The invention relates to mop wringers and buckets for use in wet mopping. It is particularly concerned with wringers of the type which mount on a mop bucket and which are manually operated, by means of a lever handle, to squeeze out into the bucket a mop inserted in the wringer.
Known wringers of the foregoing type mount on the rear wall of the bucket, which is severely stressed with a buckling force which has to balance the operating force applied to the wringer handle. Thus the length of the handle which can be used is limited by the necessity of avoiding over-stressing of the bucket wall, which in turn limits the squeeze pressure which can be applied to a mop. A further disadvantage is that yielding of the bucket wall results in a non-positive yielding "feel" when applying the operating force to the handle.
EP-A-0254507 shows a wringer arrangement of this known type where the wringer has a mounting structure for engagement with the rear wall of the bucket to mount the wringer removably thereon. The rear wall of the bucket provides the sole support for the wringer and is therefore severely stressed with a buckling force when the wringer is operated.
US-A-1351805 showed an alternative form of mop wringer for mounting on a conventional circular bucket. The wringer has a mounting structure for removably mounting the wringer on the wall of the bucket, and also includes a transverse member with downwardly bent end portions which is spaced from the mounting structure and bears on the top edges of the wall of the bucket, away from the mounting structure, to provide additional support.
A principle aim of the invention is to provide a mop wringer arrangement having improved support for the wringer on the bucket to enable a longer operating handle to be employed with a resultant improved wringing-out action.
According to the invention there is provided a mop wringer arrangement comprising a bucket having a rear wall, side walls, and a front wall; a wringer having a mounting structure for engagement with the rear wall of the bucket to mount the wringer removably on the rear wall of the bucket; the wringer including pressure applying means operatively connected to a lever-type handle which is movable from a resting position to a wringing position so that, in use, movement of the handle from said resting position to said wringing position applies a squeeze pressure to a mop inserted in the wringer; characterised in that the bucket includes support ledges integrally formed on the internal surfaces of the side walls respectively of the bucket and spaced below the upper edges of the side walls, and in that the wringer includes spaced feet which, when the wringer is mounted on the rear wall of the bucket, lie inwardly of the side walls respectively of the bucket and engage and rest on said support ledges, whereby the wringer is partly supported by said ledges.
As the operating moment applied to the wringer handle is no longer withstood by bending and buckling forces applied to the rear wall of the bucket, but by an upward tension at the rear wall and downward compressive forces at the side walls, a longer handle can be used and a more solid "feel" is provided as the operating force is applied. The longer leverage thus obtained enables a wringer to be manufactured with which the average cleaning operative can achieve a completely wrung-out mop, whereas with present handle lengths mops are commonly incompletely wrung out. At the same time thinner bucket walls will often suffice with a moulded bucket, thus saving on the cost of the moulding material and providing a cheaper bucket construction.
Each said support ledge may be formed by a generally horizontal step in the respective side wall.
Each support ledge preferably extends along only a part of the respective side wall of the bucket. For example, each support ledge may extend from the rear wall of the bucket forwardly along the length of the respective side wall and only part way towards the front wall of the bucket.
Each support ledge may be of substantially constant width and extend parallel to its respective side wall.
As the length of the handle is increased the front floor support of the bucket may have to be moved forwardly to prevent the bucket tipping over towards the operative when operating the wringer. Thus the bucket may have two floor support outriggers adjacent said front wall of the bucket, and the handle preferably has a length to extend forwardly beyond the main body volume of the bucket when in said wringing position.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a hand-operated wringer 1 with an operating lever handle 2 and which mounts on top of a mop bucket 3 as shown. Movement of the handle from a generally upright resting position (not shown) to the more or less horizontal and forwardly projecting position ("wringing" position) illustrated applies a squeeze pressure to a mop such as 4, inserted in the wringer 1 from above. The wringer 1 is of conventional general construction and hence is not further described herein except for the novel features associated with the invention.
The wringer 1 mounts on the rear wall 5 of the moulded plastics bucket 3, and it is supported at the front on the bucket side walls 6 and 7. Such front support is not, in this case, in accordance with the present invention, but is provided by a cross member 8 which is fixed at the front of the wringer 1, by suitable fixings 9 such as screws or rivets, and which rests on the rim 10 of the bucket. The ends 8a and 8b of the cross member 8 hook over and seat on the rim 10 so as to oppose any tendency for the side walls 6 and 7 to spread apart during a wringing operation.
The cross member 8, which may be manufactured and supplied for attachment to existing wringers, is as shown more particularly in Figures 3A and 3B. As can be seen therefrom the member 8 is formed from a length of flat metal strip, for example being of galvanized mild steel, with end portions 8a and 8b twisted through 90° and then bent down at right angles to provide end flanges 11a and 11b. Thus the member 8 has end formations which hook over and seat on the bucket rim 10. The main flat body 8c of the member 8 has suitable fixing holes 8d for the described fixings 9.
