Patent Description:
The apparatus described herein generally relates to efficiently and rapidly cleaning the bottom of a shoe, such as a cleansing portion and attachment member for affixing the cleansing portion to the shoe.

The bottom of basketball shoes often become soiled during gameplay. Shoes lose their grip to the court's surface over time due to the accumulation of dust, dirt and other contaminants collected from the court onto the bottom surface of a shoe. Resultantly, shoes and subsequently slide on the court's surface, potentially causing decreased performance and increased risk of injury.

Players often wipe their hands on the bottom of a basketball shoe to cleanse it, which leaves their hands dirty and slick when handling the ball. Often a player's hands will become sweaty from playing basketball. Resultantly, a player will often spit on his or her hand prior to wiping the bottom of the shoes. The associated saliva often contaminates the playing surface that the bottom of the shoe comes into contact with, resulting in an unsanitary playing environment.

Cleaning products are not readily available on the court to clean shoes. Current materials on shoes are not designed for cleaning or wiping away debris. The cleaning material on the shoe will eventually become dirty from wiping bottoms of shoes. A commonly known prior art cleaning solution involves a traction mat placed on the side of the court configured to allow a player to step onto a mat having a sticky surface to remove debris from the bottom of an athletic shoes, however this and similar prior art solutions have the disadvantage of not being accessible on the court of play. Therefore, a player does not have such a solution available to clean the bottom of his or her shoe during the actual gameplay.

Other solutions involve applying a foreign substance to the bottom of a shoe. Such solutions, however, are also generally inaccessible on the field of play during gameplay. In some circumstances, such substances do not make a shoe cleaner, but rather add more foreign substances to the bottom of the shoe. Such substances are prone to wearing away during gameplay. In some situations, substances are damaging to the shoe, limiting the shoe's lifespan.

Some prior art solutions involve a shoe attachment to facilitate cleaning, such as <CIT> and <CIT> which discloses all the technical features of the preamble of claim <NUM>. Such attachments are typically carried on one shoe of a wearer, and the wearer drags the bottom of the other shoe across the attachment to facilitate cleaning. However, such attachments are typically provide one or more discrete sizes upon attaching to a shoe. Accordingly, improved shoe attachments would be beneficial.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention defined by the appended claims will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention.

It should be understood that the drawings are intended facilitate understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are not necessarily to scale.

The following description refers to the accompanying drawings which show specific embodiments. Although specific embodiments are shown and described, it is to be understood that additional and/or alternative features are employed in other embodiments. The following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the claimed invention is defined by the appended claims.

It should be understood that like reference numerals are intended to identify the same structural components, elements, portions, or surfaces consistently throughout the several drawing figures, as such components, elements, portions, or surfaces may be further described or explained by the entire written specification, of which this detailed description is an integral part. Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are intended to be read (for example, cross-hatching, arrangement of parts, proportion, degree, etc.) together with the specification, and are to be considered a portion of the written description.

<FIG> illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> in accordance with the present disclosure, and <FIG> illustrates the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> secured to a first shoe <NUM> (illustrated in phantom lines). During the intended method of use of the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM>, the apparatus <NUM> is secure to the first shoe <NUM>, and the wearer drags the bottom of a second shoe (not shown) across the apparatus <NUM> to facilitate cleaning. More specifically, the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> facilitates removal of debris, such as dirt and dust, from the bottom of the second shoe. The apparatus <NUM> facilitates cleaning without dirtying the hands of the wearer, and without stoppage of athletic gameplay.

Referring specifically to <FIG> and <FIG>, the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> generally includes a relatively large main body <NUM> that facilitates cleaning. At a first or lower side, the main body <NUM> couples to a first attachment strap <NUM> and a second attachment strap <NUM>. As described in further detail below, the attachment straps <NUM>, <NUM> are configured to detachably secure the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> to the first shoe <NUM>. At an opposite second or upper side, the main body <NUM> couples to an attachment device <NUM>. The attachment device <NUM> is also configured to detachably secure the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> to the first shoe <NUM>.

The shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> may be constructed of one or more materials that provide the apparatus <NUM> with one or more advantageous characteristics, such as being light weight, durable, resilient, washable, capable of holding a specific form thereby allowing the apparatus to conform to a shoe profile, and capable of flexing without breaking or tearing. More specifically and with reference to <FIG>, in some embodiments the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> may be constructed from one or more compression molded materials <NUM>, such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foams, cross-linked foams, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foams, open cell urethanes, and thermoplastic urethane films, covered or surrounded by one or more fabrics <NUM>, such as a microfiber. The fabric(s) may be coupled to the compression molded material(s) via one or more adhesives and/or stitching. Other details of constructions including compression molded materials and fabrics are generally provided in <CIT>.

Referring again to <FIG> and <FIG>, in some embodiments and as illustrated the main body <NUM>, the first attachment strap <NUM>, and the attachment device <NUM> are integrally constructed, or continuously constructed, from the compression molded material(s) and the fabric(s). In other embodiments, the main body <NUM>, the first attachment strap <NUM>, and the attachment device <NUM> are together constructed separately and coupled in other manners, such as via fasteners, adhesives, stitching, or the like.

