U.S. patent application number 11/794399 was filed with the patent office on 2007-12-20 for device for removing the moisture from a wet mop.
This patent application is currently assigned to BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate GmbH. Invention is credited to Joachim Damrath, Markus Spielmannleitner, Gerhard Wetzl.
Application Number | 20070289084 11/794399 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35726668 |
Filed Date | 2007-12-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070289084 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Damrath; Joachim ; et
al. |
December 20, 2007 |
Device for Removing the Moisture from a Wet Mop
Abstract
A device for wringing out a mop with a flat holder on the
underside of which a mop cover is disposed. The device includes a
wringing device, embodied as a squeezing device with a press roller
and a counter-surface. The press roller and the counter-surface
form a through gap between them for the holder and the mop cover
and are arranged and aligned such as to be able to press the holder
together with the mop cover between them to wring out the mop
cover. The press roller and the counter-surface may be relatively
adjusted by a single adjuster either manually or automatically and
set to defined selectable separation values.
Inventors: |
Damrath; Joachim;
(Bachhagel, DE) ; Spielmannleitner; Markus;
(Ellwangen, DE) ; Wetzl; Gerhard; (Sontheim,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LERNER GREENBERG STEMER LLP
P O BOX 2480
HOLLYWOOD
FL
33022-2480
US
|
Assignee: |
BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate
GmbH
|
Family ID: |
35726668 |
Appl. No.: |
11/794399 |
Filed: |
November 25, 2005 |
PCT Filed: |
November 25, 2005 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP05/56214 |
371 Date: |
July 16, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/262 ;
15/260 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 13/60 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/262 ;
015/260 |
International
Class: |
A47L 13/60 20060101
A47L013/60 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 27, 2004 |
DE |
10 2004 062 750.9 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A device for removing moisture from a wet mop, the mop
including a substantially flat holder and a mop cover disposed on
an underside of the flat holder, the device comprising: a squeezing
wringer including a squeezing drum and a counter-surface, said
squeezing drum and said counter-surface forming a through gap
therebetween for said holder and said mop cover and configured to
press the holder with the mop cover together between said squeezing
drum and said counter-surface to remove moisture from said mop
cover; and a single adjusting element connected to adjust a spacing
distance between said squeezing drum and said counter-surface and
configured to enable manual adjustment of said squeezing drum and
said counter-surface relative to one another and to permanently set
a selected spacing distance in a defined manner.
22. The device according to claim 21, which comprises a drive
configured to move the holder and the mop cover through said
squeezing wringer.
23. The device according to claim 21, wherein said squeezing drum
is configured to be in contact with the mop cover and to extend
over an entire width of the mop cover, and said counter-surface is
formed with two pressure elements disposed substantially coaxially
in relation to one another and forming a gap axially
therebetween.
24. The device according to claim 21, wherein said squeezing drum
and said counter-surface are formed by rollers, and said rollers
are rotatably supported on bearing shafts by way of plain bearings
or ball bearings.
25. The device according to claim 22, wherein said drive is a
rotary drive acting on at least one of said squeezing drum and said
counter-surface.
26. The device according to claim 21, wherein at least one of said
squeezing drum and said counter-surface are movably disposed for
movement toward a spring element from a given mutual distance
position to increase said through gap.
27. The device according to claim 21, wherein said squeezing drum
is mounted on a bearing shaft, and said bearing shaft is guided for
displacement towards said counter-surface and eccentrically mounted
in an eccentric that is configured to be rotated and to be fixed
for forming a disk cam, and said eccentric adjoins a fixed bearing
block.
28. The device according to claim 27, wherein said bearing shaft is
guided for displacement in longitudinal holes by bearing plates
disposed respectively at ends thereof.
29. The device according to claim 27, wherein said bearing shaft is
supported in displaceably guided slotted blocks.
30. The device according to claim 27, which comprises a knob
non-rotatably connected to said eccentric, and mounted coaxially
with said bearing shaft of said squeezing drum, for adjusting a
width of said through gap.
31. The device according to claim 21, wherein said squeezing drum
is disposed on an articulated pressure lever, and an adjusting
element with a knob is connected to adjust a position of said
pressure lever.
32. The device according to claim 31, wherein said adjusting
element is a threaded rod, at least in a sub-area thereof, guided
in a threaded hole of a fixed bearing element.
33. The device according to claim 31, wherein said pressure lever
is a twin-arm lever having a first end connected to said squeezing
drum and a second end with said adjusting element articulated
thereon.
34. The device according to claim 21, which comprises an
electromechanical actuator disposed to move said squeezing drum for
adjusting said through gap.
