Lint removing stick

Abstract

A lint removing device is formed in the shape of a stick, with a central, rectangular support member and a length of pressure-sensitive adhesive material wound around the support member. The use of an essentially two-dimensional support member allows for the lint removing device to be relatively small and compact, easy to carry in a pocket or purse. The edges of the support member can be used to assist in removing used portions of the adhesive. Cuts or perforations may be formed at locations along the length of the adhesive to simplify the removal of used material. A separate protective covering layer is used to prevent debris from sticking to the adhesive between uses.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a lint removing device and, more particularly, to a hand-held lint removing stick having layers of adhesive wound about a center support plate, the support plate also used for handling the device and allowing for the device to easily be carried in a pocket, purse or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various means have been devised for removing undesirable particulate matter from garments, as for example, hair, lint, threads, etc. Brushes have not proved to be entirely successful. Substrates having a sticky surface have been utilized. One such product is a roller which one rolls over the garment. The roller has a sticky surface to which the lint adheres. Used rolls are normally discarded after a period of use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,465 issued to N. D. McKay on Jul. 2, 1991 is illustrative of this particular lint roller arrangement. Another type of prior art device, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,970 issued to M. P. Woodard on Feb. 15, 2000, is formed as a mitt which is placed over one's hand. A protective cover in the palm area of the mitt is then removed to expose a sticky surface which, like the roller, removes undesirable material with which the mitt is brought into contact.

Yet another group of prior art devices utilizes a pad of adhesive-backed leaves enclosed within an envelope-like covering, where each leaf is used once, then torn from the pad and the covering folded over until the next use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,427 issued to R. M. King on Jul. 13, 1999 and US Patent Publication 2007/0136966 authored by D. E. Aubourg and published on Jun. 21, 2007 are exemplary of this type of lint removal device.

While such “pad” arrangements are smaller and more compact than the prior art roller arrangements, the processing costs involved in manufacturing such a pad of interleaved layers (i.e., one layer of adhesive adjacent to a layer of coating material) results in a prohibitively expense arrangement.

Thus, a need remains in the prior art for a lint removing device that is more portable and compact than the prior art roller arrangements, while not incurring the expenses involved in the pad-based arrangements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The needs remaining in the prior art are addressed by the present invention which relates to a lint removing device and, more particularly, to a hand-held lint removing stick having layers of adhesive wound about a center support plate, the support plate also used for handling the device and allowing for the device to easily be carried in a pocket, purse or the like.

In accordance with the present invention, a rectangular plate is used as the support portion of the lint removing stick, the plate having dimensions allowing for the stick to be easily handled and stored in a pocket or purse. A thickness of the support plate on the order of an eighth of an inch or less has been found to be sufficient, with the plate formed of any suitable material such as plastic, pressed paper, wood, or the like.

A predetermined length of pressure-sensitive adhesive material, preferably having a width no longer than the length of the plate, is subsequently wound around the plate a number of times required to take up the entire length of the adhesive (which may any desired length). The material is wound such that the adhesive-coated side faces outward. A removable covering layer is then disposed over the wound adhesive to protect the outermost layer when not being used.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the width of the pressure-sensitive adhesive material is selected to be less than the length of the support plate, allowing at least one end portion of the plate to exposed and used as a handle for the lint removing stick. Indeed, the adhesive may be centrally disposed across the length of a support plate such that both ends of the plate are exposed, where each end may be used as a handle. In a further embodiment, one or both of the end terminations of the support plate may be rounded or otherwise finished to allow for ease in handling.

Advantageously, the lint removing device requires no moving parts, simplifying its manufacture and cost when compared to various prior art devices.

The adhesive material may be formed to include perforations at predetermined locations along the entire length so as to allow for used portions of the adhesive material to be easily removed. Alternatively, full-width cuts may be made through the adhesive material instead of relying on perforations. Partial cuts may also be used, as disclosed in the above-cited McKay patent.

It is preferred that at least one edge of the pressure-sensitive material remain adhesive-free, for ease of handling. In particular, a preferred embodiment would have each edge, along the entire length of the pressure-sensitive adhesive, remain free of the adhesive substance.

Other and further advantages and arrangements of the present invention will become apparent during the course of the following discussion and by reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings, where like numerals refer to like parts in several views:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a lint removing stick formed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cut-away side view of the stick of FIG. 1, taken along line 2-2;

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative support plate embodiment, including a rounded end termination;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary portion of adhesive material to be wound round the support plate, in this case including regularly-spaced cuts to aid in removing used sections of the adhesive;

FIG. 5 is yet another embodiment of the present invention, in this case including a protective covering disposed to surround the periphery of the adhesive; and

FIG. 6 is another view of the embodiment of FIG. 5, in this case with the protective covering removed and shown alongside the lint removing stick.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an exemplary lint removal stick 10 formed in accordance with the present invention. As shown, stick 10 includes an inner rectangular plate 12 of predetermined dimensions, with a length of pressure-sensitive adhesive material 14 wound around plate 12 to create the arrangement as shown. It is an aspect of the present invention that lint removal stick 10 is easily hand-held and can be carried in a pocket or purse. To that end, the specific dimensions of length L, width W and thickness T of plate 12 are developed in consideration of these goals. Additionally, plate 12 may be formed of any suitable material including, but not limited to, a lightweight, rigid plastic, wood, cardboard or the like.

