Squeegee

This invention relates generally to cleaning implements, and more particularly to an improved squeegee useful for cleaning generally planar surfaces such as glass and plastic panels and enclosures, and windowpanes.

Glass and tile surfaces of enclosures for baths and showers can be cleaned conveniently and simply by using a squeegee immediately after bathing to remove water that clings to the surfaces. Conventional squeegees, which generally have a handle perpendicular to the blade, are cumbersome and awkward to use in and around the home, particularly in a shower or bath enclosure, and when stored inside the enclosure, can be an annoyance, getting in the way of a bather. Furthermore, most conventional squeegees employ metal parts such as blade holders and handle supports, and such metal parts can scratch glass, tile and painted surfaces, or stain the surfaces when the metal parts oxidize. Conventional squeegees with projecting handles and metal parts are likewise not suited for use in and around autos and boats.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved squeegee.

It is a more particular object of the invention to provide an improved squeegee which is ergonomically suited for use and storage in confined spaces such as a bath or shower enclosure.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved squeegee having no metal components that can stain or damage glass, ceramic and painted surfaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved squeegee useful in a shop or light industrial environment for cleaning work surfaces.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved squeegee useful for cleaning sensitive painted surfaces such as those of automobiles and boat decks.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved squeegee that floats on water.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved squeegee adapted for grasping with the blade essentially parallel to the arm of the user.

These and other objects are achieved according to the instant invention by a squeegee having an elongate handle and a unitary blade parallel with and held in an arcuate slot of the handle. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the blade is coextruded from two formulations of thermoplastic with different degrees of hardness, the root portion of the blade being stiff to facilitate its being held in the arcuate slot, while the extended portion of the blade used for wiping surfaces is relatively flexible. In another embodiment of the invention, the blade extends longitudinally beyond one end of the handle to facilitate cleaning surfaces in tight spaces such as corners. In another embodiment of the invention, an end of the squeegee handle employs a flat surface perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle, the end of the blade being coplanar with the flat surface so that the squeegee can be stored vertically resting on the flat surface with the blade serving to buttress the upright handle. In another embodiment of the invention, the handle is provided with a contoured region serving as a handgrip.

While the invention is set forth with particularity in the appended claims, other objects, features, advantages and the method of operation of the invention will become more apparent, and the invention will best be understood by referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters denote like elements:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a squeegee in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the squeegee of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of the squeegee taken along lines 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section view taken along lines 4--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a section view of one squeegee blade taken along lines 5--5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 illustrates in cross section an alternative embodiment of a squeegee handle according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an end cap of the squeegee of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a section view taken along lines 8--8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a pictorial view of a squeegee according to the present invention set in an upright position on a flat surface for storage; and

FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a squeegee according to the instant invention.

Referring now to the various views of the drawing for a more detailed description of the components, materials, construction, function, operation and other features of the instant invention by characters of reference, FIGS. 1-5 illustrate a squeegee 10 having a handle 12 in the general form of a hollow cylinder. The handle 12 is fashioned with an interiorly disposed chine 14 in which a pair of mutually parallel slots 16 are formed integrally with the handle 12 and spaced apart from each other, the slots 16 extending longitudinally the length of the handle 12. The cylindriform handle 12 can be circular in cross section as illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, or of other forms such as ellipsoid or generally triangular in cross section. The handle 12 is suitably made from a relatively light weight, solid material such as carbon fiber or aluminum. Preferably, the handle is injection molded from a thermoplastic material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), Santoprene or polyamide, the preferred material being ABS. Injection molding is the preferred process utilized for forming the handle 12 from thermoplastic material; extrusion, however, is satisfactory for forming aluminum handles.

