DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to a cleaning implement, to be preferably used to perform operations for cleaning surfaces in general, like e.g. floors.

Background art

As it is known, cleaning floors generally entails a first operation aimed at sweeping and collecting dust and dirt deposited thereon, and a subsequent use of a cloth, previously soaked in a water/detergent solution, mopped up into contact with the surface to be cleaned.

Broadly speaking, surface cleaning always requires the cooperation of at least two different devices for performing operations complementary to each other, like, with reference to the above-mentioned example, those of sweeping floors and subsequently mopping up, or employing a soaked sponge and subsequently using a squeegee, for glass cleaning operations or the like.

Description of the prior art

For instance, with reference to floor cleaning, the classic implements most used to perform the above-described operations are the broom, for sweeping up dust and various dirt, and the mop (or scrub brush), i.e. a sort of broom having rigid bristles which are kept into contact with the soaked cloth and guide it along the surface to be cleaned.

The mop drives the cloth along the floor by means of a constant pressure, exerted thereon by a cleaning operator, said pressure having a first component along a direction substantially perpendicular to a plane containing the floor, to assure that the mop remains into contact with the cloth throughout the cleaning operation, and a second component along a direction parallel to said plane, to allow just the dragging of the cloth along the floor.

Several alternatives to simple implements such as broom and mop have been devised.

In particular, in place of brooms, the well-known "electric vacuum cleaners" are currently marketed, which consist of a hollow tube having, at one end thereof, a suction mouth for sucking dust that is stored in a storage tank connected to the tube. It is power-supplied by an electric motor, which produces a negative pressure inside the vacuum cleaner, causing just the suction of external air and therefore of dusts present therein. Moreover, alternatively to the classic system envisaging the mop-driven cloth, a novel type of mop has been devised, an example of which is marketed under the name of "Mocio Vileda®" (or Vileda mop®). It is comprised of a handle that can be grasped, having at one end thereof a plurality of stripes (also called "fiocchf (tufts)) made of a material such as to carry out, when soaked with a water/detergent solution, a washing action into contact with the floor.

Drawbacks of the prior art

In spite of their being employed by the near-totality of people when cleaning, the classic implements and the alternatives hereto described above suffer from several evident drawbacks.

In general, operating the cleaning of surfaces involves in most cases, as specified above, the use of at least two different cleaning implements that, together, contribute to the final result.

Always with reference to floor cleaning, vacuum cleaners, or generally electric implements of that kind intended for housecleaning, are prone to malfunctioning and require continual maintenance. Moreover, oft-times they are noisy and entail remarkable space encumbrance when not in use.

In addition, their excessive encumbrance makes them awkward and therefore difficult to use.

Instead, as to the mopping up with a cloth, the alternative represented by the above-mentioned Vileda® mop surely offers, with respect to the classic system, the advantage of sparing the hard work in its use, since the cloth in this case is comprised of the plurality of tufts which are stably connected to the handle; therefore, the operator needs no more to exert a pressure in a direction perpendicular to the floor in order to assure contact between mop and cloth, as instead happens in the classic case.

Moreover, a Vileda®-type mop, thanks to the deformability of the set of stripes, allows to reach and clean nooks and crannies otherwise unreachable by a classic cloth.

In spite of the evident advantages, a Vileda®-type mop on the other hand is unsuitable for carrying out accurate cleaning. The tuft-like shape of the cloth ultimately entails its limited extension; therefore, said cloth soon tends to lose its cleaning ability and has to be frequently soaked in the water/detergent solution and subsequently wrung.

Hence, the Vileda®-type mop is very handy in case of modest cleaning, but fails in the attempt of providing a final solution to the problem.

On the basis of the foregoing, in spite of the fact that modern technology has made available some alternatives, classic systems remain by far the most used by the vast majority of people.

The classic mop system surely offers the possibility of carrying out a more accurate cleaning, but it also suffers from evident drawbacks.

First of all, there is the fact that it entails a remarkably hard work for the operator. As mentioned, the hard work ensues from having to exert a constant pressure in order to keep the cloth adhering to the mop; moreover, each time the cloth dries out one has to bend to pick it up and dip it into the bucket filled with water and detergent in order to prepare it for a next mopping up.

