Patent Publication Number: US-10786138-B2

Title: Footwear cleaning device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/709,759 filed Jan. 30, 2018. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a cleaning device and, more particularly, to a cleaning device adapted to clean footwear. 
     BACKGROUND 
     During daily wear, footwear gathers debris ranging from visible soil to microscopic bacteria. The footwear is then often worn inside the home, where the debris is spread across the floor, dirtying home articles such as rugs and furniture and potentially increasing the likelihood of illness. A footwear sole in particular gathers the most debris due to its contact with the ground. The sole is often a water-resistant, durable material, while an upper connected to the sole in many pieces of footwear is more a delicate material prone to liquid staining or abrasion. 
     Cleaning devices have been introduced to clean footwear and limit the spread of debris inside the home. Current cleaning devices often apply rough bristles and/or a liquid cleaning solution to remove debris from the footwear. These cleaning devices, however, do not attempt to isolate the sole of the footwear from the upper of the footwear during cleaning. The application of cleaning solution and abrasive bristles to the upper can ruin the footwear and significantly limits the usefulness of the cleaning device for many pieces of footwear. 
     SUMMARY 
     A footwear cleaning device comprises a housing, a brushing system disposed in an interior of the housing, and a spraying system disposed in the interior of the housing. The housing has a lid with an encasement portion. The encasement portion is formed of a semi-rigid, waterproof material and has an opening adapted to receive a footwear and expose only a sole of the footwear to the interior of the housing. The brushing system includes a brush and a driving device driving the brush to have a translational movement with respect to the housing and the sole of the footwear. The spraying system is adapted to spray a cleaning solution on the brush. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a footwear cleaning device according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional side view of the footwear cleaning device; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a control system of the footwear cleaning device; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flow diagram of a process of using the footwear cleaning device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S) 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. 
     A footwear cleaning device  10  according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The footwear cleaning device  10  includes a housing  100 , a spraying system  200  disposed within the housing  100 , a brushing system  300  disposed within the housing  100 , and a control system  400  disposed within the housing  100  and controlling the spraying system  200  and the brushing system  300 . 
     The housing  100 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , includes a lid  110 , a plurality of sidewalls  120 , and a bottom  130 . The lid  110 , the sidewalls  120 , and the bottom  130  define an interior  140  of the housing  100 . In the shown embodiment, the housing  100  has four sidewalls  120  in a rectangular shape with exterior dimensions similar to a shoebox. In other embodiments, the housing  100  may have any other shape provided the footwear cleaning device  10  can function as described herein. 
     The lid  110 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , is connected to the sidewalls  120  and includes a frame  112  and an encasement portion  114  disposed within the frame  112 . The frame  112  is a perimeter of the lid  110  and is formed of a hard, strong, and rigid material such as a plastic or a metal. The encasement portion  114  is attached to the frame  112  and is held within the frame  112 . In various embodiments, the encasement portion  114  may be attached to the frame  112  by an adhesive or may be fixed to the frame  112  by a fastener. 
     The encasement portion  114  is formed of a semi-rigid, waterproof material and has an opening  116  disposed approximately centrally in the encasement portion  114 . The opening  116  is dimensioned to approximate a shape of a sole S of footwear F, as shown in  FIG. 2 . The semi-rigid, waterproof material may be a plastic material such as polyethylene, a rubber material, a synthetic rubber material such as neoprene, a composite material, or any other semi-rigid material having waterproof characteristics. 
     The lid  110  is movable with respect to the sidewalls  120  between an open position in which the interior  140  of the housing  100  is exposed and a closed position, shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in which the lid  110  encloses a top of the housing  100  in a vertical direction V. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the lid  110  is connected to the sidewalls  120  by a plurality of hinges  150  and is pivotable about one of the sidewalls  120  between the open position and the closed position. In another embodiment, the lid  110  may be unattached from the sidewalls  120  but dimensioned to fit an exterior surface of each of the sidewalls  120 , such as with a shoebox lid; in this embodiment, the lid  110  is completely removable from the sidewalls  120  by lifting in the vertical direction V. 
     The bottom  130 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , is attached to the sidewalls  120  and encloses a bottom of the housing  100  in the vertical direction V. In the shown embodiment, the bottom  130  is integrally formed in a single piece with the sidewalls  120 . In various embodiments, the sidewalls  120  and the bottom  130  may be formed of a hard, strong, and rigid material such as a plastic or a metal. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , an exterior surface  132  of the bottom  130  is flat and an interior surface  134  of the bottom  130  opposite the exterior surface  132 , and adjacent the interior  140  of the housing  100 , is sloped. The interior surface  134  has a slope terminating in a release passageway  136  extending through the bottom  130  in the vertical direction V. In the shown embodiment, the release passageway  136  is positioned approximately centrally in the bottom  130 . In other embodiments, the interior surface  134  is sloped to the release passageway  136  at an off-centered position on the bottom  130 . 
