Patent Publication Number: US-8112840-B2

Title: Disc rotating and positioning structure of a mop

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a disc rotating and positioning structure of a mop, in particular to a structure capable of fixing a disc with an internal rod when the mop is dewatered at an erected position, and rotating the disc in 360 degrees with respect to the mop rod when the mop is used for mopping floor at an inclined position. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     After a mop has been used, it is necessary to wring dirty water from mop fabrics (or cotton strips) of the mop before soaking clean water again to facilitate washing a floor, and mopping is obviously a tiresome job. Therefore, related manufacturers have developed various different dewatering devices for the mop, such as a dewatering device disclosed in R.O.C. Pat. No. 347146, wherein a pedal is provided for driving a gear to rotate a dewatering tank at a fast speed, so as to wring cotton strips of the mop placed in the dewatering tank. Although the aforementioned device can improve the inconvenient way of wringing the mop fabrics by hands, yet the operation still requires a user to step on the pedal continuously by one foot, and keep the user&#39;s body in balance by another foot. Such arrangement not only involves an inconvenient operation, but also endangers the safety of users when the users fail to stand stably or fall. Furthermore, the mop is rotated in 360 degrees, and thus a mop head disc with cotton strips requires a structure that can be rotated together with the mop rod. 
     When the cotton strips of the mop are soaked with liquid in a saturated state, it is necessary to put the mop head into the dewatering tank and drive a transmission mechanism in the dewatering tank to rotate the dewatering tank by 360 degrees and drive the mop head placed in the dewatering tank to rotate 360 degrees synchronously in order to wring the mop. 
     However, the foregoing way of wringing water from the mop head by stepping the pedal requires devices with a complicated structure, and users step on the pedal by one foot and stand stably and keep their body in balance by another foot. There is a potential risk of falling down easily during the operation of wringing the mop. 
     In view of the shortcomings of the prior art that dewaters a mop head by driving a dewatering tank to rotate passively without using a driving mechanism and causes inconvenience and safety issues, the inventor of the present invention provides a solution to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art. Since the mop head can be rotated in 360 degrees while the mop is being used for mopping floor, the mop head is driven by a mop rod when the mop head is wrung. Now, the mop head is fixed with the mop rod and moved together with the mop rod accordingly. This arrangement is different from the aforementioned conventional mops, wherein the mop head can be rotated in 360 degrees during a mopping process and fixed with the mop rod automatically during a dewatering and wringing process. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a disc rotating and positioning structure of a mop that can mop and clean a floor without using any additional tool, and the mop head can be rotated in 360 degrees with respect to the mop rod to achieve a convenient cleaning effect. In addition, a special design of a positioning structure allows the mop head to be fixed and linked with the mop rod automatically and driven by the mop rod to wring the mop head, so as to achieve the effects of a convenient operation and a user-friendly application. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention includes: 
     a) a mop head, including a disc, a plurality of cotton strips disposed at a bottom periphery of the disc, and a circular hole disposed at the center of the disc; 
     b) a mop rod, having a bottom provided for connecting the mop head; 
     c) a pivotal base, having an upper section which is a bushing with an opening facing upward, and provided for placing and fixing the bottom of the mop rod, and a lower section which is an n-shaped member having different sized first and second lugs disposed on both sides of the n-shaped member and corresponding to the first and second axial holes respectively; 
     d) a positioning device, disposed at the top of the circular hole of the disc, and having a first positioning surface greater than the circular hole at the center of the disc, a long slot disposed at the center of the first positioning surface and opposite to the circular hole, a third lug disposed on a side of the long slot and on a surface on the first positioning surface, and a third axial hole disposed thereon and corresponding to the first and second axial holes; 
     e) a locking device, disposed at the bottom of the circular hole of the disc, and having a second positioning surface, a circular hole disposed on a surface on the second positioning surface and provided for passing the disc, and a fourth lug disposed at the long slot of the positioning device and having a fourth axial hole corresponding to the third axial hole; and 
     f) a bolt, including a semicircular cam disposed on a portion of a bolt pillar, and axially passed through the first, second, third and fourth axial holes of the first, second, third and fourth lugs, such that the third and fourth lugs are pivotally coupled between the first and second lugs to situate the semicircular cam into the fourth lug, and an external side of the bolt is secured to the n-shaped member by a screw, and the bolt is rotated together with the first and second lugs, so as to drive the semicircular cam to push the fourth axial hole of the lug. 
