U.S. patent application number 11/969026 was filed with the patent office on 2008-08-14 for knit cleaning pad.
Invention is credited to Ronald Opicka, Joel Weichelt.
Application Number | 20080189894 11/969026 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39684601 |
Filed Date | 2008-08-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080189894 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Weichelt; Joel ; et
al. |
August 14, 2008 |
Knit Cleaning Pad
Abstract
A knit cleaning pad for cleaning a surface, such as a flooring
surface, is provided that is formed with a knitted construction
having a holding stitch disposed between adjacent stitched layers.
The holding stitch enables the pad to maintain its shape without
any significant stretching or pulling to the original shape of the
pad. The knitted construction also enables the pad to be used in a
reversible manner and to be secured directly to the head of a
suitable cleaning device without the need for any additional
securing mechanisms.
Inventors: |
Weichelt; Joel; (Kewaunee,
WI) ; Opicka; Ronald; (Casco, WI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BOYLE FREDRICKSON S.C.
840 North Plankinton Avenue
MILWAUKEE
WI
53203
US
|
Family ID: |
39684601 |
Appl. No.: |
11/969026 |
Filed: |
January 3, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60900871 |
Feb 12, 2007 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
15/229.11 ;
15/209.1; 300/21 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 13/20 20130101;
A47L 13/256 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/229.11 ;
15/209.1; 300/21 |
International
Class: |
A47L 13/10 20060101
A47L013/10; A46D 99/00 20060101 A46D099/00 |
Claims
1. A cleaning pad comprising: a) a first stitching layer; b) a
second stitching layer; and c) a holding stitch connected to the
first layer at one end, and to the second layer at the opposite
end, wherein the holding stitch extends across the entire cleaning
pad to prevent the first layer and the second layer from
stretching.
2. The cleaning pad of claim 1 wherein the holding stitch is
integrally formed with the first layer.
3. The cleaning pad of claim 1 wherein the holding stitch is
integrally formed with the second layer.
4. The cleaning pad of claim 1 wherein the first layer and the
second layer are formed from materials attachable to a hook portion
of a hook and loop closure.
5. The cleaning pad of claim 1 wherein the holding stitch extends
diagonally across the pad between the first layer and the second
layer.
6. The cleaning pad of claim 1 wherein the first layer and the
second layer are generally rectangular in shape.
7. The cleaning pad of claim 1 wherein the first layer is formed
from knit stitches and the second layer is formed from purl
stitches.
8. A method for forming a cleaning pad, the method comprising the
steps of: a) providing an amount of a suitable cloth material in a
knittable form; b) forming a first stitching layer of the material;
c) forming a holding stitch of the material across the first
stitching layer; and d) forming a second stitching layer of the
material over the first stitching layer and the holding stitch.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the holding stitch is formed as an
integral extension of the first stitching layer.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein the second stitching layer is
formed as an integral extension of the holding stitch.
11. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of repeating
steps b)-d) as many times as necessary to form a cleaning pad with
the desired size.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 60/900,871, filed on Feb. 12, 2007, the
entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to cleaning devices and more
specifically to cleaning pads developed for use with various
cleaning devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In interior environments within a home or in a commercial
location, such as kitchen environments, numerous devices have been
created to assist in cleaning those environments. A large number of
these devices utilize pads or other implements that are attached to
the device in order to more effectively pick up dirt and other
debris from a surface to clean that surface. The pads are often
formed of a fabric or cloth material and are secured to the devices
in various manners to permanently or releasably hold the pads on
the device. Those devices that utilize a releasable attachment of
the pads to the device allow the pads to be easily removed and
disposed of after use in cleaning a surface or surfaces, such as a
floor or countertop.
[0004] However, the prior art pads constructed for use with these
types of devices are constructed such that the pads can only be
attached to the device in a specified orientation and manner. More
particularly, the attachment of the pads to the devices
necessitates that the pads only have a single surface that is, or
that can be exposed during use of the pad on the device, thereby
reducing the utility of the pads constructed for use with these
types of devices. Furthermore, because the majority of these
cleaning pads for use with these types of cleaning devices are
designed to be disposable, a significant amount of waste is
generated through the use and disposal of these cleaning devices
and pads.
