This application claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-141435, filed May 13, 2005, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water disintegrable cleaning utensil capable of wiping and cleaning both in a dry and in a wet condition and disposable in water after being used.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. S62-186833 discloses an invention related to a disposable toilet cleaning brush used for cleaning a flush toilet.
The toilet cleaning brush uses paper made of short fibers being woody pulp and of a binder such as CMC. Pluralities of slits are formed on the paper. The paper is wound up into a brush. The toilet cleaning brush is fixed to the end of a handle made of paper. After a toilet bowl has been swept with the toilet cleaning brush, the toilet cleaning brush and the handle are disposed of in a flush toilet and disintegrated in water. The above application also states that wax is applied to the surface of the brush to adjust a time during which the paper is dissolved.
According to the specification of Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. S62-186833, since it takes only 10 to 20 seconds to clean a toilet bowl, the bowl can be cleaned before the paper composing the toilet cleaning brush dissolves in water.
However, the toilet cleaning brush formed by the paper made of woody pulp fixed with water soluble CMC decreases in bonding strength between the fibers at the time when it touches water in cleaning the toilet bowl, significantly decreasing in paper strength, which makes it difficult to wipe out dirt sticking on the bowl. In the brush to which wax is applied, a wax component inhibits the paper from dissolving, so that it takes the brush a long time to dissolve inside a septic tank.
Since the brush formed by paper is extremely soft, even when a dry part to be cleaned is cleaned by the toilet cleaning brush, it is difficult to effectively remove dust and trash.
The present invention has been made to solve the above conventional problems and has for its purpose to provide a water disintegrable cleaning utensil effective at removing dirt both in a dry and in a wet condition and disintegrable for a shorter time when it is disposed of in the bowl of a flush toilet after being used.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water disintegrable cleaning utensil comprising: a cleaning part at least part of which is formed by a wet shrinkable resin being hydrophilic and shrinkable at least in one direction when absorbing water; and a holding part which holds the cleaning part.
In the water disintegrable cleaning utensil according to the present invention, a wet shrinkable resin forming the cleaning part fulfils its function in sweeping trash and dust in dry condition. When it is used for cleaning a bowl in the flush toilet, the wet shrinkable resin of the cleaning part absorbs water, shrinks, and turns into a mass-shaped soft aggregate. The aggregate is suited to rub off dirt sticking to the toilet bowl and the like.
For example, according to the present invention, the cleaning part is provided with a large number of fibers made of a wet shrinkable resin, and the fibers made of the wet shrinkable resin are formed by a tow.
It is preferable that the fiber made of the wet shrinkable resin decreases in length by 20% or more when absorbing ion exchange water with a temperature of 20° C. weighing three times more than the fiber.
In the present invention, the cleaning part is provided with film made of a wet shrinkable resin. In this case, the film made of the wet shrinkable resin can be provided with a plurality of strips separated by cuts.
According to the present invention, the holding part can be structurally provided with a water disintegrable holding material for holding the wet shrinkable resin, thereby the shape of the holding part can be kept in dry condition, which makes it possible to clean with the holding part held in the hand, or attached to the holder.
Therefore, the present invention is such that a holder is provided for detachably holding the holding part. The use of the holder makes it possible to firmly hold the cleaning utensil in cleaning both in a dry and a wet condition and to dispose of the utensil in a flush toilet without touching it after use.
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein;
Hereinafter, description will be made of embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings.
A wet shrinkable resin in the present invention refers to a wet shrinkable fiber or film used in the shape of a fiber or film. In other words, the “wet shrinkable resin” refers to such that a fiber absorbs water to swell, thereby shrinking and decreasing in length by 20% or more, or film absorbs water to swell and to thicken, thereby decreasing in area by 20% or more.
The holder 10 shown in
A torsion spring (not shown) is attached to the shaft 15 to energize the lever 14 clockwise in the figure using the shaft 15 as a fulcrum, thereby energizing the pressing part 13 in the direction in which the pressing part 13 approaches the supporting part 12. The upper portion of the handle part 11 is provided with a handle to which an operation lever is attached. The operation wire 16 is a thick wire, and the upper end thereof is connected to the operation lever. When the operation lever is pulled upward, the lever 14 is rotated counterclockwise to cause the pressing part 13 to leave the supporting part 12. At this point, the holding part 2 of the cleaning utensil 1 is inserted between the supporting part 12 and the pressing part 13 and then the operation lever is released, thus the holding part 2 of the cleaning utensil 1 is held between the supporting part 12 and the pressing part 13 by the energizing force of the torsion spring.
