CA2917911A1

CA2917911A1 - Self-cleaning extensible snow brush and flexible scraper

Info

Publication number: CA2917911A1
Application number: CA2917911A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Andre Lafleur
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-08-02
Filing date: 2006-08-02
Publication date: 2008-02-02
Anticipated expiration: 2026-08-02
Also published as: CA2554811A1; CA2917911C; CA2554811C

Abstract

There is provided an extensible snow brush comprising a handle portion, a bristled portion slidably movable along a longitudinal axis of the handle portion for reciprocating between a fully retracted position and a fully extended position and comprising at least one row of bristle bunches. A comb device is provided at a distal end of the handle portion, whereby longitudinal movement of the bristled portion with respect to the handle portion causes the comb device to successively impact adjacent the bristle bunches and to impart vibratory oscillation thereto so as to provide mechanical bristle cleaning.

Description

= File No. P2602CA01 SELF-CLEANING EXTENSIBLE SNOW BRUSH AND FLEXIBLE SCRAPER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention generally relates to hand tools dedicated to snow and ice removal, mainly from vehicle outer surfaces such as windshield, windows and body. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with an extensible snow brush comprising a bristle cleaning device and a flexible surface conformable scraper.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Many types of snow brushes dedicated to the removal of snow and ice from the surface of vehicles are already known in the prior art and available on the market. The best brushes available to date incorporate a telescoping handle to enable setting in an extended configuration for optimal reach in use or in a short and compact configuration for storage. Also, best brushes combine a snow removing bristled portion at one end and an ice scraper at the opposite end of the handle.

[0003] However, snow brushes of the prior art still present significant limitations and drawbacks. Firstly, the user must perform some cleaning of the bristled portion before storing the brush back into the vehicle to prevent residual snow on the bristles from splashing and melting in the vehicle. This is likely to lead to damage of either the brush or the vehicle, or both. Secondly, incorporated plastic scrapers are too stiff to conform to windshields curvatures and enable proper contact to remove ice over the full width of the blade.

[0004] It would therefore be a significant advance in the art of snow brushes to provide an extensible snow brush comprising a built-in automatic bristle . File No. P2602CA01 cleaning device and a composite scraper device featuring optimal flexibility and high blade hardness.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0005] An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a self-cleaning extendible snow brush with flexible scraper obviating the limitations and drawbacks of the prior art devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided an extensible snow brush comprising a handle portion, a bristled portion slidebly movable along the axis of said handle portion between a fully retracted position and a fully extended position and comprising at least one row of bristle bunches, a comb device provided on said handle portion and in contact with at least one of said bristle bunches, whereby longitudinal movement of the bristled portion with respect to the handle portion causes said comb device to successively impact on adjacent bristle bunches and impart vibratory oscillation thereto so to provide a mechanical bristle cleaning action.

[0007] There is further provided an extensible snow brush wherein said bristled portion comprises two parallel and adjacent rows of bristle bunches and wherein said comb device is nested between said two rows, whereby longitudinal movement of the bristled portion with respect to the handle portion causes bristle bunches of both rows to be impacted by the comb device.

[0008] There is further provided an extensible snow brush wherein said comb device comprises successive ridges and recesses adapted to contact two bristle bunches in a row at the same time.

= File No. P2602CA01

[0009]
There is further provided an extensible snow brush wherein said comb device comprises two parallel efficient sides each having successive ridges and recesses adapted to contact at least two bristle bunches in a first row and at least two bristle bunches in a second parallel row at the same time.

[0010]
There is further provided a flexible scraper comprising a handle portion terminated at a distal end by at least three resilient fingers connected to said handle portion at one end and to a hard and flexible blade at the other end, whereby said blade may conform to a surface when pressure in the direction of the surface is applied at the handle portion.

[0011]
There is further provided a flexible scraper wherein said resilient fingers are formed from a first material and said blade is formed from a second material.

[0012]
There is further provided a flexible scraper wherein said resilient fingers are formed by injection molding and said blade over-molded on said fingers.

[0013]
There is further provided a flexible scraper wherein said first material is polypropylene and second material is polycarbonate.

[0014]
There is further provided a flexible scraper comprising five resilient fingers.

= File No. P2602CA01

[0015] There is further provided a flexible scraper wherein said blade further comprises a plurality of scratching teeth, one tooth extending through each finger and projecting from the surface thereof opposite to the blade side.

