Patent Application
20190191859
The present invention relates, in one aspect, to a brush for household cleaning, such as for example cleaning a bathtub, a sink, a countertop or a floor. The cleaning brush has a detachable handle to allow the brush portion to be gripped by hand for cleaning corners or other areas that may be difficult to clean effectively with the handle attached to the brush. To further allow cleaning of corners or other hard-to-reach areas, at least a portion of the base of the brush may be made from a flexible material to allow the brush portion to conform to the shape of the surface being cleaned. The flexible portion of the base of the brush may comprise a series of channels in the base to further allow the brush to flex and conform to the surface being cleaned.
Traditionally, cleaning brushes for household scrubbing come in two varieties: a unitary brush with bristles attached to a brush plate, where the brush plate further functions as a handle for gripping the brush, or brushes with a handle protruding from a brush plate, where the protruding handle provides additional leverage and comfort to the user of the brush. However, neither of these two varieties of cleaning brush are ideal in all situations. A user of a brush with a protruding handle may find that a handle can obstruct cleaning of tight areas whereas the brush without a handle could easily fit in those spaces. Similarly, a protruding handle may force the user to grip the handle in an uncomfortable manner when scrubbing in certain positions (such as a wall above the user's head).
Attaching a handle to a brush in a removable way introduces various design difficulties. The brush and handle should be simple to attach and detach, without overly complex fasteners or mechanisms. Conversely, a handle should be attached in a sturdy and rigid manner. A cleaning brush with a handle can impart a considerable manual force on the handle when using the brush for cleaning a surface and ideally, any method of attaching the brush must be able to withstand such an operating force. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to have brush with a detachable handle that is simple to use and provides a sturdy handle when attached to the brush.
The present disclosure is directed generally to a cleaning brush having a detachable handle.
In one embodiment, the cleaning brush comprises a detachable handle and a brush that may be used for cleaning. The handle comprises a gripping portion and a connector portion. The connector portion includes a backing plate with a plurality of connector pins. The handle further comprises a release mechanism. The release mechanism comprises an ejection pin aligned in an ejection pin slot in the handle, a biasing member aligned coaxially with the ejection pin along the ejection pin slot, and a release actuator comprising a button having sloped rails aligned in a channel substantially perpendicular to the ejection pin slot, the sloped rails in engagement with the ejection pin. The brush comprises a brush plate having a plurality of receptacles configured to receive the plurality of connector pins on the handle.
The connector pins may comprise a post with a protrusion at the end of the post.
The ejection pin may comprise a post with one or more protrusions in engagement with the sloped rails, wherein pressing the release actuator causes the sloped rails to retract the ejection pin into the handle. The retraction of the ejection pin frees the handle to release from the brush.
Insertion of the handle into the brush causes the ejection pin to retract into the ejection pin slot and the biasing member causes the ejection pin to extend into the first receptacle when the handle is engaged with the brush.
In one embodiment, the biasing member in the ejection pin is a coil spring.
In one embodiment, the one or more protrusions on the ejection pin comprise two substantially parallel protrusions extending radially from the ejection pin.
The sloped rails may comprise two substantially parallel sloped segments. The slope angle of the two substantially parallel sloped segments may be chosen such that pressing the release actuator causes the ejection pin to retract to a clearance position.
In one embodiment, the brush portion comprises a brush plate having a rigid portion and a flexible portion with bristles attached to both the rigid portion and bristles attached to the flexible portion. The rigid portion may be a solid member and the flexible member comprises segments defined by channels in the flexible member.
In one embodiment, the rigid portion is constructed from a rigid plastic and the flexible portion is constructed from rubber.
The cleaning brush of the present invention may be used with the handle attached to the brush portion, or the handle may be removed to allow the user to clean in spaces where the handle may interfere. The brush includes a flexible portion to allow a user to clean in corners or other areas that may be difficult to clean with a rigid brush. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art in view of the Description of the Invention provided below.
