WO1992002170A1

WO1992002170A1 - Disposable cleaning aid

Info

Publication number: WO1992002170A1
Application number: PCT/GB1991/001312
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul George Winer
Original assignee: Paul George Winer
Priority date: 1990-08-01
Filing date: 1991-08-01
Publication date: 1992-02-20
Also published as: GB9016853D0; EP0543854A1; AU8310891A

Abstract

The invention provides a disposable cleaning aid of simple construction for the removal of hair and other debris from a plug hole. The cleaning aid comprises a circular cleaning member (12) having a handle provided by a plate (14) upstanding from the upper surface thereof. The cleaning member's underside has a resilient layer (16) attached thereto which layer (16) carries a plurality of resilient hook means (20). The hook means (20) are arranged to project relatively downwardly and may have a random orientation. Rotation of the cleaning member in a plug hole will cause hair etc to be collected by the hook means for removal. In order to maintain hygiene standards the aid is made of a biodegradable material such as hardened wax paper thus allowing for its disposal after one use.

Description

DISPOSABLE CLEANING AID

This invention relates to a disposable cleaning aid especially for the removal of hairs or other debris from a plug hole.

A particularly unpleasant job in the cleaning of showers, baths or sinks etc. is the requirement of removing debris from the plug hole. Such debris may be human hairs, piece of skin etc. which would otherwise block the plug hole and impair the efficiency of water removal from the sink or bath.

In addition to being an unpleasant job it may also, under certain circumstances, be difficult to accomplish especially where the hair is matted or similarly entangled around the grid or grating usually provided in such orifices. In addition to reduction of efficiency of the water outlet, the hair etc if left in place would become a breeding ground for bacteria etc. leading to a hygiene problem.

It would obviously be an advantage therefore to provide a cleaning aid which would simply and efficiently remove the debris such as hair from a plug hole. A device to accomplish this is proposed in British Patent Application No. 2225935.

This patent application proposes a plug hole cleaner of generally cylindrical construction, on one end of which is provided a plurality of hooks. Rotation of the cleaner in one direction will lift hair etc from an orifice and rotation in the opposite direction will release the hair for cleaning purposes. Whilst this arrangement is effective for its purpose it has two problems.

Firstly the removal of the hair from the cleaner is a messy, time-consuming and hygienically unsound operation leading to the possibility of germ transmission either to the user or to the next plug hole to be cleaned. Secondly the construction of cleaner, with its requirement for a solid bod and hooks attached thereto does not lend itself to mass production.

A further problem which must be overcome is that in orde to make such a cleaning aid hygienic and prevent transmission of-disease it should preferably be disposable i.e. cheap and simple to construct. In this way after one use of the cleaning aid, it, and any debris which it has removed from th plug hole, may be safely disposed of without causing any problems by way of cross-contamination with other plug holes etc.

It is an object of the invention therefore to provide a disposable cleaning aid which is simple and effective to use whilst being sufficiently simple in construction to permit disposal after one use.

With this object in view the present invention provides a disposable cleaning aid formed of a biodegradable material and comprising a cleaning member having a plurality of resilient hook means depending from a lower surface thereof and handle means upstanding from the cleaning member's upper surface.

The invention is operated by placing the cleaning member in a dirty plug hole, preferably wet, such that the hook means rests on the grating therein and, by use of the handle means, rotating the cleaning member over the plug hole grating thus causing the hook means to engage and catch any hairs or similar debris present in the plug hole.

Preferably the cleaning member is a bar having a length substantially equal to the diameter of a standard plug hole orifice and has the handle means attached substantially centrally thereof. In this way rotation of the bar within the plug hole orifice is standardised and constrained.

Alternatively the cleaning member may be circular in shape having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of a standard plug hole orifice. Again in use the cleaning member will be fitted substantially within the orifice and then rotated by use of the handle means.

Preferably the cleaning member is formed in a coil having hook means depending from one edge thereof and the handle means attached to the coil's innermost end. In this way rotation of the cleaning aid in a plug hole will cause radial expansion of the coil thus adjusting the cleaning aid to fit the hole's diameter.

Advantageously the resilient hook means are attached via a resilient layer to the lower surface of the cleaning member. The presence of a resilient layer attached to the cleaning member permits the hook means to adapt to an uneven surface.