[0016] There is further provided an extensible snow brush comprising a bristled portion at a distal end and a handle portion terminated at a proximal end by a flexible ice scraper having a structure as described above.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In the appended drawings:

[0018] Figure la is an isometric view of an extensible snow brush with flexible scraper according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, shown in a fully extended locked position;

[0019] Figure lb is a side isometric view of the extensible snow brush of Figure la, shown in a fully retracted locked position;

[0020] Figure lc is a side elevation view of the snow brush of Figure la;

[0021] Figure ld is a plan view of the snow brush of Figure la;

[0022] Figure le is a cross sectional view of the snow brush of Figure id, taken along line A-A;

[0023] Figure 2a is a side isometric view of a handle portion of the snow brush of Figure 1;

[0024] Figure 2b is a side elevation view of snow brush of Figure 2a;

File No. P2602CA01

[0025] Figure 3a is a side isometric view of the bristled efficient portion of the snow brush of Figure 1;

[0026] Figure 3b is a side elevation view of the bristled efficient portion of Figure 3a;

[0027] Figure 3c is bottom view of the bristled efficient portion of Figure 3a;

[0028] Figure 4a is an isometric view of the bottom and sides of a comb device of the extensible snow brush according to the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4b is a side elevation view of the comb device of Figure 4a;

[0030] Figure 4c is a bottom view of the comb device of Figure 4a;

[0031] Figure 4d is a front elevation view of the comb device of Figure 4a;

[0032] Figure 5 is an isometric view of a lock-unlock push-button of the extensible snow brush of Figure 1;

[0033] Figure 6 is an isometric view of an extensible snow brush as viewed from the flexible ice scraper end thereof;

[0034] Figure 7a is an isometric view of an ice scraper blade according to the present invention.

[0035] Figure 7b is a top view of the scraper bade of Figure 7a;

[0036] Figure 7c is a side elevation view of the scraper blade of Figure 7a.

File No. P2602CA01

[0037] Similar parts are represented by identical numerals throughout the drawings and description.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] In the following description for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set fort as particular architectures or techniques. II
will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the brush and scraper described hereinafter may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details.

[0039] Figures 1a and lb respectively show an isometric assembly view of an extensible snow brush 1 in a fully extended and a fully retracted position respectively. Brush 1 mainly comprises a bristled efficient portion 2 and a handle portion 3. The bristled portion comprises two rows 4a and 4b of bristle bunches such as 5, implemented in a plastic molded holder 6 provided with a longitudinal centre slot 7, a ribbed gripping sleeve 8 and a lock/unlock push button assembly 9. Figures 3a-3c provide more detailed views of the efficient bristled portion with the push button disassembled. The handle portion 3 comprises a ribbed gripping portion 10 and an elongated "T" shaped spine member 11 projecting therefrom and having a free end 12 supporting the bristled portion 2. The bristled portion 2 is assembled to the spine member 11 using a comb device 40 (see Figure le) as will be described below. An ice scraper 20 shaped as a palmed hand is further provided at the opposite end of the handle portion 3. The scraper 20 comprises a scraper blade 23 connected to five fingers 22 projecting from a palm portion 21.

[0040] The spine member 11 further comprises a rail 13 extending along and below a wider backbone portion 14 in the direction of the free end 12, forming a T profile, and a reinforcing member 15 also projecting lower below the backbone 14 at the opposite end thereof, next to the gripping portion 10. The File No. P2602CA01 bristled portion 2 is telescopically mounted on the spine member 11 with i) the rail 13 sliding into the slot 7 through the open proximal end 7' (see Fig. 3a) and ii) is sandwiched between the inner wall of the spine member 11 and a comb device 40 as seen in Figure le, to only enable a telescoping longitudinal movement.
The comb device 40 (see details in Figures 4a-4d) having a neck portion 41 matching the width of rail 13 is assembled to the rail 13 at the free end 12 of spine member 11 using flat head screws fastened into cavities such as 13' at distal free end 12 of member 11, the shoulders 42 of the comb maintaining the bristled portion 2 in place in sandwich with member 11, while enabling only a longitudinal reciprocal displacement on the rail 13 in slot 7. Details of this assembly are illustrated in the cross sectional view of Figure le. The movement of the bristled portion 2 in the direction of the gripping portion 10 is stopped by the abutment of the gripping sleeve 8 when it meets the distal end of said gripping portion 10 (fully retracted position), while movement in the direction of free end 12 is stopped by the proximal end of slot 7 abutting on the neck portion 41 of the comb 40 (fully extended position).

