Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B17/00—Accessories for brushes
  • A46B17/06—Devices for cleaning brushes after use

Definitions

• the invention relates to an automated brush-cleaning device, comprising: a) a cleaning liquid container for storing cleaning liquid used for washing brushes, b) a lid with a brush holder, the brush holder comprises one or more brush seats for holding the brushes during the cleaning operations, c) an air circulation module and air blowers, for streaming dry air on washed brushes, and d) a control circuit board, for controlling the operating of said brushcleaning device, wherein the brush-cleaning device is configured to automatically clean one or more brushes, by washing and drying the same, and by applying multiple mechanical loads on the brushes during the brush washing (e.g., centrifugal force, friction, vibrations, and any combination thereof), to disintegrate and to detach the undesired substance residues from the brush(es).
• a cleaning liquid container for storing cleaning liquid used for washing brushes
• b) a lid with a brush holder the brush holder comprises one or more brush seats for holding the brushes during the cleaning operations
• an air circulation module and air blowers for streaming dry
• One or more brush seats may be rotatable, where said device further comprises a motor and transmission members engaged with said rotatable brush seats, wherein said device may further include an ultrasonic transducer or a mechanical vibration oscillator.
• the proposed device may further comprise a heating element for heating the cleaning liquid and/or a heating element for heating the dry air, which is streamed on the washed brushes.
• the invention related to a method for automatically cleaning brushes, comprising a) providing an automated brush-cleaning device according to claim 1, b) operating said brush-cleaning device to wash one or more brushes, c) applying multiple mechanical loads on the brushes, during the brush washing, d) repeating on step ‘c’ a desired number of washing cycles, and e) drying the brushes.
• Fig. 3 schematically illustrates an exemplary configuration of the water management components of a brush-cleaning device, according to an embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. 4 schematically illustrates an exemplary configuration of the drying air circulation module of a brush-cleaning device, according to an embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. 6 illustrates a simultaneous rotation and vibration of brushes
• the present invention relates to a brush-cleaning device configured to clean brushes in a contained cleaning environment.
• the proposed cleaning device is further configured to automatically apply various mechanical loads on the brush(es) being cleaned and undesired substance residues attached thereon to effectively disintegrate and detach undesired substance residues from the brush(es).
• cushions 132a may be fabricated from a soft material, such as silicon, to prevent scratching of the brush handles during their insertion into brush seats 132.
• each cushion 132a is encompassed by an annular cogged wheel 132c, adapted with wedges 132d that fit into corresponding apertures of brush holder 131 (further shown in Fig. 2).
• the proposed device 100 is configured to apply mechanical loads onto brushes 101 and the persistent residues thereon, such as by rotating and/or rubbing, brushes 101 as discussed in detail hereinbelow. Accordingly, further shown in Fig.
• a driving shaft 150 and a transmission adapter 133 which receives the motion of drive shaft 150 and delivers the same to a driving belt that engages the cogged wheel 132c of brush seats 132, thus being capable of rotating the same as further discussed in reference to Fig. 2.
• FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an exemplary configuration of air circulation module 120, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• Air circulation module 120 comprises air passages 401 above each of blowers 205. Air passages 401 are defined by the housing of circulation module 120 and lateral partitions 401a. Thus, incoming air from blowers 205 is forced to discharge through air-blowing slits 121 (further discussed in Fig. IB) into the cavity of washing tray 204. Whereas a drying cycle ends, the humid circulated air may be evacuated from the cavity of washing tray 204 through cross-shaped crevice 132b of cushions 132a (Fig. IB).
• air-blowing slits 121 comprise moving shutters (not shown) which are normally closed, namely, closed as long as blowers 205 are idle, thereby preventing humid air from passing through blowing slits 121 towards blowers 205 and reaching into the bottom cavity of base 110, which is undesired in embodiments of device 100, where electrical and electronic components are installed in the bottom cavity of base 110.
• components of device 100 that are exposed or proximal to the washing cavity above tray washing tray 204 may be adapted with suitable sealing elements to prevent undesired water escape.
• a first set of blowers 205, air passages 401, and air-blowing slits 121 are positioned on one side of circulation module 120, and a second set thereof is provided on the contrary side of circulation module 120, in which the blowers are directed to vent humid air from the cavity of washing tray 204 to the atmosphere - outside device 200.
• a heating element (not shown) may be integrated with device 100 (e.g., with circulation module 120) to improve the drying speed of brushes 101.
• An additional heating element may be embedded with tray 204 to heat the cleaning liquid to a desired temperature during the washing cycle.
• device 100 may comprise an irradiation module (not shown) for emitting light of a predetermined wavelength suitable for disinfecting brushes 101, such as Ultraviolet (UV) light.
