JP3246358U - Kitchen sink wiper - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a kitchen sink wiper that is stable when standing on its own while occupying a small amount of space. [Solution] A kitchen sink wiper 101 according to the present disclosure includes a wiper rubber 1, a plate-shaped main body 3, and a plate-shaped auxiliary leg 5. The plate-shaped main body 3 holds the wiper rubber 1 along the direction in which the wiper rubber 1 extends, and at one end 6 along the extending direction, a gripping portion 7 for holding the wiper rubber 1 between fingers and a leg 9 for supporting the wiper rubber 1 by itself are formed. The plate-shaped auxiliary leg 5 is connected to the main body 3 at one end 6 of the plate-shaped main body 3 so as to protrude in a direction intersecting the plate-shaped main body 3. The leg 9 and the auxiliary leg 5 cooperate to support the main body 3 by allowing the wiper rubber 1 to stand on its own with the wiper rubber 1 standing upright. Preferably, the auxiliary leg 5 is detachably connected to the main body 3. [Selected Figure] FIG. 1

Description

This invention relates to a kitchen sink wiper that is suitable for draining kitchen sinks, particularly for draining countertops that are placed next to the sink.

A conventional kitchen sink wiper is described in Patent Document 1. This conventional kitchen sink wiper is roughly "T" shaped, with a handle provided near the center of the long wiper rubber in the longitudinal direction that comes into contact with the draining surface, and extending in a direction perpendicular to the rubber. This causes the problem that excessive strain is placed on the wrist when draining the entire counter from the front of the counter.

In response to this, as described in Non-Patent Document 1, there are also sink wipers on the market that have a handle at one end of the main body along the longitudinal direction of the long wiper rubber. Unlike the "T-shaped" type, this conventional kitchen sink wiper appears to be capable of draining the entire counter from the front to the counter without placing excessive strain on the wrist.

However, in the conventional technology described in Non-Patent Document 1, the main body is cylindrical or conical with a bulge, and while this is not a major problem if the wiper length is about 13 centimeters as envisioned, if the length exceeds 20 centimeters, it is necessary to ensure a large base area for the main body to ensure stability when it is placed upright, and this leads to a large bulge in the entire main body. As a result, when placed upright on the sink, it takes up a lot of space, which hinders kitchen work. It also increases the psychological sense of intimidation.

The main body of a kitchen sink wiper does not need to be firmly gripped with the fingers, and can be operated by pinching it with the fingertips. Therefore, it is not essential that the main body be cylindrical or conical with a bulge that is easy to grip. Also, according to the inventor's prototype experiments, it is most desirable for the length of the wiper rubber of a kitchen sink wiper to be approximately 20 to 23 centimeters. The smaller the length of the wiper rubber is beyond this range, the more difficult it becomes to use because the countertop must be wiped more frequently. Conversely, the longer the length of the wiper rubber is beyond this range, the less maneuverable it becomes when trying to drain water from every corner of the countertop, making it inconvenient.

JP 2016-165433 A

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This invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a kitchen sink wiper that takes up little space while increasing stability when standing on its own.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the above objects, a first aspect of the present invention is a wiper for a kitchen sink, comprising a wiper rubber, a plate-shaped main body, and a plate-shaped auxiliary leg. The plate-shaped main body holds the wiper rubber along the direction in which the wiper rubber extends, and at one end along the direction in which the wiper rubber extends, a gripping portion for holding the wiper rubber between fingers and a leg for supporting the wiper rubber by itself are formed. The plate-shaped auxiliary leg is connected to the main body at one end of the plate-shaped main body so as to protrude in a direction intersecting the plate-shaped main body. The leg and the auxiliary leg work together to support the main body by allowing the wiper rubber to stand upright.

According to this configuration, a grip is formed at one end of the main body, which can be grasped with the fingers to perform draining work. In addition, the main body that holds the wiper rubber along the direction in which the wiper rubber extends is plate-shaped, and the auxiliary legs that help the main body stand on its own are also plate-shaped, so the amount of space occupied is kept low. Furthermore, the free-standing main body is supported by the plate-shaped legs of the main body and the plate-shaped auxiliary legs that are connected to the main body so as to protrude in a direction intersecting the main body, so the stability when free-standing is increased while keeping the amount of space occupied low.

