U.S. patent application number 10/910149 was filed with the patent office on 2006-02-09 for superscrubber.
Invention is credited to Rodney Ballance.
Application Number | 20060026750 10/910149 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35755922 |
Filed Date | 2006-02-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060026750 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ballance; Rodney |
February 9, 2006 |
Superscrubber
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a cleaning system adapted
to communicate with a water conduit forming a part of a residential
type plumbing system. The cleaning system is made up of a water
conduit forming part of a residential plumbing system; a quick
connect hose coupling in communication with the water conduit; and
a cleaning implement having a hose with an inlet end and an outlet
end, the hose inlet end being connectable to the quick connect hose
coupling. Preferably, the cleaning implement is made up of a handle
having a fluid conduit in communication with the hose outlet; a
body section having at least one internal fluid passageway in
communication with the handle fluid conduit and a bottom surface
having at least one orifice in communication with the at least one
internal fluid passageway; and a cleaning section having a cleaning
surface, the cleaning section being releasibly attachable to said
body section bottom surface.
Inventors: |
Ballance; Rodney;
(Williamston, NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WILLIAM J. MASON;MACCORD MASON PLLC
POST OFFICE BOX 1489
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH
NC
28480
US
|
Family ID: |
35755922 |
Appl. No.: |
10/910149 |
Filed: |
August 3, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/605 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K 3/281 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
004/605 |
International
Class: |
A47K 3/28 20060101
A47K003/28 |
Claims
1. A residential cleaning system comprising: a) a water conduit
forming part of a residential plumbing system; b) a quick connect
hose coupling in communication with said water conduit; and c) a
cleaning implement having a hose with an inlet end and an outlet
end, said hose inlet end being connectable with said quick connect
hose coupling.
2. The cleaning system of claim 1, wherein said cleaning implement
comprises: a) a handle having a fluid conduit in communication with
said hose outlet; b) a body section having at least one internal
fluid passageway in communication with said handle fluid conduit
and a bottom surface having at least one orifice in communication
with said at least one internal fluid passageway; and c) a cleaning
section having a cleaning surface, said cleaning section being
releasibly attachable to said body section bottom surface.
3. The cleaning system of claim 2, wherein said handle conduit
includes a fluid flow control valve.
4. The cleaning system of claim 2, wherein said at least one
orifice is a spray nozzle directed to spray fluid in a direction
substantially perpendicular to said body section bottom
surface.
5. The cleaning system of claim 2, wherein said brush handle fluid
conduit includes an outlet coupling connectable to a body inlet
coupling in communication with said body at least one internal
fluid passageway.
6. The cleaning system of claim 5, further including a fluid
conduit extension for extending the reach of said cleaning
implement, said fluid conduit extension being connectable to said
body inlet coupling and to said handle fluid conduit outlet
coupling.
7. The cleaning system of claim 6, wherein said fluid conduit
extension is a member of a set of fluid conduit extensions of
various lengths.
8. The cleaning system of claim 5, wherein said body inlet coupling
includes a ball and socket for allowing said body to pivot relative
to said handle, said ball and socket having a centrally arranged
fluid opening through which fluid passes to said body at least one
internal fluid passageway.
9. The cleaning system of claim 2, wherein said cleaning section is
releasibly attachable to said body section.
10. The cleaning system of claim 9, wherein said cleaning section
is selected from the group consisting of brushes, sponges,
squeegees, cleaning pads and combinations thereof.
11. A shower stall comprising: a) a plurality of walls; b) a water
conduit adjacent to at least one of said walls; c) a showerhead
extending from one of said walls in communication with said
conduit; d) a hose quick connect coupling in communication with
said water conduit upstream of said shower head; and e) a cleaning
implement having a hose with an inlet end that is connectable with
said hose quick connect coupling.
12. The shower stall of claim 11, wherein said cleaning implement
comprises: a) a handle having a fluid conduit in communication with
said hose; b) a body section having at least one internal fluid
passageway in communication with said handle fluid conduit and a
bottom surface having at least one orifice in communication with
said at least one internal fluid passageway; and c) a cleaning
section having a cleaning surface, said cleaning section being
attachable to said body section bottom surface.
13. The shower stall of claim 12, wherein said handle conduit
includes a fluid flow control valve.
14. The shower stall of claim 12, wherein said at least one orifice
is a spray nozzle directed to spray fluid in a direction
substantially perpendicular to said body section bottom
surface.
15. The shower stall of claim 12, wherein said handle fluid conduit
includes an outlet coupling connectable to a brush body inlet
coupling in communication with said body at least one internal
fluid passageway.
