US20020088070A1

US20020088070A1 - Cleaning roller assembly

Info

Publication number: US20020088070A1
Application number: US09/946,702
Authority: US
Inventors: Jason Cho
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-01-11
Filing date: 2001-09-05
Publication date: 2002-07-11

Abstract

A rotatable cleaning assembly comprising an elongated adjustable frame structure having a handle member on one end and a rotatable structure on the opposite end. An adhesive roll comprised of a tubular core having a wound length of flexible material with an outer adhesive surface is mounted on the rotatable structure. The length of flexible material is serially segmented portions by tear lines. Non adhesive areas are positioned covering the tear lines for segment identification and removal.

Description

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/260,993, filed on Jan. 11, 2001.[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a cleaning roller assembly for removing debris from various surfaces. Particularly, the invention relates to a cleaning roller assembly having an adhesive surface constructed and arranged to contact and roll over various surfaces to pick up debris and which permits the easy removal of the debris laden outside layer for disposal while providing a new exterior adhesive layer for further cleaning use.

Although various cleaning means have been proposed and utilized in the art regarding the cleaning of various surfaces, such as carpeted floors, ceilings and the like, these means have generally included vacuuming and sweeping devices. And although these prior art cleaning devices and methods are suitable for many cleaning situations, certain types of debris are often difficult to remove and requires additional or different cleaning means.

The cleaning assembly of the present invention provides an extendable cleaning device having a rotatable adhesive surface of a segmented separable, wound flexible material and which allows for easily controlled direct contact with the floor surface to be cleaned, for example. The adhesive surface of the assembly is adapted to contact and pickup debris by adhering to the debris as the adhesive surface is rolled over the area to be cleaned. Further provided by the invention are means to easily and quickly remove the soiled or debris-laden outer layer from the rotatable structure and to provide a new rotatable adhesive surface for further cleaning purposes. And although a need exists in the cleaning art for a cleaning roller assembly as disclosed herein, none, as far as is known, has been proposed or developed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cleaning assembly of the invention is comprised of an elongated frame structure having a first end and a second end. A handle structure is attached to the first end and a rotatable structure is attached to the second end. A length of flexible material having an adhesive outer surface is wound about the rotatable structure. A plurality of perforated lines are spaced at predetermined intervals along the length of the flexible material to permit the separation of used segments from the wound flexible material. Non-adhesive areas are located along the perforated lines and are provided to enable a user to identify, to grasp and to tear along the perforated lines of the flexible material.

An embodiment of the cleaning roller assembly of the invention is comprised of a roller assembly and an adhesive roll, such as a roll of adhesive tape or like material and which is held on the roller assembly. A handle member and an extension member, which may be adjustable are provided to control and manipulate the assembly. The roller assembly may be similar in structure to a paint roller having a rotating structure on which is mounted a cylindrical roller adapted to hold and release paint. The roll of adhesive tape mounted on the roll holder may be a roll of any desired width and constructed of an adhesive tape, such as cellophane, mylar, other plastic materials or of a paper base material. The adhesive thickness and strength or stickiness of the adhesive (strong to weak) may be varied depending upon the cleaning requirements. Importantly, the adhesive layer is placed on the outside of the wound adhesive roll and a tear line, such as a perforated line, approximately at each revolution, is provided for removing the outside segment from the roll.

At least one non-adhesive area is positioned on or adjacent the tear line to enable a user to easily identify, grasp and tear along the perforated line to remove a used adhesive segment. Preferably, a plurality of spaced non-adhesive areas extending from one edge to the opposite edge of the sheet are placed over the tear line. A tear line is preferably located approximately once per revolution of the roll. For example, segment lengths between at least as long as the circumference of the core of the roll and the circumference of a full roll. A minimum segment length is provided so that, upon removal of a used segment, the next exposed segment is not partially debris laden to thereby decrease cleaning efficiency.

