Commonly, lint is known as meaning short fine fibres, which separate from cloth and other materials and which can lie on the surface of clothing and other surfaces. A variety of methods for lint removal are known in the art. A commonly used known lint remover consists of a roll of a lint-removing adhesive-bearing material rotatably mounted on a spindle, attached to a handle. In use, the user rolls the lint remover around the spindle over or along the surface of an object and any lint on the surface adheres to the lint- removing adhesive material. Lint rollers may also pick up and remove other materials such as hairs including pet fur, dust and other particles. In this specification, the word "lint" is intended to encompass all of these materials. The lint-removing material is provided in a roll, so that once an area of the material has been used up, and is no longer sticky because it is covered with lint, the used-up area can be torn off to reveal a new unused area below. The roll can be perforated into discrete sheets that can be torn off. Alternatively, the discrete sheets of a roll may not contain perforated parts between them but the roll may comprise discrete sheets simply placed next to one another around the roll. As known in the art, the sheets have a backing and a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) used as the sticky material on the sheets can adhere to the backing of the sheets, when rolled, but may be pulled apart by a user. In other words, the sticking force of the PSA on the backing can be overcome by a user removing one sheet from the roll. Preferably, the sheet may be perforated or separated on a bias with respect to the roll, i.e. diagonally. However, there are several problems with known lint removers. The known arrangements are quite large and not easily portable. As the lint-removing adhesive material is always exposed around the roll, the lint-removing adhesive material can pick up any dirt or unwanted material, particularly when being transported. This renders the adhesive less effective for lint-removing and also very unsightly as the adhesive is covered in lint, hair, dirt and debris. Furthermore this means that more sheets of lint-removing sticky materially are used. Additionally, known lint rollers do not provide a good user experience. Some examples of known lint roller assemblies are disclosed in

GB2257618 (A) and EP0966915 (A1 ).

Some efforts have been made to overcome these problems, for example US patent publication 201 1 /0078866 A1 discloses a transportable lint remover. However this application does not fully address the problems mentioned above as the lint remover is bulky and difficult to operate.

US patent publication 2012/0284939 A1 discloses a further roller assembly which includes a separate case in the manner of a spectacles case and is therefore rather bulky.

Furthermore US patent publication 2005/0183223 A1 discloses a roll of adhesive-coated material within a hinged housing.

A further prior art lint remover is described in international patent publication WO 83/01734. In this arrangement the roll of lint is also included in a split or divided casing.

Further prior art lint removers are disclosed in German publication

DE 1993135 U and Japanese patent publication JP 2007319462 A. An improved lint remover was disclosed by the present applicants in

publication WO 2014/167093. The improved device disclosed in that publication was a device intended to be carried around by users on their person or in a handbag and the like. What is now needed is an improved lint- removing device that may be used in the home. Therefore, in addition to being able to remove lint from clothes or the person, the device should be provided to allow users to remove lint from hard-to-reach or remote places, for example high up on the walls of a house, curtains and the like. Ideally the device should be long enough to enable the users to reach these places without having to stretch or climb a ladder. Incidentally such a device would also be useful to remove lint or pet hair from lower trouser legs or shoes, without the user bending down, by virtue of the length of the device.

However, such a device also needs to have the advantageous feature of allowing the sticky lint-removing material to be covered up and protected when the device is not being used. For example, when the device is stored for an extended period, the lint-removing material needs to be covered so that it does not accumulate lint or dust carried in the air, which would render the lint- removing material less sticky and less effective.

As the skilled person will appreciate from the following description, the present invention meets these needs for a lint-removing device for the home.

According to the present invention there is provided a device for removing lint, the device comprising:

a handle;

a rotatable actuator coupled with or formed by the handle;

a housing which is dimensioned and configured to house a roll of lint-removing material, the housing including at least one cover portion which is moveable between an open state in which the roll of lint- removing material is in a deployed state and a closed state in which the roll of lint-removing material is covered;

wherein the rotatable actuator is operatively connected to or with the at least one cover portion so as to effect said moveability.

