Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/331,804 filed May 4, 2016 the entire contents of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0004]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
       [0005]    This invention relates to improvements in a DuraLock scrubber attachment that is suitable for cleaning various floors with rough and porous surfaces such as clay, porcelain, glazed and concrete floor surfaces. 
         [0006]    Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. 
         [0007]    A typical mop implement comprises a bundle of fabric rags or yarns attached to the end of a mop handle. During a cleaning operation, the operator first dips the absorbent material of the mop head into a cleaning fluid (typically water with dissolved detergent) and then moves the mop head back and forth or in a figure eight motion on the floor surface to be cleaned. One problem with this type of mop implement is that although it can efficiently wipe smooth surfaces and remove loose debris and dirt, the mop cannot efficiently remove tough ground-in dirt, grease and hardened materials which is either built up in the grout lines of tiles, accumulate in the pores on the floor surface or adhere to the surface because the absorbent material is too soft and the contact area between the absorbent material and the floor surface is relatively large. With rough and porous floor surfaces, the contaminations tend to become stuck to the floor surface and accumulate within the pores of the floor surface. In many applications, a rough and porous floor surface is preferred for certain purposes, such as slip and fall protection. The floor of a restaurant&#39;s kitchen is typically made of clay or porcelain tiles with rough porous surfaces to protect people from slipping. To maintain this kind of floor surface, the ground-in dirt, grease and particles stuck to or accumulated within the porous surface must be periodically removed by manual scrubbing using a scrub brush with sufficiently hard bristles or abrasive pads. Preferably, a scrub brush or abrasive pad is used on such a floor at least once per day. However, in actual practice, a scrub brush or abrasive pad is used far less frequently, resulting in unnecessarily slippery and contaminated floor surfaces. 
         [0008]    The combination of a mop and a scrub brush or abrasive pad into a single cleaning apparatus has been disclosed in the prior art, but solely for the purpose of allowing the user thereof to scrub scuff marks and other stains. In Canadian Patent No. 737,140, a combination floor mop is disclosed, which has a brush attachment that is articulated with manual operation of the handle. By tilting the handle against the mop holder at different angles, the brush can be put in a position either in direct contact or out of contact with the floor surface. Therefore, the operator can choose to use the mop or the brush alone, or to use both of them at the same time. Although certain advantages have been achieved by this cleaning apparatus, it has several significant disadvantages. First, the positions of the mop and the brush relative to the floor surface to be cleaned can only be adjusted by tilting the handle against the mop holder. For example, when the handle is in a vertical position (the handle is perpendicular to the mop holder surface) the brush is brought out of contact with the floor surface, when the handle is in a substantially horizontal position (the handle is parallel to the mop holder surface) the brush is moved forward to be in direct contact with the floor surface. Thus, in order to conduct different operation modes, the operator must operate the cleaning apparatus at different angles between the handle and mopping surface, and under certain angles it is very difficult and uncomfortable to operate. Secondly, the adjustable range of the brush is very limited. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,464 discloses a Scrubbing device attachable to a mop where the scrubbing device is clamped onto the mop handle. The entire device must be unclamped from the handle of the mop for removal or replacement of the mop head and the mop head must be removed to replace the scrubbing device. Once fastened, the mop handle and mop holder act as a clamp to hold the scrubbing device against the mop head. Consequently, considerable effort is required to remove or replace the scrubbing device, and it must be removed and reinstalled every time a mop head is replaced or adjusted, which can be very frequent. Due to having to remove the scrubbing device when changing the mop head, the device can become lost or broken, or simply not be reinstalled. 
         [0010]    A common problem of the combined mop and scrubbing elements disclosed in the prior art is that the relative positions of the scrubbing elements and the absorbent material cannot be easily and independently adjusted for the purpose of providing different operation modes and an easy access to replacing and cleaning of the mop and the scrubbing element. Therefore, a need still exists for providing a cleaning apparatus for cleaning and scrubbing a floor surface, especially a rough and porous surface. Such cleaning apparatus should be readily adjustable to meet the cleaning requirements of different surfaces, should be easily replaceable and should not require removal of the device in order to replace a mop head and should allow for easy interchange of scrubbing attachments. A faster removal and securing method must be devised that allows for these requirements. Additionally, the scrubbing element should be attached to the mop handle as close as possible to the mop headband to allow for reduction in additional weight and raw material costs of the scrubbing element and the mounting mechanisms. 
