Patents Examined by Shay L. Karls
  • Patent number: 7954195
    Abstract: Beater Cleaner is a kitchen gadget designed to clean beaters or other similarly shaped products. It consists of tongs that allow squeegee like devices on the ends of each tong to grip the blades of a beater or other similarly shaped object. To use the preferred embodiment of Beater Cleaner, a user uses his thumb and index finger to grab the flexible tongs at the finger grips. He can then tighten or loosen the tongs to fit over various sized and shaped beaters. The rubber squeegees are placed around the beater and the user can scrape the ingredients stuck on the beater into a mixing bowl to insure the maximum amount of ingredients is saved. The user can then use the brush on the opposite end from the squeegees to clean between the blades of the beater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Inventor: Jody Elizabeth Hentosz
  • Patent number: 7954199
    Abstract: A drain cleaner which is superior in portability and which makes it possible for a small number of people to perform drain cleaning operation on a broad floor. A drain cleaner (1) comprises a strip body (2), and a reel body (3) for winging or unwinding the strip body (2). The strip body (2) has a handle (4) at its front end (2a), the opposite edges (2b, 2b) thereof having attached thereto flexible members (20, 20) made of rubber having high adhesion to a floor or the like. Surrounding a puddle on a floor by the strip body (2) unwound from the reel body (3), one of two operators holds the handle (4) of the strip body (2) and the other holds the reel body (3). By pulling the strip body (2), the water in the puddle can be swept by the strip body (2).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Inventor: Hideki Kurata
  • Patent number: 7945981
    Abstract: An automatic pool cleaner includes a housing having a bottom, an outer surface and an interior, at least two wheels connected to the housing and supporting the housing for rolling movement on a support surface with the bottom facing the support surface, a propulsion system in the interior configured to move the pool cleaner along the support surface, a suction inlet, and a scrubbing panel connected to the housing. The scrubbing panel includes at least one flexible panel and a resilient stiffener connected to the flexible panel that is configured to bias a planar portion of the flexible panel against the support surface when the wheels support the housing on the support surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2011
    Inventor: Harold Lapping
  • Patent number: 7938492
    Abstract: Disclosed are a toothbrush and a method of producing the same. The toothbrush of the present invention includes a pressure relief unit installed in a head part of the toothbrush. The unit has a plate shape and a predetermined size sufficient to cover bristles set in the head part. In the present invention, the head part is thin, and the bristles are set in the head part without using a wire. Furthermore, the present invention is easily adapted for mass production using inexpensive equipment. Also, the pressure relief unit serves as a reinforcing unit. Therefore, the head part is prevented from breaking during use despite having a reduced thickness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Inventors: Young-Jun Kwon, Sung-Wook Kwon, Sung-Hwan Kwon
  • Patent number: 7934285
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an electric-powered, shoe care apparatus adapted for one-handed operation by a user. The shoe care apparatus is adapted to receive two removable and replaceable heads; a first head is for low-speed application of polish or cleaning material, and a second head is for high-speed polishing or buffing. In some embodiments of the invention, the two heads are driven simultaneously at these two different respective speeds. In alternate embodiments, the two heads are driven separately at these two different respective speeds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2011
    Assignee: Boxwood Industries
    Inventors: John Nottingham, John Spirk, Trevor Jackson, Patrick Brown, Doug Whitner, Timothy Callahan
  • Patent number: 7934288
    Abstract: An eraser for use in erasing markings on boards, such as chalk boards and white boards, is provided. The eraser comprises a form-fitted finger element made from a knitted or felted fabric. The finger element consists of a tubular member that defines a longitudinally extending finger passage. The tubular member has one open end and one closed end. The open end is sized such that the finger of the eraser user is insertable through the open end, so that at least a portion of the finger is received within the finger element passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2011
    Inventor: Danielle Waldman
  • Patent number: 7930796
    Abstract: A wiper blade to clean windshields, in particular of automobiles. The wiper blade (10) has an elongated belt-shaped, flexible spring support element (12), with a separate first component designed as an elastic rubber wiper strip (14) that can be pressed against the windshield (20) located at the bottom belt surface (13) of the support element and with a separate second component located at the other upper belt surface (11) of the support element (12) that is designed as a wind deflection strip (24) that extends at least along a longitudinal section of the wiper blade (10). A particularly low-disruption wiper blade results if the two components (14, 24) are connected together at their sides facing one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Michael Weiler, Joachim Zimmer, Jan Dietrich
  • Patent number: 7926144
