U.S. patent application number 10/585197 was filed with the patent office on 2007-07-05 for cleaning utensil.
Invention is credited to Carl Decoopman.
Application Number | 20070151063 10/585197 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34746635 |
Filed Date | 2007-07-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070151063 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Decoopman; Carl |
July 5, 2007 |
Cleaning utensil
Abstract
Cleaning utensil (1), comprising a body made of a first
synthetic material in which at least one fastening element made of
a second synthetic material is provided, the second synthetic
material being more elastic than the first synthetic material, the
said utensil being manufactured in one piece and in one single
injection operation.
Inventors: |
Decoopman; Carl;
(Ingelmunster, BE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
James C Wray
1493 Chain Bridge Road
Suite 300
McLean
VA
22101
US
|
Family ID: |
34746635 |
Appl. No.: |
10/585197 |
Filed: |
December 30, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
December 30, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IB03/06258 |
371 Date: |
June 30, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/231 ;
15/228 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B29C 45/1676 20130101;
A47L 13/254 20130101; B29L 2031/7654 20130101; B29L 2031/7406
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/231 ;
015/228 |
International
Class: |
A47L 13/254 20060101
A47L013/254 |
Claims
1. Cleaning utensil (1) comprising a body made of a first synthetic
material in which at least one fastening element, made of a second
synthetic material, is provided, the second synthetic material
being more elastic than the first synthetic material, characterized
in that the said utensil (1) is manufactured in one piece in one
single injection operation.
2. Cleaning utensil (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that
the said first synthetic material is a thermoplastic and in that
the said second synthetic material is an elastomer.
3. Cleaning utensil (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in
that the body comprises at least one fastening element for a cloth
(2).
4. Cleaning utensil (1) according to any one of the preceding
claims, characterized in that the body comprises a handle fastening
element (3).
5. Cleaning utensil (1) according to any one of the preceding
claims, characterized in that the body comprises a shell-shaped
envelope (6) which is provided with a hollow inner space (7) and an
open lower surface, ribs (8) being provided in the inner space (7)
which extend over the entire depth of the inner space (7).
6. Cleaning utensil (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that
the said ribs (8) are made of an elastomer.
7. Cleaning utensil (1) according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in
that the handle fastening element (3) comprises a handle holder
(4), a zone (5) of a second synthetic material being provided
between the handle holder (4) and the envelope (6).
8. Method for manufacturing a cleaning utensil (1), characterized
in that a cleaning utensil (1) according to any one of the
preceding claims is manufactured in one piece in one single
injection operation.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a cleaning utensil, comprising a
body made of a first synthetic material in which at least one
fastening element made of a second synthetic material is provided,
the second synthetic material being more elastic than the first
synthetic material and on the other hand a method for manufacturing
such a utensil.
[0002] The cleaning utensil is more particularly a device for
cleaning flat surfaces, for cleaning floors by means of small
pieces of cloth, for instance.
[0003] Such devices which make use of small pieces of cloth for
single or multiple use are already known and are composed of
several parts.
[0004] The known devices consist of a base plate, small inserts, a
lower surface, a hinge part, an elongation and a threaded part. The
base plate consisting of thermoplastic material or metal is usually
manufactured by means of injection moulding. On this base plate
two, usually four inserts made of an elastomer are applied. The
inserts are provided with a small clip intended for fastening a
small piece of cloth. The lower surface is made of an elastomer,
polyurethane or some other synthetic material.
[0005] In the centre of the base plate, the base plate is also
provided with a thermoplastic hinge part, enabling the handle to
perform a rotating movement of 360.degree. with respect to the base
plate. The hinge part is connected to the base plate by means of
the elongation. The hinge part is likewise provided with a threaded
part to fasten the handle to the hinge part.
[0006] This known device has the great disadvantage that the
various parts have to be manufactured separately from one another
in separate manufacturing operations. Therefore, the whole unit has
to be assembled still, manually most of the time, requiring a lot
of time and money. The disadvantage of this system is, that the
separate parts making up a whole might have a tendency to come
loose.
[0007] The purpose of the invention is to produce a cleaning
utensil which no longer has the drawbacks mentioned above.
[0008] The purpose of the invention is achieved by providing a
cleaning utensil comprising a body made of a first synthetic
material in which at least one fastening element is provided made
of a second synthetic material, the second synthetic material being
more elastic than the first synthetic material, the said utensil
being made of one piece in one injection operation.
[0009] By manufacturing the utensil in one injection operation, it
is possible to manufacture the device with a minimum of labour
costs. As the utensil consists of only one piece, the danger of
certain parts coming loose is avoided.
[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the cleaning utensil according
to the invention, the said first synthetic material is a
thermoplastic and the second synthetic material is an elastomer.
Preferably, the synthetic materials used are polypropylene,
polyamide, acrylic nitrile butadiene (ABS), polyethylene
terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), natural rubber,
thermoplastic elastomers.
[0011] As it is a cleaning utensil in one piece, without loose
components and because of the elastomers and thermoplastics used,
it will be possible for the user to clean this utensil in a
dishwashing machine.