[0005] Therefore, it is desirable to develop a cleaning pad that
can be used on various cleaning devices that is easily removable
from the device and that can be reused to clean multiple surfaces.
It is also desirable that the cleaning pad be attachable to the
device without the need for any special attachment means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a
cleaning pad is provided that it is formed of a yarn or cloth
material. This material is formed into the cleaning pad in a
knitting procedure in order to form the pad with a configuration
adaptable to various cleaning devices. The pad configuration
enables the pad to be reversibly secured to the various cleaning
devices such that more than one surface of the pad can be utilized
for cleaning purposes. Further, because the pad is formed of a
cloth material, when removed from the cleaning device, the pad can
be cleaned in a manner similar to that utilized to clean other
cloth material items in order to extend the useful life of the
pad.
[0007] According to another aspect of the present invention, the
cloth material forming the cleaning pad functions as the attachment
means for securing the cleaning pad to a particular cleaning
device. The nature of the cloth material essentially forms a loop
component of a conventional hook and loop fastener normally
utilized in conjunction with existing cleaning devices. Therefore,
in addition to providing the cleaning function, the material
forming the cleaning pad functions as the attachment means to
secure the pad to the particular cleaning device.
[0008] According to still another aspect of the present invention,
the pad is formed of a cloth material in a knitting process where,
in addition to the knit and purl stitches, a secure run of the
material, or a holding stitch, is created between each row of
stitches. This holding stitch effectively locks or prevents the
stitched material from stretching in the manner commonly associated
with items formed utilizing the conventional knit one, purl one
knitting pattern. Thus, the locking stitch enables the pad to
maintain its shape over an extended period of use.
[0009] Numerous other features, objects and advantages of the
present invention will be made apparent from the following detailed
description taken together with the drawing figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The drawings illustrate the best mode currently contemplated
of practicing the present invention.
[0011] In the drawings:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a knit cleaning pad
constructed according to the present invention attached to a
cleaning device;
[0013] FIG. 2-4 are top plan views illustrating the manufacturing
steps in the process for forming the cleaning pad of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] With reference now to the drawing figures in which like
reference numerals designate like parts throughout the disclosure,
a cleaning device for use in removing dirt and other debris from a
surface is indicated generally at 10 in FIG. 1. The device 10 can
take any desired shape, or have any suitable construction, but in
the preferred embodiment is formed with a handle 12 secured at one
end to a pad-engaging head 14. In order to secure the pad to be
used in cleaning the surface to the head 14, the head 14 also
includes a securing means 16, preferably formed of one half of a
hook-and-loop-type closure 18 that is disposed on the head 14
opposite the handle 12.
[0015] Looking now at FIG. 1, a cleaning pad 20 is illustrated as
being attached to the head 14 of the device 10. The pad 20 is
formed of a yarn or cloth material capable of being formed by
knitting into the pad 20 using a method to be described. While the
material utilized to form the pad can be any suitable synthetic or
natural fiber-based material, a preferred material is an industrial
microfiber yarn. This industrial-type microfiber yarn has a large
surface area that enables the yarn to trap small particles of dirt
and other debris in comparison to more conventional fabric material
fibers that are currently used in mop pad constructions. The
microfiber yarn material is also highly absorbent, allowing the pad
20 formed of this material to absorb multiple times the dry weight
of the pad 20 in liquid.
[0016] Further, while the pad 20 is illustrated as having a pair of
opposed cleaning surfaces 21 that have generally rectangular shape
and are generally identical to one another in the preferred
embodiment shown in the drawing figures, the pad 20 can be formed
with any desired shape in order to conform to the construction of a
particular device 10 with which the pad 20 is to be used, such as a
circular or triangular shape, among others. Additionally, the
cleaning faces 21 of the pad 20 are formed to have a surface area
larger than the area of the head 14 of the device 10. This allows
the edges of the cleaning surfaces 21 of the pad 20 to reach more
easily into hard to reach areas of the surface being cleaned, such
as the corners or along the baseboards of a floor, using the pad
20. Also, the softness and flexibility of the pad 20 formed of the
microfiber yarn enables the pad 20 to be compressed into tight
spaces by the device 10.
