CLEANING AND DISINFECTING MOP ROLL REFILL

Description

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a mop roll for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, and a method for arranging and/or replacing the same in a cleaning device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Controlled environments are crucial in various industries in which stringent cleanliness and/or sterility standards are established. Such standards must be complied with in order to ensure contaminants or impurities do not adversely affect manufacturing quality and in some cases to ensure that biological growths or contaminants do not compromise product or worker safety. Indeed, many facilities are regulated not only by private cleaning and sterility standards, but also by industry-accepted standards and/or governmentally enforced regulations.

In view of the foregoing, conventional cleaning tools and processes often require human operation and/or intervention as a precaution to more reliably ensure compliance or because cleaning materials are difficult to integrate into automated equipment. This is particularly true when cleaning requires frequent replacement of cleaning materials due to cleaning material degradation and/or soiling. However, manual cleaning processes are error-prone, as human imprecision and/or error can cause inconsistent application of a cleaning agent or solution onto cleaning material being used to clean a surface. Moreover, manual cleaning requires a human to exercise judgment as to when a cleaning material needs to be rinsed or replaced, leading some portions of a surface being cleaned more thoroughly than other portions. Human error can also easily lead to cleaning and/or disinfecting solutions being applied to a surface being cleaned inconsistently or in a manner that is not compliant with cleaning and/or disinfecting standards. These types of inconsistencies are undesirable in environments where strict standards and/or regulations need to be followed.

In conventional cleaning systems, it is also common that when a used or soiled cleaning material needs to be replaced, that contaminants picked up by the cleaning material are not well contained to prevent them from contaminating a freshly cleaned surface. Additionally, because used or soiled cleaning materials are often not well-contained, a user that handles a used or soiled cleaning material may be exposed to the contaminants or to a cleaning agent/solution with which the cleaning material is dosed. Accordingly, what is needed is an improved device, system, and method for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and replacing used or soiled cleaning materials.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a cleaning roll, comprising a cylindrical center core with an insertion slot, the insertion slot having a first width, and a first end cap detachably secured to a first end of the center core. The cleaning roll further comprises a second end cap detachably secured to a second end of the center core opposite the first end and a cleaning material with a beginning insertion flap, the beginning insertion flap having a width less than or equal to the first width and being arranged within the insertion slot. The cleaning material is arranged to wind around the center core.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cleaning machine for manual or autonomous cleaning of a surface;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a cleaning module of the cleaning machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a lateral perspective view of the cleaning module of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a cleaning tray of a cleaning module with cleaning rolls;

FIG. 5 illustrates a cleaning core without a cleaning material having a cylindrical center core with attached end caps;

FIG. 6 illustrates the cleaning core of FIG. 5 in an exploded view with detached end caps;

FIG. 7 illustrates a cleaning core with a cleaning material rolled thereon;

