US2799038A

US2799038A - Scouring pad holder

Info

Publication number: US2799038A
Application number: US384942A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clarence I Mccall
Original assignee: MILTON N FORDE
Current assignee: MILTON N FORDE
Priority date: 1953-10-08
Filing date: 1953-10-08
Publication date: 1957-07-16
Anticipated expiration: 1974-07-16

Description

July 16, 1957 c. l. MccALL 2,799,038

SCOURING PAD HOLDER Filed oct. 8, 195s INVENT OR Clare/Ice I. Mc' CaZL ATTORNEYS United States Patent scoURlNG PAD HOLDER Clarence I. McCall, Waterbury, Conn., assignor of onehalf to Milton N. Forde, Naugatuvck, Conn.

vApplication October 8, 1953, Serial No. 384,942

16 claims. (C1. 1s-z09) This invention relates to holders forscouring pads of steel wool, mesh, woven ribbon, sponges and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved holder for a scouring pad, which is extremely facile in its operation and convenient to use, enabling thepad to be readily manipulated into corners and constricted spaces with great ellectiveness and without danger of the material of the pad becoming embedded in the hand 'of the' hood of dirt collecting, to render the holder unsightly or unsanitary.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved scouring pad holder in accordance with the foregoing, which securely retains the pad in place and allows most of the pad to be used up before requiring-replacement with a new pad.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of improved and simplified pad-retaining means in a holder as above set forth, which operate to draw up the pad tightly' against the holder body when the said means is actuated in pad-engaging direction.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of an improved pad holder wherein the actuation of the pad-retaining means may be readily and quickly comprehended by the average housewife or other user.

Other features and advantages willhereinafter appear.' ln the accompanying drawings, showing several embodi ments of the invention:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly invertical section, of a pad fholder made in accordance with the invention, having a scouring pad attached to it.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the pad holder.

Fig. 3 is atop or plan View of the pad holder.

` Fig. 4 is a view like Fig. l, but showing a modified form of pad-retaining means.

, Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View through a pad holder made in accordance with a modification of the invention, the retaining tines being shown in released position. v

Fig.\6 is a view like Fig. 5 but with the tines in padretaining position.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through a pad holder made in accordance with another modification of the invention, the pad-retaining tines being shown in releasing position. l

Fig. 8 is a View like Fig. 7 but yshowing the tines in padretaining position. I

Referring to Figs. 13, the novel scouring padv holder of this invention comprises a substantially flat base 10 having a somewhat rectangular configuration, characterized byra pair of straight opposite sides 11.l and a paix-.mfA

curved opposite sides 12, providing corners 13. The.

base 10 obviously may have other outlines than the above, the outline shown being for illustrative purposes. the interest of economy of material and neatness of appearance, the outline of Fig. 3, is considered desirable; additionally, the provision of the curved sides 12 and corners 13 facilitates the use of the pad in the more inaccessible areas of a kitchenware article.

On the underside of the base 10 a wide and shallow, longitudinally extending groove 14 is provided, having sloping walls '15, said groove preferably extending between the opposite curved walls 12 of the base and being adapted to receive a portion 16 of a conventional scouring pad 17 formed of steel wool or the like.

For reducing curing time Where the base 10 is tobe molded of plastic, cuts 17a may be incorporated in thel undersurface of the base to reduce wall thickness, said lines in this figure.

cuts communicating with the groove 14 and providing projections which will embed themselves in the pad 17 to minimize slippage thereof.

For the purpose of holding the portion 16 of the scouring pad in the groove 14, thereby to secure the pad to the underside of the base 10, there is provided by the present invention a novel retaining means comprising a pair of curved tines or prongs 18, said tines having inwardly, radially-extending portions 19 secured to opposite ends 20 of a shaft 21 which is carried in a bore 22 of an upstanding handle 23 mounted on the top of the base 10. The handle 23 is preferably flat and disposed directly above the groove 14 in the underside of the base.

