Cleaning tools

Abstract

To easily wash and efficiently remove stains while reducing manufacturing cost in washing water bottles and containers such as cups.SOLUTION: A washing tool includes a washing part 2 for washing by making contact with a washing object site, and a handle part 3 having a sandwiching part 31 for sandwiching the washing part 2. The washing part 2 includes a sponge part 21 as a base material and a scrubbing and washing part 22 of a scrubbing and washing material that is attached to a flat surface part and a rear surface part of the sponge part 21. A shape of the scrubbing and washing part 22 is deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface while the sandwiching part 31 of the handle part 3 sandwiches the sponge part 21 that is an intermediate part 23 between the surface part and the rear surface part of the washing part 2 in a direction perpendicular to a surface and the rear direction of the washing part 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning tool used to clean containers such as water bottles (including mug bottles), cups, water coolers, tumblers, and pots. [Background technology]

[0002] Known examples of such cleaning tools include a cleaning part that comes into contact with the bottom or side of a container to clean it, and a handle that supports the cleaning part (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In the device described in Patent Document 1, a clamping portion is provided at the tip of the handle, and the cleaning portion is attached to the tip of the handle in a state where the cleaning portion is clamped by the clamping portion. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-083562 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When washing a container such as a water bottle or a cup, since the inner wall surface thereof has an arc-shaped curved surface, it is easier to wash and more efficiently remove dirt if the shape of the part of the washing part that washes the inner wall surface of the container is made to match the inner wall surface.

[0006] However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, the cleaning section is made up of multiple rectangular sponges or plate-shaped sponges stacked on top of each other, and the shape of the part of the cleaning section that cleans the inner wall surface of the container is not shaped (curved) to match the inner wall surface, making it difficult to clean efficiently.

[0007] Therefore, it is possible to manufacture a cleaning part whose outer shape matches the shape of the inner wall surface (curved surface shape) of the container, but this could result in problems such as higher manufacturing costs compared to rectangular shaped sponges, etc.

[0008] In view of this situation, the main object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning tool that is easy to clean and can efficiently remove dirt when cleaning containers such as water bottles and cups, while reducing manufacturing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The first characteristic configuration of the present invention is a cleaning device comprising a cleaning part that comes into contact with a part to be cleaned to clean it, and a handle part having a clamping part that can clamp the cleaning part, The cleaning unit includes a sponge portion serving as a base material and a scrubbing portion made of a scrubbing material attached to the flat surface and back surface of the sponge portion, The clamping portion of the handle clamps the sponge portion, which is the intermediate portion between the front and back portions of the cleaning portion, in a direction perpendicular to the front and back direction of the cleaning portion, thereby deforming the shape of the scrubbing portion into an arc-shaped curved surface.

[0010] According to this configuration, the sponge portion of the cleaning unit only needs to have a flat front surface and a back surface, and can be, for example, block-shaped or cubic-shaped, thereby preventing an increase in manufacturing costs. Moreover, by clamping the sponge portion with the clamping portion of the handle, the sponge portion is deformed inward, shortening the distance between the scrubbing portion of the front surface and the scrubbing portion of the back surface, and the shape of the scrubbing portion is deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface. This allows the shape of the scrubbing portion to be shaped to match the shape (curved surface shape) of the inner wall surface of the container. Therefore, the scrubbing portion can be properly brought into contact with the inner wall surface of the container, making cleaning easier and efficiently removing dirt.

[0011] The second characteristic feature of the present invention is that, when the clamping portion of the handle portion is in a clamping state in which it is clamping the sponge portion, it clamps more than half of the longitudinal portion of the cleaning portion in an orientation extending in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front and back directions of the cleaning portion.

[0012] According to this configuration, in the clamping state, the clamping section clamps more than half of the cleaning section in the longitudinal direction while extending in the longitudinal direction, so that more than half of the scrubbing section in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning section can be deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface. This increases the size of the section of the scrubbing section that is shaped to match the shape (curved surface shape) of the inner wall surface of the container, allowing the inner wall surface of the container to be cleaned efficiently and easily.

[0013] The third characteristic configuration of the present invention is that the width of the sponge portion and the scrubbing portion in the short direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning portion, is set so that the tip portion, which is not clamped by the clamping portion, is narrower than the base portion, which is clamped by the clamping portion in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning portion.

