The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 30, 2002
Filed:
Mar. 15, 2001
Paul B. Specht, Wilmette, IL (US);
Freudenberg Household Products, River Grove, IL (US);
Abstract
Disclosed is a mop having an elongate shaft, a mop element, and an operating member that is axially movable along a portion of the shaft between a range of mopping positions and a latch position. One end portion of the mop element is retained in a fixed position at one end of the shaft, the other end portion of the mop element is retained at one end of the operating member with an intermediate mopping portion formed into a bight. In accordance with the invention, the mop includes a latch mechanism for axially retaining the operating member in the latch position. The latch mechanism includes a detent portion and a shoulder portion. One portion is fixedly mounted to the shaft and the other is mounted on the operating member. Preferably, the mop is a twist mop wherein the operating member is relatively rotatable with respect to the shaft. More preferably, the mop includes a ratchet mechanism for releasably restricting relative rotation of the operating member and shaft to one direction of rotation.