TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new cleaning utensil used for wet cleaning of floors. The cleaning utensil has a bucket in which water is contained and a mop having a cleaning swab. The novel cleaning utensil provides a new wringer which simultaneously rotates and squeezes the swab for removing the dirty water from the swab. Rotation of the swab helps removing dirty water from the swab due to centrifugal forces acting on the water particles contained in the swab. While rotating, the swab is simultaneously squeezed and is subjected to volumetric decrease for enhanced removal of dirty water from the swab.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are a number of cleaning utensils sold currently in the market. A cleaning utensil currently on the market comprises a dewatering bucket and a mop. The dewatering bucket comprises a dewatering partition and a cleaning partition. The dewatering partition on one side of the dewatering bucket comprises a cylinder-like dewatering basket that is movably connected to the dewatering bucket via a rotation spindle. Dewatering basket of this utensil is capable of rotating freely and has an upper opening.

When using a mop to clean a floor, the cleaning person usually use a bucket for carrying clean water to the place to be cleaned. The clean water usually comprises detergents or other chemical compositions which would ease floor cleaning. The mop has a swab which is effective in absorbing the cleaning water. Should the user applies too much water on the floor, the floor would become too wet and may be harmed, particularly if made of wooden material. On the other hand too little water may be insufficient in wiping and removing dirt from the floor. Some buckets have squeezing mechanisms for releasing excess water from the swab of a mop. The swab of this type which is commonly used for wet cleaning is a strip swab which comprises a plurality of strands of absorbent material for wiping. The strips of the swab may be made of textile material. As most of the textile materials have very good water-absorbent properties, dewatering mechanism usually fail to effectively remove water from the swab and therefore, the user is usually forced to repeat dewatering process a plurality of times.

WO 2014/003961 Al discloses a wringer for a bucket which includes flexible wall members for squeezing around a strip mop. Each wall member has an outer portion, an inner portion, and a transition zone between the outer portion and inner portion and each wall member having an upper face and an under face that is facing the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cleaning utensil having a new dewatering mechanism is disclosed. The dewatering mechanism comprises an outer casing having a base portion and sidewalls, said sidewalls comprising cavities allowing water flow. A cylindrical bowl is located in the outer casing wherein the bowl has a cylindrical inner volume which is convergent in its radial dimension from its top rim towards its bottom wall. The dewatering mechanism also comprises a wringer having a base plate and a plurality of wringer arms which are distributed around the periphery of said base plate and which extend towards the upper rim of the cylindrical bowl. Distinguishingly, the wringer has a helical drill attached to its base plate and extending in the vertical direction (-y) towards the base portion of the outer casing. The outer casing has a drill nut which is sized and shaped to accommodate the helical drill and which has inner helix, such that when said helical drill engages the inner helix of said drill nut, both of the helical drill and the wringer simultaneously rotate around the vertical axis (y) and also displace towards the base portion of the outer casing. Each of the plurality of wringer arms are flexibly connected to the base plate through a flexible bending portion such that when the wringer moves towards the base portion of the outer casing, the plurality of wringer arms are bent inwardly in the radial direction. OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Primary object of the present invention is to provide a new cleaning utensil which eliminates the drawbacks of the existing cleaning utensils, particularly in dewatering process of the swab of a cleaning mop.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cleaning utensil, in which an improved wringer effectively and quickly removes water from the swab of a cleaning mop. Still a further object of the invention is to provide a cleaning utensil in which the dewatering mechanism removes water from the swab not only by squeezing the swab but also rotating the same for acting centrifugal forces on water particles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures whose brief explanations are herewith provided are solely intended for providing a better understanding of the present invention and are as such not intended to define the scope of protection or the context in which said scope is interpreted in the absence of the description.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a cleaning utensil according to the present invention,

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the outer casing, cylindrical bowl and wringer of the cleaning utensil according to the present invention,

Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of the outer casing, cylindrical bowl and wringer of the cleaning utensil according to the present invention,

Fig. 4a shows 2 dimensional upper view of the wringer,

Fig. 4b shows a perspective view of the wringer,

Fig. 5a shows a side view of the wringer,

Fig. 5b shows cross sectional view of the outer casing, cylindrical bowl and wringer of the cleaning utensil according to the present invention,

Fig. 6a shows a cross sectional side view of the wringer,

Fig. 6b shows a cross sectional side view of the wringer mounted with a rotation means, Fig. 7a shows an upper view of the wringer located in the cylindrical bowl and the outer casing, wherein the wringer in depicted in its first free state,

Fig. 7b shows the A-A cross section view of Fig. 7a,

Fig. 8a shows an upper view of the wringer located in the cylindrical bowl and the outer casing, wherein the wringer is depicted in its second compressed state,

Fig. 8b shows the B-B cross section view of Fig. 8a,

Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of the outer casing, cylindrical bowl and wringer wherein the wringer is depicted in its second compressed state,

Fig. 10a shows perspective view of a mop according to the present invention,

Fig. 10b shows A-A cross sectional of a mop according to the present invention,

Fig. 11a shows cross sectional view of a mop handle according to the present invention,

Fig. lib shows a perspective view of a mop handle according to the present invention, Fig. 12 shows perspective view of the cross section of the outer casing, cylindrical bowl and wringer of the cleaning utensil according to the present invention. The cross section is depicted in its first free state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The list of reference numerals used in the appended drawings is as follows;

10 Cleaning utensil

11 Bucket

12 Outer casing

13 Cylindrical bowl

14 Wringer

15 Wringer arm

16 Squeezing ribs

17 Lug

18 Stopper

19 Cavity

20 Helical drill

21 Drill nut

22 Base portion (of the outer casing) 23 Guiding ribs (of the wringer)

24 Base plate (of the wringer)

25 Bending portion

26 Guiding channel

27 Spring

28 Mop

29 Mop handle

30 Space

31 Swab

32 Upper rim

33 Dewatering volume

The cleaning utensil (10) according to the present invention has a new dewatering mechanism comprising;

• an outer casing (12) having a base portion (22) and sidewalls, said sidewalls comprising cavities (19) allowing water flow,

• a cylindrical bowl (13) located in said outer casing (12), wherein said bowl (13) has a cylindrical inner volume which is convergent in its radial dimension from its top rim towards its bottom wall,

• a wringer (14) having a base plate (24) and a plurality of wringer arms (15) which are distributed around the periphery of said base plate (24) and which extend towards the upper rim of the cylindrical bowl (13),

• the wringer (14) has a helical drill (20) attached to its base plate (24) and extending in the vertical direction (-y) towards the base portion (22) of said outer casing (12),

• the outer casing (12) has a drill nut (21) which is sized and shaped to accommodate said helical drill (20) and which has inner helix, such that when said helical drill (20) engages the inner helix of said drill nut (21), both of the helical drill (20) and the wringer (14) simultaneously rotate around the vertical axis (y) and also displace towards the base portion (22) of the outer casing (12),

• each of said plurality of wringer arms (15) are flexibly connected to the base plate (24) through a flexible bending portion (25), such that when the wringer (14) moves towards the base portion (22) of the outer casing (12), the plurality of wringer arms (15) are bent inwardly in the radial direction.

A perspective view of the cleaning utensil (10) and the dewatering mechanism according to the present invention are illustrated, respectively, in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The dewatering mechanism comprises an outer casing (12), a cylindrical bowl (13) and a wringer (14). The outer casing (12) and the cylindrical bowl (13) have cavities (19) allowing fluid flow. The largest radial dimension of the cylindrical bowl (13) exists on its upper rim (32). The radial dimension of the cylindrical bowl (13) is convergent from its upper rim towards its bottom wall. In other words, the cylindrical bowl (13) narrows in its radius from its upper rim towards its bottom wall.