Preferably the cleaning aid is made of hardened wax paper or alternatively a biodegradable plastics material. Such construction is cheap and easy to dispose of after one use. The use of hardened wax paper is particularly advantageous as it permits disposal of the cleaning aid by flushing into a drain.

The invention will be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the single figure is a part sectional perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the figure a disposable cleaning aid 10 is formed of a hardened wax paper. This material is relatively cheap and thus the aid may be disposed after one use without substantial cost. The cleaning aid 10 itself is formed of a substantially circular cleaning member 12 having upstanding therefrom a perpendicular plate 14. This plate 14 provides a surface which may be held by an operator and thus constitutes the handle means of the invention.

The circular plate 12 has a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of a standard plug hole orifice. In order to accommodate varying plug hole diameters it may be necessary to provide cleaning aids in a variety of standard sizes for specific purposes.

The underside of the cleaning member 12 has attached thereto a resilient layer 16, of, for example, foam or a similar compressible material. Attached to the compressible layer 16 is a further layer 18 which includes or comprises a plurality of resilient hook means 20 or barbs.. Such a material is well known for use as a hook/looped pile fastener arrangement.

The disposable cleaning aid 10 is used by placing the disc 12 in a plug hole orifice (not shown) whilst organic matter, hair etc. in the plug hole is wet. The aid 10 is rotated by way of the handle means 14 such that the plate 12 and attached layer 16 forces the resilient hook means 20 to engage and hold any hair or other similar debris present in the plug hole. After such rotation the aid 10 is removed from the plug hole and disposed in any convenient means, for example, plastic waste bags etc.

It will be apparent therefore that the invention accomplishes the object and provides an efficient cleaning aid which will be of special use to hotel and other establishments for the quick and hygienic cleaning of plug holes in wash basins, baths, showers etc. Furthermore the item is small and made of cheap materials which permit it to be disposable after one use.

The invention is not confined to the foregoing details and variations may be made thereto. For example, the disc 12 need not be provided and could be replaced by a simple lateral bar from which depends the necessary resilient hook means. This bar will preferably have a length equal to the diameter of a plug hole orifice such that rotation will permit picking up of all hair or similar matter present in the plug hole. Such an arrangement will require less material than the aforementioned embodiment and thus permit cheaper manufacture. Furthermore since a portion of the plug hole will be visible during use of the item it will be possible to judge when the hole is clean and all possible hair etc. has been removed.

The aid may be made from a biodegradable plastics material instead of the hardened wax paper as identified previously. Such biodegradable plastics lends itself to disposal whilst permitting a particularly light and robust construction. The handle means need not be as disclosed but could be an arched loop upstanding from the cleaning member 12 which would lend itself to greater security of handling. The simple plate 14 described above is preferred however for simplicity of construction. The foam layer 16 permits the resilient hooks to adapt to an uneven surface.

In an alternative construction the cleaning member is formed as a coil having the hook means attached to or depending from the coil's lower edge. The handle is attached to the coil's innermost end only such that the remainder of the coil is relatively free to move. Thus by rotation of the handle means the coil can be caused to expand or contract radially within a plug hole thereby adjusting the size of the cleaning aid to fit the plug hole. However, this could be omitted if the construction is required to be simplified. Other variations may also be possible.

Claims

1. A disposable cleaning aid formed of a biodegradable material and comprising a cleaning member having a plurality of resilient hook means depending from a lower surface thereo and handle means upstanding from the cleaning member's upper surface.

2. A cleaning aid as claimed in claim 1 in which the cleaning member is a bar having a length substantially equal to the diameter of a standard plug hole orifice and has the handle means attached substantially centrally thereof.

3. A cleaning aid as claimed in claim 1 in which the cleaning member is circular in shape having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of a standard plug hole orifice.

4. A cleaning aid as claimed in claim 1 in which the cleaning member is formed in a coil having hook means depending from one edge thereof and the handle means attached to the coil's innermost end.

5. A cleaning aid as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 in which the resilient hook means are attached via a resilient layer to the lower surface of the cleaning member.

6. A cleaning aid as claimed in any preceding claim which is made of hardened wax paper.

7. A cleaning aid as claimed in any preceding claim in which the handle means is provided by a plate arrangement substantially perpendicularly and vertically with respect ot the cleaning member.

8. A cleaning aid as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 in which the handle means is provided by an arcuate member attached at each of its ends to the cleaning member.

9. A disposable cleaning aid as claimed substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.