Patent Publication Number: US-5426806-A

Title: Sports equipment grip cleaner

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning sport&#39;s equipment grips such as golf club grips, squash racket grips, tennis racket grips, racket ball grips, and the like. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Hitting a ball in a racket sport or the game of golf requires that the athlete be able to securely grip the racket or club. In all cases the sport requires the player to firmly but gently grasp the handle or grip. This requires that the handle or grip be constructed of a rubberized or similar material which provide high friction between the grip and hands. However, to be effective, the grip must be clean and free of grease or other foreign matter that could cause the hand(s) to slip at ball impact. The problem is that during the course of play, the grasp area becomes lubricated with perspiration, dirt and body oil to the point that racket or club control is lost or degraded. 
     The problem of dirty grips has yet to be solved for the average person in a location where the individual may readily avail themselves of cleaning services. This grip cleaner is designed to be located where the sporting activity is taking place so the average sports&#39; person is able to achieve the same grip cleanliness as the professional grip cleaner cleaning the grip by hand. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     The depicted invention is generic in nature for the application of cleaning sporting equipment handles and grip areas. The difference between applications resides in the product dimensions as will be described in the discussion of the drawings. The device itself resembles a box with an opening in the front. The washer has an automatic dollar bill, or coin receiver, and will provide a specific limited cycle time. It is envisioned that one dollar will buy sufficient time to wash four or five golf grips and two racket type grips. 
     The cleaner is comprised of a formed cavity containing a set of three counter rotating brushes that surround the grip when it is inserted. These brushes are driven by an external motor via a cog belt. The washing fluid is pumped by an external pump from a reservoir via tubing to a wash tube fixed at the top of the wash chamber where the cleaning solution is forced under pressure over the brushes and grip area. As the brushes rotate they scrub the grip area. The constantly flowing cleaning solution carries off particulate and soluble material into the fluid reservoir at the bottom of the wash chamber where it is recycled into the main fluid reservoir. Cleaning of the grip area is achieved by the sport&#39;s person inserting the grip end of the racket or club into the receiver tube, through the center of the three brush scrub assembly, whereupon the end of the shaft contacts the end holder which provides a dual service. It holds the sport&#39;s equipment in place and is also the power switch. By pushing the sports&#39; equipment into the cleaning chamber, the power switch is activated by the end of the shaft or handle and the device is turned on. After a user determined period of time the user removes the pressure from the sports&#39; equipment which allows the spring loaded micro switch to turn off the unit whereby the user removes the equipment by reversing the entry procedure. This process is repeated until the user either cleans all equipment, or the unit times out. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a view of the entire sport grip washer showing the outside case, upper and lower compartments, cleaning assembly, currency collector, status panel, drive motor, cleaning fluid pump, filter, and fluid reservoir. 
     FIG. 2 is a view of the cleaning assembly depicting a golf club shaft and grip inserted in this version of the invention. The figure shows the cleaning brushes, catch basin with the course mesh screen and the drive belt. 
     FIG. 3 is a front view of the cleaning brush assembly showing the three counter rotating brushes and the drive gears. 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of the cleaning brush assembly showing the three counter rotating brushes and the drive gears. 
     FIG. 5 is a view of the detail of the micro-switch power controller mechanism. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     This sport grip cleaning device is expected to find use in cleaning all types of handles and grips used in sporting equipment. 
     FIG. 1 illustrates the overall grip cleaning design according to the present invention, indicated by the numeral 1. As depicted, the invention is contained in a rectangular cabinet that is comprised of two compartments to facilitate maintenance activities. The lower compartment 2 is designed to remain in place and the upper compartment 3 is designed to be removed to facilitate removal and replacement of the cleaning assembly 4 in the event of malfunction. The cleaning assembly 4 has accommodation for the insertion of the sport&#39;s equipment grip, a golf club grip in this example, 5 to a predetermined depth. The handle is inserted through a guide tube 6 where by it is centered between the brushes in the cleaning assembly 4. The front of the cabinet 7 also contains the revenue receiving device 8 as well as a status panel 9 containing a green light to indicate an activated state, a time remaining counter, and instructions for use. A cloth will also be fastened to the unit to allow the sport&#39;s person to wipe off the grip after washing. The upper portion of the cabinet 3 contains the cleaning assembly 4, drive motor 10 and pump assembly 11. These elements are attached to the top of the cabinet 3 for easy removal. By simply unscrewing the hold down bolts and lifting the assembly off the lower cabinet 2 the entire pumping and cleaning unit is serviced or replaced without moving the lower cabinet. The bill receiving unit 8 is accessed through the upper service door 12 on the front of the lower cabinet 2 for removal of the accumulated currency. 
