DUAL BRUSH
A dual brush is disclosed having a handle and housing substructure for storing and dispensing cleaning solution. A flexible overmold forms a diaphragm pump to expel cleaning solution through a dispensing valve and port located between a removable brush head and a removable pad head. The removable brush and removable pad head are removably attached to the handle and housing substructure with a tab and slot arrangement, and are attached at an angle that facilitates ease of use at an optimal cleaning orientation.
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/472,691 filed on Mar. 17, 2017, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThis invention relates generally to cleaning devices, and more specifically to a dual brush that provides removable dual cleaning heads with a cleaning solution dispensing arrangement there between.
2. Description of Related ArtCleaning devices such as brushes and scrubbers facilitate the cleaning of objects and surfaces where mechanical abrasion is used to more thoroughly remove undesirable material that otherwise would remain attached to the object or surface if less abrasive cleaning devices such as sponges or clothes were used.
Originally, cleaning devices such as scrubbers or sweepers were made from natural materials such as the Mare's tail plant. As materials advanced, brushes became more sophisticated and were made from a variety of synthetic materials such as various plastics and the like. Despite these advances in materials, brushes mostly retained their basic and utilitarian form of a substrate with bristles protruding outward. While such brushes worked well, they were not optimal in terms of ease of use, ergonomics, and suitability for a variety of cleaning jobs. For example, many cleaning jobs require the use of several different cleaning devices in combination with a cleaning liquid. Brushes may be well suited for rapid removal of unwanted material, whereas a scrub pad or sponge may be better suited for removal of material across a larger flat area or removal of thinner deposits of material or film like material. Dispensing a cleaning solution at the point of application of a brush or pad would also be desirable for many cleaning tasks.
What is therefore needed is a cleaning device that provides interchangeable and dual cleaning heads to accomplish a variety of cleaning tasks. What is also needed is a cleaning solution dispenser in close proximity and integrated with such a dual head cleaning device.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide such a cleaning device.
These and other objects of the present invention are not to be considered comprehensive or exhaustive, but rather, exemplary of objects that may be ascertained after reading this specification, claims and the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with the present invention, there is provided a dual brush comprising a hollow substructure comprising a handle and a housing formed together, a first opening in the handle configured to receive a flexible overmold and so create a first diaphragm; the housing having a first planar receiving surface formed at an angle with the longitudinal axis of the handle and having a second planar receiving surface formed at an opposing angle with the first planar receiving surface; a first receiving slot and a second receiving slot integral with the first planar receiving surface; a third receiving slot and a fourth receiving slot integral with the second planar receiving surface; a dispensing port between the first planar receiving surface and the second planar receiving surface; a dispensing valve placed within the dispensing port; a removable brush head comprising a first tab and a second tab removably engaged with the first receiving slot and the second receiving slot of the first planar receiving surface; a removable pad head comprising a third tab and a fourth tab removably engaged with the third receiving slot and the fourth receiving slot of the second planar receiving surface; and a cap to removably seal the formed handle and housing.
The foregoing paragraph has been provided by way of introduction, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as described in this specification, claims and the attached drawings.
The invention will be described by reference to the following drawings, in which like numerals refer to like elements, and in which:
The attached figures depict various views of the dual brush in sufficient detail to allow one skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. These figures are exemplary, and depict a preferred embodiment; however, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention to the embodiment depicted herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by this specification, claims and drawings appended hereto.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSA Dual Brush is described and depicted by way of this specification and the attached drawings.
For a general understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals have been used throughout to designate identical elements.
The Dual Brush of the present invention, as described and depicted herein, provides, among other things, removable dual cleaning heads with a cleaning solution dispensing arrangement there between.
As can be seen in
A dispensing port 111 can be seen between the first planar receiving surface and the second planar receiving surface that has a dispensing valve placed there within. The dispensing valve, seen more clearly in
A removable brush head 113 can be seen. The removable brush head 113 has a substrate with a first tab and a second tab on one side and a plurality of brushes or bristles, such as nylon bristles, attached to the other side. The brush head 113 is removably engaged with the first receiving slot and the second receiving slot of the first planar receiving surface.
A removable pad head 115 can also be seen in
To retain cleaning solution within the hollow chamber, a cap 107 can be seen which is removably attached to the hollow handle. Tabs, threads, or similar retaining structures are employed between the cap and the hollow handle. In addition, a seal such as a gasket or an O-ring may also be employed. The soft durometer overmold material may also be placed over the cap 107 to provide a secure grip while in use and also an aesthetic appearance that conforms to the overmold on the handle 101.
A viewing port 103 may also be provided where an opening in the soft durometer overmold material allows visibility through an optically clear, transparent or translucent substructure to determine cleaning solution level within the dual brush.
A scraper 405 can be seen that is formed from a pad scraper part 401 and a brush scraper part 403. Each scraper part and the resulting scraper protrude outward from their associated substrate, and may be curved or flared. The scraper 405 is small and is intended to provide rapid and precise targeted removal of a small area of stuck and undesirable material to be removed, essentially acting as a spot treatment tool.
