U.S. patent number 3,641,610 [Application Number 05/010,475] was granted by the patent office on 1972-02-15 for artificial tufted sponges.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Tucel Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to John C. Lewis, Jr..
United States Patent |
3,641,610 |
Lewis, Jr. |
February 15, 1972 |
ARTIFICIAL TUFTED SPONGES
Abstract
A tufted sponge construction is presented comprising an
artificial sponge having apertures opening through a scrubbing
surface and having the prefused end of a synthetic filament tuft
received in each aperture before said mass cools so that the
prefused mass conforms to the internal confines of the aperture and
adheres thereto to support the tuft. Tufted sponge constructions of
this invention may be formed from sponge.
Inventors: |
Lewis, Jr.; John C.
(Middlebury, VT) |
Assignee: |
Tucel Industries, Inc.
(Middlebury, VT)
|
Family
ID: |
21745936 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/010,475 |
Filed: |
February 11, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/114; 15/159.1;
156/72; 401/22; 401/268; 15/223; 300/21; 401/24 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A46B
3/20 (20130101); A47L 13/16 (20130101); A46B
5/00 (20130101); A46B 9/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A46B
9/00 (20060101); A46B 9/06 (20060101); A46B
3/00 (20060101); A46B 3/20 (20060101); A46B
5/00 (20060101); A47L 13/16 (20060101); A46b
003/06 (); A47l 013/12 () |
Field of
Search: |
;15/110,114,115
;401/22,24,27 ;128/62A ;156/72 ;161/62,67 ;300/21 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
139,991 |
|
Dec 1934 |
|
OE |
|
1,014,169 |
|
May 1952 |
|
FR |
|
1,133,161 |
|
Nov 1956 |
|
FR |
|
490,174 |
|
Aug 1938 |
|
GB |
|
1,168,513 |
|
Oct 1969 |
|
GB |
|
207,195 |
|
Jan 1940 |
|
CH |
|
Primary Examiner: Blum; Daniel
Claims
I claim:
1. In a tufted sponge construction having a plurality of mutually
spaced filamentary tufts mounted in a porous scrub sponge, the
improvement comprising:
a plurality of tuft-receiving blind apertures opening through a
scrub surface of said sponge, each aperture receiving a prefused
mass of said filamentary material with an integral filament tuft
extending therefrom so that when the mass of material cools, the
said mass conforms and adheres to the internal confines at the base
of the aperture to hold the tuft in the sponge.
2. The tufted sponge of claim 1 wherein the working end of each of
said tufts, received in said apertures, is disposed within the
aperture below the scrub surface of said sponge.
3. The tufted sponge of claim 1 wherein the working end of each of
said tufts is disposed adjacent the opening of each of said
apertures at the scrub surface of said sponge.
4. The tufted sponge of claim 1 wherein the working end of each of
said tufts received in said apertures and the terminal portion of
said tufts extends from said aperture.
5. A tufted scrub sponge comprising:
a sponge having at least one tuft-receiving blind aperture opening
through a scrub surface thereof;
at least one tuft comprising a plurality of cut-to-length synthetic
filaments extending from a prefused mass of said filamentary
material, said prefused mass and at least a portion of the tuft
extending therefrom received in the aperture in said sponge so that
when the mass of material cools, the said mass conforms and adheres
to the internal confines at the base of the aperture to hold said
tuft in said sponge.
6. The tufted sponge of claim 5 further comprising a plurality of
mutually spaced tuft-receiving blind apertures opening through a
scrub surface of said sponge, each of said apertures receiving at
least one of said tufts having a prefused homogenous mass of
filamentary material with a plurality of synthetic filaments
extending therefrom, said mass received in said apertures and
conforming and adhering to the internal confines at the base of
said aperture to hold said tuft in said sponge when said mass
cools.
7. The tufted sponge of claim 6 wherein the working end of each of
said filament tufts received in said apertures is disposed within
said aperture below the scrub surface of said sponge.
8. The tufted sponge construction of claim 6 wherein the working
end of each of said tufts is disposed adjacent the opening of each
of said apertures at the scrub surface of said sponge.
9. The tufted sponge construction of claim 6 wherein the working
end of each of said tufts received in said apertures and the
terminal portion of each of said tufts extend from said
apertures.
10. The tufted sponge of claim 6 wherein the apertured surface of
said tufted sponge forms a scrub surface thereof, said sponge
further comprising a rigid support, said support mounting said
tufted sponge at a surface other than the scrub surface to support
the surface for scrubbing.
