Patent Application
20230381608
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for cleaning sports equipment, such as golf clubs, golf balls, or cleats, where the apparatus is a towel with an integrated brush. The present disclosure additionally relates to a method of using a towel with an integrated brush to clean equipment.
Keeping one's sports equipment clean is critical for ensuring the proper performance of the equipment, for example when playing golf, as well as for promoting the overall longevity of the equipment. Athletes, therefore, carry multiple implements for cleaning their equipment, including towels and brushes. The combination of these cleaning implements into a single apparatus would allow an athlete to clean their equipment more rapidly and with less effort, while reducing the amount of equipment the athlete is required to carry.
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus, also referred to as a brush towel, for cleaning sports equipment. The brush towel includes a towel and an integrated brush having bristles, wherein the integrated brush is durably attached to the towel along an edge of the towel, and the bristles extend laterally away from the edge of the towel.
In one embodiment, the brush towel includes a towel and an integrated brush having bristles, wherein the integrated brush is durably attached to the towel along an edge of the towel, the bristles extend away from the edge of the towel within a plane defined by the towel, and the integrated brush is configured to be foldable around a transverse axis that runs through the towel, wherein the transverse axis is perpendicular to the integrated brush.
Also disclosed herein is a method of cleaning an article of sports equipment with the brush towel described herein. In one embodiment, the method includes folding the integrated brush around a transverse axis that runs through the towel, wherein the transverse axis is perpendicular to the integrated brush, and scrubbing the article of sports equipment with the integrated brush.
The brush towel offers many benefits, including the ability to clean articles of sports equipment more quickly and efficiently, as well as providing convenience to athletes by combining multiple cleaning implements into a single article or apparatus.
With reference to the drawings, in particular
Referring to
The brush towel offers many benefits, including the ability to clean equipment more quickly and efficiently, as well as providing convenience to athletes by combining multiple cleaning implements into a single apparatus.
For example, the brush towel is useful for cleaning a golf club, wherein the bristles of the integrated brush are used to clean the grooves on the face of any golf club. The integrated brush may be folded, such that the surface area of the golf club in contact with the integrated brush is increased, allowing the golfer to apply force more directly to the face of the golf club during cleaning. The towel is then used to remove any remaining debris from the head of the golf club.
Furthermore, the brush towel provides convenience by combining multiple cleaning implements into a single apparatus. For example, many golfers carry both a small brush and a towel to clean club heads while on the golf course. The brush towel combines these disparate implements into a single apparatus, thereby reducing the number of individual tools that a golfer is required to carry on the course.
The towel 20 is made from a flexible fabric material and may be folded, or otherwise deformed, in a latitudinal dimension and/or longitudinal dimension. For example, the towel 20 may be folded in a latitudinal dimension at any point along the length of the towel, such as a midpoint 24 of the towel. The towel 20 may be folded in a longitudinal dimension, as shown in
In some embodiments, the towel 20 may be folded into a tri-fold structure, as shown in
In some embodiments, the towel 20 is made of a flexible, absorbent fabric material, designed to absorb and retain water for cleaning an article of sports equipment. In some embodiments, the absorbent fabric material is selected from the group consisting of microfiber fabric, cotton fabric, bamboo fabric, hemp fabric, modal fabric, and rayon fabric. In some embodiments, the absorbent fabric material is cotton fabric. In some embodiments, the absorbent fabric material is 100% cotton fabric. In other embodiments, the absorbent fabric material is 96% cotton fabric. In some embodiments, the absorbent fabric material is microfiber fabric. In one embodiment, the absorbent fabric material is a waffle-weave microfiber fabric. In some embodiments, the absorbent fabric material is a blend of microfiber fabric and cotton fabric.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the shape and size of the towel 20 may vary and may be any shape or size that is appropriate for cleaning an article of sports equipment. For example, the towel 20 may have a first side 28 and a second side 30, wherein the first side is longer in length than the second side, i.e. the towel 20 may be rectangular in shape. Alternatively, the towel 20 may have a first side and a second side, wherein the first side is equal in length to the second side, i.e. the towel 20 may be square in shape. In some embodiments, the length of the first side 28 is about 10 inches to about 35 inches, and length of the second side 30 is about 6 inches to about 25 inches. In one embodiment, the length of the first side 28 is about 25 inches and the length of the second side 30 is about 16 inches. In another embodiment, the length of the first side 28 is about 24 inches and the length of the second side 30 is about 16 inches.
