EP4388966A1

EP4388966A1 - Mop bucket with wheels

Info

Publication number: EP4388966A1
Application number: EP23216996.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Julian Escarpa Gil
Original assignee: Sp Berner Plastic Group SL
Current assignee: Sp Berner Plastic Group SL
Priority date: 2022-12-19
Filing date: 2023-12-15
Publication date: 2024-06-26
Also published as: ES1298301U; ES1298301Y

Abstract

Comprises a hollow body (1) formed by a side wall (1a) and a bottom (1b) in which wheels (2), which are configured to be supported on the floor (4) in order to facilitate the movement of the bucket assembly during the task of cleaning said floor (4), are assembled. The side wall (1a) includes a perimeter edge delimiting an opening. The hollow body (1) of the mop bucket has a configuration with double reflective symmetry: a first reflective symmetry wherein the hollow body (1) is symmetrical with respect to a first longitudinal plane (13), and a second reflective symmetry wherein the hollow body (1) is symmetrical with respect to a second transverse plane (14) which is perpendicular to the first longitudinal plane (13). The pairs of symmetrical parts of the hollow body (1) comprise at least opposite parts of the side wall (1a) and opposite parts of the bottom (1b).

Description

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a mop bucket with wheels comprising a hollow body formed by a bottom and a side wall; wherein the bottom includes wheels in combination with projections; wherein the wheels are usually supported on the floor in order to facilitate the movement of the bucket assembly during the task of cleaning with a mop; and wherein the projections are supported on the floor simultaneously with the support of the wheels when a wringer of the bucket is pushed downwards with the mop in order to wring same, preventing the bucket from moving during this operation.
The bucket of the invention further comprises a double reflective central symmetry, i.e., it is symmetrical both in a longitudinal section plane and in a transverse section plane; wherein both planes are perpendicular to one another, such that the user can assemble the wringer interchangeably in any of two symmetrical opposite parts of the bucket, keeping the functionalities thereof intact.

Background of the invention

There is a recent trend in providing mop buckets used for cleaning floors with rolling elements again, such that said rolling elements allow the user to move the buckets easily around the area being cleaned, for example by handling said buckets with the handle of the mop itself, as disclosed in some documents registered in the name of the actual proprietor of the invention being described, such as Spanish patent with publication number ES 2353916 T3 and also international patent with publication number WO 2019162542 A1 .
Other prior art documents disclosing mop buckets with rolling elements are the following utility models with publication numbers: ES 1016710 , ES 1127356 , and ES 1167158 . Another document that discloses a mop bucket with wheels is the international patent with publication number WO 20027141775 .
These buckets are commonly purchased disassembled for reasons of space during their transport and storage, i.e., the bucket itself is supplied on one hand and the wringing device on the other, such that it will be the user who finally assembles the assembly of mop bucket with wheels at home in a foldable manner. Moreover, it should be noted that it is not possible to fit buckets together for stacking if the wringer is assembled.
Well, an operation that should be relatively simple, sometimes becomes complicated when it involves a bucket the base of which is not circular and the user assembles the wringer on the opposite or wrong side. This is even more serious if the rolling elements (wheels) of the bucket are located, for all intents and purposes, in a single position of use; wherein this mistake causes many complaints against the seller when the wringer moves, gets blocked, etc.

Description of the invention

In order to achieve the objectives and prevent the drawbacks mentioned in the preceding sections, the invention proposes a mop bucket with wheels comprising a hollow body formed by a side wall and a bottom in which wheels which are configured to be supported on the floor are assembled in order to facilitate the movement of the bucket assembly during the task of cleaning said floor; wherein the side wall of the hollow body includes a perimeter edge delimiting an opening.
The hollow body of the mop bucket has a configuration with double reflective symmetry: a first reflective symmetry wherein the hollow body is symmetrical with respect to a first longitudinal plane, and a second reflective symmetry wherein the hollow body is symmetrical with respect to a second transverse plane which is perpendicular to the first longitudinal plane.
With this configuration of the bucket of the invention that has been described, the pairs of symmetrical parts of the hollow body comprise at least opposite parts of the side wall and opposite parts of the bottom.
The side wall of the hollow body comprises two opposing flat parts converging towards the bottom, and two other opposing curved parts also converging towards the bottom.
The opening of the hollow body of the mop bucket is delimited by the perimeter edge which is reinforced by means of a perimeter skirt including two opposite arched indentations located in the two curved parts of the hollow body; wherein said arched indentations are configured to facilitate the pouring of the liquid fluid contained inside the hollow body.
A wringer which can be placed in two different positions in accordance with the two opposing curved parts of the hollow body of the mop bucket is coupled on the perimeter skirt of the hollow body.
The bucket of the invention further includes a folding handle coupled to the hollow body by means of two articulated connections which are located in two opposite areas of the perimeter skirt in correspondence with the upper areas of the two flat parts of the side wall of the hollow body.
The bottom of the hollow body includes projections separated from the floor by a distance; wherein while wringing the mop with which it is pushed downwards a wringer assembled on the perimeter edge delimiting the opening of the hollow body, the bottom of said hollow body deforms, said projections coming into contact with the floor.
In an embodiment of the invention, the projections of the bottom of the hollow body are located around the entire perimeter contour of said bottom, such that the projections have a spherical cap shape.
The wheels are located in an inner area on the inside of the perimeter contour of the bottom in which the projections are located.
In an embodiment of the invention, the bucket comprises two pairs of wheels arranged with the double reflective symmetry; wherein said wheels are located in recesses of the bottom of the hollow body; and wherein said recesses of the wheels are located in correspondence with the parts of the bottom corresponding with the curved parts of the hollow body.
The bottom of the hollow body includes two transverse recesses which are configured for the introduction of fingers therein in operations for pouring the liquid fluid contained inside the hollow body; wherein said transverse recesses are located with the double reflective symmetry.
In an embodiment of the invention, the recesses of the wheels are located in areas adjacent to the ends of the two transverse recesses.
To help better understand this specification, and as an integral part thereof, a series of figures is attached, in which the object of the invention is depicted in an illustrative and non-limiting manner.

