Patent Application
20060064826
The invention relates generally to cleaning implements for removing dust and other contaminants from a surface. In particular, the invention relates to cleaning implements having a triboelectric charge generator for generating an electrostatic charge to attract the dust and contaminants to the cleaning implement.
Many techniques are known for cleaning dust and other contaminants from a surface. The most common method for removing dust from a surface is to use a cloth, with or without a cleaning or polishing solution, to wipe the dust from the surface. It is also known, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,435 to Suzuki et al., to use a cleaning cloth attached to a handle in order to clean hard-to-reach areas. However, cleaning cloths may not pick up all of the dust on a surface, especially once the cloth starts to get dirty. Also, cleaning cloths cannot adequately remove dust from rough or uneven surfaces, where the dust is trapped in recesses, grooves, cracks, or the like.
An electrostatic brush has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,355,755 to Brooks. The brush includes an elongated handle having a brush head with a plurality of bristles surrounding a central dust passage, opposite to which is a piezo-electric ceramic crystal. When a hand lever is operated, a plunger is reciprocated to energize the piezo-electric crystal to generate an electrostatic charge. However, such a brush does not effectively trap and hold the dust. Thus, once the piezo-electric crystal is deactivated, the dust may fall back onto the surface to be cleaned. Also, once the brush becomes dirty, there is no provision to remove the bristles to clean or to replace them. Moreover, a brush having the foregoing construction would be complicated and costly to manufacture. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a cleaning implement that can adequately clean a wide variety of surfaces, and is inexpensive to manufacture.
My invention relates to a cleaning implement that remedies the foregoing and other deficiencies in the prior art. Generally, a cleaning implement according to my invention includes a triboelectric charge generator for generating and maintaining an electrostatic charge to attract dust and contaminants to the cleaning implement, and a fibrous material that collects and retains dust that comes into contact with the cleaning implement. The electrostatic charge is generated by contact and separation of two or more elements that have different triboelectric properties. Preferably, the electrostatic charge is generated by movement of a member of the triboelectric charge generator against the fibrous material. Alternatively, or in addition, the electrostatic charge may be generated by relative movement of two members of the triboelectric charge generator against one another.
As used herein, the terms “dust” and “dust particles” should be interpreted broadly to include any substance comprising a plurality of small particles, including (without limitation) dust, clay, pollen, dust mites, dead skin, inorganic matter, hair, sawdust, and the like.
As used herein, the term “triboelectric property” refers to the relative propensity of a material to gain or to lose electrons due to contact with and separation from another material. For the purposes of this application, two materials will be said to have “different” triboelectric properties if, when those materials are brought into contact and then separated, at least one of the materials has a gain or loss of electrons. Repeated contact and separation of the materials results in a build up of a measurable electrostatic charge. One way to measure static charge is through the use of an electrostatic field meter. Such meters have various ranges of measurement. One such meter is a portable field meter Model 257D available from Monroe Electronics, Inc. in Lyndonville, N.Y. Other conventional devices for measuring static charge are known in the art. A wide range of electrostatic charges may be used to attract dust particles. The greater the charge, the greater the attractive force will be. By way of example only, an electrostatic charge in the range of about 250 to about 20,000 volts is typical of the charge generated by a cleaning implement according to my invention to collect dust.
Briefly, when two surfaces of different materials are brought into contact, the atoms at the interface of the two surfaces tend to share their valence electrons. When the materials are separated, the atoms near the surface of one material have a tendency to keep some of the shared electrons, while atoms of the other surface have a tendency to give the shared electrons away. The result is a net charge imbalance, or triboelectric charge, between the two surfaces. While only contact is necessary to generate the triboelectric charge, rubbing the materials together enhances the effect.
Materials are often ranked in order of their propensity to lose or to gain electrons when brought into contact with another object. This ranking is known as the “triboelectric series.”
The following is a representative triboelectric series, listing materials from most positive (i.e., greatest propensity to lose electrons) to most negative (i.e., greatest propensity to gain electrons):
A material towards the bottom of the series, when touched to a material near the top of the series, will attain a more negative charge, and vice versa. The further away two materials are from each other on the series, the greater the charge transferred.