[0041] Thereby, the brush 1 can be extended by pushing the gripping sleeve 8 in the direction of free end 12, or retracted by pulling the sleeve in the direction of the gripping portion 10. The push button assembly 9 serves to lock the brush 1 in either of the retracted or the extended positions. The push button assembly 9 comprises a push button 50 having a pair of stop tabs 51 as best seen from Figures 5a-5b. Button 50 is assembled for reciprocal in-out movement in cavity 19 of the bristled portion 2 using an outwardly biasing compression spring (not shown).

[0042] The lock function is accomplished by insertion of the tabs 51 of outwardly biased button 50 in either one of notch pairs 16 or 17 to lock into the fully retracted or fully extended position respectively. Unlocking is enabled by depressing push button 50, which moves tabs 51 out of the notches and enables File No. P2602CA01 longitudinal displacement of the bristled portion 2 along the axis of spine member 11 and rail 13.

[0043] Turning now more specifically to Figures le and 4a-d, the structure and functions of the comb device 40 will be described in further details. A
body portion 43 extends below shoulders 42 to connect a foot portion 44 to the neck 41, at a desired distance thereof. The foot portion comprises a pair of tapered holes 46 for insertion of flat head mounting screws to assemble the comb 40 to rail 13, in holes 13'. The foot portion 44 is wider than body 43, being provided with two sets of ridges 45a and 45b extending outside beyond the body portion 43. While the body 43 may slide freely between rows of bristles 4a and 4b, ridges 45a and 45b have a shape and size adapted for nesting between adjacent bristle bunches 5, but having a total width extending approximately to the center of the rows of bristle bunches 4a, 4b. Thereby, when the bristled portion 2 is being sled on rail 13, the fixed comb 40 sweeps the bristle bunches 5, most bunches of each row being shaken at least one time and typically three times as the bristle holder 6 is moved in front of the comb 40. The ridges 45a and 45b hit bunches one after the other at a specific height from the anchoring base thereof. The resilient flexible bristles are thus shaken being put into vibration by the impulsions provided when rapidly contacting the comb 40. This is a key function of the brush 1 of the present invention, which ensures that most snow and/or ice or other wet or dry matters remaining between the bristles are evacuated through that shaking action when pulling back the bristled portion 2 to set the brush back into its retracted position. If needed, a few cycles of extension and retraction of the brush 1 may be carried out for thorough cleaning of the bristles.

[0044] Turning now more specifically to Figures 6 and 7a-d, another important aspect of the present snow brush 1, the ice scraper 20 will now be described. The ice scraper 20 is provided at the end of the handle portion 3 opposed to the bristled portion 2. This end of the handle portion 3 terminates into palmed hand 21 defining five flexible fingers 22 integrally moulded into said File No. P2602CA01 handle portion by injection of an appropriate polymer, preferably glass fibre charged polypropylene, for optimal strength and compliance over a wide temperature range. It has been determined that a charge of 5% to 20%, typically 10%, of short glass fibres was required to achieve the appropriate rigidity of the handle portion 3 and spine member 11, while ensuring at the same time appropriate flexibility of the fingers portion 22. For a given material, the desired degree of compliance of the fingers 22 is determined by their cross sectional area and length between their tip and their root at the palmed portion of the hand 21. Therefore, fine tuning of the finger flexibility can be accomplished by slightly changing the length of the palmed portion (and in turn the length of the fingers 22), prior to moulding. A blade 23 is over-moulded at the end of the fingers.
Whether the brush is in the retracted or extended position, the grip portion 10 of handle 3 and the spine member 11 can be used to grip the brush in a reversed mode to use the scraper 20.

[0045] For optimal efficiency, the scraper structure is adapted to combine flexibility as needed to conform to curved surfaces such as a vehicle windshield, and hardness to break ice while preventing prevent wear of the blade so to extend its useful life. Therefore, polypropylene or reinforced polypropylene palmed fingers as previously described, are designed to provide a desired level of flexibility so that when pressure is applied at the handle 3, fingers 22 may deform to adapt to the shape of a contact surface. The blade 23 is made from different harder, yet flexible material. Preferably the blade should be molded from a hard plastic material such as polycarbonate. Metal material such as stainless steel or covered stainless steel could also have an appropriate behavior but are more likely to cause scratches on delicate surfaces. Figure 6 shows how the blade can bend to conform to complex curved surface levels while supporting fingers individually bend to a different degree to accurately follow blade deformations.

