CLEANING TOOL
The disclosure provides an effective technique for enhancing a cleaning effect in a cleaning tool having a cleaning element for cleaning an object to be cleaned. According to a representative cleaning tool, a cleaning element includes a plurality of elongate split cleaning parts having respective insert regions for receiving the holding elements. In an inserted state of the holding elements into the insert regions, the fiber assemblies of the adjacent ones of the split cleaning parts overlap each other in the space in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cleaning tool, and more particularly to a technique for providing a cleaning tool having a cleaning element for cleaning an object to be cleaned.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of cleaning tools having a sheet-type cleaning element for cleaning an object are known. For example, Japanese non-examined laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-29136 discloses a cleaning tool having a cleaning element which comprises a fabric layer and a scraping sheet. However, in designing a cleaning tool of this type having a cleaning element, it is required to provide an effective technique for enhancing its cleaning effect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an effective technique for enhancing a cleaning effect in a cleaning tool having a cleaning element for cleaning an object to be cleaned.
The above-described problem can be solved by the features of the claimed invention. This invention can be applied to the construction of cleaning tools for cleaning regions to be cleaned (floors, walls, ceilings, external walls, posts, furniture, clothes, curtains, blinds, bedding, lighting, electrical cords, home electric appliances, etc.) inside and outside of houses, apartments, buildings, factories, vehicles, etc. or regions of human body parts to be cleaned. These regions to be cleaned may be either flat or curved, uneven or stepped.
A cleaning tool according to this invention is used for cleaning an object to be cleaned and includes at least a cleaning element holder and a cleaning element. The cleaning element holder is an elongate member. The cleaning element holder includes a grip to be held by a user and a plurality of holding elements extending from the grip in parallel in a longitudinal direction. In order to extend in “parallel” here, the holding elements are required to be disposed at least side by side. Such a manner of extending in parallel here includes the manner in which a plurality of the holding elements are disposed in parallel, and the manner in which the distance between two adjacent holding elements is decreased toward the front end. The cleaning element is designed as a member to be attached to the elongate cleaning element holder. Particularly, the cleaning element includes a plurality of elongate split cleaning parts which have respective insert regions for receiving the holding elements, and the cleaning element has a space into which the object to be cleaned can be inserted between adjacent ones of the split cleaning parts. The object inserted into this space is cleaned while being held between the split cleaning parts. Further, the manner of being “split” here widely includes the manner in which a predetermined split cleaning part is disposed in its entirety or in part across the space from the other split cleaning part, and the manner in which a predetermined split cleaning part is integrally connected to the other split cleaning part. Further, each of the split cleaning parts includes a fiber assembly formed by a plurality of fibers extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the split cleaning part, and a nonwoven fabric sheet made of nonwoven fabric, and the fiber assembly and the nonwoven fabric sheet are overlaid one on the other and bonded together. In an inserted state of the holding elements into the insert regions, the fiber assemblies of the adjacent ones of the split cleaning parts overlap each other in the space in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the split cleaning parts. Further, the overlapped state of the fiber assemblies between the split cleaning parts in the space is required to be realized at least in the inserted state of the holding elements into the insert regions. In the state in which the holding elements are not yet inserted into the insert regions, the fiber assemblies of the split cleaning parts may overlap each other, or they may be spaced apart from each other without overlapping. Further, the number and combination of the fiber assemblies and nonwoven fabric sheets which are overlaid one on the other and bonded together can be selected as necessary.
With such construction of the cleaning tool according to this invention, a shape-retaining function is provided by overlapping of the fiber assemblies between the adjacent split cleaning parts. As a result, the entire cleaning element can be prevented from drooping, and unnecessary clearance can be prevented from being formed in the space. Further, the contact area between the object to be cleaned and the split cleaning parts can be increased by wrapping the object to be cleaned between the split cleaning parts. Thus, the cleaning effect of the object to be cleaned which is inserted into the space can be enhanced. Further, deterioration of the appearance of the cleaning tool which may be caused by unnecessary clearance formed in the space can be prevented. As a result, users can be convinced that the cleaning element has a high cleaning effect and the user's cleaning motivation can be effectively enhanced.
