Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a water-suppliable mop to which a desired amount of water may be supplied during cleaning.

Background of Invention

In general, a mop is widely used in floor cleaning of offices and homes. Such a mop includes a cleaning cloth or pad (hereinafter, referred to as“cloth”) coupled to a cloth mounting member formed at the lower end of a mop, wherein a user may work to clean using the mop while standing and moving. Using the mop, the user does not need to kneel or bend their knees to wipe with the cloth, so as to prevent painful knees and/or low back pain.

The user typically dips a cleaning cloth in water before cleaning, weaves the cloth to retain a desired amount of water, couples the cloth to a cloth mounting member of a mop, and then, uses the mop.

The mop described above has disadvantages in that: when water is consumed or evaporated during floor cleaning, the mop is dried again and the floor may not be efficiently wiped, and therefore, the user should separate the cloth from the cloth mounting member, wet the cloth with water, weave and dehydrate the same, and couple the cloth to the cloth mounting member again.

Summary

In one embodiment, the present invention a water-suppliable mop including a handle, a cloth mounting member connected to a lower portion of the handle, a water tank supported on the cloth mounting member and configured to store water therein and discharge the stored water, and a pump configured to be connected with the water tank and thus to apply a pressure to the inside of the water tank.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when a cleaning cloth fitted on the cloth mounting member is dried during floor cleaning, water may be easily supplied to the cloth as desired by directly pressing the pump protruded above the cloth mounting member, thereby attaining an advantage of not separating the cloth for supplement of water.

Further, when supplying water to the cloth, the user may control a force to press the pump in order to adjust an amount of supplied water, thereby attaining an additional advantage of freely adjusting the amount of water to be supplied to the cloth depending on the intention of the user in consideration of water content of the cloth.

Brief Description of Drawing

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a mop according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top-exploded perspective view illustrating a part of the configuration shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom-exploded perspective view illustrating another part of the configuration shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4 A and 4B are perspective views illustrating the bottom of a water tank in the mop according to the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A shows the first embodiment of the water tank and FIG. 4B shows a second embodiment of the water tank.

FIG. 5 is a side-sectional view illustrating a side structure of the mop according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, concrete embodiments to realize the spirit of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Further, in the following description, a detailed description of related arts, known configurations or functions will be omitted when it is determined that the gist of the present invention may be blurred by the same.

It is to be understood that, when an element is referred to as being "connected", “supported”,“supplied”,“contacting”, etc. to another element, it may not only be directly connected, supported, supplied or contact to the other element, but also, other elements may be present therebetween. For the same reason, with reference to the accompanying drawings, some elements have been exaggerated, omitted or schematically illustrated, and the dimension of each element does not definitely reflect a real size of the same.

Further, terms and phrases used in this specification are merely for purpose of describing specific embodiments, and they should not be construed as limiting the present invention. A singular term such as“a”,“an”, etc. also includes multiple expression, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

It will also be understood that the terms“top”,“bottom”,“left”,“right”, etc. are used in the specification for clarity with reference to the drawings and, if a direction of the corresponding subject is altered, the above expressions may also be changed. For the same reason, with reference to the accompanying drawings, some elements have been exaggerated, omitted or schematically illustrated, and the dimension of each element does not definitely reflect a real size of the same.

As used herein, the term "include" is intended to specify existence of the certain property, area, number, step, operation, element and/or component, while not precluding possibility of the presence or addition of other properties, areas, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups.

The present invention is a water-suppliable mop capable of easily supplying a desired amount of water to a cleaning cloth at a time of necessity even when the cloth fitted on a cloth mounting member is dried during cleaning without further separating the cloth from the cloth mounting member.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, specific configurations of the water- suppliable mop (hereinafter, referred to as“mop 10”) according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Such a mop 10 may optionally include a hand mop or a cleaning cloth (not shown) fitted thereto.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, the mop 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention may include a handle 100, a cloth mounting member 200, a water tank 300, and a pump 400.

The expression of “including the components listed as above” in the first embodiment of the present invention does not mean that the embodiment only consists of these components, instead, it means principally including the above components. That is, additional components (for example, related configurations of the mop well known in the art) may also be included. However, a detailed description of such related configurations will be omitted since the gist of the present invention may be blurred by the same.