Brief description of the figures

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the mop bucket with wheels, object of the invention.
Figure 2 shows an elevational view of the bucket of the invention.
Figure 3 shows a bottom plan view of the bucket.
Figure 4 shows a profile view of the bucket of the invention.
Figure 5 shows a sectioned elevational view of the bucket according to section B-B of Figure 4.
Figure 6 shows a sectioned profile view of the bucket of the invention according to section A-A of Figure 2.
Figure 7 shows a top plan view of the bucket.
Figure 8 shows a section view of the bottom of the bucket of the invention.

Description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention

Taking into consideration the numbering adopted in the figures, the mop bucket with wheels 2 comprises a hollow body 1 formed by a side wall 1a and a bottom 1b including four recesses 3 in which the four wheels 2 which are supported on the floor 4 are assembled in order to facilitate the movement of the bucket assembly during the task of cleaning with a mop not depicted in the figures. The mop bucket also includes a folding handle 5 coupled to the hollow body 1 by means of two opposing articulated connections 6.
The side wall 1a of the hollow body 1 comprises two opposing flat parts 7 converging towards the bottom 1b, and two other opposing curved parts 8 also converging towards the bottom 1b, which are the prolongation of the two flat parts 7.
The opening of the hollow body 1 of the mop bucket is delimited by a perimeter edge reinforced by means of a perimeter skirt 9 including two opposite arched indentations 10 located in the two curved parts 8 of the hollow body 1; wherein said arched indentations are configured to facilitate the pouring of the liquid fluid contained inside the hollow body 1. The hollow body 1 includes fins 16 which reinforce the attachment of the perimeter skirt 9 to the side wall 1a.
The two articulated connections 6 of the folding handle 5 are located in two opposite areas of the perimeter skirt 9 in correspondence with the upper areas of the two flat parts 7 of the side wall 1a of the hollow body 1.
Moreover, on the perimeter skirt 9, it is coupled a wringer 11 which can be placed in two different positions in accordance with the two opposing curved parts 8 of the hollow body 1 of the bucket.
The bottom 1b of the hollow body 1 of the mop bucket further includes two transverse recesses 12 to enable introducing therein the fingers of the user during operations for pouring the liquid fluid; wherein said transverse recesses 12 are located symmetrically in correspondence with the parts of the bottom 1b corresponding with the curved parts 8 of the hollow body 1.
Likewise, the location of the four recesses 3 of the wheels 2 are arranged symmetrically on the bottom 1b of the hollow body 1; wherein said recesses 3 of the wheels 2 are located in areas adjacent to the ends of the two transverse recesses 12.
As mentioned above, the user can assemble the wringer 11 interchangeably in any of the two opposite areas of the perimeter skirt 9 of the hollow body 1 of the bucket in correspondence with the two curved parts 8, keeping the functionalities thereof intact.
The arched indentations 10 only affect the maximum width of the perimeter skirt 9, without any type of extension, such that it does not gets in the way of or interrupts with the assembly of the wringer 11.
The hollow body 1 of the mop bucket has a configuration with double reflective symmetry, i.e., the hollow body 1 is symmetrical both with respect to a first longitudinal plane 13 referred to in the figures with a first dash-dot line, and with respect to a second transverse plane 14 which is perpendicular to the first longitudinal plane 13.
Another feature of the invention, as shown more clearly in Figure 8, is that, in addition to the wheels 2, projections 15 in the form of a spherical cap, which are located around the entire perimeter contour of the bottom 1b of the hollow body 1, are arranged externally at the bottom 1b of the hollow body 1 of the mop bucket.
It should be noted that said projections 15 are not usually supported on the floor 4, although they are located very close to said floor 4, such that in this standby position that has been described, the mop bucket assembly is supported on the floor 4 through its wheels 2, even when the hollow body 1 is filled with the liquid fluid which may simply be water, or water mixed with cleaning products.
Therefore, in this standby position that has been described, the projections 15 at the bottom 1b of the hollow body 1 of the mop bucket are located at a distance D from the floor 4 and only when the mop is introduced and pushed downwards on the wringer 11 for wringing same, overcoming the resistance to deformation of the bottom 1b of the hollow body 1 of the mop bucket (in an embodiment of the invention, between 2 and 7 kilograms of downward force), the bottom 1b yields by bending and deforming until its projections 15 contact the floor 4 simultaneously with the support and contact of the wheels 2 on said floor 4.
This thereby ensures that the mop bucket assembly does not move accidentally while wringing the mop as a result of the projections 15 being firmly supported on the floor 4, such that in the case that there is a force component parallel to the floor 4 during wringing, it is counteracted by the friction force existing in the contact between the projections 15 and the floor 4.
Obviously, the projections 15 only contact the floor 4 when the mop is being wrung, pushing downwards on the wringer 11, whereas when this wringing operation ceases, the bottom 1b of the hollow body 1 recovers its standby position, with the projections 15 being separated from the floor 4, whereby the bucket assembly is again supported on the floor 4 only through its wheels 2.

