US2701378A - Scraping and brushing tool - Google Patents

Description

1955 D. J. REINBOLT ETAL SCRAPING AND BRUSHING TOOL Filed May 16, 1950 United States Patetrtb ice SCRAPING AND BRUSHING TOOL Dale J. Reinbolt, Gibsonburg, and Donald C. Dugan, Toledo, Ohio Application May 16, 1950, Serial No. 162,166

1 Claim. (Cl. -111) The present invention relates to cleaning tools in general and more particularly to an improved tool of this character having in combination a scraper and a brush.

The cleaning tool of this invention is adapted for a large variety of uses wherever it is desired to scrape and/or brush dirt, mud or other foreign matter from a surface or object. By way of example, one such use may be found in the cleaning of dirt or caked mud or turf from the ribbed faces of golf clubs. As is well\known in playing golf, it is a rather common occurrence for the striking face of the golf club head to accumulate particles of earth, mud or turf which tend to adhere to and fill the grooves or ribs of the striking face as well as oftentimes seriously affecting the ability of the player by deflecting the golf ball, when struck, from a potentially true course of flight. To effect cleaning of the clubs during play, such natural expedients have been resorted to as rubbing the head of the club on the turf, overthe sole of the players shoe or by endeavoring to more thoroughly clean the same by scratching and scraping thereupon with broken twigs or anything else handy at the moment.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a novel and improved form of cleaning tool embodying a combination scraper and brush which is of neat, compact appearance; simple and inexpensive in design, yet effective and handy to use; and which may be conveniently carried in the pocket or golf bag.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cleaning tool of the above character wherein a novel combination of scraper and brush is embodied in a body member that is provided with the scraper at one end and the brush at its opposite end, said body member being slidably mounted in a supporting case Whereby either the scraper or brush can be easily projected from the case for use or both the brush and scraper concealed in the case when the tool is not in use.

- Another object of the invention is to provide such an improved cleaning tool including a tubular supporting case open at its opposite ends and an annular body member slidable therein and carrying the scraper and brush at its opposite ends, said body member being slidable in opposite directions relative to the case to selectively present either the scraper or brush cxteriorly of the case in position for use, means being provided for readily securing the body member against movement when located in either of its projected positions or when in retracted inoperative position Within the case.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved cleaning tool wherein the annular body member is provided with a novel combination of scraper and brush and the tubular case is of such length as to completely contain both the scraper and the brush so that when the tool is not in use neither the scraper nor the brush will be exposed to injury or in a position where they will tear or soil the article in which the cleaning tool is carried.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent during the course of the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a cleaning tool constructed in accordance with the invention and showing the scraper and brush in their concealed or inoperative position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the cleaning tool showing 2,701,378 Patented Feb. 8 1 955 Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken substantially on line 66 of Fig. 2.

With reference now to the drawings, the cleaning tool is disclosed in Fig. 1 as comprising a cylindrical or tubular supporting case 10 and a body member 11 of complementary annular form that is slidably mounted in said case. Preferably, the tubular case is of such diameter that it may be readily and conveniently grasped in the hand during use of the tool.

The supporting case 10 and body member 11 of the tool may be manufactured from any one of several materials and their simplicity of form permits them to be easily molded or cast from suitable materials, such as plastics, thereby aifording a generally strong and rigid construction which at the same time may be provided in attractive colors.

Thesupporting case 10 consists of a tube or hollow elongated cylinder of substantially uniform diameter throughout described by the Wall 12 and open at its opposite ends. Formed in the Wall 12, lengthwise of the case, is an elongated slot 13 that terminates equi-distantly from opposite ends of the case 10 in laterally disposed notches 14 and 15. Between the notches 14 and 15, and substantially intermediate the ends of the case, is a third lateral notch 16 provided for purposes that will be more fully described hereinafter. The opposing walls of notches 14, 15 and 16 are substantially parallel and said notches, in combination with the elongated slot 13, are in the form of an E.

The body member 11, as will be noted in Figs. 4 and 6, is of annular or cylindrical form and is generally tubular or hollow throughout the major portion of its length. One end of this body is closed by a substantially spherical surface 17 which terminatesin alignment with the axis of said body in a protuberance 18 having a pointed or pyramidally shaped end 19 which provides the scraper of the cleaning tool. The opposite end of the body member 11 is substantially flat.

The opposite end of the body member 11 is shaped to receive the gathered end or butt of bristles 20 which form the brush 21 and which are secured therein in any suitable manner. Formed in the wall 12 of the body member at a point substantially midway between the scraper 19 and the outer end of brush 21 is an opening 22 in which is secured a plug or peg 23.

