This invention pertains to a swab for cleaning. More particularly, the invention pertains to a swab having a tip or cleaning head portion that is formed from a pull-truded fibrous material and a method for making such swabs.
Swabs are used in all manners of cleaning. For example, everyone will recognize common cotton tipped swabs that are used for person hygiene and care. Because of the compact and effective nature of these swabs, they have been adopted for use in numerous areas of technology and manufacture. One such area is the manufacture of electrical components and more specifically connectors for use in the telecommunications industry.
One particular type of connector used in the telecommunications industry is for use in fiber optic cables. In splicing or connecting fiber optic cable sections to one another, a connector is used. A typical connector includes a male portion and a female portion. During assembly of these cable sections, it is not unusual for pieces of debris and/or ambient soils, such as pieces of fiber or fiber coating debris to be left within the ends of the connectors. It is also not unusual for light oils, such as fingerprint and other natural skin oils and synthetic oils to be found on the ends of the connectors. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, this debris and the oils can significantly degrade or prevent the transmission capabilities of the cables across the connectors.
Numerous types of cleaning implements have been used, with some degrees of success, to clean these particularly susceptible areas. It has, however, been observed that cleaning implements formed from non-particulate removing materials may not be acceptable for use in these connectors. Specifically, it has been found that particulates can become lodged in and around the connectors, thus adversely effecting the quality of the telecommunications signal.
In addition, it has been observed that these connectors can vary from one type to another. For example, the connector female end can be formed as having a flat inner end surface, a concave surface or a convex surface. To this end, it has been found that regardless of the type of cleaning implement used, debris that settles into and around corners and oils that are present in these areas of the connector devices cannot be adequately removed.
Moreover, many of the currently used cleaning devices use foam-based cleaning heads. The foam portions of these devices can adversely affect the fiber optic conductors or may scratch the microscopic conductors. In addition, there are no currently known cleaning implements that can be used to clean the inside diameter of fiber optic connector ferrules.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a swab-type cleaning device that can be used for cleaning a variety of delicate, electrical and electro-mechanical devices, and particularly fiber optic connectors. Desirably, such a device is configured so that it can be used to clean narrow or small spaces, without degrading when cleaning slots and the like in devices such as fiber optic connectors, as well as junction regions of walls and/or surfaces. Most desirably, such a cleaning device removes contaminants, including particulate and light oils without leaving any of its own debris, such as particulate or matter.
A swab for cleaning for example, fiber optic connectors and electrical and electro-mechanical components includes an elongated handle having a cleaning head end and a grasping end, and a cleaning head secured to the handle. The handle defines a longitudinal axis and defines a securing region.
The cleaning head or tip is formed from a plurality of fibers that are pulled through a die to compress the fibers into the substantially rigid, elongated cleaning head. The cleaning head is secured to the handle at the cleaning head end. The handle and cleaning tip define a longitudinal axis.
In a preferred embodiment, the cleaning tip is formed from polyester fibers. Preferably, the handle is a hollow tubular member that defines a central bore and the cleaning tip is formed having a shape and a dimension for inserting into the handle bore. In this arrangement, the cleaning tip is secured to the handle by friction-fit. Alternately, the cleaning tip is secured to the handle by heat, by an adhesive, by ultrasonic welding or the like.
The swab can include a tether secured to the handle grasping end. The tether can be secured to the handle by insertion into the handle bore. Alternately, the tether can be attached to the handle by a grip portion mounted externally over the grasping end of the handle.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.