With the cleaning utensil 1 held in the holder 10, a dry part such as a floor around a toilet bowl and a wet part inside the toilet bowl can be cleaned with the cleaning part 3 of the cleaning utensil 1. It is possible to wipe the toilet bowl by the cleaning part 3 wetted with water reserved in the toilet bowl. After cleaning work has ended, the operation lever is pulled upward to release the pressing force by the pressing part 13, thereby disposing of the cleaning utensil 1 without touching the cleaning utensil 1.
The cleaning part 3 of the cleaning utensil 1 is formed by fibers 4 made of wet shrinkable resin that shrinks when absorbing water. The fibers 4 made of wet shrinkable resin are formed by water soluble resin such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) resin or the like, or water swelling resin which absorbs water to swell. The fiber absorbs water to swell and, as a result, it shrinks and decreases in length. The fiber 4 used in the cleaning utensil 1 according to the present embodiment is PVA resin fiber of the product number “VPB101” by KURARAY CO., LTD., and its denier is 1.7 dtex. The fiber 4 is not subjected to a crimping treatment and is not shrunk. The fiber 4 preferably ranges in denier from 0.6 to 7.8 dtex.
The fiber 4 to be used will absorb water weighing three times or more than the original weight of the fiber. The fiber 4 decreases in length by 20% or more when absorbing ion exchange water with a temperature of 20° C. weighing three times more than the original weight of the fiber.
As shown in
The fiber bundle 4B is an aggregate of fibers made of uncrimped PVA resin. Since the fibers 4 are brought into close contact with each other and kept contacted mechanically (physically), the fiber bundle 4B is high in stiffness and elasticity.
As shown in
As shown in
The fiber bundle 4B and the holding material 5 may be subjected to pressure in the holding part 2 or subjected to embossing finish for heating and pressing to be bonded by providing a mechanical compressive force for the holding part 2 and the fiber bundle 4B. It is allowable to use both bonding by the above water-soluble adhesive and the embossing finish.
The fiber bundle 4B provided at the cleaning part 3 of the cleaning utensil 1 forms a brush in which the fibers are brought into close contact with each other and aggregated, as is the case with the tow 4A. The brush part is high in stiffness and elasticity. When a dry part such as a floor around a toilet bowl in a flush toilet is swept by the brush of fiber bundle 4B, dust such as hairs and cotton dust and trash on the floor are intertwined between the fibers 4 and removed.
When the inner surface of the toilet bowl is cleaned by the cleaning part 3 of the cleaning utensil 1, impregnating the cleaning part 3 with water causes the fibers 4 to absorb water and shrink so that the fibers 4 decrease in length. A part of the fibers dissolves, and the fibers are bonded together, thereby PVA resin fibers turn into a mass with high density. The mass has absorbed a large quantity of water and exhibits a cushion property like a sponge.
When the surface of the toilet bowl is rubbed with the mass made of PVA resin fiber that has absorbed water, the mass having high density and exhibiting cushion property is brought into close contact with the inner surface of the toilet bowl and the cushion property can extend its contact area. Rubbing the bowl surface with this mass can remove dirt sticking on the surface. Pressing the mass of the PVA resin fibers on the bowl surface causes water contained in the mass to exude between the mass and the bowl surface, and the water effectively removes dirt caked on the bowl surface.
After cleaning, the cleaning utensil 1 is disposed of in the toilet bowl and flushed with wash water, then a large amount of water separates the holding material 5 from the fiber bundle 4B (an aggregate of PVA resin) and the fiber bundle 4B disperses in the water, flows into a septic tank without clogging pipes, and dissolves on the way to the septic tank or in the tank. Moreover the fibers in the holding material 5 are decomposed.
As described above, the cleaning utensil 1 is effective as a brush when cleaning a dry part such as the floor. After cleaning the dry part has been finished, it can also effectively remove dirt on the toilet bowl by wetting it. The toilet bowl and the periphery thereof can be cleaned with a single cleaning utensil 1, moreover the utensil can be disposed of in the flush toilet after cleaning.
Any material may be used as wet shrinkable resin composing the fibers 4 used in the cleaning part 3 provided that it is water soluble resin or water swelling resin which is hydrophilic, shrinks when absorbing water, and is brought into close contact with each other to turn into a mass. It is preferable to use biodegradable resin. For example, modified polyvinyl alcohol resin with a molecular structure effective in thermal plasticity can be used. Starch fiber and align fibers may be used. It is preferable that the fibers 4 to be used in the cleaning part 3 can absorb water weighing three times or more than the original weight of the fiber, as mentioned above, the fiber decreases in length by 20% or more when absorbing ion exchange water with a temperature of 20° C. weighing three times more than the original weight of the fiber.