[0017] Due to the construction of the pad 20 from the microfiber
cloth material, the pad 20 can additionally be cleaned in a manner
similar to other items formed from cloth or fabric materials. Thus,
after use in cleaning a surface, the pad 20 can simply be hand
washed and wrung out or machine washed, rather than needing to be
disposed of. This greatly increases the utility of the pad 20 over
prior art pads, as the pad 20 can be cleaned and reused numerous
times to clean surfaces.
[0018] To enable the pad 20 to be attached to the head 14 for use
with the device 10, the fabric forming the pad 20 can effectively
function as the loop portion of a hook and loop type closure such
that the microfiber yarn forming the pad 20 allows the pad 20 to be
directly secured to the securing means 16 disposed on the head 14.
This occurs as a result of the fibers of the yarn material forming
the pad being engaged by the hooks forming the means 16 on the head
14. The engagement between the means 16 and the fibers of the pad
20 is sufficiently strong to hold the pad 20 on the head 14 when in
use, and is weak enough to allow the pad 20 to be easily removed
from the head 14 for cleaning after use with the device 10.
However, additional securing means (not shown) can also be attached
to the pad 20 and/or to the head 14 to assist in securing the pad
20 to the head 14 of the device 10.
[0019] Referring now to FIGS. 2-4, to construct the pad 20, the
microfiber yarn or other fabric is initially wound in a serpentine
pattern between a number of posts 22 that are disposed on a
stationary knitting machine (not shown). After the microfiber yarn
has been disposed about the posts 22 to the length desired for the
resulting pad 20, the adjacent yarn sections 26 extending between
the respective posts 22 are secured to one another by stitches 28
formed utilizing a suitable knit and purl knitting pattern. The
particular pattern of stitches 28 utilized to form the pad 20 can
vary depending upon a number of factors, including the desired
width of the pad and/or the length of each stitch, which directly
affects the number of stitches required to form the pad 20 having
the desired shape and size.
[0020] After the yarn sections 26 have been secured to one another
by the desired pattern and/or number of stitches 28, a secure run
or holding stitch 30 of the yarn material is formed by directing
the leader yarn or free end of the yarn material across the
unfinished pad 20, preferably in a diagonal direction as best shown
in FIG. 4. This secure run 30 effectively prevents the material
forming the pad 20 from stretching or being pulled apart, which
results in a more stable structure for the pad 20 over the entire
useful life of the pad 20. When the secure run 30 is positioned
around the opposite post 22, the yarn material is again wound about
each of the posts 22 in order to form a second layer of yarn
sections 26, as best shown in FIG. 4. The yarn sections 26 in the
second layer are then secured to one another utilizing the knitting
pattern used in securing the yarn sections 26 of the first layer to
one another, and a second secure run or holding stitch 30 is formed
to repeat the entire process for the first layer of yarn sections
26 illustrated in FIG. 4. This process is subsequently repeated as
many times as is necessary to construct a pad 20 having a desired
width and length. In one embodiment, the pattern results in a pad
20 that is approximately four inches wide, with the length
dependent upon the number of repeats of the knitting process
described previously. In another embodiment, the pad 20 is formed
to have dimensions of approximately three (3) to five (5) inches in
width, and approximately nine (9) to eleven (11) inches in length
so as to conform generally to the size of the head 14 of a
conventional cleaning device 10.
[0021] In addition to the enhanced features present in the pad 20
of the present invention as discussed previously, the structure of
the pad 20 formed in this manner also includes a number of channels
32 and apertures 34 are disposed therein capable of attracting and
retaining large particles of dirt within the pad 20. Thus, while
the properties of the material forming the yarn used to form the
pad 20 are able to easily pick up and retain smaller dirt and
debris particles when used to clean a surface, the larger channels
32 and apertures 34 are able to pick and retain larger particles of
dirt and debris therein. These particles can later be easily
disengaged from the pad 20 by flexing the pad 20 during washing
after use, which effectively opens the channels 32 and apertures 34
to release any of the dirt and debris collected and retained
therein.
[0022] Additionally, this construction for the pad 20 results in a
pad that is identically shaped on the opposite rectangular cleaning
surfaces 21. As a result, the pad 20 is formed with a reversible
construction, with each rectangular cleaning surface 21 being
attachable to be securing means 16 on the head 14 and able to be
utilized in cleaning a surface.
[0023] Various alternatives are contemplated as being within the
scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and
distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as the
invention.
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