Patent Application
20180177381
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure and prior art relates to cleaning devices and more particularly pertains to a new cleaning device for cleaning an interior of a bottle.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a bottle that has an outer wall, a bottom wall and an open end. The bottle has an inner surface and the open end has an edge. A cleaning unit is provided and the cleaning unit is removably coupled to a support surface. The baby bottle is selectively positioned on the cleaning unit and the cleaning unit scrubs the inner surface of the bottle and the edge of the open end. A shield is coupled around the cleaning unit to inhibit water related to cleaning the bottle from splashing onto the support surface.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A cleaning unit 26 is provided and the cleaning unit 26 is removably coupled to a support surface 28 having the cleaning unit 26 being vertically oriented on the support surface 28. The support surface 28 may be a table or the like and the baby bottle 12 is selectively positioned on the cleaning unit 26. The cleaning unit 26 scrubs the inner surface 20 of the bottle 12 and the edge 22 of the open end 18. Thus, the cleaning unit 26 cleans an interior of the bottle 12 when the bottle 12 has been used for feeding an infant or the like.
The cleaning unit 26 comprises a shaft 30 that has a first end 32, a second end 34 and an outer surface 36 extending therebetween. The second end 34 has a well 38 extending toward the first end 32. The well 38 has a bounding surface 40 and the bounding surface 40 is threaded.
A plurality of first bristles 42 is provided and each of the first bristles 42 is coupled to and extends away from the outer surface 36 of the shaft 30. The first bristles 42 are distributed around the shaft 30 and the first bristles 42 are distributed between the first end 32 and the second end 34. Each of the first bristles 42 frictionally engages the inner surface 20 corresponding to the outer wall 14 of the bottle 12 when the bottle 12 is slid onto the shaft 30 to clean the bottle 12. Each of the first bristles 42 may be comprised of a flexible material such as rubber or the like.
A plurality of sponges 44 is provided and each of the sponges 44 is coupled to and extends away from the first end 32 of the shaft 30. The sponges 44 are arranged to radiate outwardly from the first end 32. Each of the sponges 44 frictionally engages the inner surface 20 corresponding to the bottom wall 16 of the bottle 12 when the bottle 12 is slid onto the shaft 30. Each of the sponges 44 may comprise synthetic sponges or the like.
A sleeve 46 is provided that has a primary end 48, a secondary end 50 and an exterior surface 52 extending therebetween. The exterior surface 52 is threaded adjacent to the primary end 48 and the well 38 in the shaft 30 insertably receives the primary end 48. The sleeve 46 threadably engages the bounding surface 40 of the well 38 to retain the sleeve 46 on the shaft 30. The secondary end 50 is open and the sleeve 46 is substantially hollow. The sleeve 46 has an interior surface 54 and the interior surface 54 is threaded adjacent to the secondary end 50.
A brush 56 is removably coupled to the sleeve 46 and the brush 56 is may be manipulated to clean the baby bottle 12. The brush 56 comprises a disk 58 that has a top surface 60, a bottom surface 62 and a peripheral edge 64 extending therebetween. The peripheral edge 64 is threaded and the peripheral edge 64 threadably engages the interior surface 54 of the sleeve 46. The threads on the peripheral edge 64 may be quarter turn threads or the like. In this way the brush 56 is removably coupled to the sleeve 46 with a quarter turn. A nipple 66 is coupled to and extends downwardly from the bottom surface 62 of the disk 58.
A plurality of second bristles 68 is provided and each of the second bristles 96 is coupled to and extends upwardly from the top surface 60. Each of the second bristles 96 frictionally engages the bottle 12 when the brush 56 is manipulated to clean the bottle 12. The second bristles 96 are positioned within the sleeve 46 when the disk 58 is threadably coupled to the sleeve 46. The plurality of second bristles 68 has a sequentially decreasing length such that the plurality of second bristles 68 defines a Christmas tree shape. In this way the plurality of second bristles 68 may clean the interior of the feeding nipple 24 on the bottle 12.
A base 70 is provided and the base 70 is positioned to engage the support surface 28. The sleeve 46 is removably coupled to the base 70 having the shaft 30 extending upwardly from the base 70. The base 70 comprises a plate 72 that has an upper side 74 and a lower side 76. The upper side 74 has a well 78 extending toward the lower side 76 and the well 78 corresponding to the plate 72 insertably receives the nipple 66 on the disk 58. In this way the brush 56 and the sleeve 46 are removably attached to the base 70.
A mating member 80 is provided and the mating member 80 is coupled to the lower side 76 of the plate 72. The mating member 80 is engages the support surface 28 and the mating member 80 inhibits the base 70 from sliding on the support surface 28. In this way the cleaning unit 26 is inhibited from sliding laterally on the support surface 28 when the bottle 12 is cleaned. The mating member 80 may comprise a suction cup or the like to suctionally engage the support surface 28.
A shield 82 is provided and the shield 82 is coupled around the cleaning unit 26. The shield 82 inhibits water related to cleaning the bottle 12 from splashing onto the support surface 28. The shield 82 comprises a cone 84 that has a narrow end 86, a wide end 88 and an exterior wall 90 extending therebetween. The cone 84 has an inner surface 92 and the exterior wall 90 tapers inwardly between the wide end 88 and the narrow end 86. The wide end 88 is open and the cone 84 is substantially hollow.
The second end 34 of the shaft 30 is coupled to the inner surface 92 corresponding to the narrow end 86. The primary end 48 of the sleeve 46 extends through the narrow end 86 to threadably engage the shaft 30. The inner surface 92 of the cone 84 angles inwardly between the exterior wall 90 and the narrow end 86 to define an engaging surface 94 in the cone 84. The cone 84 is comprised of a fluid impermeable material such as plastic or the like.
A plurality of second bristles 96 is provided and each of the second bristles 96 is coupled to and extends away from the engaging surface 94 of the cone 84. The second bristles 96 are spaced apart and are distributed on the engaging surface 94. Each of the second bristles 96 frictionally engages the edge 22 of the bottle 12 when the bottle 12 is slid onto the shaft 30. In this way the edge 22 of the bottle 12 is cleaned.
In use, the mating member 80 is manipulated to engage the support surface 28. The bottle 12 is slid over the shaft 30 and the bottle 12 is twisted back and forth. Each of the sponges 44, the first bristles 42 and the second bristles 96 frictionally engages the bottle 12. In this way the interior of the bottle 12 and the edge 22 of the bottle 12 are cleaned. The shield 82 inhibits the water associated with cleaning the bottle 12 from splashing onto the support surface 28 and a user. In this way the shield 82 inhibits cleaning the bottle 12 from creating an additional mess to be cleaned up.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, system and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