An exploded view of the outer casing (12), cylindrical bowl (13) and wringer (14) of the cleaning utensil (10) according to the present invention are illustrated in Fig. 3. The wringer (14) has a base plate (24) and a plurality of wringer arms (15) which are distributed around the periphery of said base plate (24) and which extend towards the upper rim of the cylindrical bowl (13). A wringer arm (15) has, on its rear surface, a guiding rib (23) which is shaped and dimensioned to engage with a corresponding guiding channel (26) located vertically on the cylindrical body of the cylindrical bowl (13). The term "vertical" corresponds to the (y) direction as shown in Fig. 3. The term rear surface of a wringer arm corresponds to the surface facing, in the radial direction, outside the cylindrical bowl (13). The term front surface of a wringer arm corresponds to the surface facing, in the radial direction, inside the cylindrical bowl (13). The cylindrical bowl (13) has a plurality of guiding channels (26) which extend vertically towards the bottom wall of said cylindrical bowl (13) and which accommodate guiding ribs (23) of the wringer arms (15). The guiding channels (26) bulge inwardly in the radial dimension of the cylindrical bowl (13) so that the amount of inward bending of wringer arms (15) could be enhanced.

Two dimensional upper view of a wringer according to the present invention is shown in Fig. 4a, whereas a perspective view of the same is depicted in Fig. 4b. A wringer arm (15) is connected to the base plate (24) of the wringer (14) via a bending portion (25) which is flexible. The plurality of the wringer arms (15) extend vertically towards the upper rim of the cylindrical bowl (13). The volume existing in between the plurality of wringer arms (15) and on top of the base plate (24) of the wringer define a dewatering volume (33) in which the swab (31) of a mop (28) is to be located during use. The dewatering volume (33) is the volume as illustrated in Fig. 5a and Fig. 6a.

The dewatering volume (33) is decreased as the wringer arms (15) are bent inwardly towards the inner volume of the cylindrical bowl (13) resulting in squeezing the swab and removing dirty water contained in the swab. However, for reducing the dewatering volume (33) and squeezing a swab, the swab (31) shall be pressed on the base plate (24) of the wringer (14). Once a swab (31) of a mop (28) is located on top of the base plate (24) and pressed downwards by a user, the cylindrical bowl (13) and the wringer (14) starts rotating around the vertical axis, which is the primary axis of the cylindrical bowl. During rotation, the wringer (14) also simultaneously descends towards the base portion (22) of the outer casing (12). The rotation of the cylindrical bowl (13) is provided by the helical drill (20) which is attached to the base plate (24) of the wringer (14) as shown in Fig. 6b. The helical drill (20) is guided in a drill nut

(21) located in the base portion (22) of the outer casing (12) as illustrated in Fig. 7b. The bottom wall of the cylindrical bowl (13) has a hole through which the helical drill (20) of the wringer (14) passes. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the base portion (22) of the outer casing (12) has a seat for facilitating rotation of the cylindrical bowl (13) accommodating the wringer (14).

Fig. 7a shows an upper view of the wringer (14) located in the cylindrical bowl (13) and the outer casing (12) wherein the wringer in depicted in its first free state in which a user does not apply a force on the wringer. As the cylindrical bowl (13) and the wringer (14) rotates, the wringer also simultaneously descends in the vertical direction (y) resulting in the wringer arms (15) being bent inwardly due to the fact that the cylindrical bowl (13) has a cylindrical inner volume which is convergent in its radial dimension from its top rim towards its bottom wall. Hence, the dewatering volume (33) reduces in size as the wringer (14) descends towards the base portion

(22) of the outer casing (12). Fig. 8a shows an upper view of the wringer (14) located in the cylindrical bowl and the outer casing, wherein the wringer is depicted in its second state in which a user already applied a force on the wringer (14) and the wringer reached its lowermost point within the cylindrical bowl (13). The position and shape of the wringer (14) is its first free state and in its second compressed state which occurs after a full rotation would be apparent upon a comparison of Fig. 7b and Fig. 8b. The perspective view of the dewatering mechanism wherein the wringer is depicted in its second compressed state is given in Fig. 9.