35. The device according to claim 34, wherein said
electromechanical actuator is driven by an electric motor or an
electromagnet.
36. The device according to claim 34, wherein said
electromechanical actuator is a memory metal with a reset
spring.
37. The device according to claim 34, which further comprises a
force sensor for determining a pressure force of said squeezing
drum, said force sensor providing a measured value for display on a
display unit and/or for activating said electromechanical
actuator.
38. The device according to claim 37, wherein said force sensor is
a strain gage disposed on said spring element or on said lever.
39. The device according to claim 37, wherein said force sensor is
a piezoelectric element disposed on a bearing of said squeezing
drum or on said counter-surface.
40. The device according to claim 34, which comprises a memory for
storing and retrieving preferred distance values.
41. The device according to claim 21, which comprises a sensor for
determining a residual moisture in the mop cover.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a device for removing the
moisture from a wet mop, with a flat holder, on the underside of
which a mop cover is disposed, with a moisture removal device,
configured as a squeezing device, having a squeezing drum and a
counter-surface, the squeezing drum and counter-surface forming a
through gap between them for the holder and mop cover and being set
up and disposed in such a manner that they can press the holder
together with the mop cover together between them to remove the
moisture from the mop cover.
[0002] A wide press for removing the water from a wet mop cover
stretched on a holding plate is known from DE 39 13 698 A1. There
the pressing drum, which is connected to a frame, and two pressure
rollers disposed at a distance above form a spatially fixed
squeezing channel. In order to be able to remove the water from
mops of differing dimensions, provision is made to change the
position of the pressure rollers correspondingly, for which purpose
the securing means of the pressure rollers are configured as
detachable. However this generally requires the use of a tool and
is also so complex that an adjustment only seems justified when the
mop is changed.
[0003] In contrast, in the case of the device known from EP 0 609
187 A1 the respective pressure drum presses the wet mop against the
squeezing drum by way of a spring-loaded lever in each instance.
This means that it is easier to adjust the squeezing force and
therefore the required residual moisture in the wet mop; it is
however disadvantageous that two separate lever devices are
required for this purpose, which is not only more complex
technically but also requires separate adjustment to a respectively
identical degree at both levers.
[0004] The object of the invention is to improve a device of the
type referred to in the introduction, such that the degree of
moisture removal from the wet mop can be adjusted in an easily
reproducible manner.
[0005] According to the invention this object is achieved in that
the squeezing drum and/or the counter-surface can be adjusted in
relation to each other manually or in a driven manner by way of a
single adjusting element and can be set permanently in a defined
manner to selectable distance values.
[0006] The advantage achieved with the invention is essentially
that selectable moisture removal values can be predetermined in a
simple and reproducible manner, it also being possible to scale the
adjusting element correspondingly so that it can also be
implemented when using wet mops of differing thicknesses.
[0007] To move the holder and mop cover through the moisture
removal facility, in a preferred embodiment of the invention a
drive can be provided, which is able to act on the squeezing drum
and/or the counter-surface or even to operate independently.
[0008] Provision is also made for the squeezing drum to be set up
to be in contact with the mop cover and to extend over the entire
width of the mop cover and for the counter-surface to consist of
two pressure elements oriented axially in relation to each other,
which form a gap axially between them. This allows even wet mops,
which have a handle attached to the holder, to be passed through
the device, the handle passing through the gap formed by the two
pressure elements.
[0009] Provision is also made within the scope of the invention for
the squeezing drum and the counter-surface to be formed by rollers,
which are supported in a rotatable manner on bearing shafts by
means of plain or ball bearings. It is then also possible for the
drive to be configured as a rotary drive acting on the squeezing
drum and/or the counter-surface, with the result that additional
drive means are not required.
[0010] To prevent the occurrence of greater forces as the wet mop
passes through the moisture removal facility, if for example coarse
elements were to adhere to the mop cover, forming a projecting
bulge, the squeezing drum and/or the counter-surface can be moved
toward a spring element from their set mutual distance position to
increase the through gap.
[0011] In a first advantageous refinement of the invention
provision is made for the bearing shaft of the squeezing drum to be
guided so that it can be displaced toward the counter-surface and
to be disposed eccentrically in an eccentric that is configured
such that it can be rotated and fixed, as a disk cam, and is in
contact with a fixed bearing block. Rotating the eccentric causes
the bearing shaft to be moved in its guide toward or away from the
counter-surface, meaning that the mutual distance position can be
influenced simply by rotating the eccentric. To this end the
bearing shaft can be guided in such a manner that it can be
displaced in longitudinal holes by bearing plates disposed
respectively at the ends. In an alternative refinement the bearing
shaft can however also be supported in slotted blocks that can be
guided in a displaceable manner.