FIG. 8 illustrates a cleaning material with insertion flaps; and

FIGS. 9A-9D illustrate various sections of a cleaning material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved cleaning machine, an improved cleaning roll for use within the cleaning machine, and an improved method for arranging and replacing cleaning rolls within a cleaning machine. In particular, a cleaning core is provided which can be used for both a feed roll and a take-up roll, thereby reducing system complexity, decreasing part count and manufacturing cost, increasing repairability and ease of maintenance, and ensuring a user-friendly cleaning roll replacement process. Cleaning rolls and modules are also described which ensure that a take-up roll with used or soiled cleaning materials can be contained within a clean and dry outer exterior, thereby preventing contaminants from escaping and making used cleaning rolls more pleasant and safe to handle.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cleaning machine 100 for manual or autonomous cleaning of a surface. The cleaning machine 100 includes a plurality of sensors 102 for sensing the physical environment in which the cleaning machine 100 is operating. The sensors 102 can include cameras, radar, lidar, or the like. The sensors provide measurements by which the cleaning machine 100 can autonomously navigate within the environment, which can be an indoor or outdoor environment. In the case of an indoor environment, the cleaning machine 100 can be used for autonomously cleaning highly sensitive and/or controlled environments. For example, the cleaning machine 100 can be used in a clean room, in a pharmaceutical production facility, or other like environments in which stringent cleaning standards are maintained, due to quality control standards, industry standards, and/or governmental regulations. The cleaning machine 100 also includes one or more indicators 108 for indicating a status of the cleaning machine 100 and/or visually alerting nearby users of its operational status. The cleaning machine 100 includes a plurality of wheels 106 for movement, some or all of which can be motorized or otherwise actuated by a drive system. One or more cleaning brushes 110 or other cleaning accessories are attached to the cleaning machine in order to aid a cleaning procedure carried out by the cleaning machine 100. In the illustrated example, the cleaning brushes 110 can sweep large debris for collection prior to a more sensitive or controlled cleaning procedure being carried out. This facilitates a multi-tiered cleaning process and ensure that debris above a particular size does not interfere with cleaning procedures that target smaller debris or contaminants. One or more handles 104 can be included by which a user can manually operate and/or move the cleaning machine 100.

The cleaning machine 100 also includes a cleaning module 200. The cleaning module 200 is configured to be modular such that it can be replaced with another cleaning module for maintenance, repair, or even for changing the functionality of the cleaning machine 100. For example, if one cleaning module 200 fails or requires maintenance, another identical cleaning module can be fitted to the cleaning machine 100, thereby allowing the cleaning machine 100 to carry out a cleaning operation without interruption. In another exemplary situation, the same cleaning machine 100 can be used for different cleaning operations. A surface may need to be cleaned with different cleaning materials and/or different cleaning solutions in a particular order, for instance. In such a circumstance, the cleaning machine 100 can carry out a first cleaning operating with a first cleaning module 200. Upon completion of the first cleaning operation, the first cleaning module 200 can be replaced with a different interchangeable cleaning module to facilitate carrying out a second cleaning operation. The cleaning module 200 thereby provides flexibility, ease of repair/maintenance, and customizability to a user of the cleaning machine 100.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a cleaning module 200 of the cleaning machine 100 of FIG. 1. The cleaning module 200 includes a main housing 201 and a controller housing 202. In the illustrated embodiment, an upper drawer 204 and a lower drawer 206 are configured to slide in and out of the main housing 201. The upper drawer 204 includes a plurality of cleaning solution receptacles 208 via which a cleaning agent/solution is applied to a cleaning material in the lower drawer 206. The cleaning agent/solution is carried by gravity and/or one or more pumps from the receptacles 208 to a pressure tray 216 via feed lines 214, which can be embodied as flexible hoses and/or rigid pipes. The lower drawer 206 includes cleaning rolls 210, 212 for supporting and controlling movement of a cleaning material along the pressure tray 216 during a cleaning operation.

FIG. 3 illustrates a lateral perspective view of the cleaning module 200 of FIG. 2. In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates a cleaning material 211 that extends between the cleaning rolls 210, 212 and along the pressure tray 216. The cleaning material 211 can be formed from a variety of materials as described hereafter, and can be understood as a functional equivalent of a mop. The cleaning material 211 can thus be understood as a mop roll, as the cleaning material 211 is rolled/unrolled between the cleaning rolls 210, 212, and functions as a mop by being dragged across an exterior surface. However, inasmuch as the cleaning material 211 can be unrolled and is described at times in the present disclosure based on its fully unrolled state, the terms “cleaning material” will be used herein to refer to the body of material that can form a mop roll.