    Abstract: The claimed carpet cleaning apparatus incorporates recesses in a rigid surface of a roller, a hand-operated cleaning device, or a rigid disk. The rigid surface compresses the fibers of the soft surface as the device and the recesses decompress the fibers. The repeated compression and decompression, preferably in combination with a cleaning compound, provide the mechanical action necessary for removal of foreign material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: R.E. Whittaker Company, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard E. Whittaker
  • Patent number: 7917987
    Abstract: The present invention discloses an air-injection type tool for scrubbing off the dirt on a body including: an air-retaining body 2 formed of an elastic material expandable in an air-injection manner, the air-retaining body 2 having a scrubbing towel 40 encompassed on the external surface thereof; a disc-like support body 4 disposed at the inside of the air-retaining body 2 and having a cylindrical coupling protrusion 6 formed at the top central portion thereof, the cylindrical coupling protrusion 6 having a piston A reciprocated therein such that the air generated by the reciprocating motion of the piston A is sent to the air-retaining body 2; and a cover body 12 adapted to be pressurized by a handle 18 screw-coupled with the coupling protrusion 6 of the support body 4 thus to come into close contact with the support body 4 such that the air-retaining body 2 is kept airtight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2011
    Assignee: U-MI Tech
    Inventor: Hyun Jong Kim
  • Patent number: 7917989
    Abstract: The invention relates to a mop (1) comprising a mop-head plate (2) for a mop cover (3). The mop-head plate (2) comprises a first connector (4), which can be connected to at least one second connector (5) of a wringer device (6) in order to wring out the mop cover (3). The invention also relates to a wringer device (6) for a mop (1) comprising a mop-head plate (2) for a mop cover (3), said plate having two folding mop-head plate parts (7, 8). Said wringer device (6) comprises a funnel-shaped wringer compartment (22). The mop cover (3) can be introduced into said compartment from above and compressed by actuating the wringer device, when the mop-head plate parts (7, 8) are in an essentially vertical position and said cover is partially detached and suspended from said parts. The opposing transversal surfaces (10, 11) of the mop-head plate parts (7, 8) form compression surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2011
    Assignee: Carl Freudenberg KG
    Inventors: Jens Deerberg, Andreas Eisenhut, Torsten Gratzki
  • Patent number: 7917985
    Abstract: Wipes capable of picking up hair and other large particles, and methods of making same, are provided. A wipe includes a layer of netting material bonded to a substrate, and subsequently stretched via ring rolls such that strands of the netting material break and extend outwardly from the substrate to form teeth. The wipe may be impregnated with one or more chemical ingredients, such as cleaning solutions, soaps, antiseptics, surfactants, tackifying agents, antimicrobial agents, detergents, bleaches, polishes, and facial cleansers. The wipe may be electrostatically charged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2011
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Kyra Dorsey, Jessica Kapik
  • Patent number: 7908697
    Abstract: A motorised pool-cleaning device (1) includes: a suction element (30); a rotary element (4) for moving the device, which define first (2) and second (3) bearing axles; a support (18) consisting of (i) a first central part (24) and (ii) first (25) and second (26) side covers which are connected to either side of the first central part, such as to form the chassis of the motorised device, and which support the rotary movement element (4); and a drive element (16, 17) for rotating the rotary movement element (4), which are disposed on the first and second side covers in a cantilevered manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: PMPS Technologies
    Inventors: Vincent Lavabre, Maxime Puech
  • Patent number: 7908698
    Abstract: A wafer on which a CMP processing is completed is rotated. A front surface cleaning brush and a rear surface cleaning brush are made contact both surfaces of the wafer while being rotated. After the front surface cleaning brush and the rear surface cleaning brush are made to contact the wafer, both end portions of the front surface cleaning brush and the rear surface cleaning brush are deformed by means of pressurizing both ends of the front surface cleaning brush and the rear surface cleaning brush by pressure portions. That is, the both end portions of the front surface cleaning brush and the rear surface cleaning brush are compressed to enlarge diameters in the both end portions. As a consequence, the entire front surface of the wafer is made to contact the front surface cleaning brush substantially evenly, even if the wafer is warped into a shape of a mound. Therefore, a cleaning efficiency of the outer peripheral portion of the wafer improves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2011
    Assignee: Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited
    Inventor: Naoki Idani
  • Patent number: 7895699
    Abstract: An edgeless mop utilizing a relatively narrow diameter, knit tubular material to form the strands of a mop head wherein the tubular material incorporates an arrangement of elongate depressed channels and raised profile segments extending along its surface in the length direction. This construction increases the overall fluid retaining or sorbency capacity of the mop even while lowering the overall mass of the mop head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: Contec, Inc.
