DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The details of the invention, including fabrication, structure and operation, may be gleaned in part by study of the accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like segments.
FIG. 1A is a schematic of a conventional broom shown sweeping material.
FIG. 1B is a schematic of a broom with bristles melted to form lumps at the end of the bristles.
FIG. 2 is a schematic of a preferred embodiment of a broom shown sweeping material.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic side and front views of the broom in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an alternative embodiment of a broom.
FIGS. 5A through 5E are partial cross-sectional views of embodiments of the bristle and hooking member.
FIGS. 6A through 7B are schematics showing a broom bristle device attachable to an existing broom.
FIGS. 8A through 10C are schematics showing embodiments of different attachment means.
FIGS. 11 through 13B are schematic side views of alternative embodiments of a broom.
FIGS. 14 through 17 are schematics showing the brooms in FIGS. 4 and 11 through 13B sweeping material.
FIGS. 18A through 19B are schematic perspective and side views of alternative embodiments of a broom.
FIG. 20 is a schematic showing a broom with a bristle 19A sweeping material.
FIG. 21 is a schematic perspective view showing a toothbrush embodiment.
FIG. 22 is a schematic perspective view showing a carpet sweeper brush embodiment.
FIGS. 23A through 23B are schematic side and front views of a rake embodiment.
It should be noted that the figures are not drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout the figures. It also should be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the preferred embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Each of the additional features and teachings disclosed below can be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide an improved brush or broom that facilitates sweeping both large and fine materials at the same time while reducing the number of times one must sweep over the same material regardless of the type of ground or floor one is sweeping on. Representative examples of the present invention, which examples utilize many of these additional features and teachings both separately and in combination, will now be described in further detail with reference to the attached drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art further details for practicing preferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Therefore, combinations of features and steps disclosed in the following detail description may not be necessary to practice the invention in the broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to particularly describe representative examples of the present teachings.
Moreover, the various features of the representative examples and the dependent claims may be combined in ways that are not specifically and explicitly enumerated in order to provide additional useful embodiments of the present teachings. In addition, it is expressly noted that all features disclosed in the description and/or the claims are intended to be disclosed separately and independently from each other for the purpose of original disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter independent of the compositions of the features in the embodiments and/or the claims. It is also expressly noted that all value ranges or indications of groups of entities disclose every possible intermediate value or intermediate entity for the purpose of original disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter.
An improved broom 110 is provided and described in regard to FIGS. 2 through 3B and 5A through 5D. As depicted, the broom 110 preferably includes a handle 114 attached to a broom head 112, primary (aggressive) bristles 120 and secondary (passive) bristles 116 attached at a first end of the bristles to the broom head 112. The primary or aggressive bristles 120 are an improved broom bristle that facilitates sweeping due to their new and unique shape. The broom 110 effectively and efficiently sweeps large and fine materials on all types of surfaces because it incorporates flexible or soft bristles 116 with the unique shaped primary bristle 120, which provides a hooking or grabbing capability in order to sweep large and fine materials at the same time.
The primary or aggressive bristles 120 preferably include an elongate body 122 extending beyond the length of the secondary bristles 116. The body 122 is attached at one end to the broom head 112 preferably using conventional methods. At the opposing end or sweeping end of the body 122, the bristle 120 preferably includes a hooking member in the form of a disc or cap 124 attached to the body 122. The cap 124 is preferably be oriented at any angle to the to the longitudinal axis of the body 122 of the bristle 120 that would facilitate the forming of a barrier to the material to be swept during the sweeping motion and, thus, facilitation, pulling, catching, hooking, or grabbing of the material to be swept. Preferably, the cap 124 is oriented generally perpendicular or at an angle Θ of about 90° to the longitudinal axis of the body 122 as illustrated in FIG. 5A, but may be oriented at an angle φ of less 90° to the longitudinal axis of the body 122 as illustrated in FIG. 5C. One skilled in the art will readily recognize that as the angle to which the cap 124 is oriented relative to the longitudinal axis of the body 122 of the bristle 120 is too large or too small, the cap 124 will tend to less likely pull, catch, hook or grab the material to be swept. Thus, the cap 124 is preferably oriented at angle to the longitudinal axis of the body 122 of about 90° and preferably in a range of about 70° to about 110°, more preferably in a range of about 75° to about 105°, more preferably in a range of about 80° to about 110°, and more preferably in a range of about 85° to about 105°.
