BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a cleaning tool which can be dehydrated by rotation, and in particular, to a manual rotation driving unit and a spin dehydrating mop.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the prior art, for a cleaning tool operating with water or other cleaning liquids, for example, a domestic mop, its cleaning head (for example a mop head) is typically dehydrated by being squeezed by hand or dried in the air. However, the manual squeeze may cause the hand to be contaminated by the cleaning head, and drying in the air will spend much time to reduce the cleaning efficiency.

To this end, it is desired to provide a dehydration mechanism having a saved effort and an improved efficiency to dehydrate domestic cleaning tools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of above, an object of the present invention is to provide a convenient and durable manual rotation driving unit which can dehydrate the cleaning head of a domestic cleaning tool with a high speed. It can save efforts and have a long service life.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manual rotation driving unit, comprising: a hollow first rod; a second rod; a helix axle provided in the first rod and extending along an axis of the first rod; a sleeve through which the helix axle extends and which has a roll ball accommodating device formed in an inner wall of the sleeve, the sleeve cooperating with a helix groove of the helix axle via a roll ball accommodated in the roll ball accommodating device such that the sleeve is rotatable in a positive direction when it is driven by a movement of the helix axle along a first direction; and a one-way clutch system configured such that the first rod, the helix axle, the sleeve and the second rod are successively coupled for transmission so as to allow the second rod to be driven by the first rod to rotate in the positive direction when the first rod moves along the first direction with respect to the second rod, and the transmission of the first rod, the helix axle, the sleeve and the second rod is decoupled by the one-way clutch system so as to allow the second rod to be free from the first rod when the first rod moves along a second direction in opposite to the first direction with respect to the second rod.

In an embodiment, the sleeve may be secured to the second rod and wherein the one-way clutch system may be a rod-axle one-way clutch assembly arranged between the first rod and the helix axle, the rod-axle one-way clutch assembly being configured to be actuated to allow the helix axle to move along with the first rod and to inhibit the helix axle from rotating with respect to the first rod when the first rod moves along the first direction with respect to the second rod and being configured to be deactuated to allow the helix axle to rotate with respect to the first rod while moving along with the first rod when the first rod moves along the second direction with respect to the second rod.

In a further embodiment, the rod-axle one-way clutch assembly may comprise: a rod-axle one-way rotation clutch assembly configured to be actuated to inhibit the helix axle from rotating with respect to the first rod when the first rod moves along the first direction with respect to the second rod and configured to be deactuated to allow the helix axle to rotate with respect to the first rod when the first rod moves along the second direction with respect to the second rod; and a rod-axle stop assembly configured to allow the first rod to move along with the second rod whether the first rod moves along the first direction or the second direction with respect to the second rod.

In a further embodiment, the rod-axle one-way rotation clutch assembly may comprise a one-way outer gear arranged on the helix axle and a one-way inner gear arranged in the first rod. In a further embodiment, the rod-axle stop assembly may comprise a projection arranged on the helix axle and a stop groove arranged in the first rod, or comprises a stop groove arranged on the helix axle and a projection arranged in the first rod.

In an embodiment, the helix axle may have an end secured to the first rod and wherein the one-way clutch system may be a rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly arranged between the second rod and the sleeve, the rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly being configured to be actuated to allow the second rod to rotate along with the sleeve when the sleeve rotates in the positive direction and being configured to be deactuated to allow the second rod to be free from the sleeve when the sleeve rotates in a negative direction, wherein the sleeve is driven by the helix axle to rotate in the negative direction when the helix axle moves along the second direction in opposite to the first direction. In a further embodiment, the rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly may comprise a one-way outer gear arranged on the sleeve and a one-way inner gear arranged in the second rod.

In an embodiment, one roll ball, or one or more pairs of roll balls may be arranged in the inner wall of the sleeve. In an embodiment, the roll ball accommodating device may be a groove, a through hole or a blind hole in the inner wall of the sleeve for allowing the roll ball to fit to the helix groove of the helix axle.

