JP7785343B2 - Cleaning tools - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cleaning tool used to clean containers such as water bottles (including mug bottles), cups, water bottles, tumblers, and pots.

One such cleaning tool known to the public is equipped with a cleaning part that comes into contact with the bottom or side of a container to clean it, and a handle that supports the cleaning part (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In the device described in Patent Document 1, a clamping portion is provided at the tip of the handle, and the cleaning portion is attached to the tip of the handle in a state where it is clamped by the clamping portion.

JP 2011-083562 A

When cleaning containers such as water bottles and cups, whose inner wall surfaces are curved in an arc, it is easier to clean and more efficient to remove dirt if the shape of the part of the cleaning unit that cleans the inner wall surface of the container is designed to match the shape of the inner wall surface.

However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, the cleaning section is made up of multiple stacked rectangular sponges or plate-shaped sponges, and the shape of the part of the cleaning section that cleans the inner wall surface of the container is not shaped to match the inner wall surface (curved surface shape), making it difficult to clean efficiently.

One option for this is to manufacture a cleaning part whose outer shape matches the shape of the container's inner wall (curved surface), but this could result in problems such as higher manufacturing costs compared to rectangular parallelepiped sponges, etc.

In light of this situation, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a cleaning tool that is easy to clean and can efficiently remove dirt when cleaning containers such as water bottles and cups, while reducing manufacturing costs.

The first characteristic configuration of the present invention is a cleaning device comprising a cleaning part that is brought into contact with a part to be cleaned to clean the part, and a handle part having a clamping part that can clamp the cleaning part,
The cleaning unit includes a sponge portion serving as a base material and a scrubbing portion made of a scrubbing material attached to the flat surface and back surface of the sponge portion,
The clamping portion of the handle clamps the sponge portion, which is the intermediate portion between the front and back portions of the cleaning portion, in a direction perpendicular to the front and back direction of the cleaning portion, thereby deforming the shape of the scrubbing portion into an arc-shaped curved surface.

With this configuration, the sponge portion of the cleaning unit only needs to have a flat front surface and a back surface, and can be shaped, for example, as a block or cube, preventing increases in manufacturing costs. Furthermore, by clamping the sponge portion with the clamping portion of the handle, the sponge portion is deformed inward, shortening the distance between the scrubbing portion on the front surface and the scrubbing portion on the back surface, and deforming the shape of the scrubbing portion into an arc-shaped curved surface. This allows the shape of the scrubbing portion to be shaped to match the shape (curved surface) of the inner wall surface of the container. This allows the scrubbing portion to make appropriate contact with the inner wall surface of the container, making cleaning easier and removing dirt more efficiently.

A second characteristic feature of the present invention is that, when the clamping portion of the handle clamps the sponge portion, it clamps more than half of the sponge portion in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion, extending perpendicular to the front and back directions of the cleaning portion.

With this configuration, when in the clamping state, the clamping section extends longitudinally of the cleaning section and clamps more than half of its longitudinal length. This allows more than half of the scrubbing section to be deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning section. This increases the size of the section of the scrubbing section that is shaped to match the shape (curved surface shape) of the container's inner wall surface, allowing the container's inner wall surface to be cleaned efficiently and easily.

A third characteristic feature of the present invention is that the width of the sponge part and the scrubbing part in the width direction of the cleaning part, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning part, is set so that the tip end part, which is not clamped by the clamping part, is narrower than the base end part, which is clamped by the clamping part in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning part, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning part.

The base end portion of the cleaning unit in the longitudinal direction is clamped by the clamping portion, causing the scrubbing unit to deform into an arc-shaped curved surface. In contrast, the tip end portion of the cleaning unit in the longitudinal direction is not clamped by the clamping portion, causing the scrubbing unit to not deform into an arc-shaped curved surface. Therefore, while the width of the base end portion of the scrubbing unit in the lateral direction of the cleaning unit decreases in response to the shape deformation, the width of the tip end portion of the scrubbing unit remains unchanged. Therefore, the tip end portion protrudes outward beyond the base end portion of the scrubbing unit in the lateral direction of the cleaning unit. When the tip end portion protrudes in this way, attempting to scrub the inner wall surface of the container with the base end portion of the scrubbing unit can be difficult, as the tip end portion of the scrubbing unit gets in the way.