Adjacent the four corners 13 of the base 10, slots 24 are provided for receiving the tines 18 whereby the latter may be swung from pad-impaling positions shown in full lines in Fig. l to pad-releasing positions shown in dotted When the tines 18 are in their padretaining positions they extend into the slots 24 and across the mouth of the groove 14, and when the tines are in theirr pad-releasing positions they are retracted from the groove 14 and extend into only one pair of slots 24, that pair located at the right when viewing Figs. land 3.

`For the purpose of actuating the tines 18 an extension or arm 25 is provided, said arm preferably being somewhat resilient and yieldable, and being secured to one end 20 of the shaft 21. The arm 25 may advantageously be groove 26 arranged to receive the arm 25 and to re-- leasably hold the latter in itsy upright position aligned withfthe handle. The arm 25 may have its upper extremity bent into the form of a hook 27 to provide a con` venient handle adapted to be readily gripped by the user.

It will be understood that with the parts of the holder in the position of Fig. l release of the pad 17 is effected by disengaging the arm 25 from the handle 23 and swinging the arm counterclockwise to the dotted line'position shown in this figure. The tines 18 will, by this movement, be retracted from the slot 14 and disengaged from the pad 17, enabling the pad to be discarded and a new one put' in its place. To accomplish this latter, the new pad is held against the undersurface of the base 10 and the arm- 25 swung clockwise to the full-line position of Fig. l. This will cause the tines 18 to impale the pad and securely hold it to the base.

having straight portions 18b located closer to the shaft. end 20.. than the remaining/curved portions of the tines,

Patented July 16, 1957 a. Also, the base 10a of the holder is cut away at 28 to add clearance and enable the straight portions 18b' to swing counterclockwise, when the tines are actuated to pad-,releasing'positiom.without contacting thefbase. The

advantageV of this construction. is.. that, when` the, pad-.retaining-tines are actuatedY from their releasing positions tothepad-retaining positions, the,at portions,Y 1,817` will pullgup theimpaled section off the, padzlxthereby; holding: the scouring padv more tightly.A to-the' undersurface ofthe base,10.-

Another modificationofthe-invention is shown inFigs. and 6, depicting a novel shaft and bearing'. organization Aby whichv the scouringpad willbepulledup tightly, as in the-formof-Fig 4, whenthetines.areswungtopadretaining position.l

Inligs.l 5 and 6al handle 23e mounted'on a base 10c is provided with al bore-3ti-havinga cross sectional shape somewhat in the form of an inverted heart. In thebore 30 a shaftI 31- of rectangular cross section isl carried,th e shaft mounting the tines 18 and the handle 25, and having surfaces 31a disposedV more remote from the axis of the shaft than other surfaces 31b. Shown in Fig. 5 the tines 18 are in released positions and the center of the shaft is relatively low in the bore 30. When. the tines 18 are swung to their pad-impaling positions shown in Fig. 6 the shaft 31 will ride up on a camming surface 32 in the bore 30,*and will rest on an apex portion 32a of the bore 30 and the center of the shaft will therefore be raised in the bore. This action reaises the tines 18 after they have been made to initially penetrate the scouring pad, thereby pulling up the pad tightly against the bottom of the base c.

Another modification of the invention by which a similar tightening action of the tines is obtained is shown in Figs. 7 and 8; A handle 23d c arriedy by a base 10d has a circular bore 33 in which a shaft 34 of substantially square cross section is carried. Pad-impaling tines` 18 are carried at the ends of the shaft 34 in off-center positions; for example, in Fig. 7 the operating arm 25 which carries one of the tines 18 is disposed below the center of the shaft 34 and the bore 33. When in this position the tines 18 are in readiness to penetrate a scouring pad and as the tines are advanced in their clockwisepath they will also be translationally moved or raised so thatV when in the pad-retaining position of Fig. 8 they will be disposedv deeper in the groove 14'. In other words, the tines 18 are eccentrically carried by the shafts 34. in such a manner that they are shifted radially toward the center of the bore 33 as they advance through the scouring pad 17. The tines 18 will thus pull the pad 17 tightly against the bottom of the base 10d. i

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a generally flat base having a groove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouring pad; means for securing said portion of the pad in said groove, including a plurality of curved tines; means including a shaft connected to the tines, disposed substantially at the center of curvature of the tines and carried by the base above the groove thereof, mounting the tines for curvilinear movement on the base laterally of the groove between pad-retaining positions wherein they individually extend entirely across the groove of the base and pad-releasing positions wherein they are retracted from the groove, said tines having their concave sides facing the groove; manually-engageable means for actuating the tines between said positions; and a handle attached to and upstanding from the base, adapted to be grasped by the hands of a user to manip-ulate the holder and scouring pad secured thereto.

