CA2301481C - Compact multi-purpose cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

A compact hand held multi-purpose cleaning device for removing unwanted matter from a surface is provided. The cleaning device comprises, a container body normally filled with a cleaning fluid, an aperture in the body, a selective fluid control mounted on and covering the aperture and cleaning elements mounted on the body. The cleaning elements can be held in a body recess in a fixed, adjustable or removable manner and are generally in the form of abrasive material, sponge wiping material, a wiper blade and a scraper blade.
The proper application of any one or all of the cleaning elements with or without application of the cleaning fluid will ensure a most desirably clean surface.

Description

COMPACT MULTI-PURPOSE CLEANING DEVICE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the cleaning of a surface with extraneous material thereon and more particularly to means for containing and dispensing a supply of cleaning material onto the surface and means to abrade, wipe or scrape the extraneous material and/or the cleaning material, from the surface.
BACKGROUND OF SHE INVENTION
This application is related to and is a modified version of the invention described in applicant's Canadian Patent 2,204,193 granted and issued on 1999/11/09.
In the cleaning of headlights, side windows, outside rear view mirrors and even windshields, it is a common practice to use a squeegee and bucket of water or cleaning fluid provided by a service station when one fills up with gas.
The big problem is that one is not always handy to service station facilities when the undesirable matter arrives on surfaces that are necessary to the safety of all concerned. People have resorted to sponges, rags or even a handful of snow to improve degenerating visual conditions.
In an effort to remove the unwanted condition of matter on a surface several attempts have been made as shown in U.S. Patent 3,276,067 to Boyle et at, U.S. Patent 3,226,761 to Adamsky and Canadian Patent 1,054,320 to Hardy.