The pressure tray 216 is arranged at the lower end of the lower drawer 206 and of the cleaning module 200 generally. The pressure tray 216 is moved by an actuator, such as a servo motor, a spring-loaded actuator, or the like, to exert a pressure against the cleaning material 211 and thereby press the cleaning material 211 against an external surface that is being cleaned. In this manner, the pressure tray 216 can ensure a consistent application of pressure along the external surface throughout a cleaning operation. The cleaning rolls 210, 212 are also actuated to control movement of the cleaning material 211. One cleaning roll will feed the cleaning material 211 toward the pressure tray 216, while the other cleaning roll will take up the cleaning material 211 away from the pressure tray. In this manner, the cleaning rolls ensure that soiled portions of the cleaning material 211 are taken up and away from the cleaning tray 216 and a fresh or as of yet unused portion of the cleaning material 211 is consistently fed toward the cleaning area created by the pressure tray 216. This ensures that a cleaning operation can be carried out as consistently as possible over time and over a surface area of the external surface being cleaned. Controlled rolling and/or unrolling of the cleaning rolls 210, 212 can be carried out incrementally or constantly based on various controls and sensor inputs to ensure that a cleaning operation is carried out properly and consistently. In some embodiments, just one of the cleaning rolls can be actuated. For example, the cleaning roll functioning as the take-up roll of soiled cleaning material 211 can be actuated to pull the cleaning material 211 from the other cleaning roll and across the pressure tray 216.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cleaning tray 400 with cleaning rolls 410, 420. The cleaning tray 400 can be arranged in a drawer (such as the lower drawer 206 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3) of a cleaning module, or can be arranged more directly in the main housing of a cleaning module. The cleaning tray 400 includes openings and/or slots for receiving the cleaning rolls 410, 420. In particular, each cleaning roll 410, 420 includes end caps 412, 414, 422, 424 on its opposing ends. The end caps 412, 414, 422, 424 provide protrusions that extend laterally relative to each cleaning roll 410, 420, by which protrusions the cleaning rolls 410, 420 can be secured in the cleaning tray 400. The cleaning rolls 410, 420 can be secured in the cleaning tray via through-holes or slots into which portions of the end caps 412, 414, 422, 424 are inserted. The cleaning rolls are thereby secured within the cleaning tray 400 but allowed to rotate within it to unroll or roll up the cleaning material 406. In the illustrated embodiment, end caps 412, 414, 422, 424 include drive flanges 415, 425 on laterally outermost ends. The drive flanges 415, 425 are configured for engagement with one or more mechanisms within a cleaning module in order to transmit a driving torque (e.g., from a drive motor) to a respective cleaning roll 410, 420, thereby rolling or unrolling the cleaning material 406 therefrom.

The cleaning tray 400 also includes a pressure tray 402 arranged above the cleaning material 406 such that a portion of the cleaning material 406 between the cleaning rolls 410, 420 passes underneath the pressure tray 402 and between the pressure tray 402 and an exterior surface to be cleaned. The pressure tray 402 exerts pressure against the exterior surface through the cleaning material 406 in order to increase the cleaning efficacy of the cleaning material 406 as it is applied and/or dragged against the exterior surface. The pressure tray 402 also exerts a pressure against the cleaning material 406 itself to ensure that an optimal degree of tension is maintained in the cleaning material 406, thereby preventing the cleaning material 406 from wrinkling, creasing, folding, and/or sagging. By maintaining a proper tension of the cleaning material 406 between the cleaning rolls 410, 420, a consistent cleaning process can be ensured throughout a cleaning operation on all portions of the exterior surface passed over by the cleaning tray 400. Moreover, keeping a consistent tension in the cleaning material 406 ensures that precise prediction and control of the cleaning material feed rate can be carried out. If the tension in the cleaning material 406 is too low, the cleaning material 406 may be susceptible to debris or uneven surfaces that result in uneven frictional forces on different portions of the cleaning material during a cleaning operation, thereby reducing the consistency and overall efficacy of a cleaning operation. The pressure tray 402 also includes drip openings 404 through which a cleaning agent/solution is allowed to pass, thereby soaking the portion of the cleaning material pressed against the exterior surface being cleaned.

