U.S. patent application number 11/126223 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-16 for glass cleaning apparatus.
Invention is credited to Steven Huang, Jyng-Teng Tsai.
Application Number | 20060254009 11/126223 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37417633 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060254009 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsai; Jyng-Teng ; et
al. |
November 16, 2006 |
Glass cleaning apparatus
Abstract
A glass cleaning apparatus includes a handle and a cleaning
member. The handle has its interior hollowed out to form an
accommodating cavity and its upper end cut downward with a
transverse combining opening. The cleaning member has a central
portion inserted in the combining opening of the handle, with a
pivot inserted through the handle and the cleaning member to fix
them in position. The cleaning member is bored with a horizontal
slide groove at the location where the pivot is inserted so that
the cleaning member can be adjusted in angle and in length and
collapsed and received in the handle by means of its horizontal
slide groove, convenient to be stored, adjustable in angles and in
length for matching with different-shape surfaces of glass windows
and easy to replace wiping fabric.
Inventors: |
Tsai; Jyng-Teng; (Tainan
City, TW) ; Huang; Steven; (Tainan City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BACON & THOMAS, PLLC
625 SLATERS LANE
FOURTH FLOOR
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
37417633 |
Appl. No.: |
11/126223 |
Filed: |
May 11, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/121 ;
15/144.1; 15/220.1; 15/245 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 1/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/121 ;
015/220.1; 015/245; 015/144.1 |
International
Class: |
A47L 1/06 20060101
A47L001/06 |
Claims
1. A glass cleaning apparatus comprising a handle and a cleaning
member, said cleaning member pivotally combined with the upper end
of said handle by a pivot; and said handle having its interior
hollowed out to form an accommodating cavity, said handle having
its upper end cut downward with a transverse combining opening,
said cleaning member having a central portion inserted in said
transverse combining opening of said handle; and said cleaning
member bored with a horizontal slide groove at the location where
said pivot is inserted; said handle and said cleaning member
together formed with a positioning device for strengthening their
combination.
2. The glass cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
cleaning member has its upper end formed with a wiping side and its
lower end formed with a scraping side, said wiping side and said
scraping side able to be exchanged for use.
3. The glass cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
positioning device is composed of engage projections formed at the
opposite sides and the upper or the lower end of said horizontal
slide groove of said cleaning member and a radial toothed surface
formed at the upper end of said handle and facing said engage
projections of said cleaning member, said engage projections and
said radial teeth able to be engaged with each other whether said
cleaning member is normally used or adjusted in angles for use or
collapsed and received in said handle.
4. The glass cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said
wiping side of said cleaning member is formed with an enlarged head
having its opposite outer sides respectively fitted thereon with a
C-shaped elastic clamping member, wiping paper or sponge or
cleaning fabric able to be optionally covered on the outer surface
of said clamping member for use.
5. The glass cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
combining opening of said handle is deeper than half the length of
said cleaning member.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a glass cleaning apparatus,
particularly to one convenient to be collapsed for storing, able to
be adjusted in angle and in length for matching with
different-shaped surfaces and easy to replace wiping fabric.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] A conventional glass cleaning apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1,
includes a handle 10 and a cleaning member 20 horizontally
connected on the upper end of the handle 10. To clean glass
windows, simply hold the handle 10 to have the cleaning member 20
wiping the glass windows back and forth. Since the conventional
glass cleaning apparatus has its handle 10 and the cleaning member
20 pivotally or fixedly connected together, impossible to be
collapsed; therefore, it is inconvenient to be stored. Especially,
such a conventional glass cleaning apparatus is too large to be
placed in the trunk of an automobile for cleaning and defogging of
the glass windows, resulting in inconvenience in storing and
using.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The objective of the invention is to offer a glass cleaning
apparatus able to be collapsed for facilitating storing, adjustable
in angles and in length for matching with different-shaped surfaces
of glass windows and easy to replace wiping fabric.