The squeegee 10 includes a pair of elongate blades 18, which is the preferred embodiment of the invention; it is understood, however, that only a single blade, or more than two blades may be employed. While the ensuing description may refer to a single one of like elements such as a blade or slot, it is understood for simplicity that the description applies as well to the like elements. The elongate blade 18 includes a root portion 20 and a working portion 22, the root portion 20 being seated in the slot 16 such that the working portion 22 of the blade projects from the slot 16 abaxially of handle. The slot 16 and the root portion 20 of the blades 18 are suitably arcuate in cross section as seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the curvature of the slot 16 and the root portion 20 preferably being irregular, as for example parabolic rather than circular, whereby the irregularity facilitates holding the root portion 20 of the blade 18 in the slot 16, after the blade is slipped longitudinally into the slot. The extended working portion 22 of the blade 12 curves oppositely of the root portion 20 to form a blade with an S-shaped cross section, which is the preferred embodiment, providing greater symmetry and balance of the squeegee than would a flat working portion or a blade continuously curved in the same direction.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a handle 24 for a one-blade squeegee, the handle 24 having a single longitudinal slot 26 receiving a blade such as the blade 18 of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, 7 and 8, a slotted end cap 28 closes an end 30 of the cylindriform handle 12, and includes a planar closure 32 from which a flange 34 extends into the handle, the flange 34 having an outside diameter essentially the same as the inside diameter of the cylindriform handle 12, such that the flange 34 presses into the end of the handle 12. The flange 34 is discontinuous, having a gap or opening 36 into which the chine 14 of the handle 12 is received when the end cap 28 is installed on the handle. Slots 38 in the end cap 28 receive the blades 18 therein, the slots 38 having the same curvature as the slots 16 of the handle 12. Although the slots 38 of the end cap 28 are shown extending through the planar closure 32, the slots 38 suitably can extend only partly through the closure. However, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the end cap 28 is provided with a flat surface 40 perpendicular to a longitudinal axis 42 of the handle, and the blade ends 44 are coplanar with the surface 40 so that the squeegee 10 can be set upright on a flat surface 46 as illustrated in FIG. 9, for storage in an out-of-way location such as a corner of a shower enclosure. Slots of the end cap 48 closing the opposite end 50 of the handle 12 are the mirror image of the slots 38 in the end cap 28. The end caps 28, 48 are made, as by injection molding, from a stiff, inflexible material such as polyamide or polyvinyl chloride, the preferred material being PVC.

The blades 18 extend longitudinally beyond one end 50 of the handle 12 a distance about one fourth the length of the handle. The extended blades, and a slight flexibility of the root portion of the blades as described below, facilitate cleaning in corners, on irregular surfaces and other areas that might be inaccessible due to the thickness of the handle 12.

Each of the blades 18 is coextruded as a unitary element from a suitable flexible or resilient thermoplastic material, the root portion 20 and the working portion 22 having different degrees of hardness, the root portion 20 of the blade being relatively inflexible while the working portion is relatively flexible, each with respect to the other, the interface 52 of the materials of different hardness bifurcating the blade longitudinally. The blades are suitably produced in automatic extrusion equipment, and coextruded as a unitary element having more than a single degree of hardness, thereby reducing the cost of tooling and production. A variety of plastic materials having moderate tensile strength and moderate to low tensile elastic modulus may be used for fabricating the blades 18. Suitable materials include PVC, Santoprene, and polyamide, the preferred material being PVC. The material utilized may be reinforced or filled to enhance one or more of its physical properties. The physical properties of the plastic material relating to tensile strength and resilience or elastic modulus largely determine the preference. For example, the root portion 20 of the blade should have sufficient tensile strength to be held securely in the arcuate slot 16 of the handle and the end-cap slots, and yet be sufficiently elastic to allow the extended end 54 of the root portion to flex slightly about an axis 56 through the blade at the end cap 48 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 42 of the handle, while the working portion of the blade should be substantially more elastic to allow bending about a longitudinal axis 52 of the working portion 22 of the blade, when the squeegee is used for wiping a surface. Considering both cost and performance, the preferred coextrusion materials are, for the root portion of the blade, PVC 80 shore D rigid durometer, and for the working portion, PVC 60 shore A soft durometer. Slight flexibility of the extended end 54 of the root portion 20 of the blade is defined as approximately seven percent, e.g., five millimeters of lateral flexing at the distal end 58 of the root portion 20, when the blade extends longitudinally about seven centimeters beyond the end cap 48 of the handle 12 and reasonable lateral wiping force is applied to the blade end 54. The blades can be bonded into the handle with a suitable adhesive, although such bonding is not necessary. When the squeegee is assembled, the flanges 34 of the end caps 28, 48 are suitably bonded to the interior surface of the handle 12.

FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a squeegee 60 wherein the handle 62 is provided with a contoured handgrip including a first depression 64 shaped to fit fingers gripping the handle and the web between the index finger and thumb, and a second depression 66 shaped to receive the thumb, the contoured handgrip being essentially centrally located on the handle 62 in the position where an uncontoured handle would normally be grasped. The handle, thus grasped, presents the squeegee to the surface being cleaned substantially as an extension of the arm, rather than perpendicular to the arm as with a conventional squeegee having a handle perpendicular to the blades. The contoured handgrip of the handle 62 facilitates applying considerable transverse force to the squeegee without the hand slipping from the handle.

While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in the foregoing illustrative embodiment, there will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, the elements, material and components used in the practice of the invention, and otherwise, which are particularly adapted for specific environments and operating requirements without departing from those principles. The appended claims are, therefore, intended to cover and embrace any such modifications, within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.