Further, the cleaning element according to this invention may be of disposable type designed for single use, disposable type designed for multiple use which can be used several times, while holding dust or dirt which has been removed from the object to be cleaned, on a brush portion, or reusable type which can be reused by washing.
In a further embodiment of the cleaning tool according to this invention, preferably, the above-described cleaning element is designed such that, in the state in which the cleaning element is not yet attached to the cleaning element holder, a center distance between the adjacent insert regions is longer than a center distance between the adjacent holding elements of the cleaning element holder. Further, when the holding elements are inserted into the insert regions, the fiber assemblies of the adjacent split cleaning parts move toward each other and thus overlap each other in the space in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction. With such construction, the space can be formed such that, when the holding elements are inserted into the insert regions, the object to be cleaned can be inserted into the space while the fiber assemblies of the split cleaning parts overlap each other in the space in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the split cleaning parts.
In a further embodiment of the cleaning tool according to this invention, preferably, the nonwoven fabric sheet comprises a plurality of split pieces extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the split cleaning parts. The split pieces are typically formed by splitting the nonwoven fabric sheet into strips. With such construction, in the cleaning element, the split cleaning parts each include the fiber assembly and the split pieces which extend in the same direction and overlap each other in the space, so that the cleaning element can be provided with a wiping function by the fiber assembly and a scraping function by the split pieces.
In a further embodiment of the cleaning tool according to this invention, preferably, the holding elements are formed by an elastic material which allows the adjacent holding elements to be elastically deformed away from each other. Typically, a plastic material having elasticity can be used as the elastic material. With such construction, the elastic biasing force of the holding elements is applied to the object to be cleaned which is inserted into the space, from the opposite sides, so that the fiber assembly of the split cleaning parts can be pressed against the object to be cleaned. As a result, the cleaning effect can be further improved. Moreover, when the object to be cleaned is removed from the space, the holding elements return to the original state according to the elastic biasing force, and thus the shape-retaining ability of the cleaning element is secured.
As described above, according to this invention, in a cleaning tool having a cleaning element for cleaning an object to be cleaned, the cleaning effect of the cleaning element can be enhanced.
A structure of a cleaning tool 100 according to this embodiment is now described with reference to the drawings. The cleaning tool 100 is configured as the cleaning tool for cleaning an object to be cleaned. Objects to be cleaned typically include regions to be cleaned (floors, walls, windows, ceilings, external walls, posts, furniture, clothes, curtains, blinds, bedding, lighting, electrical cords, home electric appliances, etc.) inside and outside of houses, apartments, buildings, factories, vehicles, etc. and regions of human body parts to be cleaned. These various types of objects to be cleaned include a planar structure or three-dimensional structure. In this case, regions to be cleaned may be either flat, curved, uneven or stepped.
The cleaning element 110 has a function of wiping, sweeping or scraping dirt on the region to be cleaned. The cleaning element 110 is in a sheet-like or plate-like form at the time of purchase or in the initial unused state, and in use, it is loosened such that its volume is increased. As shown in
The cleaning element holder 130 is removably attached to the cleaning element 110. The cleaning element holder 130 is an elongate member including the holder body 140 and the handle 150 connected to each other. The cleaning element holder 130 is a feature that corresponds to the “cleaning element holder” according to this invention. The handle 150 includes a handle body 151 extending in an elongate form and a connection 151a disposed between the handle body 151 and the holder body 140. The handle body 151 is a part to be held by a user. The handle body 151 and the holder body 140 are fixedly connected at the connection 151a. An appropriate structure of the cleaning element holder 130 to be used here includes a structure in which the holder body 140 and the handle 150 (the handle body 151 and the connection 151a) are integrally formed, a structure in which two of the holder body 140, the handle 150 and the connection 151a are integrally formed, and a structure in which the holder body 140 and the handle 150 are separately formed and designed to be fixedly connected together. The handle 150 and the handle body 151 here form the “grip” according to this invention.
