US3126565A - Shoe cleaner - Google Patents

Description

March 31, 1964 A. G. MILLER SHOE CLEANER Filed May 25, 1962 ma 4 @MW 5y #@W/ TTRNEYS.

United States Patent O 3,126,565 SHOE CLEANER Albert George Miller, 25 E. Cedar St., Chicago, Ill. Filed May 23, 1962, Ser. No. 197,007 6 Claims. (Cl. 15--210) .T his invention relates to shoe cleaners and more particularly to a wiper for conveniently wiping dust and dirt from shoes.

Shoe cleaners of various types have heretofore been proposed, but have generally been Scrapers or coarse brushes 4for use out of doors. Neither cleane-rs of this type nor the usual door mat completely remove dust and similar tine dirt from shoes with lthe result that the floors or carpeting in a house are tracked.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a shoe cleaner which effectively removes dust and similar line dirt particles from the soles of shoes to eliminate tracking.

Another object is to provide a shoe cleaner which can be used indoors and can easily be folded to a useable position or to a collapsed flat position for storage.

According to a feature of the invention, the cleaning surface is formed by a sponge pad, preferably treated to absorb dust, supported on a mounting plate. The plate is connected to a frame for movement lfrom a vertical stored position adjacent to the Iframe to an extended useable position at an acute angle to vertical.

According to another feature of the invention, the wiper pad is swung to a slightly over-center position when stored to be self-latching and the parts are so arranged that the wiper pad may easily be moved between its stored and use positions by pressure of the foot of a user against it.

'Ihe above and other objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe cleaner embodying the invention in the stored position;

FIG. 2 is a similar perspective view in the use position;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through the shoe cleaner;

EFIG. 4 -is a front elevation;

iFiG. S is a rear elevation; `and FIG. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

T-he shoe cleaner, as shown, comprises a vertically elongated frame having parallel side members 10 joined by a top cross member 11 to form an inverted U-shaped lframe. While a frame, as shown, is desirable for a portable unit, it will be understood that the frame could be formed by side members permanently attached to a building structure where portability is not desired. The frame structure supports a wiper pad formed of a mounting plate 12, preferably made of sheet metal, with downwardly turned side flanges 13` which may be integral with the plate or which may be separate L-section strips secured to the plate, as shown. Each of the side flanges 13 is formed with :an elongated slot 14 therein and a transverse pin or rod 15 extends through both of the slots and is secured to the opposite side members 10, as best seen in FIGS. and 6. The pin 1S is slidable in the slots and the mounting plate for the pad may also pivot about the pin in movement of the pad from its stored to its use position, as `described more fully hereinafter.

At its lower end, the mounting plate 12 is pivotally connected to arms 16- which are pivoted at their lower ends to the side -frame members through rivets, or the like, indicated at 17. As shown, the levers 16 are rigidly connected in a U-shaped structure by a cross piece 18 which is pivotally connected to the lower part of the mounting plate 12 through clips `19 secured to the mount- 3,126,565 Patented Mar. 31, 1964 2 g1g plate yand at least partially encircling the cross memf er 18.

.The wiper pad is completed by a sponge pad -21 which is preferably formed of treated synthetic sponge material to be highly absorptive to dust and tine particles. As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 6, the pad 21 is made up of two layers of sponge material with fastening wires or strips 22 between them. T he ends of the fastening wires or strip project through the innermost sponge layer and through openings in the mounting plate 12 and are crimped over, as shown, to secure the sponge pad to the mounting plate to make -up the wiper pad. With this construction, when a sponge pad becomes worn or excessively soiled, it may easily `be removed and replaced by a new pad. At the same time, the entire outer surface of the pad is of sponge material so ythat shoes may be wiped over it without interference with any mounting parts.