In the illustrated embodiment, cleaning roll 410 (illustrated on the left-hand side) is a take-up roll and cleaning roll 420 (illustrated on the right-hand side) is a feed roll. From the perspective illustrated in FIG. 4, cleaning roll 410 rotates counter-clockwise such that the cleaning material 406 is unrolled from an underside of cleaning roll 420 toward an underside of the pressure tray 402, and cleaning roll 420 rotates clockwise in response such that the cleaning material 406 is pulled from underneath the pressure tray 402 toward an upper portion of cleaning roll 410, thereby rolling onto or being “taken up” by cleaning roll 410. By this arrangement of the cleaning rolls 410, 420, the pressure tray 402, and the respective rotational directions of the cleaning rolls 410, 420, a cleaning operation can be carried out such that a soiled side of the cleaning material 406 (e.g., the side facing downward toward the exterior surface being cleaned and away from the pressure tray 402) is always rolled up on a radial inside of the take-up roll. This ensures once the cleaning material is completely rolled onto the take-up roll (e.g., cleaning roll 410), that only an unsoiled surface is exposed on the take-up roll, thereby allowing a user to directly handle the take-up roll without having to touch (either directly or via protective equipment) a soiled surface of the cleaning material 406. In addition, this ensures that any debris captured by the cleaning material 206 is kept within the take-up roll, thereby containing potential contaminants while the take-up roll is being replaced or a cleaning machine is being moved.

In order to ensure a consistent cleaning operation in a controlled environment, the cleaning material 406 is preferably advanced in only one direction to maintain contamination control and removal. In the illustrated example, the cleaning tray 400 is configured to advance the cleaning material 406 from right to left (e.g., from the feed roll 420 to the take-up roll 410) while a cleaning machine in which the pressure tray 400 is arranged advances in the opposite direction (e.g., to the right) during a cleaning operation. Moreover, it has been found that by ensuring the cleaning material comes off the feed roll 420 from under the feed roll 420 toward the pressure tray 402, a proper tension and advancement rate of the cleaning material 406 can be maintained during a cleaning operation. This ensures that the cleaning material 406 maintains full, flat, and consistent contact with the exterior surface being cleaned via the pressure tray 402.

Furthermore, in order to ensure that the feed roll is properly oriented when first inserted into a cleaning tray 400, the cleaning material can include different patterns and/or indicators on either side of the cleaning material 406. For example, a visual pattern can be included on a side of the cleaning material 406 configured to contact the exterior surface and face radially inward on the take-up roll, or visa versa. In this manner, a user and/or an automated system using visual control systems can correctly orient the cleaning material 406 in the cleaning tray 400 and receive visual confirmation that a fully used cleaning roll has a relatively clean outward facing surface that can be touched or handled. In the illustrated example, if a visual pattern is included on the cleaning side of the cleaning material 406, a user can readily determine if both rolls 410, 420 and the cleaning material 406 are properly oriented by confirming that the pattern is visible on the feed roll 420, but is not visible anywhere else, when viewed from above. This visually confirms that the cleaning side, which would face radially outward on the feed roll 420 and then face away from the pressure tray 402 when passing under it, is situated to contact an exterior surface to be cleaned and to be taken-up on the take-up roll 410 in a radially inward-facing manner.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cleaning core 500 without a cleaning material. The cleaning core 500 includes a cylindrical center core 502 (also referred to as a center axle) that extends along an axial axis 508 and has an insertion slot 504. The cylindrical center core 502 includes an internal support structure 506 for providing structural rigidity while reducing material density, thereby reducing the weight and cost of the cylindrical center core 502. The internal support structure 506 can include a plurality of ribs as illustrated in FIG. 5. Alternatively, or in addition, the internal support structure 506 can include a honeycomb structure or an infill pattern in an additive manufacturing process.

