Patent Publication Number: US-2020275820-A1

Title: Cleaning Apparatus for Cleaning Mop Material

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus, and more particularly to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning mop material. 
     BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
     Cleaning devices are commonly used to clean surfaces in the home and at workplaces, such as hospitals and commercial premises. One such cleaning device is a mop. 
     There are several different varieties of mop. One type of mop is known as a ‘flat mop’, and they generally include a flat mop head. Flat mops are known to comprise a flat mop head which can sweep, mop and apply cleaning fluid to the floor simultaneously. 
     Such a flat mop head is usually secured to a handle via a threaded or other suitable connection such that the mop head and handle are detachable. The lower side of a flat mop head is typically adapted to carry mop cleaning material, which is usually an absorbent fabric material in the form of a pad or sheet. The cleaning material can be attached directly to the mop head by a fastening mechanism, for example, hook and loop fastening or by the mop head receiving and holding part of the mop material. 
     Once a mop head has been used to clean a surface the mop cleaning material becomes dirty and needs to be cleaned or replaced with a new or cleaned material. Replacing a mop head or the material whenever it becomes dirty is not ideal for the user as it requires the user to have a ready supply of new or cleansed mop heads. It also requires the user to touch and interact directly with the mop head and/or mop cleaning material, which is undesirable. Further, it may require the user to wash or dispose of the dirty mop heads, and store them before washing or disposing of them. 
     To alleviate problems associated with users handling unhygienic cleaning material it is known to provide wringers to clean mop heads and mop head materials. Typically, wringers have been used to several types of mops including string mops and flat mops. A wringer cleans a mop head by removing fluid from the mop head after that fluid has become dirty by being applied to a surface. 
     However, flat mop material collects and retains loose dirt much more effectively than a string mop, thus, the flat mop&#39;s cleaning material requires a more extensive cleaning process. 
     Typically, a flat mop head includes a pair foldable parts. During use, the foldable pieces are locked in a position, such that the majority of the length of the flat mop head is in contact with the surface being cleaning via the cleaning material. The mop flat mop heads can then be released from their locking mechanism and folded relatively together, to form a chevron-like conformation. In this formation, the cleaning typically material freely depends from the mop head. The freely hanging material may then be inserted into a cleaning apparatus, for example, a scrubber or a wringer. 
     Currently, the cleaning apparatuses that clean mop material do not do so adequately. One problem with some cleaning apparatuses is that they do not scrub the surface of the cleaning material, for example, wringers. Another problem some devices do scrub, but they do not scrub with sufficient force or vigour to remove embedded dirt and detritus. A further problem is still is that the scrubbing area of the device may be smaller than the area of the cleaning material, this means the surface of the cleaning material is not fully engaged when being cleaned, and as such time is wasted. On a similar point, a smaller scrubbing device has to potential to become dirty, fouled or worn out more quickly, which would thus require more frequent maintenance and attention from the operator. 
     It is an aim of the present claimed invention to alleviate the problems mentioned above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for cleaning mop material for use with a bucket, said apparatus comprising a wringer and a scrubbing apparatus, said scrubbing apparatus comprising a first scrubbing member and a second scrubbing member, said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member arranged substantially opposite one another, said first scrubbing member resiliently biased towards said second scrubbing member, such that the distance between said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member is variable to engage mop material inserted between said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member. 
     In this way, there is provided an apparatus for cleaning mop material where the scrubbing members of the mop material are resiliently biased towards one another. The resilient bias helps the scrubbing members in their engagement of the material being cleaned. Furthermore, the resilient bias may confer extra force to scrubbing members. Additionally, the variable nature of the distance between the scrubbing members helps to engage the scrubbing members with the material. 
     Preferably, the first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member are arranged in a spaced relationship. Preferably, the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member are arranged to form a channel. Preferably, the channel&#39;s cross-sectional area can vary along its length. Preferably, the channel extends along and parallel to a face of both the scrubbing members. In this way the material being cleaned may be inserted in between the scrubbing members and may be into a channel for cleaning. Once inserted the variable cross-sectional area of the channel may help to engage more of the surface being cleaned than otherwise possible. 
