Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L17/00—Apparatus or implements used in manual washing or cleaning of crockery, table-ware, cooking-ware or the like
  • A47L17/04—Pan or pot cleaning utensils
  • A47L17/08—Pads; Balls of steel wool, wire, or plastic meshes

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a scouring pad comprising a ball of looped scouring wire.
• Scouring pads are known, in particular made of stainless steel wire whose thickness is between 0.01 and 0.05 mm, preferably of the order of 0.025 mm.
• This wire is looped, the loops being for example formed by turns of helical shape.
• the wire is wound on itself so as to constitute a ball.
• the loops of the thread cling to each other to give a certain cohesion to this ball, while giving it an airy structure (low density).
• the loops also form scouring surfaces necessary for the effectiveness of the pad, for example for the scouring of dishes such as dishes or pots.
• the wire is calendered between two cylinders which give it a flat section of given thickness; it is then pulled under tension against a blade and, in this situation, is moved quickly so as to form the helical loops, as if by a spring effect.
• Scouring pads of this type allow very effective scouring.
• the ball tends to come apart, that is to say to lose its homogeneity.
• the loops used for scouring tend to come loose from each other and flatten. As a result, the tampon loses some of its effectiveness and it is less pleasant to use.
• the object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a tampon of the aforementioned type, the ball of which keeps its cohesion longer.
• the ball is formed by substantially concentric windings of the wire, so that said ball has substantially the shape of an O-ring and to the fact that the tampon comprises means for holding said windings together. relation to others, including at least one support bracelet which encloses a section of the crown and which is arranged substantially along a meridian of the torus formed by the crown.
• the ball is thus produced in a very simple manner and the loops retain their primary functions (hooking of the windings, ventilated structure, scouring).
• the windings of the wire are held relative to each other thanks to the presence of at least one holding bracelet.
• This bracelet extends along a meridian of the torus formed by the crown, that is to say that it is disposed substantially radially and that it encloses a section of the ball delimited between the internal periphery (empty center) of this last and its outer periphery.
• the bracelet encloses the windings of the wire and thus maintains them relative to each other.
• this support bracelet is preferably located and the regions of the ball which are not located under the bracelet remain ventilated, thanks to the spring effect of the loops relative to each other and the effectiveness of the effect. the scouring of the ball is in no way affected by the presence of the support strap.
• the tampon comprises several holding bracelets arranged around several sections of the crown spaced at substantially regular intervals.
• the presence of several support bracelets is particularly advantageous. Indeed, in the region of a support bracelet, the windings of the wire remain tight on one another. Even if by moving away from a bracelet, the loops are somewhat detached from each other, the ball does not lose its cohesion thanks to the presence of the following support bracelet.
• the ball consists of four support bracelets spaced from each other by approximately 90 °, or three bracelets spaced approximately 120 ° apart.
• the tampon comprises several holding bracelets and a connecting ring, which is arranged in the center of the crown and to which the holding bracelets are fixed.
• the connecting ring is arranged taking advantage of the center of the initially empty ball. It forms a support for the holding straps, to which the latter are connected. In addition, it prevents the ball from crushing on itself.
• the tampon further comprises a gripping member.
• the user can manipulate the tampon by this gripping member, rather than by directly taking in hand the windings of the wire.
• the gripping member is integral with the ball by a central region of the latter.
• the attachment of the gripping member to the ball also takes advantage of the empty center of the latter.
• the gripping member has two end parts which meet at the center of the crown and are fixed to each other or, when it is present, to the connecting ring.
• the two end parts of the gripping member can be fixed by snap-fastening or the like, which avoids the use of an adhesive or the like which would risk losing its effectiveness after a certain number of uses of the scouring pad.
• FIG. 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, according to a second embodiment using a connecting ring for the holding bracelets;
• FIG. 3 shows, in perspective, the assembly of the connecting ring and the holding straps
• FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view in a transverse plane defined by line IV-IV of Figure 3;
• FIG. 5 is a view similar to Figures 1 and 2 for another embodiment in which the tampon comprises a gripping member;
• FIGS. 6 and 7 are two cross-sectional views, in a plane corresponding to the plane VI-VI of Figure 2, for two variants comprising a gripping member.
• the scouring pad of Figure 1 comprises a ball 10 formed of windings 12 of a looped wire.
• the loops of the thread hook the windings relative to each other and, by a spring effect, they give the ball an airy structure.
• the windings are substantially concentric, so that the ball has substantially the shape of an O-ring and has an empty center (torus throat).
• the tampon comprises several holding straps 14 which, on substantially radial sections of the crown formed by the ball, enclose the windings of the wire.
• These bracelets 14 are arranged substantially along meridians of the torus formed by the ball and the sections which they enclose are delimited between the empty center 16 of the ball and its external periphery 10A.
• the wire in which the ball is made is a very thin stainless steel wire, close to 0.02 to 0.03 mm, and of flat section, the width of this wire being of the order 0.4 to 0.5 mm.
• the loops can have a helical shape and can be obtained as indicated above.
• the holding straps can be made of plastic or any other material having the required qualities of wear resistance. It may be, as in Figure 1, bracelets which are not connected to each other. Each bracelet is wound on itself and its free ends are fixed to one another, for example being knotted, welded or other.
• the buffer comprises a connecting ring 18 arranged in its empty central region 16.
• the holding straps 20 of FIG. 2 are arranged in the same way as the straps 14 of FIG. 1, but they are fixed to the ring 18.
• this connecting ring has holes 22 that are substantially axial, that is to say that they extend substantially along the axis. A winding wire forming the crown that constitutes the ball.
• this bracelet is wound on itself while being disposed radially outwards from the ring 18, and its second end 20B is engaged in the drilling 20 while being retained in the latter. More specifically, this second end 20B has a retaining head 20C which is engaged in the bore 22 and which is retained in the latter by a retaining zone 22A formed in the bore 22, for example by a bead.
• the retaining means 22A and 20C thus cooperate by snap-fastening, the head 20C being forcibly engaged in the bore 22 until it exceeds the bead 22A.
• the first end 20A of the bracelet 20 is fixed to the ring 18 by any suitable means.
• the ring 18 has a hole 24 which is used for fixing the first end 20A of the strap 20.
• This hole 24 has a shoulder 24A and the first end 20A of the strap 20 has a retaining head which is in abutment against this shoulder.
• the wire formed by the latter is engaged in this bore 24 until the head 20A comes into abutment against the shoulder.
• the different bracelets 20 shown in FIG. 3 are all firstly arranged in this way. In this situation, the ring is placed in the empty center 16 of a ball of scouring wire, and each bracelet 20 is wound around a section of the ball until its second end 20B comes to engage in a drilling 22. Pull on the second end 20B of the bracelet 20 until its retaining head is retained by the bead 22A.
• the end part of the bracelet protruding from the ring beyond the bore 22 can be sectioned.
• the scouring pad further comprises a gripping member.
• the gripping member 26 is arranged to cover an angular section of the ball.
• the latter has for example four holding bracelets, and the gripping member 26 has the shape of a shell which covers the two bracelets not visible in FIG. 5 and which extends over an angular sector of the order of 90 °.
• This shell thus covers the ball on its two faces and its two inner ends 26A meet at the empty center of the crown formed by the ball to be fixed to each other.
• the embodiment of FIG. 5 is compatible with those of FIGS. 1 and 2 and, for this reason, the retaining bracelets are designated by the references 14 and 20 in FIG. 5.
• FIG. 5 is compatible with those of FIGS. 1 and 2 and, for this reason, the retaining bracelets are designated by the references 14 and 20 in FIG. 5.
• the gripping member comprises two shells 28 and 30 which are arranged on each side of the ring relative to a plane P substantially transverse to the axis A of the latter. These two shells have the shape of cones whose vertices 28A and 30A meet in the center of the crown. The two shells are then fixed together, their vertices being for example snapped into one another.
• the tops of the shells pass through the connecting ring 18.
• this variant of gripping member is also compatible with the embodiment of FIG. 1, devoid of a connecting ring.
• the gripping member is for example gripped by pinching between the thumb and forefinger.
• FIG. 7 shows another variant in which the gripping member 32 comprises a handle 34 disposed on one side of the crown relative to a plane P substantially transverse to its axis A.
• this handle is fixed to the ball by a rod 36 which extends in the central region of the crown and which is retained in the connecting ring 18.
• the gripping member 32 can be snap-fastened, for example, the rod 36 can be snapped into the ring 38 or have a simple retaining head 36A, retained in the ring 18, while the end opposite to this head would be snapped inside the handle 34.
• the gripping members 26, 28, 30 of FIGS. 5 and 6 can also be fixed to the connecting ring 18, if the latter is present.

