joining parts, each of the extending parts has a second joining part, and the first joining parts and the second joining parts are joined with each other. 
     Preferably, the cleaning appliance has first joining parts, each of the elongated parts has a third joining part, and the first joining parts and the third joining parts are joined with each other. 
     Accordingly, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a mop structure, in which a rotary disc is formed with an extending part at two ends corresponding to the rotary disc hole respectively and the extending parts are bendable with respect to the rotary disc. The extending parts that are bent can be further coupled to a dewatering tub for purpose of cleaning and dewatering, and this makes wringing of the mop structure more convenient and nice-looking as compared to the hand wringing. Moreover, because it is convenient to clean and dewater the cleaning part, the mop structure can save resources and ease the burden of environmental protection as compared to disposable mop paper or disposable electrostatic cloth available in the market. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to provide a mop structure. The cleaning part of the structure can cooperate with the dewatering tub for dewatering purpose, which is simple in structure and requirement of the simple components. Therefore, the material cost and the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and manufacturing of the mop structure is made convenient. 
     In addition, the present invention provides a mop structure, which comprises a shaft body, a rotary disc and a coupling assembly. The rotary disc has a rotary disc hole. The coupling assembly is inserted through the rotary disc hole and connects the shaft body with the rotary disc. The rotary disc is further provided with a cleaning seat, the cleaning seat comprises a joining disc and extending parts extending from two ends of the joining disc respectively, and the extending parts are bendable with respect to the joining disc. Thereby, the cleaning part can be movably detached from the joining disc, which makes the application scope thereof wider; and bending the extending parts makes it convenient to further perform the dewatering operation for purpose of dewatering the mop, and this overcomes the shortcoming of the conventional flat mop that the cleaning and dewatering processes cannot be performed at the same time. 
     Preferably, each of the extending parts further has at least one first connecting part, the joining disc further has at least one second connecting part disposed corresponding to the at least one first connecting part, and the extending parts are pivoted to the rotary disc by means of a pivot. 
     Preferably, the rotary disc is further provided with at least one positioning strip at the bottom thereof near the at least one second connecting part. 
     Preferably, the mop structure further comprises a pair of elongated parts coupled with the extending parts respectively. 
     Preferably, each of the extending parts has a third connecting part, each of the elongated parts further comprises a fourth connecting part, the third connecting parts and the fourth connecting parts are disposed in one-to-one correspondence, and the extending parts are coupled to the elongated parts by means of the third connecting parts and the fourth connecting parts respectively. 
     Preferably, the mop structure further comprises a cleaning appliance disposed at bottom portions of the joining disc, the extending parts and the elongated parts. 
     Preferably, the cleaning appliance has first joining parts, each of the extending parts has a second joining part, and the first joining parts and the second joining parts are joined with each other. 
     Preferably, the cleaning appliance has first joining parts, each of the elongated parts has a third joining part, and the first joining parts and the third joining parts are joined with each other. 
     Accordingly, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a mop structure, in which a rotary disc is formed with an extending part at two ends corresponding to the rotary disc hole respectively and the extending parts are bendable with respect to the rotary disc. The extending parts that are bent can be further coupled to a dewatering tub for purpose of cleaning and dewatering, and this makes wringing of the mop structure more convenient and nice-looking as compared to hand wringing. Moreover, because it is convenient to clean and dewater the cleaning part, the mop structure can save resources and ease the burden of environmental protection as compared to disposable mop paper or disposable electrostatic cloth available in the market. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to provide a mop structure. The cleaning part of the structure can be used with the dewatering tub for dewatering purpose, is simple in structure and requirement of simple components. Therefore, the material cost and the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and manufacturing of the mop structure is made convenient. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is an exploded front view illustrating a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1B  is an exploded bottom view illustrating the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1C  is another exploded bottom view illustrating the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  is an exploded front view illustrating a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2B  is an exploded oblique view illustrating the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2C  is a schematic view illustrating bending of extending parts according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2D  is another schematic view illustrating bending of the extending parts according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2E  is another exploded front view illustrating the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a locking structure of a shaft body of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view illustrating a cleaning appliance set of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective bottom view illustrating a mop of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view illustrating a shaft body of the mop of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective exploded view illustrating a clutch device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view illustrating a dewatering tub of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view illustrating dewatering of the mop of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is another schematic view illustrating dewatering of the mop of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view illustrating a pedal-driven dewatering basket of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention discloses a mop structure, and the rotation dewatering principle adopted therein has been already known by those of ordinary skill in the art and, thus, will not be further detailed in the following description. Meanwhile, it shall be firstly stated that, the attached drawings to which the following description is made with reference are intended to express meanings related to characteristics of the present invention, and are not and also do not need to be depicted completely in accordance with the actual conditions. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A  firstly, there is shown a mop structure according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment mainly comprises a shaft body  10 , a rotary disc  11  and a coupling assembly  12 . The shaft body  10  can be held by a user with his hands to perform a cleaning operation. The rotary disc  11  has a rotary disc hole  110 . The coupling assembly  12  is inserted through the rotary disc hole  110  and functions to connect the shaft body  10  with the rotary disc  11 . The rotary disc  11  is formed with an extending part  13  at two ends corresponding to the rotary disc hole  110  respectively, and the extending parts  13  are bendable vertically downwards or upwards with respect to the rotary disc  11 . Each of the extending parts  13  further has at least one first connecting part  130 , and the rotary disc  11  further has at least one second connecting part  111  (as shown in  FIG. 1B ). The at least one first connecting part  130  of each of the extending parts  13  is disposed corresponding to the at least one second connecting part  111  of the rotary disc  11 . Each of the extending parts  13  is pivoted to the rotary disc  11  via a pivot  131  by means of the at least one first connecting part  130  and the at least one second connecting part  111 . A positioning strip  113  is further disposed near the at least one second connecting part  111 , and there may be one or more positioning strips  113 . The positioning strip  113  is used to have the extending parts  13  positioned in a vertical or horizontal status duly when the extending parts  13  are bent vertically downwards or upwards or bent horizontally with respect to the rotary disc  11  so that it is more convenient for operating the mop structure. Referring to  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1C , the extending parts  13  can also be coupled with the elongated parts  133  respectively. Each of the extending parts  13  has a third connecting part  134 , and each of the elongated parts  133  further comprises a fourth connecting part  1330 , with the third connecting parts  134  and the fourth connecting parts  1330  being disposed in one-to-one correspondence. The extending parts  13  are coupled to the elongated parts  133  by means of the third connecting parts  134  and the fourth connecting parts  1330  respectively. This embodiment further comprises a cleaning appliance  14  disposed at bottom portions of the rotary disc  11 , the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133 . The cleaning appliance  14  has first joining parts  140 , each of the extending parts  13  has a second joining part  132 , and each of the elongated parts  133  has a third joining part  1331 . By joining the first joining parts  140  with the second joining parts  132  and the third joining parts  1331 , the cleaning appliance  14  can be assembled with the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133 . The first joining parts  140  and the second joining parts  132  as well as the third joining parts  1331  may be designed as joining knobs and joining holes respectively, or may be joined with each other by means of a magic tape, and the present invention has no limitations herein. Further, the cleaning appliance  14  may have an elastically retractable band structure extending therefrom; and after the cleaning appliance  14  is joined with the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133 , the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133  are bound by the elastically retractable band so that the cleaning appliance  14  is joined with the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133  more stably. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2A , there is shown a mop structure according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment mainly comprises a shaft body  10 , a rotary disc  11  and a coupling assembly  12 . The shaft body  10  can be held by a user with his hands to perform a cleaning operation. In this embodiment, the connection relationships between the shaft body  10  and the rotary disc  11  as well as the coupling assembly  12  are all the same as those in the first embodiment. It is to be noted that the rotary disc  11  can be further provided with a cleaning seat  112  that is detachable from the rotary disc  11  in this embodiment. The cleaning seat  112  comprises a joining disc  1120  and extending parts  13  extending from two ends of the joining disc  1120  respectively. The extending parts  13  are bendable vertically downwards or upwards with respect to the rotary disc  11 . Each of the extending parts  13  further has at least one first connecting part  130 , and the joining disc  1120  further has at least one second connecting part  111  (as shown in  FIG. 2B ), with the at least one first connecting part  130  of each of the extending parts  13  being disposed corresponding