Moreover, another drawback related to classic implements, i.e. mop and broom, lies in that the operations of dust removal and subsequent cleaning by cloth are always performed by means of two different implements. As is evident, availing oneself of two different implements unavoidably entails a general awkwardness in their use, higher costs for their purchase, and a greater encumbrance when, not in use, they are put away in closets, storerooms, etc.

Objects of the Invention

Object of the- present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks by providing a cleaning implement as substantially described in claim 1.

Additional features of the system are defined in the corresponding dependent claims.

Advantages of the invention

The present invention, by overcoming the mentioned problems of the known art, entails several evident advantages.

The cleaning implement subject of the present invention entails the remarkable advantage of being able to provide two different cleaning implements, preferably complementary to each other, so as to allow the cleaning of surfaces in general in an extremely efficient manner.

According to a preferred embodiment, the implement subject of the present invention may be used both as a broom, for sweeping and collecting dust, and as a mop for wiping with the cloth.

In fact, for this purpose, the implement comprises a mechanism which, as will be detailed hereinafter in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof given herein by way of example and not for limitative purposes, enables to arrange the washing plate both in a working position, to operate the cleaning of floors, and in a resting position, retracted along the handle (so as to be able to use the broom).

Moreover, when the device is used as a mop, it entails evident advantages with respect to the classic-type system.

The implement according to the invention comprises a washing plate, advantageously manufactured, as will be detailed hereinafter, so as to be covered with a washing bonnet preferably having microfiber fabric.

Moreover, according to a preferred aspect, the implement subject of the present invention entails the remarkable advantage that the washing plate can be closed (folded), so as to quickly and effectively wring the cleaning cloth positioned thereon. According to a further preferred aspect of the invention, the mechanism guiding the movement of the washing plate between the two positions, of working and of resting, is advantageously configured so that the plate is automatically closed booklike when brought in the resting position, thereby carrying out just in an automatic way the useful function of wringing the washing cloth positioned thereon.

Advantageously, the implement according to the invention may have a reversible- type connection with the cleaning devices associated thereto, so that those be interchangeable with each other, or with others of different typologies so as to remarkably increase their versatility.

In short, the implement subject of the present invention allows to perform with a single implement both of the operations usually associated to the cleaning of floors, like, with reference to the floor cleaning example, the dust collecting and the mopping up with the cloth; moreover, when used for mopping up with the cloth it allows to remarkably reduce the hard work that would be required when using a classic system.

Brief description of the drawings

Still further advantages, as well as the features and the operation steps of the present invention will be made evident in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example and not for limitative purposes. Reference will be made to the figures of the annexed drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows in a perspective view an implement according to the present invention;

Figures 2A - 2B show in a side view the implement according to the present invention, in two different configurations thereof;

Figure 3 shows in a side view the implement according to the present invention, in which the moving between the two configurations of the preceding figure is detailed;

Figures 4A-4B show in a perspective view the implement according to the invention in the two different configurations thereof;

Figures 5A and 5B show, in a perspective view, details of Figure 3;

Figures 6-8 show in various views some components of the instrument according to the present invention; and

Figure 9 shows various views of a washing bonnet to be used together with the device according to the present invention; and

Figures 10-16 show variants of the implement subject of the present invention.

Detailed description of the drawings

Referring to Figure 1 , there is shown an implement 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, described herein by way of example and not for limitative purposes.

The implement 1 comprises a handle 2, having a first cleaning device 4 at a bottom end 7 thereof, a second cleaning device 8 and a mechanism, generally denoted by reference number 5, movably mounted on the handle 2 and associated with the second cleaning device 8.

Referring to Figures 2A-2B, there is depicted a preferred embodiment of the implement 1 for cleaning, in particular, floors, according to the present invention. The first cleaning device comprises a broom 4 at its bottom end 7, whereas the second cleaning device comprises a washing plate 8. The mechanism 5, movably mounted on the handle 2, is associated with the plate 8 and configured so as to make the washing plate assume a resting position in which it is substantially retracted along the handle, as shown in Figure 2A, and a working position for washing floors, shown in Figure 2B.

