IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO FLOOR CLEANERS

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001]The invention relates to a wet floor cleaner that involves one or more rotating mop rollers. In particular, the invention involves example arrangements to improve the function of cleaning the mop roller as it rotates, in use.

BACKGROUND

[0002]Wet floor cleaners with motor driven rotating mop rollers are becoming more popular. The performance of such cleaners is superior to traditional mops as the number of passes that a motor driven mop roller is able to make over a stained region of a floor in any given period of time far exceeds the number of passes possible when using a traditional mop.

[0003]It is preferable for wet floor cleaners to be as light and as compact as possible to aid manoeuvrability and to allow for neat storage. However, the need for compactness can be compromised by the required packaging of on-board motors, cooling systems, power transmission and power supply systems. In addition, the use of electric motors in a wet environment presents an additional challenge due to the need to keep water away from electrical systems. Cleaning and maintenance of such machines can also be a challenge as they tend to have a large number of components that need periodic cleaning. For example, the main mop roller(s) must be removed from time-to-time to clean the textured cleaning surface. Also, such machines may feature a mop cleaning arrangement that is located adjacent the mop roller to flick debris from its surface, and also a mangle strip to squeeze cleaning fluid from the rotating mop roller into an underlying tank or sump. Such mop cleaning arrangements also need to be removed and cleaned separately, usually quite frequently. The user experience would benefit from simplified maintenance processes for these types of machines.

[0004]It is against this background that the examples of the invention have been devised.

SUMMARY

[0005]The examples of the invention provide a mop arrangement for a wet floor cleaner comprising a mop roller and a cleaning roller, wherein the cleaning roller is configured to be aligned adjacent the mop roller to squeeze cleaning fluid from the mop roller in use. The arrangement further comprises a drive arrangement configured to rotate the mop roller and the cleaning roller. The cleaning roller extends in an axial direction between a first end and a second end, and defines at least one mangle bar that extends along the cleaning roller in a helical path.

[0006]Beneficially the helical mangle bar provides a more effective way of squeezing moisture from the adjacent mop roller in use. One aspect of this is that in previous arrangements a mangle has been provided as a separate component to the cleaning roller; by providing a mangle bar on the cleaning roller itself, a smaller lighter product can be provided, and there are fewer components for the user to clean. In addition, the helical shape of the mangle bar ensures that there is continuous contact between the mangle bar and the mop roller, resulting in a smoother torque load for an associated drive motor which has lower average current draw.

[0007]The mangle bar can be configured in various ways. In one example, the mangle bar is continuous so it is defined by a uniform strip of material with an unbroken radially outer edge. The radially outer edge can be arranged to contact the mop roller to squeeze cleaning fluid from the mop roller in use. In another example, the mangle bar may be discontinuous so as to define a plurality of mangle teeth. In a discontinuous mangle bar, the radially outer edge may be broken (or discontinuous), but the radially inner edge may be continuous, for example to improve fixation to the cleaning roller. The benefit of the mangle teeth is to provide a combing effect for the mop roller which can enhance debris removal, and in particular hair removal.

[0008]In one example, the mangle bar may be a single helix that turns about the cleaning roller in one direction. However, in another example the mangle bar is configured to include a first helix portion and a second helix portion that turn about the cleaning roller in opposing directions, e.g. arranged side-by-side in a herringbone pattern. By way of example, the first helix portion may twist in a first direction about the cleaning roller (e.g. a clockwise direction) and the second helix portion may twist in the opposing direction about the cleaning roller (e.g. an anti-clockwise direction). This configuration is particularly beneficial for moisture removal because the herringbone or chevron pattern of the opposed helical mangle bar portions has the effect of squeezing moisture from the mop roller and urging it to converge to a point where the two mangle portions meet or intersect. The first helix portion and the second helix portion may meet at a mangle bar apex which may be located at an axially central position along the mop roller. Conveniently, this shape urges the moisture in the mop roller towards a central position where it is able to fall off the mop roller into an underlying sump or tank. This effect is particularly pronounced in a configuration where the mangle bar apex is orientated to point in a direction opposite the direction of rotation of the cleaning roller.

[0009]For a means of enhancing the squeegee action of the mop cleaner, the mangle bar may be complemented by a second mangle bar arranged in a multi-start relationship with the first mangle bar.