The cap or disc 124 can have a rounded or arcuate edge, a straight or flat edge as depicted in FIG. 5A, or a tapered edge 121 as depicted in FIG. 5B. The cap or disc 124 preferably has a diameter or width that is in a range of about 1.5 to 5 times (see FIGS. 5A through 5C) the diameter or width of the body 122 of the bristle 120, which can have any desired size or shape (round, oval, square, rectangular, triangular, and the like). Similarly, one of skill in the art would readily recognize that the cap or disc 124 can be any shape including circular, oval, square, rectangular, triangular, star, and the like, or simply irregularly shaped, and any size and, as one of skill in the art would readily recognize, is not dependent on the size or diameter of the body 122 of the bristle 120, i.e., the cap 124 can be several times larger than the body 122 of the bristle 120, e.g., larger than 5 times the diameter of the body, as it need not be formed by melting the bottom of the bristle. The body 122 and cap 124 of the aggressive bristles 120 can be integrally formed through injection molding techniques, extrusion and post extrusion processing techniques, and the like, or formed separately and assembled together. Additionally, as depicted in FIG. 5D, the cap 124 can be used as the stop or retainer for an additional cap or disc 125 or any additional caps made of the same material or materials other than the material the bristle 120 is made from (e.g., washers of various shapes and sizes made from materials such as metal, hard plastic and the like) that can be slidably received over the body 122 of the bristle 120.
The differences between the primary or aggressive bristle 120 and the secondary or passive bristles include the length of the primary bristle 120, which is preferably, but not necessarily, longer than the secondary bristles, and the cap or hooking member 124 at the sweep end of the body 122, which 1) acts to hook or hold on to the material 119 being swept and 2) acts as a retainer when a larger, more aggressive or larger caps 124 are attached to the sweep end of the body 122 of the bristle 120.
In operation, as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 5E, as the primary or aggressive bristle 120 sweeps over the debris or material 119 to be swept along the surface 118, the primary bristle 120, like any conventional bristle, tends to lie down somewhat in the horizontal direction along the floor or surface 118 from the pressure of the broom 110 moving over the floor 118 and debris 119. As the primary bristle 120 lays down, the cap 124 tends to be oriented at a angle that is sufficiently open to the debris 119 to enable the cap to catch, hook or hold on to the debris 119 being swept. The row of aggressive bristles 120 (see FIG. 3B) form a hooking barrier that traps the material being swept making sweeping very easy and effective. Conventional or regular bristles, as they sweep over debris, lay down and become parallel to the debris being swept, thus causing the bristles to ride or glide over the debris 119 leaving it behind. The aggressive bristle 120 is preferably longer than the other lighter and more passive bristles 116. As one sweeps, the bristle 120 preferably bends positioning the cap 124 at the end of the bristle 120 underneath the passive bristles 116. The passive bristles 116 tend to put pressure on the cap 124 holding the cap 124 down against the floor or ground 118 allowing it to hook, grab or catch the material 119 being swept. Thus, not only is sweeping more effective and efficient on large, small, heavy or light materials, but sweeping with the same broom is made easy on all kinds of surfaces such as rugs, street, concrete, wood flooring, stone floors (smooth or rough), grass, etc. In essence, the aggressive bristles 120 act as a rake amidst the other bristles 116.
The aggressive bristles 120 can be used in various densities in a broom along with regular broom bristles 116. The aggressive bristles can be located in a row, in a particular pattern, or in an array, or randomly located throughout the brush. As such, the aggressive bristles 120 can be implemented in any type of sweeping or brushing device.