In a further embodiment, the roll ball accommodating device may be a helix groove

corresponding in position to the helix groove of the helix axle, or the roll ball accommodating device may be more than one through holes or blind holes arranged in an axial direction of the helix axle and having a pitch being an integer multiple of a thread pitch of the helix axle.

In an embodiment, the second rod may have a holding portion for holding the sleeve.

In an embodiment, the helix axle may be provided at the lower end thereof with a stop block.

In an embodiment, the first rod may be an outer rod, and the second rod may be an inner rod.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a spin dehydrating mop, comprising: any one of the above manual rotation driving units; and a mop head connected to the second rod.

With the above configurations, at least one aspects of the present invention can improve durability of the unit, reduce the loss of a driving force during transmission from the first rod to the second rod and improve the acceleration of the second rod, by means of a rolling fit between the helix axle and the sleeve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing the working principle of the spin dehydrating mop;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic structure of the manual rotation driving unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2a is an enlarged view of the middle part of the manual rotation driving unit shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic construction of the manual rotation driving unit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 a is an enlarged view of the right part of the manual rotation driving unit shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 4 shows a spin dehydrating mop according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings and description, like reference numerals refer to like parts. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the general concept of the present invention without limitations on the scope of the invention.

For dehydration of a domestic mop, a spin dehydrating solution has been proposed, as illustrated in Fig. 1. In Fig. 1 , the mop head is rotated at a high speed such that water or other cleaning liquids can be separated from the mop by a centrifugal force, and thus dehydration of the mop head is completed.

Obviously, the above spin dehydrating solution needs a unit for driving the mop to rotate. The present invention provides a manual rotation driving unit, which comprises a hollow first rod, a second rod, a helix axle, a sleeve and a one-way clutch system. The helix axle is provided in the first rod and extends along an axis of the first rod. The helix axle extends through the sleeve. A roll ball

accommodating device is formed in an inner wall of the sleeve. The sleeve cooperates with a helix groove of the helix axle via a roll ball accommodated in the roll ball accommodating device such that the sleeve is rotatable in a positive direction when it is driven by a movement of the helix axle along a first direction. The one-way clutch system is configured such that the first rod, the helix axle, the sleeve and the second rod are successively coupled for transmission so as to allow the second rod to be driven by the first rod to rotate in the positive direction when the first rod moves along the first direction with respect to the second rod. In contrast, the transmission of the first rod, the helix axle, the sleeve and the second rod is decoupled by the one-way clutch system so as to allow the second rod to be free from the first rod when the first rod moves along a second direction in opposite to the first direction with respect to the second rod.

Fig. 2 shows a manual rotation driving unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The manual rotation driving unit comprises the helix axle 1 , the sleeve 2, the one-way clutch system (it is shown as a rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3 in Figs. 2 and 2a), the hollow first rod 5 and the second rod 4. In the embodiment, the helix axle 1 is arranged in the first rod 5 and extends along the axial direction of the first rod 5. An end (for example the upper end) of the helix axle 1 is secured to the first rod 5.

Fig. 2a shows an enlarged view of the middle part of the structure in Fig. 2. For the Fig. 2a, the helix axle 1 extends through the sleeve 2, and the sleeve 2 cooperates with the helix axle 1 via the roll ball 6 in the roll ball accommodating device 7 such that the sleeve 2 can be rotated in the positive direction, with being driven by the longitudinal movement of the helix axle 1 along the first direction in case that the helix axle 1 moves along the first direction (for example downwardly). In contrast, the sleeve 2 can be rotated in the negative direction, with being driven by the helix axle 1 in case that the helix axle 1 moves along the second direction (for example upwardly) in opposite to the first direction. The cooperation of the sleeve 2 with the helix axle 1 may also be implemented in other forms, for example, in a known solution in the art, a continuous helical surface corresponding to the helix axle 1 may be formed in the inner wall of the sleeve 2.