[0006] The glass cleaning apparatus in the present invention
includes a handle and a cleaning member. The handle has its
interior hollowed out and formed with an accommodating cavity and
its upper end cut downward with a transverse combining opening. The
cleaning member has its central portion inserted in the combining
opening of the handle, with a pivot inserted through the handle and
the cleaning member to pivotally combine them together. The
cleaning member is bored with a horizontal slide groove at the
location where the pivot is inserted so that the cleaning member
can be adjusted in angles and in length and collapsed and received
in the accommodating cavity of the handle by means of its
horizontal slide groove. By so designing, the cleaning member can
be collapsed for facilitating storing and adjusted in angles and in
length for matching with different-shaped surfaces of glass
windows, and the wiping fabric can easily be replaced with any
material a user prefers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0007] This invention will be better understood by referring to the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional glass
cleaning apparatus:
[0009] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a glass cleaning
apparatus in the present invention:
[0010] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the glass cleaning apparatus
in the present invention:
[0011] FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the glass cleaning
apparatus in the present invention:
[0012] FIG. 5 is a side exploded perspective view of the cleaning
member of the glass cleaning apparatus in the present
invention:
[0013] FIG. 6 is a front view of the glass cleaning apparatus in
the present invention:
[0014] FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the line 7-7 in
FIG. 6:
[0015] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the glass cleaning apparatus
having its wiping side adjusted to an angle for use in the present
invention:
[0016] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the glass cleaning apparatus
having its wiping side adjusted to another angle for use in the
present invention:
[0017] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the glass cleaning
apparatus having its wiping side adjusted in length relative to the
handle in the present invention:
[0018] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the glass cleaning
apparatus adjusted to have its scraping side for use in the present
invention: and
[0019] FIGS. 12(A), (B) and (C) are front views of the glass
cleaning apparatus having its cleaning member collapsed by three
steps in the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] A preferred embodiment of a glass cleaning apparatus in the
present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, includes a handle 30
and a cleaning member 40 combined together.
[0021] The handle 30 is hollow-shaped and has one side bored with a
receiving slot 31 and its hollow interior formed with an
accommodating cavity 32. The handle 30 has the central portion of
its upper end cut downward with a transverse combining opening 33
deeper than a half of the length of the cleaning member 40. Two
support arms 34 are respectively formed at the opposite sides of
the transverse combining opening 33, respectively having a pivotal
hole 340 bored in the central upper end and aligned to each other.
The two pivotal holes 340 of the two support arms 34 have their
circumferential edges respectively formed with a hollow holding
block 341, with an insert notch 342 formed between the two holding
blocks 341, as shown in FIG. 4. One of the two holding blocks 341
has its end surface formed with radial teeth 3410 extending outward
as shown in FIG. 7.
[0022] The cleaning member 40, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, has an
intermediate portion inserted in the insert notch 342 at the upper
end of the handle 30, and its upper end formed with a wiping side
41 and its lower end formed with a flexible scraping side 42.
Further, the cleaning member 40 has its intermediate portion bored
with a horizontal slide groove 43, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, with
a pivot 44 (shaped like a bolt) inserted through the pivotal hole
340 of the handle 30 and the horizontal slide groove 43 of the
cleaning member 40 and then through the other pivotal hole 340 of
the handle 30 and firmly screwed with a nut 45 to pivotally fix the
cleaning member 40 at the upper end of the handle 30. Furthermore,
the horizontal slide groove 43 has its opposite sides and its upper
end (or its lower end or its upper and lower end), which face the
radial teeth 3410 of the holding block 341 of the handle 30,
respectively formed with engage projections 430 to be aligned to
and engaged with the radial teeth 3410 to form a positioning
device.
[0023] In addition, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the scraping side 42
of the cleaning member 40 is formed with a flexible tapered edge
for scraping remaining moisture on glass windows, and the wiping
side 41 of the cleaning member 40 is formed with an enlarged head
410 whose outer side can be clamped by a C-shaped elastic hollow
clamping member 411. The hollow clamping member 411 has its
opposite ends respectively formed with a rib 4110 for strengthening
clamping force. Wiping paper (or sponge or cleaning fabric) can be
covered on the outer surface and fitted on the inner wall of the
clamping member 411 and firmly fixed on the wiping side 41 of the
cleaning member 40 by the clamping member 411 for facilitating
wiping movement on glass windows.