Preferably the handle is a telescopic handle, preferably comprising three nested tubular sections.

Advantageously the actuator is formed by the handle.

Conveniently the cover portion comprises two or more leaves.

Preferably the cover portion is rotatable coaxially with respect to a housing axis substantially defined by the roll of lint-removing material.

Conveniently the actuator is rotatable about a handle axis substantially defined by the long axis of the handle.

Advantageously the handle axis is substantially perpendicular with respect to the housing axis.

Preferably the actuator is directly or indirectly connected with the cover portion with one or more cables. Conveniently the cables connecting the actuator with the cover portion comprise two cables arranged in a push/pull configuration.

Advantageously the device further comprises at least one cable guide, or two cable guides or one cable guide per cable, the cable guide or guides being arranged for maintaining a boundary of travel for the cable or cables. Preferably the cable or cables extend from the actuator in a plane substantially perpendicular with respect to the handle axis, and extend to the cover portion in a plane substantially perpendicular with respect to the housing axis. Conveniently the actuator is connected with a rotatable axle which is in turn connected with the cover portion.

Advantageously the axle is provided with a traveller having a projection, the traveller being configured to engage with a corresponding slot in at least one leaf of the cover portion thereby causing the rotation thereof in use.

Preferably the corresponding slot in the at least one leaf is a circumferential slot. Conveniently the cover portion comprises first and second leaves, wherein the projection engages with the first leaf and wherein the projection to engages with a corresponding aperture in the second leaf, thereby causing the second leaf to rotate when the axle is rotated. Advantageously the axle is substantially disposed within the roll of lint- removing material.

Preferably at least part of the cover portion, preferably comprising two leaves, is disposed within the roll of lint-removing material and wherein the axle is connected with the part of the cover portion within the roll of lint-removing material.

Conveniently the roll of lint-removing material is attached to the housing by way of a clip, the clip including at least one spindle around which the roll of lint- removing material may rotate. Preferably an inner surface of at least one of the at least one cover portions comprises a plurality of projections.

Advantageously the projections are ridges parallel to the axis of rotation of the roll of lint-removing material.

Conveniently the projections are ridges non-parallel to the axis of rotation of the roll of lint-removing material. Preferably the projections are upwardly projecting fingers.

Advantageously, the housing has a long axis and the projections extend along the inner surface over the entire long axis of the housing, or wherein the projections extend along the inner surface over part of the long axis of the housing, or wherein the projections extend along the inner surface over multiple parts of the long axis of the housing.

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention, in the non-extended and closed configurations.

Figure 2 is a perspective view corresponding to that of Figure 1 , in the non- extended but open configurations.

Figure 3 is a perspective view corresponding with that of Figure 1 but in the extended, closed configuration.

Figure 4 is a cross-section through a device according to the present invention (with the roll of lint-removing material not shown) in the non-extended and closed configuration. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view corresponding with that of Figure 4 but in the extended configuration. Figure 6 shows a detail of Figure 4.

Figure 7 shows a detail of Figure 4 but in a partially closed configuration.

Figure 8 is a perspective and exploded view of a device of the invention.

Figure 9 is a partially exploded version of Figure 6, with the roll of lint-removing material included.

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the detail of Figure 6 but with a cover not shown in order to display internal elements.

Figure 1 1 is a cross-section through the line X-X of Figure 6.

Figure 12A is a cross-sectional view of an arrangement of housing of the invention.

Figure 12B is a perspective view of the arrangement of Figure 12A.

Figure 1 depicts generally a device 100 according to the present invention. The device includes a handle 1 which is to be held and manipulated by the user during use. As will be explained later below, the handle itself can act as the actuator of the device or the handle can be linked to a further component which actuates the device. Either way, in use it is the user's manipulation of the handle 1 which causes the device 100 to operate in an opening and closing manner as described in detail below.

At the distal end of the handle 1 there is provided a housing 2 which houses the various operative components of the device. It can also be seen that there is provided a cover portion 3 which is provided to keep the roll of lint-removing material (not shown in Figure 1 ) covered and protected when the device is not in use. As shown in Figure 1 , the cover portion 3 here comprises two leaves 31 and 32, the function of which will be described in detail below.

As used in the present specification, an "open" or "deployed" configuration of the device means that the roll of lint-removing material is displayed and can do its job of picking up lint from surfaces. In a "closed" or "undeployed" configuration, the cover portion 3 of the housing 2 covers up the roll of lint- removing material so that it is protected.

Figure 2 shows the device 100 of Figure 1 in an open or deployed

configuration in which the roll of lint-removing material 4 is exposed and may perform its function of picking up lint. The lint-removing materials are known in the art. Lint-removing materials may be any substance that lint can adhere to, for example an adhesive on one side of a backing material, i.e. an adhesive tape using, for example, a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

In the arrangement shown, the roll of lint-removing material comprises a roller on which is wound a roll of lint-removing material. The roller is a cylindrical tube and is mounted in the housing 2 in such a way that the roller may rotate around the long axis of the cylinder. As is known in the art for existing lint rollers, the roll of lint removing material may be perforated to form sheets which may be sequentially torn off to reveal unused sheets below. Turning now to Figure 3 it can be seen that the arrangement of the invention is telescopically extendible. The handle 1 includes three tubular aluminium portions 101 , 102 and 103 (not shown in Figure 3) all of which are

dimensioned and configured to nest within each other and within handle 1 . In other words, tubular portion 101 has a smaller diameter than that of portion 102 and tubular portion 102 has a smaller diameter than tubular portion 103. Therefore, as will be appreciated, by extension of the three tubular portions 101 , 102 and 103 the device may be extended beyond the original length of handle 1 .

The handle and tubular portions may be constructed of any suitable material but preferred is the use of extruded aluminium for lightness. Once extended, the tubular portions 101 , 102 and 103 may be locked in place with respect to each other as shown in Figure 3 using tighteners 104 and 105. As shown, these tighteners may be twisted in order to lock adjacent tubular portions in place. For example, tightener 104 locks portions 101 and 102 with respect to each other. However, the telescoping assembly can be any telescoping assembly known in the art, for example that used in so-called "selfie-sticks" or the arrangement commonly used in tent poles comprising sprung buttons which project from one tubular portion e.g. 101 into the next tubular portion e.g. 102, through a hole in tubular portion 102, in order to lock the tubular portions in place.

It is to be appreciated here that the most distal tubular portion 101 is connected to the actuator of the device which will be described further below. The most proximal tubular portion 103 (not shown here because it is nested inside handle 1 ) is connected to the handle 1 . Handle 1 acts in the example shown as a neat cover in which all of the tubular portions 101 , 102 and 103 together with tighteners 104 and 105 may sit when the device is not in use. However it is to be appreciated that the handle 1 i.e. the outer cover itself is not essential and that the user could instead grasp the most proximal tubular portion 103 instead of a handle 1 . Nevertheless, the handle 1 is a preferred neater solution.

It should also be noted from Figure 3 that the handle 1 includes a clip 106 which clips into the housing 2 in order to keep the entire telescoping assembly locked in place when not being used. Furthermore it should be noted that the entire telescoping assembly 101 , 102, 103 and 1 , when locked together using tighteners 104 and 105, is rotatable as one. The individual portions may not rotate independently with respect to each other in use. Turning to Figure 4, some of the features described in relation to Figure 3 can be seen in more detail, in particular the most proximal tubular portion 103 is now visible. Furthermore, it can be seen how the clip 106 fits into the stem of the housing 2. In particular, the stem of the housing 2 has a corresponding lip 107 over which the clip 106 must pass to be housed. Once the clip 106 has passed the lip 107 it is locked in place but the clip 106 may be allowed to pass the lip 107, to extend the device, simply by squeezing the distal end of the handle inwardly to deform the clip 106.

It is also shown in Figure 4 how the most distal tubular portion 101 is attached to a rotatable actuator 20 which here takes the shape of a cup. As mentioned above the entire telescoping assembly is locked together so that the telescoping assembly rotates as a unity. It therefore follows that rotation of the telescoping assembly furthermore causes the actuator 20 to rotate, and this movement will be described in greater detail later. Figure 5 depicts the arrangement from Figure 4 but in the telescoping, extended configuration.

Figure 6 depicts in more detail the operative or working end of the apparatus. Figure 6 allows an especially detailed look at the operation of the cover portion 3 having leaves 31 and 32. As will be seen here, in the depicted embodiment the cover portion includes two leaves 31 and 32 which are each essentially segments of a cylinder being a 120° segments of the theoretical 360° circumference of the cylinder. While the devicE here shows just two leaves 31 and 32 it is to be appreciated that the device could alternatively have just one leaf portion or more than one leaf portion, for example three leaves. Additionally, each leaf need not necessarily be a precise proportion of the 360° circumference of the cylindrical portion d the housing. Each leaf could have slightly more than an exact proportion of the circumference of the housing in order to provide an overlap between the leaves.

It can be seen from Figure 6 that the device includes an axle 40. This axle 40 is rotatable along the long axis of the generally cylindrical housing 2 and leaves 31 and 32, shown here as the x axis. Also it will be appreciated that the roll of lint removing material 4 is cylindrical and fits into the cylindrical portion of the housing. Accordingly the axle 40 is rotatable about the same long axis as the roll of lint-removing material.

Figure 6 shows how leaf 32 is provided with a circumferential slot 34, provided in around 120° of the circumference of leaf return 32a. In the view of Figure 6 the projecting finger 35 is not visible. However it is clear from Figures 7 and 8, in which the device is partially in the closed position, that the projecting finger 35 of traveller 33 passes through an aperture 36 provided within the leaf return 31 a, and that the finger projects into slot 34 in leaf return 32a. See in particular Figure 8 which is a partially exploded view of the partially closed device. Bearing in mind that the axle 40, traveller 33 and projection 35 are all connected together, because the projection 35 is captured through the aperture 36 in leaf return 31 a, with no circumferential rotation of the finger being possible with respect to leaf return 31 a, rotation of the axle 40 translates into a rotation of leaf 31 . So, when moving from an open state of the device to a closed state, rotation of the axle 40 will immediately cause the inner leaf 31 to rotate to a closed position. Noting that projection 35 is able to rotate circumferentially around the slot 34 of leaf return 32a, for around 120° of circumference fn this example), while inner leaf 31 begins to close, outer leaf 32 will not yet rotate. However, once the finger 35 reaches the top extremity of slot 34 it can no longer circumferentially move through the slot and therefore begins to cause the leaf 32 to also rotate to a closed position. In this manner, when moving from an open state of the device 100 to a closed state, the inner leaf 31 will firstly rotate through 120° before the outer leaf 32 also rotates through 120° until the device 100 is fully closed. The mechanism of action is the opposite when the device is opened. The leaf returns 31 a and 32a described here are portions of the overall leaf structures 31 and 32 which are "returned" inwardly with respect to the portion of the leaves 31 and 32 which present the closed face of the device. The leaf returns 31 a and 32a are connected respectively with the leaves 31 and 32 at one end of the leaves and are nested cup-like structures which are configured to fit within the roll of lint removing material 4. As can be seen for example in Figure 6, a pocket 37 is formed between leaf 31 and its corresponding leaf return 31 a, which pocket is of sufficient thickness to house the thickness of the roll of lint-removing material 4. The roll of lint-removing material 4 is, in this example, a hollow tube having sheets of lint-removing material wrapped around it. Therefore the pocket 37 is wide enough to accept both the thickness of the tube itself together with the thickness of lint-removing material wound around the tube.

It will be appreciated that the respectively leaves 31 and 32 may be provided with a friction fit with respect to each other, and with respect to other parts of the device, the friction fit requiring a positive pressure to overcome (i.e. by rotation of the apparatus as previously described) and thereby preventing inadvertent rotation. The friction fit may be a simple smooth projection or a convex bump which projects from one leaf into a corresponding concave depression in the other leaf. A small amount of force from the user, when rotating the axle 40 causes the projection to disengage from the depression and thereby allow rotation of the respective leaves.

It should also be noted that the leaves 31 and 32, while in use presenting to the user a generally cylindrical rotatable element, also include portions which are "returned" back in on themselves i.e. the portions of leaves 31 a and 32a that are operatively connected with the axle 40 and its corresponding parts 33 and 35. The purpose of this is so that the axle can be essentially fitted within the length of the roll of lint-removing material 4, thereby shortening the effective width of the overall device. In this way when in the open configuration the majority of the width of the device displays lint-removing material when in the open position. If the axle and the inverted portions of the leaves (leaf- returns 31 a and 32a) were not positioned within the roll of lint-removing material then not only would the device have a larger width but also a part of that width would not be an operative lint-removing surface.

Figure 9 shows in more detail how the roll of lint-removing material 4 fits into the housing 2. The roll of lint-removing material 4 is inserted over the axle 40 and leaf returns 31 a, 32a assembly previously described and may freely rotate. At the other end of the roll of lint-removing material 4 a clip 50 is provided. The clip 50 includes a spindle 51 which fits within the roll of lint- removing material in a loose fit, allowing the roll of lint-removing material 4 to rotate about the spindle. Clip 50 also includes pegs 52 and 53 which allow the clip 50 to be affixed in a temporary manner into the housing 2. It is to be appreciated that the clip 50 should be removable so that when the roll of lint- removing material 4 is used up, the clip 50 can be removed and the roll of lint- removing material 4 can be removed from the device and replaced.

Turning to Figure 10 it can be seen in more detail how rotation of the handle 1 results in rotation of the axle 40 and results therefore in the opening action of the leaves 31 and 32. In Figure 10 an external portion of the housing 20 has been omitted from the drawing in order to allow the reader to view the operative internal elements. As previously explained, the handle 1 is effectively coupled in a unified manner to the actuator 20 which takes the form of a cup. Accordingly, rotation of the handle around a handle axis (shown here as y) causes the actuator 20 to rotate about the same axis in the same manner. Attached to actuator 20 is a pair of cables 51 and 52. These cables act as a "push/pull" system, like in the push/pull systems known in throttle cables of motorbikes. For example, when the actuator 20 is rotated in a clockwise direction around the y axis as depicted, this pulls cable 52 (i.e. putting cable 52 under tension) while pushing cable 51 in the opposite direction. When the direction of rotation of actuator 20 is reversed, i.e. in an anticlockwise direction as shown, it is cable 51 which is pulled while cable 52 is pushed.

Whereas first ends of respective cables 51 and 52 are fixedly attached to actuator 20, for example by way of nipples as known in the art, it can be seen that respective opposite ends of cables 51 and 52 are fixedly attached to the axle 40. Therefore it will be appreciated when viewing Figure 8 that rotation in the y-axis (handle axis) of handle 1 and actuator 20 translates to a rotation in the x-axis (housing axis) of the axle. As previously explained the axle 40 is operatively connected to the cover portion of the device including leaves 31 and 32, allowing the cover portion to therefore open and close. It will be noted from Figure 10 that the points of attachment of cables 51 and 52 on both the actuator 20 and the axle 40 are axially offset. This is so as to avoid the cables 51 and 52 overlapping each other when they are wound around both the actuator 20 and axle 40 in use. As shown if Figure 1 1 , the cable runners 54 and 55 are therefore offset along the handle axis, as shown with runner 54 at a lower axial position than runner 55. It can also be seen that actuator 20 and axle 40 are provided with respective grooves, shown generally as 53, so that when the cables 51 and 52 are wound, they are properly seated on the actuator and axle.