11. The tufted sponge construction of claim 5 wherein the sponge is
formed of a material selected from the group consisting of
cellulose, polyurethane and a foamed thermoplastic olefin.
12. The tufted sponge construction of claim 5 wherein the synthetic
filament tufts are formed of a material selected from the group
consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyamide.
Description
This application is related to my copending patent application Ser.
No. 841,160, a divisional application of parent application Ser.
No. 578,840, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,202; and related to my
copending patent application Ser. No. 800,330, a divisional
application of parent application Ser. No. 578,840, now U.S. Pat.
No. 3,471,202.
The improved characteristics of the sponges of this invention are
attained by providing novel tufts within the framework of the
sponge, and so located at or near the working surface in order that
the working tips of each tuft operate as effective brush working
ends.
Prior to this invention, synthetic sponges having brush tufts
therein to improve their utility, although known, were not
practical for many reasons. The insufficiencies of prior articles
stem from the lack of a satisfactory method for constructing tufted
synthetic sponges. The most common tufting method, the staple-set
method, is unacceptable for setting synthetic fiber tufts in foam
or synthetic sponge substrate. Synthetic sponges do not possess the
mechanical ability to hold an anchor or staple during prolonged
used. Therefore, U-shaped tufts normally employed in brush making
cannot be durably attached in flexible or cellular substrates.
It will be apparent in the discussion which follows wherein the
novel spongelike products of the invention differ from prior
sponges and it should be apparent why the improved tufted sponge
offers superior cleaning qualities among other advantages.
Objects and advantages of this invention will be set forth in part
hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned
by practice with the invention, the same being realized and
attained by means of the steps, methods, combinations and
improvements pointed out in the appended claims.
This invention consists in the novel steps, combinations, and
improvements herein shown and described.
The objects of this invention will now be described. While the
invention is primarily concerned with new and novel sponge-type
cleaning tools, it should be realized that the principles of this
invention are attained only through the novel method of picking and
forming synthetic filament tufts, and these principles are
applicable to situations wherein: (1) multiple filament single
tufts are formed, (2) multiple tufts of multiple filaments are
formed, (3) complete tufted arrangements are formed, and (4)
continuous modular tufted arrangements and components are
formed.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide new and
useful tufted sponge cleaning tools. Another object of this
invention is to provide a tufted sponge having improved cleaning
qualities by having placed near or at the working surface synthetic
filament tufts.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a brushing tool
having the ability to retain liquid cleaners during usage. Still
another object of this invention is to provide novel brush
constructions employing the tufted sponge units having the
qualities heretofore mentioned in the foregoing objects.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a sponge showing tufts in
accordance with this invention.
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side view partly in cross section showing
one arrangement of tufts integrally attached to a sponge
substrate.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a sponge illustrating the
working ends of each tuft.
FIGS. 4-6 illustrate a method of inserting synthetic filament tufts
in a sponge substrate in accordance with this invention.
FIGS. 7-11 illustrate a method of assembling a tufted sponge
employing the sections of FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a front view of a
section comprising a multiplicity of filament tufts attached to and
supported by a sponge. FIG. 8 is an end view of FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is
an end view of two sections aligned side by side and next to an
untufted section of sponge. FIG. 10 is an end view of a cap adapted
to be placed over the aligned segments of FIG. 9 in the manner
shown in end view FIG. 11 which shows a finished sponge mop
construction with the sections held by the cap.
FIG. 12 is a side view of a tufted sponge mounted on the top of an
aerosol can cap.
FIG. 13 is a top view of the tufted sponge shown in FIG. 12
illustrating the tuft arrangement.
In order to describe the invention more fully, reference is now
made to specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings. The
invention is directed to brush making wherein tufted sponges are
formed employing tuft-picking devices, filling the said
tuft-picking devices with synthetic filament, heating the
nonworking end of said tuft and inserting same into a sponge
substrate, allowing the heated end to fuse as it cools, to the
sponge, and upon removal of the picking device, leaving the tuft
attached to the substrate.
When the prefused end of the tuft is inserted into an aperture on
the scrubbing or working surface of the sponge substrate, the
prefused end conforms to the internal confines at the base of the
aperture. The heat-softened filamentary material then enters the
porous surface at the base of the aperture. When the prefused end
of the tuft cools, the mass of material conforms and adheres to the
internal confines at the base of the aperture to hold the tuft in
the sponge.
