DESCRIPTION

The present patent concerns tools for house cleaning and in particular it concerns a cloth holder head for floor cleaning. The cloth holder heads presently used for cleaning floors comprise a genetically flat element made of a plastic material, if necessary provided with an elastic cushion on its underside, and have on their top a coupling for connection with a handle or grip. The generically flat element of the cloth holder head, hereinafter called simply body for the sake of simplicity, is provided at its top and preferably in proximity to its angles with elastic elements suited to retain the cloth and comprising an element made of a plastic elastic material provided with one or more indentations: the cloth is laid on the elastic underside of the body and the edges of said cloth are folded over said body and fixed to said elastic retaining elements by inserting the edge of the cloth in said indentations provided in said elastic retaining elements.

The coupling provided on top of the body is usually articulated, which means that is allows the handle to be rotated on the two axes orthogonal to each other, parallel to the two dimensions of the body itself and to the underside of the body.

The cloth holder heads currently used pose various drawbacks. Cloth holder heads are generally used crosswise, that is, with the long side orthogonal to the advance direction, in such a way as to clean a wider area at every passage of the cloth. To clean small spaces, for example the area between the legs of a piece of furniture, the user has to incline and rotate the handle, in such a way as to arrange the cloth holder head with its short side orthogonal to the advance direction.

To clean the area around individual obstacles, for example table legs or vases or umbrella stands, the known cloth holder heads force the user to carry out various manoeuvres with the handle in order to reach the entire area around the leg.

In the same way, to clean the surfaces along walls and the angles, the user has to carry out various manoeuvres in order to correctly orient the cloth holder head and translate it towards the area or floor strip to be cleaned. The cloth holder head is arranged with a long side adherent to the skirting board and slided along said skirting board. When said cloth holder head reaches an angle, it is rotated by rotating the handle, so as to clean the surface along the successive skirting board while at the same time maintaining a long side of the cloth holder head adherent to said successive skirting board. The subject of the present patent is a new cloth holder head for floor cleaning. One object of the new cloth holder head is to make it possible to change its orientation with respect to the advance direction and in relation to any obstacles or walls or skirting boards with no need for the user to rotate the handle. Another object of the new cloth holder head is to make it possible to clean the surface around individual small obstacles with no need for the user to rotate the handle.

These and other direct and complementary objects are achieved by the new cloth holder head comprising a genetically triangular body to which a rotary coupling for the handle is connected. The body consists of a substantially rigid upper part joined to a substantially soft or elastic lower part and is generically in the shape of a triangle, equilateral or isosceles. At least one and preferably all the sides of said genetically triangular shape of the body of the new cloth holder head are provided with an indentation or recess, preferably arc-shaped, in a generically intermediate position. On the upper side of the body of the new cloth holder head, in proximity to each vertex of its triangular shape, there is a cloth retaining element.

A rotary coupling for the handle is connected to the upper side of the body of the new cloth holder head, in a preferably central position. Said coupling is connected to the body of the new head by means of a joint suited to allow the handle coupling to rotate on three different axes with respect to said body.

The handle coupling substantially comprises a seat for connection to the handle and an element for coupling to the body of the new head, connected to each other by means of at least one element hinged to said connection seat and to said coupling element. The seat for connection to the handle is generically tubular in shape and is suited to house at one end, through a fixing or screwing operation, the end of a conventional handle, while its opposite end is shaped so as to be coupled with said hinged elements. The element for coupling to the body of the new head has one side suited to be coupled with said hinged elements and the generically opposite side suited to be coupled with the body of the new cloth holder head. In particular, the connection between said coupling element and said body of the new cloth holder head allows said coupling element to rotate on an axis that is generically orthogonal to to the lower surface of the cloth in contact with the body, without allowing the separation of said body of the new head from said coupling element. The hinged elements connecting said element for coupling to the body of the new head with said handle connection seat are suited to allow the mutual rotation of said coupling element and connection seat on two axes orthogonal to each other and in any case different from the axis orthogonal to the lower surface of the cloth in contact with the body. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, said coupling to the body, said handle connection seat and said hinged elements make up a cardan joint.

