U.S. patent number 3,753,269 [Application Number 05/145,643] was granted by the patent office on 1973-08-21 for abrasive cloth cleaner.
Invention is credited to Ronald R. Budman.
United States Patent |
3,753,269 |
Budman |
August 21, 1973 |
ABRASIVE CLOTH CLEANER
Abstract
A tool for cleaning abrasive paper. A bar having a narrow top
edge is fixed to a handle, the handle also carrying a brush. The
bar is inserted beneath abrasive paper to open the clogged areas,
the brush then displacing the debris between the abrasive
particles.
Inventors: |
Budman; Ronald R. (Milton,
PA) |
Family
ID: |
22513970 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/145,643 |
Filed: |
May 21, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/160;
451/444 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B24B
53/10 (20130101); B24B 21/18 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B24B
53/00 (20060101); B24B 21/00 (20060101); B24B
21/18 (20060101); B24B 53/10 (20060101); B24b
053/02 (); B24b 053/10 () |
Field of
Search: |
;15/160,256.5,105,77,21A,21R,21B ;51/262A,1 ;198/229 ;134/9,6 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Machlin; Leon G.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A tool for cleaning an abrasive cloth or paper including:
a. a horizontal bar having an upper continuous edge,
b. a vertical standard secured at its bottom to one end of said
bar,
c. a horizontally disposed brush where bristles are downwardly
directed and lie generally in a plane containing said bar edge,
d. means for slidably mounting said brush on said vertical
standard, whereby the bristles of the brush may move away from the
bar to define a gap therebetween.
2. The cleaning tool of claim 1 wherein said bar edge is defined by
the intersection of two planar surfaces.
3. The cleaning tool of claim 1 including,
a. means for biasing said brush downwardly, towards and against
said bar.
4. The cleaning tool of claim 1 wherein said (d) means is defined
by:
a. an angle member having a horizontal portion affixed to the brush
and a vertical portion slidable on said vertical standard,
b. a sleeve for maintaining said vertical angle member and said
vertical standard in slidable parallelism.
5. The cleaning tool of claim 4 including a tension spring
connected between said vertical standard and said vertical angle
member to bias said brush downwardly, towards and against said bar.
Description
This invention relates to a tool for cleaning abrasive papers and
fabrics.
An abrasive paper or fabric is formed by depositing an aggregate of
hard and irregular particles on a flexible base, such as paper or
fiber, with the aid of an adhesive on the flexible base. The
average size and composition of the abrasive particles varies
according to the intended use, as does the composition of the
flexible backing and the particular adhesive employed. During the
use of such papers the material against which they are rubbed is of
a lesser hardness than the hardness of the particles. These
particles are sometimes called the grit of the paper. As the
relatively soft area or surface is worn down by the cutting and
shearing action of the hard particles, the spaces between the grit
become filled with the softer material. Much of this softer
material may be dislodged from between the grit by mechanical
vibration or jarring, blowing it off, etc. In the event, however,
that the softer material is particularly tacky or particularly
fine, the dislodgement of the softer material from the interstices
between the grit becomes more difficult. With the continued buildup
of this softer substance, the abrading effect of the paper or cloth
is diminished until a point is reached where the paper must be
discarded.
The cleaning tool according to the practice of this invention
permits rapid cleaning of an abrasive paper or cloth by positively
dislodging the softer material from the interstices or spaces
between the grit. Since the grit particles themselves are often
stil intact, retaining their original roughness, this positive
dislodgement can increase the effective life of the abrasive fabric
by as much as 25 percent. In view of the extensive use or service
performed by abrasive papers and cloths in many industries, this
represents a significant increase in abrasive longevity. The tool
according to this invention further permits in situ cleaning of
abrasive papers in many instances, this representing a still
further economy. This stems from the fact that the abrasive paper
or cloth may be cleaned while still on the tool holder or mount,
the number of changes being thereby diminished.