         [0011]    There is a need for improvements in surface scrubbing and mopping whereby the two operations are enabled by incorporating a quickly releasable securing system for attachment of a scrubbing pad or brush on a flexible joint or joints to obtain the optimal scrubbing angle on a mop head and mop handle. In particular, there is need for an attachment that carries surface scrubbing elements, and which can easily and rapidly be connected to a mop handle, and preferably to mop handles of different configurations at the connecting location on the mop handles. Additionally, there is a need to mount the scrubbing element on the mop handle near the mop headband such that the scrubbing and or scraping element plate lies under the mop during operation. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    It is an object of the DuraLock scrubber attachment to provide method and apparatus meeting the above need. Basically, the improved apparatus provides a surface scrubbing element or elements, which can be comprised of bristles, abrasive pads or other scrubbing materials that can be attached to a handle such as the Ecolab, Inc., DuraLoc Wet Mop Handle or similar design with a similar mop head holder. As will be seen, the scrubbing element is configured for removable mounting to the mounting connection on the mop head holder, at or near the mop head. The mop head holder on the mop handle is either integrated in the molding of the handle or glued, threaded, inserted, riveted, or otherwise attached to the mop handle. The mounting connection on the mop head holder will be located on either side of the mop head holder, located at the end of the mop handle near the mop headband. 
         [0013]    It is another object of the DuraLock scrubber attachment to provide an attachment secured to the mop head holder by allowing the mop handle to pass through a holding ring and utilizing fingers that fit into sockets on the mounting connection incorporated into the mop head holder. The scrubbing element can be removable and replaceable from the mop head holder without requiring removal of the mop head from the mop head holder, to allow a user to quickly replace or change the scrubbing element. 
         [0014]    It is another object of the DuraLock scrubber attachment to provide flexible joints to allow the scrubbing element to bend relative to the mop handle to provide an optimal flat scrubbing surface. Because the scrubbing element is interchangeable, the dimensions and the scrub surfaces can be quickly changed, for example to clean a corner, narrow passage or a wide walkway, to allow for cleaning underneath low equipment or furniture, to allow for high and low spots on cleaning surfaces and to allow for efficient change in scrubbing materials. 
         [0015]    Yet another object of the DuraLock scrubber attachment is to provide apparatus as referred to above which includes an element carrying scrubbing materials, that section having one or more flexible joints to the back plate of the DuraLock mounting connection. That plate may also advantageously include one or more flexible joints molded in position during plastic molding of the attachment, to accommodate and facilitate flap folding. The scrubbing elements may be carried by another plate which has attachment to the plate portion of the scrubbing element. Abrasive materials and scrubbing bristles may be glued, fused, staple set or otherwise attached in position to the plate portion, or other carrier which would be attached to the plate portion, as will be seen. 
         [0016]    It is another object of the DuraLock scrubber attachment to not require the removal of the mop head during replacement of the scrubbing element, nor does it require removal of the scrubbing element in order to replace the mop head. 
         [0017]    In still another embodiment the Duralock scraper is disclosed where replaceable scraping elements can be quickly installed, removed and replaced from the mop handle without removal of a securing head from the mop handle. This allows a person to quickly scrape and remove stuck debris from the floor without bending over. 
         [0018]    Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a DuraLock scrubber attachment. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the mop handle and mop head holder in an assembled orientation. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of the mop handle and mop head holder in an unassembled orientation. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is the DuraLock scrubber attachment on the mop handle being used in a first orientation. 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is the DuraLock scrubber attachment on the mop handle being used in a second orientation. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a side perspective view of the DuraLock scrubber attachment. 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is an opposite side perspective view of the DuraLock scrubber attachment showing the pad/bristles or other scrubbing material securing side. 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is a view like  FIG. 6  showing another mode of scrubbing element, to which the scrubbing materials are attached and then the plate of that element is attached to the DuraLock scrubber attachment. 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the DuraLock scraper attachment. 
