AU2018267893A1

AU2018267893A1 - Mop head, and mop comprising the mop head

Info

Publication number: AU2018267893A1
Application number: AU2018267893A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Michal Khom; Diana THYSON
Original assignee: Carl Freudenberg KG
Current assignee: Carl Freudenberg KG
Priority date: 2017-05-19
Filing date: 2018-01-11
Publication date: 2019-11-07
Anticipated expiration: 2038-01-11
Also published as: CA3060666A1; US20200107692A1; PT3624661T; PL3624661T3; EP3624661A1; ES2914860T3; CN110602973A; AU2018267893B2; DE102017004809B3; RU2720895C1; WO2018210458A1; MX2019013660A; CA3060666C; EP3624661B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a mop head, comprising a support body (1) and textile fringes (2) that extend in the longitudinal direction (3), wherein the fringes (2) are attached in the longitudinal direction (3) to the support body (1) and have an opposite end (4) in the longitudinal direction (3), wherein at least one fringe (2) comprises at least two strands (5, 6) with a first strand (5) and a second strand (6), wherein the strands (5, 6) directly contact and rest against one another, wherein each strand (5, 6) has the same length (9) as a result of the manufacturing process, wherein when water and/or heat is applied during normal use of the mop head, the strands (5, 6) have differing shrinkage properties in the longitudinal direction (3) as a result of material properties and wherein the strands (5, 6) are fixed to each other by means of at least one fixing means (10) in the longitudinal direction (3) in such a manner that the strands (5, 6) are kept at the same length (9) during normal use of the mop head.

Description

A MOP HEAD AND A MOP WHICH COMPRISES THE MOP HEAD

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to a mop head and a mop which comprises the mop head.

The mop head comprises a support body and textile fringes that extend in the longitudinal direction, wherein the fringes are attached in the longitudinal direction to the support body on the one hand and have an opposite end in the longitudinal direction on the other hand.

Background of the invention

A mop head of this type and a mop which comprises such a mop head are generally known.

The textile fringes are in each case identical and comprise identical threads which extend in the longitudinal direction parallel to one another and are loosely associated with each other. During the intended use and operating conditions of the mop head, when water and/or heat are applied to the fringes, they have matching shrinkage properties in the longitudinal direction.

Summary of the invention

It is the object of the present invention to further develop a mop head and a mop of the type mentioned in the opening paragraph in such a way that the mop head and the mop of the type

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PCT/EP2018/050610 mentioned above can be further improved in that the fringes are better adapted to the given circumstances of particular applications and maintain consistently good properties during a long period of use. A further aim is to achieve that the original appearance of the mop head as obtained in the manufacturing process does not differ substantially, following its intended use and operating conditions, after water and/or heat have been applied.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claims 1 and 10. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

The present invention relates to a mop head comprising a support body and textile fringes that extend in the longitudinal direction, wherein the fringes are attached in the longitudinal direction to the support body on the one hand and, on the other hand, have an opposite end in the longitudinal direction, wherein at least one fringe comprises at least two strands with a first strand and a second strand, wherein the strands directly contact and rest against one another, wherein each strand has the same length as a result of the manufacturing process, wherein when water and/or heat is applied during the intended use and operating conditions of the mop head, the strands have different shrinkage properties in the longitudinal direction as a result of material properties and wherein the strands are fixed to each other by means of at least one fixing means in the longitudinal direction in such a manner that the strands are kept at the same length during the intended use and operating conditions of the mop head.

A further solution to the task set is to provide a mop that comprises the mop head described above wherein the mop head is connected to a handle.

This offers the advantage that the strands which are used in a fringe can be easily adapted to the given circumstances of a particular application. For example, it is possible to design one

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PCT/EP2018/050610 of the strands in such a way that it is able to absorb or exude comparatively much cleaning liquid, that is to say that this strand has substantially sponge-like properties.

In the same fringe, at least one further strand can be used which has different properties. These different properties may be presented by the second strand having more abrasive properties and consisting of a textile material which neither absorbs nor exudes the cleaning liquid. One and the same fringe is therefore designed to be multifunctional and is, for example, well suited for the initial wetting of the surface to be cleaned in order to subsequently remove impurities from the surface to be cleaned by abrasion and then take up the moisture from the cleaned surface after the mop head has been rinsed out and wrung out.

