The present invention relates generally to cleaning devices and, more particularly, to a portable wringer for drying a chamois or other towel when drying a washed vehicle.
Many people spend much time, energy, and resources maintaining their vehicles in a clean condition. A very important step in maximizing the vehicle's appearance is thoroughly drying the vehicle after washing it in order to eliminate unsightly water spots. Unfortunately, the chamois must sometimes be dried during the drying process in order to be effective.
Although many commercial car washes provide wringers for wringing out a wet chamois are known in the art, these products are not available to a person who desires to wash and dry their vehicle at home or at a car wash not having a chamois wringer. In addition, the existing devices do not provide legs that are collapsible or rotatable and do not provide convenient and removable water collection trays.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a portable wringer that is conveniently available for an individual consumer to use. Further, it would be desirable to have a portable wringer with collapsible legs so that the wringer may easily be transported, used, and stored. In addition, it would be desirable to have a portable wringer having a removable tray for collecting water.
A portable wringer according to the present invention includes a housing having upper and lower ends and defining an open interior area therebetween. The portable wringer also includes first and second rollers positioned inside the open interior area, the first and second rollers being accessible through the housing and movable relative to one another so as to cooperatively pass an item therebetween. A crank handle is operatively connected to the rollers for causing at least one of the rollers to rotate. A plurality of legs are coupled to the housing adjacent the lower end of the housing with each leg being pivotable between a storage and a deployed configuration. The legs may be telescopic for length adjustment thereof. The portable wringer includes a removable tray positionable in the housing beneath the first and second rollers for collecting a liquid initially associated with the item passed between the rollers.
Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a portable wringer having a pair of rotatable rollers for wringing wetness from a chamois while drying a vehicle.
Another object of this invention is to provide a portable wringer, as aforesaid, having a plurality of legs to support the rollers above a ground surface, the legs being pivotally movable between a storage configuration and a deployed configuration.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a portable wringer, as aforesaid, in which the legs are length adjustable.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a portable wringer, as aforesaid, having a removable tray for collecting water from the housing.
A further object of this invention is to provide a portable wringer, as aforesaid, that is easy to use and economical to manufacture.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.
A portable wringer 100 according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to
The housing 110 has upper and lower ends 111a, 111b (
As shown in
The legs 130 may be coupled to the housing 110 adjacent the lower end 111b. As shown throughout the accompanying drawings, at least two legs 130 may be coupled to the housing 110 adjacent the first side 113a, and at least two legs 130 may be coupled to the housing 110 adjacent the second side 113b. The legs 130 are respectively pivotable between a storage configuration 130a (
When at the storage configuration 130a, each leg 130 may extend generally parallel to the rollers 120, or in other words, generally along the length of the housing 110. When at the deployed configuration 130b, the legs 130 may be rotatable to selectively vary a distance between the housing 110 and a ground surface (or in other words to raise or lower the housing 110) without adjusting respective lengths of the legs 130. More particularly, the legs 130 adjacent the first side 113a may be rotatable toward one another when at the deployed configuration 130b, and the legs 130 adjacent the second side 113b may be rotatable toward one another when at the deployed configuration 130b. As shown in
A removable tray 140 may be positionable in the housing 110 beneath the rollers 120. The tray 140 may be generally rectangular and selectively cover a majority of the lower end 111b of the housing 110 as shown in the accompanying figures, or other shapes and sizes may be used. A towel hook 150 may be coupled to the housing 110, such as at side 113a as shown in
In use, the legs 130 may be initially at the storage configuration 130a. The legs 130 may be pivoted away from the housing 110 to the deployed configuration 130b to raise the housing 110, and the legs 130 may be lengthened as described above. Once the legs 130 are at the deployed configuration 130b, they may be pivoted away from one another as described above to provide stability and further modify the height of the housing 110. An item such as a chamois may be introduced to the rollers 120, and the crank 122 and driving member 124 may be used as described above to feed the chamois through the rollers 120, squeezing out moisture in the process. The moisture may be collected in the tray 140 and emptied when desired. When not in use, the legs 130 may be pivoted toward one another and then pivoted toward the housing 110 to return to the storage configuration 130a.
It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.