The rear mounting of the wringer 1 on the rear wall 5 is such that it opposes a tendency for the back of the wringer 1 to lift off the bucket as the operating force is applied to the handle 2 as indicated by the arrow F. In Figure 2 there is illustrated an example of a suitable rear mounting structure on the wringer 1, comprising a hook-like rear formation which, as the wringer 1 is fitted, hooks around and beneath the rim 10 of the bucket. This formation may be provided on each of two spaced mounting projections 12 at the rear of the wringer 1.
As a result of the rear mounting and front support of the wringer 1 the wringing force is distributed, largely as a compressive load on the bucket 3 by the cross member 8 as indicated by the arrows L in Figure 1. As the wringing force is not withstood by buckling forces on the rear wall, as it is in a conventional arrangement, the wringing action has a "solid" feel and wringer deflection does not dissipate the wringing forces. Furthermore, a longer handle 2 can be employed which enables much greater wringing forces to be applied for given operative effect. The arrangement enables a handle to be used which in some circumstances can be of the order of twice the length of the handles as normally used in the past.
For mobility the bucket 3 is mounted on four corner castors, referenced 13 at the rear and 14 at the front. As can be appreciated from the view of Figure 1, the increased length of the handle 2 not only increases the wringing efficiency but it facilitates use of the handle 2 for propelling and steering the bucket 3 on the castors 13, 14. The rear castors 13 are fitted to floor support outriggers such as 15 and the front castors 14 to outriggers 16. The outriggers 15 are generally aligned with the rear wall 5, and normally the outriggers 16 would be similarly disposed with respect to the front wall 17 of the bucket 3, as is shown in broken lines for the left-hand corner in Figure 1. However, in view of the increased length of the handle 2 the front castors 14 are moved forwardly, to prevent the bucket 3 tipping over forwardly when the operating force is applied to the handle 2. The outriggers 16 are now cranked to extend forwardly so that the front floor reaction forces indicated by the arrows R lie in a lateral plane, in front of the main body volume of the bucket 1, which plane also contains the arrow F. Thus the castors are effectively brought into line with the vertical handle load to prevent the bucket tipping.
In the modification of Figures 4 and 5 outrigger support members 30 and 31 are positioned at the two sides near to the front of the wringer 1. Each support 30 or 31 has a lower recess, 32 or 33, which seats on the bucket rim 10 to provide the same advantages as the cross member 8 of the arrangement of Figures 1 to 3. However, in this case the rim 10 is engaged on both its inner and outer sides so that the support members 30 and 31 act to strengthen the bucket side walls against both inward and outward movement and thus provide particularly firm lateral relative location of wringer and bucket. The cross member of the earlier arrangement may if desired by modified so that it likewise engages on both sides of the rim 10. The supports 30 and 31 are detachably secured to the wringer 1, each having a plug-in connection thereto as shown in Figure 5. Flanged projections 34 and 35 respectively engage at a lower open ended slot 36 and an upper keyhole slot 37 at the sides of the wringer.
The embodiment of Figures 6 and 7 employs a design of bucket, in accordance with the present invention, which enables the above-mentioned advantages to be achieved with an existing wringer construction. The bucket 60 is moulded with internal ledges 61 at the sides, these ledges 61 extending from the bucket rear wall 62 for a distance slightly greater than that spanned by the wringer 63. Front feet 64 of the wringer 63, which are normally provided to enable the wringer to be stood on the floor when not in use, respectively rest on the ledges 61. This supports the wringer 63 on the bucket side walls 65, of which the ledges 61 form part, at the front in accordance with the invention. The wringer 63 mounts on the rear wall 62 as before.
As may be seen from Figure 7, each support ledge 61 is spaced below the upper edges of the side walls of the bucket and is formed by a generally horizontal step in the respective side wall 65. As shown in Figure 6, each support ledge 61 extends from the rear wall 62 of the bucket forwardly along the length of the respective side wall 65 and only part way towards the front wall of the bucket. Also as shown in Figure 6, each support ledge 61 is of substantially constant width and extends parallel to its respective side wall 65.
In that it enables a longer handle to be fitted to the wringer the invention has important ergonomic advantages in addition to that of better wringing-out of a mop. Thus the invention provides excellent benefits for people regularly using mop buckets and wringers, particularly in lessening the back strain commonly suffered by cleaning operatives. Not only can a given or improved wringing action be achieved with far less effort than hitherto, but the handle can be operated higher up so that less stooping is involved when wringing out the mop.