In result of the rotational movement provided by the helical drill (20) engaging with a drill nut (21), the wringer (14) is able to move back and forth in the vertical axis (y). Once a user presses the tip of a mop on top of the base plate (24) of the wringer (14), the wringer (14) starts rotating and descends towards the base portion (22) of the outer casing (12). Suddenly before the wringer (14) reaches its lowermost point in the vertical axis (y), it reaches its maximum rotational speed. Once the wringer (14) hits the bottom wall of the cylindrical bowl (13), it suddenly stops rotating and also stops descending. The sudden end of the rotational movement and also the transitional movement help to remove the remaining water contained in the swab (31) contained in the dewatering volume (33).

A wringer arm (15) has a squeezing rib (16) which is located on the front surface of the wringer arm (15). As best illustrated in Fig. 4b and Fig. 12, a squeezing rib (16) has a function to penetrate into the swab (31) of a mop (28) and enhance removal of dirty water from the swab (31). The squeezing ribs (16) extend radially towards the inner volume of the cylindrical bowl (13) such that when, in use, the wringer arms (15) are bent inwardly in the radial direction of the cylindrical bowl (13), the squeezing ribs (16) penetrate into a swab (31) of a mop (28). The plurality of squeezing ribs (16) of the wringer arms (15) surrounds the dewatering volume (33) and when the winger (14) completes its full rotation and reaches its lowermost point within the cylindrical bowl (13), the squeezing ribs (16) penetrate into the plurality of strands of absorbent material, helping in enhanced removal of water. As mentioned earlier, once a user presses the swab (31) of a mop (28) on top of the base plate (24) of the wringer (14), the wringer starts rotating around the primary axis of the cylindrical bowl and simultaneously moves in the vertical direction (y) towards the lower wall of the cylindrical bowl (13). When wringer reaches its lowermost point in the cylindrical bowl (13), the dewatering volume reaches its minimum volume and the swab (31) reaches its most compressed state. The swab looses water not only because of compression of the swab but also due to rotation of the dewatering volume producing centrifugal forces acting on water particles contained in the swab.

Reverse movement of the wringer (14) towards its first free state occurs when the user pulls the mop (28) back. In this state, a spring (27) located in between base plate (24) of the wringer and the base portion (22) of the outer casing (12) pushes the wringer back towards the upper rim of the cylindrical bowl (13). With the help of the spring (27), the wringer (14) rotates in the opposite direction and ascends upwardly towards the upper rim of the cylindrical bowl (13).

In order to limit the upward movement of the wringer in the vertical direction (y), a wringer arm (15) may further comprise a stopper (18). The stopper (18) limits the movement of the guiding ribs (23) of the wringer arms (15) in order to define an end point in the upwards movement of the wringer (14). As illustrated in Fig. 12, the stopper (18) leans on the upper rim (32) of the cylindrical bowl (13) in its uppermost position within the same. The upper rim of the outer casing (12) may have a lug (17) for connection with the upper rim of a bucket (11). The cleaning utensil (10) according to the present invention may further comprise a mop (28) having a handle (29) which allows rotation of said mop around its primary axis. As the dewatering mechanism is a rotary mechanism, the mop (28) would rotate during the dewatering process and therefore, the mop handle (29) shall allow rotation of the mop during dewatering. In order to allow a user to use an existing mop with the new cleaning utensil (10) according to the present invention, a user may be provided with a mop handle (29) comprising a first part (29a) having a space (30) for fixedly connecting to a mop and a second part (29b) allowing rotation of the mop around the primary axis of the same. As shown in Fig. 11, the first part (29a) of the mop handle (29) may have teeth to engage with a mop inserted in the space (30).