     The bottom  130  includes a release tray  138  removably positioned in the release passageway  136 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . In a secured position of the release tray  138 , the release tray  138  is secured to the bottom  130  in the release passageway  136  by, for example, an interference fit or a latch. In a released position of the release tray  138 , the release tray  138  is removed from the release passageway  136  by pulling down on the release tray  138  in the vertical direction V and the interior  140  is open to an area exterior of the footwear cleaning device  10 . In various embodiments, the release tray  138  may be released from the secured position by, for example, activation of a button to release a latch or application of a removal force by a user to overcome a friction force of an interference fit. The release tray  138  is an approximately square-shaped member that functions similarly to a plug in the bottom  130 . In the shown embodiment, the release tray  138  can have a tray receptacle  139  adapted to collect some debris described below. In another embodiment, the release tray  138  is a substantially solid cube or rectangular parallelepiped adapted to fit in the release passageway  136 . 
     The spraying system  200 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , is disposed in the interior  140  of the housing  100  and includes a reservoir  210  retaining a cleaning solution  220 , a pump  230  fluidly connected to the reservoir  210 , and a nozzle  240  fluidly connected to the pump  230 . In the shown embodiment, the spraying system  200  is disposed on the interior surface  134  of the bottom  130 . In other embodiments, the spraying system  200  may be secured anywhere within the interior  140  provided the spraying system  200  can perform the functions described herein. 
     In various embodiments, the cleaning solution  220  is a liquid cleaning solution or a foam cleaning solution. The liquid cleaning solution or the foam cleaning solution may be biodegradable. The liquid cleaning solution may be water or a liquid soap. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the pump  230  is fluidly connected to the reservoir  210  and receives the cleaning solution  220  from the reservoir  210 . The pump  230  may be any type of small electric fluid pump known to those with ordinary skill in the art. The pump  230  pumps the cleaning solution  220  to the nozzle  240 , where the cleaning solution  220  is sprayed over a wide area in the interior  140  by the nozzle  240 . The nozzle  240  may be a single directional nozzle capable of moving and rotating to point in different directions, or may be a multidirectional nozzle. 
     The brushing system  300 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , is disposed in the interior  140  of the housing  100  and includes a brush  310 , a driving device  320  connected to the brush  310 , and a bracket  330  attached to the lid  110  and supporting the brush  310  and driving device  320 . 
     The brush  310 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , includes a brush base  312  and a plurality of bristles  314  attached to and extending from the brush base  312 . The brush base  312  is a rigid material and the bristles  314  are each a strand of a stiff, resilient, and durable material extending from the brush base  312  in the vertical direction V. The bristles  314 , in various embodiments, may be formed of a natural material such as horsehair, a synthetic material such as nylon or polyethylene, or a wire material such as aluminum or stainless steel. A plurality of brush passageways  316  extend through the brush base  312  in the vertical direction V or a direction of extension of the bristles  314  and are distributed among the bristles  314 . 
     The driving device  320 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , is attached to the brush base  312  and is adapted to move the brush  310 . The driving device  320  is capable of driving the brush  310  to have a vertical movement and a translational movement with respect to the housing  100 . The vertical movement of the brush  310  driven by the driving device  320  is in the vertical direction V, and the translational movement of the brush  310  driven by the driving device  320  is in a width direction W perpendicular to the vertical direction V and in a longitudinal direction L perpendicular to both the vertical direction V and the width direction W. The driving device  320  is capable of linearly driving the brush  310  to move in three dimensions. 
     In the shown embodiment, the driving device  320  includes two actuators  322  each attached to an end of the brush  310 . Each of the actuators  322  is an actuator known to those with ordinary skill in the art that, in response to an electrical signal, is capable of raising and lowering, pushing and pulling, and/or rotating an attached load, such as an electrical motor. In other embodiments, the driving device  320  may be a single actuator  322 , or may be any number of actuators  322  or any type of driving device known to those with ordinary skill in the art and capable of driving the vertical and translational movement of the brush  310 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the bracket  330  attaches the driving device  320  to the frame  112  of the lid  110 . The bracket  330  supports the driving device  320  and the brush  310  such that a weight of the brushing system  300  is supported in the interior  140  entirely by the lid  110  and the brushing system  300  remains attached to the lid  110  as the lid  110  moves between the open position and the closed position. The bracket  330  holds the driving device  320  and the brush  310  in a position under the encasement portion  114  in the vertical direction V. The bracket  330  may be attached to the frame  112  by an adhesive, a fastener, such as a screw, or by integrally forming the bracket  330  with the frame  112 . In the shown embodiment in which the driving device  320  includes two actuators  322 , for each of the actuators  322 , one bracket  330  attaches the actuator  322  to the frame  112 . The brushing system  300  may include any number of brackets  330  necessary to hold and support the driving device  320  and the brush  310  from the lid  110 . 
