Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B9/00—Arrangements of the bristles in the brush body
  • A46B9/02—Position or arrangement of bristles in relation to surface of the brush body, e.g. inclined, in rows, in groups
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B2200/00—Brushes characterized by their functions, uses or applications
  • A46B2200/30—Brushes for cleaning or polishing
  • A46B2200/302—Broom

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a cleaning broom.
• the brush of a broom or a brush must be able to pick up dirt and then drag it without losing it, to a collection point.
• This training requires that the tufts of brush bristles have a certain rigidity, to avoid completely crushing and therefore lying on the ground, under the effect of the crushing force transmitted by the handle, so that their ends free remain uniformly distributed in the scanning plane.
• the dirt could pass between the bases of the tufts of bristles placed on the ground, with in addition all the bristles then oriented parallel to the ground in the direction of the sweep, therefore constituting an ineffective barrier.
• this rigidity is opposed to the capture of dirt located very close to the walls, since only the ends of the line of bristles at the edge of the brush have the desired position to reach the base of the wall. But the rigidity of this line of hairs prevents the approach, at the base of the wall, of the ends of the lines of hairs further back. Therefore, as the density of hair ends remains low in this area, soiling is not fully captured.
• the present invention aims to propose a solution constituting a good compromise between these two opposite stiffness constraints.
• the invention relates to a brush comprising a brush comprising sweeping strands carried by a support face belonging to a base, characterized in that the strands extend to a common plane of free ends and delimit a footprint surface bounded by a border formed by a row of peripheral strands of less rigidity than that of central strands.
• broom here designates both a broom and a brush, since they differ only in the size of the handle.
• the flexible peripheral border completely or partially surrounds the area of more rigid strands.
• the strands can be made of natural bristles implanted in the support face or they can be made of elastomeric synthetic material and preferably obtained by molding in one piece with the base.
• the corresponding mold can be arranged so that the strands periphery have a non-round cross section, in order to have a reduced buckling inertia. It is also thus possible to provide cross-sections of peripheral strands with different mechanical inertias to bending, that is to say, to buckling, so that these inertias occupy a range of values, thus a progressive action.
• the strands have a minimum resistance to buckling in a certain preferred transverse direction, that is to say that their free end section forms a kind of blade coming to lie on the ground by an edge, to better scoop the dust.
• the strands may in particular have a non-rectilinear shape at rest, with for example an intermediate or S-shaped end section of section or shape specific to each strand or group of strands distributed, to determine a direction of buckling and / or to determine a crush resistance specific to each strand so that, in the crushing range of the brush, the continuity of the scoop function, in linear contact with the ground, is ensured successively by the various strands when traversing this crush range. It is also possible to provide for the various peripheral strands to be mutually heterogeneous in bending inertia, with, for example, strands with constant inertia in all the radial directions, mixed with the strands above with a preferred buckling direction.
• the base support face being flat, the common plane of free ends is inclined on the plane of the support face to present therewith a maximum deviation at the edge strands.
• the border strands are therefore longer and therefore more flexible, all other things being equal.
• the various strands can extend substantially parallel to each other, possibly in a direction inclined to a normal to the support face.
• the free ends of the brush can thus extend laterally from the base to be pressed against a wall, without the base constituting a troublesome stop.
• the base support face being curved, the central strands are located in a direction substantially perpendicular locally to the support face, to present, relative to the border strands, lengths shorter than the common plane free ends of the various strands.
• the difference in length contributes to the difference in stiffness.
• the border strands can be inclined to respective local normals on the support face. Their length, between the base and the plane of the free ends is thus increased, which increases the flexibility of the edge strands.
• the tilt direction is preferably directed laterally outward the brush, to extend beyond the base, that is to say in a direction substantially normal to a global direction of extension of the tufts of edge, or at least forming an acute angle with the latter.
• the border strands may be of a type having a linear rigidity lower than that of the central strands, that is to say of a different material or a reduced cross section, or a shape of cross section flattened to have inertia mechanical or reduced bending moment.
• the central strands can thus be made of an elastomeric material and for example extend by forming a blade substantially parallel to the edge, constituting a kind of scraper.
• the free ends of the border strands are preferably flowered, that is to say each constitute a mini-tuft. This mini-tuft thus has an increased surface or volume of capture.
• the bristle border is preferably concave, to facilitate the collection and conservation of soiling.
• the row of border strands extends along one side in length of the brush and continues on two sides in width of the brush. The user thus has sides of different lengths to capture dirt in places that are difficult to access.
