US2320372A - Dusting and polishing mop - Google Patents

Description

June 1, 1943. A. M. M CARTHY DUSTING AND POLISHING MOP Filed July 25, 1940 aw m 5 WW Q mm m M W IM A 6 m A Patented June 1, 1943 2,320,372 DUSTING AND POLISHING Mop Aimee M. McCarthy, Saratoga Springs, N. Y., as-

signor of one-third to George H. Corey, New

York, Y.

Application July 25, 1940, Serial No. 347,401

Claims.

This invention relates to dusting and polishing mops and more particularly to an improved head for such mops and interchangeable refills of mop material for detachable connection to the head.

Dusting and polishing mops heretofore available have been made of various textile materials and have a tendency to leave lint and dust streaks after a short period of use, and, therefore, not only require frequent shaking out but also periodically need to be more thoroughly cleaned bywashing or boiling out and rinsing. This cleaning of floor mops has proved to be a most distasteful job for the housewife and to avoid this the use of refills has been suggested. However, the refills that have been heretofore available, having been made of various textile materials, are relatively expensive. Moreover, such materials even when firstused tend to leave lint on the surface over which they are wiped.

Ithas been proposed to use paper in place of textile materials in dust mopsand brushes, but

so far as I am aware no mop made according to the prior proposals has been found satisfactory. I believe this has been due to failure to appreciate fully the differences between paper and textile fabrics that must be taken into account in devising a dust mop or refill for a dust mop that will serve the desired purpose. any event, the construction heretofore proposed is not adapted to gather up dust efiiciently nor is itusable to good advantage in dusting around thelegs and other parts of furniture adjacent the floor or in wiping dust from corners and other restricted areas. Moreover, the refills, as proposed, would be relatively expensive to manufacture.

:It is an object of my invention to provide a simple, economical and improved dust or polishing mopfor use on floors and like surfaces of.paper or a similar soft pliable material havingdust collecting and polishing qualities and which at the same time is relatively inexpensive.

'A further object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive and improved head for floor mops which is of simple construction and has elements to which mop refills may be easily detachably connected.

A still further object of the invention is to provide dusting and polishing refills for dust or polishing mops which are made of inexpensive material and are of such construction as to facilitate the picking up of dust in dusting or to evenly distribute a polishing material, as the 4O whichis' provided with inexpensive refills made case may be, and which are detachably connectable to mop heads and easily replaced by new refills when they become Worn or dust laden.

The foregoing objects and features of the invention are accomplished by providing a mopping or wiping element made up of a plurality of sheets of a soft pliable paper arranged in superposed relation and slitted or cut to provide a multitude or spaced slits of irregular contour extending from adjacent a common line of attachment to the free ends thereof. The strips or strands are advantageously so cut as to provide extended irregular side edges which may take the form of irregular serrations or other irregular shapes. These serve to enhance the effectiveness of the mop by presenting extended dust gathering or polishing edge surfaces in every position or direction of movement of the mop over the surfaces being dusted or polished.

The invention has for a further object an improved and simple method of manufacturing the refills wherein the number of sheets required to produce the refill are placed in superposed relation and then folded as a unit laterally upon themselves. They are then stitched together, stapled or secured together in some other manner along or adjacent the line of fold. The strands or ribbons may be formed by passing the assembly beneath a reciprocating knife having an irregular lengthwise contour designed to impart the desired serrations or other configuration to the side edges of the strip. This operation may be carried on either before or after the pad is folded upon itself, and likewise either before or after the sheets are secured together.

The invention has for a further object to provide a mop head of simple form and so constructed as to permit of ready attachement to and detachment therefrom of a refill of the novel form and construction hereinafter more,

particularly claimed and described. The mop head may be made of sheet metal or any other material having requisite stiffness for properly supporting the mop material. The edges of the head may be provided with hooks or other connecting means either applied thereto or out and shaped from portions of the head itself.

