US3204277A

US3204277A - Cleaning device

Info

Publication number: US3204277A
Application number: US138947A
Authority: US
Inventors: Visman Hendrik Sierik; Kluin Gerrit
Original assignee: Algemene Kunstzijde Unie NV
Current assignee: Akzo NV
Priority date: 1960-10-19
Filing date: 1961-09-18
Publication date: 1965-09-07
Anticipated expiration: 1982-09-07
Also published as: BE608617A; GB914090A; CH391983A

Description

p 1965 H. s. VISMAN ETAL 3,204,277

CLEANING DEVICE Filed Sept. 18. 1961 FIG. 3

INVENTORS HENDRIX SIERIK VISHAN GERRIT KLUIN ATTORNEY 5 United States Patent 4 Claims. (c1. -444 This invention relates to a dish washing or cleaning device, and relates more particularly to a cleaning device comprising a plurality of substantially circular plates or disks formed from a flexible and resilient material, the plates being provided in the peripheries with incisions, scallops, grooves or bevels, and attached at their centers to a handle.

Heretofore, cleaning devices have been constructed with plates of a resilient material which are separated from one another by spacers or washers. The flexible plates and their respective spacers are then mounted on a long stem or anchor which in turn is fixed longitudinally into the handle of a mop or cleaning device. Such a device is particularly intended for manual use in general cleaning applications.

It has been found that in everyday household use this known type of cleaning device is not quite satisfactory. Moreover, the construction is relatively complicated and, therefore, the finished product is rather expensive to the ultimate consumer. However, these drawbacks no longer exist with the new cleaning device of the present invention.

Therefore, an important object of this invention is to provide a cleaning device which will be free from the foregoing drawbacks, and which device will be especially simple in construction and eflicient in use.

It is another object of this invention to form a cleaning device from substantially circular sheets of a flexible material.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a cleaning device formed from circular plates of a regenerated cellulose sponge material.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cleaning device formed from circular disks having grooved, beveled or scalloped edges.

For further understanding of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference should be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

The cleaning device of the present invention is of a very simple construction and is very suitable for all kinds of general cleaning applications. The device of the instant invention includes an elongated handle and a removable cleaning head supported on one end of said handle, the head comprising a plurality of substantially circular plates of a flexible and resilient material having beveled, grooved or scalloped lobed edges. In accordance with this invention, plates are joined at their centers to the handle by means of a resilient locking and fastening means. The invention also contemplates employing a handle formed from a wire that has been bent or curved into an elongated loop. The invention further contemplates the use of a fastening means including male and female members which looks the plates together and is adapted to be attached to the handle.

When the plates are placed against one another, a single unit is formed which is very suitable for use in kitchens, restaurants, laboratories, hospitals, oflices, industrial plants, service stations and the like as a cleaning device for glasses, dishes, bottles, vases, trays, bowls,

3,204,277 Patented Sept. 7, 1965 ice buckets, flat surfaces, curved surfaces and for other general cleaning.

Preferably, the material from which the plates are formed is highly resilient and compressible. For example, plates made from an artificial spongiform material such as a regenerated cellulose sponge. Such material is so flexible that a fine, cup-shaped mop head will therefore be obtained by locking plates of this material firmly together.

The fastening of the plates against one another and to the handle by means of a fastening means comprising a press stud and a female receptive member therefor has been found particularly simple and inexpensive. Preferably, the press stud and female receptive member in the form of a base plate member should be manufactured from a material from which they can be obtained by a simple extrusion or injection molding process. According to the instant invention, synthetic thermoplastic resinous substances, and preferably the class of materials known as the polyethylenes, or those materials that are based onpolyamides, are particularly suitable for this purpose. Such materials are strong and yet relatively soft. Consequently the fastening means will neither break easily and, at the same time, it will never impart scratches or cracks to the materials with which it will come into contact.

In the preferred embodiment of the cleaning device of the present invention, the fastening means is constructed as a double press stud such that one locking member of the fastening means locks the plates together, and the other locking member serves to fasten the plates thus bundled or gathered, to the handle. That is, two locking members are employed between which something may be locked. An advantage of this construction is that the cleaning head of the cleaning device can be attached to the handle as a separate unit. Such cleaning head assemblies can be marketed separately since they can simply be pressed onto the handle of a similar cleaning device, the working head of which is worn out.

Preferably one of the detachable members of the fastening means is provided near its periphery with one or more indentations. These indentations permit the easy access of a tapering object, as, for example, a screw driver. With the use of such a tool, the press stud can be unfastened in a very simple and eflicient manner.