The holder body 140 has a function of detachably holding the cleaning element 110. The holder body 140 includes a pair of right and left holding plates 142 and a retaining plate 143 which are found on a base 141 of the handle 150. The holding plates 142 extend forward in the longitudinal direction from the base 141 and parallel with a predetermined spacing therebetween on the same plane. In other words, the holder body 140 has a bifurcated form. Each of the holding plates 142 typically has a constant width in the longitudinal direction or is tapered. The holding plates 142 here form the “holding elements” according to this invention. As for the sectional shape of the holding plates 142, rectangular, square, circular or polygonal shape can be appropriately used. The retaining plate 143 extends forward between the pair holding plates 142 and is convexly curved downward. The retaining plate 143 further has an engagement lug (not shown) on the underside. Further, in this specification, the extending direction of the pair holding plates 142 is defined as the longitudinal direction of the cleaning tool 100 and the cleaning element 110, and the direction of parallel placement of the pair holding plates 142 is defined as the lateral direction of the cleaning tool 100 and the cleaning element 110.
Each of the holding plates 142 can be inserted into an associated insert region (an insert region 115 which is described below) formed in the cleaning element 110 and have a function of holding the cleaning element 110 in the inserted state. In the inserted state, each of the holding plates 142 is fitted in the insert region by close sliding contact, so that the cleaning element 110 is securely attached to the holding plate 142. Further, in the inserted state, the retaining plate 143 presses the cleaning element 110 from above, and the engagement lug (not shown) formed on the underside of the retaining plate 143 serves as a stopper for preventing the cleaning element 110 from coming off. Thus, in the inserted state in which the holding plates 142 are inserted into the insert region of the cleaning element 110, the cleaning element 110 is reliably retained by the holder body 140.
The structure of the cleaning element 110 is specifically shown in
As shown in
Particularly, as shown in
In this embodiment, a center distance (distance L1 in
Each of the holding sheets 114 and the front sheets 118 preferably has a plurality of zigzag strips (strip portions) 114a and 118a at the both end sides in its lateral direction. In this case, the holding sheets 114 and the front sheets 118 are also referred to as strip sheets. The strips 114a, 118a herein are features that correspond to the “split pieces” according to this invention. The strips 114a, 118a having such construction are provided with a highly effective cleaning function which can easily trap dust or scrape dust out of the depression. Further, the strips 114a, 118a may have the same kind or different kinds of shape appropriately selected from various shapes, such as zigzag, linear and curved shapes. In this embodiment, each of the strips 114a, 118a extends in the longitudinal direction of the split cleaning parts 123 (in a direction transverse to the extending direction of the holding plate 142).
The construction of the nonwoven fabric forming the above-described base sheet 113, holding sheet 114 and front sheet 118 and the construction of the fiber assembly 117 are now explained in detail.
(Construction of Nonwoven Fabric)The base sheet 113, the holding sheet 114 and the front sheet 118 can typically be formed of sheet-like nonwoven fabric comprising thermal melting fibers (thermoplastic fibers) and thus referred to as the “nonwoven fabric sheet”. The base sheet 113, the holding sheet 114 and the front sheet 118 herein form the “nonwoven fabric sheet” according to this invention. The nonwoven fabric has a sheet-like configuration formed by fixing or intertwining fibers by mechanical, chemical or heat treatment. The nonwoven fabric partly includes thermoplastic fibers and thus can be fusion bonded. Further, the nonwoven fabric has a plurality of strips. Examples of the thermal melting fibers (thermoplastic fibers) include polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate. The nonwoven fabric preferably comprises thermoplastic fibers having practical strength of 10 to 100 g/m2. The nonwoven fabric may be manufactured by through-air bonding, spunbonding, thermal bonding, spun lacing, point bonding, melt blowing, stitch bonding, chemical bonding, needle punching or other similar processes. This nonwoven fabric is a feature that corresponds to the “nonwoven fabric” according to this invention. In order to enhance the dust wiping function, it is preferred to use a nonwoven fabric having higher rigidity. Further, as an alternative to or in addition to the nonwoven fabric, strips made of urethane, sponge, woven fabric, net, split cloth or other similar materials may be used.
