U.S. patent application number 12/458131 was filed with the patent office on 2011-01-06 for non-stepping wringer bucket.
Invention is credited to Yung-Hua Chen, Chin-Yang Shin.
Application Number | 20110000046 12/458131 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43411820 |
Filed Date | 2011-01-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110000046 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen; Yung-Hua ; et
al. |
January 6, 2011 |
Non-stepping wringer bucket
Abstract
A non-stepping wringer bucket including a bucket body, a
dewatering basket and a rotating element. The bucket body has a top
surface which is substantially an opening, a protruding base
protruded from a bottom surface of the bucket body, and a support
shaft fixed onto the protruding base includes. The dewatering
basket is sheathed onto the support shaft, and the rotating element
is sheathed between the support shaft and the bottom of the
dewatering basket, such that the dewatering basket can be rotated
freely with respect to the support shaft.
Inventors: |
Chen; Yung-Hua; (Lujhou
City, TW) ; Shin; Chin-Yang; (GueishanTownship,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROSENBERG, KLEIN & LEE
3458 ELLICOTT CENTER DRIVE-SUITE 101
ELLICOTT CITY
MD
21043
US
|
Family ID: |
43411820 |
Appl. No.: |
12/458131 |
Filed: |
July 1, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/260 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 13/58 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/260 |
International
Class: |
A47L 13/58 20060101
A47L013/58 |
Claims
1. A non-stepping wringer bucket, comprising: a) a bucket body,
having a top surface substantially in a form of an opening, and a
bottom surface having a protruding base, and a vertical support
shaft being fixed on the protruding base; b) a dewatering basket,
having a plurality of dewatering holes disposed at the periphery
and bottom surface of the dewatering basket, and a rotating base
installed at the bottom of the dewatering basket and sheathed onto
the support shaft; and c) a rotating element, installed between the
support shaft and the rotating base of the dewatering basket, for
rotating the dewatering basket freely with respect to the support
shaft.
2. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the
dewatering basket is detachably sheathed onto the support
shaft.
3. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the rotating
element is a bearing.
4. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the rotating
base is protruded from the center of the bottom surface inside the
dewatering basket, and includes a wear-resisting socket sheathed
therein.
5. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the bucket
body includes an opening which is in an ".infin." shape with an
inwardly concave arc disposed separately on both sides of the
middle of the ".infin." shape.
6. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the bucket
body includes a convex cambered surface protruded from the bottom
of the bucket body for enhancing a support force of the bucket
body.
7. The non-stepping wringer bucket of claim 1, wherein the bucket
body includes a pair of lugs disposed on both sides of the top of
the bucket body respectively for connecting a handle.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a wringer bucket, in
particular to a non-stepping wringer bucket that provides a
high-safety application without requiring any foot-stepping
action.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Mop is one of the cleaning tools used for cleaning a floor,
and traditional wringer buckets are used for removing extra water
from the mop, and the traditional wringer buckets generally squeeze
fabrics of the mop to remove water on the mop fabrics. As disclosed
in R.O.C. Pat. No. M338634, a wringer bucket includes a casing, an
installing portion, and a rotating unit, wherein the rotating unit
includes a retaining element, an axle, a transmission unit and a
push rod unit, such that interactions between the aforementioned
components drive the rotating unit to rotate to dewater the
mop.
[0005] However, the aforementioned conventional wringer bucket
requires many components in the rotating unit, and thus results in
a complicated structure with too many components and shortens the
using life of the wringer bucket.
[0006] Furthermore, the design of such wringer bucket not only has
the disadvantages of a complicated structure and an uneasy
installation, but also require users to stand with one foot and
step a pail pedal of the wringer bucket by another foot, such that
the users may loss balance, fall down or get hurt.
[0007] When such wringer buckets are shipped out from a factory,
internal components of the wringer buckets are assembled
completely, and thus the wringer buckets cannot be transported by a
stacking method, and manufacturers have to transport the wringer
buckets with a large volume. As the result, a higher transportation
cost will be incurred, which is unfavorable to both manufacturers
and consumers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A primary object of the invention is to provide a
non-stepping wringer bucket featuring a high-safety application
without requiring any foot-stepping action.
[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
non-stepping wringer bucket with a simple structure and a low
cost.
[0010] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
non-stepping wringer bucket that can be stacked conveniently for
storage and transportation, without occupying much space and thus
saving the transportation cost.
[0011] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, a
non-stepping wringer bucket in accordance with the invention
includes:
[0012] a) a bucket body, having a top surface substantially in a
form of an opening, and a bottom surface having a protruding base,
and a vertical support shaft being fixed on the protruding
base;
[0013] b) a dewatering basket, having a plurality of dewatering
holes disposed at the periphery and bottom surface of the
dewatering basket, and a rotating base installed at the bottom of
the dewatering basket and sheathed onto the support shaft; and
[0014] c) a rotating element, installed between the support shaft
and the rotating base of the dewatering basket, for rotating the
dewatering basket freely with respect to the support shaft.
[0015] The non-stepping wringer bucket of the present invention
does not come with an active driving device, but makes use of the
rotation of a mop to dewater the mop.
