P/00/0 11 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: Hsiao-Hung Chiang Actual Inventor(s): Hsiao-Hung Chiang Address for Service: A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys PO Box 222, Mitcham, SA 5062 Invention Title: Mop Wringer The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- MOP WRINGER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention The invention relates to mop wringers and more particularly to such a mop 5 wringer with improved characteristics. 2. Description of Related Art A conventional mop wringer is shown in FIG. 8 and comprises a pail 6 having an open space 61 for containing squeezed water, a surface cavity 62, and a pivotal handle 63 adapted to rested upon either half of a top edge of the pail 6; a 0 foot-operated mop wringing mechanism 7 mounted at the cavity 62; and a rotatable mop receptacle 8 in the space 61 being mounted on the mop wringing mechanism 7. However, the well known mop wringer suffers from a disadvantage. In detail, the handle 63 is adapted to rest upon the pail's top edge having an outward extending flange portion by pivoting. As a result, an uneven surface on the pail's top edge is 5 formed. This has a disadvantage of making a plurality of stacked mop wringers unstable in storage and the stacked mop wringers may tend to loosen during mop wringer. While various conventional mop wringers fulfill their respective, particular objectives, the need remains for a mop wringer that is superior in function to prior mop 20 wringers. For the purposes of this specification the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to", and the word "comprises" has a corresponding meaning. Also a reference within this specification to a document is not to be taken as an admission that the disclosure therein constitutes common general knowledge in Australia. 25 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a mop wringer comprising a pail for containing squeezed water and comprising a surface cavity and a flanged top edge comprising a concave half having an intermediate recess, and a convex half; a 5 handle having an intermediate locking portion, either end of the handle being pivotably secured to one of two joining portions of the concave half and the convex half; a foot-operated mop wringing mechanism mounted at the cavity; and a rotatable mop receptacle in the pail being mounted on the mop wringing mechanism, wherein the locking portion is shaped in conformity to the recess and is adapted to lockingly 0 engage therewith when the handle is rested upon the concave half so as to form a substantially flat top surface on the top edge. It is another object of the invention to provide a mop wringer comprising a pail having a cavity on the peripheral wall; a rotatable mop receptacle disposed in the pail, the mop receptacle comprising a plurality of longitudinal holes and a downward 5 extending shaft; and an actuation mechanism comprising a support, a spring-biased pivot member pivotably secured to the support and comprising a foot step disposed in the cavity and extending out of the cavity a predetermined distance, and an arcuate toothed member opposing the foot step, a gear assembly rotatably secured to the support and comprising a gearwheel meshed with the toothed member, a first bevel 20 gear being coaxial with the gearwheel, a hollow second bevel gear meshed with the first bevel gear, and a hollow ratchet member disposed in the second bevel gear and being in ratchet engagement therewith, wherein the shaft is securely inserted through the ratchet member to rotatably anchor on bottom of the support. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will 25 become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of mop wringer according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with both the mop wringing mechanism and a 5 rotatable mop receptacle removed; FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2 with the handle being rested upon a concave half of a top edge of the mop wringer shown in phantom; FIG. 4 is a front view of a plurality of stacked mop wringers; FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of an intermediate locking portion of the 0 handle; FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a second preferred embodiment of mop wringer according to the invention; FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the assembled actuation mechanism of FIG. 6; and 5 FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional mop wringer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a mop wringer in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention comprises the following components as discussed in detail below. 