[0012] In order to be able to set the distance between the
squeezing drum and the counter-surface in a simple manner, a knob
is connected to the eccentric in a rotation-proof manner, coaxially
in relation to the bearing shaft of the squeezing drum, to adjust
the width of the through gap. This knob can be provided with a
corresponding inscription or scaling, to allow simple and
reproducible setting of the degree of moisture removal.
[0013] In a second embodiment of the invention the squeezing drum
is disposed on a pressure lever supported in an articulated manner,
the position of said pressure lever being able to be adjusted by
way of an adjusting element provided with a knob. Here too the knob
can be provided with a comparable scaling.
[0014] The adjusting element here is advantageously configured at
least in a sub-area as a threaded rod and is guided in a threaded
hole of a bearing element fixed to the device.
[0015] The pressure lever is expediently configured as a twin-arm
lever, to one end of which the squeezing drum is connected and to
the other end of which the adjusting element is connected in an
articulated manner.
[0016] In contrast in a third advantageous refinement of the
invention the squeezing drum can be moved by way of an
electromechanical actuator to adjust the through gap. This opens up
further possibilities, in particular that of a fully automatic
adjustment, for example even to mops of differing thicknesses, by
means of appropriate measures.
[0017] First it is recommended that the electromechanical actuator
be driven by an electric motor or electromagnet given the
electrical operating mode provided for in any case in the device or
that it be configured as a memory metal with a reset spring. In the
case of an electromagnetic drive it may be necessary in some
circumstances to provide appropriate ratchets to fix the
electromagnetically selected setting.
[0018] A force sensor can also advantageously be provided to
determine the pressure force of the squeezing drum, the measured
value of which can be displayed on a display unit. Additionally or
alternatively it is also possible for this measured value to serve
directly to activate the electromechanical actuator. It is also
possible in this process to work out the degree of moisture from
the determined force by way of an appropriate conversion, so that
it is ultimately possible in this manner to regulate to fixed
values of the degree of moisture.
[0019] The force sensor can for example be formed by a strain gage
disposed on the spring element or lever.
[0020] It is however also possible for the force sensor to be
formed by a piezoelectric element disposed on the bearing of the
squeezing drum or counter-surface.
[0021] In a further development of the invention the device can
also have a memory element, which is provided to store and call up
preferred distance values. Tables can also be stored in this
memory, which allow an assignment of measured pressure force to
required residual moisture.
[0022] Finally it is also possible to provide a sensor directly for
determining the residual moisture of the mop cover. This can be
done using standard moisture sensors; however other measuring
methods are also conceivable, such as a conductivity measurement
over the length of the mop cover.
[0023] The invention is described in more detail below based on an
exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing, in which:
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a device for removing
moisture from a wet mop together with a wet mop for use with the
device as an exemplary embodiment,
[0025] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged partial view of the device
according to FIG. 1 viewed from the front, together with the wet
mop,
[0026] FIG. 3 shows a side view of the device according to FIG. 1
during operation of the device to moisten and remove moisture from
the wet mop,
[0027] FIG. 4 shows a schematic detailed diagram of the moisture
removal facility, viewed from the side in sub-figure a) and in
cross-section in sub-figure b) and
[0028] FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment in a diagram
corresponding to FIG. 4a.
[0029] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment
of a manually operated device 104 for moistening a wet mop 101. The
wet mop 101 has a holder 102 attached to a handle 118 to hold a mop
cover 103. The mop cover 103 is flexible and absorbent, so that it
can be moistened to clean in particular floors using a cleaning
fluid.
[0030] For moistening purposes the wet mop 101 is guided through
the device 104 in the arrow direction by means of a guide 113,
which has individual guide elements in the form of horizontally
disposed plates. The guide 113 hereby guides the holder 102 in a
horizontal position along a horizontal movement path above a nozzle
112. The nozzle 112 is connected by way of a fluid line 11 to a
pump 108, which is disposed below on the base of a container 105,
which forms the basis of the device 104. The container 105 contains
a cleaning fluid 106, which can be taken in by the pump 108 by way
of an input filter 107 and pumped through the line 11 to the nozzle
112. The fluid 106 can be sprayed through the nozzle 112 from below
toward the mop cover 103 of the wet mop 101.