An additional simplification of this construction is obtained if one of the members of the fastening means is formed integrally with the handle. For instance, the end of the handle may be so constructed that it forms an open or closed eyelet which serves to lock onto the press stud.

In order that the cleaning device of this invention may have easy access to spots that are diflicult to reach, as, for example, in the case of vases, the head may be so formed that the axis of the press stud lies at an acute angle with respect to the handle. This can be done by manually bending the end of the handle into the desired shape.

It should be noted that the well-known cleaning devices comprising a handle and a cleaning head are made from a plurality of substantially circular, flexible and resilient scalloped plates, said plates being arranged so that the grooves or scallops are placed one on top of another. These plates are then doubled at least partly, and are clasped by the eye-shaped end of the handle which passes through two diametrically opposed series of grooves or incisions to secure the mop head to the handle.

It has been found that this construction has disadvantages as compared with the above described construction of this invention. That is, the plates or disks of the prior art device are strongly deformed. This causes increased wear and reduces the useful life of the device.

Moreover, the device of the instant invention is not as large or bulky as the prior art cleaning devices. ever, the main drawback of the known mop is that after the plates have been subject to some degree of wear, the eye-shaped end of the handle will become exposed. 7 Such a device is then far less suitable since it is incapable of completely cleaning down to the bottom of drinking glasses. This drawback has also been encountered in washing other dishes, such as plates and cups.

Another embodiment of the fastening means may simply consist of a bipartite device, one of the two parts being a locking member which may have the simple shape of a small, round plate with an aperture in the middle thereof. The part of the fastening means which is directly associated with the handle may, moreover, be shaped such that it is prevented from turning relative to the handle. In the case where the mop handle ends in an eyelet, this too, can also be locked between the two parts of the fastening means together with the plates.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown by the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the cleaning device of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of the head of the device showing the anchoring or securing means;

FIGURE 3 is a frontal view of the base plate andthe eye of the handle; and

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of an embodiment of a single resilient flexible plate having scalloped edges, a plurality of which may be employed in overlapping positions in forming the cleaning head of the cleaning device of the invention.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, the reference numeral 1 designates a handle of galvanized steel wire about 3 mm. in diameter. This flexible wire is bent around and shaped to form an ablong, loop shaped handle 2 which is covered with insulating tubing (not shown). A plastic cap 3 is provided on the handle at the point where the wire is joined, preferably by spot welding. This cap 3 is kept in position by a local deformation (not shown) on the single section of the handle 1 on the side of the cap remote from the handle 2.

Positioned at the end of the handle 1 are plates 4, 5

and 6 which are attached to the handle by means of press stud 7. The plates 4, 5 and 6 are formed from a spongelike regenerated cellulose material. When swollen with the usual aqueous cleaning solutions, these plates have a thickness of about 15 mm. As more clearly shown in FIGURE 4, each of the plates have a substantially circular configuration which has been scalloped, grooved, or beveled into at least an octalobal shape consisting of a plurality of equal lobes or petals. These plates may be provided at their centers with a substantially circular aperture to permit easy access of the member 11 of press stud 7. I As shown in FIGURE 1, the lobes or petals of the plates are preferably placedin an out-of-registry position. That is, they are not aligned. Furthermore, in the preferred embodiment of this invention, no such aperture is provided beforehand. Preferably, the aperture is formed by forcing, by means of pressure, the thickened member 11 through the plates when the cleaning device is being assembled.

FIGURE 2 shows a sectional view of the fastening means. The press stud 7 consists of a flat disk 8 and a long bulbous knob or projection 11. The projection 11 permits the joining of washer 9 and base plate 10. Preferably, the separable fastening means consisting of disk 8, washer 9, base plate 10 and knob 11 is formed from a polyethylene or polyamide material. Such materials are flexible, resilient and elastic and yet are sufficiently strong enough ,to permit the, snap pressure fit Howthat is desired for male member 11 and female member 10. Washer 9 preferably has the form of a small, fiat disk with an aperture in the center thereof to accommodate knob 11. 'Base plate 10, on the other hand, has the form of a sphericalsegment. Cleaning plates 4, 5 and 6 can thus be locked in between disk 8 and washer 9 by means of the pressure fit of knob 11 with base plate 10.

