U.S. patent application number 11/678816 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-13 for system for managing bucket-less wiping and mopping for controlled environments.
This patent application is currently assigned to ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, INC.. Invention is credited to Karen F. Bonnell, Louisa K. Johnson.
Application Number | 20070210130 11/678816 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38469049 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070210130 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bonnell; Karen F. ; et
al. |
September 13, 2007 |
SYSTEM FOR MANAGING BUCKET-LESS WIPING AND MOPPING FOR CONTROLLED
ENVIRONMENTS
Abstract
A system for bucket-less wiping and mopping for controlled
environments, includes a belt formed from a flexible, web-formed
material having an adjustable buckle thereon to secure the belt
around a user's waist. The belt includes at least one ring threaded
onto the belt for securing a cleaning tool such as a dispensing
bottle thereto. The system includes a pair or disposable bags
mounted to the belt for holding fresh and used cleaning consumable
items, respectively.
Inventors: |
Bonnell; Karen F.;
(Montvale, NJ) ; Johnson; Louisa K.; (Encinitas,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC (ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS)
2 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1300
CHICAGO
IL
60602
US
|
Assignee: |
ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, INC.
Glenview
IL
|
Family ID: |
38469049 |
Appl. No.: |
11/678816 |
Filed: |
February 26, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60779803 |
Mar 7, 2006 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
224/673 ;
224/677; 224/682 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45F 5/00 20130101; A45F
5/021 20130101; A45F 2200/0575 20130101; A45F 2003/144 20130101;
A45C 1/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
224/673 ;
224/677; 224/682 |
International
Class: |
A45C 1/04 20060101
A45C001/04; A45F 3/00 20060101 A45F003/00; F42B 39/02 20060101
F42B039/02 |
Claims
1. A system for bucket-less wiping and mopping for controlled
environments, comprising: a belt formed from a flexible material,
the belt having a buckle thereon; at least one ring threaded onto
the belt for securing a cleaning tool thereto; and at least one bag
mounted to the belt for holding one or more cleaning consumable
items.
2. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the buckle is a
size-adjusting buckle.
3. The system in accordance with claim 1 including a liquid
dispensing bottle having a portion to hang the bottle from the at
least one ring.
4. The system in accordance with claim 3 wherein the portion to
hang the bottle is a trigger for dispensing liquid from the
bottle.
5. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bag includes
at least to cooperating slits and wherein the belt is threaded
through the slits to secure the bag to the belt.
6. The system in accordance with claim 5 including two bags mounted
to the belt.
7. The system in accordance with claim 1 including two rings
threaded onto the belt.
8. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the belt is formed
from polypropylene, polyester or nylon.
9. The system in accordance with claim 8 wherein the belt is formed
from a web material.
10. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the belt and the
buckle are formed from a material that is sterilized using steam,
ethylene oxide or dry heat.
11. A cleaning tool and implement management system, comprising: a
web belt having a size adjustable, releasable buckle thereon; a
pair of disposable bags mounted to the belt, one of the bags being
for storing fresh consumables and the other bag being for storing
used consumables, the bags being hung from the belt without
additional hardware; at least one rigid ring threaded onto the
belt; and a cleaning implement secured to the ring.
12. The system in accordance with claim 11 wherein the web belt is
formed from polypropylene, polyester or nylon.
13. The system in accordance with claim 11 wherein the cleaning
implement is a liquid dispensing bottle having a trigger, and
wherein the bottle is hung from the ring by the trigger.
14. The system in accordance with claim 11 wherein the bags have
vertical slits in an upper end thereof and wherein the bags are
mounted to the belt by threading the belt through the slits, and
wherein the bags are removable from and replaceable on the
belt.
15. The system in accordance with claim 11 wherein the size
adjustable buckle is formed from acetal, polypropylene or
nylon.
16. The system in accordance with claim 11 wherein the belt and the
buckle are formed from a material that is sterilized using steam,
ethylene oxide or dry heat.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is directed to a system for managing
bucket-less wiping and mopping for controlled environments. More
particularly, the present invention pertains to a belt that is used
to provide ready access for retrieving and storing cleaning
implements and consumables for use in controlled environments.
[0002] Many of today's high technology and medical-related
processes and functions are required to be carried out in
controlled environments. For example, the manufacture and
fabrication of precision instrument or electronics parts are be
carried out in highly controlled environments or cleanrooms.