As shown, adhesive material 14 is formed to comprise a width w which is preferably less than the length L of plate 12. This limitation is required so that at least one end termination of plate 12 remains exposed to be used as a handle for stick 10. In the arrangement of FIG. 1, an end termination 16 of plate 12 is shown as being exposed beyond a first edge 18 of adhesive material 14. It is to be understood, however, that this width is merely a preferable alternative and, indeed, the adhesive material may extend beyond the dimensions of the plate and still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Adhesive material 14 may itself comprise any of the well-known pressure-sensitive adhesive materials currently used as lint removers in various forms. The particular characteristics of the selected material are not considered to be germane to the subject matter of the present invention as long as when properly used lint and other particulate foreign material can be easily removed from a garment or any other fabric surface.

FIG. 2 is a cut-away side view of lint removal stick 10 of FIG. 1, in this view illustrating the winding of adhesive material 14 around plate 12. For the purposes of illustration, the spacing between adjacent layers of adhesive material 14 is exaggerated. In actual implementation, the relatively thin layers are compacted one against the other such that the final thickness TF of stick 10 is easily handled.

As mentioned above, plate 12 may comprise various alternative configurations to ease in the use of the produce. For example, at least one end termination of plate 12 may be rounded to use as a handle. FIG. 3 illustrates this particular arrangement, with a first end 20 of plate 12 being rounded. Pressure-sensitive adhesive material 14 is shown in phantom in this view. For this particular embodiment, the width w of material 14 is selected such that both end terminations of plate 12 are visible. A second end termination 22 (in this example, not rounded) is also shown in FIG. 3.

One advantage of using a flat plate as a central core in a lint removing device is that a longitudinal edge of the plate, such as edge 24 of plate 12 as shown in FIG. 3, can be used as a guide to tear off a used portion of the adhesive. Alternatively, the adhesive material can be manufactured to include a set of fairly evenly-spaced through-cuts (or series of perforations) to assist in removing a used section of adhesive. FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary portion of adhesive material 14, in this case include a series of spaced through-cuts 30. Through-cuts 30 are formed along adhesive material 14 during its manufacture, prior to winding material 14 around plate 12. As mentioned above, partial cuts along adhesive material 14 (or perforations) may be used in place of through-cuts 30 to assist in removing “used” sections of adhesive material.

It is also preferable that at least one edge portion of adhesive material 14 remain “adhesive free” to assist in separating the windings during use and removal of used portions. The embodiment of adhesive material 14 as shown in FIG. 4 illustrates this preferred arrangement, in this case with both top edge 32 and bottom edge 34 being adhesive-free strips. It is to be understood that the dimensions of strips 32 and 34 are design choices, and may vary from application to application, particularly as a function of the strength of the pressure-sensitive material being used.

Inasmuch as the lint removal stick of the present invention is intended to be carried with an individual, either in a pocket, purse or other suitable means, it is preferred that a removable covering layer be maintained over the outer, exposed layer of adhesive material 14 when not in use. FIG. 5 is an exemplary isometric view of lint removal stick 10 of the present invention, in this case with a protective covering layer 40 disposed to surround and adhere to the outermost portion of adhesive material 14. Protective covering layer 40 is formed from an easily removable material (such as a coated paper) that may be removed and re-applied at will. FIG. 6 is a view of this arrangement with covering layer 40 shown as removed from, and placed next to, stick 10.

While the present invention has been described above in accordance with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that various other implementations and configurations are possible and are considered to fall within the scope of the invention. Indeed, the scope of the present invention is intended to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A lint removing device comprising

a central support plate of predetermined dimensions, said support plate including a pair of longitudinal, parallel edges of length L disposed between first and second end terminations; and

pressure-sensitive adhesive material of width w, said pressure-sensitive adhesive material wound around the central support plate such that the adhesive is exposed facing outwardly and wound to cover the pair of longitudinal, parallel edges of said central support plate.

2. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the width w of the pressure-sensitive adhesive material is selected to be essentially no greater than the length L of the central support plate.

3. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the width w of said pressure-sensitive adhesive material is selected to be less than the length L of the central support plate, said pressure-sensitive material thereby positioned along the central support plate such that at least one end termination of the plate is exposed.

4. A lint removing device as defined in claim 3 wherein the pressure-sensitive material is essentially centrally positioned along the support plate such that both first and second end terminations of support plate are exposed.

5. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the central support plate is rectangular in form.

6. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one end termination of the central support plate is rounded.

7. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the central support plate comprises a plastic material.

8. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the central support plate comprises a paper material.

9. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive material includes through-cuts across the width at predetermined locations along the length thereof.

10. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive material includes partial cuts across the width at predetermined locations along the length thereof.

11. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive material includes perforations across the width at predetermined locations along the length thereof.

12. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive material comprises at least one longitudinal edge strip which remains free of adhesive.

13. A lint removing device as defined in claim 12 wherein opposing longitudinal edge strips of the pressure-sensitive adhesive material remain free of adhesive.

14. A lint removing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the device further comprises a separate, reusable cover layer disposed to surround and protect the exposed adhesive material.

15. A lint removing device as defined in claim 14 wherein the separate cover layer comprises a coated paper material.