The handle 100 may be rotatably connected to the top of the cloth mounting member 200 at a lower end of the handle and may extend upward from the top of the cloth mounting member 200. The handle 100 may be configured in a bar or rod shape easily held by a user in a standing posture and may have a length-variable structure such as a slide structure, a telescopic structure, etc., in order to adjust a length as required. In order to wipe with the mop at different angles, the handle 100 may be rotatably coupled to the top of the cloth mounting member 200 so as to rotate in a front-rear direction and a left- right direction.

The cloth mounting member 200 may be coupled to a lower portion of the handle 100. The bottom of the cloth mounting member 200 may be configured such that a cleaning cloth to wipe the floor is selectively (or detachably) fitted to the bottom. For instance, a plurality of very tiny hooks, protrusions, etc. may be formed on the bottom of the cloth mounting member 200 in order to fix the cloth. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cloth mounting member 200 may include an upper plate 210, a lower plate 220 and a sealing member 230.

The upper plate 210 may be connected with the handle 100. The upper plate 210 may form an upper portion of the cloth mounting member 200. At one side of the upper plate 210, at least one thru-hole 211 is formed through the upper plate 210. The thru-hole 211 may be formed to enclose a tank opening 310 described below. Further, the thru-hole 211 may be formed to have a smaller area than the bottom end of a head member 410 in a pump 400 described below.

The lower plate 220 may be disposed below the upper plate 210 and may be coupled to the same. Therefore, the lower plate 220 may be configured to have a size corresponding to that of the upper plate 210. Further, the lower plate 220 may accommodate a water tank 300 between the lower plate 220 and the upper plate 210 to prevent the water tank 300 from being exposed to the outside of the cloth mounting member 200, thereby protecting the water tank 300. At the bottom of the lower plate 220, a cloth attachment area 221 may be formed in order to attach a cleaning cloth such as a pad or a non-woven cloth to wipe the floor.

The sealing member 230 may be provided between the upper plate 210 and the lower plate 220 to shield a gap possibly formed between the upper plate 210 and the lower plate 220, thereby air-tightly sealing between the upper plate 210 and the lower plate 220. The sealing member 230 may be made of an elastically deformable material to advantageously retain air-tight sealing. Further, a water tank arrangement space 231 of a predetermined size may be formed inside the sealing member 230 so that the water tank 300 is disposed.

The water tank 300 may store water to be supplied to the cloth. Such a water tank 300 may be supported on the cloth mounting member 200. For instance, at least a portion of the water tank 300 may be accommodated in the cloth mounting member 200. More particularly, the water tank 300 may be hidden by the upper plate 210, the lower plate 220 and the sealing member 230, and therefore, may not be directly seen from the outside of the cloth mounting member 200.

Water stored in the water tank 300 is discharged from the bottom of the cloth mounting member 200 due to application of a pressure by the pump 400, thereby supplying water to the cloth attached to the cloth mounting member 200.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the water tank 300 may include a tank body 310, a tank opening 320 and a drainage 330.

The tank body 310 may provide a water receiving space to store a predetermined amount of water. The tank body 310 may be formed to have a size equal to or smaller than the cloth mounting member 200 in order to be accommodated in a space between the upper plate 210 and the lower plate 220. Further, the tank body 310 may be accommodated in the cloth mounting member 200 and have a water receiving space to store a predetermined amount of water therein. In order to discharge the stored water, the tank body 310 may have a drain hole 311 on a lower portion thereof. The water tank 300 may be arranged such that the drain hole 311 is disposed at a position corresponding to a water inlet 222 and the tank opening 320 is disposed at a position corresponding to the thru-hole 211.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the tank opening 320 may be provided with a pass hole to input water to the tank body 310. The tank opening 320 extends upward from the top surface of the tank body 310, and may be arranged to pass through the upper plate 210 in order to input water from the outside of the cloth mounting member 200. For instance, the tank opening 320 may be arranged to enter and pass through the thru-hole 211 formed on the upper plate 210 of the cloth mounting member 200. The pump 400 may be disposed inside the tank opening 320.