2. A holder for a scouring pad, comprisinga generally at base having a groove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouring pad; means for securing said portion `of the pad in said groove, including a plurality off'curved tines; means including a shaft connected to the tines, disposed substantially at the center of curvature of the tines and carried by the base above the groove thereof, mounting the tines for curvilinear movement on the base laterally of the groove between pad-retaining positions wherein they individually extend entirely across the groove of the base and pad-releasing positions wherein they are retracted from the groove, said tines having their concave sides facing the groove; manually-engageable means for actuating the tines between said positions; and a handle attached to and upstanding from the base, adapted to be grasped by the hands of a user to manipulate the holder and scouring pad secured thereto, said means for actuating the tines moving the same simultaneously and including solely one manually-engageable member.

3., A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a generally flat base having a groove in its underside adapted to receive a portionof the scouring pad; means for securing saidportion of the pad in said groove, including a plurality lof curved tines; means including a shaft connected tothe tines, disposed substantially at the center of curvature of theV tines andv carried by the base above the groove thereof, mounting the tines for curvilinear movement on the base laterally of the groove between pad-retaining positions wherein` they individually extend entirely across the groove ofthe base and pad-releasing positions wherein they are retracted from the groove, said tines having their concave sides facing the groove; manually-engageable means for actuating the tines between said` positions; and a handle attached to and upstanding from the base, adapted to be grasped by the hands ofl a user to manipulate the holder and scouring pad secured thereto, said handle being flat and substantially perpendicular to the base, said manually-engageable meansk comprising an arm pivoted on the base and carried by said shaft external to and arranged to lie at with the handle when the tines are in pad-retaining positions.

4.V A holder for ay scouring pad, comprising a generally dat basel having a groove in its underside adapted to receivey a portion of lthe scouring pad; means for securing said portion of the pad in said groove, including a plurality of curved tines; means including a shaft connected to the tines, disposed substantially at the center of curvature of the tines and carried by the base above the groove thereof, mounting the tines for curvilinear movement on the base laterally of the groove between padretainingV positions wherein they individually extend entirely across the groove of the base and pad-releasing positions wherein they are retracted from the groove, said tines having their concave sides facing the groove; manually-engageable means f or actuating the tines between said positions; a handle attached to and upstanding from the base, adapted to be grasped by the hands of a user to manipulate the holder and scouring pad secured thereto; and notched detent means for yieldably holding the pivoted arm in the said position aligned with the handle, said detent means comprising a notch in the handle and said pivoted arm being resilient and engageable in the said notch fto retain the arm in aligned position.