These and other benefits of this invention will become clear from the following description by reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the cleaning roller assembly of the invention; [0009]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the roll of adhesive tape of the invention and showing segments extending from the roll; [0010]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the end roll support member of the roll holder; and [0011]
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the end roll support of FIG. 3. [0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The cleaning roller assembly of the present invention provides an easy to use and economical device for cleaning various surfaces, such as carpeted floors, for example. The assembly utilizes a roller structure having an adhesive surface for attaching to and removing debris. The roller structure is constructed and arranged so that the outside debris laden adhesive layer may be easily removed and discarded and to quickly provide a new adhesive surface for further cleaning purposes. [0013]
Referring to FIGS. [0014] 1-4, the cleaning roller assembly 10 is shown comprised of a roller holder structure 13 and a roll 11 of flexible adhesive material wound on a core 26. The roller assembly 10 is further shown to have a frame structure 12 which has a series of right angled bends similar to that of a paint roller structure. One end of the frame structure 12 is shown positioned in a bore 21 of the handle member 20. A roll holder structure 13 is shown positioned on the opposite end of the frame structure 12 and is held thereon by means of a locking cap 17 and a roll holder cap 16 and locking cap 18 arrangement. The frame structure 12 is preferably constructed of a bent metal structure or the like, and may have a diameter of 0.75 cm, for example.
The [0015] handle member 20 is also shown to have a threaded bore 22 which is provided to receive the threaded end 24 of an extension pole 23. The extension pole 23 may also have a handle member, for example, so that a user is able to comfortably roll the mounted tape roll 11 over a floor, a ceiling or other areas to be cleaned, without bending over or requiring awkward arm extensions. Other handle extension as well as adjustable extension means may be utilized in conjunction with or incorporated into the roll holder assembly of the present invention.
The [0016] roll holder 13 is shown constructed of a number of support members 14 which are shown to be triangular in configuration, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and which are constructed and arranged to frictionally hold the core 26 of adhesive roll 11, as shown in FIG. 2. The support members 14 may be of other configurations, however, the support members 14 are constructed and arranged so that the roll holder 13 is mounted for rotation about the end segment 19 of the frame structure 12. For example, a locking cap 17 and a roll holder cap 16 and locking cap 18 arrangement is shown in FIG. 1 so that the roll holder 13 is held in place on the end segment 19 of the frame structure 12, but is free for rotation about the frame 12 end segment.
The [0017] roll holder 13 is further shown to have longitudinal support members 15 interconnecting the support members 14 to thereby provide a support and securement structure for holding the adhesive roll 11. Thus, as the roll holder 13 rotates about the end segment 19 of the frame structure 12, the frictionally held, adhesive roll 11, rotates therewith. The roll holder 13 may be constructed of a molded plastic, metallic or like structures or combinations thereof, for example.