United States Patent "067" teaches pressure responsive slits in a flexible wall of a container to meter the flow of liquid therefrom.
An applicator pad is placed on the container over the slits to receive the liquid and apply it to a surface as it is moved thereover. The instant invention does not have a flexible wall container slit to control fluid flow, nor a wiping pad covering the slits.
United States Patent "761" again has a pliable container which is distorted by hand thereby opening a valve to permit fluid in the container to flow on to a surface to be cleaned. An applicator sponge is attached to the container body to spread the fluid applied to the surface. This device is similar to the instant invention only in that a sponge is used to spread the fluid after it has been released from the container. This device has several shortcomings which have been overcome by the invention herein described. The invention has a semi-rigid body which will not accidentally disperse fluid therefrom by flexing of the body nor will it disperse fluid as the body is held tightly in the hand when wiping the fluid and extraneous matter from a surface to be cleaned. The fluid is under complete control at all times, providing a direct location of fluid application and the desired amount applied. This control makes for easy storage such as in the glove box or other compartment in an automobile.
Canadian Patent "320" teaches a liquid dispensing bottle adapted for use in a squeegee operation. The body of the container has a trigger operated dispensing mechanism and a squeegee mounted thereon. The squeegee "per se" in this case is not directly mounted on the container body, thus it can only carry out a single function. No further functions have been provided for or even suggested. The direct attachment to the container body is what is required for a compact multi-cleaning device.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The removal of the above mentioned vehicle hazards or even cleaning in the home may be accomplished by providing, a container normally but not necessarily filled with a cleaning fluid, an opening in the container having flow control dispensing means mounted thereon, if required, and one or :yore extraneous matter engaging elements any of which are mounted in .a recess on the container and may include, a rough or coarse abrasive type material held in a fixed, adjustable or removable manner adja~~ent to a first portion of the container, a sponge or wiping material held in a fixed, adjustable or removable manner adjacent to a second portion of the container, a wiper blade held in a fixed, adjustable or removable manner adjacent to a third portion of the container and a scraper blade held in a fixed, adjustable or removab:Le manner adjacent to a fourth portion of the container. Any combination of any or all of the above elements is conceivable and practical in the cleaning process. Various ~~perations can be peri_ormed with the above compact multi-cleaner but the end result is the removal of unwanted foreign matter from a ;surface.
It is therefore the principal object of the instant invention to provide a compact effective device for cleaning a surface in a practical and expeditious manner.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a combination dispensing and abrading device for cleaning a surface.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a combination dispensing and wiping device for cleaning a surface.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a combination dispensing and scraping device for cleaning a surface.
It is a further object of the instant invention to provide one or more fixed, adjustable, and/or removable matter engaging elements on a hand manipulable container It is yet a further object of this invention to provide an economical, easy to manufacture cleaning device to aid in the safe operation of a vehicle of any kind.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 shows a front elevation view of the cleaning device.
Fig. 2 shows a view taken at the cutting plane A-A in figure 1.
Fig. 3. shows a view similar to figure 2 wherein the pads are of the "snap in" or "slide in" type.
Fig. 4. shows a detailed view of the area B in figure 3.
The pads would in fact be in contact with the body parts but are shown separated for clarity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring now to figure 1 there is here shown a container body means 1, which is normally of semi-rigid plastic, normally translucent and which can have various shapes. This container body is for storing a quantity of a cleansing material that can assist in the removal of an undesirable matter from a surface to be cleansed. The cleansing material is normally a fluid such as water and in the case of the automotive art it would probably be windshield washer fluid. A fine 10. powder is also conceivable. The container body 1 has on an upper surface thereof an opening or aperture for egress of material therefrom. The container body 1 has the cleansing fluid replenished through this same aperture. Mounted on this opening or aperture is a removable container cap 10 carrying a dispensing valve 9. The cap 10 is normally threadeably attached to the aperture and the valve 9 is opened and closed by an on-off vertical movement to control the dispensing of the fluid. The dispenser may also be in the form of a spray pump for a more controlled dispensing. On or adjacent one portion of the container body 1 is an abrasive material 3 of coarse 20 texture usually required to remove matter strongly adhering to a surface. On or adjacent a second portion of the container body 1 is a sponge type of wiping material means 2 of finer texture than material 3 usually required to remove or wipe off matter easily removable from a surface. These materials 2 and 3 may also both be on the same side of container body 1 with the other side being used for advertising or the same material may be placed on both sides.
The materials 2 and 3 are normally held in position in a recess 8 shown in fig 2 by an adhesive means 7. VELCRO or other adhering means are also conceivable. A wiping blade means 5 normally made of rubber is held in a fixed, adjustable and/or removable manner adjacent a third portion of container body 1 which is normally an edge thereof. The wiping blade 5 is slideably positioned in groove 6 in container body 1. A scraping blade means 4 normally made of rigid plastic is held in a fixed, adjustable and/or removable manner adjacent a fourth portion of container body 1 which again is normally an edge thereof. The scraping blade 4 is slideably positioned in a second groove 6 in container body 1. Scraping blade 4 is normally used for the removal of thin ice or frost both inside and outside of a vehicle. It may not be necessary to apply liquid to the frost.
Now looking at figure 2 there is here shown a cross section taken at A-A in figure 1. The container body means 1 is normally elliptical, rectangular or the like in cross section making it readily manipulable when grasped by one's hand and so that the edges with grooves 6 where the rubber wiper means 5 and plastic scraper means 4 are mounted leaves them readily accessible to perform their function.
The wiping material means 2 and the coarser abrasive type of material 3 are here shown in depressions or recesses 8 where they are held by mounting or retaining means 7 which as previously mentioned may be an adhesive, VELCRO or other adhering means. The materials 2 and 3 may in fact be sprayed on to the surface of depressions 8.
Now looking at figure 3 there is again shown the basic cleaner with the wiping material means 2 the abrasive material means 3, the container body means 1, the wiper blade means 5 and the scraper blade means 4. The difference here is shown in the amplification of area B
as in figure 4. It is here shown that the materials 2 and 3, which of course may be any shape such as rectangular round, triangular, square, or the like, are mounted on a plate or base 11 by various means and then slid into a face groove or grooves 12 formed between container body 1 and the recess or depression 8 formed in container body 1. The face groove 12 may be completely around the circumference of the recess 8 or on only a portion or portions thereof. The plate 11 with material 2 and/or 3 attached may be flexed to reduce a dimension and then released to fit into a face groove or grooves 12 as an alternative method of assembly. For sliding assembly and flex assembly of such as a square or rectangular base 11 the face grooves 12 need only be for two parallel sides and open at one end as are grooves 6 in figure 1.
There could also be a tester in the container to indicate if the fluid is H20 or C2H602 to prevent picking up a solid unuseable device (frozen).
Various modifications such as size, shape and arrangement of components may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. The above disclosure shall be interpreted as illustrative only and limited only by the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims (12)

