DROP DOWN DUST TRAY FOR FLOOR SWEEPER
A handheld floor sweeper having a debris receiving compartment in the sweeper body having a bottom tray that is pivotally connected to the sweeper body. A latching mechanism that is operated by the user pushing a release lever allows the bottom tray to pivot to an open position to discharge debris collected in the compartment without the user having to contact the debris. The tray is pushed back to the closed position by the user after the debris is discharged where the tray is once again latched in the closed position.
This application is based on and claims priority of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/458,730 filed Feb. 14, 2017.
II. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to handheld floor sweepers and more particularly to a hand-held floor sweeper having a plurality of sweeping brushes with a dust storage compartment having a drop-down tray. This invention is directed to a push button release that releases the drop-down tray.
Handheld sweepers have been used in the past to pick up dust and small items from hard surfaces, such as wood or tile floors, and carpets having varying piles of various heights. One type of handheld floor sweeper that has been used extensively in the past is a manually pushed floor sweeper that is not powered by a motor. The handheld sweeper has brushes mounted on a shaft located in the sweeper head that contact the surface to be cleaned. The brushes rotate as the sweeper is pushed and pulled across the floor surface. The brushes rotate and the bristles sweep the loose material up into a dust tray, canister or similar dust-receiving portion in the sweeper head.
The invention disclosed herein is used with a hand-held floor sweeper, which is extremely light and has a very low profile sweeper head. The floor sweeper head is mounted to an elongated handle by means of a universal pivot or universal joint that allows the handle to rotate 360° about the universal pivot that is mounted on the sweeper head. This allows the floor sweeper head to easily pivot about the handle in any direction for easily picking up loose materials under over hanging cabinets or under furniture. The brushes provide cleaning action in any direction to sweep the dust and particles into the dust storage compartment. One of the brushes drive the other brushes to direct the dust or loose material into the dust-receiving compartment in the sweeper head.
The sweeper head generally lies in a horizontal plane with the elongated handle extending upward from the sweeper head. The invention provides for a storage compartment having a flat horizontally disposed floor. With the simple push of a button, the flat floor of the storage compartment drops down and the dust and debris stored in the compartment can be disposed in a garbage container. This allows the dust and debris to be disposed of from the storage compartment with the user not having to touch the debris.
The dust storage compartment 22 is formed by side walls 23 and a drop-down dust tray 24 that functions as the bottom cover of the dust storage compartment 22. The drop-down dust tray 24 is connected by a pivot connection 26 to the sweeper body 18 at a forward end of the dust storage compartment 22. One or more pivot points and connections can be utilized so long as it provides a suitable pivot connection about which the drop-down dust tray 24 can pivot from an open to a closed position.
A push button operating mechanism 29 operates the latching and release of the drop-down dust tray 24. As seen in
Also, as seen in
To close the drop-down dust tray 24, the user pushes the drop-down dust tray 24 upward in the direction of arrow C as illustrated in
Various types and designs of latching members may be used as long as they serve the purpose of latching the drop-down dust tray 24 to a closed position and can be released by the user merely pushing a release button so that the user does not come into contact with the debris in the dust storage compartment.
Thus, there has been provided a sweeper with a drop-down dust tray that allows the user to dispose of dust and debris collected in a hand-held sweeper without the user coming into contact with the collected dust and debris. While the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A handheld floor sweeper adapted for movement over a surface and clean debris from that surface by brushing, the sweeper comprising:
- a sweeper body having a top surface, a bottom and peripheral sides,
- a plurality of brushes mounted to the bottom of the sweeper body, the brushes engaging the surface to be cleaned,
- a debris receiving compartment in the sweeper body having a bottom tray and at least one opening for allowing debris to enter the compartment, the bottom tray having a front edge, a back edge and side edges,
- a pivot connection for mounting the front edge to the sweeper body,
- a latch on the back edge for releasably attaching the back edge of the tray to the sweeper body,
- an operating lever mounted to the sweeper body, the operating lever engaging the latch for latching and unlatching the latch from the operating lever, the operating lever releasing the latch when depressed, thereby allowing the bottom tray to drop down and discharge the debris from the compartment.
2. The handheld floor sweeper of claim 1 wherein the operating lever is mounted to the sweeper body by means of a second pivot connection allowing the operating lever to rotate about the second pivot connection.
3. The handheld floor sweeper of claim 2 wherein the operating lever has a top portion above the second pivot connection and a bottom portion below the second pivot connection, the bottom portion having a retaining finger to engage the latch.
4. The handheld floor sweeper of claim 3 and further comprising a spring mounted between the sweeper body and the top portion of the operating lever to apply a force to the top portion of the operating lever when the operating lever is depressed.
5. The handheld floor sweeper of claim 4 and further comprising a complimentary finger on the latch for engaging the retaining finger on the operating lever on a latching engagement in a first latching position and the retaining finger releasing the complimentary finger when the top portion of the operating lever is depressed.
6. The handheld floor sweeper of claim 5 wherein at least one of the complimentary finger or retainer finger has a curved surface whereby when the bottom tray is pushed from its open position to the closed position, the complimentary finger provides a force to the retainer finger to pivot the bottom portion of the operating lever away from the sweeper body thereby allowing the complimentary finger to pass over the retainer finger.
7. In a handheld floor sweeper adapted for movement over a surface and clean debris from that surface by brushing, the sweeper having a sweeper body, a debris receiving compartment in the sweeper body having a bottom tray and at least one opening for allowing debris to enter the compartment, the bottom tray having a front edge, a back edge and side edges, a pivot connection for mounting the front edge to the sweeper body, a latch on the back edge for releasably attaching the back edge of the tray to the sweeper body, an operating lever mounted to the sweeper body, the operating lever engaging the latch for latching and unlatching the latch from the operating lever, the operating lever releasing the latch when depressed, thereby allowing the bottom tray to drop down and discharge the debris from the compartment, the operating lever mounted to the sweeper body by means of a second pivot connection allowing the operating lever to rotate about the second pivot connection for engaging and disengaging from the latch.
8. The handheld floor sweeper of claim 7 wherein the operating lever has a top portion above the second pivot connection and a bottom portion below the second pivot connection, the bottom portion having a retaining finger to engage the latch.
9. The handheld floor sweeper of claim 8 and further comprising a spring mounted between the sweeper body and the top portion of the operating lever to apply a force to the top portion of the operating lever when the operating lever is depressed.
10. The handheld floor sweeper of claim 9 and further comprising a complimentary finger on the latch for engaging the retaining finger on the operating lever on a latching engagement in a first latching position and the retaining finger releasing the complimentary finger when the top portion of the operating lever is depressed.
11. The handheld floor sweeper of claim 10 wherein at least one of the complimentary finger or retainer finger has a curved surface whereby when the bottom tray is pushed from its open position to the closed position, the complimentary finger provides a force to the retainer finger to pivot the bottom portion of the operating lever away from the sweeper body thereby allowing the complimentary finger to pass over the retainer finger.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 29, 2017
Publication Date: Aug 16, 2018
Inventor: Mark Kaleta (Darien, IL)
Application Number: 15/472,955