JP7795201B2 - Broom with dustpan - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a broom with a dustpan that can be stored in a state where the broom and dustpan are connected to each other.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, brooms with attached dustpans that can be detachably attached to the broom and stored when not in use have been widely known, as described in Patent Document 1, for example.
However, in this type of broom with a dustpan, the dustpan cannot stand on its own, so when storing it, it is necessary to lean the broom with the dustpan attached against a wall, etc. Therefore, the broom with a dustpan described in Patent Document 2 is equipped with a magnet, making it possible to attach and detach it to a magnetic wall, for example, around an entrance, thereby improving storage ease when not in use.

However, in the broom with dustpan described in Patent Document 2, if the engagement force of the dustpan with the broom weakens due to aging or other reasons, the dustpan may easily separate and fall off the broom, which is attached to the wall surface by the magnet, reducing the convenience of the broom with dustpan.

CD-ROM of Japanese Utility Model Application No. 4-80370 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 6-36427) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-36720

The technical objective of this invention is to prevent the dustpan and broom from separating from each other when stored on a wall in a broom with a dustpan that can be attached and detached by magnets to a wall surface made of a magnetic material, while the broom and dustpan are combined.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the broom with dustpan of the present invention comprises a broom having a flat-shaped wiping body attached to the tip of a rod-shaped handle extending in the axial direction, a handle formed with a recess that opens to the front side and can accommodate the tip of the handle, and a dustpan connected to the tip of the handle and equipped with a sweeping section that is formed in a recess that opens to the front side and can accommodate the wiping body.When not in use, the tip of the handle and the wiping body of the broom can be stored in the recess of the handle and the sweeping section of the dustpan, respectively, thereby allowing the broom and dustpan to be stored in a combined state.The wiping body of the broom is attached to a flat holder section connected to the handle and The broom has brush heads, one end of which is held inside the holder and the other end of which extends outside the holder. The holder has an engagement hole that penetrates from the first surface to the second surface in the thickness direction of the holder. The sweeping part of the dustpan has a bottom surface facing the front and an engagement protrusion that protrudes from the bottom surface and is removably fitted into the engagement hole of the holder. The top surface of the engagement protrusion is formed by a magnetic attraction surface. When the broom and dustpan are connected to each other and the engagement protrusion of the sweeping part is fitted into the engagement hole of the holder from the first surface side toward the second surface side, the top surface of the engagement protrusion is on the same plane as the second surface of the holder or protrudes further than the second surface of the holder.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the tip of the sweeping part of the dustpan opposite the handle has a sweeping opening formed by the tip edge of the bottom surface.

The sweeping portion of the dustpan may further have a pair of side surfaces extending from both widthwise ends of the bottom surface, and the top surfaces of the engaging protrusions may be on a plane that includes the leading edges of the pair of side surfaces in the height direction and is parallel to the axis, or may protrude beyond that plane. In this case, the top surfaces of the engaging protrusions may be parallel to the plane, or the opening edge of the recess in the handle of the dustpan may be on the plane.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the recess in the handle of the dustpan be provided with a locking portion that locks the handle into the recess when the tip of the handle of the broom is housed therein.

Furthermore, when the broom and the dustpan are combined, it is preferable that the shape of the engagement hole on the broom and the shape of the engagement protrusion on the dustpan are symmetrical in the width direction with respect to the axis.

This invention features a broom with a dustpan that can be attached and detached to a wall surface made of a magnetic material using a magnet, with the broom and dustpan combined. When the dustpan's engaging protrusion is fitted into the broom's engaging hole, the magnetic top surface of the engaging protrusion can be attracted to the wall surface. This prevents the dustpan and broom from separating when attached to the wall for storage.

1 is a plan view showing a state in which the broom and dustpan of the broom with dustpan according to the present invention are combined together; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG. 1 as seen from the front side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG. 1 as seen from the back side. FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1; 5 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the periphery of an engaging protrusion formed on the dustpan in FIG. 4. [0023]FIG. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a joint member attached to the tip of the handle. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the joint member. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the wiping body of the broom. FIG. 10 is a side view of FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 12. 14 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the periphery of the engaging protrusion in FIG. 13. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dustpan as seen from the front side. FIG.

A broom with a dustpan according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below using Figures 1-16. The broom with a dustpan 1 has a sweeping broom 2 and a dustpan 3 for collecting dust, to which the broom 2 is detachably connected. When cleaning, the broom 2 and dustpan 3 are used separately, and when not in use, the broom 2 is attached to the dustpan 3 and the two are stored together.

