U.S. patent application number 10/285391 was filed with the patent office on 2003-07-03 for labelled sponges.
Invention is credited to Isenberg, Barbara.
Application Number | 20030121117 10/285391 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26963172 |
Filed Date | 2003-07-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030121117 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Isenberg, Barbara |
July 3, 2003 |
Labelled sponges
Abstract
The present invention involves to a cleaning tool comprising a
pad or towel with a mark designating the intended use of the pad or
towel. A cleaning kit comprises a plurality of cleaning pads or
towels with at least one face with a mark designating an intended
use and includes instructions for use of the pads, enclosed in a
receptacle.
Inventors: |
Isenberg, Barbara; (New
York, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ST. ONGE STEWARD JOHNSTON & REENS, LLC
986 BEDFORD STREET
STAMFORD
CT
06905-5619
US
|
Family ID: |
26963172 |
Appl. No.: |
10/285391 |
Filed: |
October 31, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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60340089 |
Oct 31, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
15/209.1 ;
15/244.4; D32/40 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 13/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/209.1 ;
15/244.4; D32/40 |
International
Class: |
A47L 013/16 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A cleaning tool, comprising: an absorbent pad having at least
one face; and a mark on said face, which mark designates an
intended use of said pad.
2. A cleaning, kit comprising: a plurality of absorbent pads, each
of which pads has at least one face; a mark on each of said face,
each of which marks designates an intended use of said respective
pad; and a receptacle for enclosing said pads.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to sponges and other multiple purpose,
reusable cleaning towels.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Cleaning towels and sponges are often used for many
different purposes around a household, business, or other facility.
Uses include cleaning floors, windows, cars, and the like;
polishing furniture, silver and other metal articles, and the like;
sanitizing bathrooms; cleaning kitchenware; preparing food;
removing stains; mopping up spills; and a variety of other uses.
These uses often conflict, e.g., no one who uses a sponge to clean
a bathroom would willingly also use it for food preparation or
kitchen cleaning.
[0003] Frequently, a sponge that is used for one of these purposes
will be reused, or used multiple times, in order to avoid the
expense of constantly purchasing new sponges or to avoid the hassle
of having to open a new package each time a sponge is needed, among
other reasons. Often, for convenience, a sponge is kept in an area
where it is typically used. As a result, sponges with conflicting
uses are frequently stored in the same general area, e.g. a sponge
used for food preparation and a sponge used to clean the kitchen
counter are typically both kept on the kitchen counter. This can
lead to the accidental switching of the sponges the next time they
are used. Similarly, it is often the case that all the sponges used
for cleaning purposes will be kept in a common area devoted to
storage of cleaning supplies. As a result, one can very easily mix
up sponges with conflicting cleaning uses, e.g. a sponge used to
clean the toilet can be confused for a sponge used to clean the
bathtub.
[0004] The general practice of using and storing sponges and other
cleaning towels disadvantageously includes a substantial likelihood
of accidentally employing the wrong sponge for a particular use,
possibly causing damage, contamination, infection, sickness, or in
some cases, even death.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention relates to a cleaning tool comprising
an absorbent pad having at least one face and a mark on said face
designating the intended use of the pad. A cleaning kit comprises a
plurality of absorbent pads, each pad having at least one face and
a mark on said face designating the intended use of said pad,
instructions on use of the pads, and a receptacle for enclosing the
pads.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] This invention provides improved sponges and cleaning towels
that drastically decrease the probability of accidental switching.
FIG. 1 shows an one embodiment of the present invention, a cleaning
tool comprising an absorbent pad 2 with at least one face 4.
According to the invention, a mark 6 designating a particular
intended use, located on the face 4 of the pad, solves the
above-noted problem in the art. The mark 6 may comprise a word or
short phrase denoting the place in which, or the purpose for which,
the sponge is to be used. Alternatively, the mark 6 may be a symbol
to designate the particular use. Preferably, the mark 6 is not
easily removed when the sponge or towel is used for its intended
purpose. Therefore, it may be printed with appropriate inks or dyes
depending upon use. Similarly, it may be created via a surface
treatment, such that the mark 6 is legibly formed in or on the
sponge or towel from the material of which the sponge or towel is
made. Alternatively, the mark may be embossed or debossed.
[0009] In addition to selling the sponge in individual packages or
typically random collections of several sponges, it could also be
sold in various types of sets or kits. FIG. 2 shows a cleaning kit
including a plurality of pads 10, 12 with marks 20, 22 designating
intended use of the pads. The pads 10, 12, are enclosed in a
receptacle 30, made of plastic, cardboard, combination of both, or
any other suitable material for a receptacle 30. Additionally, the
kit could include instructions on use of the pads.
[0010] For instance, a "kitchen set" of sponges could be sold,
including "counter," "sink," "dishes," and "food" sponges, among
others. Similarly, a "household set" could be sold, including
sponges for all the rooms of the house. Another example would be an
"auto kit," including a sponge for different steps of treating an
automobile, such as a "soap" sponge, a "glass" cleaner sponge, a
"wax" sponge, and the like. These are just a few examples, as the
possibilities for the assemblage of sets are endless.
[0011] Because sponges are often located in areas where aesthetic
appeal is desired, such as kitchens and bathrooms, the label can
take various forms in order to facilitate this. For instance, the
marking may be in any of various fonts and styles, and may even be
accompanied by simple designs. Similarly, the markings may be in
different colors, such as colors that match, or are a different hue
of, the color of the sponge.
[0012] In order to increase the usefulness of the invention as a
way of eliminating confusion about the previous uses of a
particular sponge, the marking may be in a color that sharply
contrasts with the color of the sponge to make the label more
obvious to one who grabs the sponge in haste. For the same reason,
the marking can appear on multiple faces rather than just one, such
as both on the front and the back of the sponge.
[0013] The invention relates to any kind of cleaning pad or towel,
but particularly relates to sponges and absorbent cleaning cloths,
such as Handi Wipes.RTM.. These are very versatile and resilient,
and are thus commonly used for a wide variety of purposes and are
reused many times. Therefore, multiple, previously used sponges and
absorbent cleaning cloths are often kept around for reuse, and are
thus very prone to accidental use for the wrong purpose.
[0014] The invention relates to any size or shape of sponges. In
addition to sponges and absorbent cleaning cloths, the invention
also relates to scouring pads and other cleaning towels, which may
be fashioned from cloth, wool, plastic, or any other material
suited for cleaning pads and towels.
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