[0014] The base end portion of the cleaning unit in the longitudinal direction is clamped by the clamping portion, so the shape of the scrubbing unit is deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface. In contrast, the tip end portion of the cleaning unit in the longitudinal direction is not clamped by the clamping portion, so the shape of the scrubbing unit is not deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface. Therefore, while the width of the base end portion of the scrubbing unit in the lateral direction of the cleaning unit decreases in response to the shape deformation, the width of the tip end portion of the scrubbing unit is maintained. Therefore, the tip end portion protrudes outward from the base end portion of the scrubbing unit in the lateral direction of the cleaning unit. When the tip end portion protrudes in this manner, when attempting to scrub the inner wall surface of the container with the base end portion of the scrubbing unit, the tip end portion of the scrubbing unit gets in the way, making cleaning difficult.

[0015] Therefore, according to this configuration, the width of the cleaning section in the short direction is set so that the distal end portion of the scrubbing section is narrower than the proximal end portion of the scrubbing section, preventing the distal end portion from protruding outward beyond the proximal end portion of the scrubbing section. Moreover, because the distal end portion of the scrubbing section is not deformed, for example, it is possible to scrub the inner wall surface of a container with the deformed proximal end portion of the scrubbing section while scrubbing the bottom surface of the container with the undeformed distal end portion of the scrubbing section, thereby efficiently cleaning the bottom surface of the container and the inner wall surface continuous with the bottom surface.

[0016] In a fourth characteristic configuration of the present invention, the handle portion is formed in a bifurcated shape having a pair of clamping action portions in the clamping portion, the clamping portion is provided in a position where, in a clamping state in which the pair of clamping action parts clamp the middle part of the sponge part, the pair of clamping action parts extend in a longitudinal direction of the cleaning part that is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning part, The sponge portion and the scrubbing portion are configured such that, in the clamping state, the width in the short direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning portion, is set wider at the tip end portion than at the base end portion in the extension direction of the clamping action portion.

[0017] When the clamping portion is in a clamped state with the middle part of the sponge portion clamped between a pair of clamping action parts, the clamping force tends to be weaker at the tip part of the clamping action part than at the base part, so the amount of deformation that deforms the middle part of the sponge portion inward at the tip part of the clamping action part is small, making it difficult to shorten the distance between the scrubbing part on the surface part and the scrubbing part on the back part, and making it difficult to deform the shape of the scrubbing part into an arc-shaped curved surface.

[0018] Therefore, according to this configuration, the width of the sponge portion and the scrubbing portion in the short direction of the cleaning portion is set wider at the distal end portion than at the proximal end portion in the extension direction of the clamping portion, so that even a weak clamping force can be applied to the distal end portion of the clamping portion to deform the middle portion of the wide sponge portion inward, ensuring a sufficient amount of deformation. Therefore, even at the distal end portion of the clamping portion, the distance between the scrubbing portion on the front surface and the scrubbing portion on the back surface can be reduced, and the shape of the scrubbing portion can be deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of a cleaning tool according to a first embodiment; [Figure 2] Rear view of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment [Figure 3] Left side view of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment [Figure 4] 1 is a right side view of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment; [Figure 5] Plan view of the cleaning tool of the first embodiment [Figure 6] 1 is a bottom view of the cleaning tool according to the first embodiment; [Figure 7] 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning tool according to a first embodiment; [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cleaning tool according to a first embodiment, showing a cleaning section and a handle section; [Figure 9] A plan view showing the cleaning unit and the handle unit. [Figure 10] 10 is a perspective view of a cleaning tool according to a second embodiment; [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the cleaning tool according to the second embodiment, showing the cleaning part and the handle part; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cleaning tool according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [First embodiment] 1 to 6, this cleaning tool 1 is used to clean containers such as water bottles (including mug bottles), cups, water bottles, tumblers, pots, etc. Cleaning tool 1 is equipped with a cleaning part 2 that comes into contact with the area to be cleaned to clean it, and a handle part 3 having a clamping part 31 that can clamp the cleaning part 2.

[0021] As shown in Figs. 1 to 6, the cleaning unit 2 comprises a sponge unit 21 serving as a base material, and a scrubbing unit 22 disposed on the flat front and back surfaces of the sponge unit 21. The sponge unit 21 is formed in a block or cubic shape having a flat front and back surface. The scrubbing unit 22, which comes into contact with the area to be cleaned and scrubs it, is attached to the entire surface and back surfaces of the sponge unit 21 by adhesive, heat fusion, or the like. The scrubbing unit 22 is made of a scrubbing material, such as a nonwoven fabric or a brush with a soft napped layer.