(Construction of Fiber Assembly)The fiber assembly 117 is a single fiber structure formed by fibers, a fiber structure having fibers aligned in the length direction and/or the radial direction (twist yarn, spun yarn, yarn to which a plurality of filaments are partially connected), or an assembly of the fiber structures. The fiber assembly 117 partially includes thermoplastic fibers and can be fusion bonded. The fibers forming the fiber assembly 117 are elements of yarn, textile or the like and defined as being thin and flexible fibers having a substantially longer length compared with the thickness. Typically, a long continuous fiber is defined as a filament and a short fiber as a staple. Like the strips 114a and 118a of the holding sheet 114 and the front sheet 118, the fibers of the fiber assembly 117 extend in elongate shape in a direction transverse to the extending direction of the holding plate 142. The fiber assembly 117 is also referred to as the “fiber bundle” having a plurality of fibers in a bundle. The fiber assembly 117 herein is a feature that corresponds to the “fiber assembly” according to this invention.
In the representative example shown in
Further, in order to enhance the dust wiping function, it is preferred to use a fiber assembly including fibers having higher rigidity or fibers having higher fineness. It is further preferred that the fiber assembly has crimped fibers. In this case, it is preferred to use crimped fibers having 5 to 30 crimps per inch. Here, the crimped fibers are fibers subjected to a predetermined crimping process and easily intertwined with each other. With the fibers being crimped, the fiber assembly becomes bulkier than before the holder is attached thereto, and dust can be easily captured by the crimped portions. This structure can be realized especially by using crimped fibers opened from a tow. Further, in order to reliably adsorb dirt, dust or the like, it is preferred to use fibers containing dust adsorbent oil.
For the fiber assembly, flat yarns or split yarns may also be used. The flat yarns are prepared by slitting a film into tapes and by stretching the tapes in the longitudinal direction. The split yarns are prepared by splitting a thermoplastic film resin in the direction perpendicular to the orientation direction of the resin so that the film is fibrillated and interconnected into a net shape. Alternatively, a nonwoven fabric which is bulky and has low fiber density, such as a through-air bonded nonwoven fabric, may be used to form the fiber assembly.
The kinds and numbers of the component parts of the cleaning element 110 are not limited to those described in the above-described example, and can be selected as necessary.
Referring to
With such construction, a shape-retaining function is provided at least by overlapping of the fiber assemblies 117 between the adjacent split cleaning parts 123. As a result, the entire cleaning element 110 can be prevented from drooping, and unnecessary clearance can be prevented from being formed in the space 124. Further, the contact area between the object to be cleaned and the split cleaning parts 123 can be increased by wrapping the object to be cleaned between the split cleaning parts 123. Thus, the cleaning effect of the object to be cleaned which is inserted into the space 124 can be enhanced. Further, deterioration of the appearance of the cleaning tool 100 which may be caused by unnecessary clearance formed in the space 124 can be prevented. As a result, users can be convinced that the cleaning element 110 has a high cleaning effect and the user's cleaning motivation can be effectively enhanced.
Further, the split cleaning parts 123 of the cleaning element 110 are rectangular in section at the time of purchase or in the initial unused state. In use for actual cleaning operation, preferably, each of the split cleaning parts 123 is loosened or fluffed by the user such that its volume is increased. This loosening operation may be performed before attachment of the cleaning element holder by a first procedure, or it may be performed after attachment of the cleaning element holder by a second procedure.