Moreover, the device is provided with a chassis 50 on which the housing shell may be mounted. Additionally, the chassis is provided with cable runners 54 and 55 which allow for the smooth movement of the cables. The cable runners maintain the cables in a fixed orientation with respect to each other even when the cables 51 and 52 are moving laterally through the runners. As will be appreciated, the cables can be constructed from any material useful in the art, for example the same materials used for gear cables in bicycles. This material could be, for example, a solid material of plastics or metal or a wire rope. The wire rope may be of a completely stranded construction or may comprise a solid core with an outer braided construction. The solid inner core allows for a stronger "pushing" action in the pull/push operation explained above.

As can be seen in many other figures, the chassis 50 is connected to the housing 2 via screws 60. See in particular Figure 6 where just one screw 60 is identified, for clarity but all four screws are identical.

In use, a user could firstly choose to extend the telescopic assembly in order to extend the device to its fullest extent or to part of its fullest extent. For example it is envisaged that the length of the entire telescopic assembly 1 , 101 , 102, 103 could be one metre or more. After extending the assembly and locking it into place via tighteners 104 and 105, the user can then rotate the handle 1 , in turn causing the actuator 20 to rotate. This rotation is translated to the axle 40 as described above which allows the leaves 31 and 32 of the cover portion 3 to open, thereby deploying the roll of lint-removing material 4. When finished, the user can simply rotate the handle 1 in the opposite direction, causing the cover portion 3 to reclose. The telescopic assembly can then be compacted for easy storage of the device 100. Alternatively, the cover portion 3 can firstly open as described before the telescopic assembly is extended. Furthermore the cover portion 3 can be opened and the device used even if the telescoping assembly is not extended, for example where only a shorter handle length is required. Moreover it is not essential to provide a telescoping assembly. Rather, the handle 1 can be connected with the actuator 20 without any telescoping assembly and the handle 1 itself rotated to cause rotation of actuator 20. In this example, the handle 1 can be either a relatively shorter handle for example 30 centimetres or can itself be a relatively longer handle for example 1 metre to 1 .5 metres.

Because the roll of lint-removing material is covered when the device is in the closed position, the sticky lint-removing material will not pick up dust, lint or other debris when the device is not being used. Moreover the device can be conveniently stored with the housing bottom-most e.g. resting on the floor, without the roll of lint-removing material sticking to the floor or picking up debris. In the examples described here, for example in Figure 6, the combination of the handle with the housing creates a "T-shaped" arrangement in which the handle 1 generally intersects the housing 2 perpendicularly at a central location leading to an inverted T-shape as shown. However it is to be appreciated that the handle portion 1 (and corresponding actuator 20) could intersect anywhere along the long axis of housing 2, from between a central position as shown in Figure 6 to one extreme end of the housing 2. If the handle 1 intersects with housing 2 at an extreme end thereof, this thereby perpendicularly forms an "L-shape", which is also envisaged by the present invention. The inner surface of at least one of the at least one cover portions of the device may comprise a plurality of projections 170 (depicted in FIG. 12A and 12B). As depicted, the projections may take the form of ridges parallel to the axis of rotation of the roll of lint-moving material. Projections may also take the form of ridges oriented to this axis or upwardly projecting fingers. The term "finger" means a discrete, point-like projection, which may have a circular, rectangular or some other suitable shape of cross-section. The projections act to reduce the possible surface area touching between the lint-removing material and the housing. If the roll of the lint-removing material fits loosely on the roller, any knocks to the device could cause the lint-removing material and the inner surface of the housing to come into contact. The amount of dirt and unwanted material picked up from the inner surface of the housing, on contact, is reduced by reducing the surface area of contact. It can be seen that minimising the total surface area of the projections is desirable to minimise the possibility of the lint-removing material picking up unwanted material from the housing.

Where the housing has a long axis, the projections may be made to extend along the entire long axis of the inner surface of the housing. Alternatively, the projections may only extend along part or multiple parts of the long axis of the inner surface of the housing. The preferred aspect of the present invention comprises projections extending along the entire long axis of the housing.

When used in this specification and claims, the terms "comprises" and

"comprising" and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components. The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.