[0022] 1 to 6, both the front and back surfaces of the cleaning unit 2 form scrubbing sections 22, and an intermediate section 23 between the front and back surfaces forms the sponge section 21. As shown in Fig. 5, the cleaning unit 2 is formed in a slender shape in a plan view such that its length in the extension direction of the handle 3 (left-right direction in Fig. 5) is longer than its length in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction (up-down direction in Fig. 5), and the direction along the extension direction of the handle 3 is the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 (left-right direction in Fig. 5), and the direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the handle 3 is the lateral direction of the cleaning unit 2 (up-down direction in Fig. 5).

[0023] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the handle 3 is bifurcated and has a pair of rod-shaped bodies 32, with a clamping part 31 provided at the tip end of the rod-shaped bodies 32. The handle 3 is configured so that the clamping part 31 can clamp the cleaning part 2 by elastically deforming the tip end portions of the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 so that they approach each other. The rod-shaped bodies 32 are made of an elastically deformable material (for example, resin).

[0024] 7 and 8, the base ends of the rod-shaped bodies 32 are provided with a curved connecting portion 34 that connects the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 in a curved state. As shown in Fig. 9, the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 are provided in a divergent position, with the tip ends of the curved connecting portion 34 closest to each other and the distance between them gradually increasing from there towards the tip end.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 8, the tip end portions of the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 are formed with flat surfaces facing each other, and these flat surfaces are provided as a pair of clamping sections 33 that clamp the cleaning section 2. As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the clamping sections 33 are provided with protrusions 35 that protrude toward each other. A plurality of (for example, two) protrusions 35 are provided at intervals in the extension direction of the rod-shaped bodies 32.

[0026] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the handle 3 is provided with a ring portion 36 that fits onto the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32. The ring portion 36 is provided so as to be movable in the extension direction of the rod-shaped bodies 32 (see the arrow in Figure 9) while fitting onto the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32. Movement of the ring portion 36 towards the base end side of the rod-shaped bodies 32 is restricted by the curved connecting portion 34, which prevents the ring portion 36 from coming off. The ring portion 36 is made of an elastically deformable material (for example, resin).

[0027] In this cleaning tool 1, with the cleaning unit 2 positioned so that it can be clamped by the pair of clamping sections 33, the ring section 36 is moved toward the tip end of the rod-shaped body 32, causing the pair of clamping sections 33 to approach each other and clamp the cleaning unit 2, as shown in Fig. 7. The pair of clamping sections 33 clamp the sponge section 21, which is the intermediate section 23 between the scrubbing sections 22 on the front and back sides of the cleaning unit 2. As a result, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 7, the sponge section 21 (intermediate section 23) is deformed inward, shortening the distance between the scrubbing section 22 on the front side and the scrubbing section 22 on the back side, and deforming the shape of the scrubbing section 22 into an arc-shaped curved surface.

[0028] 1 and 2, the clamping unit 31, in a clamping state in which the pair of clamping portions 33 clamps the sponge portion 21 (middle portion 23), clamps more than half of the longitudinal portion of the cleaning unit 2 in a position extending in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 (the left-right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2). Explaining further using FIG. 9, as shown by the arrows, by moving the ring portion 36 toward the tip of the rod-shaped body 32, the pair of clamping portions 33 are brought closer to each other, and the cleaning unit 2 is clamped by the pair of clamping portions 33. Incidentally, FIG. 9 illustrates two shapes of the cleaning unit 2 aligned in the left-right direction, with the one on the left representing the cleaning unit 2 in this first embodiment and the one on the right representing the cleaning unit 2 in the following second embodiment.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 9, the cleaning unit 2 has a total length B1 in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction in Fig. 9) of the cleaning unit 2. When the cleaning unit 2 is clamped by the pair of clamping parts 33, the tip ends of the clamping parts 33 are located at point A, and therefore the length by which the cleaning unit 2 is clamped by the clamping parts 33 is B2. This B2 is larger than B1 / 2, and therefore in the clamped state, more than half of the cleaning unit 2 in the longitudinal direction is clamped by the pair of clamping parts 33.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 9, the distal end portion of each of the pair of rod-shaped bodies 32 is provided on its outer side with an engaging portion 37 that engages with the ring portion 36 to lock the ring portion 36. The engaging portions 37 are formed in a convex shape that protrudes outward, and a plurality of (e.g., six) engaging portions 37 are provided at intervals in the extension direction of the rod-shaped bodies 32. When the ring portion 36 is moved toward the distal end of the rod-shaped bodies 32, the position at which the ring portion 36 is locked can be freely changed by changing which of the plurality of engaging portions 37 the ring portion 36 is locked with. Therefore, by changing the position at which the ring portion 36 is locked, the length over which the pair of clamping portions 33 clamp the cleaning unit 2 in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 can be freely changed.