In one aspect, my invention relates to a cleaning implement comprising a handle, a triboelectric charge generator, and a fibrous material. The triboelectric charge generator is coupled to the handle, and generates an electrostatic charge to attract dust particles to the cleaning implement. The fibrous material at least partially covers the triboelectric charge generator, for collecting and retaining the dust particles.
Preferably, the triboelectric charge generator comprises at least one movable member having a first triboelectric property, and an actuator for driving the at least one movable member.
In one preferred arrangement, the fibrous material has a triboelectric property different than that of the at least one movable member and contacts at least a portion of the at least one movable member. Thus, motion of the at least one movable member relative to the fibrous material at least partially generates the electrostatic charge.
Additionally, or instead, the triboelectric charge generator may comprise at least one stationary member having a triboelectric property different than that of the at least one movable member and contacting at least a portion of the at least one movable member. Thus, motion of the at least one movable member relative to the at least one stationary member at least partially generates the electrostatic charge.
Alternatively, the triboelectric charge generator may comprise at least two movable members and an actuator. At least one movable member has a first triboelectric property and at least one movable member has a second triboelectric property different than the first triboelectric property. The actuator drives the at least two movable members, the at least two movable members being at least partially in contact with and movable relative to one another.
In another respect, my invention relates to a cleaning implement comprising a handle, a triboelectric charge generator, and a sleeve of fibrous sheet material. The triboelectric charge generator is coupled to the handle, and comprises an electric motor for driving at least one movable member, having a first triboelectric property, in motion relative to at least one other element having a second triboelectric property different than the first triboelectric property, thereby generating an electrostatic charge. The sleeve of fibrous sheet material at least partially covers the triboelectric charge generator, for collecting and retaining dust particles.
As used herein, the term “sleeve” should be understood to include any sleeve, sock, tube, sheath, or the like. A sleeve may be open at, one or both ends, and may have any suitable cross section (e.g., circular, rectangular, oval, square, etc.) so as to fit over at least a portion of a triboelectric charge generator.
A better understanding of these and other features and advantages of the invention may be had by reference to the drawings and to the accompanying description, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated and described.
Throughout the figures, like or corresponding reference numerals have been used for like or corresponding parts.
Generally, as illustrated in
The handle may be of any suitable shape and size, depending, for example, on the size, shape, and/or location of a surface that the cleaning implement is designed to clean. For example, the handle of the cleaning implement 1 shown in
The triboelectric charge generator preferably comprises at least one movable member having a first triboelectric property, and an actuator for driving the at least one movable member to impart motion thereto. The movable member preferably is in contact with and moves relative to at least one other element having a second triboelectric property different than the first triboelectric property. The at least one other element may be the fibrous material, one or more stationary members, and/or one or more additional movable members. The relative motion between the at least one movable member and the at least one other element causes electrons to be transferred from one to the other, thereby creating a charge imbalance and generating an electrostatic charge.
The at least one movable member and the at least one other element can be made of any materials, as long as the materials have different triboelectric properties. Preferably, the at least one movable member comprises at least one of glass, nylon, wool, lead, silk, aluminum, paper, and cotton, and the at least one other element comprises at least one of wood, butyl rubber, nickel, copper, brass, silver, gold, platinum, polyester, styrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, vinyl, polyvinylchloride (PVC), silicon, polytetrafluoroethene, perfluoroalkoxy polymer resin (the foregoing two materials being commonly known as Teflon®), and rubber. More preferably, the at least one movable member comprises nylon and the at least one other element comprises polypropylene and/or PVC, and may preferably be coated with a layer of Teflon®, polyethylene, and/or silicon. Of course, these material constructions could be reversed, in which case the electron transfer would be in the opposite direction.