to the at least one second connecting part  111  of the joining disc  1120 . Each of the extending parts  13  is pivoted to the rotary disc  11  via a pivot  131  by means of the at least one first connecting part  130  and the at least one second connecting part  111 . A positioning strip  113  is further disposed near the at least one second connecting part  111 , and there may be one or more positioning strips  113 . The positioning strip  113  is used to position the extending parts  13  in a vertical or horizontal status when the extending parts  13  are bent vertically downwards or upwards or bent horizontally with respect to the rotary disc  11 , so that the mop structure is more convenient for the user (referring to  FIG. 2C  and  FIG. 2D ). In addition, as shown in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2E , the extending parts  13  may also be coupled with elongated parts  133  respectively. The each of extending parts  13  have a third connecting part  134 , and each of the elongated parts  133  further comprise a fourth connecting part  1330 , with the third connecting parts  134  and the fourth connecting parts  1330  being disposed in one-to-one correspondence. The extending parts  13  are coupled to the elongated parts  133  by means of the third connecting parts  134  and the fourth connecting parts  1330  respectively. The rotary disc  11  has a rotary disc hole  110 . The coupling assembly  12  is inserted through the rotary disc hole  110  and functions to connect the shaft body  10  with the rotary disc  11 . This embodiment further comprises a cleaning appliance  14  disposed at bottom portions of the joining disc  1120 , the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133 . The cleaning appliance  14  has first joining parts  140 , each of the extending parts  13  has a second joining part  132 , and each of the elongated parts  133  has a third joining part  1331 . By joining the first joining parts  140  with the second joining parts  132  and the third joining parts  1331 , the cleaning appliance  14  can be assembled with the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133 . The first joining parts  140  and the second joining parts  132  as well as the third joining parts  1331  may be designed as joining knobs and joining holes respectively, or may be joined with each other by means of a magic tape, and the present invention has no limitations herein. Further, the cleaning appliance  14  may have an elastically retractable band structure extending therefrom; and after the cleaning appliance  14  is joined with the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133 , the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133  are bound by the elastically retractable band so that the cleaning appliance  14  is joined with the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133  more stably. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the shaft body  10  may further comprise an inner shaft body  101 , an outer shaft body  100  and a locking structure. The locking structure mainly comprises a bundle cover  102  and a wrench  103 . An end of the inner shaft body  101  is fitted into the outer shaft body  100 , and the bundle cover  102  is disposed at a position where the inner shaft body  101  is fitted into the outer shaft body  100 . Meanwhile, a part of the bundle cover  102  is connected to the outer shaft body  100 , and the other part of the bundle cover  102  covers a periphery of the inner shaft body  101 . The bundle cover  102  is formed with a hole  1020 , an elastic strip  1021  and block pivots  1022 . The elastic strip  1021  extends into the hole  1020  from a side of the hole  1020 , and the block pivots  1022  are disposed at two sides of the hole  1020  respectively. The wrench  103  is pivoted to the block pivots  1022 , and has a bump  1030 . The bump  1030  and the block pivots  1022  form an eccentric cam design. When the wrench  103  is rotated, the bump  1030  on the wrench  103  is rotated correspondingly to press against the elastic strip  1021  on the bundle cover  102 , and the elastic strip  1021  then presses against the inner shaft body  101  to restrict the relative linear displacement between the inner shaft body  101  and the outer shaft body  100 . In this way, the displacement of the inner shaft body  101  is restricted by the bump  1030  on the wrench  103 , thereby achieving the locking purpose. 
     Meanwhile, referring to  FIG. 4 , in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, a dewatering tub  20  may be further provided to form a cleaning appliance set  2 , and a first positioning part  210  (as shown in  FIG. 5 ) can further provide at the bottom of the coupling assembly  12 . Referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the shaft body  10  of the mop can be a rotary structure, and further comprises a screw  30  and a clutch device  4  in addition to the outer shaft body  100  and the inner shaft body  101 . The clutch device  4  comprises a sleeve  2110 , one-way crown teeth  2111 , a pivoting joint  2112 , a one-way crown gear  2113  and a spring  2114 . The sleeve  2110  has an opening at an end thereof and a bottom at the other end thereof, and is disposed in the outer shaft body  100 . The one-way crown teeth  2111  are disposed inside the sleeve  2110  at the bottom. The sleeve  2110  is fitted into the pivoting joint  2112  through the opening so that the sleeve  2110  can rotate on the pivoting joint  2112 . The one-way crown gear  2113  is fitted into the interior of the sleeve  2110  so that the one-way crown gear  2113  and the one-way crown teeth  2111  are engaged with each other. Further, the spring  2114  is disposed between the one-way crown gear  2113  and the pivoting joint  2112 . Furthermore, washers  2115  are disposed at ends of the spring  2114  that are connected to the one-way crown gear  2113  and the pivoting joint  2112  respectively. An end of the screw  30  passes through the pivoting joint  2112 , the washers  2115  and the spring  2114  and is fixed with the one-way crown gear  2113 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the dewatering