The present invention is distinguished from the above known solution in that the inner wall of the sleeve 2 is formed with the roll ball accommodating device 7 therein and that the continuous helical surface is replaced with the roll ball 6 in the roll ball accommodating device 7. In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooperation of the sleeve 2 with the helix axle 1 is implemented by the roll ball 6 accommodated in the roll ball accommodating device 7 and fitted to the helix groove of the helix axle 1. During the movement of the helix axle 1 , the roll ball 6 may roll, thus, the friction between the roll ball 6 and the sleeve 2 or the roll ball 6 and the helix axle 1 is the rolling friction instead of sliding friction. In comparison with the above known solution with the continuous helical surface, the roll ball arrangement can reduce the resistance and loss of friction to improve the durability of the sleeve 2 and the helix axle 1. In addition, the driving force required for driving the unit provided with the roll ball 6 is lower. Thus, it can save efforts compared with the above known solution.

The roll ball 6 may be used singly or in pairs. The roll ball accommodating device 7 may be one or more through holes or one or more blind holes in the inner wall of the sleeve 2. When the number of the holes is more than one, the through holes or blind holes may be arranged in an axial direction of the helix axle 1. In this circumstance, the through holes or blind holes may have a pitch being an integer multiple, for example, 1 , 2, 4, of a thread pitch of the helix axle in order to keep the position relation required for the cooperation of the roll ball 6 in the holes with the helix groove of the helix axle 1. The roll ball accommodating device 7 may also be a groove in the inner wall of the sleeve 2. The groove in the inner wall of the sleeve 2 may be a helix groove corresponding in position to the helix groove of the helix axle 1. One such helix groove in the inner wall of the sleeve 2 may accommodate one or more roll balls 6. A plurality of roll balls 6 may even be arranged side by side in the helix groove in the inner wall of the sleeve 2. Thus, the number of the roll balls 6 may be selected in a larger range. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2a, two pairs of roll balls 6 are provided, and each pair is accommodated in two through holes on opposed sides of the inner wall of the sleeve 2. When the helix axle 1 moves upwardly and downwardly, the roll balls 6 roll in the helix groove of the helix axle 1 to drive the sleeve 2 to rotate. The arrangements of the roll balls 6 are not limited to the above embodiments, for example, two or more pairs of roll balls 6 may be used or two or more roll balls 6 may be arranged side by side in the helix groove or helix hole in the inner wall of the sleeve 2 corresponding to the helix groove of the helix axle 1, i.e., a plurality of roll balls 6 may be provided in a single groove or hole.

As an example, the one-way clutch system may be a rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3 arranged between the second rod 4 and the sleeve 2. The second rod 4 cooperates with the sleeve 2 via the rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3. The rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3 is configured to be actuated to allow the second rod 4 to rotate along with the sleeve 2 when the sleeve 2 rotates in the positive direction. In contrast, the rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3 is deactuated to allow the second rod 4 to be free from the sleeve 2 when the sleeve 2 rotates in the negative direction. For example, the rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3 may comprise a one-way outer gear 21 arranged on the sleeve 2 and a one-way inner gear 31 arranged in the second rod 4. When the sleeve 2 rotates in the positive direction, the one-way outer gear 21 and the one-way inner gear 31 are engaged with each other to drive the second rod 4 to rotate along with the sleeve 2, and thus the driving force applied to the first rod 5 can drive the second rod 4 to rotate. On the other hand, when the sleeve 2 rotates in the negative direction, the one-way outer gear 21 is separated from the one-way inner gear 31 to allow the second rod 4 to free from the sleeve 2, and thus the second rod 4 can rotate continuously due to its own inertia without being affected by the driving force from the first rod 5. In this way, in case that the user applies the driving force to the first rod 5 intermittently, for example downwardly with respect to the first rod 5, the second rod 4 can be accelerated by the effect of the one-way clutch system until the second rod 4 has a high speed sufficient to provide the centrifugal force required for dehydrating the cleaning head.