Also seen in
Also in
The cap 107 can be seen with cap threads 1103 that engage with handle threads 1105 to retain and tighten the cap 107 onto the hollow dispensing handle 101. A gasket or O-ring 1107 can be seen, and creates a liquid tight seal when the cap 107 is compressed onto the dispensing handle 101. An overmold 1109 can be seen covering the handle and the openings that in turn form the first diaphragm 105 and the second diaphragm 501. This overmold is a soft durometer material such as TPE (thermoplastic elastomer). The overmold 1109 covers portions of the handle housing substructure 1111. This substructure may be molded from a plastic, and may, in some embodiments of the present invention, be a clear, translucent or transparent plastic such as polycarbonate.
While the receiving slots for the removable brush head and the removable pad head serve to retain the heads to the dispensing housing at two points, in a preferred embodiment the heads are retained at each of their four corners.
For a complete understanding of the novel engagement mechanism of the present invention and other novel aspects thereof,
Lastly,
It should also be noted that
To use the dual brush, cleaning solution or a similar liquid is placed in the hollow handle and housing by removing the cap 107 and then replacing the cap 107 once the hollow handle and housing is filled with solution. The user has a choice of using a brush or a pad for cleaning operations, and may dispense cleaning solution by depressing either the first diaphragm 105 or the second diaphragm 501, or both. Once a diaphragm is depressed, pressure builds in the hollow liquid filled handle and housing, and the dispensing valve 407 releases an amount of cleaning solution that is proportional to the force applied to a diaphragm. For additional amounts of cleaning solution, a diaphragm may be depressed multiple times. As described and depicted herein, the dispensing port 111 that contains the dispensing valve 407 is located between the removable brush head 113 and the removable pad head 115.
It is, therefore, apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with the various objects of the present invention, a dual brush. While the various objects of this invention have been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of this specification, claims and the attached drawings.
Claims
1. A dual brush comprising:
- a hollow substructure comprising a dispensing handle and a dispensing housing formed together;
- a first opening in the handle configured to receive a flexible overmold and so create a first diaphragm;
- the housing having a first planar receiving surface formed at an angle with the longitudinal axis of the handle and having a second planar receiving surface formed at an opposing angle with the first planar receiving surface;
- a first receiving slot and a second receiving slot integral with the first planar receiving surface;
- a third receiving slot and a fourth receiving slot integral with the second planar receiving surface;
- a dispensing port between the first planar receiving surface and the second planar receiving surface;
- a dispensing valve placed within the dispensing port;
- a removable brush head comprising a first tab and a second tab removably engaged with the first receiving slot and the second receiving slot of the first planar receiving surface;
- a removable pad head comprising a third tab and a fourth tab removably engaged with the third receiving slot and the fourth receiving slot of the second planar receiving surface; and
- a cap to removably seal the formed handle and housing.
2. The dual brush of claim 1, further comprising a first receptacle and a second receptacle integral with the dispensing housing.
3. The dual brush of claim 1, further comprising a fifth tab and a sixth tab attached to the removable brush head and a seventh tab and an eighth tab attached to the removable pad head.
4. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the removable brush head further comprises a brush release tab and wherein the first planar receiving surface further comprises a bevel to receive and retain said brush release tab.
5. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the removable pad head further comprises a pad release tab and wherein the second planar receiving surface further comprises a bevel to receive and retain said pad release tab.
6. The dual brush of claim 1, further comprising a second opening in the handle to receive the flexible overmold and so create a second diaphragm.
7. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the substructure is optically clear.
8. The dual brush of claim 7, wherein the flexible overmold covers the handle and forms an opening to allow for viewing of stored cleaning solution within the handle.
9. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the removable brush head further comprises a scraper part that protrudes out from the brush.
10. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the removable pad head further comprises a scraper part that protrudes out from the pad.
11. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the removable brush head further comprises a brush scraper part that protrudes out from the brush and the removable pad head further comprises a pad scraper part that protrudes out from the pad such that the brush scraper part and the pad scraper part form a scraper.
12. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the removable brush head further comprises a dispensing flare brush part that provides clear passageway of dispensed cleaning solution from the dispensing port.
13. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the removable pad head further comprises a dispensing flare pad part that provides clear passageway of dispensed cleaning solution from the dispensing port.
14. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the removable brush head further comprises a dispensing flare brush part and the removable pad further comprises a dispensing flare pad part that together form a dispensing flare that provides clear passageway of dispensed cleaning solution from the dispensing port.
15. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the pad head is slightly shorter than the brush head such that the brush head is only received by the first planar receiving surface and the pad head is only received by the second planar receiving surface.
16. The dual brush of claim 1, wherein the cap further comprises a flexible overmold.
17. A removable brush head comprising:
- a substrate having a first surface and a second surface;
- a plurality of bristles protruding from the first surface of the substrate;
- four tabs protruding from the second surface of the substrate;
- a brush release tab protruding from the substrate; and
- a dispensing flare brush part.
18. The removable brush head of claim 17, further comprising a brush scraper part protruding from the substrate.
19. A removable pad head comprising:
- a substrate having a first surface and a second surface;
- a cleaning pad attached to the first surface of the substrate;
- four tabs protruding from the second surface of the substrate;
- a pad release tab protruding from the substrate; and
- a dispensing flare pad part.
20. The removable pad head of claim 19, further comprising a pad scraper part protruding from the substrate.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 21, 2017
Publication Date: Sep 20, 2018
Inventors: Stuart Harvey Lee (Forest Hills, NY), James Kwon (Astoria, NY)
Application Number: 15/494,197