In an another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the aggressive bristles 120 and 126 can be located along the front and/or rear of the broom head 114 to enhance the sweeping efficiency of the broom 102. One of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize that the aggressive bristles 120 could be located on one or both sides of the conventional bristles 116, i.e., in front of or behind the conventional bristles 116, or interspersed among the convention bristles 116, or both. In operation, as shown in FIG. 14, as the leading primary or aggressive bristle 120 sweeps over the debris or material 119 to be swept along the surface 118, the primary bristle 120, like any conventional bristle, tends to lie down somewhat in the horizontal direction along the floor or surface 118 from the pressure of the broom 102 moving over the floor 118 and debris 119. As the leading primary bristle 120, which is preferably longer than the passive bristles 116, lays down or bends positioning the cap 124 at the end of the bristle 120 underneath the passive bristles 116, the cap 124 tends to be oriented at a angle open to the debris 119, thus allowing the cap to catch, hook or hold on to the debris 119 being swept. The passive bristles 116 tend to put pressure on the cap 124 holding the cap 124 down against the floor or ground 118 allowing it to hook, grab or catch the material 119 being swept. The trailing row of aggressive bristles 126 also tends to be oriented at an angle open to the debris.
In another embodiment, as depicted in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a broom bristle device 210 may be provided that preferably comprises a base member 212 removably couplable to a head 112 of a broom 200 with bristles 116 attached thereto. The broom bristle device 210 preferably includes a plurality of bristles 120, wherein each of the plurality of bristles 120 comprises a body 122 having a first end coupled to the base member 212 and a hooking member or cap 124 coupled to or formed at a second end of the body 122. Alternatively, a second broom bristle device 211 may be provided that preferably comprises a base member 212 removably couplable to an opposing side of the head 112 of a broom 202 with bristles 116 attached thereto. Once the caps 124 become worn down, the broom bristle device 210 can be replaced.
Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, in a preferred embodiment, the broom bristle device 210 is reversibly couplable to the head 112 of a broom 204. Once the leading side or edge 124A of the caps 124 becomes worn down, the broom bristle device 210 can be rotated, reversed or flipped, as depicted in FIG. 7B, making the trailing edge or side 124B the leading edge or side; thus doubling the life of the broom bristle device 210.
As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the broom bristle device 210 can be attached to the head 112 of a broom using fasteners 214, buckles or clasps 216 with associated catch and locking members coupled to the body 212 of the broom bristle device 210 and the head 112 of the broom, and the like. Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, the broom bristle device 210 can include a full collar 218 or partial collar 219 extending from the body 212 of the broom bristle device 210 and slidably received over the head 112 of a broom.
In an alternative embodiment, as depicted in FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C, the broom bristle device 210 includes an adapter or holder 220 attached to the head 112 of a broom in a manner discussed in regard to FIGS. 8A through 9B using fasteners, buckles, clasps, collars and the like. As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the holder 220 includes a body 222 with retaining arms or tabs 224 extending about and removably receiving the body 212 of the broom bristle device 210. A pair of tabs or stops 226 is provided to retain the body 212 in the holder 220. Alternatively, the body 232 of a holder 230 includes a pair of slots or keyways 240 cut into the arms 234 of the body 232 to slidably receive a pair of keys or tabs 242 extending from a body 213 of the broom bristle device 210.
Alternative embodiments of the broom with the aggressive bristles 120 that work in the same manner as described above are depicted in FIGS. 11 through 14B and 16 through 21. Turning to FIGS. 11 and 16, an alternative embodiment of the broom 104 is shown to include an additional cap 130 along the active sweeping area of the body 122 of the aggressive bristle 120 above the primary cap 124. As depicted, the additional cap 130 is star shaped. However, one of skill in the art would readily recognize that the additional cap 130 and the primary cap 124 can be any shape and can be the same or different shapes and made of the same or different materials than that of the bristle aggressive bristle 120. Alternatively, the additional cap 130 may be a larger, more aggressive cap or hooking member that is retained on the bristle 120 by the primary cap 124 (see, e.g., disk 125 in FIG. 5D).