The second aspect of the present invention is a kitchen sink wiper according to the first aspect, in which the auxiliary legs are detachably connected to the main body.

With this configuration, the auxiliary legs can be removed from the main body and leaned against a wall, further reducing the amount of space they occupy. It also makes cleaning the main body and auxiliary legs much easier.

A third aspect of the present invention is a kitchen sink wiper according to the second aspect, in which the auxiliary leg and the main body have an engagement portion that engages with each other to prevent the auxiliary leg from falling off the main body.
This configuration can prevent the auxiliary leg from accidentally falling off the main body.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a kitchen sink wiper according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the extending length of the wiper rubber is in the range of 18 cm to 23 cm.
With this configuration, the number of times the counter needs to be wiped can be reduced while allowing easy drainage of water from every corner of the counter.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a kitchen sink wiper according to any of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the main body has a contoured protrusion at the other end along the direction that protrudes at an acute angle.
With this configuration, dirt in corners of a countertop or the like can be scraped off by the protruding portion.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is a kitchen sink wiper according to any of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the edge of the wiper rubber in the direction in which it extends that is farther from the handle portion of the main body forms an acute angle with the edge that comes into contact with the object to be drained.
According to this configuration, the portion of the wiper rubber where the edges intersect at an acute angle can effectively wipe away dirt from corners of a countertop or the like.

As described above, this invention makes it possible to create a kitchen sink wiper that takes up little space while increasing stability when standing on its own.

1 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a kitchen sink wiper according to one embodiment of the present invention; 2A and 2B are isometric orthogonal projection views illustrating the configuration of the kitchen sink wiper of FIG. 1, in which (a) is a side view of the main body, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the main body taken along line A-A, (c) is a front view of an auxiliary leg, and (d) is a side view of the auxiliary leg. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the structure of the connecting portion between the main body and the auxiliary leg of the kitchen sink wiper of FIG. FIG. 11 is a side view illustrating the configuration of a kitchen sink wiper according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a kitchen sink wiper according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a kitchen sink wiper according to one embodiment of the present invention. Also, Figure 2 is an isometric orthographic projection view illustrating the configuration of the kitchen sink wiper of Figure 1, where (a) is a side view of the main body, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the main body taken along line A-A, (c) is a front view of the auxiliary leg, and (d) is a side view of the auxiliary leg. This kitchen sink wiper 101 has a wiper rubber 1, a main body 3, and an auxiliary leg 5.

The wiper rubber 1 is a member that elastically contacts the surface of the object to be drained, such as a countertop, to drain water, and is made of, for example, rubber or a synthetic resin with high elasticity. The wiper rubber 1 is formed long so that it comes into contact with the surface of the object to be drained with a certain width in order to drain water efficiently. The length of the wiper rubber 1 is preferably in the range of 18 to 23 centimeters. In this case, the number of times the counter needs to be wiped can be reduced, while still allowing easy drainage of every corner of the counter. It is even more preferable that the length is in the range of 20 to 23 centimeters. This allows the number of times the counter needs to be wiped to be reduced, without sacrificing the ease of draining every corner of the counter.

The main body 3 is a member that holds the wiper rubber 1 along the direction in which the wiper rubber 1 extends. In the illustrated example, a groove 4 is formed on the surface of the main body 3 that contacts the wiper rubber 1 along the direction in which the wiper rubber 1 extends, and one of the wiper rubbers 1 has a protrusion 2 that is inserted into the groove 4. The protrusion 2 of the wiper rubber 1 is inserted into the groove 4 of the main body 3 and bonded, for example, with an adhesive, so that the wiper rubber 1 is fixed to the main body 3 in a form that is difficult to peel off.

The main body 3 has a grip 7 at its base end 6 (lower end in the illustrated position) along the direction of extension for gripping between the fingers, and legs 9 for supporting the main body 3 itself. The main body 3 also has a protruding part 21 at its tip end 20 (upper end in the illustrated position) along the direction of extension, which has an acutely angled contour shape. The protruding part 21 is provided to perform an additional function of scrubbing dirt off corners of objects to be drained, such as countertops, in addition to the original function of the kitchen sink wiper 101, which is to drain water. In the illustrated example, the contour shape of the main body 3 is modeled after a giraffe, with the grip 7 shaped as the torso, the legs 9 shaped as the limbs, and the protruding parts 21 shaped as the ears, providing functionality and playfulness at the same time.