According to this configuration, the width of the cleaning section in the short direction is set so that the tip end portion of the scrubbing section is narrower than the base end portion of the scrubbing section, preventing the tip end portion from protruding outward beyond the base end portion of the scrubbing section. Furthermore, because the tip end portion of the scrubbing section does not deform, for example, it is possible to scrub the inner wall surface of a container with the deformed base end portion of the scrubbing section while scrubbing the bottom surface of the container with the undeformed tip end portion of the scrubbing section, efficiently cleaning the bottom surface of the container and the inner wall surface connected to the bottom surface.

In a fourth characteristic configuration of the present invention, the handle portion is formed in a bifurcated shape having a pair of clamping action portions in the clamping portion,
the clamping portion is provided in a position where, in a clamping state in which the pair of clamping action parts clamp the middle part of the sponge part, the pair of clamping action parts extend in a longitudinal direction of the cleaning part that is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning part,
The sponge portion and the scrubbing portion are configured such that, in the clamping state, the width in the short direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning portion, is set wider at the tip end portion than at the base end portion in the extension direction of the clamping action portion.

When the pair of clamping parts clamps the middle part of the sponge part, the clamping force tends to be weaker at the tip end of the clamping part than at the base end. This means that the amount of deformation that deforms the middle part of the sponge part inward at the tip end of the clamping part is small, making it difficult to reduce the distance between the scrubbing part on the front surface and the scrubbing part on the back surface, and making it difficult to deform the shape of the scrubbing part into an arc-shaped curved surface.

According to this configuration, the sponge and scrubbing sections are designed so that the tip end portions are wider than the base end portions in the direction of extension of the clamping sections, with respect to the width of the cleaning section in the short direction. Therefore, even with a weak clamping force, the pair of clamping sections can clamp the tip end portions of the clamping sections, deforming the middle portion of the wide sponge section inward and ensuring a sufficient amount of deformation. Therefore, even in the tip end portions of the clamping sections, the distance between the scrubbing section on the front surface and the scrubbing section on the back surface can be reduced, allowing the shape of the scrubbing section to be deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface.

Front view of the cleaning tool of the first embodiment Rear view of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment Left side view of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment 1 is a right side view of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment; Plan view of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment 1 is a bottom view of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment; 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning tool according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cleaning tool according to a first embodiment, showing a cleaning part and a handle part; A plan view showing the cleaning unit and the handle unit. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a cleaning tool according to a second embodiment; FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the cleaning tool according to the second embodiment, showing the cleaning part and the handle part;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cleaning tool according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First Embodiment
1 to 6, this cleaning tool 1 is used to clean containers such as water bottles (including mug bottles), cups, water bottles, tumblers, pots, etc. The cleaning tool 1 is equipped with a cleaning part 2 that comes into contact with the area to be cleaned to clean it, and a handle part 3 having a clamping part 31 that can clamp the cleaning part 2.

As shown in Figures 1 to 6, the cleaning unit 2 comprises a sponge unit 21 that serves as a base material, and scrubbing units 22 that are arranged on the flat front and back surfaces of the sponge unit 21. The sponge unit 21 is formed in a block or cubic shape with a flat front and back surface. The scrubbing units 22 that come into contact with the area to be cleaned and scrub are attached to the entire front and back surfaces of the sponge unit 21 using adhesive, heat fusion, or other means. The scrubbing units 22 are made of a scrubbing material, such as a nonwoven fabric or a brush with a soft, raised nap layer.

As shown in Figures 1 to 6, both the front and back surfaces of the cleaning unit 2 form scrubbing sections 22, and the intermediate section 23 between the front and back surfaces forms the sponge section 21. As shown in Figure 5, in a plan view, the cleaning unit 2 is formed in an elongated shape such that its length in the extension direction of the handle 3 (left-right direction in Figure 5) is longer than its length in the direction perpendicular to that extension direction (up-down direction in Figure 5). The direction along the extension direction of the handle 3 is the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 (left-right direction in Figure 5), and the direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the handle 3 is the lateral direction of the cleaning unit 2 (up-down direction in Figure 5).