           [0028]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the DuraLock mounting base. 
           [0029]      FIG. 11  is an alternate perspective view of the DuraLock mounting base. 
           [0030]      FIG. 12  is perspective view of the DuraLock scraper. 
           [0031]      FIG. 13  is as assembled view of the DuraLock scraper attachment installed in the mounting base. 
           [0032]      FIG. 14  shows an alternate embodiment of the DuraLock scrubber attachment on the mounting base. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0033]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a DuraLock scrubber attachment showing the removable portion  50  from a mop head holder. The removable portion  50  has a mounting back plate  53  having a pair of fingers  51  that extend into the mop head holder and a hole where the mop handle passes through the holding ring  62 . The back plate has a rigid plate structure  57  that maintains a parallel relationship with the mop handle. One or more flexible joints  58  connect the back plate  53  to a brush, pad or securing plate  59 . The securing plate  59  has a plurality of apertures  170 . The brush or scrubber securing plate  59  bends or flexes on the flexible joint  58 . Stiffening ribs  52  on the scrubber securing plate  59  are for structural purposes. In this embodiment, a replaceable scrubber plate  93  supports an abrasive surface  91 . In other embodiments, the scrubber plate  93  bristles or other surfaces. The replaceable scrubber plate  93  has a plurality of projections  157  that engage into the apertures  170  in the plate  59 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the mop handle and mop head holder in an assembled orientation and  FIG. 3  is a plan view of the mop handle and mop head holder in an unassembled orientation. The entire mopping apparatus  35  has a handle portion  30  that is removable from the lower section. The mop handle  30  has a coupling  31  with a key  34  that maintains the proper orientation of the handle to the mop head holder  20 . The shaft  30  of the handle extends through the coupling  31  where the lower portion of the handle  32  secures into the mop head holder at  23 . The mop head holder portion  20  has a threaded coupling  21  that secures in the coupling  31  in the handle. The mop head holder has sockets  22  where the fingers  51  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) engage for securing. The lower portion of the handle  32  fits through the threaded coupling  21 , then through the holding ring  62  (shown in  FIG. 1 ), and then into the mop head holder at  23  to secure the mop head holder and the DuraLock scrubber attachment. A release lever  24  may be incorporated to remove the mop  80  from the handle. 
         [0035]      FIG. 4  is the DuraLock scrubber attachment on the mop handle being used in a first orientation and  FIG. 5  is the DuraLock scrubber attachment on the mop handle being used in a second orientation. In both figures, the flexible joint  58  is shown bending with the mop strands  80  to use the brush  85  as shown in  FIG. 5  or to keep the brush  85  away from the surface  99 , in  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 5 , the tilted position for floor scrubbing by bristle group  85  engages with surface  99 . Note that handle  30  can be tilted substantially horizontally or vertically. Connection plate section  53  allows the removable connection between the DuraLock that connects to the mop head holder  20 . Because this is an interchangeable/replaceable component, a cleaning person can switch between a DuraLock brush  85  and a different DuraLock attachment of a different scrubbing material. The head mop strands  80  also engage the surface  99 . 
         [0036]    The scrubber securing plate  59  supports the brush bristles  85  in a flat structure. The DuraLock scrubber attachment is shown secured to the lower mop handle  32  through the threaded coupling  21 , then through the holding ring  62  into the mop head holder  23  with fingers  51  engaged in the mop head holder sockets  22 . The backing plate  59  includes a plurality of structural ribs  52  that are engaged with the mop head. 
         [0037]      FIG. 6  is a side perspective view of the DuraLock scrubber attachment and  FIG. 7  is an opposite side perspective view of the DuraLock scrubber attachment showing the pad/bristles or other scrubbing material securing side. The replaceable scrubber plate  93  has a plurality of projections  157  that engage into the apertures  170  in the plate  59 . 