As shown in Figures 1-4, the broom with dustpan 1 comprises the broom 2, which comprises a rod-shaped handle 4 extending in the direction of axis L and a flat sweeping body 5 attached to the tip thereof; a handle 6, which has a recess 7 that opens to the front side and can accommodate the tip of the handle 4; and the dustpan 3, which is connected to the tip of the handle 6 and has a sweeping section 8 that is recessed and opens to the front side and can accommodate the sweeping body 5. When not in use, the broom with dustpan 1 can be stored in a coupled state by storing the tip of the handle 4 and the sweeping body 5 of the broom 2 in the recess 7 of the handle 6 and the sweeping section 8 of the dustpan 3, respectively. When the broom with dustpan 1 is coupled to the dustpan 3, the axis of the broom 2 and the axis of the dustpan 3 are coaxial, i.e., on axis L.

The specific structure of the broom with dustpan 1 will be explained below, with reference to other figures. For ease of explanation, because the broom 2 is typically used with the handle 4 positioned at the top, the direction along the axis L will be referred to as the up-down direction, with the handle 4 side referred to as the top and the wiping body 5 side on the opposite side referred to as the bottom.

First, the broom 2 will be described in detail.
The handle 4 is formed into a rod shape from a hard material such as synthetic resin or metal, and has a grip 9 provided at its base end in the direction of axis L and the wiping body 5 attached to its tip end. The handle 4 has a first handle 4a having the grip 9 and a second handle 4b having a smaller diameter than the first handle 4a. The first handle 4a and the second handle 4b are hollow, and the second handle 4b is inserted into the first handle 4a, allowing the first handle 4a and the second handle 4b to move relatively in the direction of axis L, thereby telescopically extending and retracting the handle 4. Note that the handle 4 can be configured to allow or prevent the relative movement of the first handle 4a and the second handle 4b using a known stopper.

A joint member 10 for attaching the wiping body 5 is connected to the tip of the second handle portion 4b of the handle portion 4. As shown in Figures 6-8, the joint member 10 is tubular with a first end 10a and a second end 10b at either end in the direction of the axis L. The first end 10a (handle portion 4 side) is provided with a handle attachment portion 11, the inner surface of which is fitted with the outer surface of the second handle portion 4b. The handle attachment portion 11 has a screw insertion hole 11a that penetrates its outer and inner surfaces, and a screw 11b is fixed to the tip of the second handle portion 4b through the screw insertion hole 11a.

The joint member 10 also has a holder attachment portion 12 on the second end 10b side that is smaller in diameter than the handle attachment portion 11. The holder attachment portion 12 is connected to a cylindrical connecting portion 13 provided at the upper end of the wiping body 5, and the inner peripheral surface of the connecting portion 13 is fitted into the outer peripheral surface of the holder attachment portion 12.

Describing the holder mounting portion 12 in detail, the holder mounting portion 12 has a U-shaped slit 14 penetrating from its outer periphery to its inner periphery, and a tongue-shaped operating portion 15 formed inside the slit 14 and elastically deformable in the radial direction. The slit 14 has a concave side facing the second end 10b. The operating portion 15 is supported in a cantilevered manner at its base end near the second end 10b. When an engagement button 15a provided at the tip of the free end is pressed, the operating portion 15 elastically collapses radially inward around the base end as a fulcrum. When the pressure is released, the operating portion 15 elastically returns radially outward. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, when the connecting portion 13 is fitted to the holder mounting portion 12 (when the wiping body 5 is fixed to the joint member 10), the engagement button 15a of the operating portion 15 engages with a button hole 13a opened in the connecting portion 13. Pressing the engagement button 15a releases the engagement with the button hole 13a, allowing the wiping body 5 to be removed and replaced when it becomes soiled.

In addition, guide grooves 12a extending from the second end 10b toward the first end 10a are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the holder mounting portion 12 at positions 180 degrees apart in the circumferential direction. The guide grooves 12a are engaged with guide ridges (not shown) that extend in the direction of axis L and are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the connecting portion 13. This restricts relative rotation about axis L between the holder mounting portion 12 and the connecting portion 13, firmly securing the wiping body 5 to the joint member 10 (i.e., the handle portion 4) and also functions as a guide when attaching the connecting portion 13 to the joint member 10.

The wiping body 5 will now be described.
The wiping body 5 has a holder portion 16 connected to the handle portion 4, and a brush body 17 having one end held inside the holder portion 16 and the other end extending from the holder portion 16 to the outside.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the holder portion 16 has the connection portion 13 and a holder body 18 connected to the lower end of the connection portion 13.
The holder body 18 has a shape that widens downward. Specifically, the holder body 18 has a first end portion 19 at one end in the width direction and a second end portion 20 at the other end, which extend toward the spike 17 at the same angle relative to the axis L, and the tip of the first end portion 19 is located closer to the stalk 4 than the tip of the second end portion 20.

