U.S. patent application number 10/282601 was filed with the patent office on 2004-04-29 for disinfecting mat for cleaning shoes.
Invention is credited to Coppa, Paul J..
Application Number | 20040078909 10/282601 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32107405 |
Filed Date | 2004-04-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040078909 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Coppa, Paul J. |
April 29, 2004 |
Disinfecting mat for cleaning shoes
Abstract
A disinfecting mat that enables better cleaning of shoes of a
person through multi-functional capabilities. The mat has three
discrete sections, with each section carrying out a different
function in cleaning the shoes. A first section has a laterally
extending bristle brush for cleaning material from the shoes while
the second section includes a reservoir containing a liquid
disinfectant that is transferred to the shoe of the user by an
endless belt that dips into the reservoir and carries the
disinfectant to the upper surface of the belt to be transferred to
the shoes. Finally, in a third section there is a stationary wiping
mat to enable the user to brush the shoes across the mat to rid the
shoe of remaining material as well as dry the shoe from the liquid
disinfectant. All of the sections are convenient to the user and
housed within a unitary molded base.
Inventors: |
Coppa, Paul J.; (Warren,
NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROGER M. RATHBUN
13 MARGARITA COURT
HILTON HEAD ISLAND
SC
29926
US
|
Family ID: |
32107405 |
Appl. No.: |
10/282601 |
Filed: |
October 29, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/104.92 ;
15/114; 15/118; 15/215; 15/216 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 23/266 20130101;
A47L 23/263 20130101; A47L 23/26 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/104.92 ;
015/114; 015/118; 015/215; 015/216 |
International
Class: |
A47L 023/22; A47L
023/26 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A disinfecting mat for cleaning shoes, said mat comprising: a
base having front edge, a rear edge and lateral side edges, a first
section formed in said base, said first section located proximate
the front edge of said base, said first section containing a
substantially stationary bristle brush, extending laterally at
least substantially across the base, a second section, said second
section containing a sanitizing liquid and a belt movable within
the sanitizing liquid to transfer a portion of the liquid to an
upper surface of the belt where the liquid can be transferred to a
shoe positioned on the upper surface of the belt, and a third
section having a stationary wiping mat located therein.
2. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 1 wherein said
substantially stationary bristle brush is vertically movable
between an upper position where the roller can be rotated and a
lower position where the roller contacts said base to be stationary
with respect to said base.
3. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 2 wherein said
substantially stationary bristle brush is movable from said upper
position to said lower position by the weight of a person stepping
on said stationary brush.
4. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 1 wherein said
substantially stationary bristle brush is oriented generally
parallel to the front edge and extends at least substantial across
said base between said side lateral edges.
5. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 1 wherein said stationary
wiping mat comprises a mat having upwardly directed bristles.
6. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 1 wherein said second
section comprises a plurality of support rollers rotatably affixed
therein and said belt surrounds and is supported by said support
rollers.
7. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 6 wherein said belt is
comprised of a fabric material that at least partially absorbs the
liquid.
8. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 1 wherein said base is
comprised of hard rubber.
9. A disinfecting mat for cleaning shoes, said mat comprising: a
base having front edge, a rear edge and lateral side edges, a first
section formed in said base, said first section located proximate
the front edge of said base, said first section containing a
substantially stationary bristle brush, extending laterally at
least substantially across the base, and a second section, said
second section containing a sanitizing liquid and a belt immersed
within the sanitizing liquid to transfer a portion of the liquid to
an upper surface of the belt where the liquid can be transferred to
a shoe positioned on the upper surface of the belt.
10. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 9 wherein said belt has
a lower portion adapted to be located beneath the sanitizing liquid
and an upper surface that is located above the liquid.
11. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 9 wherein said belt is
supported by a plurality of support rollers.
12. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 9 wherein said
substantially stationary bristle brush is vertically movable
between an upper position where the roller can be rotated and a
lower position where the roller contacts said base to be stationary
with respect to said base.
13. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 12 wherein said
substantially stationary bristle brush is movable from said upper
position to said lower position by the weight of a person stepping
on said stationary brush.
14. A disinfecting mat as defined in claim 9 wherein said base is
comprised of hard rubber.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a floor mat for use in
cleaning the shoes of a person, and, more particularly, to a
multifunctional disinfecting floor mat that both cleans and
disinfects the shoes of a person.
[0002] There are, of course, a wide variety of floor mats intended
for the use of cleaning the shoes of an individual and which can be
located in an equally wide variety of differing locations where
such cleaning is desirable.
[0003] A difficulty, however, with most mats that are commercially
available today, is that they are directed toward a single
function, that is, the mat is generally a normal wiping mat that
enables the user to simply apply the shoe to the mat with a rubbing
or scuffing motion to the shoe to wipe the dirt and other material
from the shoe. With such single function mats, the shoe does not
get particularly clean and there is no way to include some
disinfecting function to rid the shoe of potentially harmful
materials that can then be spread to other areas, such as the
inside of the home or automobile of the person.
[0004] In addition, with the typical conventional floor mat, there
is only one consistency of the wiping mat bristles, and, therefore,
if there is a large, well adhered material on the shoe, there is a
likelihood that it will not be fully removed from the shoe and,
again, can travel to other locations where that material can become
dislodged and be harmful or simply cause damage to other areas,
including the living quarters of that person.
[0005] Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a
multi-function floor mat that not only carries out the function of
wiping the shoe but would also have a disinfecting function and
further have differing sizes and function bristles so that the shoe
can be better cleaned and disinfected after treatment of the shoe
by the particular floor mat.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Accordingly, the present invention relates to a disinfecting
floor mat that has a base having a plurality of sections,
preferably three of such sections with each section being
partitioned from the others and with each section providing a
differing function with respect to the overall cleaning of a shoe
and yet without imposing any additional labor or inconvenience on
the part of the individual.
[0007] With the present invention, the base rests upon the floor or
other planar surface and the base is preferably constructed of a
strong, water proof material such as hard rubber. The base can be
generally rectangular in configuration and has an upstanding
peripheral edge surrounding the base, that is, there is a front
edge, a rear edge and two lateral side edges.
[0008] Within the interior surface area of the base, there are
partitions that divide that interior surface into three discrete
sections. In the preferred embodiment there is a lateral partition
that is near the front edge of the base and is oriented generally
parallel to that front edge and extends between the two lateral
side edges of the base, thereby forming a first section at or
proximate to the front edge of the interior surface of the base. A
second or transverse partition is generally orthogonal to the
lateral partition and extends from the lateral partition to the
rear edge of the base, thereby dividing the rearward area of the
interior of the interior surface of the base into a second and a
third sections. It is preferred that the transverse partition be
located approximately at the midpoint between the lateral side
edges so that the second and third sections are about the same
dimensions or area.
[0009] Each of the sections has a different function in carrying
out the cleaning of the shoes of a user. In the first section,
there is provided a laterally extending, substantially stationary
bristle brush having relatively large outward extending radial
bristles. The bristle brush is mounted just above the lower surface
of the first section such that when the user places the shoe on the
bristle brush with some downward pressure, the bristle brush can
move slightly vertically downwardly to contact the bottom surface
of the first section to prevent the bristle brush from rotating.
When, on the other hand, there is no pressure applied to the
bristle brush, it can be freely rotatable by the hand of the user
to rotate the bristle brush as needed to move the bristles to a new
location so that the worn bristles can be rotated out of the way
and a new bristle area moved into the operative position.