• a predetermined wavelength suitable for disinfecting brushes 101 such as Ultraviolet (UV) light.
• transducer 501 is operated to induce ultrasonic waves that propagate through the cleaning liquid and exert further mechanical loading of the bristles of brushes 101, and the undesired residues thereon.
• motor 201 may be activated to rotate brushes 101 at the desired speed and extent of time.
• circuit board 207 may be configured with selectable preset cleaning protocols (i.e., selected by using control panel 111 or through a designated control application running on the user’s mobile device) that define constant and varying levels of operational parameters associated with cleaning steps (e.g., such as rotation speeds and directions, number and durations of washing and drying cycles filling and emptying of container 140) and in certain embodiments, of received indications from the aforementioned sensors. Circuit board 207 may change the operation mode and any of the above operational parameters of device 100 in response to manual selections made by a user of device 100 during an ongoing cleaning process.
• selectable preset cleaning protocols i.e., selected by using control panel 111 or through a designated control application running on the user’s mobile device
• operational parameters associated with cleaning steps e.g., such as rotation speeds and directions, number and durations of washing and drying cycles filling and emptying of container 140
• Circuit board 207 may change the operation mode and any of the above operational parameters of device 100 in response to manual selections made by a user of device 100 during
• an interlock for preventing the operation of device 100 when lid 130 is open.
• Such an interlock may comprise a magnetoelectric circuit in an open state when lid 130 is open.
• the term “brush”, as used herein, refers to any brush that has a solid portion that can fit into brush seats 132 (e.g., a handle) and a soft or hairy portion.
• device 100 is illustrated in the accompanying drawings with specific exemplary dimensions and proportions. However, it should be understood that multiple variations of device 100 may be designed with different proportions and sizes. Moreover, the entire device 100 may be scaled to larger or smaller sizes, according to specific applications.
• clamping the cleaned brushes 101 at their lower portion, closer to their center of gravity, and rotating the same increases their rotation stability and may reduce redundant loads on the rotation mechanism, and thus can reduce the wear and tear of the transmission members (e.g., belt 202, cogged wheels 132c) and motor 201.
• the transmission members e.g., belt 202, cogged wheels 132c
• Example 5 is an automated brush-cleaning device, such as described in any of the previous examples, where the washing liquid is heated by a heating element to promote disengagement of substance residues from the bristles/hairs of the cleaned brushes.
• Example 6 is an automated brush-cleaning device, such as described in any of the previous examples, which further comprises a vibrations generator, such as an ultrasonic transducer, or a mechanical vibrations generator such as an oscillator.
• a vibrations generator such as an ultrasonic transducer
• a mechanical vibrations generator such as an oscillator
• Example 7 is an automated brush-cleaning device, such as described in any of the previous examples, which further comprises one or more sensors such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an opacity sensor, and any combination thereof, where the information received from the sensors may be processed by the control module of the brush-cleaning device to determine corresponding operational and/or safety actions to be executed.
• sensors such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an opacity sensor, and any combination thereof, where the information received from the sensors may be processed by the control module of the brush-cleaning device to determine corresponding operational and/or safety actions to be executed.
• the vibration generator e.g., that exerts mechanical vibration of the washing tray and brush bristles
• determined range of brush rotating speeds e.g., exerting corresponding centrifugal forces on the brush bristles
• water temperatures e.g., operating the heating element
• FIG. 7 Another exemplary configuration of a brush-cleaning device 700 is illustrated in Fig. 7, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• Device 700 utilizes a motor 701 that is integrated into a lid 730 (e.g., rather than motor 201 of Fig. 2).
• the driving moment of motor 701 is delivered to several brush seats 732 (obscured and generally pointed at in Fig. 7) that holds brushes 101.
• device 700 utilizes multiple drive belts 702 to carry the drive moment of motor 701 in a more distributed manner (e.g., rather than by a single belt 200).
• each belt 702 is a onesided cogged belt
• each brush seat 732 comprises two cogged wheels for receiving the drive moment from a preceding belt 702 and simultaneously rotating the next belt.
• various alternative transmission and driving arrangements may be utilized in lieu of, or in conjunction with, the belts and/or cogged wheels of devices 100 or 700, while maintaining a flat structure that can be accommodated within lid 130 or lid 730.
• a venting mesh 706 that facilitates the venting of humid air to be vented out from device 700 through lid 730 alternatively to the venting routes illustrated in Fig. 2.

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Citations (5)

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• 2024
  • 2024-01-10 IL IL310072A patent/IL310072B1/en unknown
• 2025
  • 2025-01-09 WO PCT/IL2025/050028 patent/WO2025150047A1/en unknown

Patent Citations (5)

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