16. The shower stall of claim 15, further including an elongated
fluid conduit section for extending the reach of said cleaning
implement, said fluid conduit section being connectable to said
body inlet coupling and to said handle fluid conduit outlet
coupling.
17. The shower stall of claim 16, wherein said elongated fluid
conduit section is a member of a set of rigid conduit sections of
various lengths.
18. The shower stall of claim 15, wherein said body inlet coupling
includes a ball and socket for allowing said body to pivot relative
to said handle, said ball and socket having a centrally arranged
fluid passage through which fluid is passed to said body at least
one internal fluid passageway.
19. The cleaning system of claim 11, wherein said cleaning section
is selected from the group consisting of brushes, sponges,
squeegees, cleaning pads and combinations thereof.
20. A shower stall comprising: a) a plurality of walls; b) a water
conduit adjacent to at least one of said walls; c) a showerhead
extending from one of said walls in communication with said
conduit; d) a hose quick connect coupling in communication with
said water conduit upstream of said shower head; and e) a cleaning
implement having a handle including a fluid conduit in
communication with a hose having an inlet end that is connectable
with said hose quick connect coupling said hose; a body section
having at least one internal fluid passageway in communication with
said handle fluid conduit and a bottom surface having at least one
orifice in communication with said at least one internal fluid
passageway; and a cleaning section having a cleaning surface, said
cleaning section being attachable to said body section bottom
surface.
21. The cleaning system of claim 20, further including a fluid
conduit extension for extending the reach of said cleaning
implement, said fluid conduit extension being connectable to said
body inlet coupling and to said handle fluid conduit outlet
coupling.
22. The cleaning system of claim 21, wherein said fluid conduit
extension is a member of a set of fluid conduit extensions of
various lengths.
23. The cleaning system of claim 20, wherein said body inlet
coupling includes a ball and socket for allowing said body to pivot
relative to said handle, said ball and socket having a centrally
arranged fluid opening through which fluid passes to said body at
least one internal fluid passageway.
24. The cleaning system of claim 20, wherein said cleaning section
is selected from the group consisting of brushes, sponges,
squeegees, cleaning pads and combinations thereof.
25. The cleaning system of claim 20, wherein said hose is
substantially long enough for said cleaning implement to reach each
of said plurality of walls.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of
household cleaning systems. In particular, the present invention is
directed to cleaning implements that are adapted to be connected to
household water sources.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Cleaning residential surfaces such as tile bathroom floors,
tub surfaces and shower walls require cleaning implements such as
rinse buckets, mops and scouring pads. In cleaning residential
surfaces, a cleaning person alternates between scrubbing the
surface being cleaned and washing the cleaning implement in a rinse
bucket. This alternating process results in numerous wasted trips
shuttling the cleaning implement between the rinse bucket and the
surface being cleaned. Moreover, the use of a rinse bucket over the
course of the cleaning results in ever increasing contaminated
water used in rinsing the cleaning implement. Ultimately, rinsing
the cleaning implement in ever increasing contaminated water
results in a "cleaned" surface that could be cleaner. The current
alternative is to dump and replenish the rinse water frequently.
These actions are also unsatisfactory due to the inconvenience of a
cleaning interruption coupled with the wasting of water. What is
needed is a residential cleaning system that allows quick and
convenient residential cleaning that eliminates the need for rinse
buckets and always supplies uncontaminated rinse water.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention is a novel residential cleaning system
that addresses this need while being quickly and conveniently
useable for everyday cleaning needs. The system is particularly
suited for cleaning indoor surfaces such as windows, hot tubs,
bathtubs, tile floors and shower stalls.
[0006] In general, the present invention is a residential cleaning
system adapted to communicate with a water conduit forming part of
a residential type plumbing system, thereby conveniently providing
instant access to uncontaminated rinse water. The cleaning system
is made up of a quick connect hose coupling in communication with
the water conduit; a hose having an inlet end and an outlet end,
wherein the inlet end is connectable with the quick connect hose
coupling and a cleaning implement that is connectable with the hose
outlet end. Preferably, the hose is a coil-type hose having
sufficient length to reach all cleanable surfaces in rooms such as
kitchens and bathrooms. It is also preferred that the quick connect
coupling is a flow stop T-type coupling that is placed in-line with
a water conduit (e.g. a PVC or copper drinking water pipe).
Moreover, the coupling can be included in manufactured items such
as bathtubs, hot tubs, sinks and lavatory fill spouts.
