Ferrule Assembly For A Push Broom Or The Like

Abstract

A three-piece ferrule assembly for replacing the conventional and direct wood-to-wood threaded joint between a wooden push broom body and its associated wooden handle.

Description

The improved ferrule assembly comprising the present invention is designed for use primarily in connection with a conventional push broom of the type which is commonly sold in hardware stores or janitor supply establishments and serves as a medium for the indoor sweeping of the floors of buildings such as homes, school houses, armories, assembly halls, garages and the like, or the outdoor sweeping of sidewalks, patio floors, tennis courts, concrete or other areaways, and travelled surfaces too numerous to mention. The invention is, however, capable of other uses and ferrule assemblies embodying the principles of the present invention are capable of use, with or without modification as required, in connection with certain types of mops, dusters, and other devices of a similar nature. Irrespective of the particular use to which the invention may be put, the essential features thereof are at all times preserved.

Considering by way of example a conventional push broom of the type which has been in use for over half a century without appreciable modification, such a broom consists essentially of a substantially flat rectangular wooden body, the underneath portion of which is drilled to provide a multiplicity of small closely spaced holes within which there are inserted and secured respective groups or tufts of bristles. The upper portion of the broom body is usually provided in the central part of each side with an internally-threaded handle-receiving socket. The internal screw threads which are associated with these sockets are formed directly in the wood of the body, and they are for the most part relatively coarse "contour" threads. The two sockets are disposed with these axes slightly upwardly divergent and are designed for selective threaded reception therein of the lower or distal end of a wooden handle, such distal end of the handle being provided with an external "contour" screw thread which is the complement of the internal screw threads in the two handle-receiving sockets. When the handle is properly threaded to its home position in either of the two sockets in the broom body, the push broom is ready for use, the handle extending at a convenient operating angle when the wooden body is horizontal so that the bristles extend substantially normal to the floor or other surface undergoing sweeping. Effective sweeping of a floor is accomplished largely by pushing the broom body forwardly over the floor by proper use of the handle, and thus, after a period of time, the bristles tend to take on a definite set with a constantly decreasing sweeping angle and an attendant loss of sweeping efficiency. In order to remedy this situation and readjust the angle of the bristles, the handle may be unscrewed from its associated socket and threaded into the other socket, thereby reversing the angle of inclination of the bristles with respect to the floor. This affords an increased effective broom life.

From the above description, it will be appreciated that throughout the life of any given push broom, several changes of handle positions will be effected. However, the great majority of push brooms are provided with wooden broom bodies and handles, both of which are constructed of low-grade pine and, therefore, they will not withstand repeated assembly and dismantlement. As a consequence, the life of the bristles almost invariably exceeds handle life and many push brooms are discarded while the bristles thereof are still in good or usable condition. This is particularly the case in connection with push brooms which are used outdoors, and especially those which are stored outdoors or in open garages or the like.

Unlike the high-grade treated hickory handles of hammers and other impact tools which are possessed of a relatively long life, pine and other inferior types of wood are extremely porous and are, thus, capable of moisture absorption. Whereas, new hickory may have a moisture content of approximately 10 percent, fresh pine may have a moisture content of as much as 18 percent. Thus, a conventional wooden push broom handle will ordinarily have an extremely large shrinkage factor so that a new handle, after a prolonged dry period, will shrink appreciably. This fact, coupled with the fact that the wooden broom body also shrinks, will cause the handle to become quite loose. To compensate for such looseness, the obvious procedure is to tighten the handle in the associated socket of the broom body by screwing it further into the socket until it again becomes tight. After this has been done and a period of high humidity takes place, or if the push broom is used for sweeping moist materials such as wet leaves or the like, a rapid swelling of both the handle and the broom body takes place so that the handle and body become figuratively speaking "welded" together and no amount of torque can separate them. Many push brooms thus are used to completion with the handle positioned in only one of the two sockets in the upper portion of the broom body, simply because the user is unable to make the change-over. Usually, the threaded distal end of the handle breaks off when torque is applied thereto after it has become swollen in its socket and this is especially true when a prolonged period of moisture causes rotting of the wood of the handle. Swelling of the interfitting screw threads on the handle and within the socket of the broom body also ocasionally causes splitting of the wooden body.

The ferrule assembly of the present invention is designed to overcome the above-noted limitations that are attendant upon the construction and use of conventional push brooms and similar articles and, accordingly, the invention contemplates the provision of a ferrule assembly including a metallic ferrule body which has at one end thereof an external or male contour screw thread for insertion in one of the internally threaded sockets in the body of a push broom, and has at its other end a relatively deep socket for sliding telescopic reception of the threaded distal end of the broom handle, said socket being adapted to have the threaded distal end of the handle locked therein by means of an elastomeric O-ring which is maintained under compression and in handle-gripping relationship by means of a jam nut. It is contemplated that the present ferrule assembly will either be supplied as original equipment on a push broom, in which case the broom handle will not be provided with an external contour screw thread at its distal end, or be supplied for use with an existing new or old push broom, in which case the handle will be unthreaded from the broom body and effectively installed in the socket in the ferrule body of the assembly, after which the external or male contour screw thread on the ferrule body will be threaded into one of the two threaded sockets in the broom body. Once made, the assembly or connection of the broom handle and ferrule body is intended to be a permanent one inasmuch as the handle is likely to last throughout the entire length of the push broom. The assembly or connection of the ferrule body to the broom body is one that may readily be uncoupled for the purpose of changing sockets in the broom body inasmuch as the ferrule body is formed of metal and is, therefore, not subject to moisture absorption and consequent swelling or to rotting as is the case in connection with the distal end of a wooden push broom handle. The provision of a ferrule assembly such as has briefly been outlined above constitutes the principal object of the invention.