     Preferably, the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member are resiliently biased to abut one another in the absence of mop material inserted between said first scrubbing member and said second scrubbing member. 
     Preferably, at least one of the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member comprise bristles. Preferably, the bristles are generally perpendicular to the plane of the scrubbing member on which they are located. The bristles engage the surface of the material being cleaned and remove dirt or detritus. 
     Preferably, the resilient bias is provided by a resiliently deformable member. Preferably, the resiliently deformable member comprises a spring. Preferably, at least one of the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member comprises a resiliently deformable material. The resilient deformable member may be deformed along its surface during the cleaning process and as such it helps the scrubbing members engage more fully with the mop material being cleaned along its surface and it also increases the force behind the engagement. 
     Preferably, the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member are orientated substantially parallel with respect to one another. Preferably, the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member are substantially planar. This shape and orientation may be beneficial as it may complement the shape of the mop material being cleaned, for example a flat mop head. 
     Preferably, mop material is inserted between the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member through an opening. Preferably, the opening has a substanitally rectangular cross section. Preferably, at least one of the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member comprises a guide element. 
     Preferably, the first scrubbing member and the second scrubbing member together have a substantially rectangular cross-section. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a cleaning device comprising a bucket and the aforementioned cleaning apparatus. 
     Preferably, the apparatus for cleaning mop material extends into the bucket. 
    
    
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic isometric view of an apparatus for cleaning mop material in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic isometric view of an apparatus for cleaning mop material in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic top-down view of a scrubbing apparatus in accordance with the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic side on view of a scrubbing apparatus in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  of the drawings, there is depicted an embodiment of a cleaning apparatus for cleaning mop material  10 . The apparatus  10  is situated within a bucket  20  and comprises two parts: a scrubbing apparatus  30  and wringer  40 . The scrubbing apparatus  30  is attached to the material wringer  40  and is located above the bucket&#39;s  20  base. The gap between the bucket walls  60  and the scrubbing apparatus  10  allows the insertion of the material mop being cleaned into the bucket  20  before insertion into the cleaning apparatus  10 . This gap is also orientated and located so that the material being cleaned can be inserted into the bucket&#39;s fluid, then the material surface cleaner  30  and then the wringer  40  without rotation of the material. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  of the drawings, there is depicted a top-down view of the an apparatus for cleaning mop material  10  and in particular the scrubbing apparatus  30 . The scrubbing apparatus  30  comprises a first scrubbing, or structural, member  80  and a second scrubbing, or structural, member  90 . 
     The first scrubbing member  80  has a generally squared U-shape cross-section and is elongated in the direction perpendicular to the U-shaped cross section, such that it forms a generally U-shaped channel where the channel&#39;s width is substantially constant along its length. The first scrubbing member  80  forms a U-shaped channel via a base  100 , two side walls  110  and a guide portion  95 , all of which have substantially rectangular faces. 
     Each of the two side walls  110  comprises an array of apertures  120 . The arrays  120  are aligned and evenly spaced along a substantially straight line, and the apertures  120  are substantially parallel to the top and bottom edge of the side walls  110  and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the first scrubbing member  80 . The arrays  120  comprise five apertures, three central apertures which are substantially circular  130  and two peripheral apertures which are substantially rectangular with rounded corners  140 . The rounded rectangular aperture&#39;s  140  longitudinal axis is perpendicular with the straight line orientation of the aperture array  120 . 
     The base  100  of the first scrubbing members comprises an area of bristles  150  or other scrubbing surface, where the bristles  150  protrude in a general perpendicular orientation to the base  100 . The bristles  150  comprises many individual bristles in a substantially rectangular shape. The bristles  150  are occupies approximately the whole width of the base  100  and approximately 70-80% of the base&#39;s length. 