As stated above, the use of resin which can absorb water weighing three times or more than the original weight of the fiber and decreases in length by 20% or more when absorbing ion exchange water with a temperature of 20° C. weighing three times more than the original weight of the fiber causes fibers to aggregate into mass in a wet state and exhibits cushion property, thereby the bowl surface can be easily wiped up.
A water disintegrable cleaning utensil 21 in the second embodiment shown in
The cleaning utensil 21 is used in a state shown in
In the cleaning utensil 31 shown in
A plurality of the tows 4A shown in
The water disintegrable sheet 44 is referred to as sheet pulp formed by stacked pulp fibers pressed in the shape of a sheet. The sheet pulp is kept in the shape of a sheet by the hydrogen bonding force of the pulp fiber. The sheet pulp may be such that pulp fibers are bonded together by water-soluble adhesive such as PVA. The sheet pulp has a basis weight of 500 g/m2 to 1000 g/m2, being higher enough in fiber basis weight than a water disintegrable paper (with a basis weight of about 10 g/m2 to 30 g/m2) used as the holding material 5. The water disintegrable sheet 44 formed by sheet pulp is high in basis weight, density, and stiffness.
The cleaning utensil 41 is so formed that the water disintegrable sheet 44 is sandwiched between the folded-back fiber bundles 4D formed by a widely spread tow. A loop part 24 of the fiber bundle 4D is positioned outside the lower side 44a of the water disintegrable sheet 44. The ends of the fiber bundle 4D are aligned with the upper side 44b of the water disintegrable sheet 44. The water disintegrable sheet 44 is bonded to the fiber bundle 4D by water-soluble adhesive. The fiber bundle 4D is covered with the holding material 5 and bonded thereto by water-soluble adhesive. It is allowable that the sheet 44, fiber bundle 4D, and the holding material 5 are stacked high and subjected to pressure in embossing, or heated and pressed to keep the shape of the holding part 42, by using together with the above bonding, or instead of the above bonding.
The cleaning utensil 41 is so structured that the fiber bundle 4D formed by the fiber 4 made of PVA resin is supported by the sheet 44, providing the cleaning part 43 with stiffness while cleaning both in dry and in wet conditions, which enables the cleaning part 43 to be rubbed hard against a part to be cleaned such as a floor, a toilet bowl, and such. When the cleaning utensil 41 is disposed of in a flush toilet after cleaning, the cleaning utensil 41 is released from the constraint of the holding material 5 and separated into the fiber bundle 4D, the sheet 44, and the holding material 5, and each is disintegrated in water.
It is possible that the cleaning utensil 1 shown in
The film 54 is tightly wound in a cylindrical shape. The holding material 5 is wound around the periphery of a holding part 52. The holding material 5 is bonded to the film 54 by water soluble adhesive. At the cleaning part 53, the film wound in the cylindrical shape is not bonded with each other, so that it can freely move.
The cleaning utensil 51 is held by the holding part 52 attached to the holder. The holder for holding the cleaning utensil 51 uses a supporting and a pressing part with cylindrical opposing surfaces instead of the supporting part 12 and the pressing part 13 shown in
The cleaning part 63 may be formed in such a manner that cuts are formed in a ribbon-like film 54 with a prescribed pitch to form a large number of strips and then the film 54 is wound in a cylindrical shape.
The cleaning utensil 61 shown in
In the cleaning utensil 71 shown in
The water disintegrable cleaning utensil according to the present invention can achieve an excellent cleaning effect both in a dry and in a wet condition and is disintegrable in water when being disposed of after used.
Although the invention has been described above by reference to certain embodiments of the invention, it will occur to these skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, in light of the teachings. The scope of the invention is defined with reference to the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2005-141435 | May 2005 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5470653 | Honeycutt et al. | Nov 1995 | A |
7127768 | Blum et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
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1166707 | Jan 2002 | EP |
62-186833 | Aug 1987 | JP |
9-503426 | Apr 1997 | JP |
2001-064858 | Mar 2001 | JP |
3105217 | Aug 2004 | JP |
2004-298650 | Oct 2004 | JP |
WO-9604136 | Feb 1996 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20060254012 A1 | Nov 2006 | US |