The new cloth holder head comprised as described above can be connected by means of a traditional handle and provided with a cloth for cleaning floors. The characteristics of the new cloth holder head will be better illustrated in the following description with reference to the attached drawings, enclosed by way of non-limiting examples.

Figures 1, 2, 3 respectively show a side view, a plan view and an axonometric view of the new cloth holder head, while Figure 4 shows a vertical cross section of the new cloth holder head.

The new cloth holder head is constituted by a body (C), generically triangular in shape, to which a rotary coupling (Al, A2, A3) for the handle is connected.

The body (C) has the generic shape of a triangle, in this example an equilateral triangle. On each side of said triangular shape of the body (C) there is an indentation or recess (Cl), in a generically intermediate position.

On the upper side of the body (C), in proximity to each vertex of its triangular shape, there is a cloth retaining element (C2).

On the upper side of the body (C), in a generically central position, there is a circular seat (C3) for connection to the rotary coupling (Al, A2, A3) for the handle.

The rotary coupling (Al, A2, A3) for the handle is connected to the body (C) in said circular seat (C3).

Said coupling (Al, A2, A3) substantially comprises a seat (Al) for connection to the handle and an element (A3) for fixing to the body (C) of the new head, connected to each other by means of at least one element (A2) hinged to said connection seat (Al) and to said fixing element (A3).

Said element (A3) for fixing to the body (C), said handle connection seat (Al) and said hinged element (A2) make up a cardan joint. The seat (Al) for connection to the handle is generically tubular in shape and is suited to house at one end (Ala), through a fixing or screwing operation, the end of a conventional handle, while its opposite end (Alb) is shaped so as to be coupled with said hinged element (A2).

The element (A3) for fixing to the body (C) of the new head has one side (A3b) suited to be coupled with said hinged element (A2) and the generically opposite side (A3a) suited to be coupled with the body (C) of the new cloth holder head.

Said fixing element (A3) is provided with coupling elements (A3a) shaped as a joint and/orv arrow, suited to be inserted in the upper circular seat (C3) of the body (C) and to retain the coupling (Al, A2, A3) on said body (C), thus allowing the mutual rotation of said coupling (Al, A2, A3) and said body (C) on an axis substantially orthogonal to the lower surface where the cloth rests on the body (C).

The new cloth holder head offers considerable advantages. The new cloth holder head makes it possible to modify its orientation with respect to the advance direction in order to overcome any obstacles or walls or skirting boards with no need for the user to rotate the handle: when the cloth holder head meets an individual obstacle, like for example a piece of furniture resting on the floor, its body (C) rotates on the coupling (Al, A2, A3) and allows it to move around the obstacle, with no need for the user to rotate the handle or carry out special troublesome operations. The new cloth holder head makes it possible to clean the surface around small individual obstacles with no need for the user to rotate the handle: it is sufficient for the user to guide the cloth holder head around the object and the body (C) of the cloth holder head will rotate with respect to the coupling (Al, A2, A3), thus modifying its position according to the shape of the object itself. When there are small objects, like for example a table leg, the user can guide the cloth holder head around said obstacle thanks to the indentation or recess (Cl) provided on one of the sides resting on the surface of the object. When the new cloth holder head is moved so that it adheres to a continuous linear obstacle, like for example a wall, it rotates until one of its sides adheres to the linear obstacle or wall, thus making it possible to clean the floor exactly up to the wall or continuous obstacle.

When the new cloth holder head is translated along the edge of a wall up to the angle formed with the adjacent wall, it is sufficient to push the cloth holder head up to the angle and against the adjacent wall: the cloth holder head rotates and rests one of its sides on the successive wall, with no need for the user to rotate the handle.

Therefore, with reference to the above description and the attached drawings, the following claims are expressed.