Patent Application
20060265827
The present invention relates generally to vehicle maintenance. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cleaning tool for cleaning the interior surface of a sealed beam vehicle headlight lens.
Sealed beam headlights have become virtually universal on modern vehicles. Sealed beam headlights generally incorporate a sealed headlight assembly; nevertheless, over time lamp outgassing can occur and fine dust and debris can enter the sealed assembly, forming a film of cloudy buildup over the interior surface of the headlight lens and causing the lens to become blurry and discolored. This condition can reduce visibility during night driving and can pose a potential safety hazard.
However, cleaning the interior surface of a sealed beam headlight lens can require a relatively difficult procedure. Typically, the headlight assembly must be removed from the vehicle, and the headlight assembly must be disassembled. Disassembly may require heating the headlight assembly to weaken the bond of a sealing agent between the headlight lens and reflector. In addition, many headlight assemblies include small tangs, or tabs, that must be pried away from the exterior of the headlight assembly in order to separate the headlight lens from the headlight reflector assembly. These tabs can be easily damaged during disassembly, requiring replacement of the headlight assembly or certain components of the headlight assembly. Other sealed beam headlights may not be configured to permit disassembly, and can require alternative, non-approved methods for reassembly.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus to permit cleaning the interior surface of a vehicle sealed beam headlight lens without requiring removal of the headlight assembly from the vehicle or disassembly of the headlight assembly.
The foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the present invention, wherein in one aspect an apparatus is provided that in some embodiments facilitates cleaning the interior surface of a vehicle sealed beam headlight lens without requiring removal of the headlight assembly from the vehicle or disassembly of the headlight assembly.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle headlight lens cleaning device can include a cleaning pad configured to be inserted into a headlight assembly through a headlamp bulb socket and a guider configured to mate with an exterior surface of a headlight lens. In addition, either the cleaning pad or the guider can include a magnet configured to create a first magnetic field, and the other can include a material that is capable of being attracted by the first magnetic field.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle headlight lens cleaning device can include means for wiping an interior surface of a headlight lens, and the means for wiping can include a core capable of being attracted by a magnetic field. In addition, the means for wiping can be configured to be inserted into a headlight assembly through a headlamp bulb socket. Furthermore, the cleaning device can include magnetic means for externally actuating the means for wiping.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of cleaning a vehicle headlight lens without disassembling the headlight lens from a headlight assembly can include the step of inserting a cleaning pad that includes a core capable of being attracted by a magnetic field into the headlight assembly through a headlamp bulb socket. In addition, the method can include the steps of actuating the cleaning pad from outside the headlight assembly by way of the magnetic field and guiding the cleaning pad in order to wipe an interior surface of the headlight lens.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
An embodiment in accordance with the present invention provides a vehicle headlight lens cleaning device that includes an internal cleaning pad and an external guider. The internal cleaning pad can be inserted into a sealed beam headlight through a headlamp bulb socket opening, and the external guider can be used to retain the internal cleaning pad against an interior surface of the headlight lens and to move the internal cleaning pad by way of a magnetic force in order to wipe clean the interior surface of the headlight lens.
Thus, the headlight lens cleaning device can allow the headlight lens to be cleaned without removing the headlight assembly from the vehicle and without disassembling the headlight assembly. In addition, the headlight lens cleaning device can have additional vehicle and household applications where cleaning of difficult-to-reach areas or surfaces is desired. The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.