[0031] As shown in Figure 9, the width of the cleaning section 2 (sponge section 21 and scrubbing section 22) in its short direction (left-right direction in Figure 9) is set so that the tip section 22b, which is not clamped by the clamping section 31, is narrower than the base section 22a, which is clamped by the clamping section 31 in the longitudinal direction (up-down direction in Figure 9) of the cleaning section 2.

[0032] 1, 2, and 7, the base end portion 22a of the scrubbing unit 22 is deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface, while the tip end portion 22b of the scrubbing unit 22 is not deformed. Therefore, when cleaning a container with the cleaner 1, for example, the base end portion 22a of the scrubbing unit 22, which has been deformed, can be used to scrub the inner wall surface of the container, while the tip end portion 22b of the scrubbing unit 22, which has not been deformed, can be used to scrub the bottom surface of the container, thereby efficiently cleaning both the bottom surface of the container and the inner wall surface continuous with the bottom surface.

[0033] In this cleaning tool 1, the cleaning part 2 is clamped by the clamping part 31 of the handle 3, so when it is time to replace the cleaning part 2 due to deterioration or the like, the cleaning part 2 can be detached from the handle 3 and a new cleaning part 2 can be attached to the handle 3. In this way, the handle 3 can be used as is, and only the cleaning part 2 can be replaced.

[0034] Second Embodiment This second embodiment shows another embodiment of the cleaning unit 2 in the first embodiment. Below, the cleaning unit 2 in the second embodiment will be mainly described with reference to Figures 9 to 11. As the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals will be used and the description will be omitted.

[0035] In the first embodiment, as shown on the left side of Fig. 9, the width of the cleaning unit 2 in its short side direction (left-right direction in Fig. 9) is set so that the tip side portion 22b is narrower than the base side portion 22a in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 (up-down direction in Fig. 9). In contrast, in the second embodiment, as shown in Fig. 11, the cleaning unit 2 is provided with a sponge portion 41 that serves as a base material, and a scrubbing portion 42 attached to the flat front and back surfaces of the sponge portion 41, and an intermediate portion 43 between the front and back surfaces of the cleaning unit 2 forms the sponge portion 41. As shown on the right side of Fig. 9, the width of the cleaning unit 2 in its short side direction (left-right direction in Fig. 9) is set so that the intermediate portion 42b is wider than the end side portion 42a in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2 (up-down direction in Fig. 9).

[0036] In the second embodiment, as shown on the right side of Figure 9, the middle portion 42b of the cleaning unit 2 is set wider than the end portion 42a in the longitudinal direction, so that when the cleaning unit 2 (sponge portion 21 and scrubbing portion 22) is in a clamped state in which the sponge portion 21 (middle portion 23) is clamped between a pair of clamping action portions 33, the middle portion 42b, which is the tip side portion, is wider than the end portion 42a, which is the base side portion in the extension direction of the clamping action portions 33.

[0037] 10 , in the clamping state, the ends of the middle portion 42b of the scrubbing portion 42 can be brought closer together than the end portions 42a of the scrubbing portion 42, and the shape of the middle portion 42b of the scrubbing portion 42, which is the tip side portion of the clamping action unit 33 where the clamping force tends to be weaker, can be appropriately deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface. Therefore, the shape of the scrubbing portion 42 can be deformed into an arc-shaped curved surface not only for the end side portion 42a of the scrubbing portion 42, which is the base side portion of the clamping action unit 33, but also for the middle portion 42b of the scrubbing portion 42, which is the tip side portion of the clamping action unit 33.

