Broom and its manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide a bloom which has excellent quality and appearance and is easily manufactured, and a manufacturing method for the same.SOLUTION: A bloom includes a plurality of balls 2 containing vegetable fiber bundles and integrates the plurality of balls 2 with a handle 3. The balls 2 are embedded inside the vegetable fiber bundles 40 respectively, include core materials 6 composed of near-columnar bodies, and a core material composing one of the plurality of balls 2 is configured by a lower part 3b of the handle 3. In the core materials 6, 3b, three holes 6a, 3a going through the direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the handle 3 are formed beforehand respectively, and the plurality of balls 2 and the handle 3 are integrated by a horizontal shaft body 7 being inserted in the three holes 6a, 3a of the respective core materials 6, 3b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a broom and a method for manufacturing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Brooms are being rediscovered because they are economical since they do not use electricity like vacuum cleaners, and because they are silent, they can be used without hesitation even late at night. Brooms are required to have functionality, such as a comfortable, even sweep, and durability. Furthermore, because they are often stored hanging in a visible place so that the tips do not get damaged and can be used easily at any time, it is also very important that they look beautiful.

[0003] Known materials for the sweeping parts of brooms include plant fibers such as palm fiber (Patent Document 1). Palm fiber is thin, flexible, and strong, and the natural oils it exudes give flooring and tatami mats a glossy finish, making it an ideal material for sweeping parts. Furthermore, palm brooms can be used for 20 to 30 years if properly cared for.

[0004] Palm brooms contain multiple balls made of numerous bundles of palm fibers, which are tied to a handle. The number of balls is typically 3 to 11. Each ball is made, for example, by bundling an appropriate amount of palm fibers together, with a core of palm fiber, rice straw, or other filler embedded within the bundle. The core is usually tightly wrapped around the broom with metal wire (e.g., copper wire) or hemp thread, usually at two spaced locations. Furthermore, the same wire is wrapped around the "foot wrap" at multiple spaced locations. These wrapped wires also contribute to the broom's design and aesthetic appeal.

[0005] In the manufacturing process for palm brooms, after the required number of balls are produced, several balls and handles are assembled into the shape of a broom. Specifically, a bamboo-skewer-like horizontal shaft called a kougai is inserted sideways into the balls and handle, and then the upper part of the balls above the "foot wrap" is bundled together with the handle into a single piece, which is then tightly wrapped around with the wire. The ends of the kougai that protrude outward from both the left and right ends of the sweeping section are cut off, and rivets are fastened to the cut surfaces. The tips are then trimmed as needed to make them flush.

[0006] When the shell is thrust sideways into the balls, the shell is pushed in while pushing aside the plant fibers and core fibers of each ball. For the handle, the shell is inserted into a through-hole formed in advance in the handle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3217858 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Brooms made from natural materials, like the palm broom mentioned above, are made by hand by artisans. Natural materials like palm fiber are not as uniform as plastic fibers and tend to have some quirks. Furthermore, the core material embedded in the ball is a filling of palm fiber or rice straw, so the shape is not uniform. Therefore, unless you are a veteran artisan, it is difficult to mass-produce brooms that are both stable in quality and beautiful in appearance. Furthermore, in recent years, the number of artisans capable of producing high-quality brooms has been aging and decreasing.

[0009] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a broom that is excellent in both quality and appearance and is easy to manufacture. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present disclosure provides, in one aspect, A broom including a plurality of balls containing plant fiber bundles, the plurality of balls being integrated with a handle, Each of the balls includes a core material that is embedded in the plant fiber bundle and has a substantially columnar shape, a core material constituting one of the plurality of balls is formed by a lower portion of the handle; Each of the core members has a through hole formed therein in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the handle, The broom relates to a broom in which the balls and the handle are integrated by inserting a horizontal shaft into the through hole of each core material.