[0010]As a further enhancement to the action of the cleaning roller, it may also bear a bristle strip. That bristle strip may extend in the axial direction complementary to the mangle bar, which may be in parallel. The bristle strip tends to be more effective at flicking dirt and debris from the mop roller and to remove hair, compared to the squeegee action of the mangle bar. Two or more bristle strips may be provided. In one arrangement, the cleaning roller may have a pair of mangle bars and a pair of bristle strips, which alternate around the cleaning roller at ninety degree intervals.

[0011]The drive arrangement may be configured to drive the mop roller and the cleaning roller in different rotational directions. But, in a particularly useful example the cleaning roller and the mop roller are driven in the same direction of rotation

[0012]The mangle bar(s) may be made from any suitable material, but is preferable a resilient material such as rubber or a similar polymeric material.

[0013]In another aspect, the invention embraces a wet floor cleaner having a cleaner head as described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]In order for the invention to be more fully understood, some specific implementations will now be described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wet floor cleaner having a cleaner head with a mop arrangement in accordance with an example of the invention;

[0016]FIG. 2 is a more detailed perspective view of the cleaner head in FIG. 1, having two mop assemblies;

[0017]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a mop assembly of the cleaner head in FIG. 2, showing a mop roller and a cleaning roller, wherein the mop roller of the cleaner head is shown in ghosted view;

[0018]FIGS. 4 and 5 are views of the cleaning roller in FIG. 3 in isolation from the mop roller;

[0019]FIG. 6 is a pictorial view of an operating principle of the cleaning roller;

[0020]FIGS. 7 and 8 are views of another example of cleaning roller for the cleaner head shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021]With reference to FIG. 1, a wet floor cleaner 2 includes a main body 4 having a wet floor cleaner head 6 attached at its lower end. The wet floor cleaner head 6 is shown in schematic form in FIG. 1 but will be described in more detail in the subsequent figures. A floor is not shown in FIG. 1, but its presence is implied.

[0022]The wet floor cleaner 2 in the illustrated example is a battery-powered “stick” style wet floor cleaner, but it should be noted that this is just exemplary and that other styles of floor cleaner are applicable to the invention, for example canister-style and upright cleaners. As shown, the wet floor cleaner 2 has an elongated handle 7 that extends upwardly from the main body 4 so it can be manoeuvred from a standing position.

[0023]The main body 4 houses a separation system for the floor cleaner 2. Since the wet floor cleaner head 6 is adapted to clean dirt and moisture from a floor surface, the separation system may comprise suitable functionality to separate and store dirty water and contaminants picked up from the floor. The examples of the invention however are concerned with aspects of the wet floor cleaner head so a complete discussion of the separation system will not be provided here.

[0024]FIG. 2 shows the cleaner head 6 in more detail as comprising two mop arrangements or assemblies 8 located within a cleaner head housing 10. The cleaner head housing 10 is provided with a boss or coupling 12 for connection to the main body 4 of the floor cleaner 2 or other equivalent interface if the floor cleaner has a different configuration to the example shown in FIG. 1. The coupling 12 can provide a means to transport dirty water in the cleaner head 6 to the main body 4 of the floor cleaner 2, although the precise details of which are outside the scope of this discussion.

[0025]Although the illustrated example of the cleaner head 6 shown in FIG. 2 comprises two mop assemblies 8, it will be understood that the cleaner head 6 may comprise only one mop assembly 8, or may comprise more than two mop assemblies 8.

[0026]Referring now to FIG. 3, each mop arrangement comprises a mop roller 20, a mop cleaner or cleaning roller 22 and a drive arrangement 24. As illustrated, the mop roller 20 is shown in a ghosted view and is mounted for rotation on the drive arrangement 24. The mop roller 20 defines an outer surface that is generally cylindrical and extends along a rotational axis A between a respective first end 20a and a second end 20b.

[0027]The cleaning roller 22 is arranged alongside the mop roller 20. The cleaning roller 22 is in the form of a rotating roller or brush bar, and is arranged along a rotational axis B so as to extend from a respective first end 22a to a second end 22b. In the illustrated embodiment the rotational axis B is parallel to the rotational axis A. This is because both components circumscribe generally cylindrical outer envelopes. In other embodiments, the axes A and B may be inclined relative to one another, but in such a case it is envisaged that the outer envelopes of the mop roller 20 and the cleaning roller 22 are configured to remain in contact with each other when they rotate.

[0028]In use, the mop cleaner 22 rotates to clean the mop roller 20 of dirt and debris which has become stuck to the mop roller 20 in use, and to squeeze moisture which has been absorbed into the absorbent surface of the mop roller 20. The drive arrangement 24 is configured to rotate both the mop roller 20 and the cleaning roller 22 as will be described in greater detail below. However, in alternative embodiments separate drive arrangements may be provided for the mop roller and cleaning roller.