Referring to FIG. 2, the [0018] adhesive roll 11 is shown comprised of a cylindrical or tubular core structure 26 having a length of flexible adhesive material 27 wound thereabout. Importantly, the flexible material or adhesive material 27 is wound having its adhesive side 29 faced outwardly. Further, approximately each revolution of adhesive material has a tear line, such as perforated line 30, across the material which permits easy removal of individual flexible sheet segments 28 and to provide a new adhesive surface layer for the rotating adhesive roll. The tear lines are serially located along the length of tape 27 at segment lengths approximately the circumference of the adhesive roll 11. For example, as more segments are used, the distance between the tear lines may be smaller than the furthest most outside tape segment. Alternatively, the same segment lengths may be utilized whereby the outermost roll circumference is the specified segment length throughout the roll.
To facilitate the grasping and tearing of the serially disposed [0019] tape segments 28, each tear or perforated line 30 is shown to have a plurality of non-adhesive portions 31, which permit the tear lines to be easily identified, grasped and torn by a user. The non adhesive areas 31 preferably extend from edge to edge and with one non-adhesive area 31(a) extending from each edge. This arrangement permits easy grasp by a user. The tear line 30 may be angled across the sheet, for example, and the non adhesive area are preferably spaced from each other for quick identification. The adhesive roll 11 may be constructed of any known base tape structure, i.e., cellophane, plastic or masking tape like structures and having suitable adhesive compositions thereon. The adhesive strength or stickiness of the composition may be varied depending upon cleaning requirements. The important features, however, being the perforated lines for approximately each tape revolution, having the adhesive 29 extending outward from the tape roll 11 structure and having non-adhesive areas 31 located on or near the perforated lines 30.
The [0020] adhesive roll 11 is further shown to have a base or core structure 26, i.e., a length of cylindrical cardboard, plastic or like structure which is adapted for frictional securement onto the roll holder 13 of the roller assembly 10. An exemplary cleaning roller assembly may have the adhesive roll 11 with a core structure 26 frictionally held on a 23 cm roll holder structure 13. The flexible adhesive material may be of any width and preferably is wide enough to easily accommodate relatively large cleaning areas. For example, adhesive rolls may be provided in a number of different widths, i.e., 4, 8, 12, 16, etc. inch widths, so as to accommodate a variety of cleaning requirements. The dimensions for the various elements or components of the cleaning roller assembly of the invention may be changed to facilitate a variety of cleaning tasks. Further, the cooperating elements and components may also be changed within the scope of the invention.
In use, the [0021] adhesive roll 11 is mounted onto the roll holder 13 of the roller assembly 10. With a clean outside wrap or segment 28 with the adhesive 29 facing outward, a user grasps the handle 20 or the extension pole 23 and rolls the adhesive roll over the surface to be cleaned, i.e., a carpeted floor or the like. The assembly may be rolled back and forth in sequential adjacent movement patterns to clean large areas. For example, various floor, ceiling, wall or furniture structures may be cleaned in a similar manner. When the adhesive or sticky side of the mounted tape roll becomes dirty or filled with picked up debris, the outside layer of tape, i.e., a segment 28, is removed by tearing the segment along the perforated line 30. The non-adhesive portions 31 along the perforated line 30 permit the user to easily grasp and remove the outside adhesive layer.
The [0022] roller assembly 10 shown is exemplary and may have other configurations. For example, the frame structure 12 may be of any suitable configuration having a handle member and/or an extendible member attached thereto. The roll holder 13 may also have other configurations, i.e., at least one roll support structure which is constructed and arranged to rotate and to hold a roll of adhesive materials.
As many changes are possible to the embodiments of the assemblies of this invention utilizing the teachings thereof, the descriptions above, and the accompanying drawing should be interpreted in the illustrative and not in the limited sense. [0023]