         [0038]    The removable portion  50  has a mounting back plate  53  having a pair of fingers  51  that extend into the mop head holder  20  and a holding ring  62  where the mop handle passes the holding ring. The back plate  53  has a rigid plate structure that maintains a parallel relationship with the mop handle. One or more flexible joints  58  connect the back plate  53  to a scrubber securing plate  59 . The scrubber securing plate  59  bends or flexes on the flexible joint  58 . In this embodiment, the scrubber plate  59  has no flexible joints. In other embodiments, the scrubber securing plate  59  may be comprised of multiple flexible joints. Stiffening ribs  52  on the scrubber securing plate  59  are for structural purposes. The underside  92  of the scrubber securing plate  59  is where scrubbing materials would be glued, fused, staple set or otherwise attached or where a plate  154  containing scrubbing elements (as in  FIG. 8 ) would be connected. The apertures  170  of the plate  154  are visible extending through the removable portion  50 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 8  is a side view of an embodiment where the scrubbing materials, either abrasive pads or bristles or the like are glued, fused, staple set or otherwise attached to a plate, which is then attached removably to the scrubber securing plate  59 . The apertures  170  in scrubber securing plate  59  receive projections  157  carried by a plate  164   a . The bristle  85  plate  164   a  is attached to scrubber securing plate  59 , wherein projections  157  extend through apertures  170  in scrubber securing plate  59 . 
         [0040]    While a particular connection between the mop head holder and the DuraLock element is shown, and described, the components can take various other configurations for securing the components and the connection features can be placed on either side of the mop head holder. Further, while one flexible joint is shown on the DuraLock replaceable scrubbing element, it is contemplated that more than one flexible joint can be incorporated into the plate  59  and the flexible joint described as  58 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the DuraLock scraper attachments  40  and  70 . The attachments include the head unit  70  that secures to the mop handle. The mop handle passes through hole  63 . The removable portion  70  has a mounting back plate having a pair of fingers  51  that extend into the mop head holder and a hole  62  where the mop handle passes through the holding ring. The back plate  70  has a rigid plate structure that maintains a parallel relationship with the mop handle. The back plate  70  has an outer rim or wall  71  with a recessed pocket  72 . Within the pocket  72  is a plurality of retention features  73  or hooks. The pocket  72  and the retention features secure a variety of interchangeable components. In this figure, the interchangeable component is a floor scraper  40 . 
         [0042]    The floor scraper  40  has a face  44  with an outer wall  41  that fits within the recessed pocket  72 . The scraper  40  has an angled surface that bends through radius  45 . The bend places the scraper at an optimal angle. The floor scraper  40  terminates at an edge  39  that engages on a floor surface to remove gum or other debris that has attached to a floor. The floor scraper  40  has complementary securing features  43  that engage in the securing features in the back plate  70 . The top securing features  43  exist on a tab  42  that flexes to lock into the back plate  70 . A finger tab  46  allows for bending the tab  42  to remove the floor scraper  40  from the back plate  70 . The floor scraper  40  is preferably made of plastic or metal. 
         [0043]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the DuraLock mounting back plate  70  or head unit and  FIG. 11  is an alternate perspective view of the DuraLock mounting base  70 . From these figures the recess pocket  72  is shown with the structural rim or lip  71  extending around the recessed pocket  72 . The structural rim  62  that supports the mop pole through the hole  63  is shown in both figures. The pair of fingers  51  or protrusions are shown extending from the back plate. In  FIG. 10 , the securing hooks  73  are visible, and in  FIG. 11 , the opening  74  that forms the hooks is visible. 
         [0044]      FIG. 12  is perspective view of the DuraLock scraper  40 . The floor scraper  40  has a face  49  with an outer wall  41 . The scraper  40  has an angled surface that bends through radius  45 . The bend places the scraper at an optimal angle. The floor scraper  40  terminates at an edge  39  that engages on a floor surface to remove gum or other debris that has attached to a floor. The floor scraper  40  has complementary securing features  43  that engage in the securing features in the back plate. The top securing features  43  exist on a tab  42  that flexes to lock into the back plate. A finger tab  46  allows for bending the tab  42  to remove the floor scraper  40  from the back plate. Elevated tabs  47  have securing locks  48  that temporally locks the floor scraper  40  on the back plate. The floor scraper  40  has structural ribs  54  to help the scraper to maintain a rigid scraping edge  39  to remove gum or other stuck debris from a floor. 
