U.S. patent application number 11/122229 was filed with the patent office on 2005-11-17 for disinfecting bucket.
This patent application is currently assigned to Rubbermaid Commercial Products LLC. Invention is credited to Van Landingham, Alfred Reneau JR..
Application Number | 20050252921 11/122229 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42646291 |
Filed Date | 2005-11-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050252921 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Van Landingham, Alfred Reneau
JR. |
November 17, 2005 |
Disinfecting bucket
Abstract
A mop bucket can be used to apply liquid to a stack of flat mop
pads. The mop bucket includes a container body with an opening at a
top portion thereof, a liquid storage area within the container
body, and a pad storage area within the container body and in fluid
communication with the liquid storage area. The liquid storage area
is below the pad storage area when the bucket is in an upright
position. The mop bucket also includes a lid configured to form a
substantially liquid-tight seal of the opening of the container
body.
Inventors: |
Van Landingham, Alfred Reneau
JR.; (Stephens City, VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FOLEY AND LARDNER
SUITE 500
3000 K STREET NW
WASHINGTON
DC
20007
US
|
Assignee: |
Rubbermaid Commercial Products
LLC
|
Family ID: |
42646291 |
Appl. No.: |
11/122229 |
Filed: |
May 5, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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60567794 |
May 5, 2004 |
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60637440 |
Dec 21, 2004 |
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60646986 |
Jan 27, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
220/608 ;
15/264 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 13/20 20130101;
A47L 13/51 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/608 ;
015/264 |
International
Class: |
A47L 013/14 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of applying liquid to a stack of flat mop pads, the
method comprising the steps of: providing a bucket having a
container body, a lid for the container body, a liquid storage area
within the container body, and a pad storage area within the
container body, wherein the liquid storage area and the pad storage
area are in fluid communication, and the liquid storage area is
below the pad storage area when the bucket is in an upright
position; pouring liquid into at least the liquid storage area;
placing a stack of flat mop pads in the pad storage area; attaching
the lid to the container body containing the liquid and stack of
pads to seal the container body; at least partially inverting the
bucket to distribute the liquid into the pad storage area for
absorption by the stack of flat mop pads; and removing the lid from
the container body.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid is disinfectant.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
attaching a mop frame to a first flat mop pad in the stack of flat
mop pads; and mopping a floor.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of: removing
the first flat mop pad from the mop frame; attaching the mop frame
to a second flat mop pad in the stack of flat mop pads; and mopping
a floor.
5. A mop bucket for applying liquid to a stack of flat mop pads,
the mop bucket comprising: a container body with an opening at a
top portion thereof; a liquid storage area within the container
body; a pad storage area within the container body and in fluid
communication with the liquid storage area, wherein the liquid
storage area is below the pad storage area when the bucket is in an
upright position; and a lid configured to form a substantially
liquid-tight seal of the opening of the container body.
6. The mop bucket of claim 5, where in the liquid is
disinfectant.
7. The mop bucket of claim 5, wherein the container body includes a
bottom wall, and the liquid storage area includes a plurality of
upward projections from the bottom wall.
8. The mop bucket of claim 7, wherein the heights of the upward
projections are configured to be above the height of the
liquid.
9. The mop bucket of claim 5, wherein the container body includes a
bottom wall and graduated projections that extend above the bottom
wall and that signify liquid fill levels.
10. The mop bucket of claim 5, further comprising a connecting
mechanism for affixing the lid to the container body.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application Nos. 60/567,794 (filed May 5, 2004), 60/637,440 (filed
Dec. 21, 2004), and 60/646,986 (filed Jan. 27, 2005), which are
incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Flat mop pads are useful in a variety of applications. They
can be used, for example, to disinfect the floors of patient rooms
in hospitals. In particular, disinfecting liquid is applied to a
flat mop pad, and the flat mop pad is then used to spread the
disinfecting liquid over the floor in a patient's room.
[0003] It is desirable to reduce the risk of cross-contamination by
using a different pad in each patient's room. Thus, it is
advantageous to have a consolidated supply of flat mop pads that
contain disinfecting liquid. The user can select a flat mop pad
from the supply and use it to disinfect a patient's room, and then
select a new flat mop pad from the supply when he or she moves to a
new room.