Different types of textile materials being present within the one fringe frequently have different shrinkage properties in the longitudinal direction when exposed to water and/or heat depending on the material deployed. Therefore it can happen, during the intended use and operating conditions, that the second strand shrinks more in the longitudinal direction with respect to the first strand, when water and/or heat is applied. This would impair the quality of the cleaning result.

Furthermore, it would be disadvantageous if the mop head appeared aesthetically less attractive due to varying degrees of shrinkage of the strands.

In order to eliminate the disadvantages mentioned above, it is therefore proposed according to the invention to compensate for the varying degrees of shrinkage of the strands of the fringe in that the strands are fixed in the longitudinal direction by the fixing means in such a manner that the strands are kept at the same length during the deployment of the mop head as intended.

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Even after exposure to water and/or heat, the strands of the fringe will always have the same length. From the support body to the opposite end, the fringe has, therefore, matching properties of use over its entire length. Thus, both strands are also effective in the region of the opposite end of the fringe, and the mop head practically retains its post- manufacture appearance during its intended use and operating conditions. The fixing means can be designed as a holding thread system.

The holding thread system can comprise at least one holding thread which can be embodied as a holding loop.

Regardless of water and/or heat being applied, the fixing means does not change its length.

By virtue of the fixing means it is achieved that the strand, which has a greater degree of shrinkage during the intended use and operating conditions of the mop head involving water and/or heat being applied, that the adjacent strand with the relatively lower degree of shrinkage is correspondingly compressed/bulged. Due to the compression of the strand having the relatively lesser shrinkage it has a more voluminous body as a consequence which further contributes to an improved cleaning result.

Differences in length occurring in the adjacent strands of normally up to 40% can be compensated without problems by virtue of the fixing means.

All the textile fringes of a mop head can be formed as described above.

According to another embodiment it may be advantageous that only the textile fringes arranged on the surface of the mop head are formed in the way described above. Within a bell-shaped mop head, however, textile fringes can be provided which have a different design. This offers the opportunity to allow the mop head to be better adapted to the given

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PCT/EP2018/050610 circumstances of a particular application depending on how the mop equipped with the mop head is guided over the surface to be cleaned by the user.

The fringes on the outer periphery of the mop head surface have functional properties that differ from those of the inner fringes.

According to one advantageous embodiment it can be provided that the fixing means of the fringes is embodied by at least one holding thread system which extends essentially transversely to the longitudinal direction.

The holding thread system can comprise at least one holding thread which is designed, for example, as a holding loop.

The extension of the holding thread system transversely to the longitudinal direction results in a longitudinally occurring toothed effect of the adjacently arranged strands.

A relative displacement of the adjacent strands which would result in strands of different lengths is thereby excluded.

Within the region of the holding thread system, the fringe is being constricted, as a result of which, viewed in the longitudinal direction, a relatively more voluminous shape of the fringe is achieved on both sides of the constriction. During the intended use and operating conditions of the mop head, the strand with the relatively lesser shrinkage, becomes even more voluminous due to its compression, leading to an improved cleaning result.

The holding thread system can be embodied by a holding loop made of twine. In this case, the holding loop is designed in such a way that it takes care of reliably mutually fixing the adjacently arranged strands even during long operating periods of the mop head.

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The holding thread system can enclose the fringe in its periphery in the longitudinal direction at least at one point along its extension. In order to reduce the mechanical stress on the holding thread system, however, it is expedient to provide several points in the longitudinal direction of the fringe at which its periphery is enclosed by the holding thread system.

The mechanical stress on the holding thread system results in that the strand with a relatively greater shrinkage compresses the strand with the relatively lower shrinkage and that, even then, the holding thread system must fix the strand with the relatively lower shrinkage to the strand with the relatively greater shrinkage within the region of the holding thread system. A relative movement between the strands is excluded within the region of the holding thread system.

Different degrees of shrinkage of the strands can be particularly well compensated by virtue of the fact that the holding thread system surrounds the fringe in the longitudinal direction on its periphery from the support body to the opposite end. It is possible, for example, for the holding thread system to enclose the fringe, as viewed in the longitudinal direction, evenly and peripherally, particularly preferred essentially in the form of a screw thread.