[0029]The drive arrangement 24 of the cleaner head 6 includes, in overview, an electric motor 26, an internal gearbox 28 and a roller drive connection 30. The electric motor 26 and the gearbox 28 are arranged in a generally cylindrical drive housing 32. The gearbox serves to reduce the rotational speed of the electric motor 26 to an appropriate rotational speed of the mop roller 20. The gearbox 28 includes an output 34 which is coupled to the roller drive connection 30. For compactness, the gearbox 28 may be a multi-stage epicyclic gearbox, although this is just an example. The precise configuration of the motor 26, gearbox 28 and roller drive connection 30 is not essential to the invention so a detailed discussion will not be provided.

[0030]The gearbox 28 is also coupled to a drivetrain 36 which is external to the mop roller 20. The drivetrain 36 couples drive from the gearbox 28 to the cleaning roller 22 and comprises an input gear 40, an intermediate or idler gear 42, and an output gear 44. A drive adaptor 46 connects the output gear 44 to the cleaning roller 22. As a result of this arrangement, it will be appreciated that the cleaning roller 22 is driven by the drivetrain 36 in the same rotational direction as the mop roller 20, as is shown in FIG. 3. In an alternative arrangement, the idler gear 42 may be dispensed with, or an additional idler gear may be used between the idler gear 42 and the output gear 44, so that the sense of rotation of the cleaning roller 22 is opposite to that of the mop roller 20 in use.

[0031]The cleaning roller 22 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, isolated from the mop roller 20. As will be appreciated the cleaning roller 22 has the function of rotating with respect to the mop roller 20 to clean dirt and debris from it, and to squeeze moisture from the surface of the mop roller 20. To this end, the cleaning roller 22 defines a mangle bar 50. The mangle bar 50 extends along the length of the cleaning roller 22 along a helical path. In this example, the mangle bar 50 is continuous and made from a tough but pliable material such as a polymeric material like rubber, although other materials would also be appropriate. In this way, the mangle bar 50 is able to deform slightly when it comes into contact with the external surface of the mop roller 20 to perform a squeegee-like action to force moisture from the mop roller 20 where it can be collected in an underlying sump or tank (not shown).

[0032]In the illustrated example, the mangle bar 50 projects radially outwards from a generally cylindrical body 49 of the cleaning roller 22 and terminates in a radially outer mangle edge 50a. Here, the thickness of the mangle bar 50 is uniform from its base, where it is fixed, or is attached, to the body 49, to its outer edge 50a.

[0033]Each end of the body 49 has a bearing block 51 by which means the cleaning roller 22 is mounted to the mop assembly 8.

[0034]In some examples, the mangle bar 50 may define a single helix portion that wraps around the cleaning roller 22 in one helical direction from the first end 22a to the second end 22b of the cleaning roller 22. However, in the illustrated example, the mangle bar 50 includes a first helix portion 52 and a second helix portion 54 that wrap around the cleaning roller 22 in opposing helical directions and are arranged side-by-side in a herringbone pattern. The arrangement is such that the first helix portion 52 and the second helix portion 54 meet each other at a mangle bar apex 56. The mangle bar apex 56 is at the mid-point of the mangle bar 50 in this example, between the first and second ends 22a, 22b, although in principle the mangle bar apex 56 could be selected to be in any location along the mangle bar 50. In other envisaged examples, the mangle bar 50 could be configured to define more than one apex.

[0035]The effect of the helical arrangement is illustrated pictorially in FIG. 6. As the cleaning roller 22 rotates, the far ends of the mangle bar 50 act as leading edges and will contact the mop roller 20 first. In the orientation of FIG. 6, the cleaning roller 22 rotates such that the mangle bar 50 moves down the page. It will be appreciated, therefore, that the mangle bar apex 56 is orientated to point in a direction opposite the direction of rotation of the cleaning roller 22. Moisture held in the surface of the mop roller 20 is therefore urged axially inwards towards the centre of the mangle bar 50, as indicated by the curved arrows 58. Although some moisture will escape and fall directly from the mop roller 20, a significant proportion of the moisture in the mop roller 20 along with debris caught on the mop roller 20, will be pushed towards the mangle bar apex 56 which concentrates the moisture and acts to squeegee the moisture from the mop roller 20 as indicated by the centrally-positioned drops. This has the advantage in that the majority of moisture which is absorbed into the surface of the mop roller 20 is separated from the mop roller 20 at a central position which means that it can be collected into a tank or sump more effectively.