[0031] A sensor 114, for example in the form of a switch, is
provided in the guide 113, to detect the presence of the holder 102
in the guide 113. As soon as the holder 102 is inserted into the
guide 113 and this is detected by the sensor 114, a controller (not
shown) activates the pump 108, so that the fluid 106 is sprayed
upward through the nozzle 112. At the same time a motor-driven
drive roller 110 is activated, which is disposed below the movement
path. Two counter-rollers 109 are disposed on the side of the
movement path opposite the drive roller 110, said counter-rollers
109 being disposed coaxially in relation to each other and being
able to be rotated about an axis of rotation, which is parallel to
the axis of rotation of the drive roller 110. The holder 102 can
thus be drawn through between the drive roller 110 and the
counter-rollers 109 together with the mop cover 103.
[0032] The distance between the drive roller 110 and the
counter-rollers 109 is dimensioned such that the holder 102 with
the mop cover 103 is gripped frictionally by the rollers 109, 110,
so that it can be detected and driven.
[0033] The drive roller 110 extends over the entire width of the
mop cover 103 perpendicular to the drive direction, so that it is
in contact with the bottom of the mop cover 103 over its entire
width. The two counter-rollers 109 are disposed respectively so
that they are disposed over the edges of the holder 102 and the mop
cover 103 in an extension of the width of the holder 102, leaving
an intermediate space between them. The intermediate space between
the rollers 109 is used for the passage of the handle 118 of the
wet mop.
[0034] FIG. 2 shows the upper part of the device 104 together with
the lower part of the wet mop 101, viewed from the front. It can be
seen from this diagram that the counter-rollers 109 each consist of
two cylinder segments 119, 120 disposed concentrically in relation
to each other and having differing diameters. The smaller cylinder
segments 119 are respectively disposed on the inside and the larger
cylinder segments 120 are respectively disposed on the outside.
This means that the gap between the drive roller 110 and the larger
cylinder segments on the outside is smaller than the gap between
the drive roller 110 and the smaller cylinder segments 119. The
drive roller 110 is also connected to a motor 116 for the purposes
of being driven in the direction of rotation.
[0035] It can also be seen from FIG. 2 that the mop cover 103 is
wider in the direction of movement than the holder 102 and projects
beyond the sides of the holder 102. The edges of the mop cover 103
projecting on both sides thereby form a cushion for the holder 102,
which also serves as protection against damage to other objects,
for example furniture, by the holder 102. Since the holder 102 has
to be able to transmit force to squeeze out the mop cover 103, the
holder 102 is preferably made of a rigid material, for example a
metal, so that the holder 102 could damage other objects on
contact. For this reason a projecting, cushioning mop cover 103 as
protection is particularly advantageous.
[0036] In order also to be able to squeeze out the projecting parts
of the mop cover 103, the smaller cylinder segments 119 are
dimensioned such inside that they can squeeze out the holder 102
together with the part of the mop cover 103 below it on the drive
roller 110 and the larger cylinder segments 120 are dimensioned
such that they can squeeze out the edges of the mop cover 103
projecting beyond the holder 102 on the drive roller 110. To this
end the height of the larger cylinder segments 120 in the axis
direction is at least equal to the width of the projecting edge of
the mop cover 103 and the diameter of the larger cylinder segments
120 together with the distance between the axes for the
counter-rollers 109 and the drive roller 110 is selected such that
the projecting edge of the mop cover 103 can be compressed
therebetween.
[0037] As far as the smaller cylinder segments 119 disposed on the
inside are concerned, it is only necessary that they are in contact
with the holder 102 and can press it against the drive roller 110,
in order to be able to squeeze out the part of the mop cover 103
covered by the holder 102. Between the two smaller cylinder
segments 119 is a break or gap for passage of the handle 118. The
narrower the gap, the more difficult it is to pass the handle 118
through. Conversely, as the gap narrows, the surface with which the
smaller cylinder segments 119 press on the holder 102 increases and
the bending moments acting on the holder 102 are thus reduced.
[0038] The two adjacent cylinder segments 119, 120 are supported on
a common shaft coaxially in relation to each other, with both
cylinder segments 119, 120 being able to rotate independently of
each other.
[0039] The pressure of the drive roller 110 acting over the entire
width causes moisture to be partially removed from the mop cover
103 again or fluid is pressed out of the mop cover 103. The fluid
pressed out 106 runs onto an intermediate trap 117 and from there
through a dirt filter 115 back into the container 105. As the wet
mop 101 is guided through the guide 113, as shown in FIG. 3, the
mop cover 103 is sprayed with cleaning fluid 106 from below so that
the mop cover 103 is moistened and dirt contained therein can be
rinsed out, and then moisture is partially removed again, so that
it leaves on the right side of the device 104 with a defined
moisture level. This means that the mop cover 103 does not drip
during cleaning. The controller thereby also detects when the
holder 102 clears the sensor 114 again or when the rear end of the
holder 102 has passed the sensor 114 and then activates the pump
108 and drive roller 110 again for a specific time period, until
the holder 102 has been drawn completely through the rollers 109,
110. Activation of the pump 108 can thereby also be terminated
before activation of the rollers 109, 110.