Two end caps 510, 512 are attached to either axial side of the cylindrical center core 502. Each end cap 510, 512 includes a plurality of control flanges 514 that extend radially relative to the axial axis 508 and extend toward/from the cylindrical center core 502. The control flanges 514 are evenly spaced about a circumference of one axial side of the end caps 510, 512 and each include a chamfer 516 at a radially outer periphery. The chamfers 516 are configured to guide a cleaning material against a respective control flange 514 on which the chamfer 516 is arranged. The control flanges 514 gradually change in height (e.g., extension in an axial direction) in a radial direction from a radially inner end (e.g., adjacent to control ring 518) to a radially outer periphery. For example, the control flanges 514 can have a height of 7 mm at the inner radial end adjacent the control ring 518 and a height of 9 mm at the opposing radial end at the outermost radial periphery. The control flanges 514 apply a slight pressure on either lateral side of a cleaning material as it is rolled onto the cylindrical center core 502, thereby securing the cleaning material in place in a controlled and precise manner, and preventing the cleaning material from becoming unraveled. As a result, while the end caps 510, 512 are rotated to feed or take up the cleaning material, the control flanges 514 provide for more precisely controlled feeding and taking up of the cleaning material.

The end caps 510, 512 also each include a control ring 518 on a radially inward end of the control flanges 514. The control rings are arranged between an attachment point of the end caps 510, 512 to the cylindrical center core 502 and the control flanges 514. This arrangement ensures that a first layer of the cleaning material that is rolled onto a take-up roll can be precisely taken up and secured in the take-up roll. This is achieved by ensuring that the control ring 518 has a sufficient radial width to contain within it a thickness of the cleaning material, thereby providing a predictable and flat first roll layer of the cleaning material on the take-up roll. The control ring 518 is particularly effective in ensuring accurate monitoring of a cleaning material on a take-up roll, as small inconsistencies in cleaning material height in the first layer of a take-up roll can lead to significant deviations from expected roll thickness once several layers have been rolled onto the take-up roll. Such deviations reduce the efficacy of roll-height monitoring, as they cause correlations between a particular measured roll height and a remaining length of cleaning material to become inaccurate. Moreover, a carefully controlled and rolled first layer of the take-up roll ensures that the cleaning material is held in tension and dragged against an exterior surface that is being cleaned as consistently as possible across an entire width (e.g., an entire distance across the axial direction and parallel to axial axis 508) of a cleaning material. Because the control ring 518 is configured to contain a first rolled layer of the cleaning material, the cleaning ring 518 delimits a radially inner limit of the plurality of control flanges 514 on any particular end cap 510, 512, as subsequent roll layers are secured and controlled via the control flanges 514.

The end caps 510, 512 also each include drive flanges 520 by which a drive torque for rotating the cylindrical center core 502 can be transmitted from an external actuator.

FIG. 6 illustrates the cleaning core 500 of FIG. 5 in an exploded view with detached end caps 510, 512. The cylindrical center core 502 includes resilient snap-fit tabs 602 on opposing axial ends that serve to attach the cylindrical center core 502 to the end caps 510, 512. As shown in FIG. 6, the cylindrical center core 502 can be formed at least partially to form an I-beam or to have an I-shaped cross-section. This allows the cylindrical center core 502 to have increased strength and torque resistance and facilitates manufacturing. In the illustrated embodiment, each axial end of the cylindrical center core 502 includes two radially opposed resilient snap-fit tabs 602 so that they can pinched by a user in order to remove an end cap 510, 512 from the cylindrical center core 502. The tabs 602 include barbs with a chamfered edge configured to fit into corresponding attachment openings 604 of the end caps 510, 512. The resiliency of the tabs 602 not only enables them to be deflected by a user, but also allows the tabs to be deflected when the chamfered barbs are inserted into the attachment openings 604, which are arranged such that the barbs must be deflected slightly when initially inserted into the attachment openings, and then deflected back towards an initial position once the barbs are fully inserted through the attachment openings. The tabs 602 enable the end caps 510, 512 to be selectively attached and detached from the cylindrical center core 502. This provides a modular design by which end caps can be interchangeable, thereby decreasing the cost of repair and/or replacement when one part of a cleaning core 500 is damaged. This modular configuration allows disassembly of the cleaning core 500 such that a cleaning material rolled onto the cylindrical center core 502 can be removed for recycling. Furthermore, the modular configuration allows complete disassembly such that the cylindrical center core 502 and end caps 510, 512 can be individually and easily cleaned and reused as a feed roll or take-up roll in the future.