[0016] The non-stepping wringer bucket of the present invention
further comprises a handle for facilitating users to carry the
wringer bucket, and the bucket body has an opening substantially in
an .infin. shape, and a convex cambered surface protruded from the
bottom of the bucket body for enhancing a support force of the
bucket body, such that when the rotating element is rotated, the
non-stepping wringer bucket will not be shaken.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a disassembled structure
of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an assembled structure
of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of Section 4A of FIG. 4;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a mop and the
present invention;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of combining a mop
with the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the present invention
installed with a handle; and
[0025] FIG. 8 is a schematic view of stacking a bucket body of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0026] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 for a non-stepping wringer
bucket in accordance with the present invention, the non-stepping
wringer bucket 100 comprises a bucket body 10, a dewatering basket
20 and a rotating element 30, wherein a top surface of the bucket
body 10 is substantially an opening 11, and a protruding base 13 is
protruded from a bottom surface 12 of the bucket body 10, and a
vertical support shaft 14 is fixed onto the protruding base 13. The
dewatering basket 20 includes a plurality of dewatering holes 22
disposed at the periphery and the bottom surface of the dewatering
basket 20.
[0027] The height of the protruding base 13 can be adjusted
according to the actual required depth of the bucket body, but the
height is preferably greater than or equal to the water level of
the water required to be filled into the bucket body. The support
shaft 14 can be embedded into the protruding base 13 as shown in
FIG. 3, wherein the top surface 131 of the protruding base 13 is a
plane. In this preferred embodiment, a convex circular surface 141
is disposed at the middle section of the support shaft 14 for
positioning the top surface 131 of the protruding base 13, such
that the upper section is protruded from the top surface 131. Of
course, the support shaft 14 can be fixed with the protruding base
13 integrally.
[0028] The dewatering basket 20 is sheathed onto the support shaft
14, and the rotating element 30 can be a bearing installed between
the support shaft 131 and the bottom of the dewatering basket 20
and engaged with a rotating base 21 at the bottom of the dewatering
basket 20, such that the dewatering basket 20 can be rotated freely
with respect to the support shaft 14. The rotating base 21 can be a
bearing housing, which is protruded from the middle of the bottom
surface in the dewatering tank 20 in this preferred embodiment.
[0029] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
rotating element 30 is sheathed onto the convex circular surface
141 of the support shaft 14, and then the dewatering basket 20 is
detachably and vertically sheathed from top to bottom onto an upper
portion of the support shaft 14 protruded from the rotating base
21. However, the invention is not limited to such arrangement only,
but the rotating element 30 can be sheathed into the rotating base
21 and then sheathed onto the support shaft 14.
[0030] With reference to FIG. 4A, the rotating base 21 has a
wear-resisting socket 211 formed on a surface in contact with the
support shaft 14 and sheathed onto the support shaft 14, such that
when the support shaft 14 is rotated, the wear-resisting socket 211
can prevent the rotating base 21 from being worn out or reducing
the using life.
[0031] With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 for schematic views of the
present invention provided for its use with a mop 200, the mop 200
comprises an external rod 201, a internal rod 202, a mop head 203
and mop yarns 204 installed at the bottom of the internal rod 202,
such that if a user wants to dry the water in the mop yarns 204,
then the user will put the mop head 203 and mop yarns 204 into the
dewatering basket 20, and manually operate the external rod 201 to
rotate the internal rod 202, so as to drive the mop head 203 and
the mop yarns 204 to link the dewatering basket 20 which is in a
free moving state. Since the rotating element 30 is installed at
the bottom, the rotation will be very smooth to remove water from
the mop yarns 204 through the dewatering holes by the centrifugal
force.
[0032] With reference to FIG. 6, the opening 11 of the present
invention is in an .infin. shape with an inwardly concave arc 17
disposed separately on both sides of the middle of the .infin.
shape, such that when the mop 200 is dewatered, water drops in the
mop yarns 204 are tossed away in a tangential direction by the
centrifugal force, and the traveling direction of the water drops
hits the inwardly concave arc 17 at the middle section of the
opening 11, and the water drops slides down along internal
sidewalls of the bucket body 10. The design of such inwardly
concave arc 17 can minimize the sprinkling of water and avoid water
from splashing a user or the floor.
[0033] The non-stepping wringer bucket 100 of the present invention
as shown in FIG.7 includes a pair of lugs 15 disposed on both sides
of the top of the bucket body 10 respectively and connected to a
handle 16 for facilitating users to carry the wringer bucket 100.
The bottom 12 of the bucket body 10 further includes a convex
cambered surface 121 protruded from the bottom 12 for enhancing the
support force of the bucket body 10, such that when the rotating
element 30 is rotated, the non-stepping wringer bucket 100 will not
be shaken.
[0034] With the design of the non-stepping wringer bucket in
accordance with the present invention, users no longer need to
squeeze the mop by a foot-stepping method. As for elderly users,
such design can improve the safety of using the wringer bucket.
[0035] In the non-stepping wringer bucket of the present invention,
the rotating element 30 allows the dewatering basket 20 to rotate
freely, and whose structure design is simple, so that the wringer
bucket will not be worn out easily for a long time of use. In
addition, it is not necessary to transport the wringer bucket as a
whole, and the wringer buckets can be stacked with one another as
shown in FIG. 8 for making a shipment from factory, and users can
assemble the wringer buckets on their own. Such arrangement gives a
lower price for users and reduces the production cost for
manufacturers effectively. Therefore, the present invention can
create a win-win situation for both of the users and
manufacturers.
[0036] Many changes and modifications in the above-described
embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without
departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the
progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed
and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended
claims.
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