Patent Application
20240306882
Not Applicable
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The disclosure relates to vacuum devices and more particularly pertains to a new vacuum device for suctionally removing debris from soles of shoes. The device includes a mat that is positioned on a floor which has a plurality of suction holes upon which a user can stand. The device includes a suction conduit integrated into the mat which is in fluid communication with the plurality of suction holes. The device includes a nozzle attached to the mat which is fluidly coupled to the suction conduit. The nozzle is attachable to a suction hose of a vacuum source.
The prior art relates to vacuum devices including a shoe cleaning device that is embedded into a floor of a building which includes rotating brushes. The prior art discloses a floor mat that includes a plurality of bristles and which is attached to a vacuum. The prior art discloses a shoe cleaning device that includes a foraminous tray which is fluidly coupled to a vacuum source. The prior art discloses a surgical suction mat that has a plurality of grooves for collecting surgical fluids which is fluidly coupled to a vacuum source. The prior art discloses a shoe cleaning mat that includes a plurality of horizontally rotating brushes and a plurality of vertically rotating brushes.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a mat that is positionable on a floor such that the mat can be stepped upon by a user. The mat has a plurality of suction holes integrated into the mat and the plurality of suction holes can be stepped upon by the user. A suction conduit is integrated into the mat and the suction conduit is in communication with the plurality of suction holes. A nozzle is attached to the mat and the nozzle can be fluidly coupled to a suction hose of a vacuum source. The nozzle is in communication with the suction conduit to suck the debris from soles of the user's shoes into the vacuum source when the user steps on the plurality of suction holes.
An alternative embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a vacuum that has a suction hose and a mat that is positionable on a floor such that the mat can be stepped upon by a user. The mat has a plurality of suction holes integrated into the mat and the plurality of suction holes can be stepped upon by the user. A suction conduit is integrated into the mat and the suction conduit is in communication with the plurality of suction holes. A nozzle is attached to the mat and the nozzle can be fluidly coupled to the suction hose of the vacuum. The nozzle is in communication with the suction conduit to suck the debris from soles of the user's shoes into the vacuum when the user steps on the plurality of suction holes.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The mat 12 has a pair of wells 26 each extending downwardly in the top surface 20 and each of the wells 26 has a lower bounding surface 28 and a lateral bounding surface 30. The lateral bounding surface 30 of each of the wells 26 is continuously arcuate such that each of the wells 26 is rounded. Each of the wells 26 is elongated along an axis extending between a front side 32 and a back side 34 of the perimeter surface 24 of the mat 12 such that each of the wells 26 has an ovoid shape. Each of the plurality of suction holes 18 extends through the lower bounding surface 28 of a respective one of the wells 26 and the plurality of suction holes 18 in each of the wells 26 is arranged into a plurality of rows 36 in the respective well 26. Each of the wells 26 may have a width of approximately 15.0 cm and a length of approximately 33.0 cm. Additionally, the wells 26 may be spaced apart from each other a distance of approximately 25.0 cm.
A suction conduit 38 is integrated into the mat 12 and the suction conduit 38 is in communication with the plurality of suction holes 18. The suction conduit 38 is positioned between the top surface 20 and the bottom surface 22 of the mat 12. The suction conduit 38 has a first section 40 extending from a first lateral side 42 of the perimeter surface 24 of the mat 12 toward a second lateral side 44 of the perimeter surface 24 of the mat 12. Furthermore, the first section 40 is positioned between the pair of wells 26 and the back side 34 of the perimeter surface 24 of the mat 12. The conduit has a pair of second sections 46 each extending from the first section 40 beneath a respective one of the wells 26 and each of the second sections 46 intersects with the plurality of suction holes 18 in the respective well 26.
A nozzle 48 is attached to the mat 12 and the nozzle 48 can be fluidly coupled to a suction hose 50 of a vacuum source 52. The vacuum source 52 may be an electric vacuum such as a shop vacuum, for example. The nozzle 48 is in communication with the suction conduit 38 such that each of the plurality of suction holes 18 can suck the debris 54 from soles 56 of the user's shoes 58 into the vacuum source 52 when the user 16 steps on the plurality of suction holes 18. In this way the user 16 does not track the debris 54 into a house, for example, when the user 16 enters the house. The nozzle 48 is attached to the first lateral side 42 of the perimeter surface 24 of the mat 12 and the nozzle 48 is fluidly attached to the first section 40 of the suction conduit 38. The nozzle 48 has a distal end 58 with respect to the perimeter surface 24 of the mat 12 and the distal end 58 is open.
A pair of mesh screens 60 is each positioned over respective ones of the plurality of suction holes 18 such that each of the mesh screens 60 can be stepped upon. Each of the mesh screens 60 has a perimeter edge 62 and each of the mesh screens 60 has a border 64 extending around the perimeter edge 62. Each of the mesh screens 60 is positioned in a respective one of the wells 26 in the top surface 20 of the mat 12 and the border 64 of each of the mesh screens 60 conforms to the lateral bounding surface 30 of the respective mesh screen 60. Each of the mesh screens 60 may be comprised of plastic or other type of resilient material that will not be damaged by the soles 56 of the user's shoes 58.
In use, the mat 12 is placed in a strategic position such that the user 16 can step on the mat 12 once the user 16 comes indoors after being outside. The user 16 stands on each of the mesh screens 60 and the vacuum source 52 is turned on. In this way the suction holes 18 suctionally remove debris 54 from the soles 56 of the user's shoes 58. Furthermore, the user 16 can scrub the soles 56 of their shoes 58 on the mesh screens 60 to facilitate the debris 54 to be dislodged from the soles 56 of their shoes 58. In this way the user 16 does not track the debris 54 into their house, for example, after coming indoors.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
