Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7827648?dq=6,957,233
Timestamp: 2014-07-30 18:16:16
Document Index: 524132784

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 21', 'arts 15', 'art 15', 'art 16', 'arts 15', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14', 'arts 14']

Patent US7827648 - Cleaning brush with disposable/replaceable brush head - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsDisclosed is a cleaning brush for cleaning toilet bowls and the like. The brush has a permanent handle and replaceable/disposable brush heads that are flushable after each cleaning. The brush is a stack of sheets of water-dissolvable and/or agitation-dissolvable material. The sheets can be attached together...http://www.google.com/patents/US7827648?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7827648 - Cleaning brush with disposable/replaceable brush headAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7827648 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/532,925Publication dateNov 9, 2010Filing dateSep 19, 2006Priority dateJul 8, 2003Fee statusPaidAlso published asCA2531529A1, CA2531529C, CN1838906A, CN100518612C, CN101518427A, CN101518427B, CN102551584A, DE602004017414D1, DE602004025856D1, EP1553864A2, EP1553864B1, EP1736086A2, EP1736086A3, EP1736086B1, US7159265, US20050005378, US20070006412, WO2005006933A2, WO2005006933A3Publication number11532925, 532925, US 7827648 B2, US 7827648B2, US-B2-7827648, US7827648 B2, US7827648B2InventorsDouglas A. Soller, Kenneth W. Michaels, Elias H. Shaer, Michael J. Banco, Terra J. MorganOriginal AssigneeS.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (50), Referenced by (1), Classifications (7), Legal Events (1) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetCleaning brush with disposable/replaceable brush headUS 7827648 B2Abstract Disclosed is a cleaning brush for cleaning toilet bowls and the like. The brush has a permanent handle and replaceable/disposable brush heads that are flushable after each cleaning. The brush is a stack of sheets of water-dissolvable and/or agitation-dissolvable material. The sheets can be attached together at an end by pressure bonding or by a water-soluble adhesive and formed with bristles at an opposite end. The wand provides a remote system for clamping and unclamping the brush head.
1. A toilet brush head suitable to be held by a toilet cleaning device,
wherein the brush head consists essentially of a plurality of layers of a water-degradable nonwoven material where the material comprises at least 70% pulp fibers entangled with other fibers, and the layers are positioned on top of each other to form a stack of such layers in a manner that the brush head is suitable to be flushed down a flush toilet;
wherein the plurality of layers are held together by a bond between the layers that is water degradable if the brush head is flushed down a flush toilet, wherein the bond is adjacent a first end of the stack and is formed without the use of any of glue, a staple or stitching to cause them to be held them together, and an opposed end of the stack in the form of bristles can spread out between at least some of the layers of the stack;
wherein the toilet brush head comprises between four and forty layers of material in the stack;
wherein at least two of the bristles of the toilet brush head each comprise a double-layered structure in the form of a loop;
wherein a first such loop is stacked over a second such loop with a rearward end of the first loop bonded to a rearward end of a second such loop to restrict the rearward ends of the loops from spreading apart from each other;
wherein the brush head has been at least partially impregnated with a chemical composition comprising a surfactant; and
wherein the head is stored in a pouch having a weakened line along its middle section such that opening the pouch along the line will define a handle portion of the pouch and a removed portion of the pouch with a portion of the head projecting out of the handle portion of the pouch, while the handle portion provides a handle for aligning the head relative to the device when the removed portion has been separated from the handle portion.
2. The toilet brush head of claim 1, wherein the chemical composition further comprises water.
3. The toilet brush head of claim 1, wherein the toilet brush head is agitation degradable.
4. A toilet brush head suitable to be held by a toilet cleaning device,
wherein the head is stored in a pouch having a weakened line along its middle section such that opening the pouch along the line will define a handle portion of the pouch and a removed portion of the pouch with a portion of the head projecting out of the handle portion of the pouch, while the handle portion provides a handle for aligning the head relative to the device when the removed portion has been separated from the handle portion
wherein the brush head consists essentially of a plurality of layers of a nonwoven material positioned on top of each other to form a stack of such layers in a manner that the brush head is suitable to be flushed down a flush toilet;
wherein the nonwoven material is water degradable.
5. A toilet brush head suitable to be held by a toilet cleaning device, wherein the brush head consists essentially of:
a plurality of layers of a nonwoven water-degradable material where the material comprises at least 70% pulp fibers entangled with other fibers, and the layers are positioned on top of each other to form a stack of such layers in a manner that the brush head is suitable to be flushed down a flush toilet;
wherein the plurality of layers are held together by a bond between the layers that is water degradable if the brush head is flushed down a flush toilet, wherein the bond is adjacent a first end of the stack and is formed without the use of any of glue, a staple or stitching to cause them to be held together, and an opposed end of the stack in the form of bristles can spread out between at least some of the layers of the stack;
wherein the toilet brush head is agitation degradable;
wherein a first such bristle is stacked over a second such bristle with a rearward end of the first such bristle bonded to a rearward end of a second such bristle, to restrict the rearward ends of the bristles from spreading apart from each other;
wherein the brush head has been at least partially impregnated with a chemical composition comprising a surfactant and water; and
6. The toilet brush head of claim 5, wherein the toilet brush head comprises between four and forty layers of material in the stack.
