Sponge mop and scrubber

Abstract

A mop has an elongated shaft, a body at a distal end of the shaft, a sponge operably coupled to the body and generally orthogonal to the elongated shaft, and a pair of rollers. The pair or rollers are movably mounted to the body and generally orthogonal to the elongated shaft. The pair of rollers are also spaced apart from each other and straddle at least a portion of the sponge. The mop also comprises an actuator configure to move the sponge between the rollers from a retracted position to a deployed position. At least one scrubbing element is disposed on at least one of the rollers, the scrubbing element configured to move into a deployed position when the sponge is moved into the retracted position, the scrubbing element also configured to move into a retracted position when the sponge is moved into the deployed position.

1 . A combination sponge mop and scrubber wherein said scrubber brush is automatically deployed whenever the sponge is squeezed to discharge liquid therefrom comprising: 
 a housing;    a pair of rollers mounted on the housing on each side of a sponge, the pair of rollers supporting a scrubber brush, wherein said rollers squeeze the sponge when the sponge is retracted into the housing, and wherein the rollers are automatically rotated by their engagement with the sponge to move the scrubber brush into a deployed position to scrub the cleaning surface, and    wherein the pair of rollers includes locking members configured to engage the sponge when the sponge is retracted between the rollers and the scrubber brush is in the deployed position, the locking members configured to maintain the scrubber brush in the deployed position.    
   
   
       2 . A combination sponge mop and scrubber brush wherein said scrubber brush is automatically deployed whenever the sponge is squeezed to discharge liquid therefrom comprising: 
 a housing;    a pair of rollers mounted on the housing on each side of a sponge, the pair of rollers supporting a scrubber brush, wherein said rollers both squeeze the sponge when the sponge is retracted into the housing and automatically rotate to move the scrubber brush into a deployed position.    
   
   
       3 . A mop for cleaning a cleaning surface comprising: 
 a housing; and    a pair of rollers mounted on the housing on each side of a sponge, the pair of rollers having scrubbing elements on a surface of the rollers, wherein the sponge is squeezed by the rollers when the sponge is retracted into the housing; and wherein the rollers rotate as they squeeze the sponge to move the scrubbing elements into a deployed position to scrub the cleaning surface.    
   
   
       4 . The mop of  claim 3 , wherein a surface of the sponge engages a surface of the rollers so that the retraction of the sponge rotates the rollers.  
   
   
       5 . The mop of  claim 3 , wherein the pair of rollers include locking members configured to engage the sponge when the sponge is retracted between the rollers and the scrubbing elements are in the deployed position, the locking members configured to maintain the rollers in a generally fixed position relative to the sponge.  
   
   
       6 . A mop for cleaning a cleaning surface, comprising: 
 an elongated shaft;    a body disposed at a distal end of the elongated shaft;    a sponge operably coupled to the body;    a pair of rollers movably mounted to the body, the rollers spaced apart from one another and straddling at least a portion of the sponge;    an actuator configured to move the sponge into a retracted position between the rollers, wherein the rollers squeeze the sponge to wring liquid from the sponge; and    at least one scrubbing element disposed on at least one of the rollers, the at least one scrubbing element configured to move into a deployed position when the sponge is moved into the retracted position, the at least one scrubbing element configured to move into a retracted position when the sponge is moved into a deployed position.    
   
   
       7 . The mop of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one scrubbing element comprises a brush.  
   
   
       8 . The mop of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one scrubbing element comprises a scraper.  
   
   
       9 . The mop of  claim 8 , wherein the scraper is serrated non-scratching poly-resin configured to scour the surface without scratching the surface.  
   
   
       10 . The mop of  claim 9 , wherein the scraper extends along at least a portion of the length of at least one of the rollers and is configured to cover the sponge.  
   
   
       11 . The mop of  claim 6 , further comprising a locking member disposed on at least one of the rollers, the locking member configured to engage the sponge when the at least one scrubbing element is in the deployed position, the locking member configured to maintain the at least one roller in a generally fixed position relative to the sponge.  
   
   
       12 . The mop of  claim 11 , wherein the locking member is disposed generally about 90 degrees from the at least one scrubbing element.  
   
   
       13 . The device of  claim 12 , further comprising a stop member configured to limit the rotation of the rollers and the movement of the at least one scrubbing element to about 180 degrees.  
   
   
       14 . A mop comprising: 
 an elongated shaft;    a body attached to a distal end of the elongated shaft;    a sponge operably coupled to the body;    a pair of rollers spaced apart from one another and straddling at least a portion of the sponge, each of the pair of rollers having at least one scrubbing element disposed thereon, wherein each of the rollers is configured to rotate about an axis; and    means for moving the sponge and rollers relative to each other to retract the sponge between the rollers to wring the sponge, and for rotating the scrubbing element into a deployed cleaning position.    
   
   
       15 . The mop of  claim 14 , wherein at least one of the rollers has a locking member configured to engage the sponge when the at least one scrubbing element is in the deployed cleaning position, the locking member maintaining the rollers in a generally fixed position relative to the sponge.  
   
   
       16 . A method of cleaning a surface, comprising: 
 providing a cleaning device having a sponge movably disposed between a pair of rollers, each of the rollers rotatable about an axis and having at least one scrubbing element on a surface thereof, and an actuator; and    actuating the actuator to move the sponge between the rollers into a retracted wringing position, said movement squeezing the sponge between the rollers to wring the sponge and moving the at least one brushing element into a deployed scrubbing position to scrub the surface.    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising the step of actuating the actuator to move the sponge between the rollers into a deployed cleaning position to clean a surface, said movement moving the at least one scrubbing element into a retracted storage position.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein moving the at least one scrubbing element into a deployed cleaning position includes rotating the rollers.