[0012] In a more particular embodiment of the cleaning utensil
according to the invention, the body comprises at least one
fastening element for a cloth. Preferably, the body is provided
with two, three or four fastening elements for a cloth. In another
preferred embodiment the body likewise comprises a handle fastening
element, onto which a handle may be snap-fitted by means of a
snap-fitting system, possibly, the handle may also be fastened by
means of a screw thread system.
[0013] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the cleaning
utensil according to the invention, the body comprises a
shell-shaped envelope, being provided with a hollow inner space and
an open lower surface, ribs being provided in the inner space which
extend over the entire depth of the inner space. Preferably, the
ribs are made of an elastomer, but they may also be made of
polyurethane or another expanded synthetic material. The upright
ribs form, as it were, the lower surface of the sole of the
cleaning device. Cleaning devices provided with such ribs have the
advantage that a greater cleaning effect is obtained, because dust
may accumulate between the ribs. Preferably, the ribs are made such
that the lower surface is slightly curved.
[0014] In a most particular preferred embodiment of the cleaning
utensil according to the invention, the handle fastening element
comprises a handle holder, a zone, made of the second synthetic
material being provided between the handle holder and the envelope.
Preferably, this zone is a funnel-shaped membrane of elastomer
enabling the handle to rotate through 360.degree. on the one hand,
and bringing the handle parallel to the ground surface, the sole of
the device remaining in touch with the ground surface. This zone or
membrane replaces the elongation and the hinge part at present
known and used in the trade. Preferably, the membrane is injected
to form one piece with the shell-shaped envelope and the handle
holder.
[0015] Another object of the present invention is a method for
manufacturing a cleaning utensil by which a cleaning utensil is
manufactured, according to any one of the claims 1 up to and
including 7, in one piece and in one injection operation.
Preferably, the cleaning utensil according to the invention is
manufactured by means of an injection mould and an injection
moulding machine for synthetic material suitable for the
purpose.
[0016] Preferably, first the thermoplastics are injected and then
the elastomers are injected into the same injection mould, because
of which the elastomers, as it were, are intimately united with the
thermoplastics.
[0017] In order to further explain the qualities of this invention
and to indicate its additional advantages and particulars, a more
detailed description of the cleaning utensil and the method by
which it is manufactured will now follow. It will be obvious that
nothing in the following description may be interpreted as being a
restriction of the protection of this invention demanded for in the
claims.
[0018] In this description, by means of reference numbers,
reference is made to the attached drawings in which:
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective representation of a cleaning utensil
according to the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a top view of the cleaning utensil;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the cleaning utensil;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a view according to the line A-A;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a view according to the line B-B;
[0024] FIG. 6 is a perspective representation of the top of the
cleaning utensil;
[0025] FIG. 7 is a perspective representation of the bottom side of
the cleaning utensil.
[0026] The cleaning utensil (1) according to the invention, as
represented in the figures, comprises a body made of two kinds of
synthetic material, the one synthetic material, for instance a
rubber, being more elastic then the other synthetic material, for
instance a polypropylene.
[0027] The cleaning utensil is composed of a shell-shaped envelope
(6) which is provided with a hollow inner space (7) and an open
lower surface, ribs (8) being provided in the inner space (7),
which extend over the entire depth of the inner space (7). The
upright ribs form, as it were, the lower surface of the sole of the
cleaning device.
[0028] A the top of the shell-shaped envelope (6) four fastening
elements for small pieces of cloth (2) are provided, these
fastening elements (2) are made of an elastomer and are provided
with indentations (9). The small piece of cloth is attached by
pressing the small piece of cloth into the indentations of the
fastening element (2) with the finger.
[0029] In the centre of the shell-shaped envelope (6), at the top,
a handle fastening element (3) is provided, consisting of a handle
holder (4) and a zone (5) made of an elastomer. This zone (5) is
provided between the handle holder (4) and the envelope (6). As
represented in FIG. 4, the zone (5) is a funnel-shaped membrane
made of an elastomer. This enables the handle, which may be
snap-fitted onto the handle holder (4) by means of a snap-fitting
system, to be brought into a position, parallel to the ground
surface, while the sole of the device (1) remains in touch with the
ground surface. The membrane is injected integral with the envelope
(6) and the handle holder (4). Membrane, envelope and handle holder
thus making a whole. Preferably, the handle holder is made of a
thermoplastic.
[0030] The cleaning utensil (1) is realized in one piece in one
injection operation by means of a two-component injection moulding
process. The said utensil (1) is realized by means of an injection
mould and an injection moulding machine for synthetic material
suitable for the purpose, enabling the envelope (6), the upright
ribs (8), the fastening element for the small pieces of cloth (2),
the membrane (5) and the handle holder (4) to be injected entirely
together to form one solid piece. Preferably, this is done by first
injecting the thermoplastic and to let the elastomers intimately
unite with the thermoplastics in the same injection mould. This
method enables the cleaning utensil to be manufactured in one piece
and in one injection operation.
[0031] Finally it should be mentioned that the cleaning utensil is
more particularly a cleaning device for flat surfaces, for
instance, for cleaning floors by means of small pieces of
cloth.
* * * * *