US2860361A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 18, 1958 M. M. MOODY CLEANING DEVICE Fi1ed` Jan. 6, 1955 CLEANING DEVICE Meredith M. Moody, East Orange, N. J.

Application January 6, 1955, Serial No. 480,213

6 Claims. (Cl. 15-223) This invention relates to dust mops and more particularly to a combination floor sweeper and duster utilizing as the cleaning element a disposable pad.

Cleaning or dusting devices having disposable cleaning elements are known in the art. However, such prior devices are of rather complex construction and, more importantly, the cleaning elements of the prior devices are of such character that the devices function solely as dusters and not as sweepers. A device made in accordance with my invention includes a disposable member so formed that it may be used as a combination broom and duster.

An object of this invention is the provision of a combination broom-duster consisting of -a semi-rigid pad removably attached to a handle said pad being made of three layers of brematerial, the outer two layers being soft and pliable for purposes of dustingand the inner layer being of a iiexible but firm character for purposes of providing a broomlike sweeping action.

An object of this invention is the provision of.v a combination sweeper-duster comprisinga handle having an expanded supporting head at one end and a disposable cleaning element receivable by the head, said element being made of a soft fibrous pad enclosing a flexible but rm inner member.

An object of this invention is the provision of a combination sweeper-duster comprising a handle, a flared, clamping member carried on one end of the handle, snap means operable to close the jaws of the clamping member, and a cleaning element clamped by the said jaws when the latter are in closed position, said cleaning element consisting of an outer layer of pliable fibre material carried by an inner pad of rm but flexible fibre material.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It will be understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and are not to be construed as defining the scope or limits of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a front view of a cleaning element made in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of such element;

Figure 3 is a front view of the complete sweeperduster;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is similar to Figure 4 but showing the jaws of the clamping head in the open position.

Reference is now made to Figures 1 and 2. The cleaning element comprises a silicone-impregnated pad composed of matted or felted bres, natural or synthetic. The inner member is of T form, in cross section, and the libres thereof are compressed to a degree such that this member is semi-rigid, that is, this member has an ited States Patent O 2,860,361 Patented Nov. 18, 1958 ICC inherent iirmness suicient to normally retain its original, straight form yet will flex in response to a suitable lateral pressure. Thus, when the pad is attached to a handle, the leg of the Tmember is thickened by the soft outer layers to form an element generally rectangular in section, as illustrated in Figure 2. The head of the T facilitates the proper placing of the rectangular layers 11 and 11 with respect to the inner member. After assembly the inner, flexible-firm member 10 affords a sweeping action whereas the soft outer layers 11, 11 serve for gathering dust, as will become more apparent hereinbelow.

Referring now to Figures 3-5, the clamping head 12 is provided with an internally-threaded shank 13 for attachment to a conventional handle 14. The head, preferably made of a suitable plastic material, comprises a substantially llat, triangular-shaped back 15 having an inturned end 16 and integral, transverse ribs 17, 18. The front of the clamping head is of corresponding form and includes the upper portion 19 and a front 20 that is secured to the upper portion by a hinge 21. It will be noted that the front has an inturned end 22 and the internal, transverse ribs 23, 24, said parts matching the similar parts on the back 15. The inturned ends 16 and 22 and the matching ribs 17 and 23, respectively define the upper and lower ends of a pocket which snugly receives the stilfened or enlarged edge portion or head of the T-form member 10, with the ends 16 and 22 gripping the upper end portions of the soft outer layers and holding them against the leg portion of the member 10, with their upper edges abutting the lower surface of its head.

The hinged front 20 also is provided with a pair of inwardly-directed depressions 25 having holes 26 formed therein. These holes have a diameter slightly smaller than the maximum diameter of the buttons 27 or heads t thereof that extend forwardly from the back 15. These buttons individually cooperate with the depressions 25 to form as the plastic material deforms, a snap-action fastener to hold the jaws 176 and 22 in the closed position as illustrated in Figure 4. It may here be pointed out that a slight clearance space is provided between the aligned ribs 17 and 23 thereby assuring the passage of the button heads through the associated holes 26 when the front 20 is snapped into the closed position. Also, the internal area dened by these ribs and the cooperating jaws 16 and 22 is such that when the cleaning pad is clamped in position the upper portion of the pad member 10 is under compression. This exerts a small amount of pressure to maintain the depressions 25 against the under sides of the associated button heads whereby the hinged front 20 is retained in a firm, non-rattling position.

