AU2014100804A4 - A maintenance item and a cleaning device including such a maintenance item - Google Patents

Abstract

A B S T R A C T The present invention provides a maintenance item for cleaning a floor surface, the item comprising a front 5 portion and a rear portion in line with each other and having respective top and bottom faces, said bottom faces defining a "cleaning" surface, the front portion includes, projecting from its bottom face, microfibers and scraping fibers of linear density greater than 10 1 dtex, and the rear portion includes, projecting from its bottom face, microfibers, and possibly also scraping fibers of linear density greater than 1 dtex, the mean linear density Ti (dtex) of the microfibers and of the scraping fibers on said bottom face of the front portion 15 being greater than or equal to 0.5 dtex, and the mean linear density T2 (dtex) of the microfibers, and optionally of the scraping fibers, on said bottom face of the rear portion being less than or equal to 2 dtex, and in that the mean linear density Ti (dtex) is different 20 from the mean linear density T2 (dtex).

Description

1 A MAINTENANCE ITEM AND A CLEANING DEVICE INCLUDING SUCH A MAINTENANCE ITEM Technical Field The present invention relates to the technical field 5 of maintenance items for cleaning floor surfaces, and to cleaning devices for using such maintenance items. Background Art When it is desired to clean a floor surface, it is known to use maintenance items that have on their 10 "cleaning" bottom surface a textile made up of loops and/or a pile of microfibers and of fibers having a linear density greater than 1 dtex, also referred to by the term "scraping fibers". Microfibers are known for forming an extremely dense capillary array giving them 15 excellent ability to absorb liquids and good ability to recover small particles such as dust. In the present text, the term "microfibers" is used to designate any fibers having a linear density of less than 1 dtex. The loops or pile formed by fibers having a linear 20 density greater than 1 dtex give abrasive or scraping power to said maintenance item for the purpose of detaching any dirt that might be located on the surface for cleaning. The absorption power of the microfibers is such that 25 if they constituted the entire cleaning surface, the maintenance item being handled remotely using a head plate of a broom would adhere so strongly to the floor for cleaning, in particular when the maintenance item is wet, that the user would no longer be able to move said 30 item (this can be referred to as the "suction cup" effect as generated by the capillary array). To mitigate that drawback, scraping fibers having a linear density greater than 1 dtex are arranged in alternation with said microfibers. Since the scraping 35 fibers have a linear density that is greater than that of the microfibers, they are stiffer and they form bearing points on the "cleaning" surface enabling the maintenance 2 item to slide over the floor surface for cleaning. Generally, such maintenance items include on their bottom surfaces - that are to form the "cleaning" surface that comes into contact with the floor - about 50% by 5 weight of microfibers relative to the proportion by weight of fibers on said bottom faces, the remainder being formed by fibers having a linear density greater than 1 dtex. Such maintenance items may be laminated with a foam 10 or they may include other absorbent textile panels arranged on their top faces. Such maintenance items are thus limited in the quantity of microfibers that their cleaning surfaces can present and also by their fineness (or linear density in 15 dtex). The greater the fineness of the microfibers (i.e. the smaller their linear density (dtex)), the better they absorb liquids and recover dust present on the floor, but the greater their tendency to adhere to the cleaning surface on the floor. 20 Furthermore, since microfibers have capacities for absorption and recovery that are greater than those of the scraping fibers, it is advantageous to seek to optimize their quantity and/or their fineness in the cleaning surfaces of maintenance items. 