Although in the above embodiment the one-way clutch system is described by the example of one-way clutch gears, the skilled person in the art would appreciate that the one-way clutch gears in the embodiments can be replaced with any other one-way clutch assembly known in the art to achieve the above function.

In an embodiment, the second rod 4 may have a holding portion 41 for holding the sleeve 2 so as to limit the relative position of the sleeve 2 and the second rod 4. The holding portion 41 may be provided at an end of the second rod 4. The sleeve 2 is held in the holding portion 41, and the helix axle 1 extends through the holding portion 41 , as shown in Fig. 2a. The one-way inner gear 31 may also be arranged at the holding portion 41.

In an embodiment, the helix axle 1 may be provided with a stop block 11 at the lower end thereof. The stop block 11 may limit the position of the helix axle 1 with respect to the sleeve 2 or the holding portion 41 of the second rod 4 in order to prevent the helix axle 1 from being separated from the sleeve 2 in movements.

In an embodiment, the second rod 4 and the first rod 5 may be produced in a telescopic form, so as to facilitate the movement of the helix axle 1 and accommodation of the sleeve 2 and the rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3. That is, the first rod 5 may be an outer rod, and the second rod 4 may be an inner rod. As discussed above, the driving force is transmitted from the first rod 5 to the second rod 4 via a series of transmissions. Therefore, the first rod 5 may also be called as a drive rod while the second rod 4 may also be called as a driven rod.

Fig. 3 shows the manual rotation driving unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. Like the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the manual rotation driving unit may also comprise the helix axle 1 ', the sleeve 2', the one-way clutch system (it is shown as a rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3' in Figs. 3 and 3a), the hollow first rod 5' and the second rod 4'. For the sake of brevity, only the features in which the embodiment in Fig. 3 are distinguished from that in Fig.2 will be described below and the description to the same features as those in Fig.2 will be omitted.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the sleeve 2' is secured to the second rod 4' instead of being connected to the second rod via the rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3 as the embodiment in Fig. 2. In contrast, the first rod 5' and the helix axle Tare connected via the one-way clutch system instead of being fixedly connected as the above embodiment. The one-way clutch system may be a rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3' arranged between the first rod 5' and the helix axle . The rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3' is configured to be actuated to allow the helix axle 1 ' to move along with the first rod 5' and to inhibit the helix axle 1 ' from rotating with respect to the first rod 5' when the first rod 5' moves along the first direction (for example downwardly or in a retracting direction with respect to the second rod 4') with respect to the second rod 4'. In contrast, the rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3' is deactuated to allow the helix axle 1 ' to rotate with respect to the first rod 5' while moving along with the first rod 5' when the first rod 5' moves along the second direction (for example upwardly or in a expanding direction with respect to the second rod 4') in opposite to the first direction with respect to the second rod 4'.

As discussed above, the deactuation of the rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3 ' will not cause the complete separation of the first rod 5' and the helix axle 1 ', but allow the helix axle 1 ' to rotate with respect to the first rod 5'. In this circumstance, when the first rod 5' moves along the first direction, due to the actuation of the rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3', the helix axle 1 ' will also move along the first direction along with the first rod 5', but it can not rotate. Thus, the helix 1 ' will drive the sleeve 2' and the second rod 4' secured to the sleeve 2' to rotate together. In contrast, when the first rod 5' moves along the second direction, due to the deactuation of the rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3', the helix axle 1 ' will still move in the second direction along with the first rod 5', but it can rotate freely. That is, when the helix axle 1 ' moves back in the second direction along with the first rod 5', the helix axle 1 ' rotates and moves simultaneously. Thus, the sleeve 2' will still rotate in the positive direction instead of rotating in the negative direction due to the movement of the helix axle 1 ' in the second direction. In contrast, in the above embodiment shown in Fig. 2, as the helix axle 1 is secured to the first rod 5, the helix axle 1 will not rotate if the helix axle 1 moves in the second direction along with the first rod 5. Therefore, in the above embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the sleeve 2 will rotate with being driven by the helix axle 1 if the helix axle 1 moves along the second direction.

The rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3 ' may comprise a rod-axle one-way rotation clutch assembly 31 ' and a rod-axle stop assembly 32'. The rod-axle one-way rotation clutch assembly 31 ' may be configured to be actuated to inhibit the helix axle 1 ' from rotating with respect to the first rod 5' when the first rod 5' moves along the first direction with respect to the second rod 4'. In contrast, when the first rod 5' moves along the second direction with respect to the second rod 4', the rod-axle one-way rotation clutch assembly 31 ' is deactuated to allow the helix axle 1 ' to rotate with respect to the first rod 5 ' . The rod-axle stop assembly 32' may be configured to drive the first rod 5' to move along with the second rod 4' whether the first rod 5 'moves along the first direction or the second direction with respect to the second rod 4'.

The rod-axle one-way rotation clutch assembly 31 ' and the rod-axle stop assembly 32' may be separated from each other, or may be integrated with each other and inseparatable in operation. For example, the rod-axle one-way rotation clutch assembly 31 ' may comprise a one-way outer gear arranged on the helix axle 1 ' and a one-way inner gear arranged in the first rod 5'. When the first rod 5' moves along the first direction, the one-way outer gear and the one-way inner gear are engaged with each other to inhibit the helix axle 1 ' from rotating with respect to the first rod 5'. On the other hand, when the first rod 5' moves along the second direction, the one-way outer gear is separated from the one-way inner gear to allow the helix axle 1 ' to rotate freely with respect to the first rod 5'.

The rod-axle stop assembly 32' may comprise a projection 321 ' arranged on the helix axle 1 ' and a stop groove 322' arranged in the first rod 5'. Whether the first rod 5' moves along the first direction or the second direction, the projection 321 ' on the helix axle 1 ' will abut against the stop groove 322' in the first rod 5' such that the helix axle 1 ' can be maintained in a fixed position with respect to the first rod 5' in the direction of movement. The limitations to helix axle 1 ' in the first direction and the second direction may be achieved by same projection 321 ' and stop groove 322', or may be achieved by different projections 321 ' and stop grooves 322'. Similarly, the stop groove 322' may be arranged on the helix axle 1 ' while the projection 321 ' may be arranged in the first rod 5'. The embodiment shown in Fig. 2 and the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 both comprise the sleeve

2, 2' with the roll ball accommodating device 7, 7' and the roll ball arrangement. However, in comparison with the former embodiment, the latter embodiment changes the provision of the one-way clutch system. In a typical application, the first rod 5, 5' is located in the upper part of the unit while the second rod 4, 4' is located in the lower part of the unit. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the gravity of the helix axle 1 tends to actuate the rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3. Thus, once the user draws the first rod 5 along the second direction with a relative low force, the gravity of the helix axle 1 may cause the members (for example the one-way outer gear 21 and the one-way inner gear 31) of the rod-sleeve one-way clutch assembly 3 to be collided and scrubbed with each other. The collision and scrubbing will cause noises and reduce the service life of the one-way clutch assembly 3. In contrast, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the gravity of the helix axle 1 ' tends to deactuate the rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3'. Thus, even if the user draws the first rod 5' along the second direction with a relative low force, the members (for example the one-way outer gear and the one-way inner gear) of the rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3 ' will not be collided and scrubbed with each other. Therefore, the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 can avoid the collision and scrubbing of the rod-axle one-way clutch assembly 3 ' due to the gravity of the helix axle so as to suppress the noises and prolong the service life of the one-way clutch assembly. Although in the above embodiments the rod-axle one-way rotation clutch assembly 31 ' and rod-axle stop assembly 32' are described by the examples of the one-way clutch gears and the