Landscapes

• Cleaning Implements For Floors, Carpets, Furniture, Walls, And The Like (AREA)
• Absorbent Articles And Supports Therefor (AREA)
• Image-Pickup Tubes, Image-Amplification Tubes, And Storage Tubes (AREA)
• Bidet-Like Cleaning Device And Other Flush Toilet Accessories (AREA)
• Diaphragms For Electromechanical Transducers (AREA)
• Body Washing Hand Wipes And Brushes (AREA)
• Polishing Bodies And Polishing Tools (AREA)
• Adornments (AREA)
• Details Of Garments (AREA)
• Mechanical Treatment Of Semiconductor (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=8851924

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (11)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2000
  • 2000-06-30 FR FR0008466A patent/FR2810872B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2001
  • 2001-06-27 WO PCT/FR2001/002031 patent/WO2002000090A1/fr active Search and Examination
  • 2001-06-27 AT AT01949538T patent/ATE421279T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2001-06-27 BR BRPI0112095-6A patent/BR0112095B1/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2001-06-27 AU AU2001270672A patent/AU2001270672A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-06-27 DE DE60137500T patent/DE60137500D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2001-06-27 CN CN01811854.2A patent/CN1196434C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2001-06-27 MX MXPA02012580A patent/MXPA02012580A/es active IP Right Grant
  • 2001-06-27 EP EP01949538A patent/EP1294269B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2001-06-27 PL PL359067A patent/PL198027B1/pl not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2001-06-27 ES ES01949538T patent/ES2321478T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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