Patent Publication Number: US-6983509-B2

Title: Sweeping and wringing apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a sweeping and wringing apparatus, particularly to a sweeping and wringing apparatus which allows to be effectively wrung dry in an inward folding squeezing movement. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Conventionally, for wet-cleaning a floor, a sweeper with a long handle is used to avoid to have to bend down during the cleaning work. The handle has a front end to which a cleaning element is attached, which is a piece of cloth or a sponge. However, this kind of sweeper does not have a device allowing to wring the cleaning element dry, so after the cleaning work the cleaning element has to be wrung dry by hand or by stepping thereon by foot, which is inconvenient. 
   To counter this difficulty, a sweeping and wringing apparatus with a cleaning element that allows to be squeezed has been brought on the market, mainly comprising, as shown in  FIG. 13 : a handle  1 ; a sponge  2 ; a connecting piece  3 , attached to a lower end of the handle  1 ; a gripping element  4 , made of punched metal and gripping an upper part of the sponge  2 ; a connecting rod assembly  5 , having L-shaped elements fastened to the gripping element  4 , for transmitting a downward movement to the sponge  2 ; a pair of roll bars  6 , attached to a lower side of the connecting piece  3 ; and a lever  7 , connected with the connecting rod assembly  5 . When the lever  7  is lifted, the connecting rod assembly  5  is pulled up, dragging upward the sponge  2 , which is subsequently squeezed between the pair of roll bars  6 , so that water contained in the sponge  2  is wrung out. 
   This conventional sweeping and wringing apparatus allows to press out water contained therein, but has the following shortcomings:
     1. For pressing out water, the sponge  2  is drawn through the roll bars  6 . The surface of the sponge  2  that is pressed is comparatively small. In practice, pulling up of the lever  7  is often done fast, with the sponge  2  rapidly slipping through between the roll bars  6 , so that the sponge  2  is not wrung dry.   2. The sponge  2  is held by the gripping element  4  and fastened to the connecting rod assembly  5  by a screw  8 . After prolonged use, however, the surface of the sponge  2  becomes dirty and the screw  8  becomes rusty to the point of the sponge  2  not being replaceable.   3. Since the sponge  2  is held fastened to the connecting rod assembly  5  by the screw  8 , mounting and dismounting thereof has to be performed by a tool or a machine, which is inconvenient and expensive and also impractical during use.   