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the handle 3 is bifurcated and has a pair of rod-shaped bodies 32, with a clamping section 31 provided at the tip end of the rod-shaped bodies 32. The handle 3 is configured so that the clamping section 31 can clamp the cleaning part 2 by elastically deforming the tip end portions of the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 toward each other. The rod-shaped bodies 32 are made of an elastically deformable material (e.g., resin).

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the base ends of the rod-shaped bodies 32 are provided with curved connecting portions 34 that connect the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 in a curved state. As shown in Figure 9, the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 are closest to each other at the tip ends of the curved connecting portions 34, and are arranged in a flared position where the distance between them gradually increases from there toward the tip.

As shown in Figure 8, the tip end portions of each of the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 are formed with opposing flat surfaces, which serve as a pair of clamping sections 33 that clamp the cleaning section 2. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the clamping sections 33 are provided with protrusions 35 that protrude toward each other. Multiple protrusions 35 (for example, two) are provided at intervals in the extension direction of the rod-shaped bodies 32.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the handle 3 is provided with a ring portion 36 that fits around the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32. The ring portion 36 is provided so that it can move freely in the extension direction of the rod-shaped bodies 32 (see the arrow in Figure 9) while fitting around the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32. Movement of the ring portion 36 towards the base end of the rod-shaped bodies 32 is restricted by the curved connecting portion 34, which prevents the ring portion 36 from coming off. The ring portion 36 is made of an elastically deformable material (e.g., resin).

In this cleaning tool 1, with the cleaning unit 2 positioned so that it can be clamped by the pair of clamping portions 33, the ring portion 36 is moved toward the tip of the rod-shaped body 32, bringing the pair of clamping portions 33 closer to each other and clamping the cleaning unit 2 between them, as shown in Figure 7. The pair of clamping portions 33 clamp the sponge portion 21, which is the intermediate portion 23 between the scrubbing portions 22 on the front and back sides of the cleaning unit 2. As a result, as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 7, the sponge portion 21 (intermediate portion 23) is deformed inward, shortening the distance between the scrubbing portion 22 on the front side and the scrubbing portion 22 on the back side, and deforming the shape of the scrubbing portion 22 into an arc-shaped curved surface.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, when the pair of clamping portions 33 clamp the sponge portion 21 (middle portion 23), the clamping portion 31 extends in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion 2 (left-right direction in Figures 1 and 2), clamping more than half of the cleaning portion 2 in the longitudinal direction. Referring to Figure 9, by moving the ring portion 36 toward the tip of the rod-shaped body 32 as shown by the arrows, the pair of clamping portions 33 are brought closer to each other, and the cleaning portion 2 is clamped between the pair of clamping portions 33. Incidentally, Figure 9 illustrates two shapes of cleaning portion 2 aligned left-right; the one on the left represents the cleaning portion 2 in this first embodiment, and the one on the right represents the cleaning portion 2 in the second embodiment described below.

As shown in Figure 9, the cleaning unit 2 has a total length B1 in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction in Figure 9) of the cleaning unit 2. When the cleaning unit 2 is clamped between the pair of clamping parts 33, the tip of the clamping part 33 is located at point A, and the length over which the cleaning unit 2 is clamped by the clamping part 33 is B2. This B2 is greater than B1/2, so in the clamped state, more than half of the cleaning unit 2 in the longitudinal direction is clamped by the pair of clamping parts 33.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the distal end portion of each of the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 is provided with an engaging portion 37 on the outer side that engages with the ring portion 36 to lock the ring portion 36. The engaging portions 37 are formed in a convex shape that protrudes outward, and multiple engaging portions 37 (e.g., six) are provided at intervals in the extension direction of the rod-shaped body 32. When the ring portion 36 is moved toward the distal end of the rod-shaped body 32, the position at which the ring portion 36 is locked can be freely changed by changing which of the multiple engaging portions 37 is engaged. Therefore, by changing the position at which the ring portion 36 is locked, the length over which the pair of clamping portions 33 clamp the cleaning unit 2 in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 can be freely changed.

