Utility brush
The invention provides for an improved article of manufacturing, being a utility brush that is designed to be made from material that minimizes abrasion to surfaces. This brush is made from materials excluding metal and other materials that can cause abrasion to surfaces upon the utility brush making physical contact with those surfaces. The utility brush being further designed to be made of material that excludes adhesives, where adhesives can be vulnerable to decomposition caused by physical contact with chemical solvents that could be applied to the utility brush or to the surfaces. The brush can be further dimensioned and/or customized, to brush surfaces located within oddly dimensioned and/or difficult to access spaces, including small and/or narrow spaces and crevices.
1 . A utility brush, including:
a handle being made from a material including polypropylene;
a bristle sleeve including a backing layer and pile of bristles,
said backing layer being made from a material including polypropylene and having an interior and an exterior surface, and wherein said interior surface of said backing layer being configured to be attachable to said handle; and wherein said exterior surface of said backing layer being attached to said pile of bristles;
said bristle sleeve being configured to be wrapped around said handle so that said interior surface of said bristle sleeve is in physical contact with an outer surface of said handle; and wherein
said backing layer of said bristle sleeve being attached to said outer surface of said handle at a plurality of points, spatially separated from each other, along said handle and said backing layer, wherein one or more groups of different ones of said plurality of points are at a set spatial relationship with each other.
2 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said backing layer of said bristle sleeve is attached to said outer surface of said handle at each of said plurality of points by ultrasonic welding with multiple probes extending from a structure in accordance with said set spatial relationship of said different ones of said plurality of points.
3 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said pile of bristles are attached to said exterior surface of said backing layer of said bristle sleeve via ultrasonic welding of said bristles to said exterior surface of said backing layer of said bristle sleeve.
4 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said pile of bristles are attached to said backing layer of said bristle sleeve via weaving of said bristle material through said backing layer of said bristle sleeve.
5 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein bristle material is arranged to form a cyclic loop pattern prior to attachment of said bristle material to said exterior surface of said backing layer of said bristle sleeve, and wherein said bristle material is severed at a plurality of locations to create severed ends of said bristle material, and wherein said severed ends of said bristle material are protruding away from said backing layer and said handle.
6 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said pile of bristles are marked via directing of ultrasonic welding energy while employing probes having customized dimensions that melt or discolor distal ends of different ones of said bristles along said backing layer.
7 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said material of one or more of said handle and said backing layer including polypropylene includes at least 30 percent polypropylene by volume and/or by weight.
8 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said material of one or more of said handle and said backing layer including polypropylene includes at least 50 percent polypropylene by volume and/or by weight.
9 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said material of one or more of said handle and said backing layer including polypropylene includes at least 70 percent polypropylene by volume and/or by weight.
10 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said material of one or more of said handle and said backing layer including polypropylene includes at least 90 percent polypropylene by volume and/or by weight.
11 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said backing layer of said bristle sleeve is attached to said outer surface of said handle at each of said plurality of points between different adjacent ones of said pile of bristles protruding from the bristle sleeve.
12 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said set spatial relationship is a one-dimensional array.
13 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said set spatial relationship is a two-dimensional array.
14 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein said set spatial relationship is in accordance with a spatial interval.
15 . The utility brush of claim 1 , wherein two or more of said groups of said different ones of said plurality of points are along at least two different sides of the bristle sleeve when the bristle sleeve is wrapped around said handle.
16 . A method for making a utility brush, including:
providing a handle having an exterior surface and being made from a material including polypropylene;
providing a bristle sleeve including a backing layer and a pile of bristles; and wherein
said bristle sleeve being configured to be wrapped around said handle so that said interior surface of said bristle sleeve is in physical contact with said exterior surface of said handle; and wherein
said backing layer being made from a material including polypropylene and having an interior surface and an exterior surface, and wherein said interior surface of said backing layer is configured to be attachable to said handle; and wherein said exterior surface of said backing layer is attached to said pile of bristles; and
directing energy towards a plurality of points, each of said points being spatially separated from each other along said backing layer and said handle, causing heating and attachment between said exterior surface of said handle and said interior surface of said backing layer, at said points, and wherein one or more groups of different ones of said plurality of points are at a set spatial relationship with each other.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said directing energy is performed via employment of ultrasonic welding utilizing multiple probes extending from a structure in accordance with said set spatial relationship of said different ones of said plurality of points.
18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said step of providing said bristle sleeve further comprises attaching bristle material to said backing layer of said bristle sleeve via ultrasonic welding or weaving of said bristle material to or through, respectively, said backing layer to form said pile of bristles extending from said exterior surface of said backing layer.
19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said plurality of points where energy is directed are each between different adjacent ones of said pile of bristles protruding from the bristle sleeve.
20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein two or more of said groups of said different ones of said plurality of points are along at least two different sides of the bristle sleeve when the bristle sleeve is wrapped around said handle.