The tank body 310 may be provided with only one tank opening 320 and, if necessary, two or more or plural openings may be provided. If a plurality of tank openings 320 are provided, positions and number of the thru-holes 211 formed in the cloth mounting member 200 may be determined in response to positions and number of the tank openings 320.

The drainage 330 may prevent water stored in the tank body 310 from being optionally and rapidly discharged without application of pressure by the pump 400. In other words, water in the tank body 310 can be slowly discharged from the bottom of the lower plate 220 by the drainage 330 and supplied to the cloth. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the drainage 330 may be provided on the bottom of the tank body 310. Only one drainage 330 may be provided on the bottom of the tank body 310 and, if necessary, two or more or plural drainages may be provided. If a plurality of drainages 330 are provided, positions and number of the water inlets 222 formed on the lower plate 220 may be determined in response to positions and number of the drainages 330.

The drainage 330 may include a holder 331 and a filter member 332.

The holder 331 is provided to install the filter member 332 on the bottom of the tank body 310, wherein the holder 331 may be inserted in the drain hole 311 formed on the bottom of the tank body 310. Further, the holder 331 may be provided with a fitting hole 331a therein.

The filter member 332 may be inserted and fixed in the fitting hole 331a of the holder 331. As shown in FIG. 5, the filter member 332 may have an end protruding toward the inside of the tank body 310 and the other end extending to the water inlet 222 formed on the lower plate 220.

The filtering member 332 may filter dust or other foreign materials possibly included in water of the tank body 310. Further, the filter member 332 may firstly absorb water in the tank body 310 and then slowly discharge the water to a lower portion of the lower plate 220. As a result, the filter member 332 may prevent the cloth from being excessively wetted and allow the cloth to retain proper moisture while having a desired water content for a long time. Such a filter member 332 may be made of a porous material such as sponge.

The drainage 330 may be provided in plural. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 A, each of two drainages 330 may be provided at left and right sides, respectively, with reference to the center of the bottom of the tank body 310.

In another example, as shown in FIG. 4B, each of four drainages 330 may be provided at front and rear, and left and right sides, respectively, with reference to the center of the bottom of the tank body 310. If four drainages 330 are provided at front and rear, and left and right sides, respectively, there is an advantage in that water can be evenly supplied throughout the cloth.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the pump 400 is disposed on the top of the cloth mounting member 200 to be exposed, and may be configured to be connected with the water tank 300 and apply a predetermined level of air pressure to the water tank 300. In other words, the pump 400 may be disposed outside to be exposed to a user who works for cleaning and can press the pump as required.

The pump 400 may include a head member 410 and a coupling member 420.

The head member 410 may be made of an elastically deformable material (for example, rubber, silicone or plastic substance) in order to apply a pressure to the water tank 300. When the user presses the head member 410 with a hand or foot, the head member 410 is elastically deformed to reduce an inner space, which in turn moves air in the head member 410 toward the water tank 300 to apply a pressure to the water stored in the water tank 300 and thus discharge the water from the water tank 300 to a lower portion of the cloth mounting member 200. The pressure applied to the water tank 300 by the pump 400 depends on a force to press the head member 410 by the user, thereby adjusting an amount of discharged water.

Referring to FIG. 5, the head member 410 is formed to have a portion contacting to the tank opening 320, which has a larger diameter than the tank opening 320. Due to this configuration, when the pump 400 is coupled to the water tank 300, the tank opening 320 is covered and not seen from the outside. The head member 410 may be configured to protrude from the top of the upper plate 210 at a predetermined height, so that the user may apply a force to the head member from the outside of the cloth mounting member 200, thereby easily pumping the pump.

Further, the head member 410 may have a longitudinal cross-section in an arc shape or a hemi-circular shape to form a convex top surface. Since the head member 410 is configured to be exposed above the upper plate 210, the user may simply supply water by pressing the head member 410 with a hand or foot.

A protrusion height‘a’ of the head member 410 is formed to be 1.8 ± 0.5 cm upward from the top surface of the upper plate 210, while a diameter‘b’ of the portion contacting to the tank opening 320 in the head member 410 may be formed as 3.5 ± 1.0 cm.