Claims

That which is claimed is:

1. An adhesive roll cleaning assembly comprising:

a) a tubular core member having a circumference;

b) a length of flexible material wound around said tubular core member, said length of flexible material having an adhesive outer side, a bottom side and two opposing edges;

c) a plurality of serially spaced perforations extending between said opposing edges at predetermined segments along said length of flexible material, said predetermined segments having a length at least the circumference of said tubular core member;

d) at least one non-adhesive area located on said adhesive outer side of said length of flexible material, said at least one non-adhesive area extending to adjacent segments outward from both sides of each of said plurality of perforations along said length of flexible material; and

e) means to secure said tubular core member for rotation.

2. The adhesive roll cleaning assembly of claim 1, wherein said means to secure said tubular core member for rotation is a frame structure having a first end and a second end and wherein a handle member is attached to the first end and wherein a rotatable member for receiving said tubular core member is attached to said second end.

3. The adhesive roll assembly of claim 2, wherein an extension member is provided for attachment to said handle member.

4. The adhesive roll cleaning assembly of claim 1, wherein said flexible material is selected from the group of materials consisting of cellophane, mylar, plastic and paper and wherein said tubular core member is made of a material selected from the group of materials consisting of cardboard and plastic.

5. The adhesive roll cleaning assembly of claim 1, wherein said length of said predetermined segments is approximately the circumference of a full roll having said tubular core member with said length of flexible material wound there-about.

6. A rotatable cleaning assembly comprising:

a) an elongated frame structure having a first end and a second end;

b) a handle structure attached to said first end;

c) a rotatable structure attached to said second end, said rotatable structure constructed and arranged to receive a core member having a predetermined circumference; and

d) a length of flexible material having an adhesive outer surface and being wound about said core member, wherein said length of flexible material is further comprised of a plurality of serially separable segments of flexible material and wherein the length of each said serially separable segment is generally the same or greater than said predetermmined circumference of said core member.

7. The assembly of claim 6, wherein said serially separable segments are defined by tear lines extending across said length of flexible material, and wherein at least one non-adhesive portion is located along said tear lines and extending into the adjacent serially separable segments of flexible material.

8. The assembly of claim 7, wherein a plurality of non-adhesive portions are provided on said tear lines and wherein one non-adhesive portion is positioned on each edge of said separable segments.

9. The assembly of claim 6, wherein said length of flexible material is made from the group of materials consisting of cellophane, mylar, plastic and paper.

10. The assembly of claim 6, wherein said elongated frame structure is comprised of a bent frame elongated metal structure and wherein said handle structure has means to receive an extension member and wherein an extension member is attached to said means to receive said handle structure.

11. The assembly of claim 6, wherein said rotatable structure is further comprised of a plurality of spaced generally triangular support members and wherein said plurality of generally triangular support members further include longitudinal support members interconnecting said generally triangular spaced support members.

12. The assembly of claim 6, wherein at least one locking cap is provided configured to secure said rotatable structure to said elongated frame structure.

13. The assembly of claim 6, wherein said elongated frame structure is approximately 0.75 cm in diameter and wherein said core member is approximately 7.5 cm in diameter and 23 cm in length.

14. A cleaning roller assembly comprising:

a) a plurality of serially attached flexible sheets constructed and arranged to form a length of separable cleaning devices having an adhesive outer side for collecting debris, each said serially attached flexible sheet having a top and a bottom, said top and bottom defined by perforations located at predetermined locations along said length of separable cleaning devices,

b) at least one non-adhesive area located along said perforations and extending from said bottom of one said sheet into said top of an adjacent flexible sheet;

c) a roll member for holding and receiving said length of separable cleaning devices, said roll member having a specified circumference, wherein said predetermined locations of said perforations are spaced at intervals generally the same length as or greater than said specified circumference of said roll member; and

d) a frame structure having a means to receive and secure said roll member for rotation and further having an elongated handle member extending from said means to receive and secure.

15. The cleaning roller assembly of claim 14, wherein said length of cleaning separable devices is provided in a spiral roll for use.

16. The cleaning roller assembly of claim 14, wherein an extension member is attached to said bent rod member.

17. The cleaning roller assembly of claim 14, wherein said plurality of serially attached cleaning devices is made of a material selected from the group consisting of cellophane, mylar, plastic and paper.

18. The cleaning roller assembly of claim 14, wherein said roll member is made of a material selected from the group consisting of cardboard and plastic.

19. The cleaning roller assembly of claim 14, wherein said cleaning roller assembly is renewed for reuse by detaching a cleaning device along said perforations.

20. A rotating cleaning device comprising:

a) an adjustable frame member having a bottom end for holding a rotatable member, said rotatable member being constructed and arranged to receive a cylinder; and

b) a cylindrical roll for positioning on said rotatable member, said cylindrical roll comprising a length of flexible material having an adhesive outer surface, said length of flexible material having spaced perforations along said length, thereby forming segments, said segments each having a length generally the circumference of said cylindrical roll, said spaced perforated segments being defined by a perforated line extending across the width of said length of flexible material and having a plurality of non-adhesive areas extending over said perforated lines, one said non-adhesive means being positioned on the edge of each said segment and covering said perforated.