20 A pail 1 has an open space (not numbered) for containing squeezed water, a surface cavity 16, a top edge 10 having an outward extending flange portion, the top edge being comprised of a concave half 13 having an intermediate recess 14, and a convex half 12, and two shoulders 11 either formed between either joining portion of the concave half 13 and the convex half 12, either shoulder 11 having a through hole 25 111. An inverted U-shaped handle 2 comprises two pivot pins 21 on both ends and an Intermediate locking portion 22 of I-shaped section. The pivot pin 21 is pivotably mounted in the through hole 111. A foot-operated mop wringing mechanism 4 is mounted at the cavity 16. A rotatable mop receptacle 3 in the pail 1 is mounted on the mop wringing mechanism 1. The locking portion 22 is shaped in conformity to the recess 14 and is adapted to 5 lockingly engage therewith by snapping when the handle 2 is rested upon the concave half 13. At this position, an inner surface 23 of the handle 2 is adapted to engage with and is about flush with an inner wall 15 of the pail 1. Hence, a flat top edge of the pail 1 is formed. Further, a plurality of mop wringers can be stably stacked. Furthermore, the cavity 16 has an inner wall 17 of reduced size. It is envisaged by the invention that 0 both storage and transport of mop wringers can be facilitated. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a mop wringer in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention comprises the following components as discussed in detail below. The mop wringer comprises a pail 1 comprising a handle 2 hingedly provided on the top edge, and a surface cavity 16 having an inner wall 17. 5 The wringer further comprises a rotatable mop receptacle 3 disposed in the pail 1. The mop receptacle 3 comprises a shell 32 having a flared open top, a tapered bottom, and a plurality of longitudinal holes 320, and a shaft 31 extending downward a predetermined length from the bottom center of the shell 32. The wringer further comprises a foot-operated mop wringing mechanism 4 20 comprising a substantially rectangular support 41 including a bossed hole 414 on the bottom and two substantially triangular upright mounts 410 on two sides respectively, each mount 410 having an upper hole 412 and one of the mounts 410 additionally having an intermediate hole 413 right below the hole 412. The mop wringing mechanism 4 further comprises a pivot member 43 including 25 an arcuate foot step 431 disposed in the cavity 16 and extending out of the cavity 16 a predetermined distance, an arcuate toothed member 432 provided opposing the foot step 431, a pivot shaft 430 provided above the toothed member 432, and a hole 433 provided opposing the pivot shaft 430; and a spring (e.g., torsion spring) 45 put on the pivot shaft 430. The spring 45 has one end urged against one mount 410 and the other end urged against the foot step 431. Further, two pins 411 are provided in which one pin 411 is inserted through one upper hole 412 into the hole 433, and the other 5 pin 411 is inserted through the other upper hole 412 into the pivot shaft 430. As a result, the pivot member 43 and the support 41 are pivotably secured together. The mop wringing mechanism 4 further comprises a gear assembly 44 including a small gearwheel 440 in mesh with the toothed member 432, a large first bevel gear 441 being coaxial and integral with the gearwheel 440, and a threaded fastener (e.g., 0 bolt) 442 driven through both the gearwheel 440 and the first bevel gear 441 into the intermediate hole 413 to be secured by a nut 443; a small second bevel gear 40 meshed with the first bevel gear 441, the second bevel gear 40 having a longitudinal hole (not numbered) with a pawl (not numbered) provided on the inner surface thereof; and a hollow, cylindrical ratchet member 46 provided in the longitudinal hole of the 5 second bevel gear 40 and being in ratchet engagement with the pawl of the second bevel gear 40. The shaft 31 is inserted through an upper gap between the pivot shaft 430 and the hole 433 and the ratchet member 46 to rotatably anchor in the bossed hole 414 in which the shaft 31 is secured to the ratchet member 46 (i.e., they can co-rotate). 20 In a wringing operation, an operator may first dispose wet strands of a mop (not shown) in the shell 32. Next, the operator may set one foot on the foot step 431 to press same by pivoting. Hence, the toothed member 432 rotates counterclockwise. And in turn, the gearwheel 440, the first bevel gear 441, the second bevel gear 40, the ratchet member 46, and the shaft 31 rotate with elastic force being stored in the spring 25 45. Hence, both the shell 32 and the mop strands rotate counterclockwise in high speed. As a result, water in the mop strands leaves the shell 32 via the holes 320 due to strong centrifugal force.
The spring 45 immediately releases its stored elastic energy after leaving the foot out of the foot step 431. Hence, the toothed member 432 rotates clockwise. And in turn, the gearwheel 440, the first bevel gear 441, and the second bevel gear 40 rotate in an opposite direction. But the ratchet member 46 does not rotate because it is not 5 driven by the second bevel gear 40 due to the ratchet disengagement therewith. That is, the shaft 31 remains motionless. This can prevent both the shell 32 and the mop strands from rotating clockwise. Finally, the foot step 431 returns to its initial condition. The operator may repeat the above steps until the mop strands are sufficiently wrung. While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific 0 embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.