Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Processes
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-24
2001-09-04
Douglas, Steven O. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Processes
C141S364000, C220S735000, C015S260000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283170
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to containers having a liquid reservoir, and in particular, to mobile containers designed to receive one or more liquids in a liquid reservoir, to transport the liquid or liquids, and to drain at least a portion of the liquid or liquids from the container reservoir.
Maintaining the cleanliness of commercial, industrial, institutional, and public buildings is an ongoing effort, and at times, an effort which seems more like a losing battle. This is particularly true for areas such as restrooms, locker rooms, cafeterias, and food service kitchens, where the volume of traffic in the particular area may make it difficult to maintain the cleanliness of the facility.
Building maintenance staff typically clean such areas on a routine basis using traditional mop-and-bucket assemblies, in which the bucket includes a detachable mop wringer, and is positioned on caster wheels, thereby enabling a building maintenance person to move the mop bucket from place to place, typically by pushing on the mop handle. Depending on the cleanliness of the mop, a worker may be able to make a good start in cleaning a floor using the mop bucket system. However, as soon as the worker makes a first pass and wrings the mop out, each time the worker plunges the mop into the bucket and wrings the mop out, both the mop and “cleaning water” become more and more dirty.
One way to aftermpt to solve this problem is to make frequent water and mop changes. However, this adds time to an already laborious process, and therefore, there is little worker incentive to make frequent water and mop changes. In addition, traditional mop buckets have an inadequate pour spout which results in sloppy pouring, and, in many cases, dirty cleaning solution actually splashes onto the worker. Moreover, because a slop sink, source of clean water, or custodial supply room may be far away, a worker is even less inclined to make water and mop changes.
In addition to the limitations discussed above, the use of traditional mop buckets reduces worker productivity. For example because such buckets move on four swivel casters, the buckets do not allow for controlled steering. While such a bucket usually will move in the general direction in which it is pushed, the movement tends to be rather erratic. In order to gain a bit more control when steering the bucket, an operator typically positions a mop in the bucket, grabs the mop handle with both hands, and pushes the bucket in the desired direction by maneuvering the mop handle with both hands. As can be appreciated by those of ordinary skill, this method of “steering” may be quite uncomfortable. Moreover, an operator typically is unable to carry additional items because both hands are positioned on the mop handle for steering. Accordingly, the particular operator must make another trip to a supply closet or other location in order to bring additional items to the location of the mop bucket.
One of the most serious problems affecting worker productivity with regard to the use of mop buckets is the frequent occurrence of back injuries, due typically to the strain placed on an operator's back when lifting a conventional mop bucket filled with water, and/or dumping the water into a sink which, in many instances is elevated, thereby further aggravating the stress on an operator's back. Not only do such back injuries affect the speed with which workers may perform their duties, but such injuries also lead to missed work days. In addition, many back injuries result in employee claims for worker's compensation, thereby increasing overall labor costs for employers.
The end result is that a dirty floor gets cleaned by pushing dirty water around with a dirty mop. At best, the surface may have the appearance of being cleaned if concentrated spots of highly visible soil have been removed or spread around. In reality, however, given the limitations of these tools, the worker still is simply pushing dirt around the floor, as evidenced by the “five-o'clock shadow” of dirt seen frequently along the surface of walls adjacent the floor, as well as the “finger painting-like streaks” left by the mop when the water on the floor dries.
The cleanliness problem may be especially severe in the restrooms of these various buildings, and in fact, the number-one building maintenance complaint is dirty restrooms. Given the frequency with which these facilities are used, as well as the tools available for cleaning restrooms, the dirty restroom complaint is not particularly surprising. Building maintenance workers typically use the mop-and-bucket system described above to clean restroom floors. And, as noted above, while this system may pick up some dirt, it tends more typically to spread dirty water around on the floor.
Accordingly, given the relative ineffectiveness and/or inefficiency of the various mop buckets available, particular facilities are not cleaned as well or as frequently as they should be, and morale and job satisfaction among many building maintenance professionals are relatively low.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks by providing an ergonomic, liquid-transport container, as well as a method of pouring a liquid from such a container into a receptacle having a rim. To this end, one aspect of the invention is directed to a container having a container body which includes a liquid reservoir and a front. The container also has a projecting lip which extends from the front, with the projecting lip having a bottom exterior surface and an outer end, with the bottom exterior sur face having a hook-shaped curve. The hook-shaped curve is extremely beneficial in that it enables an operator to pour liquid from the container into any of a number of different receptacles, simply by positioning the hook-shaped curve on the rim of the receptacle, and elevating the back of the container body, thereby pouring at least a portion of the liquid from the container into the receptacle.
Because the hook-shaped curve works well with toilet bowl rims of virtually any shape and size, a worker may drain liquid from a liquid reservoir directly into a toilet, without having to move the container back to a custodial closet floor drain or slop sink. Accordingly, if an operator is using the container to hold a liquid cleaning solution, the operator is more likely to make more frequent cleaning liquid changes, since a toilet will be more readily accessible.
If desired, the bottom exterior surface of the projecting lip may be substantially planar across its width. And, advantageously, the outer end of the projecting lip is at least about two inches from the front of the container body. Also, the bottom exterior surface width may taper from the front of the container body to the outer end of the projecting lip. The container body, itself, has an upper peripheral end and a lower peripheral end, and may have a part of the front of the container body, between the projecting lip and the lower end, which is substantially planar. Furthermore, the hook-shaped curve may be a substantially smooth curve, i.e., a curve having a constant radius, and, in one version of the invention, the radius may be about 1½ inch.
The various features described above assist in providing a smooth and stable movement as the container is rotated approximately 90° about the rim of the particular receptacle from an initial substantially horizontal position. For example, if the receptacle is a toilet bowl, these features assist the user in smoothly rotating the bottom exterior surface of the projecting lip about the toilet bowl rim. And in those versions of the invention which include a tapered bottom exterior surface, the contact points between the container and the toilet bowl rim widen as the worker continues to rotate the container. In the container version in which at least a part of the container body front is substantially planar, this portion of the front makes maximal contact with the toilet bowl rim once the container has reached the app
Douglas Steven O.
kaivac, Inc.
Wood Herron & Evans L.L.P.
LandOfFree
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