GB2367483A

GB2367483A - Wheeled dust pan

Info

Publication number: GB2367483A
Application number: GB0024559A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas Perelli
Original assignee: Rubbermaid Commercial Products LLC
Current assignee: Rubbermaid Commercial Products LLC
Priority date: 2000-10-05
Filing date: 2000-10-06
Publication date: 2002-04-10
Also published as: MXPA01010071A; HK1040601A1; GB0024559D0; CA2322913A1; DE10050014A1; JP2002119456A; CN1316225A

Abstract

A dust pan comprises a base 1 for collecting debris, and at least on wheel 7 received in at least one well (6, fig. 1) formed in the base 1, and a handling member 2 connected to the base 1. Also disclosed is a dust pan which comprises a base 1 for collecting debris, and at least one wheel 7 disposed at a rear portion of the base and a handling member 2 pivotally connected to the base 1. Further disclosed is a method of deploying a dustpan with a base 1, with a least one wheel received in at least one well (6,fig.1) positioned at a back portion of the base 1 and a pivotal connection between a handling member and the base. This method of deployment comprises lowering the dustpan by its handle so that the wheels 7 contact the ground first to rotate relative to the base 1 and inhibit wear on the base 1.

Description

DUST PAN WITH WEAR REDUCING MEMBER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to dust pans and, in particular, to dust pans with pivoting bases.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional dust pans include a base and often a cover that encloses a containment cavity of the base. In addition, a long shaft or rod is attached to the base by means of a yoke. A handle on the top of the rod allows the user to pick-up and move the dust pan.

The yoke allows the base to pivot such that the front of the base rises when the rod is raised to transport the assembly. The yoke also allows the base to pivot such that the front of the base descends when the rod is lowered to allow a user to sweep debris into the dust pan Conventional dust pans have not been designed well to inhibit wear to the base during pivoting. When a conventional dust pan is lowered to or lifted from the ground, the rear edge of the base contacts the ground and wear can occur. A conventional dust pan has been provided with a wear pad on the base to minimize effects of wear.

Additionally, conventional dust pans have not been adequately designed for ease of removal of dust and dirt. The bases of conventional dust pans often have sharp internal comers. Dust and dirt accumulates in these comers making it difficult to clean the base.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An advantage that can be achieved by the present invention is reducing wear to the base when it is raised and lowered from the ground or other surface from which refuse is swept into the base.

Another advantage that can be achieved by the present invention is enhancing the user's ability to clean the base.

Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a dust pan includes a base for collecting debris and having at least one well formed therein for receiving a rolling member. A handling member is connected to the base. At least one rolling member is disposed at least partially within the at least one well.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a dust pan includes a base having an opening at a front portion thereof for collecting debris. At least one rolling member is disposed at a rear portion of the base. A handling member is provided, and a pivotal connection between the handling member and the base is arranged such that the rolling member on the rear portion initially remains on the ground when the front portion moves upward as the handling member is lifted.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of deploying a dust pan in a manner that inhibits wear includes the step of providing at a dust pan including a base having a well for receiving a rolling member in a rear portion of the base, a rolling member received at least partially within the well, and a handling member pivotally connected to the base. The method further includes the steps of lowering the handling member to cause the rolling member to contact a surface, and continuing to lower the handling member after the rolling member contacts the surface to cause the base to pivot relative to the handling member into a deployed position and to cause the rolling member to rotate relative to the base to inhibit wear on the base.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a frontal perspective view of a preferred dust pan according to the present invention with a cover in an open position; Fig. 2 is a left side view of the dust pan of Fig. 1 with the cover in an open position; Fig. 3 is a bottom side perspective view of the dust pan with the cover in a closed position ; Fig. 4 is a top side perspective view of the dust pan with the cover in a closed position; Fig. 5 is a rear perspective view of the dust pan.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of a dust pan according to the present invention is shown in Figs. 1-5. The dust pan includes a base 1, a handling member 2, and at least one rolling member 7.