The cleaning core 500 of FIGS. 5 and 6 can be used in both a feed roll and a take-up roll. That is, identical cleaning cores 500 can be used for both the cleaning rolls 210, 212 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, or both the cleaning rolls 410, 420 of FIG. 4. The use of identical parts reduces system complexity and cost, increases product sustainability, and facilitates repair and/or maintenance by reducing the number of different parts in a cleaning machine and/or cleaning module. Moreover, the use of identical cleaning cores 500 for both a feed roll and a take-up roll provides for a simple cleaning roll replacement process.

In an exemplary cleaning roll replacement process, a first cleaning core 500 is arranged in a cleaning tray without a cleaning material to function as a take-up roll. A second cleaning core 500 with a cleaning material rolled thereon is arranged in the cleaning tray across from the take-up roll relative to a pressure tray to function as a feed roll. The cleaning material is then partially unrolled from the feed roll and attached to the take-up roll (e.g., by inserting an insertion flap at an end of the cleaning material into the insertion slot 504 of the cylindrical center core 502 of the take-up roll). A cleaning operation is carried out, over the course of which the cleaning material unrolls from the feed roll and is rolled onto or taken up by the take-up roll. Once the cleaning operation is complete, the cleaning material remaining on the feed roll is unrolled and detached from the feed roll (e.g., by removal of a second insertion flap from the insertion slot 504 of the cylindrical center core 502 of the feed roll), and then rolled around the take-up roll until it is entirely rolled thereon. The take-up roll is then extracted from the cleaning tray. The empty cleaning core 500 that formed the feed roll can then be extracted and re-arranged in the cleaning tray to occupy the position previously occupied by the extracted take-up roll. The re-arranged cleaning core 500 can thereby function as a take-up roll when a new feed roll is inserted into the cleaning tray, and the process can be repeated. In this manner, the cleaning cores are interchangeable such that a continuous cycle of cleaning operations can be completed without having to replace both cores. This increases the convenience for an end-user of a cleaning module, as cleaning operations can be carried out cyclically as long as clean feed rolls are in their possession. Moreover, this allows cleaning cores 500 to be reused. A used take-up roll can be collected for cleaning, and once the cleaning core 500 is fully cleaned, it can be re-used as the core for a new feed roll with freshly cleaned and/or brand new cleaning material.

After the completion of a cleaning operation as described above, the used-up cleaning core 500 that formed the feed roll can alternatively remain in place to function as a take-up roll, and a new feed roll can instead be inserted into the space previously occupied by the take-up roll. This can be achieved by motorized control of both rolls within the module and reversible operation of the cleaning machine.

FIG. 7 illustrates a cleaning core 700 with a cleaning material 702 rolled thereon. The cleaning core 700 includes end caps 510, 512 and further includes a cylindrical center core that is obstructed from view in FIG. 7 by the cleaning material 702. The illustrated embodiment generally illustrates a cleaning core 700 that is either unused and thus ready to be inserted into a cleaning tray and/or cleaning module, or that is used and has been extracted from a cleaning tray and/or cleaning module. In the case of a used cleaning roll, the side of the cleaning material 702 configured to touch an external surface during a cleaning operation (and thus the side of the cleaning material 702 that becomes soiled during the cleaning operation) is kept facing radially inward in the cleaning core 700. This allows a user to directly handle the exposed portions of the cleaning material 702 without being exposed to the soiled surface, and further ensures that any debris or contaminants are contained within unexposed internal layers of rolled cleaning core and between the end caps 510, 512.