According to one advantageous embodiment it can be provided that the holding thread system comprises holding threads, for example holding loops which, when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the fringe, each have a relative mutual distance which corresponds approximately to the thickness of the fringe. Thus, on the one hand, the different strands are reliably fixed to one another in the longitudinal direction and, on the other hand, such fringe offers a sufficiently large cleaning surface to be available in order to allow a quick and

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PCT/EP2018/050610 thorough cleaning of a surface to be cleaned.

For normal domestic applications it has proven to be advantageous if the holding thread system has a regular spacing. Between the support body and the opposite end, viewed in the longitudinal direction, the strands are, for example, fixed to each other approximately every centimeter, in order to reliably fix the strands to each other, in order to compensate for different degrees of shrinkage of the strands and to maintain the aesthetically appealing appearance of the mop head under all operating conditions.

The strands can be arranged parallel to one another in the longitudinal direction. The fringe then has a substantially rectangular cross-section and precisely defined areas with different functional properties. In variance from this design, the strands can enclose one another in the form of a spiral. The fringe then has a substantially round cross-section, wherein the regions having different functional properties are designed to merge into one another as viewed in the wiping direction.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment it is provided that the strands are arranged parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction, that the fringe has at least three strands, wherein two strands are formed to be identical, have identical first threads and, during their intended use, have the same degree of shrinkage, and that one strand is designed at variance therefrom, having second threads with greater or lesser shrinkage in the longitudinal direction during the intended use and operating conditions, and that the strand comprising the second threads is arranged between the strands with the identical first threads and by way of the fixing means is fixed between these in the longitudinal direction.

In this case, it is advantageous that the mutual supporting effect of the strands with different shrinkage is particularly good. An appealing appearance of the mop head/mop is also

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PCT/EP2018/050610 obtained by its symmetry. A further option is to use three strands each having different materials.

The second threads can absorb or exude less cleaning fluid and/or have less abrasive properties than the first threads during the intended use. The mop head is thus also well suited for cleaning more heavily soiled surfaces.

The above-described mop head can be connected to a handle and thereby forms a mop which has the advantageous properties described above.

Brief description of the drawings

One embodiment of the mop head according to the invention is described in more detail below in relation to Figures 1 and 2, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the mop head according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a fringe as it is used in the mop head according to FIG. 1.

Embodiments of the invention

FIG. 1 shows a bell-shaped mop head, which together with the handle 13, forms a mop.

The mop head comprises a support bodyl made of a polymeric material. The textile fringes 2 are fixed to the support body 1, extend in the form of a bell in the longitudinal direction 3 to the opposite end 4. The opposite end 4 is designed as a free end in the embodiment

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PCT/EP2018/050610 shown here but can also be loop-shaped.

The fringes 2 form the outer surface of the mop head on the peripheral side; in the interior of the mop head, i.e. internal to the fringes 2, further fringes are arranged which are different from the former, for instance with regard to their material.

In the embodiment shown, the fringes 2 comprise three strands 5a, 5b, 6, two of the strands 5a, 5b being of identical design. The strands 5a, 5b therefore have matching first threads 7 which are well suited for receiving or exuding cleaning fluid.

Varying therefrom is the second strand 6 which comprises the second threads 8, wherein said second threads 8, compared with the first threads 7, absorb or exude less cleaning fluid and have more abrasive functional properties.

Due to the different materials of which the first threads 7 and the second threads 8 consist, they have different degrees of shrinkage on exposure to water and/or heat depending on their individual materials. Under the given circumstances described above, the shrinkage of the second threads 8 is greater than the shrinkage of the first threads 7. Therefore the second strand 6, due to its material, displays greater shrinkage after water and/or heat have been applied than the strands 5a, 5b, during the intended use and operating conditions.

The fixing means 10 is embodied by a holding thread system and fixes the strands 5a, 5b, 6 to each other in the longitudinal direction 3. By virtue of this interlocking effect of the mutually adjacent strands 5a, 6; 6, 5b it is achieved that the strands 5a, 5b, 6 always have the same length 9 also during the intended use and operating conditions of the mop head, and therefore the fringes 2, from the support body 1 to the opposite end 4 in the longitudinal direction 3, provide a matching good cleaning result and a consistent appearance.