The auxiliary legs 5 cooperate with the legs 9 of the main body 3 to make the main body 3 stand upright with the wiper rubber 1 standing upright. The main body 3 and the auxiliary legs 5 are both made of a material with higher rigidity than the wiper rubber 1, such as synthetic resin, and are plate-shaped. The plate-shaped auxiliary legs 5 are connected to the base end 6 of the main body 3 so as to protrude in a direction intersecting with the main body 3, which is also plate-shaped. In the illustrated example, the auxiliary legs 5 are connected to the base end 6 of the main body 3 so as to be perpendicular to the main body 3. In the illustrated example, the legs 9 and the auxiliary legs 5 of the main body 3 have recesses recessed upward from the bottom surface to reduce the area of the bottom surface that gets wet when the main body 3 is set up on a draining object such as a kitchen counter, for hygienic reasons.

The kitchen sink wiper 101 has a grip 7 formed at the base end 6 of the main body 3, so that the grip 7 can be held with the fingers while draining water. The main body 3 that holds the wiper rubber 1 along the direction in which the wiper rubber 1 extends is plate-shaped, and the auxiliary legs 5 that help the main body 3 stand on its own are also plate-shaped, so the amount of space it occupies is kept low. Furthermore, the free-standing main body 3 is supported by the plate-shaped legs 9 of the main body 3 and the plate-shaped auxiliary legs 5 that are connected to the main body 3 so as to protrude in a direction intersecting the main body 3, so that the stability when it stands on its own is increased while the amount of space it occupies is kept low.

In the illustrated example, the auxiliary leg 5 is detachably connected to the main body 3. In particular, in the illustrated example, notches 11 and 13 are formed in the base end 6 of the main body 3 and the upper part of the auxiliary leg 5, respectively. The auxiliary leg 5 is attached to the main body 3 so that the notches 11 and 13 mesh with each other, and the main body 3 and the auxiliary leg 5 are connected to each other so that they are immovable. For example, the frictional force at the notches 11 and 13 can prevent the auxiliary leg 5 from accidentally falling off the main body 3.

By making the auxiliary legs 5 detachable from the main body 3 in this way, when the kitchen sink wiper 101 is not in use, the auxiliary legs 5 can be removed from the main body 3 and leaned against a wall. This further reduces the amount of space taken up. It also makes cleaning the main body 3 and the legs 9 even easier.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the structure of the connection between the main body 3 and the auxiliary leg 5 of the kitchen sink wiper 101. In the illustrated example, a mutually engaging recess 15 and a protrusion 17 are formed in the notch 13 of the auxiliary leg 5 and the main surface of the base end 6 of the main body 3 that contacts the notch 13. When the auxiliary leg 5 is attached to the main body 3, the recess 15 and the protrusion 17 engage with each other, effectively preventing the auxiliary leg 5 from falling off the main body 3. By applying force with fingers to pull the auxiliary leg 5 out of the main body 3, the engagement between the recess 15 and the protrusion 17 is easily released, and the auxiliary leg 5 can be removed from the main body 3. The height of the protrusion 17 is set within a range in which the notch 13 can be opened and closed by slight elastic deformation.

The recess 15 and the protrusion 17 may be provided in opposite positions, or may be provided in the notch 11 of the main body 3 and the main surface of the auxiliary leg 5 that contacts it. In addition to the combination of the recess 15 and the protrusion 17, other well-known structures such as a ratchet mechanism may be used as a structure for detachably engaging the auxiliary leg 5 and the main body 3.