The fibrous material preferably comprises a sleeve of fibrous sheet material, as illustrated, for example, in
The fibrous material is preferably made of a synthetic, nonwoven sheet material, such as Grab-its® cloths made by S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. of Racine, Wis. However, the fibrous material may be made of any other suitable fibrous material, as long as it is capable of collecting and retaining dust and, when desired, generating at least a portion of the electrostatic charge. Examples of suitable materials include woven and/or nonwoven fibrous materials, sponge materials, foam materials, microfiber and/or nanofiber cloth materials, like materials, and composites thereof. Further, the fibrous material may include synthetic fibers, natural fibers, or a combination thereof. The fibrous material may itself be (or become) electrostatically charged and/or may be at least partially conductive so as to distribute a generated charge throughout the fibrous material.
Preferably, the fibrous material is releasably secured to the cleaning implement by a fastener. As used herein, the term “fastener” should be construed to include a hook and loop fastener (e.g., Velcro®), a snap, a clip, a clamp, a hook, or any other suitable retainer, such that the fibrous material can be removed and cleaned or replaced when it becomes soiled. However, other more permanent forms of attachment may also be acceptable. This arrangement also allows a user to change the type of fibrous material, depending on the surface to be cleaned, the type of dust or debris that is to be cleaned, the user's preference of shape and/or color of the fibrous material, or the like.
Moreover, it may be desirable, in each of the embodiments described herein, to select a fibrous material having a triboelectric property different than one or more members of the triboelectric charge generator, such that motion of the member(s) relative to the fibrous material generates a triboelectric charge in addition to, or instead of, the charge generated by the member(s) of the triboelectric charge generator alone. Along these lines, a further ring or sleeve (not shown) could be provided outside the fibrous material. By sliding the ring along the outside length of the cleaning implement, a charge would be generated by the contact of the ring with the fibrous material. In that case, the ring should be selected to be a material having a triboelectric property different than that of the fibrous material.
A triboelectric charge can be generated by the motion of the cylindrical member 230 relative to the central member 220, through interaction between the moving cylindrical member 230 and the fibrous sleeve of material (not shown in this figure), or both. In the first case, the cylindrical member 230 and the central member 220 are respectively made of materials having different triboelectric properties, as described in detail above. In the second case, the moving cylindrical member 230 and the sleeve of fibrous material are respectively made of materials having different triboelectric properties.
Also, the sleeve of fibrous material (not shown in this figure) could be made of a material having a triboelectric property different from that of the side plates 330, such that the interaction between the side plates 330 and the fibrous material generates an electrostatic charge in addition to, or instead of, the charge generated between the stationary and movable members 320, 330.
Alternatively, the stationary plate 320 could be chosen to be a material (e.g., steel or cotton) near the center of the triboelectric series, while one side plate 330 is chosen to be a material (e.g., nylon) near the positive end of the triboelectric series and the other side plate 330 is chosen to be a material (e.g., polypropylene and/or PVC) near the negative end of the triboelectric series. Because the stationary member 320 in this alternative variation is made of a material near the center of the triboelectric series, it accepts electrons from the nylon side member 330 and donates electrons to the polypropylene and/or PVC side member 330. Accordingly, the charge on the stationary member 320 will remain substantially neutral, which allows a triboelectric charge to be generated quickly. In this manner, one side plate 330 would become positively charged and the other side plate 330 would become negatively charged. This arrangement has the additional benefit that the cleaning implement can attract particles having either a positive charge or a negative charge.
In practice, my invention is not limited to three plates, and any number of two or more plates can be used, as long as each successive plate has a different triboelectric property than the last. Moreover, rather than some plates being stationary and some being moving, all of the plates could be made to move relative to one another. Also, as previously mentioned, the members 320, 330 of the triboelectric charge generator and the fibrous material can be so selected as to generate an electrostatic charge.
The cylindrical member 430 has a triboelectric property different than at least one, and preferably both, of the fibrous sleeve 414 and the central member 420. Thus, as the cylindrical member 430 is rotated, an electrostatic charge is generated at the interface(s) of the cylindrical member 430 with the fibrous sleeve 414 and/or the central member 420.