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The fixing means 10 is formed by the holding loop 11, wherein the holding loop 11 has a substantially equal spacing from the support bodyl to the opposite end 4 of the fringes 2. The holding loop 11 extends substantially transversely to the longitudinal direction 3 of the fringes 2, so that a mechanical interlocking of the strands 5a, 5b, 6 occurs in the longitudinal direction and these are always fixed relative to one another in the position shown here.

The points 12 at which the fringes 2 are constricted by the holding loop 11 extend, substantially regularly spaced as viewed in the longitudinal direction 3, from the support body 1 to the opposite end 4.

In general, it is conceivable that for example at least one fringe of the mop head has only two strands or has more than three strands. If two strands are used, they can be arranged in such a way that they enclose one another in the form of a spiral.

For domestic applications it has been proven to be advantageous if the holding loop has a mesh width of about 1 cm. Thus, between the support body 1 and the opposite end 4, the strands 5a, 5b, 6, viewed in the longitudinal direction 13, can be fixed to one another approximately at intervals of every centimeter, in order thus to reduce the different degrees of shrinkage of the strands 5a, 5b, 6 and to maintain the aesthetically pleasing appearance of the mop head.

Claims

1. A mop head comprising a support body (1) and textile fringes (2) that extend in the longitudinal direction (3), wherein the fringes (2) are attached in the longitudinal direction (3) to the support body (1) and have an opposite end (4) in the longitudinal direction (3), wherein at least one fringe (2) comprises at least two strands (5,6) with a first strand (5) and a second strand (6), wherein the strands (5,6) directly contact and rest against one another, wherein each strand (5,6) has the same length (9) as a result of the manufacturing process, wherein when water and or heat is applied during the intended use and operating conditions of the mop head, the strands (5,6) have different shrinkage properties in the longitudinal direction (3) as a result of material properties and wherein the strands (5,6) are fixed to one another by means of at least one fixing means (10) in the longitudinal direction (3) in such a manner that the strands (5,6) are kept at the same length (9) during the intended use and operating conditions of the mop head.

2. The mop head according to claim 1, characterised in that the fixing means (10) of the fringe (2) is embodied by at least one holding loop (11) which extends substantially transversally to the longitudinal direction (3).

3. The mop head according to claim 2, characterised in that the holding loop (11) peripherally encloses the fringe (2) in the longitudinal direction (3) at least at one point (12) of its extension.

4. The mop head according to any one of claims 2 or 3, characterised in that the holding loop (11) in the longitudinal direction (3) peripherally encloses the fringe (2) from the support body (1) to the opposite end (4).

5. The mop head according to any one of claims 2 to 4 characterised in that the holding

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PCT/EP2018/050610 loop (11) evenly and peripherally encloses the fringe (2) in the longitudinal direction (3).

6. The mop head according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterised in that the holding loop (11) encloses the fringe (2) from the support body (1) to the pposite end (4) substantially in the form of a screw thread.

7. The mop head according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the first strand (5) comprises first threads (7) and the second strand (6) comprises second threads (8).

8. The mop head according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the strands (5,6) are in parallel mutual arrangement in the longitudinal direction (3), that the fringe (2) has at least three strands (5a, 5b, 6), wherein two strands (5a, 5b) are identically formed, comprise identical first threads (7) and during the ntended use and operating conditions present an equal degree of shrinkage, and that one strand (6) is formed differently, comprises second threads (8) and during the intended use and operating conditions has a greater or lesser degree of shrinkage in the longitudinal direction (3) and that the strand (6) which comprises the second threads (8) is arranged between the strands (5 a, 5b) having identical first threads (7) and by means of the fixing means (10) is fixed between these in the longitudinal direction (3).

9. The mop head according to any one of claims 7 or 8, characterised in that the second threads (8), during the intended use and operating conditions, absorb or exude less cleaning liquid and/or have more abrasive functional properties than the first threads (7).

10. A mop comprising a mop head according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and a handle (13) which is connected to the mop head.