[0004] One technique for providing a supply of flat mop pads is to
apply disinfecting liquid to a stack of flat mop pads. This can be
done by pouring disinfecting liquid in a bucket, placing a stack of
flat mop pads in the bucket, attaching a lid to the bucket to seal
its opening, and inverting the bucket to cause the disinfecting
liquid to enter the stack of flat mop pads. After the lid is
removed, the bucket contains a stack of flat mop pads that are
impregnated with disinfecting liquid and are ready for use.
[0005] This technique is disadvantageous because some of the flat
mop pads become oversaturated with disinfecting liquid. Not all of
the disinfecting liquid is absorbed by the flat mop pads. Thus,
after the bucket is returned to its upright position, a pool of
disinfecting liquid will form at the bottom of the bucket. The flat
mop pads at the bottom of the stack will sit in this pool and
become oversaturated. This is problematic because disinfecting
buckets often do not include a wringer for wringing out excess
disinfecting liquid. When the user removes the oversaturated flat
mop pads, the disinfecting liquid will drip onto the floor.
SUMMARY
[0006] An aspect of the present invention relates to a mop bucket
for applying liquid to a stack of flat mop pads. The mop bucket
includes a container body with an opening at a top portion thereof,
a liquid storage area within the container body, and a pad storage
area within the container body and in fluid communication with the
liquid storage area. The liquid storage area is below the pad
storage area when the bucket is in an upright position. The mop
bucket also includes a lid configured to form a substantially
liquid-tight seal of the opening of the container body.
[0007] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method
of applying liquid to a stack of flat mop pads. The method includes
the step of providing a bucket having a container body, a lid for
the container body, a liquid storage area within the container
body, and a pad storage area within the container body. The liquid
storage area and the pad storage area are in fluid communication,
and the liquid storage area is below the pad storage area when the
bucket is in an upright position. The method further includes the
steps of pouring liquid into at least the liquid storage area,
placing a stack of flat mop pads in the pad storage area, attaching
the lid to the container body containing the liquid and stack of
pads to seal the container body, at least partially inverting the
bucket to distribute the liquid into the pad storage area for
absorption by the stack of flat mop pads, and removing the lid from
the container body.
[0008] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general
description and the following detailed description are merely
exemplary of the invention, and are intended to provide an overview
or framework for understanding the nature and character of the
invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included
to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are
incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The
drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention, and
together with the description serve to explain the principles and
operation of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the interior of a mop bucket
according to the present invention, without a lid;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exterior of the mop
bucket of FIG. 1, with a lid;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a top view of the mop bucket of FIG. 1 without a
lid;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the mop bucket of
FIG. 1, without a lid and with flat mop pads within the mop
bucket;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the mop bucket of
FIG. 1, with a lid, with flat mop pads within the mop bucket, and
in a partially inverted position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Presently preferred embodiments of the invention are
illustrated in the drawings. An effort has been made to use the
same or like reference numbers throughout the drawings to refer to
the same or like parts.
[0015] A first embodiment of a mop bucket according to the present
invention is shown in FIGS. 1-5. The mop bucket 10 is configured to
apply liquid, preferably disinfectant, to a stack of flat mop pads
70. The phrase flat mop pads is used herein to refer to mop pads
that are substantially flat, though minor deviations from flat are
to be expected and are intended to be within the scope of this
phrase. The mop bucket 10 preferably has a container body 20, a pad
storage area 30, a liquid storage area 40, and a lid 50.
[0016] The container body 20 is configured to retain liquid. The
container body 20 preferably includes a sidewall 21. The container
body 20 preferably also includes a bottom wall 22. Feet 23 can
extend downward from the bottom wall 22 to provide a base for
contacting a surface (not shown) upon which the mop bucket 10 will
rest. An opening 24 is provided at a top portion of the container
body 20 to allow access to its interior. A handle 25 can be
provided on the container body 20 to facilitate carrying of the mop
bucket 10.
[0017] The pad storage area 30 is disposed within the container
body 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the flat mop pads 70 can be stored in
the pad storage area 30.
[0018] The liquid storage area 40 also is disposed within the
container body 20. The liquid storage area 40 is below the pad
storage area 30 when the mop bucket 10 is in an upright position.
Preferably the liquid storage area 40 is configured to maintain the
liquid 80 separate from the pad storage area 30 when the mop bucket
10 is in an upright position. The pad storage area 30 and the
liquid storage area 40 are in fluid communication, however, so that
liquid from the liquid storage area 40 can be transferred to the
pad storage area 30 when the container body 20 is at least
partially inverted.