The provision of a ferrule assembly which is extremely simple in its construction and is comprised of a minimum number of parts so that it may be manufactured at a low cost; one which is rugged and durable and, therefore, will withstand rough usage; one which, by its clamping action on the push broom handle, allows for considerable tolerances in broom handle diameter so that it is applicable to the push brooms of different manufacturers; one which is capable of ease of installation on a push broom and requires no particular degree of skill for its application; one which is easily dismantled so that it may be used in connection with successive push brooms; one which is attractive in its appearance and pleasing in its design; and one which otherwise is well adapted to perform the services required of it, are further desirable features which have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by the claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the accompanying single sheet of drawings forming a part of this specification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a push broom, showing the ferrule assembly of the present invention operatively applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is a reduced, exploded perspective view of the structure of FIG. 1 with certain portions of the push broom body removed in the interests of clarity;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, exploded sectional view taken substantially centrally and longitudinally through the detached ferrule assembly; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view, showing the ferrule assembly operatively applied to the push broom handle.

Referring now to the drawings, the ferrule assembly of the present invention is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4 and is designed in its entirety by the reference numeral 10. In FIG. 1, this assembly 10 is shown as being operatively applied to a conventional push broom 12 having the usual wooden broom body 14 and an associated elongated wooden handle 16.

The broom body 14 is formed of wood and is generally rectangular in outline. The underneath side of the base is provided with a multiplicity of closely spaced drilled holes (not shown), each hole serving to receive therein a tuft of bristles 17. The various tufts, collectively, present a mass of slightly divergent bristle strands. The upper surface 18 of the broom body is flat while the longitudinal or side edge of the body is rounded or curved as indicated at 19. The broom body 14 of the push broom has formed therein two handle-receiving sockets 20 and 20a, the axis of which are upwardly divergent and extend at an angle of approximately 20.degree. from the vertical longitudinal mid-plane of the broom body. These sockets open upwards and lie on the juncture lines between the flat upper surface 18 and the curved side edges of the body 14. Each socket is provided with internal coarse screw threads 22 of the type which is commonly referred to as a "contour" thread. The screws threads 22 are cut or otherwise formed directly in the wood of the body 14 and commence at regions immediately below short cylindrical bores 23 which are associated with the sockets 20 and 20a. Ordinarily, in connection with a conventional push broom which does not employ the ferrule assembly of the present invention, the two sockets 20 and 20a are adapted selectively to receive therein the distal end of a wooden push broom handle such as the handle 16, such end being provided with a limited threaded section of reduced diameter which presents an external or male contour screw thread 24 (see FIG. 2).

According to the present invention, the handle 16, instead of being threaded directly into one of the two sockets 20 and 20a in the broom body 14 is effectively secured in the selected socket by means of the ferrule assembly 10. This assembly involves in its general organization an elongated, generally cylindrical, one-piece ferrule body 30 which is of deep cup-shaped configuration and consists of a cylindrical side wall 32 and an integral circular bottom wall 34, these two walls establishing a relatively deep, open top socket 36. The ferrule body 30 is provided at its lower end with a downwardly extending reduced section 37 which is of short extent and from which there extends downwardly a solid attachment stem 38, the latter being formed with a smooth cylindrical section 39, below which there is formed external or male contour screw threads 40 which are conformably in pitch direction and threads depth to the male contour screw threads 24 on the lower or distal end of the wooden handle 16 and which, therefore, match the female threads 22 of the two sockets 20 and 20a in the broom body 14. The upper portion of the cylindrical side wall 32 of the ferrule body 30 is provided with external or male machine cut screw threads 42 which extend inwardly from the open rim of the body 30 an appreciable distance and are designed for cooperation with a jam nut 44 in a manner and for a purpose that will be made clear presently.

The jam nut 44 is of cylindrical cap-like design and it is provided with internal or male screw thread 46 while the outer side surface thereof is knurled as indicated at 48. The upper open rim of the jam nut 44 is provided with an inturned, annular rim flange 50. Said nut 44 is adapted to be threadedly received over the upper end portion of the ferrule body 30 in order that a resilient elastomeric O-ring 52 which surrounds the distal end of the handle 16 and rests coextensively on the upper rim 54 of the side wall 32 may be compressed between the said rim flange 50 and such rim 54 of said side wall during installation of the ferrule assembly 10 on the push broom 12.