[0010] In the second section, there is a reservoir formed to
contain a quantity of a liquid and also includes a continuous belt
that is support by a plurality of support rollers rotatably affixed
within the second section. The belt has an upper surface that can
be contacted by the user's shoe so that the liquid can be
transferred to the shoe. By use of the support rollers supporting
the belt, the belt can rotate such that a lower surface is always
immersed in the liquid where the belt can be at least partially
saturated by the liquid and then further rotated to become an upper
surface where the liquid picked up by the belt material can be
transferred to the shoe of the user. The belt is preferable
constructed of a fabric type of material, such as an indoor-outdoor
carpet material that can become at least partially saturated by the
liquid. Preferably the liquid is a commercially available
disinfectant.
[0011] In the third section, there is provided a flat wiping mat,
generally of conventional construction with bristles extending
upwardly, to be brushed by the shoe to remove material from the
shoe including liquid remaining on the shoe from the encounter with
the disinfectant laden belt in the second section.
[0012] These and other features and advantages of the present
invention will become more readily apparent during the following
detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings
herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the disinfecting mat of the
present invention constructed in accordance with the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a front view of the disinfecting mat of FIG.
1;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the disinfecting mat
taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the disinfecting mat of the
present invention; and
[0017] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the present disinfecting mat
showing its construction.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a top, plan view of
the disinfecting mat 10 constructed in accordance with the present
invention. As can be seen, the disinfecting mat 10 comprises a base
12 that is preferably a one piece construction made of a hard
rubber, although other material can be used that is structurally
strong and which is capable of retaining a liquid.
[0019] The base 12 has a peripheral edge that surrounds an interior
surface and the edge includes a front edge 14, a rear edge 16 and
two lateral side edges 18. There are also interior partitions that
separate the interior of the base 12 into a plurality of sections.
As shown, there is a lateral partition 20 that extends across the
base 12 laterally and is oriented generally parallel to the front
edge 14 to form a first section 22 that is generally located
proximate to the front edge 14 and extends at least substantially,
and preferably, fully across the base 12 between the lateral side
edges 18.
[0020] A second or transverse partition 24 extends from the lateral
partition 20 and extends to the rear edge 16, thereby forming a
second section 26 and a third section 28. In the preferred
embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the transverse partition 24 is
located approximately at the midpoint between the lateral side
edges 18 so that the second and third sections 26 and 28 are of the
basic same dimensions or area.
[0021] As such, the separate sections all provide differing
functions that contribute to carrying out the cleaning and
disinfecting of a shoe, that is, in the first section 22 there is a
substantially stationary bristle brush 30 having a main
longitudinal axis with external ends 32 extending therefrom and
which are rotatably affixed to the first section 22 in a manner
that will be later explained. The main longitudinal axis of the
bristle brush 30 is sufficiently flexible so as to allow the
bristle brush 30 to move vertically by means of the downward force
created by a person placing a shoe on the bristle brush 30 to clean
that shoe. When, therefore, the person is using the bristle brush
30 and exerts that downward force, the bristle brush is positioned
such that the downward vertical movement causes the bristle brush
30 to encounter the bottom surface of the first section 22 and hold
the brush in a stationary, non-rotating position.
[0022] On the other hand, when there is no force applied to the
bristle brush 30, it can be rotated by hand so that the user can
move the location of the uppermost bristles to another location
about the periphery of the bristle brush 30. As such, when the user
is applying the shoe to the bristle brush 30 to clean material off
of the shoe, the bristle brush 30 encounters the bottom surface of
the first section 22 and remains stationary so that the shoe can be
cleaned, but when the force is relieved, the user can simply rotate
the bristle brush 30 to move any worn out bristles to a new
position, thus renewing the effectiveness of the bristle brush 30
as desired when certain of the bristles become worn through use. As
also can be seen, the bristle brush 30 has a longitudinal axis
oriented generally parallel to the front edge 14 and extends at
least substantially across the entire first section 22, and
preferable fully across the first section 22.
[0023] In the second section, a different cleaning function is
provided and, as shown in FIG. 1, there is a movable belt 34 that
forms a continuous moving upper surface 36 and, again, the purpose
of the moving belt will be later explained.