The mop refills may be made from sheets of inexpensive pliable paper-like substance which has been treated or which has natural qualities for collecting and holding dust and for polishing surfaces. The main portion ofthe refill is (lit into ribbon-like strands, the edges of which are surface or flange 22 to which the refill mop material may be detachably connected or against which the refill may be pressed and held during use. The form of mop head shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is provided with hooks 24 cut from the flange 22 and shaped to extend outwardly and upwardly of the flange. A plurality of such hooks are provided along the peripheral edge of the head to engage spaced eyelet 25 formed along one edge of the refill l4 and in this way connect the refill to the periphery of the head.

sheets of paper material may be secured together by any suitable means, such as stitching, various forms of rivets or staples or'by local application of an adhesive substance. In case Waxed paper is used, the superposed sheets may be caused to adhere together along the comb or unslitted.

enough to enable the loops to be forced over hooks or similar members carried by the mop head. This form has the advantage that the refill serves to provide a soft cushion about the peripheral edge of the mop head to prevent engagement of the head or the connecting elements 2 thereof with furniture or other surfaces with which the mop may come into contact during dusting and polishing operations.

Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an improved form of dusting and polishing mop provided with a refill made in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section of the mop taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1;

.Figure 3 is a view in side elevation of the mop refill in extended position, and

Figure 4 is a view in vertical section of a modified form of mop head, with parts broken away, provided with mop engaging and connecting elements whereby the mop refill is adapted to cover the connecting elements when the refill is connected in operative position on the head.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the mop of the present invention is shown to comprise a head Hi, a suitable handle I2 and a detachable mop refill M. The head H] is of simple construction, as shown, being suitably shaped fromv sheet metal, but may be made of another material having the requisite stiffness to properly support, the refill of mop material. To provide apivotal connection for the handle l2, lugs l6 r The mop refills are constructed of sheets 26 of a soft pliable paper or similar material which are assembled into a pad of a suitable number of sheets and then folded as a unit transversely of the length of the pad along a center line thereof as at 28. The assembled sheets are then secured together adjacent the fold 28, as by stapling or stitching 30. The main portion of the sheet ma terial is slitted to provide strands 32, the edges of which are cut to provide irregular edge surfaces or serrations 33. The construction of the refill is such that it may be packed for sale either flat or in a compact folded form. Each refill may be packed separately, or preferably a suitable number are packed and sold together as a unit.

After the refill has been applied to the head, the strands 32 are crumpled, either by suitable manipulation of the mop against the floor, or'by hand, whereby the strands are crinkled and fiuifed laterally outward to present a multitude of wiping surfaces. The serrated edges of the strips are important in that they increase the effective area of the wiping surfaces and insure increased Wiping contact irrespective of the direction of movement of the mop over the surface being dusted or polished. It will also be appreciated 'that when the refill strips or the strands 32 are means which positively eliminates surface contact with the peripheral portion of the head Illa is This form of connecting means shown in Fig. 4.

comprises a plurality of hooks 54 cut and shaped from the peripheral flange 50.

The hooks 54 are of such size, shape and disposition that the loops of the staples or stitchings 55 and 56 are adapted to receive the hooks 54 to hold the refill in position substantially as illustrated. This form of connecting means is simple and yet effective in detachably connecting the refills to the mop head, and at the same time provides an adequate cushion of mop material adja- 1 cent the peripheral edge of the head to keep the metal portions of the mop head from undesired contact with the legs or other parts of furniture or the walls of the room being dusted.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that I have invented an improved floor mop which may be easily and cheaply manufactured and provided with replaceable refills.

When a refill becomes worn and dust-laden to the point where the ordinary mop would require cleaning or laundering, the refill may be disposed mop of the present invention, therefore, provides an inexpensive and efiicient mop for the housewife which needs not be shaken out or laundered.

As hereinbefore indicated, various soft or pliable forms of paper may be employed. A paper that I have found to work very satisfactorily for this purpose is the type of soft tissue paper sold for cleansing purposes, of which the brand sold as Kleenex is a representative example. I have also found that various waxed papers serve my purpose very well, both by reason of their ability to gather dust and at the same time their ability to apply a Waxed finish effect to the surface that is dusted. It will be understood that instead of the ordinary parafiin wax the paper may be impregnated with a wax composition including the ingredients customarily employed in floor waxes.