   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a sweeping and wringing apparatus which is good-looking and effective. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide a sweeping and wringing apparatus having a cleaning element that is easily replaceable. 
   A further object of the present invention is to provide a sweeping and wringing apparatus which is easily wrung dry and which is inexpensively manufactured. 
   A further object of the present invention is to provide a sweeping and wringing apparatus which is convenient to assemble and disassemble. 
   The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the sweeping and wringing apparatus of the present invention in the regular state. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of the sweeping and wringing apparatus of the present invention with the cleaning head dismounted and the transmission rod not pulled up (regular state). 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic illustration of the sweeping and wringing apparatus of the present invention with the cleaning head mounted and the transmission rod pulled up halfway. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of the sweeping and wringing apparatus of the present invention with the cleaning head dismounted and the transmission rod pulled up halfway. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic illustration of the sweeping and wringing apparatus of the present invention with the cleaning head dismounted and the transmission rod completely pulled up. 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of the movement of the moving bar of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective schematic illustration of the wringing system of the present invention at the lower part thereof. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the cleaning head of the present invention. 
       FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional schematic illustration mounting of the cleaning head on the pair of holding plates of the present invention. 
       FIG. 10  is a schematic illustration of the cleaning head of the present invention in the second embodiment. 
       FIG. 11  is a schematic illustration of the cleaning head of the present invention in the third embodiment. 
       FIG. 12  is a schematic illustration of the cleaning head of the present invention in the fourth embodiment. 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a conventional sweeping and wringing apparatus. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1–8 , the sweeping and wringing apparatus of the present invention comprises: a handle  10 ; a moving bar  20 ; a transmission rod  30 ; a frame  40 ; a pair of hinge plates  50 , defining left and right sides; a pulling element  60 ; a pair of holding plates  70 ; and a cleaning head  100 . The handle has a lower end to which the frame  40  is attached. The pair of hinge plates  50  are hingedly connected with opposite lower ends of the frame  40 . The moving bar  20  is connected with the handle  10  and is used to drive a wringing movement. The transmission rod  30  runs inside the handle  10 , being connected with the moving bar  20 . The pulling element  60  is attached to the transmission rod  30 . The pair of holding plates  70  extend to the left and right, being hingedly connected with and driven by the pulling element  60 . The cleaning head  100  is mounted on a lower side of the pair of holding plates  70  and has an upper surface connected with the pair of hinge plates  50 , thus being driven thereby in a squeezing movement. 
   The handle  10  is manually gripped at, having an upper end with an adjusting device  11  for adjusting the length of the handle  10 . The adjusting device  11  is conventional art and therefore not described further. The handle  10  has an inner space which accommodates the moving bar  20  and the transmission rod  30 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 6 , the moving bar  20  has an upper rod  21  and a lower rod  22 , which is connected with the upper rod at a middle position thereof. Furthermore, the moving bar  20  has an upper end  23 , which is hingedly connected with the handle at a middle position thereof. The lower rod  22  has a lower end  25 , which is hingedly connected with the handle at a lower position thereof and with the transmission rod  30 , driving the transmission rod  30 . The upper rod  21  and the lower rod  22  partly pass through an opening  12  of the handle  10 . The upper rod has  21  a far end carrying a grip  27  that allows manually to pull out the moving bar  20 . In a regular state, the upper rod  21  is held close to the handle  10  by an elastic clasp  13 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 6 , the transmission rod  30  is partly accommodated in the handle  10 , being able to glide therein upward and downward. The transmission rod  30  has an upper end  31 , which is hingedly connected with the lower end  25  of the lower rod  22 , and a lower end  32  is connected with the pulling element  60 , driving the pulling element  60  downward. 
   The frame  40  is a hollow body, shaped like the inverted letter T, having a vertical part  41  connected with the lower end of the handle  10  and a horizontal part  42  with two far ends that extend away from the vertical part  41  to the left and right. 
   Referring to  FIG. 7 , each of the pair of hinge plates  50  has a shape like the letter L, with a top end through which a bolt  51  passes to establish a hinged connection with one of the far ends of the horizontal parts  42 . Furthermore, each of the pair of hinge plates  50  has a bent part  52  with a bolt  54  for connecting with the pair of holding plates  70 . 
   The pulling element  60 , being roughly shaped like the inverted letter T, is fixed on the lower end  32  of the control rod  30  and has a bottom part with two pulling hinges  61  to the left and right. 
   The pair of holding plates  70  are in a symmetric arrangement hingedly connected with the pulling hinges  61 , having roughly T-shaped cross-sections. Each of the pair of holding plates  70  has a vertical rib  71  with an inner end  73 , which is hingedly connected with one of the pulling hinges  61 , and an outer end having a slanted elongated hole  74 , which accommodates the bolt  54  of the bent part  52  of one of the hinge plates  50 . Furthermore, each of the pair of holding plates  70  has a horizontal plate  72 , which is provided with a plurality of holes  75  for holding the cleaning head  100 . 
   Referring again to  FIGS. 1 and 6 , in the regular state, when the upper rod  21  of the moving bar  20  has not been pulled on, the upper rod  21  does not move the lower rod  22 , so that no upward force is exerted on the transmission rod  30 . 
   The cleaning head  100  is fastened to the pair of holding plates  70  by screws or by clamping or binding means. This is conventional art and therefore not described further. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , when the upper rod  21  of the moving bar  20  is pulled away from the handle  10 , the lower rod  22  is moved along, so that an upward force is exerted on the transmission rod  30 , drawing the pulling element  60  upward, which in turn causes the pulling hinges  61  to pull up the holding plates  70  at the inner ends  73  thereof. Thereby, the pair of holding plates  70  folds inward around the pulling hinges  61 , in turn folding the cleaning head  100 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , when the upper rod  21  of the moving bar  20  has reached an uppermost position, the transmission rod  30  has been drawn completely inside the handle  10 , with the pair of holding plates  70  being completely folded together. Since the bolts  54  on the hinge plates  50  pass through the elongated holes  74  of the holding plates  70 , the hinge plates  50  are drawn into the frame  40 , as well. Thus the cleaning head  100  is folded and squeezed, so that water contained therein is readily wrung out. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1–3  and  7 – 9 , the cleaning head  100  comprises a positioning plate  80  and a cleaning element  90 , held on a bottom side of the positioning plate  80 . The cleaning element  90  is shaped like a strip of material capable of sucking water, like a sponge, cloth or plastics material. The present description uses a sponge, but this does not restrict the range of embodiments. 
   The positioning plate covers the cleaning element  90  from above, exerting squeezing pressure thereon (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) to wring out water. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 7–9  the positioning plate  80  has a base plate  81  made of soft material and a plurality of hooks  82  on a top side of the base plate  81 . For mounting the cleaning head  100 , peaks  83  of the hooks  82  are inserted into the plurality of holes  75  of the pair of holding plates  70  to be held therein, so as to perform cleaning work. 
   Referring again to  FIG. 1 , in order to prevent damaging of furniture during the cleaning work, the positioning plate  80  is shorter than the cleaning element  90 . 
   Each of the hooks  82  has a peak  83 , a blocking part  84  and an embracing part  85 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , for each of the hooks  82 , the embracing part  85  allows to be pushed inward to lean on an inner wall of one of the holes  75 , whereas the blocking part  84  grips an outer periphery thereof. Thus the hooks  82  hold the positioning plate  80  effectively on the holding plates  70 . 
   To insert the hooks  82  conveniently into the holes  75  of the holding plates  70 , for each of the hooks  82  the peak  83  has a front slope  86 , a back slope  88  as well as left and right slopes  87 . 
   To prevent the cleaning element  90  from falling off, the hooks are oriented back to back. Thus tensions exerted during the cleaning work are effectively countered by the blocking part  84  and the embracing part  85  of each of the hooks  82 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 10–12 , the present invention in second to fourth embodiments has cleaning elements  90 A,  90 B and  90 C, which are a plurality of textile strips, a textile mesh and a plurality of plastics strips, respectively. The cleaning elements  90 A,  90 B and  90 C are fastened to the positioning plate  80  by gluing, screw or binding means, which is conventional art and therefore not explained further. 
   For mounting the cleaning head  100 , first the hooks  82  on one side are inserted into holes  75 , then the hooks  82  on the opposite side are inserted into holes  75 . Of course, hooks  82  may be inserted in the order of one on the left and one on the right. 
   For dismounting the cleaning head  100 , first the hooks  82  on one side are pressed inward and pulled out of holes  75 , the hooks  82  on the opposite side are pressed inward and pulled out of holes  75 . Again, hooks  82  may be pulled out in the order of one on the left and one on the right. 
   The sweeping and wringing apparatus of the present invention has the following advantages:
     1. Manufacturing is easy and inexpensive.   2. Mounting and dismounting of the cleaning head is performed without tools.   3. Due to convenient dismounting of the cleaning head, the handle is taken advantage of effectively.   4. Being made of soft material, the cleaning head is easily squeezed and thus effectively wrung dry.   

   While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that modifications or variations may be easily made without departing from the spirit of this invention which is defined by the appended claims.