Cloth holders and cleaning implements utilizing the same
United States Patent 1191 Nash 1 1 CLOTH HOLDERS AND CLEANING IMPLEMENTS UTILIZING THE SAME [75] Inventor: Lawrence M. Nash, East Brunswick,  
 [73] Assignee: Johnson &amp; Johnson, New  
 Brunswick, NJ.  
  22 Filed: July 23,1973  
  21 Appl. No.: 381,970  
 15/229 AP, 229 B, 229 EC, 229 BP, 231-233;  
 24/30.5 S, 255 BS; 211/65-67, 69.1, 69.8, 89; 248/111, 113, 314  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,029,043 H1936 Wendell et a1. 24/255 BS UX 2,339,187 1/1944 Pain 248/314 2,561,611 7/1951 Buchanan 248/314 2,727,268 12/1955 Hucke 15/233 X 3,344,930 10/1967 Merkel 211/65 3,348,595 10/1967 Stevens 24/30.5 S X 3,528,076 9/1970 Anderson 15/228 3,760,450 9/1973 Griffin et a1. 15/231 X 3,775,802 12/1973 Grassman 15/147 A 3,792,505 2/1974 Saltzstein 15/231 Apr. 15, 1975 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Primary Examiner-Daniel Blum [57] ABSTRACT A holder for cloth or other articles comprising a ho]- low, generally cylindrical member having an open end and a substantially closed end, the closed end having a plurality of relatively narrow, generally diametral or radial slits therein forming a plurality of triangular resilient fingers extending inwardly and downwardly in slanting fashion in a converging pyramidal shape, with the apexes of the triangular resilient fingers approaching each other at the apex of the pyramidal shape and with the triangular resilient fingers forming the inwardly slanting faces of the pyramidal shape, the sides of the triangular resilient fingers being in substantial contact but adapted to yield resiliently upon forcible entry of a cloth or other article therebetween but to return in the direction of their original contacting configuration upon removal of the force whereby the cloth or other article is gripped and held by the triangular resilient fingers; and a cleaning implement utilizing the holder to hold a cleaning cloth in position thereon.  
 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures CLOTH HOLDERS AND CLEANING IMPLEMENTS UTILIZING THE SAME This invention relates to holders capable of receiving and holding cloths or other articles as securely as required but capable of releasing the cloth or other article readily, when desired. The invention relates more particularly to cleaning implements to which the cleaning cloths are secured and held by the cloth holder during use but from which the cleaning cloths may be readily removed and discarded after being used.  
  The invention will be described in greater particularity with reference to a cloth holder in a cleaning implement but such is merely for the purpose of illustrating one specific use of the invention. However, such illustration is not to be considered as limitative of other uses of the holder with other implements or tools, or used, per se, such as on a wall, or on a cabinet or closet door, or the like.  
  Cleaning implements to which cleaning cloths are secured during use are well known in industry and in households. US. Pat. Nos. 3,012,264 and 3,012,264 and 3,099,855 disclose typical cleaning implements. The latter patent. in particular, discloses excellent fas tening means for securing cleaning cloths during use, particularly when the flat, plastic, plate-like holding and gripping member is made of an extremely flexible, resilient material such as polyethylene, for example. However, when other flat plastic materials are used, the service life of the cleaning tool sometimes decreases because the holding and gripping fingers gradually lose their positive or effective gripping properties after a while or after a certain number of uses. This occurs when the holding fingers which originally lie in a plane begin to yield and to separate from one other and retain a more or less permanent set&#34; in an open, weaklygripping configuration in which the fingers are bent downwardly out of the original plane.  
  This is particularly evident in the case of polypropylene which is often used because of its superior hinge and flex properties, along with superior molding, machining, and other fabricating characteristics.  
  The primary object of this invention is therefore to provide more permanent, more effective, and longer lasting holding means for cloths or other articles which not only are of use with cleaning or other implements and tools but also are capable of utility and use, per se, separate from the cleaning or other implement or tool.  