Considering now the application of the present ferrule assembly 10 to a conventional or standard assembled push broom, the broom handle 16 of the push broom 12 is initially unthreaded or released from the socket 22 or 22a in the broom body 14 and then externally threaded attachment stem 38 of the ferrule body 30 is screwed fully into either of the two sockets 20 and 20a in the broom body 14. Thereafter, the lower or distal end of the broom handle 16 is telescopically inserted or projected into the socket 36 in the ferrule body 30 until the outer extremity of said distal end of the broom handle engages the bottom wall 34 of the ferrule body 30. After this operation, the jam nut 44 is slid over the upper end of the handle and is then slid downwards and threaded onto the open upper rim portion of the ferrule body 30, the resilient O-ring 52 being previously inserted into the nut so that it underlies the rim flange 50 thereof. The distal end of the handle thus passes through both the jam nut and the O-ring, and as the jam nut is tightened on the ferrule body 30, the O-ring bears against the rim 54 and is compressed between such rim and the flange 50. Compression of the O-ring serves to flatten the same in a horizontal direction and also to cause the same to bind against the broom handle, thereby securely locking the latter in a fixed axial position with respect to the ferrule assembly with the distal end of the handle resting on the bottom wall 34 as shown in FIG. 4.

The installation of the handle 16 and the ferrule assembly 12 as described above effects a more or less permanent assembly or combination which is then threaded bodily as a unit into one or the other of the two sockets 20 and 20a in the broom body 14. When the time arrives for shifting of the handle to the other socket, it is not necessary to dismantle the handle from the ferrule assembly, it being necessary only to unthread the stem 38 from the initially selected socket 20 or 20a, as the case may be, and then thread it into the other socket.

Finally, it is to be noted that when the metal attachment stem 38 is fully threadedly received within one or the other of the sockets 20 and 20a, the smooth cylindrical side surface of the reduced section 37 of the ferrule body 30 fits snugly within the smooth cylindrical bore 23 of such socket, while the downwardly facing annular shoulder 56 which is established at the juncture region between the reduced section 37 and the side wall 32 bears in face-to-face relationship on the flat upper surface 18 of the broom body, thereby rigidifying the union between the ferrule assembly and the broom body.

The herein described ferrule assembly is capable of being manufactured as original equipment on a push broom, mop, floor brush, or similar article, or alternatively, it may be applied to existing articles of this nature, whether such articles be new or used. When used as original equipment, the wooden handle 16 need not be externally threaded, nor need the distal end region thereof be of reduced diameter. When the ferrule assembly is applied to either a new existing article or to a used one, the threaded section of the handle 16 may be left intact or it may be sawed off if desired. Where a broken handle is concerned, if the break is in the vicinity of the threads 24, any threaded portion remaining in the socket 20 or 20a of the broom base may be extracted, piecemeal if necessary, and the remaining threaded portion of the handle sawed off prior to installation of the handle on the ferrule assembly 10.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, only insofar as the invention is particularly pointed out in the accompanying claim is the same to be limited.

Claims

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire by secure by U.S. Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a push broom having a wooden body of generally rectangular outline, said body being formed with a relatively deep threaded bore opening onto the upper side thereof and with bristle tufts depending from the underneath side thereof, and an elongated wooden handle having a reduced lower end section provided with male contour threads designed for normal reception in said bore, of a ferrule assembly by means of which the handle is operatively and removably attached to said body, said ferrule assembly including a cup-shaped metal body having an upper cylindrical section provided with a relatively deep axial socket defining a cylindrical side wall, a circular bottom wall and an open annular flat upper radially extending rim surface, the longitudinal extent of said socket being appreciably greater than the longitudinal extent of said reduced lower end section of the handle and the diameter of the socket being substantially equal to the diameter of the handle, the lower end region of the handle being disposed within said socket with the lower end of the threaded portion being seated on said bottom wall and with said side wall encompassing said reduced lower end section and a portion of the handle above such section, said metal body being formed with a downwardly extending reduced solid section having male contour threads formed in the lower region thereof and conformable in pitch direction and threaded depth to the male contour threads on the wooden handle, said solid section constituting an attachment stem which, in combination with said metal body, establishes an annular downwardly facing radially stepped shoulder at the juncture region therebetween, said male threads on the solid section being received in said socket in the wooden broom body with a portion of said downwardly facing stepped shoulder being seated on the upper side of said wooden body in the rim region of the bore, thus rigidly securing the ferrule body to the broom body, the upper portion of the cylindrical side wall of the ferrule body being provided with external machine cut screw threads which extend downwardly from said open annular rim of the socket, a resilient elastomeric O-ring seated on said annular flat radial rim surface and surrounding the wooden handle, and a jam nut of cap-like configuration threadedly received on said external machine cut screw threads and having an inturned radially extending rim flange which bears downwardly against said O-ring and clamps the same against said flat annular rim surface of the socket, thus flattening the O-ring axially and causing the same to spread radially in both directions and bind inwardly in centripetal fashion against the broom handle and outwardly against said jam nut, thus securing the handle in said socket against axial shifting therein.