A holding portion 21 that holds the spike 17 is provided at the lower end of the holder body 18. The holding portion 21 has an inclined portion 21a that is connected to the tip of the first side end 19 and slopes diagonally downward, and an arc-shaped portion 21b that is connected to the lower end of the inclined portion 21a and forms a gentle arc that is connected to the tip of the second side end 20. The lower end of the inclined portion 21a is located closer to the second side end 20 than the axis L in the width direction, and therefore the widthwise length of the inclined portion 21a is longer than the widthwise length of the arc-shaped portion 21b.

The holder body 18 has a first surface 18a that faces the dustpan 3 (inward) when the broom 2 is attached to the dustpan 3, and a second surface 18b that faces away from the dustpan 3 (outward). The holder body 18 also has an engagement hole 22 that penetrates the thickness direction from the first surface 18a to the second surface 18b. The engagement hole 22 has an isosceles triangular planar shape, with its base 22a facing the bristles 17 and two oblique sides 22b, 22b extending from the base 22a toward the handle 4, which follow the slopes of the first side end 19 and second side end 20 of the holder body 18. The three apexes of the triangle of the engagement hole 22 are rounded, allowing the base 22a to smoothly connect with the oblique sides 22b, 22b. The opening edges of the base portion 22a and the oblique portions 22b, 22b on the first surface 18a side and the second surface 18b side are chamfered.

The brush head 17 is made up of a cylindrical bundle of synthetic resin fibers bound together to form a fiber bundle unit 17a, with multiple fiber bundle units 17a planted in the holding portion 21 of the holder main body 18. The fiber bundle units 17a are arranged in three rows in the thickness direction of the holder main body 18, extending downward from the holding portion 21 so as to gradually widen, and are cut at an angle with respect to the axis L. Specifically, the fiber bundle units 17a are cut at the same inclination angle as the inclination angle of the inclined portion 21a of the holder main body 18, with the tip of the fiber bundle unit 17a planted closest to the second side end 20 positioned at the lowest position, and the tip of the fiber bundle unit 17a planted closest to the first side end 19 positioned at the highest position.

Next, the dustpan 3 will be described.
The handle 6 is the part that houses the joint member 10 provided at the tip of the handle 4 and the connection part 13 of the wiping body 5, and as shown in Figures 11 to 15, has a bottom piece 6a facing the front side and a pair of side pieces 6b, 6b rising from both sides of the bottom piece 6a in the width direction, and the recess 7 is formed by these bottom piece 6a and side pieces 6b, 6b.

The recess 7 of the handle 6 also has a locking portion 23 that locks the handle 4 into the recess 7 when the tip of the handle 4 is housed therein. The locking portion 23 has protrusions 23a, 23a that protrude inward and face each other from the leading edges 6c, 6c of the pair of side pieces 6b, 6b in the height direction (the opening edges of the recess 7). The locking portions 23 are provided at two locations spaced apart in the direction of the axis L, with the protrusion 23a at one end in the direction of the axis L elastically locking to the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the handle 4 (joint member 10), and the protrusion 23a at the other end in the direction of the axis L elastically locking to the outer peripheral surface of the connecting portion 13 of the wiping body 5.

The sweeping part 8 has a widthwise length and a length in the axial direction L sufficient to completely accommodate the wiping body 5 of the broom 2, and has a bottom surface 8a facing the front side and a pair of side surfaces 8b, 8b rising from both widthwise ends of the bottom surface 8a. The bottom surface 8a of the sweeping part 8 is connected to the bottom piece 6a of the handle 6, and each of the side surfaces 8b, 8b of the sweeping part 8 is connected to each of the side pieces 6b, 6b of the handle 6.

The side surfaces 8b, 8b of the sweeping portion 8 extend farther apart from the base end toward the tip end, and accordingly, the width of the bottom surface 8a gradually increases. The recessed portion formed by the bottom surface 8a and the side surfaces 8b, 8b, which opens to the front side, serves as a dust collection section 24 that collects dust that falls on the surface to be cleaned, such as a floor, and the bottom surface 8a that forms the dust collection section 24 is curved and convex toward the back side.