In the first procedure shown in
In the second procedure shown in
Referring to
As shown in
Now, as shown in
More specifically, as shown in
In an operation of wiping a wide plane surface of the object to be cleaned W, when the user's wrist is unstable or when the object to be cleaned W is up high, it is assumed that the cleaning element 110 is operated in an inclined position with respect to the surface of the object to be cleaned W. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in
The invention is not limited to the embodiment as described above, but rather, may be added to, changed, replaced with alternatives or otherwise modified. For example, the following provisions can be made in application of this embodiment.
In the above-described embodiment, the cleaning element 110 is described as having the pair of right and left split cleaning parts 123. However, in the invention, the number of parts corresponding to the split cleaning parts 123 can be appropriately set in the range of two or more. Referring to
In the above-described embodiment, each of the split cleaning parts 123 of the cleaning element 110 is designed to have a generally circular or elliptical section. However, in the invention, it is necessary for this section to form the generally circular or elliptical shape in its entirety or in part. For example, the section of the split cleaning part may also have a shape of one or more fans which forms part of a circular form. This construction is shown in a cleaning element 410 of a further embodiment shown in
In the above-described embodiment, the cleaning element 110 is formed by a sheet-like nonwoven fabric and a fiber assembly. However, in the invention, the cleaning element 110 may be formed by either one of the sheet-like nonwoven fabric and the fiber assembly.
DESCRIPTION OF NUMERALS
- 100 cleaning tool
- 110 cleaning element
- 112 holding sheet part
- 113 base sheet
- 114 holding sheet
- 114a strip
- 115 insert region
- 115a opening
- 116 cleaning element sheet part
- 117 fabric assembly
- 118 front sheet
- 118a strip
- 119 overlap region
- 120, 121 fusion bonding line
- 123, 423 split cleaning part
- 123a first adsorbing region
- 123b second adsorbing region
- 123c third adsorbing region
- 123d fourth adsorbing region
- 124 space
- 130 cleaning element holder
- 140 holder body
- 141 base
- 142 holding plate
- 143 retaining plate
- 150 handle
- 151 handle body
- 151a connecting portion
- 200, 300 cleaning tool
- 210, 310, 410 cleaning element
- 230, 330 cleaning element holder
- 242, 342 holding portion
Claims
1. A cleaning tool for use in cleaning an object to be cleaned comprising:
- an elongate cleaning element holder and
- a cleaning element to be attached to the cleaning element holder, wherein:
- the cleaning element holder includes a grip to be held by a user and a plurality of holding elements extending from the grip in parallel in a longitudinal direction,
- the cleaning element comprises a plurality of elongate split cleaning parts having respective insert regions for receiving the holding elements, and the cleaning element has a space into which the object to be cleaned can be inserted between adjacent ones of the split cleaning parts,
- each of the split cleaning parts includes a fiber assembly formed by a plurality of fibers extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the split cleaning part, and a nonwoven fabric sheet made of nonwoven fabric, the fiber assembly and the nonwoven fabric sheet being overlaid one on the other and bonded together and
- in an inserted state of the holding elements into the insert regions, the fiber assemblies of the adjacent ones of the split cleaning parts overlap each other in the space in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction.
2. The cleaning tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the cleaning element is designed such that, in the state in which the cleaning element is not yet attached to the cleaning element holder, a center distance between the adjacent insert regions is longer than a center distance between the adjacent holding elements of the cleaning element holder, and when the holding elements are inserted into the insert regions, the fiber assemblies of the adjacent split cleaning parts move toward each other and thus overlap each other in the space in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction.
3. The cleaning tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the nonwoven fabric sheet comprises a plurality of split pieces extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the split cleaning parts.
4. The cleaning tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the holding elements comprise an elastic material which allows the adjacent holding elements to be elastically deformed away from each other.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 30, 2009
Publication Date: May 26, 2011
Applicant: UNI-CHARM CORPORATION (Ehime-ken)
Inventors: Yoshinori Tanaka (Kagawa-ken), Masumi Fukuzawa (Kagawa-ken)
Application Number: 12/935,011
International Classification: A47L 13/16 (20060101);