Meanwhile, the coupling member 420 extends downward from the head member 410 and is inserted into the tank opening 320, wherein the coupling member may be detachably coupled to the tank opening 320 through screw-coupling with the tank opening 320. Accordingly, the pump 400 may be coupled to or separated from the tank opening 320 through screw-threads formed on an inner circumference of the tank opening 320 and the coupling member 410 by holding and rotating the head member 410.

Hereinafter, functions and effects of a mop 10 provided with the water tank having the above-described configuration will be briefly described below.

When the user begins water cleaning of a floor using the mop 10, the user presses the pump 400 protruding upward from the cloth mounting member 200 with a hand or foot. By pressing the pump 400, an internal pressure of the tank body 310 increases and water in the water tank 300 may be discharged outside the water tank 300 through an output means (that is, drainage) 330 by the increased pressure. The water discharged to the outside of the water tank 300 is supplied to the cloth.

After supplying a desired amount of water to the cloth, the user begins water cleaning while holding the handle 100 and, when water of the cloth attached to the cloth mounting member 200 is reduced during cleaning, water may be properly supplied by pressing the pump 400 again. The user may control the force to press the pump 400 based on a water content of the cloth so as to adjust an amount of water to be further supplied to the cloth. The water amount supplied to the cloth may be adjusted by the user, thereby preventing the cloth from being excessively wetted.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

Item 1 is a water-suppliable mop, including: a handle; a cloth mounting member connected to a lower portion of the handle; a water tank supported on the cloth mounting member and configured to store water therein and discharge the stored water; and a pump configured to be connected with the water tank and thus to apply a pressure to the inside of the water tank.

Item 2 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein the cloth mounting member is rotatably connected to the handle and includes a cloth attachment area formed on the bottom thereof, to which the cloth is attached.

Item 3 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein the cloth mounting member includes: an upper plate connected to the handle; a lower plate disposed below the upper plate; and a sealing member that is disposed between the upper plate and the lower plate to maintain air-tight sealing therebetween, and has a water tank fitting space in which the water tank is disposed.

Item 4 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein the water tank includes: a tank body accommodated in the cloth mounting member in which water is stored; at least one tank opening which is configured to connect the inside and outside of the tank body, and passes through an upper portion of the cloth mounting member from the top surface of the tank body and extends upward; and at least one drainage provided below the tank body to discharge the water stored in the tank body to the outside.

Item 5 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein the pump includes: a coupling member detachably inserted in the tank opening; and a head member which is connected to the top end of the coupling member, has a bottom end with a larger diameter than that of the tank opening, and is formed to protrude from the top of the cloth mounting member at a predetermined height and to be elastically deformable.

Item 6 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein the head member has a longitudinal cross-section in an arc shape or a hemi-circular shape to form a convex top surface.

Item 7 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein the head member protrudes upward at a height of 1.8 ± 0.5 cm from the top of the cloth mounting member and is formed to have the bottom end with a diameter of 3.5 ± 1.0 cm.

Item 8 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein screws are formed on an outer circumference of the coupling member and an inner circumference of the tank opening, which are screw-coupled to each other.

Item 9 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein a drain hole is formed on the bottom of the tank body to accommodate the drainage, a water inlet is formed on the bottom of the cloth mounting member to accommodate the drainage, and the drainage includes: a holder that is inserted into the drain hole, extends from the drain hole to the water inlet, and is provided with a fitting hole; and a filter member that is inserted into the fitting hole of the holder to protrude one end toward the inside of the tank body, and discharges water when a pressure is applied to the inside of the tank body.

Item 10 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein the pump is disposed on the top of the cloth mounting member to be exposed to a user during cleaning.

Item 11 is the water-suppliable mop, wherein the drainages are provided at front and rear, and left and right sides of the tank body, respectively.

As described above, the present invention has described by means of specific embodiments. However, these embodiments are introduced only for illustrative purpose, and the present invention is not particularly limited thereto and should be construed as including the widest range within the basic spirit and scope of the invention described in this specification. Those skilled in the art may implement patterns in undefined forms by combination/substitution of the embodiments described above, which are also within the scope of the present invention. Additionally, it is to be understood that those skilled in the art may easily alter or modify the described embodiments on the basis of this specification, and such alterations or modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.