7. The toilet brush head of claim 5, wherein each bristle of the toilet brush head comprises a double-layered structure.
8. The toilet brush head of claim 7, wherein the double-layer structure is in the form of a loop.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority based on, and is a continuation of, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/615,178, filed Jul. 8, 2003.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to brushes that are used for cleaning. It appears particularly well suited for providing a toilet brush.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Toilet brushes are typically used to swirl cleaning chemicals around a toilet bowl, and then to scrub the sides of the bowl with those chemicals or water, so as to assist in removing stains along the bowl sides. Typically such brushes have their brush bristles permanently affixed to the handle of the brush.
Still other such devices relied on attachment mechanisms that projected relative to the brush head in a way such that they could have the holder portion of the wand contact the bowl. This created a risk of scratching certain bowl surfaces.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect the invention provides a brush head suitable to be held by a cleaning device (for example a toilet bowl brush). The brush head has a plurality of layers of a water-degradable material positioned on top of each other to form a stack of such layers.
In this patent �water-degradable� is intended to mean that the material tends, with the degree of mechanical action typical in residential plumbing systems, to structurally separate in water into pieces (preferably in numerous small pieces) in less than one month, preferably in less than one day, even more preferably in less than one half hour. �Water-degradable� is not intended to necessarily require any particular degree of biodegradability as distinguished from structural degradability, albeit for a variety of reasons biodegradability is also highly preferred.
Some of the brush heads of the present invention are formed from a single piece of water-degradable material that has been repetitively folded back on itself in accordion fashion. This is one form of a �stack� of material.
In another form, the invention provides a toilet brush head suitable to be held by a toilet brush handle. The brush head is made of agitation-degradable material that is nevertheless capable of essentially retaining its structural integrity for at least one minute when scrubbing a toilet bowl interior wall surface under water. �Agitation degradable� is intended to mean that the breakup time of a head, measured from beginning of agitation until the head is broken down into pieces all smaller than 2.54 cm in diameter, is less than thirty minutes, using the breakup measurement protocol of U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,187.
In a preferred form of this variant, the jaw can be opened and closed by movement of a radially extending projection where the projection is remotely positioned on the handle from the position of the brush head. By �remotely� it is intended that the term mean more than 20% up the length of the handle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top, frontal, right perspective view of a fully assembled cleaning brush, in the form of a toilet brush, in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a further enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 5, as indicated by the line 7-7;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a toilet brush (or other cleaning brush) having a wand/handle that is an essentially permanent part (for example made of one or more durable hard plastic(s)). The toilet brush also has a brush head that is disposable and replaceable. In this regard, in the FIG. 1-9 embodiment there is depicted a toilet brush (generally 10) having a disposable brush head 11 and a multi-part wand/handle (generally 12).
Near the opposite end of the extension 14 are radially extending holes 19 and 20 that are suitable to receive corresponding snap parts 21 and 22 of the housing parts 15 and 16. The housing part 15 has a radial slot 24 on one surface and an arcuate inner channel along its opposite surface. The housing part 16 has a corresponding arcuate inner channel along its upper surface extending to a rear depressed area 26. When the housing parts 15 and 16 are assembled together they form a somewhat clam shell-like housing with a hollow internal cavity communicating with the slot 24 and a mouth outlet 25 at a lower end.
Turning now to FIGS. 10-13, another aspect of the invention is in the structure of the brush head. In a preferred form of the brush head, a double-ply sheet of brush material 50 is formed from two rolls 51 and 52 of one of the Hydraspun sheets described above.
As shown in FIGS. 11-13, the sheet can be folded in accordion fashion with a highly concentrated cleaning/fragrancing material being injected between a number of the internal switchbacks 55 and 56, but preferably not between the outer switchbacks 53 and 54.
Some water-dissolvable glues are tacky or sticky even after they �dry� or �set�. This could be of concern to a consumer who might touch that material, or cause the brush head to stick in place when release is desired. Thus, we show in FIG. 13 that one can take a short piece of the same material used for the brush layers and create a three-sided cover 57 around the glued end 58.
Turning next to FIGS. 14-16, one mode of storing the brush heads is to package each in a pouch 65 having a weakened tear line 66 around its lateral circumference. When the pouch is separated along that line the portion 67 can be removed and the consumer can leave the section 68 on the brush head as a form of temporary handle for manipulating the brush head into a jaw 30A.
There is also a second, clothes pin-like jaw 78 mounted on the hinge hole 76 for movement in response to lever 77, and biased against that movement by a spring 81. This clamps onto a brush head 11A formed without a cover like cover 57. Similarly, head 11 could have been formed without such a cover.
In yet another alternative embodiment as shown in FIGS. 19-21, a brush head 11B having bristles 60B and covering sheet 57B is provided with an axial groove 94, preferably in the form of a triangular notch. The actuator structure is similar to that previously shown with jaws 30B, a connecting rod 37B and an abutment ear 39B. However, here the jaws are provided with angled grab teeth 96 and the jaw has connected to it a triangular tongue 95.
The wand parts 14-16 are preferably made of plastic. It is especially preferred that a more flexible plastic be used for actuator 29 than for the outer parts 14-16. For the outer parts 14-16, a plastic such as ABS (for example MG38 available from General Electric) is preferred.
It should also be noted that while parts 14-16 are shown as being linked together by a snap fit connection of a type conventional with vacuum cleaner hose parts, a variety of other mechanical means for securing the parts together are possible. For example, there may be some benefits to the use of a bayonet type connection, rather than a simple axial snap connection. Alternatively, the parts 14-16 could be reconfigured as a two-part clam shell, albeit this would be less preferred due to it taking up extra shelf and shipping space prior to purchase by the consumer.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY An improved toilet brush or the like is disclosed where a brush head is provided that is disposable and replaceable.
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