FIGURE 3 illustrates .a frontal view of the base plate 10. On the flat side thereof is a square or diamond shaped recess 12 receiving and accommodating the upper end of the handle 1 which has been bent into the form of an eyelet 13. However, by providing recess 12 in circular form, it is possible for said recess and consequently also for the eyelet 13 and the entire press stud to have smaller dimensions. This is of advantage when cleaning very narrow glasses or the like.

Finally, an indentation 14 is provided in the periphery of the base plate 10 and positioned on the flat side. The indentation may serve as a means for detaching the cleaning head consisting of, press stud 7, washer 9, cleaning plate 4, 5, 6, and base plate 10 from the supporting end of handle 1. For'instance, a screw driver may be inserted into said indentation and the press stud 7 and base plate 10 may then'be simply pushed away from each other.

.Hence, the unit consisting of stud 7, cleaning plates 4, 5, 6 and Washer 9 may be disassembled from the cleaning device as an integral unit and eyelet 13 easily may be lifted from within recess 12 of base plate 10 to separate base plate 10 fromthe supporting end of handle 1.

The foregoing specification is intended to be illustrative of one embodiment of this invention. It is to be understood that the structural details of this disclosure may be varied by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

What is claimed is: v

1. A cleaning device comprising an elongated handle and a cleaning head supported on one end of said handle, said cleaning head comprising a plurality of overlapping, flexible and resilient, substantially circular plates formed of an artificial sponge material and a resilient fastening means formed of'asynthetic thermoplastic material connecting said flexible plates to said supporting end of said handle, said fastening means including a separately removable resilient projection member, one end of which defines a bulbous knob and extends through the centers of said flexible plates toward said supporting end of said handle, the other end of said projection member having an enlarged portion, to locally deform and hold said flexible plates in pressure contact at their centers, and a resilient base plate member attached to said supporting end of said handle and having a recess receiving in snap pressure locking engagement said bulbous knob of said projection member extending through said flexible plates, said resilient fastening means including a separate washer positioned between said flexible plates and said base plate member, said washer having an aperture'therein adapted to receive said end of said projection member extending through said flexible plates and providing a locking pressure engagement of said flexible plates between the enlarged portion of said projection member and said washer, said supporting end of said handle defining an eyelet, the surface of said base plate member toward said washer being provided with a recess corresponding in configuration to said eyelet and adapted to receive said eyelet therein,and said eyelet being positioned within and maintained in locking engagement within said recess by means of said washer.

2. The cleaning device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said flexible plates are scalloped along the peripheries thereof and said flexible plates are positioned 5 relative to one another in angular displacement such that the lobes of said scallops thereon substantially are in vertical non-alignment.

3. The cleaning device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the axis of said projection member of said fastening means is oblique to the axis of the major portion of said handle.

4. The cleaning device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said flexible plates are formed of a regenerated cellulose sponge material and said resilient fastening means is formed of a synthetic thermoplastic material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene and polyamides.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/15 Kidney 15-211 6/21 Withycombe 15-224 X 10/ 5 0 Alvarez.

10/53 Tworck 24-108 1/56 Gesell et al. 15-223 X 3/58 Sanborn 15-210 11/62 Hartmann 15-244 X FOREIGN PATENTS 6/51 Belgium.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A CLEANING DEVICE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HANDLE AND A CLEANING HEAD SUPPORTED ON ONE END OF SAID HANDLE, SAID CLEANING HEAD COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF OVERLAPPING, FLEXIBLE AND RESILIENT, SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULAR PLATES FORMED OF AN ARTIFICIAL SPONGE MATERIAL AND A RESILENT FASTENING MEANS FORMED OF A SYNTHETIC THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL CONNECTING SAID FLEXIBLE PLATED TO SAID SUPPORTING END OF SAID HANDLE, SAID FASTENING MEANS INCLUDING A SEPARATELY REMOVABLE RESILIENT PROJECTION MEMBER, ONE END OF WHICH DEFINES A BULBOUS KNOB AND EXTENDS THROUGH THE CENTER OF SAID FLEXIBLE PLATES TOWARD SAID SUPPORTING END OF SAID HANDLE, THE OTHER END OF SAID PROJECTION MEMBER HAVING AN ENLARGED PORTION, TO LOCALLY DEFORM AND HOLD SAID FLEXIBLE PLATES IN PRESSURE CONTACT AT THEIR CENTERS, AND A RESILIENT BASE PLATE MEMBER ATTACHED TO SAID SUPPORTING END OF SAID HANDLE AND HAVING A RECESS RECEIVING IN SNAP PRESSURE LOCKING ENGAGEMENT SAID BUL-