As shown in Figure 9, the width of the cleaning unit 2 (sponge unit 21 and scrubbing unit 22) in its short direction (left-right direction in Figure 9) is set so that the tip end portion 22b, which is not clamped by the clamping unit 31, is narrower than the base end portion 22a, which is clamped by the clamping unit 31 in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 (up-down direction in Figure 9).

As a result, as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 7, the base end portion 22a of the scrubbing portion 22 is deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface, while the tip end portion 22b of the scrubbing portion 22 is not deformed. Therefore, when cleaning a container with the cleaner 1, for example, the deformed base end portion 22a of the scrubbing portion 22 can be used to scrub the inner wall surface of the container, while the undeformed tip end portion 22b of the scrubbing portion 22 can be used to scrub the bottom surface of the container, thereby efficiently cleaning both the bottom surface of the container and the inner wall surface connected to the bottom surface.

In this cleaning tool 1, the cleaning part 2 is clamped by the clamping part 31 of the handle 3. Therefore, when it is time to replace the cleaning part 2 due to deterioration, etc., the cleaning part 2 can be removed from the handle 3 and a new cleaning part 2 can be attached to the handle 3. In this way, the handle 3 can be used as is, and only the cleaning part 2 can be replaced.

Second Embodiment
This second embodiment shows another embodiment of the cleaning unit 2 in the first embodiment. Below, the cleaning unit 2 in the second embodiment will be mainly described with reference to Figures 9 to 11. As the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals will be used and the description will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, as shown on the left side of FIG. 9, the width of the cleaning unit 2 in its lateral direction (left-right direction in FIG. 9) is set so that the tip end portion 22b is narrower than the base end portion 22a in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 (up-down direction in FIG. 9). In contrast, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the cleaning unit 2 is provided with a sponge portion 41 that serves as a base material, and a scrubbing portion 42 attached to the flat front and back surfaces of the sponge portion 41, and the intermediate portion 43 between the front and back surfaces of the cleaning unit 2 forms the sponge portion 41. As shown on the right side of FIG. 9, the width of the cleaning unit 2 in its lateral direction (left-right direction in FIG. 9) is set so that the intermediate portion 42b is wider than the end portion 42a in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 (up-down direction in FIG. 9).

In the second embodiment, as shown on the right side of Figure 9, the middle portion 42b of the cleaning unit 2 is wider than the end portion 42a in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, when the cleaning unit 2 (sponge portion 21 and scrubbing portion 22) is in a clamped state with the sponge portion 21 (middle portion 23) clamped between a pair of clamping portions 33, the middle portion 42b, which is the tip portion, is wider than the end portion 42a, which is the base portion in the extension direction of the clamping portions 33.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, in the clamping state, the ends of the middle portion 42b of the scrubbing portion 42 can be brought closer together than the end portions 42a of the scrubbing portion 42, and the shape of the middle portion 42b of the scrubbing portion 42, which is the tip portion of the clamping action portion 33 where the clamping force tends to be weaker, can be appropriately deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface. Therefore, the shape of the scrubbing portion 42 can be deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface not only for the end portion 42a of the scrubbing portion 42, which is the base end portion of the clamping action portion 33, but also for the middle portion 42b of the scrubbing portion 42, which is the tip portion of the clamping action portion 33.

In this second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, in a clamped state in which the sponge portion 21 (middle portion 23) is clamped between a pair of clamping portions 33, the pair of clamping portions 33 clamp more than half of the cleaning portion 2 in a position extending in the longitudinal direction. To explain further using FIG. 9, as shown by the arrows, by moving the ring portion 36 toward the tip of the rod-shaped body 32, the pair of clamping portions 33 are brought closer to each other, and the cleaning portion 2 is clamped between the pair of clamping portions 33. Incidentally, FIG. 9 illustrates two shapes of cleaning portion 2 lined up in the left-right direction; the one on the left represents the cleaning portion 2 in the first embodiment, and the one on the right represents the cleaning portion 2 in this second embodiment.