[0019] The liquid storage area 40 can include a plurality of upward
projections 41 from the bottom wall 22. The upward projections 41
each preferably have a relatively large radii on their upper
surface and are spaced from one another in such a manner as to
facilitate cleaning.
[0020] The height of the tops of the upward projections 41 is
configured to be above the intended height of the liquid 80 that
will be provided in the bucket 10. The upward projections 41
preferably have a height that is less than approximately one inch
and more preferably is approximately 0.900 inches. As shown in FIG.
4, the projections 41 inhibit the liquid 80 in the liquid storage
area 40 from contacting the flat mop pads 70 in the pad storage
area 30 when the mop bucket 10 is in the upright position. More
specifically, the upward projections 41 maintain the stack of flat
mop pads 70 at a height above the liquid in the liquid storage area
40.
[0021] The upward projections 41 can be in the form of ribs molded
into the bottom wall 22. This makes the projections 41 an integral
component of the container body 20 so that they will not be
detached and lost. The projections 41, however, could be provided
in the form of a separate molded plastic component (not shown) that
is placed in the bottom of the container body 20.
[0022] The lid 50 (see FIGS. 2 and 5) is configured to form a
substantially liquid-tight seal of the opening 24 at the top
portion of the container body 20. A connecting mechanism 60 can be
provided to affix the lid 50 to the container body 20. The
connecting mechanism 60 can include openings 61 in the lid 50 and
projections 62 from the container body 20. The projections 62 fit
into the openings 61 to hold the lid 50 on the container body
20.
[0023] The mop bucket 10 can also include graduated projections 65
that extend above the bottom wall 22 and signify liquid fill
levels. The projections 65 are arranged at a plurality of heights,
which each indicate an amount of liquid 80 within the container
body 20.
[0024] The present invention can be used to apply liquid 80 to a
stack of flat mop pads 70 in an advantageous manner. Liquid 80 can
be poured into the mop bucket 10 described above. The graduated
projections 65 can be used to determine when the appropriate amount
of liquid 80 has been provided. A stack of flat mop pads 70 can
then be placed in the pad storage area 30 (see FIG. 4). The lid 50
is then attached to the container body 20 via the connecting
mechanism 60. The mop bucket 10 is at least partially inverted (see
FIG. 5) to distribute the liquid 80 into the pad storage area 30
for absorption by the stack of flat mop pads 70. Preferably the
bucket 10 is fully inverted. The bucket 10 is then returned to an
upright position, and liquid 80 that was not absorbed by the flat
mop pads 70 will begin to drain downward due to gravity into the
liquid storage area 40. The upward projections 41 maintain the
stack of flat mop pads 70 at a height above the liquid 80 in the
liquid storage area 40 so that, as liquid 80 drains to the bottom
of the bucket 10, the lower pads 70 do not sit in a pool of liquid
and become oversaturated. The lid 50 is then removed from the
container body 20, and a mop frame (not shown) is attached to a
first or topmost flat mop pad 70 in the stack of flat mop pads 70.
After mopping the floor, the first flat mop pad can be removed from
the mop frame and a second flat mop pad in the stack of flat mop
pads can be attached to the mop frame for mopping in a different
location.
[0025] Preferably a mop bucket 10 can be configured to permit
saturation of all the flat mop pads 70 pads in the stack with a
substantially equal amount of liquid. A mop bucket 10 thus can be
configured that will not oversaturate the lowermost pads.
[0026] The disinfecting bucket 10 of the present invention can be
used with many flat mop pads and flat mop pad supports. Preferably,
it is used with a flat mop pad disclosed in a patent application
that is to be concurrently filed by Judy Cline entitled "Color
Coded Mop Pads and Method of Color Coding Same" (Ser. No. ______;
Attorney Docket Number 086554-1178), the entire contents of which
is hereby incorporated by reference. Preferably, the disinfecting
bucket 10 is used with the flat mop pad support disclosed in a
patent application that is to be concurrently filed by the present
inventor entitled "Mop Having Ergonomic Handle and Joint" (Ser. No.
______; Attorney Docket Number 086554-1179), the entire contents of
which is hereby incorporated by reference.
[0027] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the present invention
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus,
it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications
and variations of this invention provided they come within the
scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *