Plungers, toilet brushes, and caddy assembiles

Abstract

Plungers and cleaning implement assemblies are described. The plungers include a handle having a tapering portion and a grip and a plunger member attached to the handle opposite the grip. The plunger member has a handle engagement portion configured to securely engage with the handle, at least one compression rib, a contact rib having an increased wall thickness section, wherein the increased wall thickness section of the contact rib is greater than a wall thickness of the at least one compression rib, and a plunger rim defining an opening to an internal cavity defined by the plunger member. The plunger member has a non-circular geometric shape in profile taken in a plane normal to an axis through the handle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A plunger comprising:
 a handle having a tapering portion and a grip; and   a plunger member attached to the handle opposite the grip, the plunger member comprising:
 a handle engagement portion configured to securely engage with the handle; 
 at least one compression rib; 
 a contact rib having an increased wall thickness section, wherein the increased wall thickness section of the contact rib is greater than a wall thickness of the at least one compression rib; and 
 a plunger rim defining an opening to an internal cavity defined by the plunger member, 
 wherein the plunger member has a non-circular geometric shape in profile taken in a plane normal to an axis through the handle. 
   
     
     
         2 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the increased wall thickness section has a wall thickness that is between 5% and 50% greater than the wall thickness of the at least one compression rib. 
     
     
         3 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the at least on compression rib is three compression ribs. 
     
     
         4 . The plunger of  claim 3 , wherein the three compression ribs are different sizes such that when the plunger member is compressed the compression ribs nest within each other. 
     
     
         5 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the handle engagement portion has a greater material thickness than the rest of the plunger member. 
     
     
         6 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is substantially D-shaped. 
     
     
         7 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the handle comprises a plunger engagement portion configured to securely engage with the plunger engagement portion of the plunger member. 
     
     
         8 . The plunger of  claim 7 , wherein the plunger engagement portion comprises a locking pin and the handle engagement portion comprises a locking channel configured to receive the locking pin and secure the engagement between the plunger engagement portion and the handle engagement portion to prevent relative rotation between the plunger engagement portion and the handle engagement portion. 
     
     
         9 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the grip of the handle is bulbous. 
     
     
         10 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is a trapezoid shape. 
     
     
         11 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is one of an egg, oval, or ovoid shape. 
     
     
         12 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is a rectangular or rounded rectangular shape. 
     
     
         13 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is a triangular or rounded triangular shape. 
     
     
         14 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is a diamond or rounded diamond shape. 
     
     
         15 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is a pillow, peanut, or two-lobed shape. 
     
     
         16 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is an oval, racetrack, obround, or discorectangular shape. 
     
     
         17 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is a shape that is non-circular and asymmetrical about at least one axis. 
     
     
         18 . The plunger of  claim 1 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape incorporates a multi-curvature geometry. 
     
     
         19 . A cleaning implement assembly comprising:
 a caddy configured to receive a plunger; and   a plunger comprising:
 a handle having a tapering portion and a grip; and 
 a plunger member attached to the handle opposite the grip, the plunger member comprising:
 a handle engagement portion configured to securely engage with the handle; 
 at least one compression rib; 
 a contact rib having an increased wall thickness section, wherein the increased wall thickness section of the contact rib is greater than a wall thickness of the at least one compression rib; and 
 a plunger rim defining an opening to an internal cavity defined by the plunger member, 
 wherein the plunger member has a non-circular geometric shape in profile taken in a plane normal to an axis through the handle. 
 
   
     
     
         20 . The cleaning implement assembly of  claim 19 , wherein the caddy comprises a body, a base, and a holder, wherein the holder is configured to receive the tapered portion of the handle. 
     
     
         21 . The cleaning implement assembly of  claim 20 , wherein the plunger is retained by the holder such that the plunger rim does not contact the base of the caddy. 
     
     
         22 . The cleaning implement assembly of  claim 19 , further comprising an assembly base, wherein the caddy is configured to be removably supported on the assembly base. 
     
     
         23 . The cleaning implement assembly of  claim 22 , wherein the assembly base is configured to receive more than one caddy, the cleaning implement assembly further comprising:
 a second caddy; and   a cleaning implement removably housed within the second caddy.   
     
     
         24 . The cleaning implement assembly of  claim 23 , wherein the cleaning implement is a toilet cleaning brush. 
     
     
         25 . The cleaning implement assembly of  claim 23 , wherein each of the caddy and the second caddy are removably coupled to the assembly base and adjustable in orientation with respect to each other when installed to the assembly base. 
     
     
         26 . The cleaning implement assembly of  claim 19 , wherein the non-circular geometric shape is substantially D-shaped.