[0024] Combined by the pivot 44 and by mutual engagement of the
engage projections 430 and the radial teeth 3410, the cleaning
member 40 and the handle 30 can be stably fixed in position.
[0025] To wipe glass windows with the wiping side 41 of the glass
cleaning apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the wiping side 41
of the cleaning member 40 is adjusted to face upward, and the
cleaning member 40 and the handle 30 are firmly combined together
by the pivot 44. Then the engage projections 430 of the cleaning
member 40 are engaged with the radial teeth 3410 of the holding
block 341 of the handle 30, as shown in FIG. 7, so a user can begin
to carry out wiping of the glass windows. When the wiping paper 412
fitted on the wiping side 41 becomes dirty and has to be replaced
with new one, simply draw the clamping member 411 from the enlarged
head 410 of the wiping side 41 and replace the dirty wiping paper
412 with a new wiping material a user prefers, such as sponge,
cleaning fabric and the like. In case the wiping side 41 has to be
adjusted in angles, only unscrew the pivot 44 and properly adjust
the included angle between the cleaning member 40 and the handle
30, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Then, screw tight again the pivot 44
to fix the cleaning member 40 and the handle 30 in position,
letting the engage projections 430 of the cleaning member 40
engaged with the toothed surface 3410 of the handle 30. Thus, the
dead angles of the glass windows can be easily wiped clean.
Additionally, the length of the cleaning member 40 relative to the
handle 30 can also be adjusted for use, as shown in FIG. 10.
[0026] To scrape water off glass windows, firstly, unscrew the
pivot 44 and, with the pivot 44 serving as a fulcrum, turn the
cleaning member 40 for 180 degrees to let the scraping side 42 of
the cleaning member 40 turned to pass through the transverse
combining opening 33 and face upward, as shown in FIG. 11. Then,
screw tight the pivot 44 to secure the cleaning member 40 at the
upper end of the handle 30, letting the engage projections 430 of
the cleaning member 40 engaged with the radial teeth 3410 of the
holding block 341 of the handle 30. Thus, the scraping side 42 of
the cleaning member 40 can be used to scrape water off the glass
windows. In addition, the scraping side 42 of the cleaning member
40 can be freely adjusted in angles in the same way as used for
adjusting the angles of the wiping side 41.
[0027] To collapse the cleaning member 40, as shown in FIG. 12,
firstly, unscrew the pivot 44 and turn the cleaning member 40 for
90 degrees toward the combining opening 33 of the handle 30, as
shown by the arrow in FIG. 12(A), letting the cleaning member 40
positioned upright, as shown in FIG. 12(B). Next, the cleaning
member 40 is pushed downward and completely received in the
accommodating cavity 32 of the handle 30 by means of its horizontal
slide groove 43, as shown in FIG. 12(C). Then, screw tight the
pivot 44 to let the engage projections 430 at one side of the
cleaning member 40 engaged with the radial teeth 3410 of the
holding block 341 of the handle 30, thus finishing collapsing the
cleaning member 40 and having it positioned in the interior of the
handle 30. Evidently, the glass cleaning apparatus of this
invention can be collapsed into a small size for the convenience of
being placed inside an automobile for cleaning and defogging of the
glass windows anytime.
[0028] As can be understood from the above description, this
invention has the following advantages.
[0029] 1. The wiping side and the scraping side of the cleaning
member can be easily exchanged for use.
[0030] 2. The cleaning member can be adjusted in angles and in
length, able to completely clean up the dead angles of glass
windows.
[0031] 3. The cleaning member can be collapsed and completely
positioned in the interior of the handle, convenient to be placed
in an automobile for cleaning and defogging of the glass windows
anytime and also convenient to be carried by workers who do the
cleaning of the glass windows of high buildings.
[0032] 4. The wiping material to be fitted on the cleaning member
for use can be replaced according as a user prefers, such as wiping
paper, sponge or cleaning fabric.
[0033] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been
described above, it will be recognized and understood that various
modifications may be made therein and appended claims are intended
to cover all such modifications that may fall within the spirit and
scope of the invention.
* * * * *