US20100065564A1

US20100065564A1 - Barrel

Info

Publication number: US20100065564A1
Application number: US12/211,081
Authority: US
Inventors: Ming-Hsiao Lai
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-09-15
Filing date: 2008-09-15
Publication date: 2010-03-18

Abstract

The present invention provides a barrel and its applications. The barrel includes an external cylinder and an internal vessel. The external cylinder has a cylinder body, an open top and an open bottom. The internal vessel has an inner space and a top flange. The top flange of internal vessel and open top of external cylinder are positioned together. The external cylinder and internal vessel are combined by metal and plastic materials. The barrel can be applied to a toilet brush assembly, helping to reduce the manufacturing cost, prevent the corrosion and facilitate the cleaning work with better industrial efficiency and improved practicability.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

NAMES OF PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO AN APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON COMPACT DISC

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a barrel, and more particularly to an innovative barrel with an external cylinder and an internal vessel positioned at the top of the external cylinder structure.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Currently available barrel products still have some disadvantages, including the barrel structure of a toilet brush assembly. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a barrel 11 of a typical toilet brush assembly 10 is composed of a metal cylinder 111 and a metal bottom plate 112. A cup is placed into the barrel 11 to accommodate the sewage released from the toilet brush 13; however, the following shortcomings are observed during actual applications.
First, a metal bottom plate 112 must be assembled at the bottom of metal cylinder 111 of the barrel 11, leading to substantial increase in the cost of the metal materials. Also, the metal cylinder 111 shall be assembled onto the metal bottom plate 112 through a special procedure (e.g. punching or rolling), thus increasing the manufacturing cost along with lowered manufacturing efficiency.
Second, if the inner space formed by the metal cylinder 111 and metal bottom plate 112 of the barrel 11 is used to accommodate the sewage released from the toilet brush 13, corrosion, fracture or damage will occur rapidly. Hence, a cup 12 is arranged into the barrel 11, leading to an increase of material cost. Moreover, since a gap still exists between the cup 12 and metal cylinder 111, residual water on the wall of cup 12 and metal cylinder 111 will possibly bring about corrosion at the joint of the metal bottom plate 112 and metal cylinder 111.
Third, as the cup 12 of typical barrel 11 is used to accommodate the sewage released from the toilet brush 13, it is required to take out the cup 12 manually from the barrel 11 when it is intended to clean up the sewage, leading to inconvenience of operation and difficulty of cleaning because of limited inner space of the barrel 11.
Thus, to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it would be an advancement in the art to provide an improved structure that can significantly improve efficacy.
Therefore, the inventor has provided the present invention of practicability after deliberate design and evaluation based on years of experience in the production, development and design of related products.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Based on the unique present invention, the top flange of the internal vessel and open top of the external cylinder are positioned together. The bottom of external cylinder is open-ended, such that the metal bottom plate of the barrel can be saved, thus reducing the material cost, manufacturing cost and processing procedure with better industrial efficiency.
As the external cylinder and internal vessel are integrated by metal and plastic materials, the sewage released from toilet brush drips into the plastic vessel, thereby preventing corrosion and extending the life span of products.
Based on the unique top flange of the internal vessel and the open top of the external cylinder being positioned together, the sewage in the barrel can be poured out conveniently, without the need for manually taking out the cup from the barrel.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a prior art barrel structure.

FIG. 2 shows an assembled sectional view of a prior art barrel structure.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an assembled sectional view of preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an enlarged perspective view of position B of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged perspective view of position C of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the top flange of internal vessel and open top of external cylinder are positioned together.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic view of second preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the top flange of internal vessel and open top of external cylinder are positioned together.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of third preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the top flange of internal vessel and open top of external cylinder are positioned together.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the application of the present invention, when the barrel is used as garbage barrel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The features and the advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 3-4 depict preferred embodiments of the present invention. The embodiments are provided for only explanatory purposes for the patent claims.
The toilet brush assembly A comprises a barrel 20, which has an external cylinder 21 and an internal vessel 22. The external cylinder 21 is made of metal material and comprised of a cylinder body 211, an open top 212 and an open bottom 213. The internal vessel 22 is made of plastic material and comprised of an inner space 221 and a top flange 222. The top flange 222 of internal vessel 22 and open top 212 of external cylinder 21 are positioned together.
A toilet brush 30 comprises a handle 31 and a brush portion 32 at one end of the handle 31. The brush portion 32 can be arranged into the inner space 221 of the internal vessel 22 of the barrel 20. The handle 31 protrudes from the top of the barrel 20.
A cover body 40 is arranged at a preset position of the toilet brush 30 and can be covered onto the open top 212 of external cylinder 21 of the barrel 20, thereby positioning the toilet brush 30 and barrel 20.
The top flange 222 of internal vessel 22 and open top 212 of external cylinder 21 are positioned together in multiple ways.
In one way, referring to FIG. 6, the open top 212 of external cylinder 21 can be formed into an internal curling portion 23, which is adapted onto top flange 222 of internal vessel 22 for a positioning purpose. The top flange 222 of internal vessel 22 is formed into a curling or bending portion, which is embedded into the internal curling portion 23 formed by the open top 212 of external cylinder 21. The top flange 222 of internal vessel 22 can be embedded into the internal curling portion 23 in several modes. Referring to FIG. 7, the top flange 222 of the internal vessel 22 can be preset into an outward bending body. When the top flange 222 is punched (or rolled) along with the internal curling portion 23 of open top 212 of external cylinder 21, it is also extruded into a S-shaped curling portion 223. Referring also to FIG. 8, the top flange 222 of the internal vessel 22 can be preset into an inward bending body. When the top flange 222 is rolled along with the internal curling portion 23 of open top 212 of external cylinder 21, it is also extruded into a ?-shaped internal curling portion 224. Referring also to FIG. 9, the top flange 222 of the internal vessel 22 can also be preset into a straight body. When the top flange 222 is punched (or rolled) along with the internal curling portion 23 of open top 212 of external cylinder 21, it is also extruded into a bending portion 225.
In another way, referring to FIG. 10, the barrel 20B comprises an external cylinder 21 and an internal vessel 22, where the inner space is expanded so as to use it as a garbage barrel.

Claims

1. A barrel for containing items, said barrel comprising:

an external cylinder being comprised of a cylinder body and having an open top end and an open bottom end; and

an internal vessel having an inner space and a top flange, said top flange being positioned together with said open top of end of said external cylinder.

2. The barrel defined in claim 1, wherein said external cylinder is comprised of metal, said internal vessel being comprised of plastic material.

3. The barrel defined in claim 1, wherein said open bottom of said external cylinder extends inwardly, forming an internal curling portion.

4. The barrel defined in claim 3, wherein said internal curling portion adapts onto said top flange of said internal vessel.

5. The barrel defined in claim 3, wherein said top flange of internal vessel forms a curling or bending portion, being embedded into said internal curling portion.

6. The barrel defined in claim 1, wherein the said internal vessel houses a toilet brush and a cover body, forming a toilet brush assembly, said toilet brush being comprised of a handle and a brush portion at one end of the handle, said brush portion being arranged in said inner space of said internal vessel, said handle protruding from said open top end, said toilet brush having a cover body, arranged at a preset position, said cover body covering said open top end positioning the toilet brush and barrel.

7. The barrel defined in claim 1, wherein said internal vessel houses garbage.