combination of the projection 321 ' and the stop groove 322' respectively, the skilled person in the art would appreciate that the one-way clutch gears and the combination of the projection 321 ' and the stop groove 322' in the embodiments can be replaced with any other one-way clutch assembly known in the art to achieve the above function. The above structures may also be implemented in any other one-way clutch system having both the rod-axle one-way clutch function and the rod-axle stop function.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the lower end of the helix axle 1 ' may also be provided with a stop block, as the embodiment shown in Fig. 2. The roll ball 6' in sleeve 2' may also be arranged in a same manner as the above embodiments. The first rod 5' and the second rod 4' may also be in the telescopic form.

Regarding the terms "upper end" and "lower end" of the helix axle, as in use, the first rod 5, 5' is generally located in the upper part of the unit while the second rod 4, 4' is generally located in the lower part of the unit, the end of the helix axle closer to the first rod 5, 5' is called as the "upper end" (for example, the right end of the helix axle 1, 1 ' shown in Figs. 2, 3) and the end of the helix axle 1, 1 ' closer to the second rod is called as the "lower end" (for example, the left end of the helix axle 1, 1 ' shown in Figs. 2, 3) herein. However, the skilled person in the art would appreciate that the expressions of the "upper end" and "lower end" are only used to distinguish the two ends of the helix axle 1 , 1 ' to describe explicitly the structure of the manual rotation driving unit without limiting the direction of the helix axle 1, 1 ' arranged in the manual rotation driving unit. That is, the manual rotation driving unit according to the present invention may also be arranged in other directions in use, for example in a horizontal direction or even in an inverse direction.

The above terms "move downwardly" and "move upwardly" for the helix axle 1, 1 ' means respectively that the helix axle 1, 1 ' moves toward the upper end and that the helix axle 1, 1 ' moves toward the lower end. The term "move upwardly and downwardly" for the helix axle 1, 1 ' means that the helix axle 1, 1 ' moves toward the upper end and/or the lower end. The sleeve 2, 2' may be configured to rotate in the positive direction in case that the helix axle 1, 1 ' moves toward the lower end, or may be configured to rotate in the positive direction in case that the helix axle 1, 1 ' moves toward the upper end.

The present invention provides a spin dehydrating mop 10, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The spin dehydrating mop 10 may comprise any one of the above manual rotation driving units and a mop head 17 connected to the second rod 4, 4'. The spin dehydrating mop 10 may be configured such that the manual rotation driving unit will drive the mop head 17 connected to the second rod 4, 4' to rotate if the user impels the first rod 5, 5' downwardly while the second rod 4, 4' and the mop head 17 will rotate continuously due to their inertia if the user draws the first rod 5, 5' upwardly. With the above operations being performed repeatedly, the mop head 17 can be accelerated repeatedly to carry out the centrifugal dehydration of the mop head 17. Alternatively, the spin dehydrating mop 10 may also be configured such that the manual rotation driving unit will drive the mop head 17 connected to the second rod 4, 4' to rotate if the user draws the first rod 5, 5' upwardly while the second rod 4, 4' and the mop head 17 will rotate continuously due to their inertia if the user impels the first rod 5, 5' downwardly.

In an embodiment, the dehydration of the mop head 17 may be carried out by means of a spin basket 8 and a bucket 9. The spin basket 8 is pivotably connected to the bucket 9. The spin basket 8 may receive and support the mop head 17 during the dehydration, like a tray of the mop head 17.

Although in the above embodiments the application of the manual rotation driving unit according to the present invention was described by the example of the mop, the skilled person in the art would appreciate that the manual rotation driving unit according to the present invention may also be used in the centrifugal dehydration of the cleaning heads of other cleaning tools.

Although the above embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the skilled person in the art would appreciate that the embodiments showed in the drawings are only examples of the present invention without limiting the scope of the present invention.

Although the general concept and some specific embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, modifications to the above embodiments can be carried out without departing the spirit and the principle of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.