Figure 4 is a side view illustrating the configuration of a kitchen sink wiper according to another embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 4, parts corresponding to the parts of the kitchen sink wiper 101 are given the same reference numerals as the reference numerals given to the parts of the kitchen sink wiper 101. This kitchen sink wiper 102 has a basic structure in common with the kitchen sink wiper 101 illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

In other words, both the main body 3 and the auxiliary leg 5 are plate-shaped, and the main body 3 that holds the wiper rubber 1 extends along the wiper rubber 1, and has a grip 7 and a leg 9 at the base end 6. By holding the grip 7 at the base end 6 with the fingers 19, the kitchen sink wiper 102 can be used to drain water. In Figures 1 and 2, an example is shown in which the main body 3 is shaped like the animal "giraffe," but it is of course possible to realize the same function while giving the main body 3 a simpler shape, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a kitchen sink wiper according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. This kitchen sink wiper 103 also has the same basic structure as the kitchen sink wipers 101 and 102 illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 4. In Figure 5, parts corresponding to the respective parts of the kitchen sink wipers 101 and 102 are given the same reference numerals as the respective parts of the kitchen sink wipers 101 and 102.

In the kitchen sink wiper 103, the leading edge 25 of the wiper rubber 1, which is the edge farthest from the grip 7 of the main body 3, forms an acute angle with the draining edge 27, which is the edge that comes into contact with the object to be drained, such as a countertop. As in the examples in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the wiper rubber 1 in the example in Fig. 5 is formed in a blade shape, and the draining edge 27 corresponds to the cutting edge of the blade. According to the kitchen sink wiper 103, the leading edge 25 forms an acute angle with the draining edge 27, so that the tip where the leading edge 25 and the draining edge 27 intersect can effectively wipe off dirt from the corners of the countertop. For this reason, in the illustrated example, the leading edge 20 of the main body 3 does not have the protruding portion 21 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

In the illustrated example, the wiper rubber 1 has a base edge 29, which is the edge closest to the grip part 7 of the main body 3, that extends in such a way that it comes into contact with the surface of the object to be drained, when the main body 3 is placed upright on the surface, such as a countertop. This allows the wiper rubber 1 to maximize the contact width of the surface of the object to be drained, while keeping the overall length of the main body 3 the same. Also, in the illustrated example, the legs 9 and auxiliary legs 5 of the main body 3 do not have the recesses recessed upward from the bottom surface as shown in Figures 1 to 4. The legs 9 and auxiliary legs 5 of the main body 3 can also have such a configuration.

The wiper rubber 1 may be manufactured by integrally molding two types of resin, for example, hard and soft, using a technique known as "two-color molding" for integrally molding multiple types of resin. This results in a wiper rubber 1 that is both flexible and rigid, suitable for draining water. Also, instead of adhering the wiper rubber 1 and the main body 3 with an adhesive, they may be manufactured by integral molding of synthetic resin using "two-color molding."

1 wiper rubber, 2 protrusion, 3 main body, 4 groove, 5 auxiliary leg, 6 base end (one end), 7 grip, 9 leg, 11, 13 notch, 15 recess, 17 protrusion, 19 finger, 20 tip (other end), 21 protrusion, 25 edge (tip edge), 27 edge (draining edge), 29 edge (base edge), 101, 102 kitchen sink wiper.

Claims (6)

A kitchen sink wiper,
Wiper rubber,
A plate-shaped main body portion that holds the wiper rubber along the direction in which the wiper rubber extends, and has a gripping portion for holding the wiper rubber between fingers at one end along the direction in which the wiper rubber extends, and a leg portion for supporting the wiper rubber by itself;
a plate-shaped auxiliary leg portion connected to the main body portion at the one end of the plate-shaped main body portion so as to protrude in a direction intersecting the plate-shaped main body portion,
The leg portion and the auxiliary leg portion cooperate to allow the main body portion to stand upright with the wiper rubber in an upright position. The kitchen sink wiper of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary leg is detachably connected to the main body. The kitchen sink wiper according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary leg and the main body have an engagement portion that prevents the auxiliary leg from falling off the main body by engaging with each other. A kitchen sink wiper according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wiper rubber has an extension length in the range of 18 centimeters to 23 centimeters. A kitchen sink wiper according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the main body has a contoured protrusion that protrudes at an acute angle at the other end along the direction. A kitchen sink wiper according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the edge of the wiper rubber in the direction in which the wiper rubber extends that is farther from the grip of the main body forms an acute angle with the edge that comes into contact with the object to be drained.