FIG. 8 illustrates a cleaning material 800 with insertion flaps 810, 820. The cleaning material 800 can be comprised of one or more of a variety of materials depending on the particular cleaning operation to which a cleaning module is adapted. For example, in highly controlled environment such as a cleanroom, the cleaning material 800 can comprise a foam material that has no fibers. Such a material is described, for example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/045,064, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. In other applications where cost is a higher priority, a thinner cleaning material or a more cost-effective fiber material can be used. In applications where a stronger scrubbing effect is required, the cleaning material can include polymers and/or a blend of materials to increase friction against an exterior surface being cleaned. FIG. 8 generally illustrates an exemplary shape of a cleaning material rather than its particular composition.

The cleaning material 800 has a first end 806 and a second end 808 that oppose one another. A first insertion flap 810 is arranged at the first end 806, and a second insertion flap 820 is arranged at the second end 808. The first and second insertion flaps 810, 820 are configured for insertion into slots of corresponding dimension in cylindrical center cores, which facilitates the cleaning material being rolled onto a cylindrical center core upon subsequent rotation of the cylindrical center core. The first insertion flap 810 includes a first width 812 and a second width 816, the first width 812 being greater than the second width 816. The first insertion flap 810 includes a taper 814 by which the first insertion flap 810 progressively narrows between the first width 812 and the second width 816. The first insertion flap 810 is arranged at the first end 806 such that it protrudes from the remainder of the cleaning material 800 in a direction opposing the second end 808.

The second insertion flap 820 is arranged at a second end 808 and has a single width. The second insertion flap 820 is flanked on two sides by non-insertion flaps 822, 824, which do not have an insertion function and are formed by cutting the cleaning material in order to form the second insertion flap 820.

The cleaning material 800 includes rounded corners 818 at the first end 806. It will be readily appreciated that the overall length 802 and overall width 804 of the cleaning material can be variable depending on a particular use case, a composition of the cleaning material, or a size of the cleaning module.

An unused cleaning material can be generally divided into a usable section and a non-usable section. The usable section and non-usable section can be artificially assigned boundaries only and include no difference in the composition of the cleaning material between sections. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the usable and non-usable sections can include visual or compositional boundaries and/or differences, such as a change in cleaning material color to visually indicate to a user the boundary of a section, or a difference in material composition in order to provide a functional difference between the sections. The usable section refers to portions of the cleaning material intended to contact and thereby clean an exterior surface to clean it during a cleaning operation. The non-usable section refers to portions of the cleaning material that are not intended to clean an exterior surface, but are instead dedicated to other functions of the cleaning material and cleaning rolls. The non-usable section includes three sub-sections: a take-up section, a last cleaning section, and a final wrap section.

FIGS. 9A-9D illustrate the various sections of a cleaning material with reference to where the section would appear at particular points in time before or during a cleaning operation, and with reference to an flattened overall profile of the cleaning material as illustrated in FIG. 8. FIGS. 9A-9D are understood to be schematic representations only, and do not connote precise dimensions or proportions, but instead generally illustrate the sequence and general boundaries of the various sections.

FIG. 9A illustrates a take-up section 900. The take-up section 900 is a portion of the cleaning material required to properly start a roll take-up process. In particular, the take-up section 900 includes the very first portions of the cleaning material that are first attached to a take-up roll (e.g., via a first insertion flap as illustrated in FIG. 8 and described above), including portions of the material extending diagonally downward from the take-up roll to the pressure tray that are not in contact with the exterior surface while take-up is initiated (e.g., as illustrated in the left-hand side of FIG. 9A). These portions are not usable for cleaning because they are physically too far forward in the take-up process to be positioned under the pressure tray during a cleaning operation.