The actuator in this embodiment comprises a lever 560 which, when depressed by an operator, translates a linear gear 570, which rides against and engages a drive gear 573 mounted on a drive shaft 572 to rotate the inner member 530. A hinge 571 allows the linear gear to pivot so as to constantly align with and engage the drive gear 573 on the drive shaft 572. A flywheel 580 provides additional inertia to the drive shaft 572 to keep the member 530 rotating. When a user releases the lever 560, a torsion spring 590 biases the lever back toward a raised position (shown in
A cleaning implement according to yet another embodiment of my invention is shown in
As illustrated in
A pair of conductive brushes 654, 652, preferably made of steel or brass, is positioned adjacent to or in contact with the flexible band 630, with one brush located near each roller 620, 622. However, the brushes could be made of any suitable conductive material, metals being particularly suitable for this purpose. Brush 652 is electrically connected to a conductive sleeve 656, which at least partially surrounds the housing 612. Preferably, the conductive sleeve 656 is made with smooth or rounded contours to minimize charge concentrations and, hence, arcing. The conductive sleeve 656 can also be made of any suitable conductive material, with metals again being particularly suitable. Brush 654 is connected to a ground. As best seen in
A sleeve of fibrous material 614 is positioned over the triboelectric charge generator and held in place by a suitable fastener 640.
In operation, when a user manipulates a switch 616 to activate the triboelectric charge generator, the electric motor 660 drives the gearbox 670, which in turn rotates the driven roller 620. Because the flexible band 630 passes around the rollers 620, 622, it is rotated around the exterior of the rollers 620, 622. As the flexible band 630 travels around the rollers 620, 622, the band 630 is continuously brought into contact with and then separated from both of the rollers 620, 622. This contact with and subsequent separation of the band 630 from the rollers 620, 622, causes a transfer of electrons between the band 630 and the rollers 620, 622. The direction of the electron transfer between the band 630 and the rollers 620, 630, depends on the materials each of these components is made of. In one configuration, shown in
As the band 630 passes around the driven roller 620, electrons are transferred to the driven roller 620, from the band 630. Thus, the inner surface of the band 630 becomes positively charged and the driven roller 620 becomes negatively charged, as generally shown in
The free roller 622, being made of nylon, looses electrons to the band 630. Thus, the free roller 622 develops a concentrated positive charge, while the inner surface of the band 630 develops a negative charge (top inside in
Alternatively, the rollers could be reversed (i.e., the free roller could be coated with silicon while the driven roller is not), in which case the polarity of the charge on the conductive sleeve 656 would be reversed.
Throughout the drawings, conventional mounting features within the handle of the cleaning implement (e.g., flanges, bushings, bearings, bosses, guides, supports, connectors, and the like) have been omitted for clarity, the arrangement of such features being within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art and not forming a part of my invention.
The embodiments discussed above are representative of preferred embodiments of my invention and are provided for illustrative purposes only. They are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Although specific structures, dimensions, components, etc., have been shown and described, such are not limiting. Modifications and variations are contemplated within the scope of my invention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the accompanying claims. For example, the various different handles, triboelectric charge generation components, and fibrous materials described herein can be interchanged and combined in various different combinations.
Also, preferred materials for each of the components are discussed herein; however, any of the various materials described as being suitable for a component of one embodiment may be applied to similar or analogous components of the other embodiments.
Moreover, where two components are described as being made of materials at opposite ends of the triboelectric series, or one material being at the positive end of the triboelectric series and the other being at the negative end of the triboelectric series, the materials need not be at the extreme ends of the series (although the further the materials are separated on the triboelectric series, the greater their ability to transfer electrons and, consequently, the greater the charge generated). Rather, any two materials having different triboelectric properties than each other can be used in each of the embodiments described herein. This is because the triboelectric series is only a ranking of the materials relative to one another. For example, steel will take electrons when brought into contact with nylon, but will donate electrons when brought into contact with silicon.
My invention provides an effective cleaning implement that is usable for cleaning dust from surfaces. The cleaning implement is effective to clean dust from uneven and porous surfaces, as well as flat, smooth surfaces, due to the electrostatic charge generated by the implement. The cleaning implement is particularly cost effective due to the relatively inexpensive materials and simple construction.