There are also certain inexpensive fabric materials that may be used in forming my improved refill as, for example, that type of cotton fabric known as cheesecloth, and this may be impregnated with wax in a similar manner as paper.

While I have shown and described several different variations of my invention, I am fully aware that many additional variations and modifications thereof are possible. For this reason it should be understood that the forms of the invention herein illustrated and described are intended to be illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A dusting and polishing mop comprising a triangular head having a plurality of hooks spaced along the peripheral edge thereof, the bills of the hooks being so disposed as to project slightly outwardly of the head, and a mop refill made up of a plurality of sheets of waxed paper, said sheets being arranged in superposed relation and secured together adjacent one edge of the refill, said sheets being provided with spaced slits of serrated contour extending from adjacent their common line of attachment toward the free edges thereof, whereby to produce a plurality of superposed ribbon-like strands or strips having serrated edge surfaces and presenting, when the mop is in use, extended dust gathering edge surfaces in every position or direction of movement of the mop over the surface being dusted or polished, and said refill being provided with spaced loop members along the secured edge thereof adapted to receive the bills of said hooks for detachably holding the mop refill adjacent the peripheral edge of said head while at the same time holding the refill in a position to prevent contact of the mop-head and said fastening means with the legs and other parts of furniture about which the mop is moved in polishing and dusting.

2. A refill for dusting and polishing mops or the like, comprising a plurality of sheets of a thin pliable paper-like material adapted to collect dust or lint when brought into contact therewith, said sheets being arranged in superposed relation and secured together along one edge to form a pad adapted to be secured to the peripheral flange of a triangular shaped mop-head, said individual sheets being provided with spaced slits of indented contour extending from adjacent their common line of attachment toward the free edges thereof, whereby to produce a plurality of superposed ribbon-like strands or strips having indented edge surfaces presenting, when the mop is in use, extended dust gathering edge surfaces in every position or direction of movement of the mop over the surface being dusted or polished.

3. A refill for dusting and polishing mops or the like, comprising a plurality of sheets of a soft paper arranged in superposed relation and folded as a unit transversely, said sheets being secured together adjacent the line of fold and being provided with spaced slits of serrated contour extending from adjacent their common line of attachment toward the free edges thereof, whereby to produce a plurality of superposed ribbon-like strands or strips having serrated edge surfaces presenting, when the mop is in use, extended dust gathering edge surfaces in every position or direction of movement of the mop over the surface being dusted or polished, said refill being further provided with a plurality of spaced eyelets adjacent the secured edge thereof and adapted to engage with supporting means carried by a mop head.

4. A refill for dusting and polishing mops or the like, comprising a plurality of sheets of pliable waxed paper arranged in superposed relation and folded as a unit transversely to form a pad adapted to be secured to the peripheral flange of a triangular shaped mop-head, said sheets being secured together adjacent the line of fold and being provided with spaced slits of serrated contour extending from adjacent their common line of attachment toward the free edges thereof, whereby to produce a plurality of superposed ribbon-like strands or strips having serrated edge surfaces presenting, when the mop is in use, extended dust gathering edge surfaces in every position or direction of movement of the mop over the surface being dusted or polished.

5. The method of making a refill for polishing and dusting mops or the like, which comprises associating a plurality of sheets of waxed paper in superposed relation, forming a series of serrated cuts in said assembled sheets generally parallel to one another and extending from adjacent the center line of such assembly outwardly toward the opposed edges of said sheets, thereby forming o a plurality of superposed ribbon-like strands or strips having serrated edge surfaces, folding the assembled sheets as a unit along said center line, and securing the assembled sheets together adjacent the line of fold, thereby forming a pad adapted to be secured to the peripheral edge fiange of a triangular-shaped mop-head.

AIMEE M. MCCARTHY.

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