1. A compact multi-function cleaning device capable of being stored in the glove compartment of a vehicle and comprising, a housing forming an easily manipulable hand grasping body structure, said body structure having an internal cavity capable of containing fluent material therein, said body structure having an external shape generally elongate with a generally elliptical shape in cross section, said body structure further comprising a somewhat convex first face and a somewhat convex second face, first and second curved side edges each joining said first face and said second face, a top end and a bottom end both joined to said first face, said second face, and said curved side edges to form said external shape, a selective fluent control means mounted on said top end and in communication with said internal cavity, said body structure further comprising at least one of said first and second curved side edges having a groove therein. A
cleaning element removeably mounted in said at least one curved side edge groove and wherein said cleaning element is elongate and triangular in cross section.

2. A compact multi-function cleaning device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cleaning element is slideably removable and wherein said triangular cross section is that of an equilateral triangle thereby providing by removal and rotation three alternately useable cleaning edges should one of said cleaning edges become worn or damaged.

3. A compact multi-function cleaning device as claimed in claim 2 wherein both of said first and second curved side edges has a removably mounted cleaning element thereon and wherein said first side edge cleaning element is a flexible wiper blade and said second side edge cleaning element is a rigid scraping blade.

4. A compact multi-function cleaning device as claimed in claims 1, 2, or 3 wherein said selective fluent control means is a spray pump.

5. A compact multi-function cleaning device comprising, a generally elongate hand manipulable body structure elliptical in cross section having a fluent material compartment therein, selective fluent control means mounted on said body structure in communication with said fluent material compartment, said body structure further comprising a recessed convex first face, a convex second face, first and second side edges joining said first and second faces, at least one of said first and second side edges having a groove therein, an elongate triangular cleaning element replaceably mounted in said at least one grooved side edge, a cleaning material replaceably mounted in said recessed convex first face thereby taking on a convex outer surface for easy removal of foreign matter in the cleaning of a surface.

6. A compact multi-function cleaning device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said elongate triangular cleaning element is slideably removable and whose cross section is that of an equilateral triangle.

7. A compact multi-function cleaning device as claimed in claim 6 further including a base whereby said cleaning material is rigidly supported adjacent said recessed convex first face.

8. A compact multi-function cleaning device as claimed in claims 5, 6, or 7 wherein both said first and second side edges support a cleaning element and wherein both said convex first and second faces support a cleaning material.

9. A compact multi-function cleaning device as claimed in claims 1 or 5 wherein said body structure is semi-transparent and flexible, and wherein said selective fluent control means is an on-off slide valve.

10. A compact multi-function cleaning device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said elongate triangular cleaning element is flexible and wherein said replaceably mounted convex cleaning material is an abrasive material.

11. A compact multi-purpose cleaning device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said elongate triangular cleaning element is rigid and said replaceably mounted convex cleaning material is a spongy wiping material.

12. A compact multi-purpose cleaning device as claimed in claim 7 further including one or more joining elements forming one or more face groove portions between one of said side edges and one of said convex faces, whereby a compressed flexing and release provides a snap-in retention of said base in said one or more face groove portions carrying one or more cleaning materials.