The base 1 preferably has five sides: a right side 11, a left side 13, a top side 12, a bottom side 14, and a back side 15. The sides 11, 12,13, 14,15 define a cavity 23 into which dust, dirt, and other refuse can be swept. The bottom side 14 has a well 6 for receiving a rolling member 7. A single well 6 could be provided to receive one or more rolling members 7, but in the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, a well is provided for each rolling member 7. Also formed in the bottom side 14 is a graded surface return 5 which is provided to maintain dust and other refuse in the base after being swept into it. The top side 12 has a front edge 8 which is substantially flat and a rear edge 9 which is substantially curved.

Although the base has wells 6 and the surface return 5 formed in it, the base 1 is designed so that the inner surfaces of sides of the base 11,12, 13,14, 15 form one substantially continuous surface. Rounding the comers (which would otherwise be created by the joining of the sides of the base 1) in the base to form the substantially continuous surface aids in cleaning the base by eliminating comers in which dirt, dust, and other refuse may become trapped, especially if the refuse has a sticky nature.

In the back side 15 of the base 1, a slot 10 is preferably provided slightly below the rear edge 9 of the top side 12. The slot preferably is wide enough to receive four fingers. The user can hold the base 1 in a desired position using the slot 10. For example, the user can hold the bottom side 14 parallel to the ground while lifting the dust pan. Additionally, when emptying the base 1 of its contents, a user can hold base 1 via slot 10 and thereby be insulated from the contents which fall out of the base 1 while it is being emptied. Insulating the user in this fashion helps prevent the user from being contaminated by the contents of the base. The ability to insulate the user is particularly advantageous in the medical context in which refuse swept into the base 1 may contain bodily fluids from which the user could contract a communicable disease.

The handling member 2 is preferably a shaft or rod. More preferably, an ergonomic handle, such as the ergonomic handle made by Rubbermaid Commercial Products LLC (part # 2534), may be provided as part of the handling member 2. The cross section of the handling member 2 can have any shape. Moreover, although the handling member 2 is preferably hollow (to reduce the overall weight of the dust pan), it may be solid. If the handling member 2 has a circular cross sectional area and is hollow, it will preferably have an elongated tubular shape.

A yoke 3 is preferably provided to connect the handling member 2 to the base 1. A lower portion 16 of the yoke 3 can be pivotally attached to the right and left sides 11,13 of the base 1 by hinge pins 25 at pivot points 4. The lower portion 16 of the yoke 3 is wider than an upper portion 17 of the yoke 3 thereby giving the yoke 3 a substantially triangular shape. The upper portion 17 is connected to a lower end 18 of the handling member 2.

This connection can be established in numerous ways, such as molding the upper portion 17 to the lower end 18 or, more preferably, by providing complementary screw threads (not shown) on the upper portion 17 and the lower end 18.

As shown in Fig. 5, the rolling members 7 on the base 1 are preferably wheels.

The rolling members 7 are provided to inhibit wear to the bottom side 14 (particularly the rear corners and edge) of the base 1 when the base is raised from or lowered to the ground.

The rolling members 7 are of a small diameter, preferably 1% inches.

The rolling members 7 inhibit wear to the bottom side 14 when the base 1 is raised from and lowered to the ground by preventing the bottom side 14 of the base 1 (particularly the rear portion) from scraping the ground. For example, when the handling member 2 is raised, the front portion 21 of the base begins to pivot upward toward the lower end 18 of the handling member 2. The rear portion 22 of the bottom side 14 can roll on the ground via the rolling members 7 as the base 1 pivots. Wear is inhibited by allowing the rear portion 22 to roll, rather than scrape across the ground. Similarly, when the base 1 is lowered to the ground, the rolling members 7 are positioned to make initial contact with the ground, causing the front portion 21 of the base 1 to begin pivoting downward. As the user continues to lower the base 1 after the rolling members 7 contact the ground, the rear portion 22 will roll via the rolling members 7 along the ground as the front portion 21 continues to pivot downward. Due to the rolling nature, wear to the bottom side 14 is inhibited.