Claims

A mop bucket with wheels, comprising a hollow body (1) formed by a side wall (1a) and a bottom (1b) in which wheels (2), which are configured to be supported on the floor (4), are assembled in order to facilitate the movement of the bucket assembly during the task of cleaning said floor (4); wherein the side wall (1a) includes a perimeter edge delimiting an opening; characterized in that the hollow body (1) of the mop bucket has a configuration with double reflective symmetry: a first reflective symmetry wherein the hollow body (1) is symmetrical with respect to a first longitudinal plane (13), and a second reflective symmetry wherein the hollow body (1) is symmetrical with respect to a second transverse plane (14) which is perpendicular to the first longitudinal plane (13);
wherein the pairs of symmetrical parts of the hollow body (1) comprise at least opposite parts of the side wall (1a) and opposite parts of the bottom (1b).
The mop bucket with wheels according to claim 1, characterized in that the side wall (1a) of the hollow body (1) comprises two opposing flat parts (7) converging towards the bottom (1b), and two other opposing curved parts (8) also converging towards the bottom (1b).
The mop bucket with wheels according to claim 2, characterized in that the opening of the hollow body (1) of the mop bucket is delimited by the perimeter edge which is reinforced by means of a perimeter skirt (9) including two opposite arched indentations (10) located in the two curved parts (8) of the hollow body (1); wherein said arched indentations are configured to facilitate the pouring of the liquid fluid contained inside the hollow body (1).
The mop bucket with wheels according to claim 3, characterized in that, on the perimeter skirt (9) of the hollow body (1), it is coupled a wringer (11) which can be placed in two different positions in accordance with the two opposing curved parts (8) of the hollow body (1) of the mop bucket.
The mop bucket with wheels according to any one of the preceding claims 3 or 4, characterized in that it includes a folding handle (5) coupled to the hollow body (1) by means of two articulated connections (6) which are located in two opposite areas of the perimeter skirt (9) in correspondence with the upper areas of the two flat parts (7) of the side wall (1a) of the hollow body (1).
The mop bucket with wheels according to claim 4, characterized in that the bottom (1b) of the hollow body (1) includes projections (15) separated from the floor (4) by a distance (D); wherein said projections (15) are configured to contact said floor (4) when a downward thrust force is applied on the wringer (11); wherein the bottom (1b) of the hollow body (1) deforms during said downward thrust.
The mop bucket with wheels according to claim 6, characterized in that the projections (15) are located around the entire perimeter contour of the bottom (1b) of the hollow body (1).
The mop bucket with wheels according to any one of the preceding claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the projections (15) of the bottom (1b) of the hollow body (1) have a spherical cap shape.
The mop bucket with wheels according to claim 7, characterized in that the wheels (2) are located in an inner area on the inside of the perimeter contour of the bottom (1b) in which the projections (15) are located.
The mop bucket with wheels according to any one of the preceding claims 2 to 9, characterized in that it comprises two pairs of wheels (2) arranged with the double reflective symmetry; wherein said wheels (2) are located in recesses (3) at the bottom (1b) of the hollow body (1); and wherein said recesses (3) of the wheels (2) are located in correspondence with the parts of the bottom (1b) corresponding with the curved parts (8) of the hollow body (1).
The mop bucket with wheels according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bottom (1b) of the hollow body (1) includes two transverse recesses (12) which are configured for the introduction of fingers therein in operations for pouring the liquid fluid contained inside the hollow body (1); wherein said transverse recesses (12) are located with the double reflective symmetry.
The mop bucket with wheels according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the recesses (3) of the wheels (2) are located in areas adjacent to the ends of the two transverse recesses (12).