• the base is secured to a squeegee.
• the user therefore has three scanning means with different rigidities, namely the two types of strands and the squeegee.
• the squeegee can have various forms to exercise its function, for example a relatively blade rigid elastomeric or other material, or a brush with very rigid bristles, for example metallic.
• the squeegee can extend substantially laterally with respect to the base, for example on any one of four sides of a substantially rectangular base. Then simply tilt the base sideways a quarter turn to use the squeegee.
• the squeegee has, in a central zone corresponding to a bottom of a concave flank of the base carrying the squeegee, a maximum width of lateral extension up to a plane containing a free end edge of the squeegee .
• the squeegee can thus have increased flexibility in its central zone, at mid-length, favoring its adaptation to the unevenness of the ground.
• the squeegee is carried by a face of the base opposite to the brush support face. You must then tilt the base by half a turn to use the squeegee.
• the squeegee is preferably concave in front view, the concavity of the squeegee being for example open towards the brush or opposite.
• the squeegee extends beyond the base of a length greater than that of one end of the edge of peripheral strands.
• the squeegee thus has a functional part not hindered by the strands.
• the squeegee preferably extends from one side of the base opposite to a side having the edge of peripheral strands. This last side can be a lateral side, overflowing the strands, or the support face thereof.
• the brush may include two such squeegees, arranged opposite one another.
• the two opposite squeegees are connected by a scraping rostrum projecting from one side of the base.
• the two squeegees can have different widths to extend laterally from, respectively, said edge of row of peripheral, flexible strands, and an opposite edge of strands, flexible or not, having mutually different overflow lengths relative to the 'base.
• the base preferably comprises a nozzle for receiving a handle.
• the handle may be a broom handle or a brush handle.
• the tip may for example be located near the center of an upper edge of the base limiting a side of the base relative to an upper face opposite the brush support face.
• the edge is preferably a longitudinal edge, in the case of a brush handle thus transversely extended relative to the base, and a transverse edge in the case of a brush handle, thus longitudinally extended.
• the nozzle can carry the squeegee.
• the end piece is preferably arranged so that the handle extends in a direction of extension inclined with respect to an overall extension plane of the base, the end piece being advantageously associated with means of rotary mounting on the base.
• the rotary mounting means comprise for example a hoop carrying the endpiece in the central part and comprising axis means at two opposite ends to cooperate with means of axis complementary to the base.
• the rotary mounting means preferably comprise locking means in two different orientations of the handle.
• the two orientations correspond respectively to two functional positions of the brush and the squeegee respectively.
• the invention will be better understood using the following description of three embodiments of the broom according to the invention, with reference to the appended drawing, in which: - Figure 1 is a side view of a broom with a base according to the first embodiment, - Figure 2 is a bottom view of a brush of the base of Figure 1, - Figure 3 is an end view of a base of the brush according to the second embodiment , and - Figure 4 is a side view of a base according to the third embodiment.
• the brush of Figures 1 and 2 comprises a base or plate 9 of generally parallelepipedal shape rectangle limited by a series of two opposite flanks or longitudinal sides 1, 2 alternating with two flanks or transverse sides 3, 4, connecting a face or upper surface 5 to an opposite face or lower surface 6.
• the periphery determined by the flanks 1 to 4 thus delimits a surface of grip of the base 9 here substantially rectangular.
• the upper face 5 carries a nozzle 50 for receiving a handle 59, while the lower face 6 carries a brush 10, here of tufts of bristles, the free ends of which are distributed in a scanning plane
• the longitudinal lines 11 and 12 are here concave in order to facilitate the maintenance of the captured dirt.
• the concave lines 11 and 12 of the grip surface of the brush 10 limit two opposite longitudinal rows 16 and 17, respectively called front and rear, of tufts of relatively flexible border bristles, that is to say comprising bristles of less rigidity than that of bristles of a central zone 15.
• each longitudinal edge of flexible tufts 16, 17 is functionally extended by two edges of flexible tufts 18, 19 situated transversely at the end of the brush 10 and respectively limited by the transverse lines of grip 13 and 14.
• the edge tufts 16, 17 are inclined on a local normal to the support face 6, this laterally towards the outside of the grip surface of the brush 10, that is to say along the direction of the width of the brush 10 or at an acute or even right angle in this direction, that is to say with a longitudinal component.
• the flexible border tufts 16 and 17 can be of a type having a linear rigidity less than that of the central tufts 15, that is to say of a different material or with a cross section d 'lower bending inertia, i.e. a smaller and / or flattened section.