A user can carry the assembly by the handling member 2. When the user raises the handling member 2, the front portion 21 of the base 1 rises and swings in the direction of the lower end 18 of the handling member 2. At the same time, the rear portion 22 of the base 1 initially remains in contact with the ground. When the front portion 21 finishes its swinging motion, the rear portion 22 will rise from the ground if the user raises the handling member 2 high enough. The swinging motion of the front portion 21 is achieved by means of the yoke 3 being pivotally attached to the base 1 at pivot points 4. When the base 1 is raised off the ground, the yoke 3 is substantially near the bottom side 14 of the base 1. On the other hand, when the base 1 is laid flat on the ground, the yoke 3 is substantially near the front edge 8 of the top side 12 of the base 1.

A cover 20 is preferably provided on the base 1. The cover 20 can be attached to the upper side 12 of the base 1 by means of hinge pins 26 located at clip points 19. In dust pans having a cover 20, the lower end 18 of the handling member 2 can be journalled through a cavity 24 in the cover 20 thereby allowing the lower end 18 of the handling member 2 to engage the upper portion 17 of the yoke 3. When the base 1 is on the ground, the handling member 2 holds the cover 20 in an open position (Fig. 1) thereby allowing a user to sweep dirt, dust, or other refuse into the base. By way of contrast, when the base 1 is raised off the ground, the handling member 2 forces the cover 20 into a closed position (Fig. 3) in which the cavity 23 of the base 1 is enclosed thereby covering the refuse held in the base 1.

To eliminate the undesirable boxy appearance of the conventional dust pan, the base 1 has been substantially rounded in nature. In accomplishing this objective, the right and left sides 11, 13 of the base 1 bend toward each other in the general direction from where they meet the bottom side 14 to where they meet the top side 12. In addition, if a cover 20 is included it is rounded in two directions: in a general direction from the front edge 8 toward the surface return 5 and in a general direction from the right side 11 to the left side 13. Finally, the top side 12 is rounded in the general direction from the front edge 8 toward the rear edge 9; the rear edge 9 itself is also rounded, as previously mentioned.

In making the dust pan hereinabove described, all parts are preferably made from a light-weight plastic. By using light-weight plastic, the overall weight of the dust pan can be reduced thereby easily allowing a user to lift the base when emptying it or to carry the assembly when not in use and to transport refuse.

Considering the aforementioned improvements, other obvious improvements also fall within the scope of dust pan hereafter claimed. For example the handling member may be attached to the base by structure other than a yoke. In addition, various handles may be either formed onto the handling member or releaseably attached thereto.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A dust pan comprising : a base for collecting debris and having at lease one well formed therein for receiving at least one rolling member; a handling member connected to the base; and at least one rolling member disposed at least partially within the at least one well.
2. The dust pan according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the base is substantially continuous.
3. The dust pan according to claim 1, wherein the at least one rolling member comprises a wheel.
4. The dust pan according to claim 1, comprising two wells and two rolling members each disposed at least partially within a respective one of the two wells.
5. The dust pan according to claim 1, further comprising a slot defined in a back side of the base.
6. A dust pan comprising: a base having an opening at a front portion thereof for collecting debris; at least one rolling member disposed at a rear portion of the base; a handling member; and a pivotal connection between the handling member and the base arranged such that the rolling member on the rear portion initially remains on the ground when the front portion moves upward as the handling member is lifted.
7. The dust pan according to claim 6, wherein an inner surface of the base is substantially continuous.
8. The dust pan according to claim 6, wherein the at least one rolling member comprises a wheel.
9. The dust pan according to claim 6 comprising two wells and two rolling members each disposed at least partially within a respective one of the two wells.
10. The dust pan according to claim 6, further comprising a slot defined in a back side of the base.
11. A method of deploying a dust pan in a manner that inhibits wear, comprising the steps of: providing at a dust pan including a base having a well for receiving a rolling member in a rear portion of the base, a rolling member received at least partially within the well, and a handling member pivotally connected to the base; lowering the handling member to cause the rolling member to contact a surface; and continuing to lower the handling member after the rolling member contacts the surface to cause the base to pivot relative to the handling member into a deployed position and to cause the rolling member to rotate relative to the base to inhibit wear on the base.
12. The method of deploying a dust pan according to Claim 11, wherein the rolling member comprises a wheel.
13. A dust pan, substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
14. A method of deploying a dust pan in a manner that inhibits wear, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
15. A dust pan according to any of claims 1 to 10 and 13. when deployed in a manner according to any of claims 11. 12 and 14.