[0038] In this second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 10, in a clamping state in which the sponge portion 21 (middle portion 23) is clamped between the pair of clamping portions 33, the pair of clamping portions 33 clamp more than half of the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion 2 in a position extending in the longitudinal direction. Explaining this further using Fig. 9, as shown by the arrows, by moving the ring portion 36 toward the tip end of the rod-shaped body 32, the pair of clamping portions 33 are brought closer to each other, and the cleaning portion 2 is clamped between the pair of clamping portions 33. Incidentally, Fig. 9 illustrates two shapes of cleaning portion 2 aligned in the left-right direction, with the one on the left representing the cleaning portion 2 in the first embodiment and the one on the right representing the cleaning portion 2 in this second embodiment.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 9, the cleaning unit 2 has a total length B1 in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction in Fig. 9) of the cleaning unit 2. When the cleaning unit 2 is clamped by the pair of clamping parts 33, the tip ends of the clamping parts 33 are located at point A, and therefore the length by which the cleaning unit 2 is clamped by the clamping parts 33 is B2. This B2 is larger than B1 / 2, and therefore in the clamped state, more than half of the cleaning unit 2 in the longitudinal direction is clamped by the pair of clamping parts 33.

[0040] [Another embodiment] Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Note that the configurations of the embodiments described below are not limited to being applied independently, but can also be applied in combination with the configurations of other embodiments.

[0041] (1) Regarding the cleaning unit 2, in the first embodiment, as shown on the left side of Figure 9, the width in the short side direction of the cleaning unit 2 is set narrower at the tip end portion 22b than at the base end portion 22a in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2, and in the second embodiment, as shown on the right side of Figure 9, the width in the short side direction of the cleaning unit 2 is set wider at the middle portion 42b than at the end portion 42a in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2. For example, depending on the cleaning conditions, such as the shape of the container and which part of the container is to be cleaned, the cleaning unit 2 in the first embodiment or the cleaning unit 2 in the second embodiment can be used, and cleaning can also be performed by replacing the cleaning unit 2 with a different shape depending on various cleaning conditions.

[0042] (2) The cleaning unit 2 is not limited to the cleaning unit 2 in the first embodiment and the cleaning unit 2 in the second embodiment, and various other shapes can be applied.

[0043] (3) The handle 3 may have any configuration or shape as long as it is provided with a clamping portion 31 for clamping the cleaning portion 2, and is not limited to that shown in the first embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1 Cleaning equipment 2 Cleaning section 3 Handle 21 Sponge part 22 Scrub section 31 Clamping part 33 Clamping part 41 Sponge part 42 Scrub section

Claims

1. The device is provided with a cleaning part that is brought into contact with the area to be cleaned to clean it, and a handle part having a clamping part that can clamp the cleaning part, The cleaning unit includes a sponge portion serving as a base material and a scrubbing portion made of a scrubbing material attached to the flat surface and back surface of the sponge portion, The clamping portion of the handle clamps the sponge portion, which is an intermediate portion between the front and back portions of the cleaning unit, in a direction perpendicular to the front and back direction of the cleaning unit, thereby deforming the shape of the scrubbing portion into an arc-shaped curved surface, The handle portion is bifurcated and has a pair of rod-shaped bodies, and a clamping portion is provided at the tip end portion of the pair of rod-shaped bodies, The pair of rod-shaped bodies are provided with ring portions that are movable in the extending direction of the rod-shaped bodies, The handle portion is configured so that the cleaning portion can be clamped by the clamping portion by moving the ring portion toward the tip end of the rod-shaped body, thereby moving the tip end portions of the pair of rod-shaped bodies toward each other, a plurality of engaging portions that engage with the ring portion and lock the ring portion are provided at intervals in the extending direction of the rod-shaped bodies at a tip side portion of each of the pair of rod-shaped bodies; The handle portion is a cleaning tool configured so that the position at which the ring portion is engaged can be changed depending on which of multiple engaging portions it engages with, thereby freely changing the length by which the clamping portion clamps the cleaning portion in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front and back directions of the cleaning portion.

2. The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the clamping portion of the handle clamps the middle portion of the sponge portion by extending in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion perpendicular to the front and back directions of the cleaning portion and clamping more than half of the longitudinal portion of the sponge portion.

3. 2. The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the width of the sponge portion and the scrubbing portion in the short direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning portion, is set so that the tip portion not clamped by the clamping portion is narrower than the base portion clamped by the clamping portion in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning portion.

4. The handle portion is bifurcated to have a pair of clamping portions at the clamping portion, the clamping portion is provided in a position where, in a clamping state in which the pair of clamping action parts clamp the middle part of the sponge part, the pair of clamping action parts extend in a longitudinal direction of the cleaning part that is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning part, The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the width of the sponge portion and the scrubbing portion in the short direction of the cleaning portion, which is perpendicular to the front-to-back direction of the cleaning portion, is set so that, in a clamping state, the tip portion is wider than the base portion in the extension direction of the clamping action portion.

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