Portable wringer

Details Portable wringer Portable wringer

2000-04-14

2003-06-03

Coe, Philip R. (Department: 1746)

Textiles: fluid treating apparatus

Accessories

Wringer supports

C068S257000, C068S264000, C068S270000, C068S271000, C068S273000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06571586

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates to a portable wringer and more particularly to a portable wringer for removing liquid from a wet leather, cloth or piece of fabric. It is especially intended for wringing water out of chamois leathers used for washing automobiles and other vehicles, but is not restricted to this purpose.
When washing water is removed from a vehicle using a leather, the leather has to be wrung out. When the operation is carried out by hand, it is difficult to obtain an even degree of dryness. At the same time it can cause chaffing of the hands and the leather can become stretched. Additionally, the wrung-out water can find its way to the clothes or feet of the user.
Clearly, therefore it would be advantageous to employ a mangle or wringer. However a fixed mangle would be inconvenient since it would necessarily be located at a distance from at least parts of the vehicle being washed and this would require the person washing the vehicle to walk back and forth to the mangle. Portable mangles have therefore been proposed and one such device is designed to clip over the window of vehicles for example as shown in FR-2571391. However, this device suffers the disadvantage that it can not be sufficiently rigidly attached to the window so that operation of the mangle causes the device to wobble. Also, the integrity of the window seal is compromised leading to a risk that water might enter the vehicle and mark the upholstery. Furthermore, the device is impractical if the vehicle is on a gradient since the device itself will be similarly inclined.
What is required, therefore, is a portable wringer that can be firmly and reliably attached to a vehicle without exposing the interior of the vehicle to the risk of leaks.
According to the invention, there is provided a portable wringer for removing liquid from a wet leather, cloth or piece of fabric, which comprises: a support structure; a pair of rollers rotatably mounted on the support structure; means for urging the rollers together towards a position in which the surfaces of the rollers would make mutual contact along their respective lengths; means for rotating at least one of the rollers; and a suction means attached to the support structure, the suction means being arranged to adhere to a smooth surface. A leather can therefore be passed between the rollers as they are rotated. The use of suction means enables the device to be attached to a vehicle window, without affecting the seal of the window.
Preferably, the rollers are cylindrical and are arranged with their axes in parallel and are preferably urged into mutual contact. They may comprise a rigid core coated with a layer of resilient material and preferably have spindles at each end, each spindle being supported in a bearing, the bearings being urged together by resilient means.
Preferably, one of the rollers is operatively connected to a crank handle, whereby the roller can be manually rotated. The other roller may then be free-running and will be driven by frictional contact with the roller which is manually rotated. This would, of course, normally occur via the leather which would be passed between the rollers. Preferably, the rollers are arranged to lie one above the other in use and the crank handle is operatively connected to the lower roller.
Alternatively, the rollers may be connected by gear arrangement or a chain or belt so that both rollers are driven. It is even possible for one or both rollers to be motor-driven for example using battery power. The battery may then be the vehicle battery.
Preferably, the device includes liquid catchment means arranged to receive liquid expelled from the leather by the rollers and an enclosure arranged to receive the leather as it leaves the rollers, in use. This minimises the risk of the liquid removed from the leather soiling the clothes or footwear of the user. It also ensures that the leather itself does not fall to the ground and become fouled with mud, dirt or grit. Preferably the liquid catchment means comprises a tray, the tray having one or more liquid discharge ports. Preferably, any discharge port is arranged to discharge the liquid in use in a direction away from the user. Alternatively, the liquid catchment means would comprise a temporary storage container for the liquid expelled from the leather; the container could be emptied periodically.
Preferably, the enclosure for the leather is located above the liquid catchment means and may include a deflector arranged to direct the leather away from the liquid catchment means in use. Preferably, the device includes a scraper located adjacent the upper and/or lower roller and arranged to lift a leather adhering to the surface of the respective roller. In a preferred embodiment, the scraper is located adjacent the upper roller and takes the form of a brush.
Preferably, the suction means comprises a single suction device though there may be a plurality. It preferably comprises a flexible disc having a central portion which is movable rearwardly from the plane of the disc in a direction towards the rollers by means of a cam arrangement. Preferably, the camming action of the cam arrangement is activated by a lever movable in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the disc. Preferably the lever swings in an arc above the level of the cam arrangement, the enclosure and the liquid catchment means, in use. Preferably, the cam arrangement has a cover extending into the enclosure, the cover being arranged to deflect the leather upwards as it leaves the rollers in use. Preferably, the wringer includes a manual engagement area at a position opposite to the suction means. Preferably, the manual engagement area is positioned opposite the centre of the suction device.
In a preferred embodiment, the suction means comprises: a flexible disc; a support member having a concave portion facing the disc; a camming arrangement on the opposite side of the support member to the disc; and a connecting member passing through the support member and connecting the disc to the camming arrangement, whereby operation of the camming arrangement moves the connecting member and draws the central area of the disc into the concave portion of the support member; and in which the camming arrangement includes first and second cam members which have engaging cam surfaces, the first cam member being movable in an arcuate path in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the disc.
This construction eliminates the need for any operative components in the area behind the camming mechanism, though this is not strictly essential and other arrangements of suction devices may be employed.
Preferably, the disc is made of rubber or a plastics material. Preferably the support member is in the form of a rigid circular cup of metal or plastics whose rim engages the rear surface of the disc and whose diameter is smaller than the diameter of the disc. Thus, when the central area of the disc is drawn into the cup, the protruding outer periphery of the disc maintains contact with the surface of the article which is to be engaged by the suction device, and permits the suction device to adhere positively not only to flat surfaces but to curved surfaces also. The device is even applicable to surfaces which are curved in more than one direction, for example vehicle windows.
Preferably, the connecting member is a rod which is attached to the disc. Preferably, the camming arrangement includes an operating lever connected to and extending generally radially from the first cam member, whereby movement of the lever causes the first cam member to follow its arcuate path. Conveniently, the first cam member has an arcuate cam profile defining its cam surface while the second cam member is a cam follower and is connected to the connecting member. Alternatively, the first cam member may constitute the cam follower and the second cam member may define a stationary profiled cam surface.
Preferably, the connecting member is a square cross-section rod which passes through a correspondingly square shaped hole in the support member, and wh

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