[0011] The present disclosure provides, in one aspect, A method for manufacturing a broom including a plurality of balls each including a bundle of plant fibers, the plurality of balls being integrated with a handle, preparing a plurality of core structures for ball production, each having a through hole formed in a core material, a temporary filling rod inserted into the through hole, and a portion of the temporary filling rod protruding from each end of the through hole; A core material constituting one of the plurality of core structures for making balls is a lower part of the handle; Embedding the core material of the ball-making core structure inside the plant fiber bundle, and winding wires around the top and bottom of the through-holes of the core material from the outside of the plant fiber bundle to fix the core material inside the plant fiber bundle. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a broom, which includes inserting a single horizontal shaft into the through holes of multiple balls after removing the temporary filling rod from the through hole or while pushing the temporary filling rod out of the through hole. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a broom that is excellent in both quality and appearance and is easy to manufacture, and a method for manufacturing the same. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of an example of a broom of the present disclosure. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the broom shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic front view illustrating the internal structure of the broom shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a core material constituting the ball of the broom shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the broom handle shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a core structure for making balls, used in an example of the method for manufacturing a broom according to the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a core structure for making balls, used in an example of the method for manufacturing a broom of the present disclosure, in which the core material is the lower portion of the handle. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating one step in the method for manufacturing a broom according to the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating one step in the method for manufacturing a broom according to the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic front view illustrating an example of a ball produced in one step of the broom manufacturing method of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating one step in the method for manufacturing a broom according to the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating one step in the method for manufacturing a broom according to the present disclosure. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the broom of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. For ease of explanation, when using the broom, the side that is relatively lower will be referred to as the "bottom" or "lower side," and the side that is relatively higher will be referred to as the "top" or "upper side."

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, in one embodiment, a broom 1 of the present disclosure has a sweeping section 5 made of plant fibers 4, and the plant fibers 4 are bound to a handle 3. The sweeping section 5 of this type of broom 1 is formed by arranging small bundles containing plant fibers 4 in a number appropriate to the intended use of the broom 1, and these small bundles are called "balls." Therefore, the size (width) of the broom is determined by the number of balls 2. The number of balls 2 is usually 3 to 11. In the example shown in Figure 1, there are three balls 2 (2a, 2b, 2c) on the left side of the handle 3, three balls (2a, 2b, 2c) on the right side, and one ball (2d) on the lower portion 3b of the handle 3, for a total of seven balls 2.

[0016] As can be clearly seen from Figures 2 and 3, the broom 1 of the present disclosure includes a horizontal shaft 7 arranged to skewer the multiple balls 2 from a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the handle 3. This integrates the plant fiber bundles 40 that make up each ball 2 to form the sweeping section 5, and the handle 3 and balls 2 together form the broom 1. The horizontal shaft 7 is also called a "kougai" (bamboo skewer). Traditionally, the horizontal shaft 7 was made of bamboo, so it is also called a "bamboo skewer." Both ends of the horizontal shaft 7 are riveted (see Figure 2). The rivets 9 prevent the balls 2 or horizontal shaft 7 from shifting during use of the broom 1, increasing the durability of the broom 1 and also serving as decoration. Examples of materials for the rivets 9 include brass and copper.

[0017] There are no particular restrictions on the material of the handle 3, but bamboo or wood is preferred, and wood such as cypress, which has a high degree of freedom in shaping, is preferable. The upper portion 3c of the handle 3 functions as a handle, and a ring member (ring) 10 (Fig. 1) may be provided near the upper tip of the handle 3 for hanging the broom 1 on a wall or the like. The lower portion 3b of the handle 3 functions as the core material (approximately columnar body) of the ball 2, which will be described later.

[0018] The broom 1 of the present disclosure is characterized in that the ball 2 includes a roughly cylindrical body as its core material 6. As can be clearly seen from Figure 3, in each ball 2, the roughly cylindrical body 6 is embedded inside a bundle of numerous plant fibers 4 (hereinafter also referred to as "plant fiber bundles"). As shown in Figure 4, this roughly cylindrical body 6 has through holes 6a formed in the direction perpendicular to its axial direction, and is preferably a roughly cylindrical body with through holes formed in the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical body.