Likewise, the production of pharmaceuticals or manufacture of
medical instruments often require controlled environments as
well.
[0003] In order to maintain the levels of cleanliness required,
conventional methods for cleaning industrial and manufacturing
facilities must be re-thought. That is, typical industrial and
manufacturing facility cleaning devices and methods simply are not
suited for use in such controlled environments.
[0004] For example, carts that are used to carry the cleaning
devices, and the cleaning devices themselves, such as mops and
buckets, are not the most efficient and practical cleaning devices
to use. In fact, carts, buckets and mops can at times, create more
contamination than they are able to clean.
[0005] As such, dry wipes, low-fluid wipes and the like have become
more of the standard for cleaning many of these environments.
However, even these cleaning tools can cause more mess and
contamination if they cannot be properly contained and managed.
[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for a system to manage
controlled environment cleaning. Desirably, such a system reduces
the amount of materials needed to be brought into the controlled
environment. More desirably, such a system provides for segregating
fresh and used cleaning implements and consumables.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A system for bucket-less wiping and mopping is ideally
suited for use in controlled environments, and especially confined
spaces where floor space is limited. The system includes a belt
formed from a flexible material, such as a polypropylene, polyester
or nylon web. The belt has buckle thereon to permit adjusting the
size of the belt to fit the user. A present buckle is a side
release formed from an acetal, polypropylene or nylon material.
[0008] The belt includes at least one and preferably two (or more)
rings threaded onto the belt for securing a cleaning tool thereto.
A pair of disposable bags are mounted to the belt for holding one
or more cleaning consumable items such as wipers, mop heads and the
like. The bags are intended to store fresh and used items in a
segregated manner.
[0009] A liquid dispensing bottle is included. The bottle has a
portion to hang the bottle from one of the rings. The bottle
trigger for dispensing liquid can be used as the belt hanger.
[0010] To hang the bags, the bags include cooperating slits at an
upper end such that the belt is threaded through the slits to
secure the bags to the belt. The bags may also be hung or suspended
by rings or other attachments.
[0011] These and other features and advantages of the present
invention will be apparent from the following detailed description,
in conjunction with the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The benefits and advantages of the present invention will
become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the
relevant art after reviewing the following detailed description and
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0013] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system for managing
bucket-less wiping and mopping for controlled environments;
[0014] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a typical liquid dispensing
bottle;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a top view of an exemplary buckle for use with the
belt system; and
[0016] FIG. 4 is a threading illustration for the buckle of FIG.
3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in
various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter
be described a presently preferred embodiment with the
understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an
exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the
invention to the specific embodiment illustrated.
[0018] It should be further understood that the title of this
section of this specification, namely, "Detailed Description Of The
Invention", relates to a requirement of the United States Patent
Office, and does not imply, nor should be inferred to limit the
subject matter disclosed herein.
[0019] Referring to the figures and in particular to FIG. 1 there
is shown a system 10 for managing bucket-less mopping and wiping
for controlled environments. The system 10 centers around a belt 12
that includes various appurtenances and secures or holds the
cleaning tools needed as well as a segregated supply of fresh F and
used U cleaning items, such as consumables.
[0020] The belt 12 is formed from a flexible material, preferably a
webbed material such as polypropylene, polyester or nylon. For
comfort, as well as integrity, the belt 12 is about 1 inch wide and
about 0.050'' thick. The material can be a single ply or multiple
ply material. To secure the belt 12 around the user's waist, the
belt 12 includes a buckle 14, such as a side release buckle
commercially available from ITW Nexus of Des Plaines, Ill. A
preferred buckle 14 is formed from an acetal, polypropylene or
nylon material and is the same width (1 inch) as the web. The
buckle 14 is two-piece buckle of the size adjustable type and
includes, on a first part 14a, a single loop 15 through which the
belt 12 is threaded and sewn or sealed to itself (as seen at 16),
and a second part 14b that includes a plurality of loop bars 18
through which the adjustable portion of the belt 12 is threaded (as
seen in FIG. 4). Appropriate belt 12 and buckle 14 materials are
capable of being cleaned and sterilized using steam, ethylene oxide
(ETO), dry heat, or like cleaning materials and methods.
