WO2009068657A1

WO2009068657A1 - A household utensil

Info

Publication number: WO2009068657A1
Application number: PCT/EP2008/066452
Authority: WO
Inventors: Claus Jensen
Original assignee: Eva Denmark A/S
Priority date: 2007-11-29
Filing date: 2008-11-28
Publication date: 2009-06-04
Also published as: DE212008000055U1; EP2222213A1

Abstract

The invention comprises a household utensil (1) comprising: a wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) that comprises a water-absorbing, flexible material (17) and which may optionally be brought to a state of drying in which the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) has the shape of a tubular element capable of standing freely and has an open end and an in-use state in which the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) has a flat shape; and a holder (20) provided with an upwardly extending portion (25) that extends inwards through said open end, said holder (20) supporting the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) when the latter is in its drying state.

Description

A household utensil

The present invention relates to a household utensil according to claim 1 and a wash towel or cleaning cloth as defined in claim 13.

Wash towels or cleaning cloths used for domestic purposes, be it eg kitchen cleaning cloths or wash towels for personal hygiene, are usually in the form of an elongate or square, approximately flat web of a material that can be woven or formed by foaming of a synthetic material and which has a certain ability to absorb water. In the drying situation, the cloth typically sits flat on a table or on a hook in case the cloth has a strap. Neither of those scenarios ensures swift drying of the cloth following use, and there is also a risk that water absorbed in or soaked up by the cloth may cause damage to the wall or the table with which the cloth is in contact in said state of drying.

It is the object of the invention to ensure swift drying of a wash towel and cleaning cloth, it being possible, by a preferred embodiment, to simultaneously and to a wide extent eliminate said risks of damage.

In the following, an embodiment of the invention will be explained in further detail with reference to the drawing.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the household utensil;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a holder that partakes in the utensil; and

Figures 3a and 3b show a cloth/towel that partakes in the utensil, seen from the side and from above, respectively, in the state of drying.

Figure 1 shows the utensil 1 sitting on a table and comprising a holder 20 and a cloth/towel 10 arranged releasably thereon which is in the process of drying; liquid contained in the cloth 10 may slowly seep downwards with gravity and may be collected in a round-going channel 28 in the holder 20, if need be.

As will be explained below, the cloth 10 is made from a number of flat webs of suitable materials that face towards each other, the cloth 10 being folded back towards itself and sewn together at the ends, thereby making the cloth 10 assume the shape of a tubular member. A short part of the longitudinally extending stitching is seen at the top of figure 1 , where it is indicated by the reference numeral 14, and the stitching 14 extends in a direction from the holder 20 and upwards, whereby, more specifically, the cloth 10 appears as a tubular member that is open at both ends. The cloth 10 material is sufficiently flexible to make the cloth completely flat in an in-use state and be used for sweeping a surface in a manner similar to that of a conventional cloth; the cloth 10 thus having, in the in-use state, a length corresponding to the length of the tubular element and a width corresponding to half the circumference of the tubular member. By suitable choice of the constituent materials, the cloth 10 will preferably, when shaped as a tubular member, be able to stand on its own on the one end rim without being in engagement with the holder 20.

Via the particular shape of the holder, which will be subject to more detailed description, the cloth is maintained in a shape which is that of an approximately cylindrical tubular member with a through-going passage; however, the cloth 10 may also be secured such that the passage or the outer contour of the cloth has another shape, eg a square shape; and, likewise, the cloth 10 may, in a less preferred embodiment, be closed at the top by a stitching provided along the upper end rim shown in figure 1. As outlined, the holder 20 may keep the cloth 10 extended by press fitting with a certain force from within, in the lower area 19 of the cloth 10. In figure 2, the preferred holder 20 is shown in further detail, at it will appear that it is made with a conical wall 25 which, at a bottom part 22 being able to rest against a table, continues into an upwardly bent edge to the effect that the holder 20 appears with said round-going channel 28. As shown in figure 1 , the cloth 10 is arranged in correct position by being conveyed down on the conical part 25. Preferably, the conical part 25 has such dimension relative to the inner dimension of the through-going passage of the cloth 10 that the lower end of the cloth 10 can be kept raised by a suitable distance above the bottom of the channel 28 and thereby be kept clear of liquid dripping from the cloth and collecting in the channel 28.

In figures 3a and 3b the cloth 10 is shown in further detail, including how the longitudinal sewing 14 extends. Preferably the cloth 10 is made from three parallel webs 15, 17, 18 of different materials, the materials in question being arranged on top of each other and secured to each other by means of the stitching 14 that extends from the interior to the exterior of the tubular element as shown in figure 3b, and also by means of transversal stitchings 15 at the ends of the cloth 10. Of course, the cloth 10 can also be formed by the web 17 of the water-absorbing material being arranged on a web 16 of twice its length which is subsequently folded back around the rear of the web 17 to constitute the interior surface of the tubular element shown in figure 3b.

Alternatively the webs 16, 17, 18 may be laminated to each other, eg by use of an adhesive, whereby the stitchings 15 at the ends of the cloth 10, and optionally also the sewing 14, can be omitted. As shown in figure 1 , the cloth 10 can optionally be provided with transversal seams or stitches 12 that may be configured to control the downwardly oriented flow of liquid in the cloth 10 during the drying procedure.