The tool according to the practice of this invention may be foremd
from an elongated bar having an upper and narrow edge. The bar and
its edge is adapted to be placed beneath a tensioned fabric paper
or cloth and pulled in such a direction that the cloth is
displaced, at the bar, in a direction normal to its plane. The
cleaning tool of this invention further includes a brush, such as a
wire brush, whose bristles contact the front or grit surface of the
paper. The elongated bar serves to open up the space between the
abrasive particles and permit the entry of the bristles of the
brush to forcibly and positively displace the softer material which
has found its way in the interstices and which rests upon the paper
or cloth.
While workers in the abrasive art are aware of the problem caused
by the entry and lodging of foreign material between the grit
particles in a flexible abrasive cloth, no solution so simple as
that here presented is known. Thus, Olson U.S. Pat. No. 3,241,268
recognizes impairment of abrasive action by such foreign matter.
His solution does recognize the necessity for opening up the grit
mosaic but does not disclose the concept of nor apparatus for
removing the foreign material.
IN THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the cleaning tool of this
invention as applied to a conventional sanding or abrading
tool.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cleaning tool of this
invention.
Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 10 denotes generally the
cleaning tool of this invention and is illustrated as cleaning an
abrasive paper or fabric secured to a hand-held abrasive tool 12
provided with a handle 14. The abrasive tool 12 may carry an
electric motor, not illustrated, for continuously rotating a band
16 of abrasive cloth or paper. It will be understood, however, that
the invention is not to be considered as limited to mechanical
abrasive tools of the illustrated type, but may also be applied
where the ends of the abrasive cloth 16 are fastened to a different
support. The numeral 18 denotes a mount of any convenient
construction for the continuous band 16 of abrasive fabric.
The numeral 20 denotes a vertical standard whose lower end carries
a horizontally disposed bar 22. This bar is generally triangular in
cross section so as to provide a sharp upper edge. Conveniently,
the bar 22 may be affixed to the standard 20 as by welding in the
preferred form wherein they are both formed of metal. The numeral
24 denotes a sleeve element affixed to standard 20 and which
slidably encompasses within its overlying portions another vertical
standard 26. The standard 26 is preferably formed of metal and
carries an integral extension 28 at right angles to it. The numeral
30 denotes a peg or abutment secured to sleeve 24, while numeral 32
denotes a similar abutment of peg carried by slidable standard 26.
A spring 34 interconnects these two pegs and normally urges the
standard 26 down so that a force will be required to displace the
member 28 upwardly from the indicated position. pg,5
A wire brush having a body 36 is secured to the extension 28 as by
means of screws 37 and carries a plurality of wire bristles
indicated by the numeral 38. The numeral 40 indicates a cylindrical
handle which may be suitably attached to the standard 20 to
facilitate gripping.
As indicated at FIG. 1 of the drawings, the cleaning tool is used
in the following manner. The motorized abrasive grinder 12 is held
upside down, in the indicated position. The lateral extension 28
which carries the brush handle 36 is pulled upwardly against the
tension in spring 34. This permits sufficient clearance between the
bottom of the bristles 38 and the bar 22 so as to enable the latter
to be placed underneath the indicated segment of the abrasive cloth
16. The bar 22 is given a slight upward motion to thereby place the
abrasive cloth in tension, thereby distorting the plane of the
cloth into two planes which intersects at the top of the bar 22.
This upward motion of the tool causes the grit particles
immediately adjacent the bar 22 to become displaced from each
other, thereby opening up the spaces between them. The lateral
extension 28 is now released, allowing the wire brush to fall upon
or test the grit. The bristles 38 are now able to penetrate between
the grit particles adjacent the bar 22 and thereby positively
dislodge the foreign material between the grit particles. The
cleaning tool 10 is now moved back and forth, along the length of
the fabric abrasive 16 to thereby clean a segment of the paper. The
tool 10 is now removed, the next segment of the continuous band 16
of abrasive cloth is now cleaned in a similar manner. This process
is continued for each segment of the abrasive cloth, until the
entire cloth has been cleaned.
It will be apparent that the cloth 16 need not be removed from its
holder. For different sizes and qualities of abrasive papers and
cloths, different brushes 36 may be employed, merely by unscrewing
the fastening elements 37 and inserting a different brush. While a
sharpened edge along the bar 22 has been successfully employed, the
upper edge may be less sharp than illustrated, so long as the bar
22 performs the function of opening up the spaces between the
grit.
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