The washing plate 8, comprising in the example shown herein by way of example and not for limitative purposes a body preferably made of polypropylene, comprises a first portion 81 and a second portion 82, opposable to each other. Preferably, the first and second portion 81 and 82 are made opposable to each other by interposition between them of a third portion 83, having a shape such as to exploit the flexibility of the material. Always referring to Figures 2A and 2B, the mechanism 5 for moving the plate 8 comprises a first arm 51 having a first end 511 hinged to a first support 21 fixed on the handle 2, and a second end 512 connected, preferably by hinge, to the first portion 81 of the washing plate 8.

By a comparison of the two figures 2A and 2B described herein, it will be evident how the rotation of the first arm 51 about the hinge placed on the support 21 brings the washing plate 8 from the resting position of Figure 2A to the working position of Figure 2B.

The mechanism 5 further comprises a second arm 52 having a first end (not visible in figure) fixed to the washing plate 8 and a second end 522 hinged to a second support 22, slidable along the handle 2.

Moreover, the second portion 82 of the plate 8 is connected to the first arm 51 by an elastic joint 9. In particular, specifically referring to Figure 2B, the elastic joint is configured so as to normally be extended, in other words elastically released, when the washing plate lies in the working position. The joint 9 is preferably made of an acetal resin by molding, resin which is just molded when in an extended position, as in Figure 2B.

From said working position of Figure 2B, by sliding the member 22 topwise along the handle 2, the second arm 52 is returned topwise, bringing the washing plate therewith. Therefore, the first arm 51 follows its motion by rotating about the first stationary support 21 , further allowing a rotation thereof relative to the washing plate 8, thanks to the hinge connection with the latter.

When the plate is brought into the resting position of Figure 2A, the position taken up by the plate 8, defined by the selected geometry of the first and second arm, and its tilt with respect to the handle 2, set by the second arm 52 on which the plate is rigidly fixed, force the elastic joint to flex, therefore to elastically load, closing booklike the plate 8, as shown in figure.

The closing in a book-like manner of the washing plate 8 enables to wring any cloth that should be placed thereon. As described in detail, according to the exemplary preferred embodiment described herein, advantageously such a closing is automatically performed by the mechanism 5 when the plate is brought into the resting position.

Finally, the implement 1 according to the invention is advantageously equipped with means for locking/unlocking the sliding support 22 along the handle 2, apt to lock the latter when it lies in the working and resting positions.

By way of example and not for limitative purposes, such locking/unlocking means could be manufactured according to the most different shapes, all falling within the competence of a person skilled in the art. E.g., the locking/unlocking means could comprise an elastic pushbutton system with a spring, even an integrated one, said system being positioned at the two above-mentioned portions, engaging, for locking, a receiving hole obtained into the sliding support 22. An example of such locking/unlocking means is denoted in figure by reference number 221.

Referring to next Figure 3, the movement of the above-described mechanism is schematically depicted, with particular reference to the arms 51 and 52 and the washing plate 8.

Dashed line a denotes the axis of the handle 2, whereas arrow F denotes the direction of sliding of the support 22 when the plate is brought from the working position to the resting position.

In the sequence shown, it is well visible the increase in the bending of the elastic joint 9 between the working position, elastically released, and the resting position, elastically loaded and such as to close in a book-like manner the washing plate 8.

Referring to Figure 4, the implement 1 according to the invention is shown in a perspective view. Preferably, just as shown in the figure, the mechanism 5 for moving the plate 8 has a structure substantially symmetrical with respect to the handle 2. Therefore, for instance, it comprises a pair of first arms 51 and a pair of second arms 52, arranged symmetrically with respect to the handle 2. Each first arm 51 is connected to the washing plate 8 by a respective elastic joint 9. It will be appreciated that such a symmetric structure of the mechanism advantageously allows an extremely stable moving thereof.

Figure 5A shows a detail of the above-described mechanism 5, in which are clearly visible the elastically loaded elastic joints which close the plate 8 brought into a resting position. Figure 5B shows instead a detail of the washing plate 8, closed in a book-like manner, in a resting position. On the portion 81 slides 85 are visible, for rigid connection with the second arm 52 and mountings 84 for hinge connection with the first arm 51.

Moreover, in figure 5B the flexible portion 83 is visible, interposed between the first portion 81 and the second portion (the latter not visible). Preferably, the washing plate comprises a stiffening cross member 86, comprising two separate half-cross members 86, each one positioned respectively on the first and second portion of the plate.