5. A holder for a scouring pad comprising a low, broad base having a groove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouring pad, said base having recesses on opposite sides of the groovefa curved tine pivotally mounted on the base for curvilinear movement through one of said recesses between a pad-impaling and retaining position extending across the groove and a padreleasing position retracted from the groove, said tine having its concave side facing the base vand said pivotal mounting being substantially at the center of curvature of the tine, said tine beingy receivedv in the recesses of the base when extending across the groove and having a supporting arm overlying the base, extending and connected between the tine and the pivotal mounting thereavances for,` said recesses being located in the pathof travel of the tine; an elongate, pivoted manually-engageable means for moving said tine betweerrpad-retaining and: pad-releasing positions; and a flat handle'attached to and upstanding from the base in substantially perpendicular rela-v tion thereto, for engagement by the hands of a user to manipulate the holder and thescouringpad secured' recesses on opposite sides of the groove; a curved tine' pivotally mounted on the base for curvilinear movement through one of said recesses between a pad-impaling and retaining position extending 'across the groove and a padreleasing position retractedfrom the groove, said tine having its concave side facing the base and said pivotal mounting being substantially at the center'of curvature of the tine, said tine being received in the recesses of the base when extending across the groove and having a supporting arm overlying the base, extending and connected between the tine and the pivotal mounting therefor, said recesses being located in the path of travel of the Itine; an elongate, pivoted, manually-engageable means for moving said tine between pad-retaining and pad-releasing positions; a flat'handleattached to and upstanding from the base inv substantially perpendicular relation thereto, for engagement by thel hands of a user to manipulateA the holder 'and the scouring pad secured thereto, said manually-engageable'means lying at with the handle and against the same when the tine is in retaining position; said base having additional recesses on opposite sides of the groove; ajsecond curved tine pivotally mounted on the base, receivable in said additional recesses and extendable across rthe groove with its concave side facing the base to secure the scouring pad in the groove, said second tine having a supporting arm overlying the base, extending above and connected to the second tine and to the pivotal mounting therefor and being operatively connected with the first tine by a shaft, for simultaneous movement therewith; said shaft constituting said pivotal mountings and carrying said arms at its ends and said handle being disposed between said arms.

7. A holder for a scouring pad comprising a low, broad base having a groove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouring pad, said base having recesses on opposite sides of the groove; a curved tine pivotally mounted on the base for curvilinear movement through one of said recesses between a pad-impaling and retaining position extending across the groove and a padreleasing position retracted from the groove, said tine having its concave side facing tthe base and said pivotal mounting being substantially at the center of curvature of the tine, said tine being received in the recesses of the base when extending across the groove and having a supporting arm overlying the base, extending and connected between rthe tine and the pivotal mounting therefor, said recesses being located in the path of travel of the tine; an elongate, pivoted manually-engageable means for moving said tine between pad-retaining and pad-releasing positions; a flat handle attached to and upstanding from the base in substantially perpendicular relation thereto, for engagement by the hands of a user to manipulate the holder and the scouring pad secured thereto, said manually-engageable means lying at with the handle and against the same when the tine is in retaining position, said base having additional recesses on opposite sides of the groove; a second curved tine pivotally mounted on the base, receivable in said additional recesses and extendable across the groove with its concave side facing the base to secure the scouring pad in the groove, said second tine having a supporting arm overlying the base, extending above rand connected tothe second tine and to the pivotal mounting therefor and being operatively connected with the rst tine by a shaft, for simultaneous movement therewith; said shaft constituting said pivotal mountings and carrying said arms at its ends and said handle being disposed between said arms, one of said tines having an extension external to the handle and constituting the means for moving the tine.

8; A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a generally ilat'base having a longitudinal groove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouring pad; a curved tine; means including a shaft disposed substantially at the center of curvature of the tine and mounting the tine for curvilinear movement on the base transversely of the groove`between a pad-retaining position wherein it extends wholly across the groove from one side thereof to the other and a pad-releasing position wherein it is retracted from'the groove;.manually engage'able means for actuating the tine between said positions; and a handle attached to and upstanding from the base, for engagement by the hands of a user to manipulate the holderand scouring padvsecured thereto.

