Patent Publication Number: US-9901166-B2

Title: Hand pump cleaning brush

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/088,686 filed Dec. 8, 2014, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Conventional cleaning brush products for washing dishes or hard surfaces require liquid cleaner and water to develop a lather of cleaner on the brush head. Conventional cleaning brushes provide a liquid cleaner reservoir built into the handle of the brush. The liquid cleaner, such as soap, is often dispensed by way of gravity through a small hole in the head of the brush. The liquid cleaner can leak out of the head of the brush when the brush is not in use, especially when some form of check valve is not built into the brush. Other conventional cleaning brushes incorporate a small rubber button on the liquid reservoir that acts as a displacement device when pushed into the reservoir. The button, when pressed, occupies space in the reservoir that compresses the liquid cleaner forcing it out of the opening in the brush head. As the soap level in the reservoir is lowered during use, the displacement button becomes ineffective because the air in the reservoir makes the compression ineffective. The increased compressibility of the air requires an increased displacement to eject any cleaner, which the button cannot provide. 
     Known brushes also require an external use of water and agitation by the user to generate a lather of cleaner foam on the object that is being cleaned. A separate supply of water can be unwieldy or unavailable, as clean water is not always available when cleaning objects during travel, in a car, or outside, as when camping. Moreover, cleaning in tight spaces, such as inside a drinking glass can be difficult with conventional fixed-head cleaning brushes because the head is invariably angled and cannot make flat contact with the bottom of the glass, for example. 
     SUMMARY 
     A hand pump cleaning brush is described. An example brush that dispenses foaming soap provides a metered quantity of foam cleaner at the actuation of a finger trigger mounted on the brush handle. As the example brush dispenses liquid cleaner as a foam lather, the need for water outside of the example cleaning brush to generate a lather is eliminated. An example foaming valve includes a check valve that eliminates soap leakage. In an implementation, a removable brush head allows the brush bristles to be replaced without replacing the entire device. In an implementation, a clear viewing window with marked gradients allows the user to mix proper amounts of cleaner products and identifies the amount of liquid cleaner remaining in the reservoir. In an implementation, a push-button rotary locking device on the brush head allows the brush head to be swiveled at different angles. 
     This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Certain embodiments of the disclosure will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying figures illustrate the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein. 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of an example side view of the example cleaning brush with a transparent outer shell and a fixed reservoir. 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric exploded view of the example cleaning brush with a fixed reservoir. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view diagram that shows an example cleaning brush with a transparent outer shell and sliding reservoir. 
         FIG. 4  is an isometric exploded view that shows an example cleaning brush with a sliding reservoir. 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric view of an example cleaning brush with a rotating head. 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  are isometric exploded views of an example cleaning brush with a rotating head at different angles of view. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     This disclosure describes example hand pump cleaning brushes. The example cleaning brush generates a foam of cleaning lather from liquid cleaner in a reservoir by mechanical force provided by the user. 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of an example cleaning brush  5  with a transparent outer shell and a fixed reservoir. In an implementation, a liquid cleaner is poured into the liquid reservoir  18  by unscrewing a threaded reservoir cap  12 . The shell of the liquid reservoir  18  has a transparent viewing window  34  that may include gradient markings so that a mixture of the liquid cleaner can be made. 
     In an implementation, the brush handle  10  may be a hollow cylinder, which has an attached yoke  20  that joins the finger trigger  16  to the brush handle  10 . The finger trigger  16  may have a hollow sleeve that allows the finger trigger  16  to pivot around the fixed shaft  22  that is attached to the yoke  20 . 
     An example bristle block  14  can be threaded at its base so that the bristle block  14  can be removed from an example bush head  60  of the example cleaning brush  5  by screwing off the bristle block  14 . The base of the bristle block  14  and body of the example cleaning brush  5  can be shaped in various ways to provide a sharp edge for scraping stuck food or debris from the surface being cleaned. 
       FIG. 2  is an isometric exploded view of the example cleaning brush  5  with a fixed reservoir. The liquid reservoir  18  containing the liquid cleaner has a partition  24  separating the liquid cleaner from the hollow body of the brush handle  10 . The partition  24  may have a nipple  46  attached that allows the liquid cleaner to feed into a coiled flexible tubing  26 . The coiling of the flexible tubing  26  allows an outer casing of a foam pump  28  to move back and forth while maintaining a connection to the reservoir  18 . The other end of the coiled flexible tubing  26  is attached to an inlet on the moveable outer casing of the foam pump  28 . The foam pump  28  is comprised of the moveable outer casing that houses a steel ball  44 , an upper check valve  40 , a helical spring  42 , a liquid piston  38 , an air piston  36 , and a mixing chamber  32 . When the finger trigger  16  is pulled or actuated, the lever arm of the trigger  16  pressed against the base of the moveable outer casing of the foam pump  28  forces the outer casing of the foam pump  28  over the fixed piston  36  thereby causing the fixed piston  36  to retract into the foam pump  28 . The liquid piston  38  and the fixed air piston  36  draw the liquid cleaner and ambient air into the mixing chamber  32  and push the air/cleaner mixture through the discharge tube  30  to a hole in the bristle block  14 . The end of the discharge tube  30  has a fine mesh screen  50  that aerates the air/cleaner mixture into a foam when forced through by the pressure supplied by the user through the finger trigger  16 . When the finger trigger  16  is released, the helical spring  42  expands, forcing the steel ball  44  back into the inlet nipple  46  of the foam pump  28 , stopping the flow of liquid cleaner into the pump  28 . The helical spring  42  also pushes the movable outer casing of the foam pump  28  back so that the fixed air piston  36  is back in an extended position with respect to movable outer casing of the foam pump  28 . 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of another implementation of an example cleaning brush  5  that shows a transparent outer shell and sliding reservoir  18 . In this embodiment, the liquid reservoir  18  is separated from the brush handle  10  and moves back and forth during operation of the foam pump  28 . The brush handle  10  has a larger diameter than the liquid reservoir  18  to act as a sleeve around the reservoir  18 . 