The sweeping section 8 also has a sweeping opening 25 formed by the leading edge of the bottom surface 8a. The sweeping opening 25 is the part that abuts against the surface to be cleaned during cleaning, and dust that falls on the surface to be cleaned is swept into the dust storage section 24 through this sweeping opening 25. The sweeping opening 25 is connected to the bottom surface 8a of the dust storage section 24 and has a first sloped section 25a that slopes upward toward the front side toward the leading edge of the bottom surface 8a, and a second sloped section 25b that connects to the leading end of the first sloped section 25a and slopes downward toward the back side toward the leading edge, and dust is swept into the dust storage section 24 through the second sloped section 25a. The first sloped surface 25a is a surface that forms a step between the dust storage section 24 and the second sloped surface 25b, and the presence of the first sloped surface 25a makes it difficult for dust stored in the dust storage section 24 to spill out of the second sloped surface 25b.

Furthermore, the sweeping portion 8 has an engaging protrusion 26 that protrudes from the bottom surface 8a and is removably fitted into the engaging hole 22 of the holder portion 16. This engaging protrusion 26 has an isosceles triangular planar shape located on the base end side (handle 6 side) of the sweeping portion 8, with the base 26a facing the sweeping opening 25 and two oblique sides 26b, 26b extending from the base 26a toward the handle 6 side, which extend along the slope of the pair of side surfaces 8b, 8b of the sweeping portion 8.

The engaging protrusion 26 tapers toward the tip in the protruding direction (height direction). Each apex of the triangle of the engaging protrusion 26 is rounded, and the base 26a and oblique sides 26b, 26b are smoothly connected. Furthermore, because the engaging protrusion 26 is located close to the handle 6, it does not take up much space in the dust collection section 24, and the engaging protrusion 26 acts as a barrier, making it difficult for dust collected in the dust collection section 24 to spill out of the opening at the base end of the handle 6 in the direction of the axis L.

An isosceles triangular recess 27 is formed at the tip of the engaging protrusion 26 in the height direction, and an isosceles triangular magnet 28 having the same shape as the recess 27 in a plan view is fitted into this recess 27. The magnet 28 is thin and has one surface in the thickness direction (attraction surface 28a) exposed to the outside, while the other surface is attached to the recess 27 by adhesive or other joining means, thereby integrally joining the magnet 28 to the engaging protrusion 26. Note that the attraction surface 28a functions as the top surface of the engaging protrusion 26, and therefore in the following description, this attraction surface 28a will be referred to as the "top surface 28a" of the engaging protrusion 26. The top surface 28a of the engaging protrusion 26 can be magnetically attracted to a flat wall surface such as a magnetic refrigerator housing or the panel surface of a front door.

When the broom 2 and the dustpan 3 are connected to each other, the shape of the engagement hole 22 of the broom 2 and the shape of the engagement protrusion 26 of the dustpan 3 are symmetrical in the width direction with respect to the axis L. Therefore, even if the front and back surfaces of the holder part 16 are flipped 180 degrees, the first surface 18a facing the dustpan 3 and the second surface 18b facing outward can be swapped, allowing the engagement protrusion 26 and engagement hole 22 to fit together. This means that the broom 2 can be attached to the dustpan 3 without having to worry about the orientation of the front and back surfaces of the holder part 16. Furthermore, by fitting the engagement protrusion 26 into the engagement hole 22, the attachment position of the broom 2 relative to the dustpan 3 is determined, making it easy to integrate the broom 2 and dustpan 3.

Furthermore, when the broom 2 and dustpan 3 are connected to each other as described above and the engaging protrusion 26 of the sweeping part 8 is fitted into the engaging hole 22 of the holder part 16 from the first surface 18a toward the second surface 18b, the top surface 28a of the engaging protrusion 26 is configured to protrude beyond the second surface 18b of the holder part 16, so that the top surface 28a can come into contact with and adhere to a wall surface when not in use.

As shown in Figures 5 and 14, the top surface 28a is formed to protrude above a plane P that includes the heightwise leading edges 8c, 8c of the pair of side surfaces 8b, 8b of the sweeping portion 8 and is parallel to the axis L. Furthermore, the opening edges 6c, 6c of the recess 7 of the handle 6 are on the plane P and are on the same plane in the heightwise direction as the leading edges 8c, 8c of the side surfaces 8b, 8b. Therefore, when the engaging protrusion 26 is engaged with the engaging hole 22, the top surface 28a of the engaging protrusion 26 is located at the highest position in the heightwise direction.

The top surface 28a is parallel to the plane P. Therefore, when the top surface 28a is attached to the wall surface, the opening edges 6c, 6c of the recess 7 and the leading edges 8c, 8c of the side surfaces 8b, 8b of the sweeping portion 8 are attached parallel to the wall surface, spaced apart from the wall surface by the amount of protrusion from the plane P to the top surface 28a.