As shown, for example, in
The brush portion 14 may further comprise gripping pads 42 on opposing sides of the brush portion for gripping the brush with the user's hand. The gripping pads 42 may be made of rubber or any other material that will aid in holding the brush plate. Alternatively, the gripping pad 42 may be a recessed portion of the rigid portion 37 comprising ridges for gripping. The brush plate further comprises receptacles 22a, 22b, and 22c fitted to receive corresponding connector pins on the detachable handle as will be further described below with reference to
It should be understood that the brush portion may be of a unitary structure and be either entirely a rigid brush plate or entirely a flexible brush plate. Where the brush plate comprises a rigid portion and a flexible portion, the proportion of the brush plate that is rigid or flexible may be selected as desired.
The detachable handle 12 may be made of any appropriate material. In one embodiment, the detachable handle is made of a plastic. A grip 27 for holding the detachable handle may be provided on the gripping portion 26 of the detachable handle. The grip 27 may be made of rubber or any other material that will aid in holding the detachable handle. The detachable handle may further comprise a hanger 28 for storing the brush.
In certain embodiments, the brush portion 14 may be used without the handle 12. In further embodiments, the shape and contours of the handle 12 and brush plate 13 are chosen to ergonomically reduce fatigue or increase the leverage applied by the user of the brush when cleaning dirt or debris from a surface. For use with a handle, the detachable handle 12 may be inserted in the brush 14 with connector pins facing downward. As desired, the handle 12 may be detached and removed from the brush 14 by engaging the release actuator 16. The mechanism of release actuator 16 is further described below with reference to
The sloped portion 32 of the release actuator 16 engages a protrusion 20a on the ejection pin 20, such as a circumferential protrusion about the ejection pin 20, or one or more protrusions that extend from the sides of the ejection pin. In one embodiment, the ejection pin has two protrusions extending from opposing sides of the ejection pin. The ejection pin 20 further comprises a locking protrusion 34, which engages an ejection pin slot in the handle (not shown) to prevent the ejection pin from rotating on its axis. A biasing member 36, biases the ejection pin 20, in the engaged position within the receptacle 22b, thereby biasing the detachable handle in the attached position. In certain embodiments, the biasing member 36 is a coil spring. However, as should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, the biasing member can take the form of any type of spring, or alternatively, any biasing member, capable of biasing the ejection pin 20 into the receptacle 22b.
The release actuator 16 is manually movable within the channel 30 between a first rest position and a second clearance position. In the first rest position, the release pin 20 engages the sloped portion of the release actuator 16 at the proximal end of the release actuator adjacent to the tabs 32a and 32b, and the biasing member 36 biases the release pin into the receptacle 22b to hold the handle in place when attached to the brush portion. As the release actuator 16 is pressed into the channel 30 by the user, the release pin 20 moves along the sloped surface 32 of the release actuator 16, compressing the biasing member 36 and causing the release pin to recede into the ejection pin slot (not shown) in the detachable handle 12. In the second clearance position of the release actuator 16, the release pin 20 is substantially entirely contained within the ejection pin slot 44 such that the detachable handle 12 can be detached from the brush plate 14.
When the release actuator 16 is released, the biasing member 36 rebounds to move the ejection pin back to the rest position and thus the release actuator back to the first position. Accordingly, unless the release actuator 16 is manually moved into the second position, or the ejection pin 20 is moved into the clearance position, the release mechanism resides in the first position.
As shown in
In certain embodiments, the posts of the connector pins 22a, 22b, and 22c are oriented substantially perpendicularly with the backing plate 24. In certain embodiments the shapes of the posts and protrusions are round, rectangular, or any other shape. In certain embodiments the shape of the ejection pin 20 is round, rectangular, or any other shape. As shown in
The present disclosure provides advantages over prior brushes by describing a brush capable of functioning as both a unitary hand held brush and a brush with a handle. The brush is easily attached and detached by pressing the release actuator and freeing the handle from the brush. When attached, the brush maintains a tight and rigid connection with the handle. The position of the button of the release actuator further decreases accidental engagement of the release actuator. However, when desired, the brush is easily released from the handle with a button press. Furthermore, the placement and shape of the pins are chosen such that forces expected to be exerted upon the brush handle and brush, such as torques and compressive forces are adequately resisted based on the design considerations, materials, and intended usage of the brush system.
As may be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art based on the teachings herein, numerous changes and modifications can be made to the above-described and other embodiments of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Accordingly, this description of embodiments is to be taken in an illustrative, as opposed to a limiting sense.