[0024] Next, in the third section 28 there is a stationary wiping
mat 38 that is of a fairly conventional design and construction
similar to many floor mats having upstanding bristles to wipe the
bottom of the shoes of an individual. As can be seen, the
stationary wiping mat 38 occupies at least substantially all of the
area of the third section 28 and, preferably, essentially all of
that area.
[0025] Turning now to FIG. 2, there is shown a front view of the
disinfecting mat 10 of the present invention and showing the front
edge 14 to illustrating the general elevation of the front edge 14
that is, of course, typical of the raised edges and elevation of
the other edges making up the periphery or the disinfecting mat 10
as well as the elevation of the partitions.
[0026] Turning next to FIG. 3, there is shown a cross sectional
view of the disinfecting mat 10 take along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.
In FIG. 3, there can be seen, a plurality of support rollers 40
that are mounted in the second section 26 so as to support and
allow the continual movement of the moving belt 34. There can also
be seen the bristle brush 30 and illustrating its close proximity
to the bottom surface of the first section 22. With the function of
the support rollers 40 and the moving belt 34, the second section
26 is, as stated, comprised of a waterproof material such that a
reservoir 42 is formed in the second section 26.
[0027] Thus, a quantity of a liquid can be introduced into and
remain in the second section 26 so that the moving belt 34 has a
lower surface that is always immersed in the liquid and, as the
moving belt 34 travels over the support rollers 40, the wetted
surface become the upper surface 36 of the moving belt 34 so that
the user can place the shoe atop of the upper surface 36 and
transfer the liquid from the moving belt 34 on to the shoes.
[0028] Accordingly, the liquid contained within the reservoir 42
can be a conventional disinfecting agent and that liquid is
continuously brought to the upper surface 36 of the moving belt 34
by the continuous movement of the moving belt 34 as it is moved by
the action of the user contacting the upper surface 36 and moving
the shoe along that upper surface to cause the moving belt 34 to
move.
[0029] Turning now to FIG. 4, there is a perspective view of the
disinfecting mat 10 of the present invention in its completed form
and illustrating the layout of the various sections, that is, the
first, second and third sections 22, 26 and 28 that are
conveniently located such that the user can initially utilize the
bristle brush 30 to rid the shoe of certain material and then move
the shoe across the movable belt 34 to move the belt 34 to transfer
the liquid disinfectant onto the shoe and, finally, brushing the
shoe over the stationary wiping mat 38 to remove additional
material as well as to dry the shoe of the liquid disinfectant.
[0030] Finally, turning to FIG. 5, there is an exploded view of the
disinfecting mat 10 of the present invention and showing its
preferred construction. Accordingly, as can be seen in FIG. 5,
there are a plurality of oppositely disposed notches 44 formed
along the sides of the second section 26 to enable the second
section 26 to mount the support rollers 40 to allow those support
rollers 40 to freely roll.
[0031] The support rollers 40 may have longitudinal axles having
pins 46 extending axially outwardly therefrom and the pins 46 can
therefore simply be set down into the notches 44 to seat the
support rollers 40 into the second section 26. As also can be seen
in FIG. 5, the reservoir 42 is formed in the lower area of the
second section 26 to contain the liquid for transfer to the moving
belt 34 and which surrounds the support rollers 40 for
movement.
[0032] In a similar manner, the external ends 32 of the bristle
brush 30 can be fitted into notches 48 formed in the lateral ends
of the first section 22 so that the bristle brush 30 is also
mounted in the notches 48 of the first section 22. The stationary
wiping mat 38 is simply placed into the third section 38 and can be
therefore readily replaced when it wears down and loses its
effectiveness.
[0033] Those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous
adaptations and modifications which can be made to the disinfecting
mat of the present invention which will result in an improved
device, yet all of which will fall within the scope and spirit of
the present invention as defined in the following claims.
Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *