GB2364496A

GB2364496A - Crack cleaning implement

Info

Publication number: GB2364496A
Application number: GB0031155A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Herbert George Heal
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-06-30
Filing date: 2000-12-20
Publication date: 2002-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 2020-12-20
Also published as: GB2364496B; GB0031155D0; GB0016163D0

Abstract

A hand-held crack cleaning implement comprises a shaft 1 having a handle end 2 and a head end 3, and a crack cleaning member 4 in the form of a triangular body plate being adjustably mounted to the head end 3 of the shaft via a conventional nut 6a and bolt 5a arrangement. The corners 8,9,10 of the triangle provide a plurality of pointed crack cleaning projections and the crack cleaning member 4 is mounted to the shaft at an angle so that one corner is preferentially presented at a convenient crack cleaning angle. The arrangement can be very easily adjusted, simply by releasing and re-tightening the nut 6a, with either (a) repositioning the crack cleaning member 4 to present another point (corner) of the triangle or (b) replacing the crack cleaning member 4 with a fresh crack cleaning member of the same or different configuration, e.g. a spare part or one of a set of differently configured parts.

Description

2364496 CRACK CLEANING IMPLEMENT The present invention relates generally

to a hand-held implement, and more particularly to a hand-held implement for cleaning cracks, for example cracks between paving slabs, 5 pavoirs or planks, cracks in concrete, stone or tarmacadam, and cracks between any of these and a wall or fence.

A conu-non problem is the frequent need to clean dirt, weeds and other debris from such cracks. The present invention aims to go some way towards alleviating this problem, 10 or at least to provide an alternative to known cleaning implements.

US-A-4546831 describes a hand-held crack cleaning implement including a triangular shaped plate mounted to a head end of a shaft so that the axis of the shaft is not orthogonal to the plane of the plate but is angled with respect to it. Comers of the 15 triangle are adapted as crack cleaning. projections to clean out cracks by a scraping action. The implement also includes a second scraper plate, which is generally rectangular and angled along its long axis in a V-shaped cross-section. The end apex of the V provides a ftirther crack cleaning projection aligned at a different angle with respect to the shaft, compared with the comers of the triangular plate. The crack 20 cleaning projections can be selectively presented to the crack by rotating the complete implement, but their angles with respect to the shaft are fixed.

US-A-3545551 describes a hand-held hoeing and lawn edging implement including a triangular shaped blade plate mounted to a head end of a shaft so that the axis of the 25 shaft is not orthogonal to the plane of the plate but is angled with respect to it. One comer of the triangle is sharpened to prove a V-shaped blade edge, the other comers being redundant. An alternative blade plate can be oval shaped, with a partial peripheral sharpened edge, so that portions of the edge can be selectively presented to the ground by rotating the complete implement. However, with both blades the angles of the blade 30 edges with respect to the shaft are fixed.

CA-A-2246091 describes a hand-held hoeing and weed cutting implement including a blade plate having comers and mounted to a head end of a shaft so that the axis of the shaft is not orthogonal to the plane of the plate but is angled with respect to it. The angle is provided so that a standing person, holding an opposed handle end of the shaft, can rest the implement on the ground with the blade plate horizontal and the shaft angled upwards. In such a position, the implement can be pushed and pulled forwards 5 and backwards or from side to side. It seems necessary for the shaft to be transversely jointed or bent, which substantially limits the utility of the implement for cleaning cracks.

GB-A-567999 describes a hand-held scraping implement including a triangular shaped 10 plate having comers and mounted to a head end of a shaft so that the axis of the shaft is fixed to be orthogonal to the plane of the plate and the angles of the comers with respect to the shaft are fixed. The different comers can be selectively presented for use, but only by rotating the complete implement, the angles of the comers with respect to the shaft being fixed.

According to the present invention, there is provided a hand-held crack cleaning implement comprising:

(a) a shaft having a handle end and a head end; and (b) a crack cleaning member comprising:

20 (1) a body portion having a central region, mounted to the head end of the shaft, and (11) a plurality of crack cleaning projections extending radially outwards in generally opposed directions relative to the central region of the body portion; 25 the body portion of the crack cleaning member being releasably mounted to the head end of the shaft so that the crack cleaning member has a locked condition, in which the crack cleaning member is fixed to the shaft for use, and an unlocked condition, in which the crack cleaning member is rotatable about an axis of rotation to adjust the orientation of the crack cleaning member with respect to the shaft, the said axis of rotation passing 30 through the body portion of the crack cleaning member; and the head end of the shaft and the body portion of the crack cleaning member being provided with formations which cooperate in the locked condition to angle the crack cleaning member with respect to the shaft, whereby a desired crack cleaning projection can be selectively presented at a more convenient cleaning angle with respect to the shaft than the other projection(s).

