Abstract:
A personal cleaning utensil includes at least one binding member and a plurality of elastic elements which are respectively formed of elastic netting tubes having optionally different meshes or colors and bound together by the binding member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a personal body cleaning utensil and more particularly, to a bath sponge, which is optionally made of different materials in different colors, and to a method of manufacturing the bath sponge.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,744 discloses a manufacturing method of a diamond-mesh polyethylene netting sponge. According to this method, a diamond-mesh polyethylene netting sponge is obtained from a number of netting tubes stretched over supports, joined and bound together at the center and the released from the supports. According to the characteristics of the netting sponge as stated in the specification of the aforesaid prior art patent, the netting sponge is very easy to clean, and short rinsing is sufficient to eliminate all trace of dirt, and the sponge then dries rapidly.  
         [0005]     However, because the netting tubes of the netting sponge of the aforesaid prior art design are made from one single material, i.e., polyethylene, the netting sponge provides only one roughness. It is neither practical nor comfortable to use a bath sponge having a particular roughness for cleaning different parts of the body. Therefore, a person may have to prepare several bath sponges having different roughness for cleaning different parts of the body.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a personal cleaning utensil, which is prepared from multiple materials in optionally different colors for different applications.  
         [0007]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a personal cleaning utensil that causes a sense of beauty.  
         [0008]     To achieve these objects of the present invention, the personal cleaning utensil comprises at least one binding member and a plurality of elastic elements formed of elastic netting tubes having optionally different meshes or colors and bound together by the binding member. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing showing a personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a schematic drawing showing a stage of manufacture of a personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention, where a first element is stretched over two parallel uprights of a support structure.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing showing a stage of manufacture of a personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention, where the stretched first element is tied with a first binding strip near the center area.  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a top view of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing showing a stage of manufacture of a personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention, where the stretched first element is moved upwards from the two parallel uprights of the support structure.  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  corresponds to  FIG. 6 , showing the first element released from the support structure.  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a schematic drawing showing a stage of manufacture of a personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention, where a second element is stretched over the two parallel uprights of the support structure.  
         [0017]      FIG. 9  corresponds to  FIG. 8 , showing the center area of the stretched second element tied up with a second binding strip.  
         [0018]      FIG. 10  is a top view corresponding to  FIG. 9 , showing the first element fastened to the stretched second element at the support structure.  
         [0019]      FIG. 11  is a schematic drawing showing a stage of manufacture of a personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention, where the stretched second element is moved upwards from the two parallel uprights of the support structure.  
         [0020]      FIG. 12  corresponds to  FIG. 11 , showing the second element released from the support structure.  
         [0021]      FIG. 13  is a schematic drawing showing a stage of manufacture of a personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention, where a third element is stretched over the two parallel uprights of the support structure.  
         [0022]      FIG. 14  is a schematic drawing showing a stage of manufacture of a personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention, where the binding strip of the first element fastened to the center area of the stretched third element at the support structure.  
         [0023]      FIG. 15  corresponds to  FIG. 14 , showing the stretched third element moved upwards from the two parallel uprights of the support structure.  
         [0024]      FIG. 16  corresponds to  FIG. 15 , showing the third element released from the support structure. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a personal cleaning utensil in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a first element  11 , a second element  13 , a third element  15 , and a binding strip  17 . The first, second and third elements  11 ,  13 , and  15  are respectively obtained from elastic netting tubes having optionally different meshes or colors. The binding strip  17  binds the first, second and third elements  11 ,  13 , and  15  together. The elasticity of the elastic netting tubes of the elements  11 ,  13 , and  15  has the personal cleaning utensil always maintained its original bulky spherical volume.  
         [0026]     The method of manufacturing a personal cleaning utensil according to the present invention comprises:  
         [0027]     Step I: providing a first element  11 , a second element  13  and a third element  15 , which are elastic netting tubes having different meshes and colors;  
         [0028]     Step II: stretching the first element  11  over two parallel uprights  25  above a horizontal base  13  of a support structure  21 , enabling the parallel uprights  25  to keep the first element  11  taut and stretched in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the first element  11  (see  FIG. 3 );  
         [0029]     Step III: binding the stretched first element  11  with a first binding strip  31  near the center area of the stretched first element  11 , keeping the two distal ends of the stretched first element  11  free (see  FIGS. 4 and 5 );  
         [0030]     Step IV: releasing the stretched first element  11  from the support structure  21 , whereby the first element  11  through its resiliency rebound into a rounded sponge shape around the first binding strip  31  (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 );  
         [0031]     Step V: stretching the second element  13  over the two parallel uprights  25  of the support structure  21 , enabling the parallel uprights  25  to keep the second element  13  taut and stretched in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the second element  13  (see  FIG. 8 );  
         [0032]     Step VI: binding the stretched second element  13  with a second binding strip  33  near the center area of the stretched second element  13  (see  FIG. 9 );  
         [0033]     Step VII: tying the first element  11  that is maintained in a rounded sponge shape to the center area of the stretched second element  13  with the first binding strip  31 , keeping the two distal ends of the first binding strip  31  free (see  FIG. 10 );  
         [0034]     Step VIII: releasing the stretched second element  13  from the support structure  21 , whereby the second element  13  through its resiliency rebound into a rounded sponge shape around the second binding strip  33  (see  FIGS. 11 and 12 );  
         [0035]     Step IX: stretching the third element  15  over the two parallel uprights  25  of the support structure  21 , enabling the parallel uprights  25  to keep the third element  15  taut and stretched in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the third element  15  (see  FIG. 13 );  
         [0036]     Step X: tying the first element  11  that is maintained in a rounded sponge shape and fastened to the second element  13  to the center area of the stretched third element  15  with the first binding strip  31 , keeping the first element  11 , the second element  13  and the third element  15  bound together (see  FIG. 14 ); and  
         [0037]     Step XI: releasing the stretched third element  15  from the support structure  21 , whereby the third element  15  through its resiliency rebound into a rounded sponge shape around the first binding strip  31  (see  FIGS. 15 and 16 ).  
         [0038]     Because the first, second and third elements  11 ,  13 , and  15  are prepared from netting tubes having different meshes, the personal cleaning utensil thus obtained has three different roughness for cleaning different parts of the body. For example, the user can use the first element of the personal cleaning utensil that has relatively smaller meshes to clean a sensitive part of the body. Further, the three elements of the personal cleaning utensil can be prepared in different colors, thereby the personal cleaning utensil causes a sense of color beauty.