• the free ends of the border tufts 16, 17 are here flowered to form a plume of dirt capture.
• the central tufts 15 may comprise, for example in a central zone of the zone which they cover, a longitudinal row of very rigid strands, for example of elastomeric material, and not of pig bristles as here. This central row can in particular constitute a sort of scraper blade, therefore having a rigidity greater than that of the other central tufts 15.
• the brush 10 thus has three levels of rigidity stages in the transverse direction.
• the two longitudinal sides 1 and 2 respectively carry two opposite squeegees 60, 60A with transverse extension, that is to say substantially parallel to the scanning plane 90, only one being provided in minimum configuration.
• the scrapers 60, 60A extend to a free edge or scraping edge, located in a respective plane 91, 92 generally parallel to each of the longitudinal flanks 1 and 2.
• the scrapers 60 and 60A here consist of a single cut in a sheet of elastomeric material, extending laterally beyond the respective grip lines 11 and 12 of the brush 10 and protruding beyond the transverse line of transverse grip 13 in a V shape forming a rostrum 61 for access to corners in a room.
• the direction of extension of the squeegees 60, 60A is slightly rising relative to the brushing position shown, moving away from an overall extension plane of the face 6, brush support.
• the squeegee 60, 60A then aims to be used in an orientation inclined to the vertical, by forming a hook in order to better loosen the dirt, and / or to be used in an optimal orientation when the free end of the handle 59 is almost flattened on the floor in order to pass the squeegee 60, 60A over a floor area located under a piece of furniture.
• Each squeegee 60, 60A is here concave in lateral view of the base 9, the concavity being able to be opened opposite to the brush 10, as shown, or towards the latter.
• the squeegees 60, 60A are made of flexible material, possibly with a flexible lip attached to a more rigid strip, of plastic or rubber material, crimped or glued to the side 1, 2 of the base 9. It will be noted that, in another example, the base 9 could be free of brush 10, to serve only as a support for one or more squeegees with curved lip 60, or else carry a conventional brush.
• the squeegees 60, 60A are here provided mounted protruding longitudinally beyond the end of the respective edge of tufts 16, 17, at one end or as here both, for easy access to the base of a wall, c 'that is to say with the transverse flank 3 or 4 facing the wall.
• the longitudinal sides 1 and 2 carrying, here by crimping, the respective squeegees 60, 60A are slightly concave, so that the faces 5 and 6 have the shape of a rectangle throttled at mid-length.
• Each squeegee 60, 60A thus has in a central zone at mid-longitudinal length, corresponding to a bottom of the concave flank 1, 2 bearing, a maximum width of lateral extension to the respective plane 91, 92.
• the references incremented by 3 tens relative to those of FIGS. 1 and 2 designate elements homologous to those of these figures, unless otherwise indicated.
• a base 39 with faces 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36, has a lower face 36 which is here flat and carries a brush 40 of tufts of bristles 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49 of grip 41, 42, 43 and 44.
• the various tufts extend parallel to each other up to the common scanning plane 90 inclined on the plane of the support face 36 to present therewith a maximum deviation at the level of tufts of flexible concave edge known as front 46, and therefore a smaller gap for central tufts 45 or said rear edge 47.
• the front edge tufts, 46 thus have greater flexibility than the others, all other things being equal. Contrary to the case of FIGS.
• the tufts of strands 47 of the so-called rear edge 42 have maximum rigidity, due to their minimum length.
• the various tufts can extend in a direction parallel or inclined to a normal to the underside 36. In the latter case, the free ends of the front edge tufts 46 and those of neighboring tufts 45 can thus extend outside of the right-of-way of the sides 31 to 34 of the base 39, that is to say beyond it to access the base of a wall without the base 39 prevents it by stop on the wall.
• the various tufts can, as a variant, extend divergently, to more easily extend beyond the grip of the base 39 beyond, for example, the longitudinal flank 31.
• the two scrapers 60, 60A have different widths to extend laterally of substantially the same value with respect to, respectively, the row edge of flexible peripheral strands 46 projecting widely from the base 39 and the opposite edge of rigid strands 47 with limited or no overflow, due to the fact that the inclination of the extension plane of the base 39 on the scanning plane 90 compensates for the possible overflow of the rigid strands 47.
• the squeegee 60 can be single and extend laterally from the rear flank 32 opposite to the front flank 31 of lateral overflow of the brush 40, so that the flexible edge tufts 46 do not drag on the ground and therefore are not soiled and worn during scraping.