25 DE 103 27 584 discloses a cleaning item having two portions in one of its faces. The fibers covering these sections present fineness in the range 0.1 dtex to 10 dtex, and preferably in the range 0.1 dtex to 3 dtex. EP 0 925 399 discloses a textile structure 30 comprising a support material from which there project fibers having different finenesses and thus capable of forming up to three different zones that repeat over the surface. Disclosure of the invention 35 The present invention mitigates the above-mentioned problems in full or in part in that, in a first aspect, it provides a maintenance item for cleaning a floor 3 surface, the item comprising a front portion and a rear portion in line with each other, having respective top and bottom faces, said bottom faces defining a "cleaning" surface. The front portion includes, projecting from its 5 bottom face, microfibers and scraping fibers of linear density greater than 1 dtex, and the rear portion includes, projecting from its bottom face, microfibers, and possibly also scraping fibers of linear density greater than 1 dtex. The mean linear density Ti (dtex) 10 of the microfibers and of the scraping fibers on said bottom face of the front portion is greater than or equal to 0.5 dtex, whereas the mean linear density T2 (dtex) of the microfibers, and optionally of the scraping fibers, on said bottom face of the rear portion is less than or 15 equal to 2 dtex, and the mean linear density Ti (dtex) is different from the mean linear density T2 (dtex). The term "mean linear density" of the fibers present on the "cleaning" surface designates the weighted average of the linear densities of the various fibers. 20 The term "fiber" is used to designate a fiber or a filament. The bottom faces of the front and rear portions are in line with each other equally. The microfibers and the scraping fibers are 25 preferably selected from the following polymers, singly or in combination: polyamide 6, polyamide 6-6, polyamide 4-6 or 12, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, and polyethylene. The microfibers preferably have a linear density of 30 less than 1 dtex, preferably less than or equal to 0.87 dtex. The microfibers preferably have a linear density of 0.56 dtex or of 0.2 dtex. Preferably, when the microfibers have a linear density of 0.2 dtex, they comprise a mixture of polyethylene terephthalate fibers 35 and of polyamide 6 or 6-6 fibers. This mixture is due in particular to their method of fabrication, which consists in extruding filaments presenting a pie segment 4 structure, which segments are subsequently separated (the segments being made of polyethylene terephthalate, and the interfaces between two adjacent segments being made of polyamide). 5 The scraping fibers preferably have a linear density greater than 1 dtex, preferably greater than or equal to 4 dtex. More preferably, the scraping fibers have a linear density of 10 dtex or of 30 dtex. Calculating the linear density of a fiber is well 10 known to the person skilled in the art, and there exist numerous standards for performing this calculation, including in particular the following standards mentioned in non-exhaustive manner: - NF G01-001: Expression of linear density - TEX 15 system; - NF EN ISO 1973: Determination of linear density gravimetric method and vibroscope method; - ISO 7211-5: 1984: Woven fabrics, construction, methods of analysis, part 5: determination of linear 20 density of yarn removed from fabric. The values specified in the present text are given plus or minus 10%. Advantageously, the front and rear portions have different capillary arrays, the maintenance article 25 presenting adhesive powers on the floor cleaning surface that differ between the bottom face of the front portion and the bottom face of the rear portion, and thus presenting capacities for recovering and absorbing dirt that differ between these portions. 30 The linear density ranges specified for each of the portions give the bottom face of the front portion the function of sliding over the floor surface for cleaning. The bottom face of the front portion thus forms the "leading" face, i.e. the face from which the user causes 35 the maintenance item to slide over the floor surface. The inventors have thus observed, surprisingly, that the bottom face of the front portion unsticks dirt and 5 recovers it by means of the microfibers it includes, and that the bottom face of the rear portion recovers even more dust and other dirt than does the front portion. This has been observed visually. 5 Furthermore, the user has no difficulty in causing the maintenance item to slide over the floor surface when beginning to move said item on its "cleaning" surface, i.e. the bottom face of the front portion. The rear and front portions are connected together 10 along one of their longitudinal edges, by any securing means known in the state of the art. The front and rear portions may, for example, be secured by stitching (e.g. whipping), ultrasound welding, or thermofusing. The front and rear portions are constituted by a 15 common textile panel, or preferably each of them is constituted by at least one textile panel, which may be woven or knitted, preferably being a weave or a knit including loops or pile projecting at least from their bottom surfaces forming the "cleaning" bottom surface. 