By angling the crack cleaning member in the locked condition, with respect to the shaft, 5 the angle of projection of each crack cleaning projection, relative to the length of the shaft, can be adjusted at will, by selecting the desired rotary position of the crack cleaning member on the head end of the shaft before locking the parts together for use.

For example, if in a first rotary position a crack cleaning projection extends generally away from the user when the angling effect of locking is applied, that same projection 10 will extend towards the user in a second rotary position separated from the first by 180 degrees, and can be arranged to pass through a full range of intermediate directions corresponding to the intermediate rotary positions.

It is not necessary that the crack cleaning member is fully demountable from the shaft 15 in the unlocked condition. It is generally preferred that the crack cleaning member is capable of being rotated in the unlocked condition while being loosely held captive to the shaft.

The shaft may be a unitary shaft, preferably of circular cross-section, of any convenient 20 length, e.g. from about 30 to about 150 cm, or may be of adjustable length, e.g. via longitudinally connectable (e.g. screwable together or fittable together) parts or a conventional telescopic slide arrangement, so that the length can be adjusted within this range. The shaft is preferably not transversely kinked, jointed or bent, but is preferably straight. It is preferred that shaft and the crack cleaning member are generally coaxial.

25 The shaft may be formed in any convenient material, for example plastic or metal, and by any conventional method, for example moulding, folding or rolling.

The handle end of the shaft may conveniently be provided with ergonomic finger grip formations or a projecting handle, e.g. a transverse handle grip such as is conventional 30 in garden implements such as spades and forks.

The projections are preferably adapted for grubbing out dirt, weeds or other debris from the crack, and are most preferably substantially eircumferenti ally evenly spaced on the crack cleaning member. The projections may conveniently all lie in the same place.

The projections are preferably integral with the body portion of the crack cleaning 5 member.

The body portion of the crack cleaning member may conveniently be substantially planar, having first and second surfaces, and the crack cleaning projections may suitably all lie in the plane of such a body portion.

Where the projections are adapted for grubbing out dirt, weeds or other debris from the crack, they are preferably pointed, e.g. V-shaped, for optimum cleaning effect as the crack is cleaned. The sharpness of the point is selected according to the nature of the crack. For cleaning cracks between conventional paving slabs or pavoirs, for example, 15 the point may preferably be the apex of an angle of up to about 70', more preferably from about 25' to about 70'. The precise configuration of the point will be well within the capabilities of one of ordinary skill in this art, knowing the type of crack to which the implement is to be applied, and will not be described further. However, it is preferred that the point should not be so sharp (steeply angled) that the projection pokes 20 too far into the crack, as this makes the cleaning action of the implement unnecessarily difficult and can cause the projection to foul on irregularities of the walls of the crack.

The point may conveniently be provided with a blade edge, to assist scraping.

In one particularly preferred form, the crack cleaning member may take the forin of a 25 generally triangular plate, thecomers ofwhich provide three crack cleaning projections.

The crack cleaning member may be formed in any convenient material, for example plastic or metal, and by any convenient method, for example moulding, stamping, pressing or cutting. Plastic may be a prefer-red material where scratching or wearing of 30 surfaces near the crack would be undesirable.

According to the invention, the crack cleaning member is releasably mounted to the head end of the shaft whereby the orientation of the crack cleaning member with respect to the shaft can be adjusted in the unlocked condition by rotation so that, in the subsequent locked condition, a desired crack cleaning projection can be selectively presented at a more convenient cleaning angle with respect to the shaft than the other projection(s). This adjustable mounting will be achieved via any suitable means, as will 5 be well understood by those skilled in this art. Such mounting means may, for example, include interengaging male and female threaded pairs of fonnations, the male part of which passes through a hole in the body portion of the crack cleaning member, the formations being provided with conventional outer configurations to permit tightening and release by spanners and the like, or by hand.

In one preferred form of the invention, crack cleaning projections are provided which lie substantially in a common plane and extend in that plane substantially radially outwards from a central region of the body of the crack cleaning member. The surface of the central region of the body portion of the crack cleaning member may comprise 15 a generally planar portion facing the head end of the shaft, which thus provides one of the formations which cooperate in the locked condition to angle the crack cleaning member. The other formation may suitably comprise a facing, angled, generally planar, transverse end surface of the head end of the shaft, the two surfaces preferably lying together in use. In this way, the crack cleaning projections of the crack cleaning 20 member can be caused to extend at a variety of angles relative to the length of the shaft, typically ranging between obtuse and acute, considering the two dimensional angle between the shaft axis and the direction of extension of each individual projection, depending on the rotary position of the crack cleaning member when it was put into its locked condition.

In this way, one of the projections can readily be arranged to be presented at a more convenient cleaning angle than the other projection(s), and moreover the arrangement can be easily adjusted simply by releasing the means for mounting of the crack cleaning member to the shaft, repositioning the crack cleaning member.in the unlocked condition 30 by rotation (without necessarily completely removing the crack cleaning member from the shaft) and resecuring the mounting means into the locked condition. The adjustability ftinction enables a variety of crack sizes, configurations and accessibilities to be catered for, particularly ifthe proj ections ofthe crack cleaning member themselves have a variety of sizes or configurations or if a set of different crack cleaning members is available for selective use, and also enables projections to be successively used in a single crack cleaning member as the others become worn or blunted.

5 As mentioned above, in one particular arrangement, the head end of the shaft terminates in a transverse flat surface, the plane of the flat surface being set at an angle (other than the orthogonal transverse angle of 900) to the length of the shaft and adapted to abut a contacting surface portion of the central region of the crack cleaning member to maintain the crack cleaning member at a corresponding angle.

The invention thus provides a very adaptable and useful crack cleaning implement.

Spare or replacement crack cleaning members can be provided separately from the main implement, and sets of differently sized or differently configured crack cleaning members can also be provided, either separately from the main implement or together with the main implement or with the shaft part alone.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, purely by way of example and without limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

20 Figure I shows in exploded perspective view a first crack cleaning implement; Figure 2 shows in enlarged side view the head end region of the implement of Figure I; Figure 3 shows in exploded perspective view a second crack cleaning implement; and Figure 4 shows in enlarged side view the head end region of the implement of Figure 25 3.

Referring to the drawings, in which like parts are designated alike, a hand-held crack cleaning implement comprises a plastic or metal shaft I having a handle end 2 and a head end 3, a crack cleaning member 4 being adjustably mounted to the head end 3 of 30 the shaft. In the embodiment of Figures I and 2, this mounting is provided via a conventional plastic or metal threaded bolt formation 5a (diameter approximately 1.2 cm) which extends longitudinally and centrally from the head end 3 of the shaft and a conventional plastic or metal threaded nut 6a and washer 7a engaged upon the bolt formation 5a. In the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4, the analogous mounting is provided via a conventional plastic or metal threaded bolt 5b (diameter approximately 1.2 cm) which engages a correspondingly threaded bore 6b extending longitudinally and centrally into the head end 3 of the shaft, the bolt 5b having a conventionally fon-ned 5 head for spanner tightening or releasing and acting in conjunction with a conventional washer 7b.

The crack cleaning member 4 is provided in both embodiments as a triangular plastic or metal (e.g. steel) plate, preferably (as illustrated) an equilateral triangle presenting 10 three pointed comers 8,9,10 as crack cleaning projections to be potentially available when the implement is used.

Each comer 8,9,10 is pointed at 60' (the equilateral angle), and the crack cleaning member 4 is dimensioned and configured according to the intended cracks to be cleaned.

15 For example, for cleaning cracks between conventional paving slabs or pavoirs, the sides of the triangle will suitably each be approximately 7 cm in length.

The crack cleaning member 4 is provided with a central aperture 11, which receives the bolt formation 5a or 5b for mounting of the parts together.

Surrounding the bolt formation 5a where it projects from the head end 3 of the shaft (Figures 1 and 2), or the threaded bore 6b where it penetrates the head end 3 of the shaft (Figures 3 and 4), is an angled transverse surface 12 of the head end 3 of the shaft, which abuts the crack cleaning member 4 and causes it to lie at a corresponding angle 25 a, namely about 40 to 85', with respect to the axis of shaft, when the nut 6a or bolt 5b is tightened (for this purpose, a mitred grommet 13 is interposed between the washer 7a or 7b and the crack cleaning member 4).

In this way, one 8 of the three comers can be preferentially angled away from the shaft 30 1, and this provides a very convenient orientation for crack cleaning. Moreover, the arrangement can be very easily adjusted, simply by releasing and re- tightening the nut 6a or the bolt 5b, with either (a) repositioning the crack cleaning member 4 to present another point (comer) of the triangle or (b) replacing the crack cleaning member 4 with a fresh crack cleaning member of the same of different configuration, e.g. a spare part or one of a set of differently configured parts.

The shaft I is made of plastic or metal in conventional manner, and suitably of 5 adjustable length via conventionally telescoping parts, so that a range of lengths, e.g.

between about 30 and about 150 cm, can be provided. In some 'instances it may be convenient to forin the head end of the shaft from more than one part, to create the angled transverse surface with the projecting bolt formation 5a or the penetrating threaded bore 6b. More particularly, a shaft body part having a non- angled end surface 10 may firstly be prepared, and subsequently a mitred shaft head having a threaded longitudinal bore, optionally provided with a threaded bolt fon-nation 5a pre-mounted therein, may be affixed to the shaft body by any suitable conventional means. Such an arrangement is shown by way of example only, in Figure 3 and 4, the affixing of the mitred shaft head 14 having a threaded bore being achieved, e.g. by welding, gluing, 15 bracket securement, collar securement or - as illustrated - a threaded rod 15 internally screw-fixed between the mitred shaft head 14 and the shaft body 1, or any combination thereof The present invention has been broadly described without limitation. Variations and 20 modifications as will be readily understood by one of ordinary skill in this art are intended to be included within the scope of this application and subsequent patent(s).

Claims

1. A hand-held crack cleaning implement comprising:

(a) a shaft having a handle end and a head end; and 5 (b) a crack cleaning member comprising:

(i) a body portion having a central region, mounted to the head end of the shaft, and (ii) a plurality of crack cleaning projections extending radially outwards in generally opposed directions relative to the 10 central region of the body portion; the body portion of the crack cleaning member being releasably mounted to the head end of the shaft so that the crack cleaning member has a locked condition, in which the crack cleaning member is fixed to the shaft for use, and an unlocked condition, in which the crack cleaning member is rotatable 15 about an axis of rotation to adjust the orientation of the crack cleaning member with respect to the shaft, the said axis of rotation passing through the body portion of the crack cleaning member; and the head end of the shaft and the body portion of the crack cleaning member being provided with formations which cooperate in the locked condition to 20 angle the crack cleaning member with respect to the shaft, whereby a desired crack cleaning projection can be selectively presented at a more convenient angle with respect to the shaft than the other projection(s).

2. A crack cleaning implement according to claim 1, wherein the body portion 25 of the crack cleaning member is substantially planar.

3. A crack cleaning implement according to claim I or 2, wherein the crack cleaning projections all lie substantially in a common plane.

30

4. A crack cleaning implement according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the crack cleaning projections are substantially circumferentially evenly spaced arou nd the crack cleaning member.

5. A crack cleaning implement according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the crack cleaning projections are pointed.

6. A crack cleaning implement according to any one of the preceding claims, 5 wherein the crack cleaning member is configured as a planar triangle, the comers of the triangle being the plurality of crack cleaning projections.

7. A crack cleaning implement according to claim 6, wherein the triangle is an equilateral triangle.

8. A crack cleaning implement according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shaft is straight and not transversely kinked, jointed or bent.

9. A crack cleaning implement according to claim 8, wherein the shaft is of 15 adjustable length.

10. A crack cleaning implement according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the formations which cooperate in the locked condition to angle the crack cleaning member with respect to the shaft comprises a 20 generally planar surface portion of the central region of the body portion of the crack cleaning member, facing the head end of the shaft, and another of the formations comprises a facing, angled, generally planar, transverse end surface of the head end of the shaft, the two said surfaces lying together in use.

11. A set of crack cleaning members for use in a crack cleaning implement according to any one of the preceding claims.

12. A set of crack cleaning members according to claim 11, wherein the members 30 have a variety of sizes and configurations.

13. A crack cleaning im plement, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.