tub  20  of the cleaning appliance set  2  has a tub body  200  and a dewatering basket  201 , and the dewatering basket  201  may have a second positioning part  2010  disposed at a center thereof. In addition, the tub body  200  may have a cleaning part  202  at a bottom thereof, and the cleaning part  202  may also be provided with a second positioning part  2010 . By assembling the first positioning part  210  of the mop and the second positioning part  2010  of the dewatering tub  20  with each other, the mop can be stably fixed with the dewatering basket  201  or the cleaning part  202  of the dewatering tub  20 . In applications, the second positioning part  2010  may be designed to be detachable so that the second positioning part  2010  can be attached or detached as needed to enlarge the application scope of the dewatering tub  20 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10 , when the user desires to clean and dewater the mop, the user can firstly bend the extending parts  13  upwards or bend the extending parts  13  downwards and the elongated parts  133  upwards, and then actuate the positioning strip  113  on the rotary disc  11  to position the extending parts  13  and the elongated parts  133  in a status perpendicular to the rotary disc  11  or the joining disc  1120 . At the same time, clean water or a cleaning liquid can be injected into the tub body  200 , and then the first positioning part  210  of the mop and the second positioning part  2010  of the cleaning part  202  of the tub body  200  are snap-fitted and joined with each other. Meanwhile, because the mop having the rotary structure is able to rotate, the user can have the mop rotate on the cleaning part  202  for cleaning purpose by manipulating the rotation of the mop after the first positioning part  210  and the second positioning part  2010  are joined. Then, after cleaning of the mop is completed, the first positioning part  210  of the mop and the second positioning part  2010  of the dewatering basket  201  in the dewatering tub  20  are joined closely. At this point, both the extending parts  13  and the cleaning appliance  14  or both the elongated parts  133  and the cleaning appliance  14  can be exactly attached to a wall surface around the dewatering basket  201 . Likewise, by means of the rotary structure of the mop, the mop is dewatered through rotation in the dewatering basket  201 . After the dewatering operation is completed, the extending parts  13  or the elongated parts  133  of the mop are bent towards a horizontal direction and then positioned by means of the positioning strip  113  on the rotary disc  11  so that the extending parts  13  or the elongated parts  133  keep flat with the rotary disc  11  or the joining disc  1120 , which is favorable for the user to use the mop for cleaning purpose. 
     Furthermore, dewatering through rotation of the dewatering basket may be accomplished in two ways, i.e., a down-pressing way and a pedal driving way. Referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 8 , the down-pressing way of dewatering is as follows: after the mop is placed properly in the dewatering basket  201 , the user can press the shaft body  10  of the mop downwards; and by means of the rotary structure of the mop, the dewatering basket  201  in the dewatering tub  20  is driven by the mop to rotate, thereby further achieving the effect of dewatering the mop by means of a centrifugal force. Referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 11 , the structure of the dewatering basket  201  operating in the pedal driving is different from that of operating in the down-pressing way. The pedal-driven dewatering tub  20  may comprise a pedal  203 , a pressure plate  204 , a worm gear  205  and a one-way bearing  206 . When the user desires to have the mop dewatered through rotation, the user can place the mop into the dewatering basket  201  of the dewatering tub  20 , and then treads on the pedal  203  with a foot. When the pedal  203  is trod down, the pedal  203  presses the pressure plate  204  downwards, and the pressure plate  204  then drives the worm gear  205  to move the screw  30  downwards so that the screw  30  rotates to drive the one-way bearing  206 , thereby rotating the dewatering basket  201 . Then, when the user moves his foot away from the pedal  203 , the spring  2114  in the structure of the pedal-driven dewatering tub  20  pushes the worm gear  205  upwards, the worm gear  205  then pushes the pressure plate  204  and the pedal  203  to the original positions thereof, and the dewatering basket  201  maintains inertia rotation by means of the one-way bearing  206 . When the cleaning appliance  14  rotates, water attached to the cleaning appliance  14  is removed within the dewatering basket  201 , and the cleaning appliance  14  then becomes suitable for wiping a floor. 
     Therefore, according to the mop structure of the present utility model, the efficacy of bending and dewatering the flat mop can be achieved through simple operations, and the mop is simple in structure and requires use of only simple components. This not only reduces the material cost and the manufacturing cost, but also makes the manufacturing and assembling processes convenient. According to the above descriptions of the structure and the operations of the present invention, the mop structure has a humanized operation interface and can be used by the user naturally, quickly and conveniently, so the mop structure is convenient to use and is of great utility. Moreover, because the present invention has simple structure and components, the material cost and the manufacturing cost are further reduced, which significantly reduces the expenses necessary for the manufacturing process. 
     What described above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention but are not intended to limit the scope of the present utility model. Accordingly, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, any equivalent structural or process flow modifications that are made without departing from the spirits of the present invention shall also fall within the scope of the present invention.