     When the mop is dewatered, the mop rod is in an erect position, such that the semicircular cam of the bolt faces upward to drive the locking device to press the disc upward and into a locked and linking status. When the mop is used for mopping, the mop rod is in an inclined position to drive the semicircular cam of the bolt to shift to a side, such that the locking device is in a non-pressing status with respect to the disc. As a result, a force is applied to rotate the mop head when the mop is used for mopping a floor. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a main structure of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a semicircular cam of a bolt facing upward in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of Section  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of shifting a semicircular cam of a bolt in accordance with the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of Section  6 - 6  of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 6  for a disc rotating and positioning structure of a mop in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the structure comprises the following elements. 
     A mop head  10  includes a disc  11 , a plurality of cotton strips  12  disposed at a bottom periphery of the disc  11 , and a circular hole  13  disposed at the center of the disc  11 . 
     A mop rod  20  has a bottom provided for connecting the mop head  10 . 
     A pivotal base  30  includes an upper section which is a bushing  31  with an opening facing upward for placing and fixing the bottom of the mop rod  20 , and a lower section which is an n-shaped member  32  having different sized first lug  33  and second lug  34  disposed on both sides of the n-shaped member  32  and corresponding to the first axial hole  331  and the second axial hole  341  respectively. 
     A positioning device  40  is disposed at the top of the circular hole  13  of the disc  11  and has a first positioning surface  41  greater than the circular hole  13  at the center of the disc  11 , a long slot  42  disposed at the center of the first positioning surface  41  and opposite to the circular hole  13 , a third lug  43  disposed on a side of the long slot  42  and on a surface on the first positioning surface  41 , and a third axial hole  44  disposed thereon and corresponding to the first axial hole  331  and the second axial hole  341 . 
     A locking device  50  is disposed at the bottom of the circular hole  13  of the disc  11  and has a second positioning surface  51 , a circular hole  13  disposed on a surface on the second positioning surface  51  and provided for passing the disc  11 , a fourth lug  52  disposed at the long slot  42  of the positioning device  40 , and a fourth axial hole  53  disposed on the fourth lug  52  and corresponding to the third axial hole  44 . 
     A bolt  35  includes a semicircular cam  351  disposed on a portion of a bolt pillar and axially passed through the first axial hole  331 , second axial hole  341 , third axial hole  44  and fourth axial hole  53  of the first lug  33 , second lug  34 , third lug  43  and fourth lug  52 , such that the third lug  43  and the fourth lug  52  are pivotally coupled between the first lug  33  and the second lug  34 , and the semicircular cam  351  is installed in the fourth lug  52 , and an external side of the bolt  35  is secured to the n-shaped member  32  by a screw  36 , such that the bolt  35  is rotated together with the first lug  33  and the second lug  34  to drive the semicircular cam  351  to push the fourth axial hole  53  of the fourth lug  52 . 
     The fourth axial hole  53  has a hole diameter greater than the third axial hole  44  for placing and installing the semicircular cam  351  of the bolt  35 , and an upper end of the fourth axial hole  53  can be a non-circular plane  531 , but not limited to such arrangement only. If the semicircular cam  351  faces upward, the plane  531  is pushed to drive the locking device  50  to shift upwardly. 
     The first positioning surface  41  of the positioning device  40  and the second positioning surface  51  of the locking device  50  are in a circular shape, and the periphery of the circular hole  13  of the disc  11  constitute a structure for clamping the disc  11  from both upper and lower sides. 
     The semicircular cam  351  of the bolt  35  has a portion passed through a latch hole  352  with a smaller hole diameter at an internal side of the first axial hole  331  and fixed and linked with the first lug  33 . 
     When the mop  60  is dewatered as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the mop rod  20  is in an erect position, such that the semicircular cam  351  of the bolt  35  faces upward to drive the locking device  50  to press the disc  11  upward into a locked and linking status. When the mop  60  is used for mopping floor as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the mop rod  20  is in an inclined position to drive the semicircular cam  351  of the bolt  35  to shift to a side, such that the locking device  50  is in a non-pressing status with respect to the disc  11 , so as to rotate the mop head  10  when a force is applied during the mopping. 
     With the technical characteristics of the present invention, the mop head  10  can be rotated in 360 degrees with respect to the mop rod  20  without using any additional tool for mopping and cleaning a floor easily, and the mop can reach wall edges and dead corners to make the cleaning job more convenient and easier. 
     When the mop head  10  is dewatered, the special design of the positioning structure including the mop head  10 , mop rod  20 , pivotal base  30 , positioning device  40 , locking device  50  and bolt  35  can fix and link the mop head  10  with the mop rod automatically, and the mop rod can drive the mop head to rotate and wring, so as to achieve a convenient operation and a user-friendly application. 
     Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.