• the base 9, 39 may have any other shape when viewed from above, that is to say a lower support face 6, 36 for example in the form of a crescent.
• the relatively rigid central tufts 15, 45 are more numerous in the wider area of the median transverse plane of symmetry of the crescent than at the ends thereof, where the tufts relatively rigid 15, 45 will crush more easily under the effect of a determined pressure and will thus constitute a transition zone between the weak rigidity of the flexible border tufts 16, 46 and the high overall rigidity of the tufts 15, 45 located in the zone of maximum width of the crescent located near the median plane.
• the nozzle 50 is preferably located near the center of a longitudinal upper edge of the base 9, 39 limiting for example the rear flank 2, or 32, relative to the upper face 5, 35, that is to say located at mid-length.
• the end piece 50 is then oriented so that the handle 59 extends, deviating laterally from the grip of the base 9, 39, in a direction of rearward extension inclined relative to a plane d overall extension of the base 9, 39, for example very approximately 45 degrees on the scanning plane 90.
• the user therefore pushes the broom, in a longitudinal sweep, and can also pull it towards him in the first form of realization, due to its front / rear symmetry.
• the end piece 50 is preferably located near the center of a transverse upper edge of the base 9, 39 limiting for example the sidewall 4, or 34, then rear, relative to the upper face 5, 35.
• the user then performs a side scan.
• a short handle 59 is mounted on the end piece 50.
• a squeegee 60B stands on the upper face 5, as illustrated in FIG. 4, substantially in the extension of the sidewall 3 or elsewhere, the end piece 50 is then preferably mounted pivoting in the center of the opposite transverse flank 4 in a plane perpendicular to the extension plane of the base 9, so that its free end passes on the other side of this extension plane relative to the instrument , brush 10 or squeegee 60B, then used, in order to avoid any friction of the user's hand on the ground. As shown in FIG.
• the end piece 50 can be associated with rotary mounting elements on the base 9, or 39, as for example here an arch 51 carrying the end piece 50 in the central part and comprising elements of axis 52, 53 at two opposite ends to cooperate with elements of axis complementary to the base 9, here two respective bearings 7 and 8 carried by two eyelet ears of the upper face 5, or transverse sides 33, 34.
• Locking elements 54 according to two different possible orientations of the handle 59 are provided here, for example a pawl for locking in rotation one of the axis elements 52, 53 relative to one of the bearings 7, 8 or else anti-rotation high friction mounting.
• the bearing 7 can thus include the rack to cooperate with the pin element 52 carrying the finger, resiliently biased towards the rack. if is planned to push the brush, it is the direction of rotation by retraction of the brush 10, 40 which is prohibited. To change the angular position in order to choose another instrument, brush or squeegee, the user therefore rotates the base of the desired angle and in a direction which would make it move back on the ground.
• the two orientations correspond respectively to two functional positions of the brush 10, 40 respectively and of the squeegee 60B which nevertheless stands at the front part of the upper face 5, that is to say in the direction opposite to that of extension of the bristles of the brush 10.
• the squeegee 60B In the brushing position, the squeegee 60B is housed inside the substantially C shape of the arch 51, and a rotation of half a turn brings it into position advanced, the brush 10 then being housed in the C of the arch 51.
• this rotor function could be used for any type of household instrument, that is to say not be limited to the brush 10, 40 with tufts heterogeneous in rigidity and to the squeegee 60 described here.
• This angular position indexing allows the user to offer three degrees of freedom. First, he can choose the instrument or function he wishes at a given time, i.e. brushing or scraping, by bringing the desired instrument, brush 10, 40 or squeegee 60, into a sector functional angular, that is to say substantially the semicircle situated on the side of the scanning plane 90.
• the user can choose an optimal adjustment angle of the instrument that he intends to use, for example to bring the handle 59 almost horizontally when a sweep under a piece of furniture.
• this type of instrument can be provided in several copies with different characteristics, for example brushes of different sizes, so that the user has a choice of instruments, of the same type, to exercise the desired function by choosing the one having the characteristic best suited to its current problem.

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• Brushes (AREA)

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ID=34073051

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Family Cites Families (7)

• 2003
  • 2003-08-06 FR FR0309685A patent/FR2858539B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2004
  • 2004-07-23 EP EP04767765A patent/EP1651079A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2004-07-23 WO PCT/FR2004/001969 patent/WO2005018377A1/fr not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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