  This primary object may be attained by means of a holder for cloth or other articles comprising a hollow, generally cylindrical or similar member having an open end and a substantially closed end, the closed end having a plurality ofrelatively narrow, generally diametral or radial slits therein forming a plurality of triangular or pie-shaped resilient fingers extending inwardly and downwardly in slanting fashion in a converging pyramidal shape, with the apexes of the pie-shaped resilient fingers approaching each other at the apex of said pyramidal shape and with the pie-shaped resilient fingers forming the inwardly slanting faces of said pyramidal shape, the sides of the pie-shaped resilient fingers being substantially in contact but adapted to yield resiliently upon forcible entry of a cloth or other article therebetween but to return in the direction of their original contacting configuration upon removal of said force whereby the cloth or other article is gripped and held firmly by the pinching action of adjacent pie-shaped resilient fingers.  
  Such holders are easily installed on cleaning or other implements and tools, or may be used by themselves, and it is noted that the unusual and particular pyramidal, non-planar construction and configuration of the holding means provides for a longer useful service life wherein the cloth &#39;or other article is held more securely for a much longer period of time and for a greater number of use cycles and in which there is a lessened tendency of the holding and gripping fingers to spread apart to lose their gripping properties.  
  A better understanding of the present invention and the structural features thereof will be gained from a consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawings wherein there are described and illustrated preferred embodiments of the present inventive concept.  
 In the drawings, I  
  FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cloth holder, per se, embodying the principles of the present inventive concept;  
  .FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the cloth holder of FIG. 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof;  
  FIG. 3 is a partially exploded, schematic perspective view of a cleaning implement utilizing a cloth holder of the present inventive concept;  
  FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, cross-section of a part of the cleaning implement of FIG. 3, taken on the line 4-4 thereof; and  
  FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section of a part of a modification of the cloth holder of FIG. 4, wherein the cloth holder and the base of the cleaning element comprise a unitary, integral molded article.  
  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown a cloth holder 10 comprising a hollow, generally cylindrical or cup-shaped member 12 having an open end 14 and a substantially closed end 16. Flanges or extending ears 18 and 20 are provided at opposite ends of the cloth holder 10 and have openings 22 and 24 therein through which screws or other fastening means may be inserted for fastening the cloth holder 10 to a wall, or to a cabinet or closet door, or the like.  
  The closed end 16 of the cylindrical or cup-shaped member 12 is provided with a plurality of relatively narrow, elongated, generally diametral or radial slits 26 which extend generally slantingly inwardly and downwardly, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, dividing the closed end 16 into a plurality of triangular or pie-shaped resilient fingers 28. Inasmuch as the generally diametral or radial slits 26 are very narrow and may even merely be very thin cuts in the closed end 16, the sides of the pieshaped resilient fingers 28 are substantially in contact along the major portion of their lengths. The width of the slits is normally in the range of from about 0.010 inch to about 0.030 inch. As noted especially in FIG. 2, the closed end 16 and the pie-shaped resilient fingers 28 thereof extend downwardly and inwardly in slanting fashion in a converging pyramidal shape.  
  In FIGS. 1 and 2, there are shown six relatively narrow radial slits and six downwardly and inwardly converging, pyramidally shaped fingers 28, forming an inverted pyramid with six faces. The number of radial slits and faces may be decreased to three of four or may be increased to eight or ten or even more, as desired or required.  
  It is to be emphasized that the pie-shaped resilient fingers 28 do not lie in a single plane but lie in a plurality of intersecting planes which converge slantingly downwardly and inwardly toward a central opening or apex 30. The tips of the pie-shaped fingers 28 do not touch at the apex 30 but they approach each other and are all relatively close to each other at that point.  
  As illustrated, the angle of the apex of the pyramid formed by the pie-shaped resilient fingers 28 is 90 but such can be varied within the limits to still obtain the benefits of the present invention. Such angle of 90 may be increased to about 140, in which case the pyramidal shape becomes shallower, or it may be decreased to about 60, in which case the pyramidal shape becomes steeper. However, in all cases, it is essential that the pie-shaped resilient fingers either directly contact each other or be in substantial contact and within 0.030 inch from each other.  
