Patent Application
20070271715
Illustrated in the accompanying drawing(s) is at least one of the best mode embodiments of the present invention In such drawing(s):
The above described drawing figures illustrate the described apparatus and its method of use in at least one of its preferred, best mode embodiment, which is further defined in detail in the following description. Those having ordinary skill in the art may be able to make alterations and modifications what is described herein without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, it must be understood that what is illustrated is set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as a limitation in the scope of the present apparatus and method of use.
Described now in detail is a cleaning apparatus for shoe soles 5, the apparatus preferably including a resilient base mat 10 having a waft material 12 such as hook type material on a least a portion of the base mat 10, and a top mat 20 preferably of a moisture absorbent terry fabric. The top mat 20 is laid over the base mat and especially in contact with the waft material gripping surface 12 and is therefore mechanically engaged with it. However, the top mat 20 may be easily removed by pulling it away from the base mat 10 when it becomes necessary to replace it, as for instance for laundering it. A reservoir contains a cleaning solution 40 and is positioned at an edge 14 of the base mat 10. A foot actuated spray mechanism 50 is engaged with the reservoir, and the spray mechanism 50 and reservoir 30 are positioned above the mats 10 and 20 and at edge 14.
The spray mechanism 50 is enabled for drawing the solution 40 from the reservoir and disbursing a fine mist 40′ of the solution 40 onto a first portion 20′ of the top mat 20. A second portion 20″ of the top mat 20 is positioned so as to remain free of the fine mist 40′. To clean the shoe soles 5, the spray mechanism 50 is foot actuated as shown in
In one embodiment of the present apparatus, the reservoir and spray mechanism 50 are jointly a pressurized spray can 30′ as shown in
Preferably, the cleaning solution 40 is any one of: water, a water ammonia solution, an aqueous solution containing an acid such as lemon juice, a soap solution, and a glass cleaner such as the commercial product trademarked Windex®. The solution 40 may be any formulation capable of wetting and cleaning the soles 5 of shoes.
In the one embodiment wherein a pressurized spray can 30′ is used, the apparatus further comprises a stand providing a cradle 60 which supports the spray can 30′ as best shown in
Preferably, the foot pedal 70 rests in contact with a spay cap 52 of the spray mechanism 50 so that when the foot pedal 70 is depressed, the spray cap 52 actuates the spray mechanism 50. Preferably, the foot pedal 70 engaged a spray cap receiver 72 which has a hollow conformation sized for frictionally gripping the spray cap 52 of the spray mechanism 50. This gripping function prevents the spray cap 52 from revolving so that once adjusted as to the angle of spray desired, the spray cap 52 remains in that set position until purposefully readjusted.
The enablements described in detail above are considered novel over the prior art of record and are considered critical to the operation of at least one aspect of the apparatus and its method of use and to the achievement of the above described objectives. The words used in this specification to describe the instant embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification: structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word or words describing the element.
The definitions of the words or drawing elements described herein are meant to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements described and its various embodiments or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim.
Changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalents within the scope intended and its various embodiments. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. This disclosure is thus meant to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted, and also what incorporates the essential ideas.
The scope of this description is to be interpreted only in conjunction with the appended claims and it is made clear, here, that each named inventor believes that the claimed subject matter is what is intended to be patented.