20 The values specified concerning mean linear densities or indeed the proportions by weight of fibers are calculated relative to the fibers present on the bottom faces of the front and rear portions. The maintenance item preferably includes an 25 intermediate layer, e.g. made of one or more textile panels comprising microfibers or made of foam, arranged on the top faces of the front and rear portions that then form a bottom layer. The maintenance item may also include a top layer arranged on the intermediate layer, 30 having attachment means suitable for co-operating with complementary attachment means arranged on the head-plate of a broom. In a variant, the mean linear density Ti (dtex) is greater than the mean linear density T2 (dtex). 35 Advantageously, the bottom face of the rear portion has more microfibers than the bottom face of the front portion, and thus presents properties of absorbing and 6 recovering dirt that are greater than those of the front portion. The maintenance item of the invention thus enables the effectiveness of cleaning to be improved. 5 In a variant, the bottom face of the rear portion comprises a proportion by weight of microfibers relative to the total weight of fibers projecting from the bottom face of the rear portion that is greater than the proportion by weight of microfibers of the bottom face of 10 the front portion relative to the total weight of fibers projecting from the bottom face of the front portion. In its bottom face, the rear portion includes fibers that are finer than the fibers of the bottom face of the front portion, thus enabling it to offer a capillary 15 array that is more developed than that of the front portion. In a variant, the microfibers and the scraping fibers on the bottom face of the front portion alternate repeatedly in at least one first given pattern, and the 20 microfibers and optionally the scraping fibers on the bottom face of the rear portion alternate repeatedly in at least one second given pattern, and the first pattern being different from the second pattern. This provision enhances sliding of the maintenance 25 item over the floor surface to be cleaned. The term "pattern" is used to designate any particular arrangement, in particular a geometrical arrangement, that is repeated over the bottom face of the maintenance item. 30 A first pattern may differ from a second pattern even though the arrangement of the loop is the same, providing the two patterns are visually different (it being possible to distinguish them because of the linear densities of the fibers, because of their color, and 35 because of their arrangement on the bottom face of the front or rear portion). Under such circumstances, the rows of microfiber loops are visually different from the 7 rows of scraping fiber loops because of the different linear densities of the fibers in question. In a subvariant, the front portion and/or the rear portion may present on their bottom faces microfibers 5 and/or scraping fibers that are arranged in at least two patterns. For example, on its bottom face, the front portion may have a first strip of continuous rows of loops and/or of pile of scraping fibers making up a first pattern, 10 followed by a second strip of continuous rows of loops and/or of pile of microfibers alternating with continuous rows of loops and/or of pile of scraping fibers, thereby forming a second pattern. Under such circumstances, the rear portion 15 preferably includes a strip of continuous rows of loops and/or of pile of microfibers forming a second pattern. In a variant, the first and second patterns are selected from: alternating continuous or discontinuous rows of microfibers and/or of scraping fibers, zigzags of 20 microfibers and/or of scraping fibers, and islands or localized zones of scraping fibers or of microfibers. In a variant, the bottom faces of the front and rear portions comprise loops and/or free pile of microfibers and/or of scraping fibers. 25 In a variant, the bottom face of the rear portion comprises at least 80%, preferably at least 90%, by weight of microfibers relative to the total weight of fibers projecting from its bottom face. The bottom faces of the front and rear portions of 30 the maintenance item of the invention thus makes it possible to present a large quantity of microfibers by weight, thereby optimizing the capacity of the maintenance item for absorbing and recovering dirt. In a variant, the bottom face of the front portion 35 comprises at least 50%, preferably at least 60%, by weight of microfibers relative to the total weight of fibers projecting from its bottom face.

8 In the prior art, a maintenance item for cleaning a floor surface generally comprises about 50% by weight of microfibers projecting from its bottom face, and sometimes 30% by weight relative to the total weight of 5 fibers projecting from its bottom face. The bottom faces of the front and rear portions of the invention thus preferably have at least 50%, preferably at least 60%, by weight of microfibers relative to the total weight of fibers projecting from 10 said bottom faces. This provision thus improves cleaning effectiveness considerably. In a variant, the maintenance item has attachment means suitable for co-operating with complementary attachment means arranged on the head-plate of a broom. 15 These attachment means may be side pockets suitable for co-operating with side ends of the head-plate of a broom, or they may be tongues arranged on the side edges of the maintenance item and projecting from the top faces of the front and rear portions in order to co-operate 20 with eyelets, or other equivalent means arranged on the side ends of the head-plate of a broom. The attachment means may also be complementary magnet systems fitted to tongues arranged on the maintenance item and to the head plate of the broom, or indeed attachment members of the 25 hook and loop type suitable for co-operating together so as to be releasably secured to each other. In a variant, the top faces of the front and rear portions are covered in a textile panel, in particular a three-dimensional knit, having loops with which hooks can 30 co-operate in order to attach them. In particular, these may be hooks supported by the head-plate of a broom. In a variant, the maintenance item includes a foam or a textile panel, comprising microfibers and arranged on the top face of the rear portion, and optionally of 35 the front portion. Said textile panel may be woven or knitted. Preferably, the foam or the textile panel thus forms an 9 intermediate layer arranged on the top face of the front portion and possibly of the rear portion, and between them and an outer layer, said outer layer is preferably a three-dimensional knit and/or includes attachment means 5 suitable for co-operating with attachment means fitted to the head-plate of a broom. In a second aspect, the present invention also provides a cleaning device including a maintenance item in accordance with any of the above variant embodiments 10 and comprising a broom fitted with a handle having a head-plate at its distal end and having dimensions that are of the same order as the dimensions of the maintenance item of the invention. The maintenance item and thus the head-plate for 15 receiving it may be rectangular or trapezoidal in shape. Mode(s) for carrying out the invention The present invention can be better understood on reading about three embodiments mentioned in non-limiting manner. In the following embodiments, the percentages by 20 weight of fibers in the bottom face of the front or rear portion are given relative to the total weight of the fibers projecting from said bottom face of the front or rear portion. The first example of a maintenance item has a front 25 portion and a rear portion in line with each other and having respective top and bottom faces, said bottom faces defining a "cleaning" surface, the front portion including on its bottom face microfibers and scraping fibers having a linear density greater than 1 dtex, and 30 the rear portion having microfibers on its bottom face. The mean linear density Ti (dtex) of microfibers and scraping fibers on said bottom face of the front portion is greater than or equal to 0.5 dtex, the mean linear density T2 (dtex) of microfibers on said bottom face of 35 the rear portion is less than or equal to 2 dtex, and the mean linear density Ti (dtex) is greater than or equal to the mean linear density T2 (dtex). The front portion is 10 a warp and weft pile fabric having alternating microfibers and scraping fibers projecting from its bottom face and each arranged in a first pattern, e.g. the microfibers and the scraping fibers alternate in the 5 form of islands. The front portion thus has microfiber pile and scraping fiber pile. The bottom face of the rear portion, in particular a warp knitted fabric with loops is constituted by microfibers, preferably of the pie segment type in a 70%/30% (by weight) mixture of 10 polyethylene terephthalate/polyamide, with a linear density of 0.2 dtex. The microfibers are arranged in continuous rows of loops and thus form a second pattern different from the first pattern. In its bottom face, the front portion has 90% by 15 weight of microfibers. The scraping fibers represent 10% by weight of the surface of the front portion. The microfibers of the front portion have a linear density of 0.56 dtex and they are preferably made of polyethylene terephthalate. The scraping fibers of the front portion 20 have a linear density of 30 dtex and they are preferably made of polyamide. Thus, the mean linear density (Ti) of the front portion is equal to (0.9X0.56 dtex + 0.1X30 dtex=) 3.5 dtex, while the mean linear density (T2) of the rear portion is (1X0.2 dtex=) 0.2 dtex. 25 The rear portion thus presents a mean linear density (T2) that is much less than the mean linear density (Ti) of the front portion, thereby giving the front portion the main function of scraping the floor in order to unstick dirt and the function of sliding, and on the rear 30 portion the function of absorbing and recovering dirt, some of which has been unstuck but not absorbed by the front portion. The second embodiment of a maintenance item differs from the first embodiment in that the rear portion 35 comprises a warp knitted fabric with loops comprising alternating loops of microfibers and loops of scraping fibers projecting from its bottom and alternating in a 11 second pattern, e.g. intervals comprising a plurality of rows of microfibers or of scraping fibers, the second pattern being different from said first pattern. In this particular embodiment, the microfibers and 5 the scraping fibers represent respectively 80% by weight and 20% by weight of the bottom surface of the front portion, and they have respective linear densities of 0.87 dtex and 5 dtex. In the bottom face of the rear portion, the proportion by weight of microfibers is 10 greater than that in the bottom face of the front portion since it represents 90% by weight of the bottom surface of the rear portion, thus leaving 10% scraping fibers. In the bottom face of the rear portion, the microfibers have a linear density of 0.2 dtex and the scraping fibers 15 have a linear density of 4 dtex. The mean linear density (Ti) of the fibers in the bottom face of the front portion is thus about 1.69 dtex (=0.8x0.87 dtex + 0.2x5 dtex). The mean linear density (T2) of the fibers in the bottom face of the rear portion is 20 0.58 dtex (=0.9x0.2 dtex + 0.1x4 dtex). The third embodiment of a maintenance item has a front portion in a warp and weft knitted fabric having loops, with 50% by weight microfibers and 50% by weight scraping fibers. The rear portion is likewise a warp and 25 weft knitted fabrics having loops, with 80% by weight microfibers and 20% by weight scraping fibers. In the front and rear portions, the microfibers are preferably of the pie segment type in a 70%/30% (by weight) mixture of polyethylene terephthalate/polyamide, and they have a 30 linear density of 0.2 dtex, while the scraping fibers are preferably made of polyethylene terephthalate and have a linear density of 4 dtex. The mean linear density (Ti) of fibers in the bottom face of the front portion is thus 2.1 dtex 35 (=0.5x0.2 dtex + 0.5x4 dtex). The mean linear density (T2) of fibers in the bottom face of the rear portion is 1.248 dtex (=0.8x0.2 dtex + 0.2x4 dtex).