[0007] For the purposes of this disclosure, the quick connect hose
coupling is made up of a tubular body having a sealable outlet, a
resilient seal, a collet and a hollow stem attached to the inlet
end of the hose. The tubular body communicates with a pressurized
residential water conduit and serves as a path for water to enter
the stem and attached hose. Upon connection, the collet receives
the stem and guides it into the coupling's tubular body. An O-ring
or the like prevents pressurized water from leaking past the collet
and the hollow stem guides the pressurized water into the attached
hose. Whenever the stem and hose is disconnected from the coupling,
the resilient seal closes the sealable outlet blocking the path
where water enters the stem when the hose is connected. The
resilient seal may include a spring to aid holding the resilient
seal closed. Moreover, the tubular body can be a T-type coupling
having water conduit-coupling ends that are permanently coupled
in-line with the water conduit. This way water may flow past the
quick connect hose coupling whenever the hose stem is not engaged
with the collet and tubular body of the coupling. Also, the
coupling can be the flow-stop type, which interrupts fluid flow to
downstream towards an outlet such as a showerhead whenever the hose
stem is engaged with the collet and tubular body of the
coupling.
[0008] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
cleaning implement is made up of a handle having a fluid conduit in
communication with the hose outlet; a body section having at least
one internal fluid passageway in communication with the handle
fluid conduit and a bottom surface having at least one orifice in
communication with the at least one internal fluid passageway and,
a cleaning section having a cleaning surface, wherein the cleaning
section is releasibly attachable to the body section bottom
surface. The preferred at least one orifice is a nozzle directed to
spray fluid in a direction that is perpendicular with and away from
the body bottom surface. The cleaning section is selected from the
group consisting of brushes, sponges, squeegees, cleaning pads and
combinations thereof.
[0009] Preferably, the handle is shaped like a pistol grip that
makes up a housing for the handle fluid conduit. The handle has a
front end and a back end. The handle fluid conduit extends from the
handle front end to the handle back end. A hose connector is
located on the handle back end and receives the hose outlet
end.
[0010] It is also preferable for the handle fluid conduit to
include an outlet coupling connectable to body inlet coupling that
in turn is in communication with at least one body internal fluid
passageway. Furthermore, the body inlet coupling preferably
includes a ball and socket for allowing the body to pivot relative
to the handle. The ball and socket has a centrally arranged fluid
opening through which fluid passes to the body at least one
internal passageway.
[0011] Moreover, the handle section includes a fluid flow control
valve in-line with the handle fluid conduit. In the preferred
embodiment, the fluid flow control valve is actuated by a button or
knob that extends from the handle. The fluid flow control valve is
the type that allows variable control of the fluid flow. In the
preferred embodiment, the fluid flow control valve allows for
linear fluid flow control.
[0012] The preferred embodiment also includes a set of fluid
conduit extensions of various lengths for extending the reach of
the cleaning implement. Each fluid conduit extension has one end
that is connectable to the body inlet coupling and another end
connectable to the handle fluid conduit outlet coupling.
[0013] In another embodiment, the present invention is a shower
stall made up of a plurality of walls; a water conduit adjacent to
at least one of the walls; a shower head extending from one of the
walls; a quick connect coupling in communication with the water
conduit upstream of the shower head and a cleaning implement having
a hose with an inlet end that is connectable with the hose quick
coupling. The hose quick connect coupling can extend from any one
of the plurality of walls or from a tub fill spout and the like.
Moreover, additional hose quick connect couplings can be in
communication with the water conduit. The cleaning implement for
the shower stall is the same as the cleaning implement of the
preferred embodiment.
[0014] To operate the preferred cleaning implement, a user first
selects an appropriate cleaning section for the cleaning task at
hand and then attaches the cleaning section to the cleaning
implements body section. Secondly, the user may elect to add one of
the rigid elongated conduits to the brush body inlet coupling and
to the handle fluid outlet connector in order to extend the reach
of the cleaning implement. Next, the user connects the inlet of the
hose to the quick connect coupling in communication with the water
conduit. The user then positions the cleaning section adjacent to a
surface to be cleaned and actuates the flow control value to allow
water under pressure to spray from the brush body orifice past the
cleaning section and onward onto the surface to be cleaned.
Typically, once the surface to be clean is wetted with spray, the
user manually maneuvers the brush to scrub the surface clean. Fluid
flow can be turned off at any time by way of the flow control
valve. Once cleaning activities have been completed, the user can
disconnect the hose inlet from the hose quick connect. Since the
hose is a coil-type hose, it can be readily stored away along with
the cleaning implement and the set of fluid conduit extensions.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become
apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the
following description of the preferred embodiment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the cleaning implement of the
present invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is another embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 depicts cleaning sections that are releasibly
attachable to the cleaning implement body.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] In the following description, terms such as horizontal,
upright, vertical, above, below, beneath, and the like, are used
solely for the purpose of clarity in illustrating the invention,
and should not be taken as words of limitation. The drawings are
for the purpose of illustrating the invention and are not intended
to be to scale.