         [0045]      FIG. 13  is as assembled view of the DuraLock scraper attachment installed in the mounting base with a mop handle  32  that extends through the hole in the holding ring  62 . This view of the scraper  39  shows additional structural ribs  56  to reduce bending on the support structure of the scraper. This figure shows that the tab  46  is lifted  55  to bend the locking tabs out of the way and allow the scraper to be removed from the back plate. This allows a worker to install, replace and remove the scraper. The scraper provides minimal interference of the mop. 
         [0046]    From the figures in this disclosure provide for providing a DuraLock scrubber attachment  50  that is securable to a mop handle  32  having a mop head holding section which has a hole  63  where the mop handle  32  passes. The DuraLock scrubber attachment  50  has one or more fingers  51  in the back plate  53  that is configured to engage in sockets  22  of the mop head holder and a hole  63  whereby the mop handle  32  passes. The DuraLock scrubber attachment  50  has at least one flexible joint  58  between the back plate  53  and the one or more engaging fingers  51  and a scrubber securing plate  52 . The backing securing plate  52  supports a replaceable scrubber plate  93  wherein scrubbing materials are attached or wherein another plate containing scrubbing materials is attached. The scrubbing element is provided as a floor scrubber, and the replaceable scrubber plate  93  has locking feature  157  that temporally secures the replaceable scrubber plate  93  to the backing plate  59 . 
         [0047]    The locking feature is a plurality of apertures  170  in the backing plate  52 . The locking feature is a plurality of protrusions  157  in the replaceable scrubber plate  93 . The floor scrubber  93  is selected from a group consisting of bristles  85 , pads  91  or other abrasive materials. The bristles  85  have supporting portions fused to a base  154  defined by the device. The scrubber defines projecting floor scrubbing 85 elements. The flexible joint  85  is a living hinge. The flexing joint is positioned (as shown in  FIG. 5 ) to support the replaceable scrubber plate  59  by the mop handle  30 .  FIG. 4  shows that the flexible joint  58  flexes above the mop head. The backing plate  59  includes a plurality of structural ribs  52  that are engaged with the mop head. 
         [0048]    The DuraLock scraping attachment has interchangeable surface scraping capability, that includes a scraping attachment  40  that can be secured to a mop handle  32  having a mop head holding section  70  which has a hole  63  where the mop handle  32  passes. The mop head holding section  70  has one or more fingers  51  in the back plate  72  configured to engage in sockets  22  of the mop head holder and a hole  63  whereby the mop handle  32  passes. The scraping attachment  40  has a securing head unit that extends from the hole  63 . The securing head  70  supports a replaceable scraping element  40  that is removably secured to the securing head  70 . The scraping element  40  provides a floor scraper in the form of a plate attached by a flexing bend  45  that extends away from the mop head. 
         [0049]    The back plate  70  has a recess  72 . The backing plate  70  has a supporting rib structure  71  that extends around the recess  72 . The supporting structure rib  71  has a plurality of securing hooks  73 . The replaceable scaping element  40  has a plurality of complimentary locks  48  that temporarily retain the replaceable scraping element  40  in the securing head  70 . The replaceable scraping element  40  has a back plate  44  and an outer rim  41 , and the outer rim  41  engages into the supporting rib structure  71  of the backing plate  70 . The replaceable scraping element  40  has a flexible tab  46  that is articulated  55  to release the replaceable scraping element  40  from the backing plate  70 . The replaceable scraping element  40  has a scraping edge  39  that flairs from the securing head  70 . The replaceable scraping element  40  has a plurality of structural ribs  54 ,  56  that extend through the flexing bend  45 . The replaceable scraping element is made of plastic or metal. 
         [0050]      FIG. 14  shows an alternate embodiment of the DuraLock scrubber attachment on the mounting base. It should be understood that the connection between the back plate  70  can be applied to other quick disconnect and replaceable brushes, scrubbers and other attachments like the embodiment of the flexible attachment  50 B, in this figure, with the replaceable scrubber plate  93  that has been previously shown and described. 
         [0051]    Thus, specific embodiments of a replaceable scrubbing and scaping element attachable to a mop handle have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.

Technology Category: 1