The degree of stiffness inherent in the inner pad member 10 in such that when the device is in normal use the cleaning pad as a Whole remains straight, as illustrated in Figure 4, whereby the device may be used for sweeping, as a broom. However, as distinguished from the simple sweeping action of a broom, the soft, siliconeirnpregnated outer layers of the pad gather and retain the dust simultaneously with the sweeping action. Also, when my device is used to clean under furniture, etc., the mere passage of the side of one of the soft outer layers 11, 11', of the pad over the oor gathers up any dust in a far more effective manner than a conventional dust mop. In short, my device serves as a combination sweeper-duster. After use, the disposable pad is ejected simply by applying thumb pressure to the snap buttons and thus the pad may be dropped directly into a household trash container without messy handling.

The use of the silicone-impregnated pad reduces the health hazard and nuisance of air borne dust particles as raised in the process of sweeping with ordinary brooms. For persons with house-dust allergy the chronic hazard of inhaled dust particles is eliminated. The combined sweeping-dusting actionV of the device eliminates the repeat-work of having to go back over a swept floor with a dust mop to complete the oor cleaning operation.

Further," the disposable pad component eliminate'svthe While I have illustrated a preferred construction ofmy novel sweeper-duster devicethose skilled in this art will nd no diiculty in making certain changes and modifications. For example, any means may -be utilized to secure the jaws of the head in the closed position while yet facilitating the opening therefor for disposal of the used pad. So too, the specific construction of the cleaning pad may be made consistent with modern production procedures directed toward reducing the cost thereof to a minimum. These and other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of my invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A combination sweeper-duster comprising a supporting head consisting of spaced front and back portions of plastic material terminating in aninternally-threadedY shank, a front member pivotally securedY to the front portion, inturned ends on the back portion and front member, said ends when the head is closed being aligned to constitute clamping jaws, aligned transverse ribs extending inwardly from the said back portionfand said front member at a point spaced from the inturnedV end s and cooperating with said inturned ends to define a pocket for receiving a stifened edge portion of a clean ing pad, a pair of depressed portions formed inthe front member, each depressed portion having aV hole formed therethrough, a pair of buttons, the heads of which extend from the said back portion, and are aligned with said holes, said heads having maximum diameters slightly greater than the diameter of the holes, wherebythe plastic material will deform and allow said heads to snap through the holes and lie in said depressed portions when the front mmeber is pressed toward the said back portion, and a cleaning pad clamped by saidjaws and with a stiffened edge portion received in said pocket, when the said heads are snapped through the said holes.

2. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the stilened edge portion of said pad is on a semi-rigid inner member giving it a T-shape in cross-section, and there are outer layers of soft, pliable material on the leg of said inner member.

3. The invention recited in claim 2, wherein the pad is made of silicone-impregnated iibres.

4. A combination sweeper-duster comprising a vsupporting member including a pair of relatively movable jaw elements of plastic material, said supporting member comprising a back member terminating in an olset end that forms one jaw element, a front member hinged for pivoted movement relative to the back member and having an offset end that forms another jaw element, said front andback members having registering pockets; a brouspad with a stitened edge portion secured to the supporting member by having said stiffened edge` portion gripped in said pockets when the said jaw elements are in the closed position; and means fastening the front member in a lixed position relative to the back member comprising a depression formed in the front member and having a hole therethrough, and a button extending from the back member and insertable through said hole for reception of its head in said depression, said head having a'maximum diameter slightly larger*than'thediame'terof the hole. I

5. A three-layer disposable cleaning pad comprising a generally rectangular inner layer `of brous material of semi-rigid character, making the pad serviceable as a sweeper by using an edge thereof, the said inner layer having a T-shaped cross section, and outer layers of fibrous material of soft yieldable character suitable for dusting when a sideA of said pad is used, the said outer layers being disposed on opposite sides of the leg and substantially filling theangles -between said leg and the head forming the T of the inner layer, to produce a Vpad subshtanially rectangular in cross-section transverse to said ea 76.* T he invention as recited in claim 5, wherein the outer layers are impregnated with a silicone compound.

Referencesl Qited: in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER"- REFERENCES Properties nd .s'esof.Silicones (A. I. Barry), Reprint from Tappi, vol. 36, No. 6, June 1953.

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