Monday, October 14, 2019

Oh, patents! Evercare® Lint roller

Copyright ©  Françoise Herrmann

Got lint on your clothes? Pet hairs?

Lint rollers will remove this unsightly fluff in a single sweep. Comprising a roll of adhesive tape and a  handle around which the adhesive roll of tape rotates, lint rollers (in a variety of different shapes and forms) will rid you of all the unwanted fibers that might be clinging to your clothes and elsewhere.

The assembly of the Evercare® lint roller is patented in the US utility patent US6055695A titled Lint roller assembly. This patented invention resolves the prior art problematic situation of handles breaking off the roller support section, since both the handle and roller support were molded as separate sections, in separate molds. In contrast, the invention lint roller handle and lint roller support are molded as two single hollow and substantially similar pieces to be assembled longitudinally rather than transversally. Thus, once the two longitudinal sections of the invention lint roller assembly are connected together, preferably using pins and sockets molded inside the hollow sections, they form a single connected handle and cylindrical roller support. 

Likewise, the invention lint roller assembly resolves the prior art problematic situation of lint roller friction, preventing free rotation around the roller support.  In contrast, the invention lint roller support part of the assembly is molded with evenly spaced ribs, intended to minimally contact the lint roller, and thus to minimize any friction that might prevent free rotation of the roller around its support.

The Figure 1 exploded drawing of the invention and an image of the marketed Evercare® lint roller product are included below, together with the abstract of this invention.

The Figure 1 patent drawing shows an elevated exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, comprising the lint roller assembly 10. The lint roller assembly 10 is depicted both assembled in the center, and prior to assembly on each side, with substantially similar hollow longitudinal parts 12. The two substantially similar hollow longitudinal parts 12 further comprise a handle portion 14 and lint roller support portion 16. When both parts come together they form the assembled handle 15 and the lint roller support 17, in the center. The adhesive lint roller 20, which is inserted over the lint roller support 17, is also depicted. 


A lint roller assembly is disclosed for rotatably supporting a tubular and cylindrical adhesive lint remover roller. The assembly includes a pair of elongated housing parts which are substantially identical to each other. Each housing part includes an elongated handle section and a semi-cylindrical lint roller support section longitudinally adjacent the handle section. The lint roller support section has an outer diameter less than the diameter of the adhesive roller. The housing parts are secured together in a facing relationship by registering pins and sockets formed on the housing parts. In doing so, the lint roller support sections form a cylindrical lint roller support for the adhesive roller while the handle sections abut against each other to form a handle. [Abstract US6055695A]
Reference
Evercare®

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