[0019] As can be clearly seen from Figures 3 and 5, one of the balls 2 has a core in the lower portion 3b of the handle 3 (hereinafter, also referred to as "core 3b" for ease of explanation and to distinguish it from core 6). Core 3b is longer in the longitudinal direction than the cores 6 of the other balls 2, but is a generally columnar body with a through-hole 3a formed in the same vertical position as the through-hole 6a of the core 6 of the adjacent ball in the lower portion 3b of the handle 3. A common horizontal shaft 7 is press-fitted into the through-holes 6a, 3a of the cores 6, 3b of the multiple balls 2, restricting the left-right, front-back, and up-down movement of the ball 2. The cross-sectional shape of the through-holes 6a, 3a is preferably circular, ensuring sufficient contact area between the inner surface of the core forming the through-holes 6a, 3a and the outer periphery of the horizontal shaft 7, thereby restricting the movement of the ball 2 and improving the strength of the sweeping part 5.

[0020] There are no particular restrictions on the material of the core material 6, but it is preferable that it does not deform even when the wire material 8 is tightly wound around it and that it is lightweight. For example, a resin molded body or wood, which has a high degree of freedom in molding and processing, is preferable. Wood, such as Japanese cypress, is more preferable.

[0021] There are no particular limitations on the material of the wire 8, but examples include thread or metal wire. As thread, for example, highly durable hemp thread is preferable, or strong polyester thread for leather may also be used. As metal wire, copper wire, stainless steel wire, etc. may be used.

[0022] The wire 8 is tightly wound around the cores 6, 3b from the outside of the plant fiber bundle 40 at least two locations above and below the through-holes 6a, 3a, where the cores 6, 3b are embedded in the plant fiber bundle 40. This secures the cores 6, 3b within the plant fiber bundle 40. As can be clearly seen from FIG. 2, the wire 8 is wound around the portion 40a of the plant fiber bundle 40 above the portion where the cores 6, 3b are embedded, preferably at a predetermined interval, for example, to improve aesthetics. The upper portion 40a of the plant fiber bundle 40 around which the wire 8 is wound is also called the "foot wrap" 20. The length of the foot wrap 20 is longer for the balls 2 located farther from the handle 3 than for the balls 2 located closer.

[0023] Examples of plant fibers 4 that make up ball 2 include palm fiber, hemp fiber, palm fiber, sisal fiber, banana fiber, coconut fiber, and bamboo fiber, with palm fiber being particularly preferred. Palm fiber is made from the bark of palm trees (palm peel), and in broom 1 of the present disclosure, plant fiber bundle 4 may be rolled palm peel containing palm fiber, or may be bundles of palm fiber harvested from palm peel.

[0024] Conventionally, the horizontal shaft 7 penetrates the ball by pushing aside the fibers of the plant fiber bundle 40 and then piercing it with a core material made of plant fibers, rice straw, or the like, embedded within the plant fiber bundle 40. For this reason, pointed bamboo skewers have often been used for the horizontal shaft 7. In contrast, in the broom 1 of the present disclosure, the horizontal shaft 7 is inserted (pressed) into the through holes 6a, 3a of the core materials 6, 3b embedded within the plant fiber bundle 40 and pre-formed with the through holes 6a, 3a, thereby integrating the ball 2 and the handle 3. Additionally, the horizontal shaft 7 contacts the inner surfaces of the core materials 6, 3b that form the through holes 6a, 3a, preferably along the entire periphery, thereby preventing the ball 2 from slipping and contributing to improving the strength of the broom 1. Therefore, the material for the horizontal shaft 7 is preferably a resin molded body or wood, which offers a high degree of flexibility in molding and processing, such as cypress wood.

[0025] The broom 1 shown in Figure 1 is a "long-handled broom" that is held with both hands while standing and using the handle 3, but the broom of the present disclosure may also be a "one-handed broom" that is held with one hand and used by bending over, or a "table broom" that is even smaller than a one-handed broom.

[0026] Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the broom 1 of the present disclosure will be described.

[0027] An example of a method for manufacturing a broom 1 of the present disclosure is a method for manufacturing a broom that includes a plurality of balls each containing a bundle of plant fiber, the plurality of balls being integrated with a handle, and includes at least the following steps (A) to (C).

[0028] (A) Prepare multiple core structures 60 (see Figure 6) for making balls, each having a through hole 6a formed in a core material 6 and a temporary embedding rod 61 inserted into the through hole 6a, with a portion of the temporary embedding rod 61 protruding from each end of the through hole 6a. The core material that constitutes one of the multiple core structures for making balls is the lower part of the handle 3. As shown in Figure 7, a temporary filling rod 31 is inserted into a through hole 3a formed in the lower part 3b of the handle 3, and a ball making core structure 30 is prepared in which a portion of the temporary filling rod 31 protrudes from each end of the through hole 3a.

[0029] (B) The core material 6 of the core structure 60 for making balls is embedded inside the plant fiber bundle 40. Of the locations of the plant fiber bundle 40 where the core material 6 is embedded, wire 8 is wound around each of the upper and lower vicinity of the through-hole 6a, i.e., each of the upper and lower vicinity of the temporary embedding rods 61, to fix the core material 6 inside the plant fiber bundle 40 (see Figure 8). Similarly, the core material 3b (the lower part of the handle 3) of the ball-making core structure 30 is embedded inside the plant fiber bundle 40, and wire 8 is wound around each of the upper and lower vicinity of the through hole 3a, i.e., each of the upper and lower vicinity of the temporary embedding rod 31, of the locations where the core material 3b of the plant fiber bundle 40 is embedded, to fix the core material 3b within the plant fiber bundle 40 (see Figure 9).

[0030] In step (B) above, after the wire 8 has been wound around the upper and lower portions of the through-hole 6a, the wire 8 may be wound around one or more desired locations in the portion 40a of the plant fiber bundle 40 above where the core material 6 is embedded, to form the foot wrap 20 (see FIG. 10). The number of locations around which the wire 8 is wound in the upper portion 40a may be determined depending on the position of the ball 2 when assembled to the broom 1. The ball 2 shown in FIG. 10 is the ball 2a (see FIG. 1) that is located farthest from the handle 3.

[0031] In the above step (B), for the ball 2d (see Figures 1 and 3) made using the lower part 3b of the handle 3 as the core material, if necessary, wire 8 may be wound around the outside of the plant fiber bundle 40 at one or more desired locations higher than the wire 8 wound near the top of the through hole 3a.

[0032] (C) By inserting one horizontal shaft 7 into the through-holes 6a, 3a of the multiple balls 2 (see FIG. 11), the multiple balls 2 and the handle 3 are integrated (FIG. 12). The horizontal shaft 7 may be inserted into the through-holes 6a, 3a after the temporary filling rods 61, 31 have been completely removed from the through-holes 6a, 3a, or it may be inserted while pushing the temporary filling rods 61, 31 out of the through-holes 6a, 3a. For example, the temporary filling rods 61, 31 may be slightly pushed out of the through-holes 6a, 3a, and the horizontal shaft 7 may be inserted from one opening of the through-holes 6a, 3a, and the horizontal shaft 7 may then be driven deeper into the through-holes 6a, 3a by hammering it in with a mallet or the like, gradually pushing out the temporary filling rods 61, 31. For ease of understanding, the vegetable fiber bundles 40, the wires 8, and the temporary embedding rods 61 and 31 are omitted from FIG. As a result, the plurality of balls 2 are arranged in parallel, the plant fiber bundles 40 constituting each ball 2 are integrated to form the sweeping part 5, and the handle 3 and the plurality of balls 2 are integrated. The upper portions 40a of the parallelly arranged vegetable fiber bundles 40 (balls 2) above the portions where the core materials 6, 3b are embedded are sequentially fixed to the handle 3 with wire 8, starting from the balls 2 arranged on the inside (near the handle 3).

[0033] An example of a method for manufacturing the broom 1 of the present disclosure may further include the following steps (D) and (E). (D) Of the horizontal shaft body 7 inserted into the through holes 6a and 3a, the portions 7a and 7b (FIG. 12) protruding to the left and right of the sweeping part 5 are cut off. (E) Fix the rivet 9 to the cut surface of the horizontal shaft body 7 cut in step (D) (see Figure 2).

[0034] The above-mentioned temporary embedding rods 61, 31 are primarily intended to prevent the entrances and exits of the through holes 6a, 3a from being blocked by the vegetable fiber bundles 40 during the manufacturing process of the balls 2, but they also serve as markers for the positions where the wire 8 should be wound (near the top and bottom of the through holes), thereby contributing to improving the aesthetic appearance of the broom 1.