  The holder is made of a flexible, resilient material and the pie-shaped fingers thereof must be capable of resiliently yielding upon the forcible entry of the cloth or other article. In yielding, the fingers 28 of the holder are forced downwardly to spread apart and permit portions of the cloth or other article to enter therebetween. Then, when the forceis removed, the fingers 28 tend to return in the direction of their original contact configuration to grip and hold the cloth or other article securely in place by the pinching action of the pieshaped resilient fingers 28.  
  Naturally, when the pie-shaped resilient fingers grip and hold a cloth or other article therebetween, they will be thus prevented from returning to substantially contacting position. However, they tend to return to that position and pinch and squeeze the cloth or other article.  
  The pie-shaped resilient fingers 28, being originally in a slantingly inwardly-directed pyramidal configuration, readily and easily yield to the applied force and just as readily and easily return in the direction of their original configuration. This tendency to yield to an open-finger configuration and to return in the direction of the original substantially contacting-finger configuration is, of course, due to the slantingly inwardly directed pyramidal configuration of the pie-shaped fingers 28.  
  Any natural or synthetic material, plastic or otherwise, capable of resiliently yielding and recovering as required may be used for the holder and particularly the fingers thereof. Polyolefin plastic materials, notably polypropylene, polyethylene, and combinations thereof, are very suitable; other plastic materials may be used, such as the cellulosic plastics notably cellulose acetate and cellulose triacetate; the vinyl resins notably plasticized polyvinyl chloride; polystyrene; the polyesters; the polyamides; etc.  
  FIG. 3 illustrates a use of the present invention in which four cloth holders 10 are each secured by screws 11 and 13 to the base 31 of a cleaning implement. A cleaning cloth C is shown in open unassembled position, ready to be wrapped around the base 31 and secured to the upper portion thereof by means of the four cloth holders 10 located at the four top corners of the base 31. A conventional handle 32 and a simple swivel securing means 34 or any other suitable swivel or pivoted fastening device may be used to secure the handle to the base of the cleaning implement.  
  In FIG. 5, there is disclosed a modification of the inventive concept disclosed in FIGS. l-4. In this modification, the base 70 of the cleaning implement and the cloth holder are formed as one unitary integral molded article. The construction and operation of the cleaning implement and the cloth holding device is generally similar to that set forth in FIGS. 1-4 in that there is a generally cylindrical surface 72 which has an open end 74 and a closed end 76, as well as relatively narrow diametral or radial slits 86 and pie-shaped resilient fingers 88, the slanting sides of which are in substantial contact, similar to the slanting fingers 28 of FIGS. l-4. These fingers 88 hold the cleaning cloth or other article, as described previously.  
  Such an integrally molded modification obviates the need for flanges and screws or other fastening devices which are required to install the cloth holder in the base of the modification of the inventive concept of FIGS. 14.  
  As used herein with reference to the pie-shaped resilient fingers which are in substantial contact along the major portion of their length, such a term is intended to indicate that the sides of the pie-shaped resilient fingers are either lightly contacting each other along their lengths, or are so close to each other that they are capable of holding a conventional cleaning cloth or other article therebetween without slippage.  
  The invention will be further illustrated in greater detail by the following specific example. It should be understood, however, that although this example may describe in particular detail some of the more specific features of the invention, it is given primarily for purposes of illustration and the invention in its broader aspects is not to be construed as limited thereto.  
 EXAMPLE I A cleaning implement as illustrated in FIG. 5 is molded as a single unitary article from isotactic polypropylene. The base is 22 inches long, 5 inches wide, and three-fourths inches high. There are four cloth holders, one located at each corner of the base. There are six radial slits, each having a width of 0.016 inch, thus forming six pie-shaped resilient fingers. The hollow cup-shaped member is 1 inches in diameter. The base of each pie-shaped resilient fingers if five-eighths inch. The length of each pie-shaped resilient finger is three-fourths inch. The angle of the apex of the pyramid formed by the pie-shaped resilient fingers is 90.  
