Patent Application
20190150697
The present application relates to cleaning apparatuses, and particularly related to a dust and debris collection apparatus.
Dustpans are a useful tool that allow debris to be conveniently removed from a surface, usually by means of a broom. However, all prior dustpans have the issue of leaving a line of debris at the leading edge of the dustpan. This results in excessive effort required by the user to transfer the debris to the surface of the dustpan.
There is, therefore an unmet need for a novel arrangement that reduces the required effort from the user to transfer debris from a surface to the receptacle.
A dustpan is disclosed. The dustpan include a debris receptacle coupled to the grip, having a debris collection surface and a bottom surface, and a roller mechanism, wherein the roller mechanism includes a roller with an adhesive surface, a biasing member, and a handle to apply a force coupled to the grip, wherein application of force to the handle moves the roller from i) a non-contact position, above the bottom surface of the debris receptacle, to ii) a contact position, configured to be one of below the bottom surface of the debris receptacle or ground level, and wherein once the force is released the biasing member returns the roller to the non-contact position.
A method of collecting dust and debris is also disclosed. The method include leveling a leading edge of a dustpan to a surface to be cleaned, the dustpan includes: a grip, a debris receptacle coupled to the grip, having a debris collection surface with a leading edge and a bottom surface, and a roller mechanism, wherein the roller mechanism includes a roller with an adhesive surface, a biasing member, and a handle to apply a force coupled to the grip, wherein application of force to the handle moves the roller from i) a non-contact position, above the bottom surface of the debris receptacle, to ii) a contact position, configured to be one of below the bottom surface of the debris receptacle or ground level, and wherein once the force is released the biasing member returns the roller to the non-contact position; using a debris displacement device, displace debris into the debris receptacle past the leading edge until debris is collected over the debris collection surface; without moving the dustpan, applying a force to the handle to cause the roller with an adhesive surface to move from the non-contact position to the contact position; with the leading edge lifted off the surface to be cleaned, moving the dustpan substantially parallel to the surface to be cleaned in a direction along an axis between the grip and the leading edge; collecting remaining debris from the surface to be cleaned by the roller with an adhesive surface; and releasing the force to the handle to cause the roller with an adhesive surface to move from the contact position to the non-contact position.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of this disclosure is thereby intended.
In the present disclosure, the term “substantially” can allow for a degree of variability in a value or range, for example, within 90%, within 95%, or within 99% of a stated value or of a stated limit of a range.
As shown in
The roller 102 has an outer surface made of layers of sticky paper similar to lint rollers. When the handle 104 is pressed and the roller 102 is moved downward and makes contact with ground level, the user can move the dustpan forward to any debris left in front of the dustpan 100 and pick up the debris with the roller. When the surface of the roller 102 is covered with debris (or to a point when the sticky paper is no longer capable of picking additional debris), the top sticky paper can be removed exposing a new sticky paper underneath it. After consuming an entire roll, it can be replaced by a new roll.
With reference to
Referring to
The bulk of the dustpan can be manufactured from solid materials, such as plastic, metal, composites, ceramics, and other material known to a person having ordinary skill in the art, that can retain their shape under load. The curved leading edge can be manufactured from metal, ceramic, or plastic, that could be different from the rest of the debris receptacle 101.
The method 800 for removing the debris is outlined in a flow chart in
In the next step 803, the user squeezes the handle 104, the biasing member 202 compresses, and the mechanism turns about the pivot arrangement 103 causing the bottom edge of the roller 102 to make contact with the ground at a point even with or lower than the surface of the bottom of the pan as seen in
The roller 102 can be moved from a non-contact position to a contract position by applying a force to the handle 104 or by pressing a button (not shown) on the grip 105. By releasing the force from the button (not shown), the roller 102 returns to it non-contact position.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications can be made to the specific implementations described above. The implementations should not be limited to the particular limitations described. Other implementations may be possible.