FIGS. 12 and 17 provide another alternative embodiment of the broom 106 wherein the aggressive bristle 120 includes barbs 140 extending from the body 122 of the bristle 120 above the cap 124 in the active sweep area of the bristle 120. Alternatively, the aggressive bristle 120 could include a plurality of barbs 140 and no cap 124.
As shown if FIG. 13A, an alternative embodiment of an aggressive bristle 170 is shown to include a multiple caps or disks 124 positioned along the body 122 of the bristle 170 for additional hooking or sweeping power. The body 122 and cap 124 at the base of the bristle 170 can be made out of a unitary piece of flexible plastic. The additional discs can be made of plastic, metal and the like, and can be formed in different shapes and sizes, and positioned throughout the broom. An alternative embodiment bristle 172 is shown in FIG. 13B to include multiple caps or disks 124 positioned along the body 122 of the bristle 172 and tethered together with a tether 173.
Turning to FIGS. 14A, 14B and 18, the aggressive bristle 120 is depicted to include a hook or a plurality of hooks 150 (see FIG. 7B). The hook 150, as depicted, is “J” or “U” shaped, but could also be “L” or cantilever shaped, or “V” shaped. In this embodiment, the body 122 and hook 150 is preferably made stiff enough to resist twisting when pressured against the ground or floor 118 which would result in flattening out the hook 150—the larger the size of the hook 150 the larger the diameter of the bristle 120 should be to prevent twisting of the hook 150 as it comes in contact with the object 119 being swept.
The cap 124 of the preferred embodiment tends not to fold over or depend on the strength of the body 122 of the bristle 120 to sweep the material being swept and, if in a rounded or oval shape, tends to align in the proper position to hook the material being swept.
Other advantages of the aggressive bristle 120 is that it can be combined within a broom to make it even more aggressive in terms of sweeping power by positioning the aggressive bristles in different bristle locations throughout the bristles.
Turning to FIGS. 19A, 19B and 21, another embodiment includes a squeegee type bristle 160 having a flat body 162 attachable at a first end to the head 112 of a broom 111 and at a second end to a cross-member 164, wherein the squeegee type bristle 160 has a T-shaped profile. In a preferred embodiment, the squeegee type bristle 160 would comprise a plurality of bristles 160 in contrast to a single bristle 160 shown in FIG. 19A. Although shown positioned in the middle of all the bristles 116, the squeegee type bristle 160 may be located in front of, behind or dispersed amongst the bristles 116. As shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B, the squeegee type bristle 160 may include a square or rectangular 164, round or oval disc 165, or the like, attached to the flat body 162 of the bristle.
Turning to FIG. 22, a toothbrush 310, as depicted, includes aggressive bristles 320 as well as conventional bristles 316 coupled to a toothbrush head 312 of the toothbrush 310. The aggressive bristles 320 having a body 322 coupled to the head 312 at one end and to a cap 324 at the other end.
Referring to FIG. 23, a carpet sweeper brush 330 is depicted with a row of aggressive bristles 320 and a row of conventional bristles 316 coupled to a cylindrical brush element 332. The aggressive bristles 320 having a body 322 coupled to a cylindrical brush element 332 at a first end and to a cap 324 at a second end. Although depicted in separate rows, the aggressive bristles 320 can be interspersed among the conventional bristles 316.
Another embodiment is provided in FIGS. 24A and 24B, which depict a rake 410 having a handle 414 extending from a head 412 of the rake 410. A plurality of hooking members 420 are provided, each having a stiff body 422, preferably formed from wire or the like, coupled at a first end to the head 412 of the rake 410 and at a second end to a hooking member 424.
In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. For example, each feature of one embodiment can be mixed and matched with other features shown in other embodiments. Features and processes known to those of ordinary skill may similarly be incorporated as desired. Additionally and obviously, features may be added or subtracted as desired. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.