Retainers for a device having removable floor sheets
First Claim
1. A retainer in combination with a rigid, pivotable sole plate of a floor cleaning device, said pivotable sole plate being pivotally attached to a housing of said floor cleaning device, said pivotable sole plate having a first face and a second face opposed thereto, said retainer and sole plate of the floor cleaning device comprising:
- at least one finger, said finger being juxtaposed with said first face of said pivotable sole plate of said floor cleaning device and being cantilevered from a proximal end, said finger being deformable in a first direction to receive a cleaning sheet on said pivotable sole plate; and
a flexible barrier juxtaposed with said at least one finger and being juxtaposed with said second face of said pivotable sole plate of said floor cleaning device and being exposed when a cleaning sheet is not attached to said pivotable sole plate, said flexible barrier deforming relative to said rigid pivotable sole plate upon contact with said finger, when said finger is deflected to contact said barrier.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A retainer for removably attaching a sheet to a cleaning device. The retainer has at least one cantilevered finger extending inwardly from the periphery of a cavity towards the inside of that cavity. Behind the retainer is a flexible barrier, at least partially covering the back of the cavity. The barrier prevents the user'"'"'s finger from going too far into the cavity and becoming pinched, and allows the thickness of the device to which the sheet is attached to be reduced compared to a device having a conventional sheet retainer. The barrier may provide visual and/or tactile barrier cues to a user, qualitatively signaling the user which direction is proper for insertion of the sheet into the retainer and quantitatively signally the user how far the sheet should be inserted into the retainer. Strands and/or a membrane panel which are elastic or inelastic may be used for the barrier.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A retainer in combination with a rigid, pivotable sole plate of a floor cleaning device, said pivotable sole plate being pivotally attached to a housing of said floor cleaning device, said pivotable sole plate having a first face and a second face opposed thereto, said retainer and sole plate of the floor cleaning device comprising:
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at least one finger, said finger being juxtaposed with said first face of said pivotable sole plate of said floor cleaning device and being cantilevered from a proximal end, said finger being deformable in a first direction to receive a cleaning sheet on said pivotable sole plate; and a flexible barrier juxtaposed with said at least one finger and being juxtaposed with said second face of said pivotable sole plate of said floor cleaning device and being exposed when a cleaning sheet is not attached to said pivotable sole plate, said flexible barrier deforming relative to said rigid pivotable sole plate upon contact with said finger, when said finger is deflected to contact said barrier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A retainer in combination with a rigid, pivotable sole plate of a floor cleaning device, said pivotable sole plate being pivotally attached to a housing of said floor cleaning device, said pivotable sole plate having a first face and a second face opposed thereto, and said retainer and sole plate of the floor cleaning device comprising:
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at least one cantilevered finger and a barrier being spaced apart and defining a cavity having no intervening component therebetween, said barrier being juxtaposed with one said face of said pivotable sole plate and thereby exposed, said finger being resiliently deflectable in a first direction towards said barrier to attach a cleaning sheet to said first face of said pivotable sole plate of said floor cleaning device, whereby upon contact with said finger said barrier deflects relative to said rigid pivotable sole plate in response thereto, thereby providing a signal to a user attaching a cleaning sheet to said floor cleaning device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A retainer, in combination with a rigid, pivotable sole plate of a floor cleaning device, said pivotable sole plate being pivotally attached to a housing of said floor cleaning device, said pivotable sole plate having a first face and a second face opposed thereto, and said retainer and sole plate of the floor cleaning device comprising:
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a flexible barrier; at least one cantilevered finger being bendable in a first direction towards said barrier to thereby attach a cleaning sheet to said first face of said pivotable sole plate of said floor cleaning device, said barrier being urged away from said rigid pivotable sole plate by said bending of said finger.
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Specification