  A MASSLINN brand nonwoven fabric cleaning cloth having a weight of 900 grains per square yard is used. The thickness of a double layer of such a cleaning cloth is 0.020 inch. It is readily and easily secured in place on the base of the cleaning implement by digital pressure exerted to open the pie-shaped resilient fingers which easily yield to grip and pinch the cleaning cloth and retain it in place after the digital pressure is removed. After use, the cleaning cloth is easily removed and discarded.  
  Although a specific example of the inventive concept has been described, the same should not be construed as limited thereby nor to the specific features men tioned therein but to include various other equivalent features as set forth in the claims appended hereto. It is understood that any suitable changes, modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.  
 What is claimed is:  
  l. A holder for cloth or other articles comprising a substantially cylindrical hollow member of resilient material having an open end and a substantially closed end, said closed end having a plurality of radial slits therein forming a plurality of triangular fingers extending inwardly in slanting fashion in a converging pyramidal shape with the apexes of said triangular fingers approaching each other at the apex of said pyramidal shape in angular fashion and with said triangular fingers forming the inwardly slanting faces of said pyramidal shape, the angle of the apex of the pyramid formed by the approaching triangular fingers being between 60 and 140, said triangular fingers being substantially in contact along the major portions of their lengths with adjacent fingers and within 0.030 inch from each other and capable of yielding resiliently to permit forcible entry of a cloth or other article therebetween and returning in the direction of their original contacting configuration upon removal of said force whereby the cloth or other article is gripped and held by the pinching action of said triangular fingers.  
  2. A holder for cloth or other articles as defined in claim 1 wherein there are six radial slits and six triangular fingers.  
  3. A holder for cloth or other articles as defined in claim 1 wherein the holder is made of polypropylene.  
  4. A holder for cloth or other articles as defined in claim 1 wherein there are fastening means to fasten the holder in position for use.  
  5. A cleaning implement comprising a base and at least one cloth holder, said cloth holder comprising a substantially cylindrical hollow member of resilient material having an opening end and a substantially closed end, said closed end having a plurality of radial slits therein forming a plurality of triangular fingers extending inwardly and downwardly in slanting fashion in a converging pyramidal shape with the apexes of said triangular fingers approaching each other at the apex of said pyramidal shape in angular fashion and with said triangular fingers forming the inwardly slanting faces of said pyramidal shape, the angle of the apex of the pyramid formed by the approaching triangular fingers being between 60 and 140, the triangular fingers being substantially in contact along the major portions of their lengths with adjacent fingers and within 0.030 inch from each other and capable of yielding resiliently to permit forcible entry of a cloth therebetween and returning in the direction of their original configuration upon removal of said force whereby the cloth is gripped and held by said triangular fingers.  
  6. A cleaning implement as defined in claim 5 wherein said base and said cloth holder comprise an integrally molded product.  
  7. A cleaning implement as defined in claim 5 wherein said base and said cloth holder are made of polypropylene.  
  8. A holder for cloth or other articles as defined in claim 1 wherein the angle of the apex of the pyramid formed by the approaching triangular fingers is 9. A cleaning implement as defined in claim 6 wherein said integrally molded product is made of polypropylene.  
 t t 1 i UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. I  
  3 77 3 DATED April 5 975 lNVENTOMS) 3 Lawrence M. Nash It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:  
 In Column 1, line 25 &#34;3, 012, 26 i&#34; written twice In Column 4, line 43, the words &#34;fingers if&#34; should read finger is *&#34;u Signed and Sealed this nineteenth D y or August1975 [SEAL] A nest:  
 C. MARSHALL DANN (&#39;mnmissl&#39;nner &#34;1&#39; Patents and Trademurkx