In FIG. 1, a sponge substrate 102 is shown containing tufts of
synthetic filament having different trim lengths. Filament tufts
100, 100' and 100", designated as X, Y, and Z respectively, are
attached to the substrate and their nonworking end 101, 101' and
101". The filament portion of tuft X is completely free of
substrate 102 excepting at the point of joining 101. The fused
portion of filament actually is hardened to and attached to the
sections of substrate 102 in such a manner as to allow a bond
between the sponge and the tuft. For purposes of explanation, the
sponge section 102 of FIG. 1 is in the wet state, and shows
different tuft arrangements. The tuft X protrudes beyond the
surface of sponge 102, and would act more like a conventional tuft
in a tufted brush during usage. The tuft Y is trimmed in such a
manner that when the sponge is wet, the working tip of the filament
tuft is level with the surface of the sponge. The tuft Z is trimmed
in such a manner that the working tip of the filament tuft 100"
never extends to or beyond the surface of the sponge 102. However,
when the wet sponge is compressed in direction A as shown in FIG.
2, tufts 103 are exposed. Tufts 103 are held firmly in the sponge
substrate 105 by the heat fused portion 104.
The sponge 107 of FIG. 3 demonstrates how the tufts can be
effective in cleaning. Tufts 106 are deflected in various
directions, as shown, when pressure from hand 109 pushes down and
forward along direction B and C, thus exposing the working tips of
filament tufts 106. In turn, the tips are in contact with the
surface 108, and subsequently, work similar to brush tufts in
removing unwanted material. The sponge portion 107 retains solvent
and chemicals when needed.
While the invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different
forms, there is shown now in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 specific embodiments
with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be
considered as an exemplification of the principle of the invention
and is not intended in any way to limit the invention to the
embodiments illustrated.
Particular attention is now given to FIG. 4 wherein there is shown
the tuft-picking device 112 containing filament 110 fused and still
in the semimelt state 111, said tuft-picking device held in support
113. Prior to the picking device indexing in direction D, a punched
hole with bottom 114 in sponge 115 is provided for. The hole is
formed by inserting a probe through the cell structure of the
sponge, thus tearing and widening an opening. The fused end portion
111 is then indexed in direction D allowing the fused portion to
fuse and cool around the sponge substrate as shown in FIG. 5. When
the tuft-picking device is indexed in direction E as shown in FIG.
5, there results a pretrimmed synthetic filament tuft 110 securely
fastened to the sponge 115 as shown in FIG. 6. This type of
construction is not possible by employing conventional methods for
stapling filament tufts.
FIGS. 7-11 show how segments with synthetic filament tufts may be
assembled into a finished sponge mop. More particularly, as shown
in FIG. 7, the segment 200 is comprised of tufted sponge. An end
view of this segment is shown in FIG. 8. In FIG. 9 two similar
segments, 200 and 200' are placed next to an untufted section of
sponge 201 and are so aligned that by providing a cap 202, as shown
in FIG. 10, there results a tufted sponge mop having handle 203.
The finished mop of FIG. 11 is comprised of handle 203, cap section
202, and tufted sponge section 204.
Many types of cleaning tools can be manufactured employing this
tufted sponge concept, that heretofore were not possible. For
instance, the tufted sponge rug cleaner shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is
constructed in such a manner that allows one to hold on to aerosol
cap 208 while cleaning. The sponge section 206 containing tufts 205
is attached by means of an adhesive 207 to the cap.
The preferred sponge compositions for making the tufted articles of
this invention are cellulose, polyurethane and foamed polyolefins.
The tufts of this invention can be composed of any thermoplastic
composition such as polyamides, polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride and
the like. Colorants, extenders, plasticizers and modifiers may be
added to these materials as practice dictates.
The cell structure is not limited in any way, and can be fine or
coarse. Also, orientation of the sponge structure can be varied,
and is not limiting. The magnitude of the filaments described in
the invention is in the range of 0.006 to 0.200 inch.
The tufted sponge construction of this invention can be employed to
prepare improved products such as: mops, polishing brushes,
abrasive strip brushes, rotary brushes, liquid-retention brushes,
auto cleaning sponges, kitchen sponges, and the like.
The foregoing considerations conclusively demonstrate the
advantages to be gained by providing tufted sponge constructions
hereinbefore described. When such constructions are incorporated
into brushing tools, there is attained new and novel products
heretofore not known.
The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific
steps, methods, compositions, combinations and improvements
described but departures may be made therefrom in the scope of the
accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the
invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.
* * * * *