As shown in Figure 9, the cleaning unit 2 has a total length B1 in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction in Figure 9) of the cleaning unit 2. When the cleaning unit 2 is clamped between the pair of clamping parts 33, the tip of the clamping part 33 is located at point A, and the length over which the cleaning unit 2 is clamped by the clamping part 33 is B2. This B2 is greater than B1/2, so in the clamped state, more than half of the cleaning unit 2 in the longitudinal direction is clamped by the pair of clamping parts 33.

[Another embodiment]
Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Note that the configurations of the embodiments described below are not limited to being applied independently, but can also be applied in combination with the configurations of other embodiments.

(1) Regarding the cleaning unit 2, in the first embodiment, as shown on the left side of Figure 9, the width in the short side direction of the cleaning unit 2 is set narrower at the tip end portion 22b than at the base end portion 22a in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2, while in the second embodiment, as shown on the right side of Figure 9, the width in the short side direction of the cleaning unit 2 is set wider at the middle portion 42b than at the end portion 42a in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2.
For example, depending on the cleaning conditions, such as the shape of the container and which part of the container is to be cleaned, the cleaning unit 2 in the first embodiment or the cleaning unit 2 in the second embodiment can be used, and cleaning can also be performed by replacing the cleaning unit 2 with a different shape depending on various cleaning conditions.

(2) The cleaning unit 2 is not limited to the cleaning unit 2 in the first embodiment and the cleaning unit 2 in the second embodiment, and various other shapes can also be applied.

(3) The handle 3 may have any configuration or shape as long as it is provided with a clamping portion 31 that clamps the cleaning portion 2, and is not limited to that shown in the first embodiment.

1 Cleaning tool 2 Cleaning part 3 Handle part 21 Sponge part 22 Scrubber part 31 Clamping part 33 Clamping action part 41 Sponge part 42 Scrubber part

Claims (4)

The device is provided with a cleaning part that is brought into contact with the area to be cleaned to clean it, and a handle part having a clamping part that can clamp the cleaning part,
The cleaning unit includes a sponge portion serving as a base material and a scrubbing portion made of a scrubbing material attached to the flat surface and back surface of the sponge portion,
The clamping portion of the handle clamps the sponge portion, which is an intermediate portion between the front and back portions of the cleaning unit, in a direction perpendicular to the front and back direction of the cleaning unit, thereby deforming the shape of the scrubbing portion into an arc-shaped curved surface ,
The handle portion is bifurcated and has a pair of rod-shaped bodies, and a clamping portion is provided at the tip end portion of the pair of rod-shaped bodies,
The pair of rod-shaped bodies are provided with ring portions that are movable in the extending direction of the rod-shaped bodies,
The handle portion is configured so that the cleaning portion can be clamped by the clamping portion by moving the ring portion toward the tip end of the rod-shaped body, thereby moving the tip end portions of the pair of rod-shaped bodies toward each other,
a plurality of engaging portions that engage with the ring portion and lock the ring portion are provided at intervals in the extending direction of the rod-shaped bodies at a tip side portion of each of the pair of rod-shaped bodies;
The handle portion is a cleaning tool configured so that the position at which the ring portion is engaged can be changed depending on which of multiple engaging portions it engages with, thereby freely changing the length by which the clamping portion clamps the cleaning portion in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front and back directions of the cleaning portion . A cleaning tool as described in claim 1, wherein the clamping portion of the handle clamps the middle portion of the sponge portion by extending in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion, perpendicular to the front and back directions of the cleaning portion, and clamps more than half of the longitudinal direction of the sponge portion. The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the width of the sponge part and the scrubbing part in the width direction of the cleaning part, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning part, is set so that the tip end part, which is not clamped by the clamping part, is narrower than the base end part, which is clamped by the clamping part in the length direction of the cleaning part, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning part. The handle portion is bifurcated to have a pair of clamping portions at the clamping portion,
the clamping portion is provided in a position where, in a clamping state in which the pair of clamping action parts clamp the middle part of the sponge part, the pair of clamping action parts extend in a longitudinal direction of the cleaning part that is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning part,
The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the width of the sponge portion and the scrubbing portion in the short direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning portion, is set so that, in a clamping state, the tip portion is wider than the base portion in the extension direction of the clamping action portion.