In use of the unit, the wiper pad may be tilted to a substantially vertical position between the side frame members 10 for storage, as illustrated in FIGS. l, 3, 4 and 5. In this position, the arms 16 are swung upwardly between the side :frame members 10 and the pivotal connections are so positioned that the upper end of the wiper pad will swing out slightly yto an over-center position where the wiper pad will be retained by gravity. When it is desired to use the shoe cleaner, the upper end of the wiper pad may be pressed inwardly by the foot of the user causing the arms 16 to swing outwardly away from the frame with the slots 14 in the side anges 13 sliding downward and pivoting over the cross pin 1S. At the end of this movement, the wiper pad will be positioned, as shown in FIG. 2, at an acute angle `to both vertical and horizontal and projecting outwardly from the frame. In this position, the user may conveniently Wipe the `soles of his shoes over the pad to remove dust and fine dirt particles therefrom which will be collected and absorbed by the sponge pad. Upon completion after ruse the user may simply press his foot against the lower forward part of the wiper pad to press it inwardly back to the stored position shown in FIG. l.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and `described herein, it will be understood that it is illustrative only `and not -to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A shoe cleaner comprising a vertically elongated frame, a generally rectangular Wiper pad, link means pivotally connecting the lower end of the wiper pad to the frame at the lower end thereof, and guide means connecting the upper end of the wiper pad to the frame above the link means, the link means and the guide means guiding the wiper pad for movement from a generally vertical position adjacent to the `frame to a position extending downwardly and outwardly from the frame at an `acute angle to vertical, the wiper pad in its generally vertical position swinging slightly beyond vertical to move the link means to an over-center self-latching position.

2. A shoe cleaner comprising a vertically elongated frame, a general-ly rectangular wiper pad, link means pivotally connecting the lower end of the wiper pad to the frame at the lower end thereof, and a slidable and pivotal pin and slot connection between the lframe and the wiper pad above the link means cooperating with the link means to guide the wiper lpad for movement from a vertical position adjacent to the frame to a position extending downwardly and outwardly from the iframe at an acute angle to vertical.

3. A shoe cleaner comprising a vertically elongated frame, a generally rectangular wiper pad, link means pivotally connecting the lower end of the wiper pad to the `frame at the lower end thereof, the wiper pad having side flanges thereon formed with elongated guide slots therein, and a guide pin carried by the frame tting slidably and rotatably in the slots to guide the wiper plate from a generally vertical position adjacent to the frame to a position extending outwardly and downwardly from the frame at an acute angle.

4. The shoe wiper of claim 3 in which the upper end of the wiper plate tilts outwardly slightly from the frame when the wiper plate is in its generally vertical position to produce an over-center self-latching condition with the link means.

5. The shoe wiper of claim 4 in which the wiper pad is formed of a sheet metal plate having a sponge pad secured thereto.

6. A shoe cleaner comprising a U-shaped frame having upright spaced parallel legs, a U-shaped link member pivoted at the ends of its legs to the legs of the frame at the lower ends thereof, a generally rectangular wiper pad pivotally' connected at its lower end to the base of the U-shaped link member, the wiper pad including a sheet metal plate with anges at its sides formed with elongated guide slots and a sponge pad secured to the plate, and a pin carried by the ylegs of the frame fitting slidably and lrotatably in the slots to guide the wiper pad from a generally vertical position adjacent to the legs of the frame to a position extending downwardly and outwardly at an acute angle from the legs of the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 649,335 Moore et al. May 8, 1900 1,474,257 Harrison et a-l. Nov. 13, 1923 2,707,585 Hoey May 3, 1955

Claims (1)

1. A SHOE CLEANER COMPRISING A VERTICALLY ELONGATED FRAME, A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR WIPER PAD, LINK MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE LOWER END OF THE WIPER PAD TO THE FRAME AT THE LOWER END THEREOF, AND GUIDE MEANS CONNECTING THE UPPER END OF THE WIPER PAD TO THE FRAME ABOVE THE LINK MEANS, THE LINK MEANS AND THE GUIDE MEANS GUIDING THE WIPER PAD FOR MOVEMENT FROM A GENERALLY VERTICAL POSITION ADJACENT TO THE FRAME TO A POSITION EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FROM THE FRAME AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO VERTICAL, THE WIPER PAD IN ITS GENERALLY VERTICAL POSITION SWINGING SLIGHTLY BEYOND VERTICAL TO MOVE THE LINK MEANS TO AN OVER-CENTER SELF-LATCHING POSITION.

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