[0046] Figure 7 shows the details of the blade 23. The blade 23 comprises ' File No. P2602CA01 a scraping edge 24, thicker at the distal contact end with ice, and five sharp teeth 25 each projecting through a corresponding finger 22. The sharp portion of the teeth 25 may be used to as an ice pick to scratch and break ice, by holding the brush 1 in an appropriate reversed way. Blade 23 is further provided with a set of five small through holes 26, one in front of each tooth. These holes receive a small cleat at the very end of each finger 22 to achieve a solid connection of the blade to fingers. It should be further noted that the blade 23 is molded into a slightly curved shape to ensure a bias curvature which helps conforming to convex surfaces. On a flat reference surface, there is a slight spacing d between the longitudinal center of the blade and the surface when the ends are in contact.
The preferred spacing d is between 0.1 and 0.2 inch. When a pressure in the direction of the surface is applied to the handle 3, the blade bends to make full contact with the surface even though it is convex.

[0047] One can thus easily appreciate that the above described embodiments of the self-cleaning extensible snow brush according to the present invention obviate the limitations and drawbacks of the prior art devices, namely by providing an automatic bristle cleaning device and a hard and durable surface conforming scraper provided with ice breaking teeth which prevents surface scratching. Therefore, it can be seen that the self-cleaning extensible snow brush can be advantageously used for removing snow and ice from curved and delicate vehicle surfaces.

[0048] Although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An extensible snow brush comprising:
- a handle portion;
- a bristled portion slidably movable along a longitudinal axis of the handle portion for reciprocating between a fully retracted position and a fully extended position and comprising a row of adjacent bristle bunches; and - a comb device provided on the handle portion;
whereby longitudinal movement of the bristled portion with respect to the handle portion causes the comb device to impact successively the adjacent bristle bunches and to impart vibratory oscillation thereby imparting a mechanical cleaning action of the adjacent bristle bunches.

2. The extensible snow brush of claim 1, wherein the row of adjacent bristle bunches comprises two parallel rows of adjacent bristle bunches and wherein the comb device is nested between the two parallel rows, whereby longitudinal movement of the bristled portion with respect to the handle portion causes the adjacent bristle bunches of the two parallel rows to be impacted by the comb device.

3. The extensible snow brush of claim 2, wherein the comb device comprises successive ridges and recesses adapted to contact two adjacent bristle bunches in a row at the same time.

4. The extensible snow brush of claim 2, wherein the comb device comprises two parallel sides each having successive ridges and recesses adapted to contact at the same time at least two adjacent bristle bunches in a first row of the two parallel rows and at least two adjacent bristle bunches in a second row of the two parallel rows.

5. The extensible snow brush of claim 4, wherein the handle portion comprises a spine member extending along the longitudinal axis and having a free end supporting the bristled portion.

6. The extensible snow brush of claim 5, wherein the spine member comprises a rail on which the bristled portion slidably moves.

7. The extensible snow brush of claim 6, wherein the spine member further comprises a backbone portion which is wider than the rail and a reinforcing member projecting below the backbone portion.

8. The extensible snow brush of claim 1, wherein the bristled portion comprises a holder in which the adjacent bristle bunches are held, the holder provided with a longitudinal centre slot extending along the longitudinal axis, wherein the rail is for sliding into the longitudinal centre slot thereby telescopically mounting the bristled portion on the handle portion.

9. The extensible snow brush of claim 1, wherein the bristled portion further comprises a gripping sleeve used for reciprocating the bristled portion between the fully retracted position and the fully extended position.

10. The extensible snow brush of claim 1, wherein the bristled portion further comprises a push button assembly serving to lock the bristled portion in either one of the fully retracted position or the fully extended position.

11. The extensible snow brush of claim 10, wherein the bristled portion further comprises a cavity and an outwardly biasing compression spring, the push button assembly comprises a push button having a pair of stop tabs, wherein the push button is assembled for reciprocal in-out movement in the cavity using the outwardly biasing compression spring.

12. The extensible snow brush of claim 1, wherein the comb device is mounted to the handle portion using a screw.

13. The extensible snow brush of claim 1, wherein the comb device comprises tapered holes therethrough to mount the comb device to the handle portion.