HAND HELD DEVICES FOR CLEARING OFF OR CLEANING THE SURFACE OF A WINDSHIELD, WINDOW OR THE LIKE
A hand held device for clearing off or cleaning the surface of a windshield, window or the like. The hand held device includes a blade, a forearm brace, and a handle which is disposed between the blade and the forearm brace. The blade preferably includes a front edge, and preferably the handle is parallel to the front edge. The forearm brace includes a forearm-engaging portion which is configured to contactably engage a forearm of a user during use. The forearm brace may comprise walls which extend generally from the handle to the forearm-engaging portion, as well as an opening which is disposed generally between the handle and the forearm-engaging portion. Preferably, the palm of a user's hand is the fulcrum point during use of the hand held device. The device may also be reversible to gain maximum mechanical advantage of for example, a two-bladed scraper or squeegee.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 61/183,925, filed Jun. 3, 2009, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDThe present invention generally relates to hand held devices for clearing off or cleaning the surface of a windshield, window or the like, such as ice scrapers and squeegees, and more specifically relates to a hand held device which is ergonomic, designed to provide for improved leverage during use, and easy to use.
Generally speaking, ice scrapers are conventional and typically include a handle at one end and a scraper blade at the other. In use, a user holds the handle of the ice scraper and drives the scraper blade across a surface from which the user wants to remove ice, such as from the windshield of a vehicle. Conventional ice scrapers are generally relatively difficult to use due to the fact that their design provides for a lack of leverage as well as an awkward positioning of the user's hand during operation. As a result, a user is forced to expend much effort and downward force, and is required to work a long time, in order to scrape ice away. Similar is the action to use a conventional squeegee to remove grime and/or bugs from a windshield, window or the like.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARYAn object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a hand held device which is ergonomic.
Another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a hand held device which provides for increased leverage during use.
Yet another object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a hand held device which is easy to use.
Briefly, a specific embodiment of the present invention provides a hand held device which comprises a blade, a forearm brace, and a handle disposed between the blade and the forearm brace. The hand held device may include additional features such as one or more brushes, or one or more foam or sponge wipers, and may take the form of varying shapes, sizes and constructions depending on the application.
The organization and manner of the structure and operation of the invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The invention disclosed herein is susceptible to embodiment in many different forms. However, specific embodiments are shown in the drawings and described in detail hereinbelow. The present disclosure is to be considered an example of the principles of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments which are illustrated and described herein.
Embodiments of the present invention preferably provide a hand held device for clearing off or cleaning the surface of a windshield, window or the like, where the hand held device is ergonomic, designed to provide for improved leverage during use, and easy to use. The invention may take many forms, some of which are shown in the Figures. For example, while
The forearm brace 16 includes a forearm-engaging portion 26 and may or may not include an opening 28 as well as walls 30 which extend generally from the handle 20 to the forearm-engaging portion 26. As shown in
Preferably, the entire ice scraper is formed of plastic and is injection-molded. The ice scraper may be made of, for example, nylon, polycarbonate and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) blend, and/or a bio-friendly (i.e., green) plastic. The forearm brace 16 and handle 20 may be injection molded from a lower flex higher impact plastic, forming the foundation of the design. Softer plastic, rubber or a thermoplastic elastomer can be assembled or over-molded onto the handle 20 and/or forearm brace 16 to provide for enhanced feel and ergonomic appeal. Similarly, the scraper blade 12 can be manufactured from a hard plastic (i.e., polycarbonate, nylon or a similar hard ductile plastic blend) or metal, per size and ice-scraping ability. The entire ice scraper 10 (i.e., the scarper blade 12, handle 20 and forearm brace 16) may be formed as a single piece, preferably an injection-molded plastic. Alternatively, the ice scraper 10 may comprise an assembly of a plurality of pieces, such as a plurality of plastic pieces having an over-molded construction. Still further, the forearm-engaging portion 16 of the ice scraper 10 may comprise a rubber strap which is molded into, or otherwise secured to, walls 30 of the forearm brace 16.
Regardless of the specific construction and size selected, the ice scraper provides for a significant increase in leverage and scraping power, as well as enhanced mechanical advantage, during use. As such, the ice scraper is easy to use and can be used to quickly and easily scrape away ice.
Alternative embodiments are entirely possible while still remaining fully within the scope of the present invention. For example, as shown in
While specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A hand held device for clearing off or cleaning a surface such as a windshield, window or the like, said hand held device comprising: a blade configured to engage the surface; a forearm brace; and a handle disposed between the blade and the forearm brace.
2. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the blade comprises a front edge, and the handle is parallel to the front edge of the blade.
3. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the forearm brace comprises a forearm-engaging portion which is configured to contactably engage a forearm of a user during use.
4. A hand held device as recited in claim 3, wherein the forearm brace comprises walls which extend generally from the handle to the forearm-engaging portion.
5. A hand held device as recited in claim 4, wherein the forearm brace comprises an opening which is disposed generally between the handle and the forearm-engaging portion.
6. A hand held device as recited in claim 3, wherein the handle and the forearm-engaging portion are configured to provide that a palm of a user's hand is the fulcrum point during use of the hand held device.
7. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hand held device is formed of plastic.
8. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hand held device is injection-molded.
9. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hand held device is formed of at least one of nylon, an Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) blend and metal.
10. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hand held device further comprises at least one brush.
11. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hand held device further comprises at least one brush on the forearm brace.
12. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hand held device comprises an ice scraper.
13. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hand held device comprises a squeegee.
14. A hand held device as recited in claim 13, wherein the blade comprises a front edge, further comprising an elastomeric member provided at the front edge of the blade.
15. A hand held device as recited in claim 13, further comprising at least one wiper on the squeegee.
16. A hand held device as recited in claim 15, wherein the at least one wiper is comprised of at least one of foam and sponge.
17. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hand held device is reversible.
18. A hand held device as recited in claim 1, wherein the forearm brace is symmetric.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 3, 2010
Publication Date: Dec 9, 2010
Inventor: Christian White (Rockford, IL)
Application Number: 12/792,948