Patent Application
20200290094
The present disclosure relates generally to powered personal hygienic appliances, and more particularly to a powered scrubbing device with telescoping handle accessory that is a small, battery-powered, waterproof, lightweight, scrubbing appliance optionally attachable to one end of a telescopic handle.
Many people, including the elderly and disabled, have difficulty reaching much of their body for cleaning due to a lack of strength or flexibility. A wide variety of body brushes and back scrubbers are commercially available to combat this problem. These items generally consist of an extended handle attached to a cleaning head. The cleaning head is typically a mesh cloth, a sponge or a soft brush and is arranged to scrub areas of one's body by manual manipulation of the entire device. However, many people with limited flexibility, strength and/or movement, such as by virtue of a debilitating physical condition, find these cleaning products difficult to use. In addition, these products may drastically increase cleaning time, thus resulting in unnecessary fatigue. Furthermore, current powered body brushes are large and heavy making using and transporting the brush quite difficult.
Thus, a powered scrubbing device with telescoping handle accessory solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The powered scrubbing device with telescoping handle accessory includes a handheld, battery-powered scrubbing device and an attachable, telescoping handle. The battery powers a motor that drives a reciprocator, which provides linear reciprocating motion to an attached sponge or brush. The reciprocating speed may be controlled by a user through a button on a body of the device. A scrubbing pad may be removably attachable so it can be replaced when worn out or when a user requires a scrubbing pad having different scrubbing characteristics. The telescoping handle may be attached for accessing hard to reach places with the scrubbing device.
These and other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The powered scrubbing device with telescoping handle accessory includes a handheld, battery-powered scrubbing device and an attachable telescoping handle. The battery powers a motor that drives a reciprocator, which provides linear reciprocating motion to an attached sponge or brush. The reciprocating speed may be controlled by a user through a button on a body of the device. A scrubbing pad may be removably attachable so it can be replaced when worn out or when a user requires a scrubbing pad having different scrubbing characteristics. The telescoping handle may be attached for accessing hard to reach places with the scrubbing device.
The top component 11 of the outer shell includes two buttons 13, 14. The first button 13 may act as an on/off toggle switch for a reciprocator housed within the outer shell, and the second button 14 may adjust the reciprocating speed. A scrubbing pad 10 is attached to scrubbing pad mounting member 21 at the output of the reciprocator. The scrubbing pad mounting member 21 extends out of a channel 30 defined in the bottom portion 12 of the shell. The largest dimension of the scrubbing pad 10 may be larger than the largest dimension of the outer shell.
The motor 18 may be controlled by a controller 20 (which may be a conventional motor control circuit having power controlled by the toggle switch 13 and speed control in discrete increments controlled by toggle switch 14) that is in communication with the buttons 13, 14, the motor 18, and switches or sensors that detect the position of the scrubbing pad mounting member 21. The controller 20 may produce reciprocating motion using two limit switches 31a, 31b. One switch 31a, 31b may be located at each end of the reciprocating range of the threaded shaft 19, at a position where it may be contacted by the scrubbing pad mounting member 21. When the mounting member 21 hits the switch 31a or 31b, the switch 31a or 31b will send a signal to the controller 20, which indicates a change in motor direction, thus moving the scrubbing pad mounting member 21 away from the switch. Accordingly, the scrubbing pad mounting member 21 will operate in a reciprocating motion any time the motor 18 is operating. Other methods known in the art may be used to operate the motor in a reciprocating manner. For example, a stepper motor or a microcontroller may be used, which determines a change in motor direction based on a predetermined amount of rotations.
The shell provides a water-resistant or waterproof barrier to prevent the internal components from being exposed to water. Accordingly, a gasket 33 may be positioned between the upper 11 and lower 12 outer shell portions to create a watertight seal between the portions 11, 12. Additional gaskets may be used around the opening 32 for the charging port and the receiving hole 16 for the handle 200. Buttons providing a watertight seal may be used for the power button 13 and speed adjustment button 14.
A watertight mechanism may also be used to prevent water from entering through the channel 30 from which the scrubbing pad mounting member 21 extends. For example, a flexible, waterproof membrane may be sealed around the perimeter of the channel opening with an opening in the center of the membrane sealed around the scrubbing pad mounting member 21. When the scrubbing pad mounting member 21 reciprocates, the membrane will stretch to compensate for the movement and maintain the watertight seal. A loosely fitting membrane may be used so that the reciprocating motion mainly pulls the membrane taut instead of stretching it. Alternatively, flexible flaps may extend down each long side of the channel 30. The flaps may be configured so that their terminal ends are contacting in order to create a watertight seal between the flaps. The scrubbing pad mounting member 21 will extend down in-between the flaps and reciprocate back and forth at the junction between the flaps. This may be considered water-resistant. Alternatively, a center plate may be secured around the scrubbing pad mounting member 21 with a watertight seal between the mounting member 21 and the plate. Multiple stacked plates, connected to each other by tracks, can be located on either side of the mounting member 21. The plate at the top of the stack is connected to an end of the shell, and the plate at the bottom of the stack is attached to the center plate. Other mechanisms known in the art for maintaining a watertight seal around a reciprocating member may be used.
The scrubbing pad mounting member 21 shown in
The scrubbing device 100 may be used with many different types of scrubbing pads 10. Some examples of scrubbing pad types may include sponges, brushes, scouring pads, and abrasive pads. Additionally, scrubbing pads of the same type but different textures may be used. For example, brushes with different sized bristles may be used for different cleaning procedures or portions of the body.
It is to be understood that the powered scrubbing device with telescoping handle accessory is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the generic language of the following claims enabled by the embodiments described herein, or otherwise shown in the drawings or described above in terms sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the claimed subject matter.