       FIG. 4  is an isometric exploded view showing the example cleaning brush  5  with a sliding reservoir  18 . The liquid reservoir  18  is sealed to a flange on the outer casing of the foam pump  28 . A linkage pin  56  can be attached perpendicularly to the pump flange  19  on each side. A linkage arm  54  connects the foam valve linkage pin  56  to another linkage pin  52  on the lever arm of the finger trigger  16 . The linkage arm  54  is kept in place on the pins by the locking caps  58 . The discharge tube  30  is attached to the brush head  14  and the mixing chamber  32 . When the finger trigger  16  is pulled, the lever arm of the finger trigger  16  and connected linkage arm  54  pull the outer casing of the foam pump  28  and liquid reservoir  18  into the brush handle  10 . Movement of the foam pump  28  outer casing over the fixed pistons  36  &amp;  38  draws the liquid cleaner from the reservoir  18  and discharges the air/cleaner mix through the discharge tube  30  to the bristle block  14 . 
       FIG. 5  is an isometric view that showing a rotating head of the example cleaning brush  5 . In an implementation, the brush handle  10  has two socket arms  120  that are used to attach to the brush head  60  by a head pin  122  on one side and a rotary locking device  110  on the other side. The rotary locking device  110  is unlocked by a push button  112 , which when pressed allows the brush head  60  to swivel at different angles. A slot  66  is cut in the brush head  60  to allow the discharge tube  30  to move with the brush handle  10 . 
       FIGS. 6-7  are isometric exploded views that show the rotating head of the example cleaning brush  5  at different angles of view. The socket arms  120  are attached to the brush head  60  by a head pin  122  that is fitted to a hole  64  in the brush head  60  and a rotary bolt  101  that is screwed into a threaded insert  62  fixed to the side of the brush head  60 . The push button  112  may have a recessed center to conceal the rotary bolt  101 . The push button  122  may have two push rods  102  that pass though the hub holes  103  on a swivel hub  106  to make contact with an outer ring of the hub drive  104 . The hub drive  104  and the swivel hub  106  may have teeth that mate together to lock the brush head  60  in place. A spring  105  may be set over the rotary bolt  101  to press against the back side of the hub drive  104  and the end of the threaded insert  62 . When the push button  112  is pressed, the push rods press on the hub drive  104  compressing the spring  105  and disengaging the locking teeth of the hub drive  104  and the swivel hub  106  allowing the brush head  60  to swivel. When the push button  112  is depressed, the spring  105  forces the hub drive  104  back into the swivel hub  106  locking the brush head  60  into place. 
     In an implementation, the hand pump cleaning brush includes a brush head with cleaning bristles, the brush head rotatably attached to a longitudinal handle member, the cleaning bristles mounted on the brush head in a plane non-perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the longitudinal handle member, the brush head rotatable about an end of the longitudinal handle member for disposing the cleaning bristles in various non-perpendicular planes with respect to the longitudinal axis of the longitudinal handle member, a reservoir in the handle for containing a liquid cleaner, a pump for drawing ambient air and for drawing the liquid cleaner from the reservoir, the pump comprising a first piston for pumping the liquid cleaner, a second piston for pumping the ambient air, and an outer casing, the first piston and the second piston fixed along the longitudinal axis with respect to the longitudinal handle member and fixed to a mixing chamber, a discharge tube having a first end rotatably attached to the mixing chamber and a second end in rotatable fluid communication with the cleaning bristles, a trigger hinged to the longitudinal handle member and coupled to the outer casing of the pump to move the outer casing of the pump along the longitudinal axis of the longitudinal handle over the fixed first piston and the fixed second piston through mechanical force provided by a user, and a mesh at the second end of the discharge tube for aerating the liquid cleaner with the ambient air into a foam at the cleaning bristles through the mechanical force provided by the user. 
     In another implementation, a waterless foaming cleaning brush with adjustable brush head includes a tubular member comprising a handle having a longitudinal axis, a reservoir in the tubular member for containing a cleaning liquid, a pump in the tubular member having an axial stroke displacement along the longitudinal axis of the tubular member, a first piston of the pump for pumping a gas and having a radial diameter comparable to an inner diameter of the tubular member, a second piston of the pump within the first piston and concentric with the first piston for pumping the cleaning liquid, a trigger attached to an exterior of the tubular member to actuate an outer casing of the pump over the first piston and the second piston along the longitudinal axis, retracting the first piston and the second piston into the outer casing to displace a volume of the gas and the liquid cleaner within the outer casing, a mixing chamber attached to the pump for mixing the gas with the cleaning liquid, a discharge tube rotatably attached to the mixing chamber, a foaming screen attached to the discharge tube, a brush head rotatably connected to the tubular member, and cleaning bristles rotatably disposed on the brush head at a non-perpendicular angle with respect to the longitudinal axis, the cleaning bristles in foam communication with the discharge tube. 
     While the present disclosure has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate numerous modifications and variations there from. It is intended that the appended claims cover such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the disclosure.