The cloth shown in figure 3b may have an outer diameter of about 65 mm, corresponding to a circumferential expanse of about 200 mm, whereby the cloth, when squeezed flat for its in-use state, has a width of about 100 mm, which makes it fit most hand sizes. The wall thickness of the tubular element shown in figure 3b may be about 8 mm, whereby, in the flat state, the cloth has a total thickness of about 16 mm.

It is preferred that the core of the cloth 10, ie the internal web 17 shown in figure 3b, is made of a water-absorbing material, such as a foamed synthetic material, while webs 16, 18 that enclose a respective face of the web 17 can be made of a water-permeable, finely meshed material, such as a micro-fibre material. By such selection of material, which is particularly convenient when the cloth 10 is to be used for cleaning purposes, such as for eg a kitchen counter top, a relatively dense surface is accomplished which is provided by the web 16 that will retain dirt and the like simultaneously with water being soaked up through the web 16 and absorbed by the core 17. If the cloth is to be used as wash towel for personal hygiene purposes, it is an option that only one web is used, such as the web 17.

By the invention, water soaked up by the cloth 10 may, as mentioned, seep slowly downwards towards the holder 20 and collect in the channel 28. Moreover, faster drying of the cloth 10 may occur as a consequence of the described tubular shape, whereby, in the state of drying, drying occurs from both sides of the water-absorbing material, both from the outside of the tubular element and from the inside of the tubular element, ie from the through- going passage. Additionally, the cloth 10 is kept in an easily accessible posi- tion for the user.

Claims

C l a i m s

1. A household utensil (1 ) comprising:

- a wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) that comprises a water-absorbing, flexible material (17) and which may selectively be brought to a state of drying in which the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) has the shape of a tubular element capable of standing freely and has an open end and to an in-use state in which the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) has a flat shape; and

- a holder (20) provided with an upwardly extending portion (25) that extends inwards through said open end, said holder (20) supporting the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) when the latter is in said drying state.

2. A household utensil according to claim 1 , characterised in that the holder (20) is in engagement with the interior of at least a portion (19) of the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) when it is in the state of drying.

3. A household utensil according to claim 2, characterised in that the up- wardly extending portion (25) of the holder (20) has the shape of a round- going wall (25) that abuts on the interior of at least a part (19) of the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) when it is in the state of drying for forming said engagement.

4. A household utensil according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the round-going wall (25) has a tapering shape with the largest circumference most proximate said open end of the wash towel or cleaning cloth.

5. A household utensil according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the round-going wall (25) is conical.

6. A household utensil according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the holder (20) underneath the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) comprises a round-going channel (28) configured for collecting liquid contained in the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10).

7. A household utensil according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) comprises at least one stitching (14) which is oriented along a direction corresponding to or essentially corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the tubular element and configured for imparting said shape of a tubular element to the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10).

8. A household utensil according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) consists of a web (17) of said water-absorbing material which is, at least on the one face, covered by a web (16) of a water-permeable, finely meshed material.

9. A household utensil according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the water-permeable material a microfiber material.

10. A household utensil according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the water-absorbing material is a foamed material.

11. A household utensil according to any one of the preceding claims 8-10, characterised in said towel or cloth comprising a stitching (14) at the ends of the web which is shared by the water-absorbing material and the at least one web (16, 18) of the water-permeable material.

12. A household utensil according to any one of the preceding claims, char- acterised in said towel or cloth comprising at least one stitching (12, 15) which is oriented along a direction transversally to the longitudinal direction of said tubular element, preferably more than three such stitchings (12), said cloth (10) bulging outwards between said stitchings, said stitchings being configured for controlling downwardly oriented flow of liquid in said cloth.

13. A wash towel or cleaning cloth for a household utensil according to any one of the preceding claims 1 -6, wherein the wash towel or cleaning cloth comprises a water-absorbing, flexible material (17) and optionally can be caused to assume a state of drying in which the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) has the shape of a tubular element which may be disposed freely and has an open end and an in-use state in which the wash towel or cleaning cloth (10) has a flat shape.

14. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to the preceding claim, characterized in comprising at least one stitching (14) oriented along a direction corresponding to or corresponding essentially to the longitudinal direction of the tubular element, by means of which stitching (14) the wash towel or cleaning cloth may assume said shape as a tubular element.

15. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to claim 13 or 14, character- ised in comprising a web (17) of the water-absorbing material which is, at least on the one face, covered by a web (16) of a water-permeable, finely meshed material.

16. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to the preceding claim, charac- terised in comprising a stitching (15) joining the edges of the web of the water-absorbing material (17) with the edges of the at least one web (16) of the water-permeable material.

17. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to claim 15, characterised in that the two webs (16, 17) are formed integrally, eg by a lamination process.

18. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to claim 15, 16 or 17, characterised in that the finely meshed material is a microfiber material.

19. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to any one of claims 13-18, characterised in that the water-absorbing material is a foamed material.

20. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to any one of claims 13-19, characterised in that the cloth, in its flat shape, has maximal dimension of 110 mm by 190 mm by 20 mm.

21. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to any one of the preceding claims 13-20, characterised in comprising at least three stitchings (12, 15) oriented in a direction transversally to the longitudinal direction of the tubular element, said towel or cloth bulging outwards between said stitchings (12).

22. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to any one of the preceding claims 13-21 , characterised in that it defines a tubular element which is open at both ends.

23. A wash towel or cleaning cloth according to any one of the preceding claims 13-22, characterised in that the tubular element has an interior diameter of maximally 60 mm and an external diameter of maximally 80 mm.