Referring to Figure 6, the elastic joint 9 is shown in detail in various views. In particular, the joint 9 comprises a flexible rod 91 having at ends thereof a pair of cylindrical members 92, 93. The cylindrical members of the elastic joint are as first device 4 and the microfiber-covered plate as second device 8.

Figure 14 shows the implement according to the invention, in which the first device 4 is a standard broom, and the second cleaning device 8 is a plate (this time not foldable) covered with a microfiber cloth.

Figure 15 shows an example of implement 1 associating a mop 4 to a plate 8 covered with a microfiber cloth.

Figure 16 instead reports an example in which the implement 1 is equipped with squeegee 4 and covered plate 8.

Therefore, in light of the above, according to preferred aspects of the invention the implement appears as a pair of devices complementary to each other, which according to the configuration of the product can, by way of example and not for limitative purposes, sweep and wash (Figure 1), wipe and mop (Figures 10 and 13), dust and wash (Figure 12), brush and wash (Figure 1), act as squeegee on liquids and sludge and mop up (Figures 10 and 16) both for professional and household use.

In case of plate employed with dust-collecting cloth, the automatic closing (folding) of the plate itself due to the mechanism movement entails the evident advantage that collected dust will no more scatter in the surrounding environment.

Advantageously, the implement subject of the invention may be manufactured so that the first and the second cleaning device be connectible respectively to the handle and to the moving mechanism in a reversible manner. Thus, by securing between them, e.g. a standardized connection, it is possible to avail oneself of a single implement and of a high number of cleaning devices, interchangeable with each other. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the selection of the cleaning devices to be assembled will be dictated by the specific cleaning action to be performed, as highlighted above.

Finally, from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment given here by way of example and not for limitative purposes, it will be evident that the cleaning implement 1 could be completely disassemblabie and provided in the form of assembly kit.

The present invention has hereto been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof. It is understood that other embodiments might exist, all falling within the concept of the same invention, and all comprised within the protective scope of the claims hereinafter. - 8 - configured so as to be inserted, by a coupling, e.g. by a joint coupling, into respective housings obtained on the washing plate and on the first arm of the mechanism.

Referring to Figure 7, a detail of the washing plate 8 is shown in various views. In particular, Figure 7A shows the plate in a side view, in a working extended condition. Figure 7B shows the plate undergoing incipient bending. Figure 7C shows the plate completely closed in a book-like manner. The plate comprises substantially C-shaped housings 87, for receiving the cylindrical members of the elastic joint (not depicted). Figures 7D, 7E, 7F and 7G show the washing plate respectively in elevation, bottom, front and plan views.

Figure 8 shows the detail of the first arm 51. The first arm 51 comprises it also a substantially C-shaped housing 513 for receiving therein the cylindrical member of the elastic joint, so as to establish a connection therewith, according to what has been described in detail above.

Moreover, the washing plate is advantageously configured to be able to be covered with a bonnet having microfibers on an external face thereof. An example of such a bonnet is depicted in Figure 9 and denoted by reference number 10. In addition, the washing plate (8) is advantageously configured so as to be able to house a layer of rubber material apt to evenly distribute the load for cleaning and wringing.

It will be appreciated that the first and the second cleaning device associated with the above-described implement could vary depending on the specific use required, therefore ultimately on the typology of surface to be cleaned.

In Figure 10 it is shown the implement 1 in which the first cleaning device 4 comprises a squeegee, whereas the second cleaning device comprises a plate 8 onto which, bottomwise, a layer made of spongy material is obtained. Thus, the implement 1 according to the invention is particularly suitable for cleaning surfaces such as glasses or the like. According to the above-described embodiment, the positioning of the plate 8 along the handle controls the closing in a book-like manner of the same plate, and therefore enables to automatically wring the sponge obtained thereon.

In Figure 11 the implement 1 comprises a standard mop as first cleaning device 4 and a plate 8 covered with microfiber cloth.

Figure 12 shows the implement 1 in which both the first and the second cleaning device 4 and 8 comprise a cloth made of microfiber.

The implement 1 instead comprises, as reported in Figure 13, a squeegee