    Inventor: Walter Monroe Hutchins
  • Patent number: 7895698
    Abstract: An applicator brush for applying a material to a surface is provided having a brush head of a width X arranged along a central axis. The brush head includes a first set of bristles having proximal base ends attached to a ferrule and distal ends defining a first edge situated in a substantially straight first plane perpendicular to the central axis. The first set of bristles have a first width Y, wherein Y<X. A second set of bristles is provided having proximal ends attached to the ferrule and distal ends defining a second edge situated in a second plane having a second width (X-Y). A length of each bristle in the first and second sets is defined as a distance between its proximal attachment point and its distal end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: FM Brush Co., Inc.
    Inventor: Jeffrey Mink
  • Patent number: 7895700
    Abstract: Disclosed is a cleaning device having a cleaning head to which a cleaning sheet is to be attached. The cleaning head has a pad whose bottom face functions as a cleaning part. The cleaning part has a recess, side contact parts on both sides of the recess and a rear contact part behind the recess. When a front portion of the cleaning head is pressed against a floor surface by a pushing force acting on the shaft, the recess prevents excessive frictional resistance. In addition, the cleaning sheet can be efficiently exploited because dirt can be collected also in the center of the cleaning part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: Uni-Charm Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshinori Tanaka
  • Patent number: 7895697
    Abstract: An adjoined flexible two-piece swivel joint type floor cleaning attachment in which either upper or lower and/or both sections are made from a unitary flexible elastomer material allowing for a unitary quick release clamp mechanism that adjoins to a cleaning head apparatuses. The combination of the quick release unitary flexible clamp mechanism adjoined to a jam/stop swivel mechanism allows for small cleaning devices, such as scrub brushes, wall washers, abrasive pad holders, etc. to be easily engaged and disengaged allowing the cleaning device to also be used as a hand held device. Furthermore, swivel type floor cleaning devices will no longer need their own swivel type connector affixed onto the cleaning head thus making the cleaning products more cost efficient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Inventor: Simon Ralph Cassar
  • Patent number: 7891049
    Abstract: An upright extraction cleaning machine for cleaning a surface comprises a base assembly having a housing having at least one side wall and a rear wall extending toward the surface. A source of heated air is enclosed within the base assembly and the heated air is dischargeable through a bottom of the base assembly to the surface. At least one side wall skirt extends from the at least one side wall toward the surface, and a rear wall skirt extends from the rear wall toward the surface. The at least one side wall skirt and the rear wall skirt define an enclosed space beneath the base assembly for retaining heated air discharged from the base assembly against the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: BISSELL Homecare, Inc.
    Inventor: Jonathan L. Miner
  • Patent number: 7891045
    Abstract: Disclosed is a robot cleaner system having superior functions of sucking dust and exhausting dust to a docking station. The robot cleaner includes a dust suction port to suck dust, a dust collecting chamber to collect dust introduced through the dust suction port, a dust exhaust port to exhaust dust collected in the dust collecting chamber to the docking station, a connection path extending from the dust suction port to the dust exhaust port in adjacent to the dust collecting chamber, and a valve device provided between the connection path and the dust collecting chamber, an opening/closing of the valve device allowing the dust collecting chamber to selectively communicate with the dust suction port or the dust exhaust port according to a pressure difference between the dust collecting chamber and the connection path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yong Tae Kim, Hoon Wee, Dong Won Kim
  • Patent number: RE42155
    Abstract: A vacuum cleaner power head (40) for vacuum cleaning and having two counter rotating agitators 52 and 54. Motor (60) rotates agitators (52) and (54) through transmission (70), and also rotates suction fan (65) to provide suction air to the rotary brush agitators. Exterior housing 48 and inner housing (49) provide air suction passageways to direct suction air through fan (65) and out of the housing to a dirt collection bag (34). Self-propelled function is provided by using user force on handle (32) to create differential contact friction between the two counter-rotating rotary brush agitators so that a net traction force is generated that propels power head (40) in the direction the user is pushing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Tacony Corporation
    Inventor: Gary Dean Ragner