An embodiment of the present inventive apparatus and method is illustrated in
The headlight lens cleaning tool 10 can include an external guider, such as the representative external guider 14, shown in
The representative magnet 30 of
In addition, a protective covering 32 can be placed over the magnet 30, or over the end 34 of the guider 14, in order to protect the exterior surface 24 of the headlight lens 22 (see
Furthermore, the headlight lens cleaning tool 10 can include an internal cleaning pad, such as the representative cleaning pad 12 shown in
In embodiments that include a cleaning pad core 36 that is not permanently magnetized, the core 36 of the cleaning pad 12 is temporarily magnetized by the magnetic field of the magnet 30 (see
Additionally, the cleaning pad 12 can include a nonabrasive pliable covering 38, as shown in
In one embodiment, the pliable covering 38 can be made from a lint-free felt material, which can clean and polish the interior surface 20 of the headlight lens 22, including areas of the interior surface 20 that have minor irregularities. However, alternative embodiments can include a pliable covering 38 made from any suitable material, such as lint-free cloth, foam rubber, or the like.
An alternative embodiment of the cleaning pad 12, such as the representative cleaning pad 12 illustrated in
An additional embodiment can include the separate segmented appendages 40, but the appendages 40 can be folded away from the face of the cleaning pad 12 that contacts the interior surface 20 of the headlight lens 22 in order to clean adjacent surfaces, such as the attached reflector assembly 26. Once again, although one embodiment can include a pliable covering 38 with segmented appendages 40 made from a lint-free felt material 30, other embodiments can include any suitable material for a pliable covering 38 with segmented appendages 40, including lint-free cloth, foam rubber, or the like.
Yet another alternative embodiment of a cleaning pad 12 suitable for use with the headlight lens cleaning tool 10 is shown in
Moreover, various embodiments of the cleaning pad 12 can include two or more materials to form a pliable covering 38. For example, an embodiment of a pliable covering 12 can include a lint-free felt material over one surface of the core 36 and a foam rubber material over the opposite surface of the core 36. Other embodiments can include any combination of suitable materials to form an aggregate pliable covering 38, including lint-free felt material, lint-free cloth material, foam rubber material, or the like.
In operation the cleaning pad 12 can be inserted into a headlight assembly 16 and guided about the interior surface 20 of the headlight lens 22 using a magnetic guider 14. That is, the external guider 14 can be moved around the exterior surface 24 of the headlight lens 22 in order to actuate, or move, the cleaning pad 12 and wipe clean the interior surface 20 of the headlight lens 22. In addition, the cleaning pad can be brushed against a corner where the headlight lens 22 meets a reflector assembly 26 in order to clean the edges of the interior surface 20 of the headlight lens 22 and the adjoining surface of the reflector assembly 26.
In an embodiment of the headlight lens cleaning tool 10, the cleaning pad 12 is inserted into the headlight assembly 16 and used to wipe clean the interior surface 20 of the headlight lens 22 without the aid of any cleaning agent. This dry configuration of the headlight lens cleaning tool 10 has the advantage that no chemical residue resulting from a cleaning agent can be left inside the headlight assembly 16. However, alternative embodiments of the headlight lens cleaning tool 10 can include the use of a cleaning agent in combination with the cleaning pad 12 to clean the interior surface 20 of the headlight lens 22.
In addition, some embodiments of the cleaning pad 12 can be disposable, that is, the cleaning pad 12 can be thrown away and replaced when the cleaning pad 12 becomes soiled or worn. In other embodiments, the pliable covering 38 can be configured to be replaceable, so that the pliable covering 38 can be removed and replaced when the cleaning pad 12 becomes soiled or worn.
The headlight lens cleaning tool 10 can also include a cleaning pad retriever, such as the representative cleaning pad retriever 42 shown in
The cleaning pad retriever 42 can further include a permanent magnet 46. In some embodiments, the permanent magnet 46 can be located at one end of the retriever 42. In another embodiment the entire cleaning pad retriever 42 can be composed of a magnetic material. In yet another embodiment, the permanent magnet 46 can be made from a ferromagnetic material that is permanently magnetized. However, other embodiments can include any suitable permanent magnet, including a composite magnetic material, a plastic magnetic material, or the like.
In operation, the cleaning pad retriever 42 can be inserted into the headlight assembly 16 through the headlamp bulb socket opening 18 in order to retrieve the cleaning pad 12 (see
The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