FIG. 9B illustrates a usable section 902. After take-up is initiated, the subsequent section of the cleaning material fed from the feed roll to the take-up roll can be used for cleaning the exterior surface, and therefore forms the usable section 902. The usable section 902 is the largest of the sections illustrated in FIGS. 9A-9D and represents the portion of the cleaning material dedicated solely to cleaning the exterior surface in a cleaning operation. The larger the usable section, the greater a surface area of the exterior surface that can be cleaned in a cleaning operation by the cleaning material. As illustrated on the left-hand side of FIG. 9B, the usable section 902 spans across both the feed roll and the take-up roll during a cleaning operation. In other stages of the cleaning operation, e.g., at a starting stage when no exterior surface cleaning has yet been performed, the usable section 902 can primarily be rolled around the feed roll and extend therefrom to a position underneath the pressure tray.

FIG. 9C illustrates a last cleaning section 904 of a cleaning material. The last cleaning section 904 is a portion of the cleaning material at the end of the usable section 902 that is located under a pressure tray when a cleaning operation is completed. Because a final portion of the cleaning material must be reserved for the final wrap section (as will be described below), the last cleaning section 904 serves as a transitional portion of the cleaning material between a wet and dry condition. Because cleaning efficacy and consistency can become compromised during this transition, the last cleaning section 904 should not be part of the usable section even if it is positioned under the pressure tray. As illustrated on the left-hand side of FIG. 9C, the last cleaning section 904 can occupy a space under the pressure tray at a moment when the cleaning operation is completed and the usable section 902 has been depleted (i.e., the usable section 902 has already fully passed underneath the pressure tray).

FIG. 9D illustrates a final wrap section 906. The final wrap section 906 represents the final portion of the cleaning material to pass from a feeding roll to a take-up roll. In order to ensure that the take-up roll has a dry outer surface at the end of a cleaning operation, the final wrap section 906 must be at least equal to the final outer diameter of the cleaning material when fully rolled on the take-up roll. This ensures that contaminants and moisture are contained within the take-up roll so that they cannot contaminate any part of the cleaning machine or the exterior surface being cleaned (or already having been cleaned). Moreover, a dry outer circumference of the take-up roll provides a user with a more pleasant experience when manually extracting or handling the take-up roll. At the moment a cleaning operation is complete, the final wrap section 906 includes all portions of the cleaning material still attached to the feed roll and extending toward the pressure tray (as illustrated on the left-hand side of FIG. 9D).

By experiment, it has been determined that a cleaning material having an overall length of 60 inches (with a corresponding length of approximately 57 inches excluding the length of the insertion flap) and an overall width of 20 inches is optimal for use in a cleaning module. A greater overall length is usually desirable in order to provide a larger surface area for a cleaning operation without requiring the replacement of a cleaning roll. However, greater overall lengths also necessitate larger and more complex end caps, because layers of a take-up roll can become increasingly unwieldy and difficult to consistently control when the number of layers is increased. Moreover, a cleaning roll with a larger overall diameter to accommodate a greater overall cleaning material length can be cumbersome to store and carry, and can lead to undesirably large cleaning module and/or cleaning machine sizes. An overall length of 60 inches, however, balances the foregoing considerations and further provides for a usable section of 30 inches, which has been found to be optimal for performing a cleaning operation. In such a configuration, the non-usable section is 30 inches in length and includes a take-up section that is 6 inches, a last cleaning section that is 6 inches, and a final wrap section that is 18 inches.

The size of the usable section can also be determined and/or optimized based on a rotational speed of the cleaning rolls during a cleaning operation, and can vary based on cleaning needs, cleaning material composition, and various other factors. It has been found that for a foam-based cleaning material and a pressure tray configured to dose a 6-inch length of the cleaning material, a 30-inch usable section provides for optimal coverage of an exterior surface during a cleaning operation.

All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and “at least one” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The use of the term “at least one” followed by a list of one or more items (for example, “at least one of A and B”) is to be construed to mean one item selected from the listed items (A or B) or any combination of two or more of the listed items (A and B), unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.