Patent Application
20120117743
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a structure for automatically rotating a spiral rod and, more particularly, to a rod structure for twisting a cleaning cloth into a spiral shape.
2. Description of Related Art
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The primary object of the present invention is to provide a structure for automatically rotating a spiral rod such that a dusting cloth mounted around the spiral rod and a rotating element can be turned into a spiral shape by rotating the rotating element. Moreover, while the rotating element is being rotated, a torsion spring generates a restoring torque. Once the rotating element is no longer rotated, a pulling element pressing against the teeth inside the rotating element serves to retain the rotating element and keep the dusting cloth in the spiral shape. When the pulling element is subsequently moved away from the teeth of the rotating element, the rotating element automatically rotates in the reverse direction due to the restoring torque of the torsion spring and thereby brings the dusting cloth back to its original flat shape. As a result, the dusting cloth is loosened from the spiral rod and ready to be replaced.
The structure as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects, and advantages of the present invention will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
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The spiral rod 3 is composed essentially of a rod body 31. The rod body 31 is extended with an extension 32 at one end. The extension 32 has a distal end formed with two opposite engaging blocks 321. Also, the extension 32 is concavely provided with a groove 33 extending inwardly from the distal end.
The rotating element 4 is mounted around the extension 32 of the spiral rod 3 and has an inner wall circumferentially provided with teeth 41. In addition, two opposite hooks 42 are formed on the exterior of the rotating element 4.
The torsion spring 5 is mounted around the extension 32 of the spiral rod 3. The torsion spring 5 has one end formed as a bent end 51 and the other end formed as an engaging end 52. When the torsion spring 5 is mounted around the extension 32 of the spiral rod 3, the bent end 51 is located in the groove 33 of the extension 32.
The retaining ring 6 is mounted around the distal end of the extension 32 of the spiral rod 3. Two opposite protuberances 61 are extended from one side of the retaining ring 6.
The base 7 is coupled to one end of the rotating element 4 in such a way that the extension 32 of the spiral rod 3 is disposed in a receiving cavity 70 of the base 7. The receiving cavity 70 is provided therein with two opposite through holes 71 while a slide groove 72 is formed on one side of the base 7. In addition, the base 7 has two opposite surfaces, each provided with a plurality of diamond-shaped ornaments 74.
The pulling element 8 is disposed on one side of the base 7 and has one end configured for pressing against the teeth 41 in the rotating element 4. The other end of the pulling element 8 is provided with a resilient element 81.
A dusting cloth 9 is mounted around the spiral rod 3 and the rotating element 4 of the rotating device 2. By rotating the rotating element 4, the dusting cloth 9 is turned into a spiral shape along the spiral rod 3, wherein the spiral shape is advantageous in that it provides a multidirectional cleaning effect. Moreover, the rotating device 2 can be connected with a telescoping rod A1 via a fixing portion 73 formed at one end of the base 7. Thus, by holding the telescoping rod A1 at different positions, a user can extend the rotating device 2 to places of different distances from the user during the dusting process. Apart from that, a pressing portion A3 of the telescoping rod A1 enables angular adjustment of the rotating device 2, as explained further below.
After the spiral rod 3, the rotating element 4, and the base 7 are put together, the protuberances 61 of the retaining ring 6 are inserted in the through holes 71 of the base 7 respectively. Meanwhile, the bent end 51 of the torsion spring 5 is located in the groove 33 of the extension 32, and the engaging end 52 is inserted in the inner wall of the rotating element 4. Therefore, when the rotating element 4 is rotated, the bent end 51 of the torsion spring 5 is restricted by the groove 33 of the extension 32, and the opposite engaging end 52 is driven to rotate by the inner wall of the rotating element 4, causing the torsion spring 5 to generate a restoring torque. As the pulling element 8 on one side of the base 7 is biased by the resilient force of the resilient element 81 and hence presses against the teeth 41 in the rotating element 4, the rotating element 4 is kept from the restoring torque of the torsion spring 5 and stays at the rotated angle. Consequently, the dusting cloth 9 is held in the spiral shape. When it is desired to remove or replace the dusting cloth 9 after dusting is completed, the user only has to pull the pulling element 4 in the reverse direction to move the pulling element 8 away from the teeth 41 of the rotating element 4 and thereby subject the rotating element 4 to the restoring torque of the torsion spring 5. As a result, the rotating element 4 is immediately rotated in the reverse direction to its original angular position and brings the dusting cloth 9 back to its flat shape. Now that the dusting cloth 9 is loosened from the spiral rod 3, it is ready to be removed or replaced.
As mentioned previously, the rotating device 2 can be connected to the telescoping rod A1, or more specifically to a connecting end A2 thereof, via the fixing portion 73 at one end of the base 7 so that, by virtue of the telescoping function of the telescoping rod A1, the rotating device 2 can reach different heights or cover different distances during the dusting process. The aforesaid pressing portion A3 is provided at the connecting end A2 and provided with a plurality of engaging blocks A31. When it is desired to adjust the angle of the rotating device 2 with respect to the telescoping rod A1, the pressing portion A3 is pressed from the opposite side to disengage the engaging blocks A31 from inner teeth 731 of the fixing portion 73. As long as the inner teeth 731 are not restricted by the engaging blocks A31, the angle of the rotating device 2 can be adjusted as needed. When the adjustment is completed, the pressing portion A3 is pressed to push the engaging blocks A31 into engagement with the inner teeth 731. Once the inner teeth 731 are retained by the engaging blocks A31 again, further adjustment of the rotating device 2 is impossible, and the rotating device 2 is fixed at the adjusted angle.