[0035] The plant fiber bundle 40 may be, for example, palm bark peeled from palm trees, rolled and bundled as is, and only the parts that will become the tips of the broom 1 are loosened, or it may be a bundle of unsorted palm fibers obtained by loosening palm bark, but it is preferable that thick, beautiful palm fibers are selected from the unsorted palm fibers and bundled together. More specifically, the plant fiber bundle 40 is preferably made by wetting unsorted palm fibers with water, putting them through a separating machine to remove short fibers and palm powder, cutting them to a specified size, and letting them dry naturally, and then bundling the resulting palm fibers.

[0036] As described above, in step (B), a roughly columnar body made of wood or the like is used as the core material 6, 3b of the ball 2. This makes it easier to wind the wire 8 for securing the vegetable fiber bundle 40 around the core material 6, 3b than when using a filler such as palm fiber or glutinous rice straw as the core material. Furthermore, since the core material 6, 3b is pre-formed with through-holes 6a, 3a for inserting the horizontal shaft 7, the portion of the ball 2 where the core material is embedded will not deform when multiple balls 2 are arranged in parallel in step (C). This makes it easy to mass-produce beautiful balls.

[0037] Furthermore, since the plant fiber bundles 40 are fixed to the cores 6, 3b with the wires 8 while the temporary embedding rods 61, 30 are inserted into the through-holes 6a, 3a of the cores 6, 3b, the entrances and exits of each through-hole 6a, 3a are not covered with plant fibers during step (B). Therefore, the entrances, passages, and exits for inserting the horizontal shafts 7 into the through-holes 6a, 3a in step (C) are clearly secured, facilitating the insertion of one horizontal shaft 7 into the through-holes 6a, 3a, i.e., the assembly of the ball 2 and the handle 3. In this way, the broom manufacturing method disclosed herein can reduce variations in the quality and appearance of handmade brooms 1.

[0038] After the step (C), the plant fibers may be combed and arranged using a metal rake or the like, and the tips may be trimmed to be uniform.

[0039] As described above, the method of manufacturing a broom disclosed herein uses a core structure for making balls, which makes it easy to mass-produce balls 2 of the same quality and facilitates the insertion of the horizontal shafts 7 into the balls (arrangement of the balls 2 in parallel). This makes it possible to provide a broom that is both excellent in quality and appearance and is easy to manufacture.

[0040] Furthermore, because the broom of the present disclosure uses the generally cylindrical body as the core material of the ball, it is easy to remove the ball from the horizontal shaft body 7 and reinsert the horizontal shaft body 7 into the ball 2. Therefore, it is easy to replace the ball 2 whose tip has been damaged. [Industrial Applicability]

[0041] The brooms of the present disclosure can be made using all natural materials and are easy to repair, making them useful as environmentally friendly cleaning tools. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 broom 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d balls 20 Foot wrap 3 Handle 3a Handle hole 3b Lower part of the handle (core material) 3c Upper part of the handle 30 Core structure for making balls 31 Temporary burial rod 4. Plant Fiber 40 Plant fiber bundles 40a Upper part of the plant fiber bundle 5 Sweeping section 6 Core material (approximately columnar body) 6a Core through hole 60 Core structure for making balls 61 Temporary burial rod 7 Transverse body (shell) 8 wire rod 9 rivets 10 Annular member (ring)

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a broom including a plurality of balls each including a bundle of plant fibers, the plurality of balls being integrated with a handle, preparing a plurality of core structures for ball production, each having a through hole formed in a core material, a temporary filling rod inserted into the through hole, and a portion of the temporary filling rod protruding from each end of the through hole; a core material constituting one of the plurality of core structures for making balls is a lower part of the handle; Embedding the core material of the ball-making core structure inside the plant fiber bundle, and winding wires around the top and bottom of the through-holes of the core material from the outside of the plant fiber bundle to fix the core material inside the plant fiber bundle. A method for manufacturing a broom, comprising inserting a single horizontal shaft into the through holes of a plurality of the balls after removing the temporary filling rod from the through hole or while pushing the temporary filling rod out of the through hole.

2. The method for manufacturing a broom according to claim 1 , wherein the core material is a substantially cylindrical body with the through holes formed in the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical body.

3. The method for manufacturing a broom according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the core material is made of wood.

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