[0036]The tightness of the helix may be selected to fit the requirements of the application. As can be seen in FIG. 5, each of the first helix portion 52 and the second helix portion 54 extend through a half-turn about the cleaning roller 22. As shown, and as compared to the axial length of the cleaning roller 22, this results in a relatively shallow helix angle (i.e., the angle of the mangle bar compared to the cleaning roller axis) of between 10 and 15 degrees. An advantage of the helical arrangement of the mangle bar 50 is that there is always a part of a mangle bar in contact with and acting against the mop roller 20. Since contact between the mangle bar 50 and the mop roller 20 imposes a torque load on the motor, the constant contact between these parts evens out the torque loading and avoids torque peaks that would occur with a linearly arranged mangle bar.

[0037]In the illustrated example, a second mangle bar 60 is provided which is oriented so as to be diametrically opposite the previously-mentioned mangle bar 50, which can now be considered a ‘first mangle bar’ 50, and so are in a multi-start relationship. This improves the moisture removal effect of the mop roller 20 with a minimal increase in motor torque loading. It should be noted that the configuration and orientation of the second mangle bar 60 is the same as that of the first mangle bar 50, although angularly separated therefrom.

[0038]In addition to the function of the mop cleaner 22 to squeeze moisture from the mop roller, the cleaning roller 22 is also configured to flick dirt and debris from the surface of the mop roller 20 and to remove hair from the mop roller 20. To this end, the cleaning roller 22 also comprises a bristle strip 62 that extends along the mop cleaner 22 in an axial direction. Here, the bristle strip 62 is shown complementing the path of the mangle bar 50, in the sense of running in parallel with the mangle bar 50, so the bristle strip 62 can also be considered to follow a helical path. In the illustrated embodiment, two bristle strips 62 are provided, each of which sits between the first and second mangle bars 50,60. The mangle bars 50,60 and the bristle strips 62 therefore alternate with each other in ninety degree intervals about the cleaning roller 22.

[0039]Another example of a cleaning roller 22 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In the same way as the previous Figures, the cleaning roller 22 is defined by a central body 49 which extends axially between first and second bearing blocks 51. A first mangle bar 70 is provided which extends radially from the body 49 and circumscribes a helical path along the cleaning roller 22, and comprises a first helix portion 70a and a second helix portion 70b. However, it will be noticed that the mangle bar 70 in this example extends in a tighter helix when compared to the previous example. As can be seen in FIG. 8, the first helix portion 70a has three and a half turns about the body 49, which results in a helix angle of approximately 45 degrees, in this example. The second helix portion 70b is identical to the first helix portion 70a (but a mirror image as it turns in the opposing direction around the cleaning roller 22), and meets the first helix portion 70a at a mangle bar apex 71 as in the previous example.

[0040]Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the mangle bar 70 is not continuous as in the previous example. As such, the mangle bar 70 has a radially outer edge 72 that comprises a plurality of discontinuities in the form of slots 74. This is to be compared with the outer edge of the mangle bar 50 in FIG. 4 which is smooth and unbroken. The slots 74 are small incisions or notches that extend radially inward from the radially outer edge for approximately 25% of the radial depth of mangle bar 70. The effect of this configuration is that the outer edge 72 acts like a comb on the surface of the mop roller 20 and is more effective at removing debris, and particularly hair, from the mop roller 20. The relative spacing of the slots 74 and the depth of the slots may be chosen based on the desired effect. For example, the slots 74 may be 2 mm deep and 1 mm wide, and spaced from one another by about 10 mm, but this is only exemplary. A more dense arrangement of slots 74 may be beneficial. In preferred embodiments the slots 74 are between around 1 mm deep and around 5 mm deep and/or between around 0.5 mm wide and around 4 mm wide.

[0041]As illustrated in the inset panel of FIG. 8, the two vertical lines 75 show that the slots 74 of one of the mangle bars are aligned with the slots 74 of the other one of the mangle bars. However, it is envisaged that there may be a benefit in configuring the position of the slots 74 of one mangle bar to be offset in relation to the slots 74 of the other mangle bar; e.g. there may be a 50% offset. The relatively offset slot positions would complement each other because the resulting teeth of each mangle would have complementary positioning which would provide a more complete coverage on the mop roller 20 and improve efficiency of water removal from the mop roller.

[0042]Although the teeth are defined by slots 74 that are cut in to the otherwise continuous radially outer edge of the mangle bar, in other examples, it is envisaged that the teeth could be formed by protrusions that extend from the radially outer edge of the mangle bar