9. A holder for a scouring pad comprising a low, broad-` base having a groove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the'scouring pad, said base having recesses on oppositesides of the groove; a curved tine pivotally'mountedon the base for curvilinear movement through one of said recesses between a pad-impaling and retaining-position extending across the groove and a padreleasing position retracted from the groove, said tine having its concave side facing the base and said pivotal mounting being substantially at the center of curvature of the tine, said tine. being received in the recesses of the baseV when` extending across the groove and having a supporting arm overlying `the base, extending and connected between the tine and the pivotal mounting therefor, said recesses being located in the path of travel of the tine; an elongate, pivoted manually-engageable means for moving said tine between pad-retaining and padreleasing positions; a flat handle attached to and upstanding from the base in substantially perpendicular relation thereto, for engagement by the hands of a user to manipulate the holder and the scouring pad secured thereto, said manually-engageable means lying flat with the handle and against the same when the tine is in retaining position, said base having additional recesses on opposite sides of the groove; a second curved tine pivotally mounted on the base, receivable in said additional recesses and extendable across the groove with its concave side facing the base to secure the scouring pad in the groove, said second tine having a supporting arm overlying the base, extending above and connected to the second tine and to the pivotal mounting therefor and being operatively connected with the lirst tine by a shaft, for simultaneous movement therewith; said shaft constituting said pivotal mountings and carrying said arms at its ends and said handle being disposed between said arms said handle being disposed on the top of the base over Ithe said groove; the said shaft passing through and being turnable in the handle, carrying the said tines, said manually-engageable means comprising an operating arm integral with one of said tines extending from the said shaft and movable in an arc between positions parallel with the base and parallel with the handle.

l0. A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a substantially flat base having two pairs of corners and a groove in its underside extending midway between said pairs of corners, said base having a handle secured to and upstanding from its top and said handle being disposed over the groove in the base and having in its lower portion a bore extending parallel to the groove, said base having slots adjacent its four corners extending in directions perpendicular to the groove; a shaft passing through and turnable in the bore of the handle; a pair of curved tines secured to the ends of the shaft, said tines normally extending completely through one pair of slots and being mounted for movement between pad-retaining positions wherein they extend across the groove of the base and through the other slots thereof, and pad-releasing positions wherein they are retracted from the other slots and from the groove; an operating arm projecting laterally from one end of the shaft, for manipulation by a user to turn the shaft and thereby actuate the tines, said handle having a detent notch for receiving said arm to yieldably hold the arm in a given position wherein the tines are disposed in their padretaining positions.

11. The invention as dened in claim 10 in which the hlandle is substantially flat and coextensive with the groove, in which the detent notch is located in an edge portion of the handle, and in which the operating arm is integral with one of said tines and is aligned with the handle when held in the detent notch thereof.

12. A holder for a scouring pad, comprising a generally at base having a groove in its underside adapted to receive a portion of the scouring pad; means for securing said portion of the pad in said groove, including a plurality of curved tines; means including a shaft connected to the tines, disposed substantially at the center of curvature of the tines and carried by the base above the groove thereof, mounting the tines for curvilinear movement on the base laterally of the groove between pad-retaining positions wherein they individually extend entirely across the groove of the base and pad-releasing positions wherein they are retracted from the groove, said tines having their concave sides facing the groove; manually-engageable means for actuating the tines between said positions; and a handle attached to and upstanding from the base, adapted to be grasped by the hands of a user to manipulate the holder and scouring pad secured thereto, said tines having portions spaced from their pointed ends and oset laterally to occupy positions closer to the bottom of the groove when the tines are in pad-retaining positions, thereby tol pull up the pad into the groove and hold it tightly against the bottom of the base.

13. The inventionxas defined in claim l in which there are. meansv for shifting the tines transversely of their length closer to theV bottom of the groove as they are moved from padreleasing to pad-retaining positions, thereby to pull the scouring pad tightly against the bottom of the base.

14. The invention as defined in claim 6 in which the means for shifting the tines laterally includes an eccentric connection between the tines andthe shaft.

l5. The invention as dened in claim 1, in which there are means for shifting the shaft laterally upward when it is turned to move the tines from pad-releasing positions to pad-retaining positions, thereby to shift the tines laterally upward as they are advanced through the pad to hold the pad tightly against the base.

16. The invention as defined in claim 15 in which the means for shifting the shaft laterally comprises a camming surface in the bore carrying the shaft, and in which the shafthasportions located further from its axis than other portions and engageable with said camming surface to shift the shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,438,794 Tudor Dec. 12, 1922 1,620,903 Lance Mar. l5, 1927 1,653,652 Melniker Dec. 27, 1927 1,795,708 Cahill Mar. 10, 1931 2,124,429 OBrien Iuly 19, 1938 2,620,501 Bailey Dec. 9, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 616,104 Great Britain Jan. 17, 1949