[0021] To facilitate maintaining segregation of the fresh or clean
F and used or dirty U materials, the belt 12 includes at least two
disposable bags 24. The bags 24 can be, for example, plastic bags
that include slits or openings 28 through which the belt 12 can be
threaded. The slits 28 are in an upper portion 30 of the bag 24,
above the contents-retaining or storage areas 32. This retains the
bags 24 attached to the belt 14 without the need for additional
materials such as clips or the like. Extra bags 24 can also be
included (e.g., in an additional bag mounted to the belt 12).
[0022] The belt 12 also includes at least one and preferably two
(or perhaps more) D-rings or O-rings 34 through which the belt 12
is threaded or inserted. The rings 34 are permitted to slide along
the belt 12 and are preferably not secured in place on the belt 12.
This permits the user to configure or arrange the system 10 in a
most preferred manner.
[0023] In a present system 10, a dispensing bottle 36, such as a
liquid spray bottle is attached to the belt ring 34 for easy
access. The bottle 36 can be of the type that includes a trigger
handle 38. The rings 34 permit the bottle trigger 38 to be inserted
into the ring 34 to thus hang or hold the bottle 36. Other cleaning
implements and/or tools can be hung from the rings 34 as well. The
rings 34 are also preferably formed from a suitable,
cleanable/sterilizable material.
[0024] It is envisioned that fresh or clean mop covers or wipes F
will be held in one of the bags 24a and after use, the used or
dirty materials U will be contained in the other bag 24b. In this
manner, cleaning can be carried out without placing anything down
on a surface, for example a counter top, to by chance become
contaminated or to spread contamination. A mop or other implement
can also be carried on the belt (by inserting a hook or handle, not
shown, into one of the rings 34), in such a manner as to not
contact or rest on the floor unless for cleaning purposes, as
necessary.
[0025] It will be appreciated that the present system 10 is
specifically designed for use in controlled environments, and more
specifically, in cleanrooms. Cleanroom maintenance requires
cleaning all of the room's surfaces on a periodic basis (each
shift, daily, weekly, monthly, and the like). In the past, floor
surfaces have been cleaned with string mops, for example, using
bucket and wringers, or in certain cases, bucket-less flat mop
systems. Other surfaces such as wall, ceilings, windows, counters,
and even tools and the like, must also be cleaned on a regular
basis. Flat, bucket-less mop systems are ideal for these cleaning
tasks.
[0026] However, bucket-less systems often require frequent trips to
a central location to obtain cleaning solution, and to dispose of
soiled mop covers and replace the covers with fresh covers.
Multiple trips can result in lower productivity and can result in
the spread of contamination. To reduce the frequency of trips,
carts are often used. However, as will be appreciated, carts bring
their own problems, such as space requirements, the spread of
contaminants and the general issues that can arise with an
additional piece of cleaning equipment. While this may not be
problematic in larger open areas, in smaller or confined areas, a
cart can be more of a problem than a solution. Moreover, even in
larger, open areas, the bucket system moves throughout the area and
can spread contamination. In addition, many areas, open and
confined, contain fixed equipment around which the buckets cannot
be easily maneuvered.
[0027] The present system 10 resolves many of these issues. In
fact, the present system 10 is the only known system that is
secured to a user's body for use in cleanrooms. The system 10
requires less floor space (and in fact no floor space) compared to
known systems which use carts and buckets. Moreover, the present
system 10 reduces contamination, eliminates the need for a bucket
or cart (or ancillary equipment) in a cleanroom environment, and
saves time and cleanroom space. In addition, it will be appreciated
that buckets can be difficult to sterilize, whereas the present
system 10 is easily cleanroom laundered and sterilized.
Furthermore, the present system 10 uses disposable components F, U,
24 (the web belt 12 can be cleaned/laundered, recycled, or disposed
of), and can be handily packaged for cleanroom use. It will also be
appreciated that the system 10 and its components can be stored in
the cleanroom, requiring minimal shelf space or, if hung, minimal
wall space (and no shelf space).
[0028] All patents referred to herein, are hereby incorporated
herein by reference, whether or not specifically done so within the
text of this disclosure.
[0029] In the present disclosure, the words "a" or "an" are to be
taken to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any
reference to plural items shall, where appropriate, include the
singular.
[0030] From the foregoing it will be observed that numerous
modifications and variations can be effectuated without departing
from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present
invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect
to the specific embodiments illustrated is intended or should be
inferred. The disclosure is intended to cover by the appended
claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the
claims.
* * * * *