     The control system  400 , as shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , includes a controller  410  disposed in the interior  140  of the housing  100  and an optical sensor  420 , a switch  430 , a user interface  440 , and a power supply  450  connected to the controller  410 . 
     The controller  410 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , includes a processor  412  and a memory  414  connected to the processor. The memory  414  is a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as read-only memory (ROM), storing computer programs thereon that are executable by the processor  412  the perform the functions of the controller  410  described herein. The controller  410  is connected to the pump  230  of the spraying system  200  and the driving device  320  of the brushing system  300  and is adapted to control the pump  230  and the driving device  320  based on computer programs stored in the memory  414  and executable by the processor  412 . 
     The optical sensor  420 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , is disposed in the interior  140  on a sidewall  120  of the housing  100  and is positioned to detect an area around the opening  116  of the encasement portion  114 . The optical sensor  420  gathers optical data of the area around the opening  116  of the encasement portion  114 , and as shown in  FIG. 2 , the optical data is related to the sole S of footwear F. As shown in  FIG. 3  and described in greater detail below, the optical sensor  420  is adapted to gather footwear presence data  422 , brush position data  424 , and debris data  426  from the area around the opening  116  and the sole S of footwear F. The optical sensor  420  may be a photodetector, an imaging device such as a camera, or an infrared sensor. The optical sensor  420  is connected to the controller  410  and transmits the optical data to the controller  410 . 
     The switch  430 , as shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , is disposed on an exterior of a sidewall  120  and connects the controller  410  to the power supply  450 . The switch  430  is movable between an activated position in which power is supplied from the power supply  450  to the controller  410  and a deactivated position in which no power is supplied to the controller  410 . The power supply  450  may be a corded power supply connectable to an outlet, as shown in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , or may be a set of batteries disposed on a sidewall  120 . 
     The user interface  440 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , is disposed on an exterior of a sidewall  120  and is connected to the controller  410 . The user interface  440 , in various embodiments, is adapted to output information received from the controller  410  to a user and may also be adapted to receive input information from the user and transmit the input information to the controller  410 . The user interface  440  may be a display screen, a touchscreen, or any other type of interface capable of outputting information and/or receiving input information. 
     A process  600  of using the footwear cleaning device  10  to clean the footwear F is shown in  FIG. 4  and will now be described in greater detail with reference to  FIGS. 1-4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , with the lid  110  in the closed position, the footwear F is inserted into the opening  116  of the encasement portion  114  in a first step  610  shown in  FIG. 4 . The semi-rigid, waterproof material of the encasement portion  114  engages the footwear F such that the footwear F is held in the opening  116  with the sole S of the footwear F positioned in the interior  140  of the housing  100  and an upper U of the footwear F positioned outside of the footwear cleaning device  10 . The encasement portion  114  is sufficiently resiliently deflectable to engage the footwear F and act as a waterproof seal encasing the sole S and separating the sole S from the upper U; the encasement portion  114  exposes only the sole S of the footwear F to the interior  140  of the housing  100 . The semi-rigid, waterproof material of the encasement portion  114  is sufficiently rigid to individually support a weight of the footwear F and hold the footwear F in a position suspended in the interior  140 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The semi-rigid, waterproof material of the encasement portion  114  is resiliently deflectable such that the opening  116  can accommodate footwear F of a plurality of different sizes and can accept the sole S of either a right or a left piece of footwear F. In an embodiment, in order to accommodate a wider range of footwear F sizes, the encasement portion  114  is removable from the frame  112 , and encasement portions  114  with different sized openings  116  are interchangeably attachable to the frame  112 . 
     With the footwear F held in the opening  116  of the encasement portion  114 , the controller  410  initializes a cleaning of the sole S in a second step  620  shown in  FIG. 4 . The controller  410  can only initialize the cleaning of the sole S when the user has switched the switch  430  into the activated position in a step  622  and power is supplied from the power supply  450  to the controller  410 . In an embodiment, the controller  410  initializes the cleaning described below as soon as the user switches the switch  430  into the activated position. 
     In another embodiment, the optical sensor  420  gathers footwear presence data  422  indicating a presence or an absence of footwear F in the opening  116  and transmits the footwear presence data  422  to the controller  410  in a step  624  shown in  FIG. 4 . The controller  410  determines whether the footwear presence data  422  indicates that footwear F has been inserted into the opening  116  or whether the footwear presence data  422  indicates that no footwear F has been inserted into the opening  116  in a step  626 . In this embodiment, the controller  410  only initializes the cleaning described below when both the switch  430  is in the activated position and the footwear presence data  422  from the optical sensor  420  indicates that the footwear F has been inserted in the opening  116 . If the controller  410  determines that the footwear F has not been inserted in the opening  116 , the controller  410  loops back and continues to gather footwear presence data  422  from the optical sensor  420 . 
     The controller  410  initializes the cleaning by executing programs controlling the pump  230  and the driving device  320 . 
     The controller  410  activates the pump  230  and controls the pump  230  to spray the cleaning solution  220  through the nozzle  240  in a third step  630 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . The cleaning solution  220  sprayed from the nozzle  240  travels through the brush passageways  316  and saturates the bristles  314 . 
     Later or simultaneously, in a fourth step  640  shown in  FIG. 4 , the optical sensor  420  gathers brush position data  424  indicating a relative position between the bristles  314  and a bottom of the sole S and transmits the brush position data  424  to the controller  410 . The controller  410  determines from the brush position data  424  whether the bristles  314  are in contact with the bottom of the sole S and, based on this determination, the controller  410  controls the driving device  320  to move the bristles  314  into contact with the bottom of the sole S in the vertical direction V. 
     With the bristles  314  in contact with the bottom of the sole S, the controller  410  controls the driving device  320  to move translationally along the bottom of the sole S in a fifth step  650  shown in  FIG. 4 . The bristles  314  engage the sole S and dislodge debris from the sole S during translational and vertical movement. The debris and cleaning solution  220  fall to the interior surface  134  of the bottom  130  and are moved by gravity into the release tray  138  disposed in the release passageway  136 . In various embodiments, the controller  410  can control the spraying system  200  to only spray the cleaning solution  220  at the initialization of cleaning, can control the spraying system  200  to spray continuously throughout the cleaning, or can control the spraying system  200  to spray periodically throughout the cleaning. 
     The driving device  320  continues to drive the bristles  314  along the sole S until the controller  410  ends the cleaning in a sixth step  660  shown in  FIG. 4 . In all embodiments, the controller  410  can end the cleaning when the user manually moves the switch  430  into the deactivated position in a step  662 . The controller  410  can also determine to end the cleaning according to a number of different embodiments described below. At the end of cleaning, the controller  410  deactivates the pump  230  and controls the driving device  320  to move the brush  310  back into an initial position in a step  668 . 
     In an embodiment, the controller  410  ends the cleaning after a preset time has elapsed in a step  664  shown in  FIG. 4 . In this embodiment, the controller  410  displays the preset time on the user interface  440  and the user interface  440  counts down from the preset time to indicate a remaining time and the end of cleaning to the user on the user interface  440 . 
     In another embodiment, the optical sensor  420  gathers debris data  426  indicating the presence or absence of debris on the sole S and transmits the debris data  426  to the controller  410  in a step  666  shown in  FIG. 4 . The controller  410  receives the debris data  426  and determines whether the debris data  426  indicates that debris remains on the sole S in a step  667 . If the controller  410  determines that debris remains on the sole S, the controller  410  continues to control the driving device  320  to move the brush  310  and the spraying system  200  to spray the cleaning solution  220 . The controller  410  ends the cleaning when the debris data  426  indicates that no debris remains on the sole S. In an embodiment, the controller  410  may indicate an estimated time remaining on the user interface  440  based on the debris data  426 . 
     Other embodiments may combine the preset time and the use of the optical sensor  420  to gather debris data  426 . For example, in an embodiment, the controller  410  may only receive the debris data  426  from the optical sensor  420  after the controller  410  has at least conducted cleaning for the preset time. 
     In all embodiments, the controller  410  may control the user interface  440  to provide a sound or other alert to the user to indicate the end of cleaning. 
     The footwear F is removed from the opening  116  when the cleaning is completed in a seventh step  670  shown in  FIG. 4 . The encasement portion  114  allows the sole S to be thoroughly cleaned by the spraying system  200  and the brushing system  300  without the cleaning solution  220  contacting the upper U of the footwear F. 
     After cleaning of the footwear F is completed, or as needed periodically, the user can prepare the footwear cleaning device  10  for future use in an eighth step  680  shown in  FIG. 4 . The user removes the release tray  138  from the release passageway  136  in the vertical direction V. Due to the slope of the interior surface  134  of the bottom  130 , the release tray  138  contains used cleaning solution  220  and debris. Additional cleaning solution  220  and debris can exit the interior  140  through the release passageway  136  with the release tray  138  removed. The release tray  138  can then be cleaned and re-inserted to the secured position in the release passageway  136 . Additionally, the user moves the lid  110  to the open position in which the interior  140  of the housing  100  is exposed. The interior  140  of the housing  100  can then be cleaned and the reservoir  210  can be filled with additional cleaning solution  220  as necessary. The brushing system  300  remains attached to the lid  110  when the lid  110  is moved to the open position to permit easier access to the interior  140  and the reservoir  210 . When the lid  110  is moved back to the closed position, the footwear cleaning device  10  is ready to clean another piece of footwear F.