     The second scrubbing member  90  comprises two portions, a generally squared U-shaped channel  160  and a guide portion  170 . The U-shaped channel portion  160  is similarly proportioned and complementary to the first scrubbing member  80 . The length of the portion  160  is substantially similar to the length of the first scrubbing member  80 ; the channel portion  160  comprises an area of bristles  190  substantially similarly sized and proportioned to the bristles of the first scrubbing member  150 ; and the portion  160  comprises an evenly spaced straight-line array of five substantially circular apertures  200  along its walls  180  that substantially align with the apertures of the first scrubbing member  130 , 140 . The portion&#39;s base  165  has a slightly narrower width than the base  100 , and the walls of the portion  180  are smaller in height than the walls of first scrubbing member  110  by approximately 40-60%. As such the second scrubbing member  90  can be inserted into the first scrubbing member  80  such that the two sets of walls  110 , 180  substantially abut along their height and length and that the aperture arrays  120 , 200  align. However, the two peripheral apertures of the array  200  are circular unlike the elongated rounded rectangular peripheral apertures  140  of the first scrubbing member  80 . 
     The first and second scrubbing members  80 , 90  are moveably attached by four couplings  210 . The couplings  210  comprise a nut, bolt and washer and they are threaded through the aligned peripheral apertures of the aperture arrays  120 , 200 , such that the first and second scrubbing members are attached  80 , 90  is such a way that the second scrubbing member  90  is movable relative to the first scrubbing member  80  along an axis. 
     The attachment of the first scrubbing member  80  to the second scrubbing member  90  forms a substantially rectangular cleaning channel  220  between them. The bristle areas of the scrubbing members  150 , 190  face into the channel and reduce the channel&#39;s cross-sectional area. The channel  220  is open ended at either end. The insertion of cleaning material into the cleaning channel  220  is guided by the guide portions of the first and second scrubbing members  95 , 170 , respectively. The guide portions  95 , 170  are generally planar and rectangular and extend in the same direction as one another, from the base of their respective scrubbing member&#39;s  80 , 90  U-shaped channel. 
     Now referring to  FIG. 4  of the drawings, each coupling mechanism  210  is itself attached to an anchor element  230  on the outside of the first scrubbing member  80  via a spring  240 . The anchors  230  and springs  240  are orientated and attached to the coupling mechanisms  210  such that the springs  240  are stretched when the first and second scrubbing members  80 , 90  are moved apart. The coupling mechanism  210  is attached internally to the walls  180  of the second scrubbing member  90  via its circular peripheral apertures  200 , whilst externally the coupling  210  is movably attached to the rounded rectangular aperture  140 . Thus, the coupling mechanisms  210  can translate along the rounded rectangular aperture  140  and translate the second scrubbing member  90  relative to the first scrubbing member  80 . The channel&#39;s  220  area is adaptive. Additionally, the two coupling mechanisms  210  located on a wall of the first scrubbing member  110  maybe translated independently from one another, i.e. the springs  240  along a side  110  can be compressed or stretched independently from the other on that side  110 , such that the channel&#39;s  220  cross-sectional area can vary along the length of the channel  220 . 
     The second scrubbing member  90  comprises two parts: a main scrubbing member  250  and a resiliently deformable scrubbing member  260 . The main scrubbing member  250  comprises a substantially U-shaped channel, whereas the flexible scrubbing member  260  is substantially rectangular and sheet-like. The flexible member  260  is attached to the main member  250  at the top edge of the guide portion  170 , this attachment forms a plenum of air between the flexible member  260  and the base  165 . The resiliently deformable member  260  extends from the top guide of the guide portion  170  to the bottom of the channel  220  and comprises the area of bristles  190  on its surface. The resiliently deformable member  260  may be resiliently deformed towards the main member  250 . 
     In use, mop material is inserted into the channel  220  of the scrubbing apparatus  30  and agitated predominantly in a direction along the longitudinal axis of the channel  220 . The channel  220 , the resiliently deformable nature of the channel  220 , scrubbing members  80 , 90  and the resiliently deformable member  260  help to ensure that the bristle areas  150 , 190  engage the surface of the material to be cleaned. 
     The scrubbing apparatus  30  can be attached to a bucket  20 , wringer  40  or similar using the attachment member  270  and the guide portion of the first scrubbing member  95 , both of which have apertures for accepting attachment means.