THE CLEAN CLAW

GRIFFE PROPRE

English Abstract

The Clean Claw is a plumbing and a sanitation device that can be partially
inserted into a
toilet bowl to facilitate the removal of a feminine hygiene product. The
grasping end can go
deep into the water while the handle remains above the water.

French Abstract

Le Clean Claw est un dispositif de plomberie et de nettoyage qui peut être partiellement inséré dans une cuvette de toilette pour faciliter le retrait dun produit hygiénique féminin. Lextrémité de préhension peut être insérée profondément dans leau pendant que la poignée reste au-dessus de leau.

Claims

6
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A device comprising a 90 cm by 1.27 cm length of flat, oval, premium reed,
bamboo;
which has two isosceles triangular pieces removed that are 3mm wide at the
base and 6mm
in total height, and are positioned with the base along the edge of the reed
10 cm from either
end and on opposite edges of the reed (104), providing a space for the reed to
be pressed
into itself to create a hinge (107) anchoring the reed on itself and causing
the free ends of the
reed to converge when the sides of the handle (103) are pressed towards one
another.

Description

1
Application No. 2,963,805
Description
Title
The Clean Claw
Technical Field
The field of invention is plumbing and sanitation specifically extraction of a
feminine hygiene
product from a toilet bowl, before the toilet is plugged. This device is
designed to remove the
item from the toilet bowl before the toilet is flushed and therefore, before
the opportunity for
the thing to be flushed down the toilet.
Background of the Invention
If you enter any woman's washroom you will see both a sign asking women not to
dispose
of sanitary products in the toilet and a receptacle, usually close to the
toilet, to receive such
items.
What is not being addressed is that it is the act of using the toilet that can
cause the sanitary
product to be released into the toilet. This is not an intentional component
of the act of using
the toilet, but a dilemma follows. If there is waste in the toilet, how can
the offending sanitary
product be removed?
The ubiquitous nature of the signs pleading women not to flush the toilet, at
this point,
suggest many women choose to flush. This results in plugging the plumbing and
often a
subsequent visit from a plumber.
Currently, there are many ways that a plugged toilet can be unplugged. There
are numerous
devices designed to pull the contents of a clog out of the toilet or change
the nature of a plug
in a way that it can be pushed down the pipe and into the sewer.
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2
Application No. 2,963,805
This gadget is designed to give women the option of removing the tampon from
the toilet
bowl, without flushing the toilet. The device is designed to be capable of
extracting the item
and transferring it to another receptacle. All of this is accomplished without
requiring the
woman to soil her hands.
The Clean Claw solves the problem of having a tampon in a dirty toilet bowl
potentially
plugging the toilet, by allowing removal of the tampon before the toilet is
flushed.
Summary of the Invention
The Clean Claw is a device, made of a length of bamboo that can be used to
extract a
tampon from a toilet bowl, without having to flush the toilet. A length of
bamboo is hinged on
itself (Figure 5) in a way that pressing on both sides of the shaft (102)
towards each other,
causes the two sides of the grasping end (101) to come together.
The grasping end (101) is placed around the tampon, which is in the toilet
bowl. The shaft
(102) is squeezed together. This movement causes the two parts of the grasping
end (101)
to come together. Enough hand pressure is applied to hold the tampon in the
grasping end
(101). The user then raises the tampon out of the water and moves it to a
position over the
open receptacle. At this point, the pressure on the shaft (102) can be
released. This causes
the grasping end (101) to open and the tampon falls via gravity into the
receptacle.
Once the tampon is removed from the toilet, the possibility of the tampon
plugging the toilet
has been eliminated. This replaces the current practise of flushing the toilet
and possibly
plugging the plumbing.
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3
Application No. 2,963,805
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1
This is the side view of a toilet showing the placement of the Clean Claw at
the beginning of
the procedure. The grasping end (101) is down near the bottom of the toilet
bowl. The shaft
(102) is positioned above the level of the water. The handle is the curved
part of the device
(103).
Figure 2
A straight piece of 1/2" (1.27 cm) flat, oval, premium reed, bamboo is
illustrated here. The
entire length is 90 cm. The width of the bamboo is 1.27 cm. Some variation
occurs in this
natural product. Triangular cuts (104) have been made into the edge of the
bamboo, as
shown. A serrated edge, which is optional, is shown in this figure.
Figure 3
This is a cross sectional view of the bamboo. It illustrates the shape of the
reed. The
thickness is 2.5 mm in the centre (106) and the thickness tapers down creating
an oval
shape, to 1.5 mm at both edges (105). The bottom of the bamboo (107), as
shown, is flat.
Some variation occurs in this natural product.
Figure 4
A close up of the griping ends (101) are shown here. This figure shows a stage
in the
assembly process. After the cuts are made in the bamboo it is bent so that the
grasping ends
(101) are in proximity to one another and the cuts (104) are lined up. The
optional serrated
edge is shown. The two outside edges are pressed together with the cuts
aligned with one
another. This locks the bamboo into a hinge at the point where the cuts lock
into each other.
(Figure 5)
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Application No. 2,963,805
Figure 5
The Clean Claw is seen assembled, with its parts labeled: (101) is the
grasping end, (102)
is the shaft and (103) is the handle. The single piece of bamboo has been bent
and joined
together at the cuts to form a hinge (107).
Detailed Description
The device is constructed from 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) flat, oval, premium reed,
bamboo. The
reed is manufactured to have curved side (106) and a flat side across its
width. (Figure 3)
The length of the bamboo is cut to 90 cm. The reed comes cut in 1.27 cm widths
and the
thickness is 2.5 mm in the centre (106) tapering down in oval shape, to 1.5 mm
at the edge
(105). (Figure 3)
The bamboo must be straightened to lie flat, first by soaking in water and
then securing it to
a flat surface until dry.
Once dry, two triangular cuts are made (104) as shown in Figure 2. These cuts
are made 10
cm from either end of the reed and go about half way across the reed towards
the thicker
part of the reed. One cut is made on one edge of the reed and the other cut is
made on the
opposite edge. (Figure 2) The cuts are made to remove a small isosceles
triangular piece
creating a space that is 3 mm wide at the edge of the reed and tapers to a
point, 6 mm in
total height.
Serrations are optional and can be cut into the edge of the reed as shown in
Figure 2.
Once cutting is completed, the reed can be bent to bring the cuts into
approximation of each
other. (Figure 4) The reed is pressed together from the outside edges, so that
the cuts lock
into one another creating a hinge (107).
Once assembled, the Clean Claw can be held by the shaft and lowered into the
bowl of a
toilet to retrieve a tampon. This is accomplished by surrounding the tampon
with the grasping
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Application No. 2,963,805
end (101) and squeezing the shaft (102). Squeezing the shaft draws the two
pieces of
the grasping end (101) together. The curved part of the of the reed becomes
the handle
(103).
The pressure is maintained on the shaft until the tampon has been transferred
out of the
toilet and can be released into a receptacle. When the tampon is above the
receptacle, the
pressure on the shaft can be reduced until the tampon falls free of the
device.
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Representative Drawing