[0019] Referring to the drawings and first to FIG. 1, the present
invention is a residential cleaning system 10 adapted to
communicate with a water conduit 12 forming part of a residential
type plumbing system. Cleaning system 10 is made up of a quick
connect hose coupling 14 in communication with water conduit 12; a
hose 16 having an inlet end 18 and an outlet end 20, wherein inlet
end 18 is connectable with quick connect hose coupling 14 and a
cleaning implement 22 that is connectable with hose outlet end
20.
[0020] Cleaning implement 22 made up of a handle 24 having a fluid
conduit 26 in communication with hose outlet 20; a body section 28
having at least one internal fluid passageway 30 in communication
with handle fluid conduit 26 and a bottom surface 32 having at
least one orifice 34 in communication with at least one internal
fluid passageway 30 and a cleaning section 36 having a cleaning
surface 38, wherein cleaning section 36 is attachable to body
section bottom surface 32. Referring briefly to FIG. 3, cleaning
section 36 can be a brush 78, a squeegee 80, a sponge 82, or a
cleaning pad 84.
[0021] Referring back to FIG. 1, handle 24 has a front-end 40 and a
back end 42. Handle fluid conduit 26 extends from handle front-end
40 to handle back end 42. A hose connector 44 is located on handle
back end 42 and receives hose outlet end 20.
[0022] Handle fluid conduit 26 includes an outlet coupling 46
connectable to a body inlet coupling 48 that in turn is in
communication with at least one body internal fluid passageway 30.
Furthermore, body inlet coupling 48 includes a ball and socket 50
for allowing body 28 to pivot relative to handle 24. Ball and
socket 50 has a centrally arranged fluid opening 52 through which
fluid is passed to body at least one internal passageway 30.
[0023] Moreover, handle section 24 includes a fluid flow control
valve 54 that is positioned in-line with handle fluid conduit 26.
In the preferred embodiment, fluid flow control knob 56 that
extends from handle 24 actuates valve 54.
[0024] Cleaning system 10 also includes a set of fluid conduit
extensions 58 of various lengths for extending the reach of
cleaning implement 22. Each of fluid conduit extensions 58 has one
end connectable with body inlet coupling 48 and another end that is
connectable to handle fluid conduit outlet coupling 46.
[0025] FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In
this embodiment, a shower stall 60 is made up of a plurality of
walls 62 having a water conduit 64 adjacent to at least one of the
walls 62. A showerhead 66 extends from one of the walls and a quick
connect coupling 68 is in communication with water conduit 64
upstream of showerhead 66. Another quick connect coupling 70,
associated with another one of walls 62 is for extending the reach
of a cleaning-implement 72 having a hose 74 with an inlet end 76
that is connectable with either of hose quick-connect couplings 68
and 70. Yet another quick connect coupling 71, is in communication
with a fill spout 73. Coupling 71 is also for extending the reach
of cleaning-implement 72. As with couplings 68 and 70, hose inlet
end 74 is connectable with coupling 71.
[0026] Referring back to FIG. 1, to operate the preferred cleaning
implement 22, a user first selects an appropriate cleaning section
36 for the cleaning task at hand and then attaches cleaning section
36 to body section 28. Secondly, the user may elect to add one of
the fluid conduit extensions 58 to body inlet coupling 48 and to
handle fluid outlet connector 46 in order to extend the reach of
cleaning implement 22. Next, the user connects hose inlet 18 to
quick connect coupling 14 in communication with water conduit 12.
The user then positions cleaning section 36 adjacent to a surface
to be cleaned and actuates flow control value 54 via control knob
56 to allow water under pressure to spray from body orifice 34 past
cleaning section 36 and onward onto the surface to be cleaned.
Typically, once the surface to be clean is wetted with spray, the
user manually maneuvers cleaning section 36 to scrub the surface
clean. Fluid flow can be turned off at any time by way of flow
control valve 54. Once cleaning activities have been completed, the
user can disconnect the hose inlet from the hose quick connect.
Since hose 16 is a coil-type hose, it can be readily stored away
along with cleaning implement 22 and the set of fluid conduit
extensions 58.
[0027] Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those
skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. For
example, it is preferred that the handle serves as a housing for
the handle conduit. However, the handle could be manufactured as a
solid piece with the handle conduit attached to it externally. It
should be understood that all such modifications and improvements
have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and
readability, but are properly within the scope of the following
claims.
* * * * *