The integrated brush 22 has a number of bristles, where the bristles of the integrated brush can be made of a variety of materials including wire, a synthetic material, or combinations thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the integrated brush 22 may have bristles made exclusively of wire. In other embodiments, the integrated brush 22 may have bristles that are made exclusively of a synthetic material. In yet other embodiments, the integrated brush 22 may have some bristles that are made of wire, and some bristles that are made of synthetic materials.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the wire bristles of the integrated brush 22 may be made of any metallic material that is appropriate for cleaning an article of sports equipment. For example, the wire bristles may be made of a metal selected from, but not limited to, steel wire, brass wire, bronze wire, and copper wire. In some embodiments of the brush towel 10, the integrated brush 22 includes wire bristles that are selected from steel wire, brass wire, bronze wire, and copper wire.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that the synthetic material bristles of the integrated brush 22 may be made of any synthetic material that is appropriate for cleaning an article of sports equipment. For example, the synthetic material bristles may be made of a synthetic material selected from, but not limited to, nylon, abrasive nylon, polystyrene, and polypropylene. In some embodiments of the brush towel 10, the integrated brush 22 includes bristles made of a synthetic material selected from nylon, abrasive nylon, polystyrene, and polypropylene. In other embodiments, the integrated brush 22 includes bristles made of a synthetic material selected from nylon, abrasive nylon, and polypropylene. In one embodiment, the synthetic material is nylon. In one embodiment, the synthetic material is abrasive nylon. In one embodiment, the synthetic material is polypropylene.
The integrated brush 22 may be durably attached to the towel 20 along any edge of the towel. For example, in some embodiments, the integrated brush 22 may be durably attached to the towel 20 along an edge of the first side 28 of the towel. In other embodiments, the integrated brush 22 may be durably attached to the towel 20 along an edge of the second side 30 of the towel. In some embodiments, the integrated brush 22 is durably attached to the towel 20 along an edge of the towel, such that the integrated brush 22 defines at least a portion of at least one side of the towel 20, as shown in
Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the integrated brush 22 may be durably attached to the towel 20 by any means appropriate to ensure that the integrated brush 22 is securely attached to the towel 20. For example, the integrated brush 22 may be durably attached to the towel 20 by sewing, gluing, riveting, stapling, and the like, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the integrated brush 22 may be sewn to the towel 20. In other embodiments, the integrated brush 22 may be glued to the towel 20. In one embodiment, the integrated brush 22 may be sewn and glued to the towel 20.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that the integrated brush 22 may be any size appropriate for cleaning an article of sports equipment. For example, in some embodiments, the integrated brush 22 may have a length 32 that is about 10% to about 100% of the length of the side 28/30 of the towel 20 to which the integrated brush 22 is durably attached. In some embodiments, the integrated brush 22 may have a length 32 that is about 30% to about 70% of the length of the side 28/30 of the towel 20 to which the integrated brush 22 is durably attached. In one embodiment, the integrated brush 22 may have a length 32 that is about 50% of the length of the side 28/30 of the towel 20 to which the integrated brush 22 is durably attached.
Likewise, the integrated brush 22 may have any thickness 34 appropriate for cleaning an article of sports equipment. For example, in some embodiments, the integrated brush 22 has a thickness 34 of about 1/16 inch to about 2 inches. In other embodiments, the integrated brush 22 has a thickness 34 of about ¼ inch to about 1 inch. In one embodiment, the integrated brush 22 has a thickness 34 of about ½ inch.
The bristles of the integrated brush 22 may also extend any length 36 from the edge of the towel 20 that is sufficient for cleaning an article of sports equipment. For example, in some embodiments, the bristles of the integrated brush 22 may extend a length 36 of about 1/16 inch to about 2 inches from the edge of the towel 20. In other embodiments, the bristles of the integrated brush 22 may extend a length 36 of about ¼ inch to about 1.5 inches from the edge of the towel 20. In one embodiment, the bristles of the integrated brush may extend a length 36 of about 1 inch from the edge of the towel 20.
The brush towel 10 includes an integrated brush 22, wherein the integrated brush 22 is configured to be foldable around a transverse axis 38 that runs through the towel 20 and perpendicularly intersects the integrated brush 22. The transverse axis 38 may be located at any lateral position along the towel 20, including at a midpoint of the towel 20, as shown in
The present disclosure also relates to methods of cleaning an article of sports equipment with the brush towel described herein. The methods include folding the integrated brush around a transverse axis that runs through the towel and scrubbing the article of sports equipment with the integrated brush. In some embodiments, the methods further include wiping residual debris from the article of sports equipment with the towel, wherein the towel may optionally be damp with water or another solvent useful for cleaning the article of sports equipment.
In some embodiments, the article of sports equipment to be cleaned is selected from a golf club, a golf ball, and golf cleats. In one embodiment, the article of sports equipment to be cleaned is a golf club. In another embodiment, the article of sports equipment to be cleaned is a golf ball. In yet another embodiment, the article of sports equipment to be cleaned is golf cleats.
The present disclosure enables one of skill in the relevant art to make and use the inventions provided herein in accordance with multiple and varied embodiments. Various alterations, modifications, and improvements of the present disclosure that readily occur to those skilled in the art, including certain alterations, modifications, substitutions, and improvements are also part of this disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description are by way of example to illustrate the discoveries provided herein. Furthermore, the foregoing Description is exemplary of the present invention and not limiting thereof. The scope of the invention is therefore set out in the appended claims.
Statements
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/198,443 filed 19 Oct. 2020, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2021/055624 | 10/19/2021 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63198443 | Oct 2020 | US |