12 The three above-mentioned embodiments all have the advantage of presenting a bottom face of the rear portion with properties that are improved in terms of absorbing liquids and recovering dirt compared with the properties 5 provided by the bottom face of the front portion, which serves to improve the quality with which a floor surface is cleaned while preserving the comfort of the user handling said maintenance item at a distance via the head-plate of a broom, for example. 10

Claims (5)

1. A maintenance item for cleaning a floor surface, the 5 item comprising a front portion and a rear portion in line with each other, having respective top and bottom faces, said bottom faces defining a "cleaning" surface, wherein the front portion includes, projecting from its bottom face, microfibers and scraping fibers of linear 10 density greater than 1 dtex, and the rear portion includes, projecting from its bottom face, microfibers, and possibly also scraping fibers of linear density greater than 1 dtex, the mean linear density Ti (dtex) of the microfibers and of the scraping fibers on said bottom 15 face of the front portion being greater than or equal to 0.5 dtex, and the mean linear density T2 (dtex) of the microfibers, and optionally of the scraping fibers, on said bottom face of the rear portion being less than or equal to 2 dtex, and in that the mean linear density Ti 20 (dtex) is different from the mean linear density T2 (dtex).

2. A maintenance item according to claim 1, wherein the mean linear density Ti (dtex) is greater than the mean 25 linear density T2 (dtex).

3. A maintenance item according to claim 1, wherein the bottom face of the rear portion comprises a proportion by weight of microfibers relative to the total weight of 30 fibers projecting from the bottom face of the rear portion that is greater than the proportion by weight of microfibers of the bottom face of the front portion relative to the total weight of fibers projecting from the bottom face of the front portion. 35

4. A maintenance item according to claim 1, wherein the bottom face of the rear portion comprises at least 80% 14 by weight of microfibers relative to the total weight of fibers projecting from its bottom face.

5. A cleaning device including a maintenance item 5 according to claim 1, wherein it comprises a broom fitted with a handle provided with a head-plate at its distal end of dimensions that are of the same order as the dimensions of the maintenance item. 10