When cleaning with the broom and dustpan 1, the broom 2 and dustpan 3 are separated, and when not in use, the broom 2 and dustpan 3 are attached together to a wall for storage. When attaching the broom 2 to the dustpan 3, the engagement protrusions 26 of the dustpan 3 are fitted into the engagement holes 22 of the broom 2 from the first surface 18a toward the second surface 18b. The top surfaces 28a of the engagement protrusions 28 then protrude from the second surface 18b through the engagement holes 22, allowing the top surfaces 28a to be attached to the wall by adhering to the wall. When attached to the wall for storage, the top surfaces 28a of the engagement protrusions 26 are attached to the wall through the engagement holes 22, holding the broom 2 between the wall and the dustpan 3 attached to the wall. This prevents the dustpan 3 and broom 2 from separating from each other.

In this embodiment, when the engaging protrusion 26 of the dustpan 3 is fitted into the engaging hole 22 of the broom 2 from the first surface side to the second surface 18b side, the top surface 28a of the engaging protrusion 26 protrudes beyond the second surface 18b, but it may be flush with the second surface 18b as long as the top surface 28a can be attached to a wall surface. In addition, the top surface 28a of the engaging protrusion 26 protrudes beyond the plane P that includes the tip edge 8c in the height direction of the side surface 8b, but it may be flush with the plane P as long as the top surface 28a can be attached to a wall surface in the same manner as above.

The engaging protrusions 26 and engaging holes 22 have an isosceles triangular planar shape, but as long as the engaging protrusions 26 can fit into the engaging holes 22, they may have other planar shapes, such as a rectangle or a circle. Furthermore, the engaging protrusions 26 and engaging holes 22 do not need to fit together tightly and can be configured to fit with some play.

1 Broom with dustpan 2 Broom 3 Dustpan 4 Handle 5 Sweeping body 6 Handle 6c Tip edge (opening edge)
7 Recessed portion 8 Sweeping portion 8a Bottom surface 8b Side surface 8c Tip edge 16 Holder portion 17 Bristle body 22 Engagement hole 25 Sweeping opening 26 Engagement protrusion 28 Magnet 28a Adsorption surface (top surface)
L axis P plane

Claims (7)

A broom with a dustpan includes a broom having a flattened wiping body attached to the tip of a rod-shaped handle extending in the axial direction, a handle having a recess that opens to the front side and can accommodate the tip of the handle, and a dustpan connected to the tip of the handle and having a sweeping part that is recessed and opens to the front side and can accommodate the wiping body, and when not in use, the tip of the handle and the wiping body of the broom can be stored in a mutually combined state by storing the tip of the handle and the wiping body in the recess of the handle and the sweeping part of the dustpan, respectively.
The wiping body of the broom has a flat holder portion connected to the handle portion, and brush bristles having one end held inside the holder portion and the other end extending outside the holder portion, and an engagement hole is opened in the holder portion, penetrating from a first surface to a second surface in the thickness direction of the holder portion,
The sweeping portion of the dustpan has a bottom surface facing the front side and an engaging protrusion protruding from the bottom surface and adapted to be inserted into and removed from the engaging hole of the holder portion, and the top surface of the engaging protrusion is formed as a magnetic attraction surface,
When the broom and dustpan are connected to each other and the engaging protrusion of the sweeping part is fitted into the engaging hole of the holder part from the first surface side toward the second surface side, the top surface of the engaging protrusion is on the same plane as the second surface of the holder part or protrudes beyond the second surface of the holder part.
A broom with a dustpan characterized by: A sweeping opening formed by the tip edge of the bottom surface is provided at the tip of the sweeping part of the dustpan opposite to the handle.
2. The broom with dustpan according to claim 1 . The sweeping portion of the dustpan further has a pair of side surfaces extending from both ends of the bottom surface in the width direction,
The top surfaces of the engaging protrusions are on a plane that includes the tip edges of the pair of side surfaces in the height direction and is parallel to the axis, or protrude beyond the plane.
3. The broom with dustpan according to claim 1 or 2. The top surface of the engaging protrusion is parallel to the plane.
4. The broom with dustpan according to claim 3. an opening edge of the recess of the handle of the dustpan is on the plane;
4. The broom with dustpan according to claim 3. The recess of the handle of the dustpan is provided with a locking portion that locks the handle into the recess when the tip of the handle of the broom is housed therein.
2. The broom with dustpan according to claim 1 . When the broom and the dustpan are connected together, the shape of the engagement hole of the broom and the shape of the engagement protrusion of the dustpan are symmetrical in the width direction with respect to the axis.
2. The broom with dustpan according to claim 1 .