U.S. patent application number 11/538570 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-10 for surface stabilizer attachment for floor mop.
Invention is credited to Prins Chang, Arthur Shen.
Application Number | 20080083080 11/538570 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39273906 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080083080 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shen; Arthur ; et
al. |
April 10, 2008 |
Surface stabilizer attachment for floor mop
Abstract
A plurality of ridges is woven into the water-absorbing material
on a floor mop's attachment, eliminating the undesired "flip-over"
caused by the wet stickiness of the fabric surface when users are
mopping the floor. The parallel ridges provide the "push-away"
force to resist the stickiness, and also increase the scrubbing
power of floor mop due to the hardness of the ridge material.
Inventors: |
Shen; Arthur; (Arcadia,
CA) ; Chang; Prins; (Arcadia, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LAW OFFICES OF J.F. LEE
17800 CASTLETON STREET, SUITE 383
CITY OF INDUSTRY
CA
91748
US
|
Family ID: |
39273906 |
Appl. No.: |
11/538570 |
Filed: |
October 4, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/228 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 13/20 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/228 |
International
Class: |
A47L 13/20 20060101
A47L013/20 |
Claims
1. Surface stabilizer attachment for floor mop, comprising: a. A
pliable base upon which a layer of water-absorbing material is
affixed thereto; and, b. A plurality of ridges inserted into said
layer of water-absorbing material, whereby the height of said layer
will not be higher than that of said ridges in their natural dry
state.
2. The surface stabilizer attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein
the plurality of ridges is made from material that is hard and
substantially non-water-absorbing.
3. The surface stabilizer attachment as defined in claim 2 wherein
the plurality of ridges is arranged in parallel pattern.
4. The surface stabilizer attachment as defined in claim 3 wherein
the plurality of ridges is arranged along the length of said
base.
5. The surface stabilizer attachment as defined in claim 3 wherein
the plurality of ridges is arranged perpendicularly to the length
of said base.
6. The surface stabilizer attachment as defined in claim 3 wherein
the plurality of ridges is arranged diagonally to the length of
said base.
Description
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to an improved
design and construction for an attachment to be affixed to the
mopping head of a floor mop, to make the mopping movements more
efficient.
[0002] Floor mops are used widely either in home environment or in
office/industrial use. The base of the floor mop is usually
equipped with some kind of hinge or ball-bearing mechanism,
allowing some pivoting freedom from the mop head relative to the
mop handle. To use this kind of floor mop, the mop head (attached
with water-absorbing fabrics) is dipped into a bucket of water (may
contain some cleaning agents), and is placed onto the floor, while
users hold the mop handle and push/pull the mop, resulting in the
desired cleaning function.
[0003] As reported by many cleaning crew and household users, when
pushing the mop back and forth on the floor, due to the wetness of
the fabrics (facing down, in contact with the floor), "flip-over"
oftentimes happens as a result of the natural wet stickiness. When
this happens, users have to stop, manually flip back the fabric
side (making face down again), and then resume the mopping.
[0004] Present invention addresses the "stop mopping--manual flip
back" problem, as reported by cleaning crew and household
users.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] After various experimentations, present invention provides a
parallel-ridge formation that is woven to the water-absorbing
layer, creating a stabilizer mechanism and successfully solved the
"flip-over" problem.
[0006] The ridges, made from harder material and are generally not
water-absorbing, create a push-away structure to counter the
natural wet stickiness as existed between the fabric surface and
the floor, when the fabric surface is wet. When the fabric surface
of a floor mop is made in accordance with the teachings of present
invention, the back-and-forth mopping action becomes stabilized and
there is no more "flip-over" that requires temporary stoppages and
then manual flipping back.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate the preferred
embodiments of the invention and together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0008] A brief description of the drawings is as follows:
[0009] FIG. 1 shows top-down view of the stabilizer attachment
surface.
[0010] FIG. 2 shows the side view of the stabilizer attachment
surface.
[0011] FIG. 3 shows a diagonally parallel pattern of ridge
formation in present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0012] In FIG. 1, a plurality of ridges is shown inserted (by mean
of weaving, or other production means) into the fabric side on the
base. The fabric side is made up of a layer of water-absorbing
material, such as cotton, or some other combination material.
[0013] The ridges are made from harder material, so that when the
fabric surface is wet and is causing the surface to have the
natural wet-stickiness, the ridges generate a "push-away" force
during mop's pulling back, eliminating the "flip-over" as a result
of the stickiness due to the wetness; and further enhancing the
scrubbing force of a mop during mop's pushing forward.
[0014] In one embodiment of present invention, the ridges are made
perpendicular to the length of the base whereupon the fabric is
affixed, as in the case of FIG. 1.
[0015] The ridges, while parallel, can be made to be parallel to
the length of the base, or be diagonal to the length of the
base.
[0016] In FIG. 2, the layer of water-absorbing material is shown to
have height slightly lower than that of the plurality of
ridges.
[0017] In actual construction, as long the heights of the ridges
and the water-absorbing material are substantially even, the
anti-flipping purpose is achieved.
[0018] In FIG. 3, alternative pattern of the parallel ridges is
shown in an orientation diagonal to the length of the base upon
which the water-absorbing material is affixed.
* * * * *