[0040] In order to be able to set the degree of moisture removal
from the wet mop in an easily reproducible manner, the squeezing
drum 110 can be adjusted in relation to the counter-surface 109
manually by way of a single adjusting element 124 and can be set
permanently in a defined manner to selectable distance values. This
allows selectable moisture removal values to be predetermined in a
simple and reproducible manner, this also being possible when wet
mops 101 of differing thickness are used by corresponding scaling
of the adjusting element 124 in a manner not shown in greater
detail in the drawing.
[0041] To prevent the occurrence of greater forces as the wet mop
101 passes through the moisture removal facility, if for example
coarse elements were to adhere to the mop cover 103, forming a
projecting bulge, the squeezing drum 101 can be moved toward a
spring element 125 from its set mutual distance position to
increase the through gap.
[0042] In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 4 the bearing
shaft of the squeezing drum 110 is guided so that it can be
displaced toward the counter-surface 109 and is disposed
eccentrically in a fixed eccentric 127 that is configured such that
it can be rotated and fixed, as a disk cam, and is in contact with
a fixed bearing block 126. Rotating the eccentric 127 causes the
bearing shaft to be moved in its guide toward or away from the
counter-surface 109, meaning that the mutual distance position can
be influenced simply by rotating the eccentric 127. To this end the
bearing shaft can be guided in such a manner that it can be
displaced in longitudinal holes 128 by bearing plates 129 disposed
respectively at the ends. In an alternative refinement (not shown
in the drawing) the bearing shaft can however also be supported in
slotted blocks that can be guided in a displaceable manner.
[0043] In order to be able to set the distance between the
squeezing drum 110 and the counter-surface 109 in a simple manner,
a knob forming the adjusting element 124 is connected to the
eccentric 127 in a rotation-proof manner, coaxially in relation to
the bearing shaft of the squeezing drum 110, to adjust the width of
the through gap. This knob can be provided with a corresponding
inscription or scaling, to allow simple and reproducible setting of
the degree of moisture removal.
[0044] In the embodiment according to FIG. 5 the squeezing drum 110
is disposed on a pressure lever 130 supported in an articulated
manner, the position of said pressure lever being able to be
adjusted by way of an adjusting element 124 provided with a knob.
Here too the knob can again be provided with a comparable
scaling.
[0045] The adjusting element 124 here has a threaded rod 131 at
least in a sub-area, said threaded rod 131 being guided in a
threaded hole of a bearing element 132 fixed to the device. The
pressure lever 130 is configured here as a twin-arm lever, to one
end of which the squeezing drum 110 is connected and to the other
end of which the adjusting element 124 is connected in an
articulated manner.
[0046] The squeezing drum 110 can however also be moved by way of
an electromechanical actuator to adjust the through gap. This opens
up further possibilities, even that of a fully automatic
adjustment, for example even to mops 101 of differing thicknesses,
by means of appropriate measures.
[0047] The electromechanical actuator is driven by an electric
motor or electromagnet given the electrical operating mode provided
for in any case in the device. It can however also be configured as
a memory metal with a reset spring. In the case of an
electromagnetic drive it may be necessary in some circumstances to
provide appropriate ratchets to fix the electromagnetically
selected setting.
[0048] A force sensor is then provided to determine the pressure
force of the squeezing drum 110, the measured value of which can be
displayed on a display unit. This measured value can however also
serve directly to activate the electromechanical actuator. In
addition to the possibility of automatically adjusting the device
to wet mops 101 of differing thicknesses, it is also possible in
this process to work out the degree of moisture from the determined
force by way of an appropriate conversion. It is even ultimately
possible in this manner to regulate to fixed values of the degree
of moisture.
[0049] The force sensor can be formed in the usual manner by a
strain gage disposed on the spring element or lever or by a
piezoelectric element disposed on the bearing of the squeezing drum
or counter-surface.
[0050] In a manner also not shown in further detail in the drawing
the device can also have a memory element, to allow the storing and
calling up of preferred distance values. Tables can also be stored
in this memory, which allow an assignment of measured pressure
force to required residual moisture.
[0051] A further possibility for determining the residual moisture
of the mop cover 103 results from the use of a sensor. This can
either be configured as a standard moisture sensor; however other
measuring methods are also conceivable, such as a conductivity
measurement over the length of the mop cover 103
* * * * *