When the body member 11 has been inserted within the supporting case 10, the opening 22 is brought into registration with the slot 13 and the plug or peg 23 passed through said slot and secured in said opening. The outer end of the peg is preferably rounded or otherwise suitably finished as at 24 to provide an engaging knob or finger piece.

By grasping the case 10 in the palm of the hand, the finger piece 24 may be employed to slide the body member 11 in one direction relative to the case until the spherical end 17 thereof is moved outwardly therefrom to expose the scraper 19. Likewise, when the body member is urged in the opposite direction, the brush 21 will be projected beyond the adjacent end of the case. The extent of these movements is controlled by the length of the slot 13 and when the finger piece 24 is moved therealong until an end of the slot is reached, either the scraper 19 or the brush 21 will be located in operative position. However, when the body member is completely contained within the case 10 as shown in Fig. 1, the finger piece 24 is aligned with the centrally disposed notch 16 and by urging the finger piece laterally to rotate the body member, said finger piece will enter the notch 16 and thereby lock the body member against movement in either direction.

When it is then desired to use the scraper 19 to remove dried and caked mud or turf from the grooved or ribbed face of an article such as a golf club, or for any other purpose, the finger piece 24 is moved out of the notch 16 into the slot 13. Then, by moving the finger piece forwardly along said slot, the body 'rne'n'iber will be carried outwardly of the case 11 until the scraper 19 is operatively positioned, as shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the finger piece can be moved to enter the notch'14 to lock the parts in their relative positions.

To Complete the cleaning task as by brushing away the loosened dirt, or otherwise clearing the surface, the brush 21 may be employed. Thus, the finger piece 24 is now removed from the notch 14, and urged into and along the slot 13 to the opposite end thereof, whereupon the body member 11 will he slid endwise within the case so that the scraper 19 is retracted inwardly while the brush 21 is projected outwardly to the position shown in Fig.

2. The finger piece 24 is now moved laterally into the notch 15 to lock the body member against further movement while the brush is being used. By reason of the close fitting relation of the body member and the case in addition to the fact that the finger piece is adapted to be snugly retained in the notch 15, or the notch 14, the associated parts of the cleaning tool become a sturdy working implement.

Having accomplished the desired cleaning operation, the body member 11 is moved rearwardly to retract the brush as the finger piece is removed from the notch 15. Continued movement will bring said body member, and more particularly both the scraper and brush into positions of concealment within the case 10 in which positions they will be retained when the finger piece is moved from the slot 13 into the central notch 16. As will be seen in Fig. 1, the length of the case 10 is at least as long as the body member 11 including the scraper and brush, so that when in operative positions the said scraper and brush will be completely contained within the case. This is an important feature of the invention since when the tool is not being used neither the scraper nor brush will be exposed to breakage or damage While, at the same time, they will not be in a position to tear or soil the article in which the tool is carried.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment of the same, but that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

We claim:

A cleaning 'to'ol, comprising an elongated tubular supporting case of substantially uniform diameter throughout and open at its opposite ends, a substantially cylin drical body member having a smooth outer surface slid ably and rotatably received within said case, one end of said body member being substantially spherical and the other end being substantially fiat, a pyramidally shaped scraper provided at the spherical end of said body member and a brush carried at the opposite fiat end thereof, the lengthof said case being'at least equal'to the over-all length of the body member including the scraper and brush so that both the scraper and brush can be completely confined within the case inwardly of the opposite ends thereof when ;not in use and either of which can be projected beyond the adjacent end of the case upon sliding movement of the body member relative to the case, said case having a longitudinal E-shaped slot terminating equi-distantly from the opposite ends thereof and provided with lateral notches having parallel opposite walls at the opposite ends of the slot and also intermediate its ends, a substantially cylindrical peg carried by the body member projecting through said slot for moving said body member lengthwise relative to the case to J project either the scraper or the brush beyond said case into position for use, said body member being rotatable to move said peg into engagement with the walls of the notches at the opposite ends of the slot to hold the body member in desired operative position and into engagement with the walls of the central notch to maintain the body member in inoperative position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 339,123 Wood Mar. 30, 1886 1,054,229 Methven Feb. 25, 1913 1,303,944 Nelson May 20, 1919 1,353,496 Rosenberg Sept. 21, 1920 1,689,376 Zilliox Oct. 30, 1928 1,776,443 Martin Sept. 23, 1930 2,533,838 Ranft Dec. 12, 1950 2,536,942 Kanter Jan. 2, 1951 2,637,868 Hamilton May 12, 1953

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