     To facilitate cleaning fluid changing, the lower cabinet 2 contains a fluid reservoir access door 13 where the cleaning fluid reservoir 14 is located on a weight supporting drawer on rollers 18 for easy removal and servicing. 
     As shown in FIG. 1 the drive motor 10 and pump assembly 11 are electrically integrated such that power activation is through the bill collector 8 to the grip holding unit micro-switch FIG. 2-16 to the drive motor 10 and pump unit 11. The brush assembly FIG. 2-17 is driven via a cog drive belt 24 by the drive motor 10. The pump unit 11 is powered by the same timed power source, thus the washer unit 4 is only under power whenever the sport&#39;s person has activated the unit; the timing of unit operation is thereby controlled by the user. The reservoir 14 provides a dual service. It provides a large supply of cleaning fluid to allow greater dispersion of the contaminants as well as a collection point for particulate matter. The reservoir 14 allows the particulate matter to settle out of the fluid so it is not reintroduced into the cleaning process. Both the drain hose 15 and the pick-up-tube 22 are routed through the reservoir filler cap 26. The pick-up tube 22 has a fine mesh screen 23 on the intake end which takes up fluid at the half way point in the fluid level to prevent disturbance of the settling process. At predetermined service intervals the fluid reservoir 14 is exchanged with a like unit and removed for draining, cleaning and replenishment for the next exchange. In this manner the fluid is maintained in a contained manner for ease of maintenance and disposal in an environmentally sound manner. The fluid is cleaned by filtering through an in line filter 25. 
     As shown in FIG. 2 a golf club grip 5, in this example of the sport grip washer, is inserted into the cleaning unit 4 where it depresses the grip holding micro-switch, 16 to turn the unit on. The depicted brushes 17 in a counter rotating action, impart a counter torque scrubbing motion against the grip 5. 
     As shown, the cleaning fluid is sprayed over the brushes to provide a cleaning solvent, and lubricant to the cleaning process via the spray bar 19 which is an integral part of the cleaning unit 4. This fluid flow and brushing action washes the accumulated salts, oils and other material off the grip. The fluid then flows to the bottom of the catch basin 20 where the large particulate matter is screened out by the course mesh screen 21. The bottom of the wash unit is serviceable through the front cash collection and screen maintenance access panel 12. This panel is hinged so that it may be opened to gain access to the bill collection hopper 8 and also allow the attendant to detach and remove the debris collection screen 21 for cleaning. This screen will provide for the removal of large particulate matter on a frequent basis and will thus prevent debris from clogging the drain hose 15. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning brush assembly consists of three counter rotating cleaning brushes 17 contained within a brush carrier housing 27 that is driven by a brush drive gear assembly 28. This assembly is designed such that the brushes carry the cleaning fluid to the surface of the grip and impart a light brushing action against the grip to dislodge embedded grit and remove grime and oils. The cleaning brushes 17 are also designed in a spiral twist such that they impart a retention force against the grip. 
     As depicted in FIG. 5, the power to the unit is controlled by the customer pressing the sports equipment handle butt against the grip handle socket 29 which imparts lateral movement to the actuator shaft 30, which in turn activates the micro-switch 31. This design ensures the unit is only activated when the sports equipment grip is in proper position to be cleaned. The micro-switch return spring 32 returns the unit to the off position when the pressure is removed from the handle socket 29, thereby turning off the unit when the sports equipment is removed from the cleaning position. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     Thus, there has been disclosed a sport grip washer that with minimum changes in specification may be used for the cleaning of any one of several types of hand held sporting equipment without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all such changes and modifications are considered to fall within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.