Patent Publication Number: US-10772419-B2

Title: Cleaning assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The disclosure and prior art relates to cleaning assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new cleaning assembly for elongated articles. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing. A channel extends from a top to a bottom of the housing. A plurality of holes is positioned in the housing and extends annularly around an inner perimeter of the housing. Each hole extends to an interior space of the housing. A pipe, which is coupled to and extends from an outer perimeter of the housing, is in fluidic communication with the interior space. A hose connector that is coupled to the pipe distal from the housing is configured to couple the pipe to a hose. A reservoir is coupled to the pipe proximate to the housing. A tube extends between the reservoir and the pipe so that a cleaning agent in the reservoir is positioned to enter the pipe. Water from the hose and the cleaning agent exit the holes under pressure to clean an article positioned in the channel. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric perspective view of a cleaning assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 6  thereof, a new cleaning assembly embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 6 , the cleaning assembly  10  generally comprises a housing  12  that defines an interior space  14 . A channel  16  extends from a top  18  to a bottom  20  of the housing  12  and defines an inner perimeter  22  and an outer perimeter  24  of the housing  12 . 
     A plurality of holes  26  is positioned in the housing  12 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . Each hole  26  extends to the interior space  14 . The plurality of holes  26  extends annularly around the inner perimeter  22 . The holes  26  are positioned substantially equally distant from the top  18  and the bottom  20  of the housing  12 . 
     A pipe  28  is coupled to and extends from the outer perimeter  24  so that the pipe  28  is in fluidic communication with the interior space  14 . The pipe  28  extends arcuately from the housing  12 . 
     An annular pipe  30  is positioned in the interior space  14 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The annular pipe  30  extends around the channel  16 . The annular pipe  30  is fluidically coupled to the pipe  28  and each of the plurality of holes  26 . A filler  32  is positioned around the annular pipe  30  in the interior space  14  so that the housing  12  is substantially solid. 
     A hose connector  34  is coupled to the pipe  28  distal from the housing  12 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The hose connector  34  is configured to couple the pipe  28  to a hose to supply water through the pipe  28  to the interior space  14 . The water exits the holes  26  under pressure. 
     A reservoir  36  is coupled to the pipe  28  proximate to the housing  12 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The reservoir  36  has an upper end  38  that is externally threaded. A tube  40  extends between the reservoir  36  and the pipe  28 . A cleaning agent that is positioned in the reservoir  36  is positioned to enter the pipe  28 . The water and the cleaning agent exit the holes  26  under pressure to clean an article that is selectively positioned in the channel  16 . The user cleans the article by motivating the housing  12  along a length of the article, as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     A valve  42  is coupled to and is positioned in the pipe  28  proximate to the housing  12  as shown in  FIG. 2 . A handle  44  is positioned around and is coupled to the pipe  28  as shown in  FIG. 2 . The handle  44  is configured to be grasped in a hand of the user and is substantially C-shaped. The pipe  28  is positioned in a medial section  46  of the handle  44 . A first section  48  of the handle  44  extends substantially perpendicularly from the pipe  28  proximate to the valve  42 . A second section  50  of the handle  44  extends transversely from the pipe  28  proximate to the hose connector  34 . The second section  50  is substantially tear-drop shaped. 
     A grip  52  is coupled to the medial section  46  of the handle  44 . The grip  52  is configured to deter slippage of the hand of the user grasping the handle  44 . 
     A recess  54  extends into the first section  48  of the handle  44  distal from the pipe  28 . The recess  54  is internally threaded. The recess  54  is complementary to the upper end  38  of the reservoir  36  so that the upper end  38  is positioned to be threadedly inserted into the recess  54  to couple the reservoir  36  to the handle  44 . A tubular void  56  extends from the recess  54  to the valve  42  so that the valve  42  is in fluidic communication with the recess  54 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The tube  40  is positioned to be inserted into the tubular void  56  to fluidically couple the tube  40  to the valve  42 . The tube  40  has a first end  58  that is operationally coupled to the valve  42 . The tube  40  has a second end  60  that is positioned proximate to a lower end  62  of the reservoir  36 . 
     A controller  64  is coupled to the handle  44 . The controller  64  is operationally coupled to the valve  42  so that the controller  64  is positioned to selectively actuate the valve  42  to regulate a flow of water through the pipe  28  and a rate of addition of the cleaning agent to the water that flows though the valve  42 . 
     The controller  64  comprises a slide switch  66 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The slide switch  66  is configured to be selectively slid relative to the handle  44  by a digit of the hand of the user that is grasping the handle  44  to regulate the flow of water through the pipe  28  and the rate of addition of the cleaning agent to the water flowing though the valve  42 . 
     A plurality of bristles  68  is coupled to the inner perimeter  22  of the housing  12  and extends into the channel  16 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The bristles  68  are configured to dislodge particles that are adhered to the article that is positioned in the channel  16  as the user motivates the housing  12  along the length of the article. 
     The plurality of bristles  68  comprises a set of first fibers  70  and a set of second fibers  72 . The set of first fibers  70  is positioned between the plurality of holes  26  and the top  18  of the housing  12 . The set of first fibers  70  is positioned in six first groups  74  that are evenly space around the inner perimeter  22 . The set of second fibers  72  is positioned between the plurality of holes  26  and the bottom  20  of the housing  12 . The set of second fibers  72  is positioned in six second groups  76  that are evenly space around the inner perimeter  22 . The second groups  76  are aligned with the first groups  74  when viewed from the top  18  of the housing  12 . 
     Each of a plurality of nozzles  78  is coupled to the housing  12  and extends from an associated hole  26  into the channel  16 . The nozzles  78  are configured to increase a velocity of the water that exits the holes  26 . 
     In another embodiment of the invention, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the housing  12  comprises a plurality of shells  80 . Each shell  80  defines an internal space  82 . Each shell  80  has a respective shape so that the plurality of shells  80  comprises shells  80  that have a variety of shapes. 
     A first connector  84  is coupled to the pipe  28  distal from the hose connector  34 . Each of a plurality of second connectors  86 , which are complementary to the first connector  84  is coupled to a respective shell  80  so that the second connector  86  is in fluidic communication with the internal space  82  of the respective shell  80 . The second connector  86  is positioned to selectively couple to the first connector  84  to couple the respective shell  80  to the pipe  28 . 
     The second connector  86  and the first connector  84  comprise a quick connector  88 . The quick connector  88  allows the user to select a shell  80  that is shaped substantially complementarily to a longitudinal cross-section of a selected elongated article and to quickly connect the shell  80  to the pipe  28 . The complementarity of the shell  80  to the longitudinal cross-section allows the user to efficiently clean the selected elongated article by motivating the shell  80  along the length of the selected elongated article. 
     In use, the cleaning agent is positioned in the reservoir  36 . The tube  40  is inserted into the tubular void  56  to fluidically couple the tube  40  to the valve  42 . The upper end  38  of the reservoir  36  is threadedly inserted into the recess  54  to couple the reservoir  36  to the handle  44 . The hose connector  34  is used to couple the pipe  28  to the hose. The slide switch  66  is selectively slid relative to the handle  44  to regulate the flow of water through the pipe  28  and the rate of addition of the cleaning agent to the water flowing though the valve  42 . The water and the cleaning agent exit the holes  26  under pressure to clean the article that is positioned in the channel  16 . The bristles  68  dislodge the particles that are adhered to the article as the user motivates the housing  12  along the length of the article. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.