In some embodiments and as illustrated, the main body <NUM> includes a relatively thin base <NUM> and a plurality of cleansing portions <NUM> extending from the base <NUM>. The cleansing portions <NUM> facilitates removal of debris from the bottom of the second shoe (not shown). Illustratively, the main body <NUM> includes five cleansing portions <NUM>. Alternatively, the main body <NUM> may include a different number of cleansing portions <NUM> or lack cleansing portions <NUM>.

Referring now to <FIG>, the first attachment strap <NUM> and the second attachment strap <NUM> may include similar or the same features. As such, only the first attachment strap <NUM> is described in detail, although it is understood that the second attachment strap <NUM> may include similar or the same features. The first attachment strap <NUM> includes a first end <NUM> that is coupled to the main body <NUM> and an opposite or free second end <NUM>. The second end <NUM> is configured to be positioned under the main body <NUM> to facilitate detachably securing the apparatus <NUM> to the shoe <NUM>. More specifically, the first attachment strap <NUM> is configured to wrap under a portion of the shoe <NUM>, such as the lace of the shoe <NUM>, and detachably couple to the main body <NUM> to detachably securing the apparatus <NUM> to the shoe <NUM>.

Referring specifically to <FIG>, in some embodiments and as illustrated a lower surface <NUM> of the first attachment strap <NUM> includes a coupler <NUM> at or near the free second end <NUM>. The coupler <NUM> facilitates infinitely adjustably coupling the first attachment strap <NUM> to the main body <NUM>. Stated another way, the coupler <NUM> facilitates coupling the first attachment strap <NUM> to the main body <NUM> in an infinite number of positions. Such a coupler <NUM> stands in contrast to a device that facilitates coupling two components in a discrete number of positions, such as a buckle and openings on opposite ends of a belt. Advantageously, the coupler <NUM> facilitates configuring the apparatus <NUM> in various sizes for coupling to shoes of various sizes or different constructions (for example, having various lace arrangements).

The coupler <NUM> may take various specific forms. For example, the coupler <NUM> may include a plurality of hooks that are configured to detachably couple to the main body <NUM>. As another example, the coupler <NUM> may include a plurality of hooks or a plurality of loops, and the main body <NUM> may include fastener (not shown) having a plurality of loops or a plurality of hooks for detachably coupling to the coupler <NUM>. As yet another example, the coupler <NUM> may include one or more materials or features that otherwise facilitate detachably coupling to the main body <NUM>.

Referring again to <FIG>, an upper surface <NUM> of the first attachment strap <NUM> also includes a guide <NUM> to facilitate consistently positioning the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> relative to the shoe <NUM>. More specifically, one or more portions of the guide <NUM> may be consistently positioned relative to, or aligned with, one or more features of the shoe <NUM>, such as the lace, to facilitate consistently positioning the apparatus <NUM> relative to the shoe <NUM>. The guide <NUM> may take various specific forms. For example, the guide <NUM> may include one or more indicators, and each indicator may be, as illustrated, a rectangular-shaped protrusion <NUM>. Alternatively, an indicator may be a different geometric shape, symbol, alphanumeric character, and/or demarcation. Similarly, an indicator may be a different three-dimensional shape (for example, a recess) or a two-dimensional feature (that is, a flat feature).

In some embodiments, including embodiments in which the indicators are constructed as protrusions, each indicator may be constructed of the compression molded material(s) <NUM> and/or the fabric(s) <NUM> (see <FIG>). In some embodiments, including embodiments in which the indicators are formed as one or more protrusions, the indicators facilitate cleaning a second shoe (not shown).

With general reference to <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>, the attachment device <NUM> illustratively includes a first eyelet <NUM> and second eyelet <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the eyelets <NUM> and <NUM> are configured to receive a lace of the shoe <NUM> to facilitate securing the apparatus <NUM> to the shoe <NUM>. In other embodiments, the attachment device <NUM> may take other forms. For example, the attachment device <NUM> may include one or more snaps, hooks, fasteners, any of the features described in <CIT>, or other features for securing the apparatus to the shoe <NUM>.

The shoe bottom cleansing apparatus <NUM> may be modified in various other manners. For example, in some embodiments one of the attachment straps <NUM> or <NUM> lacks a guide, or the apparatus <NUM> only includes a single attachment strap <NUM> or <NUM>. As another example, in some embodiments one or both of the attachment straps <NUM> and <NUM> detachably couple to themselves in addition to or instead of the main body <NUM>. More specifically and for example, the coupler <NUM> could detachably couple to the lower surface <NUM> of the first attachment strap <NUM> or a fastener (not shown) of the first attachment strap <NUM> to secure the apparatus <NUM> to the shoe <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A shoe bottom cleansing apparatus (<NUM>) configured to be carried by a first shoe (<NUM>), the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus (<NUM>) comprising:
a main body (<NUM>) configured to clean a bottom of a second shoe; and
an attachment strap (<NUM>, <NUM>) coupled to the main body (<NUM>) and configured to detachably secure the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus (<NUM>) to the first shoe (<NUM>),
characterized by
the attachment strap (<NUM>, <NUM>) comprising a coupler (<NUM>) configured to detachably couple to both of the main body (<NUM>) and the attachment strap (<NUM>, <NUM>) in an infinite number of positions, and the attachment strap (<NUM>, <NUM>) comprising a guide (<NUM>) configured to facilitate consistently positioning the shoe bottom cleansing apparatus (<NUM>) relative to the first shoe (<NUM>), wherein the guide (<NUM>) comprises one or more indicator(s) for positioning relative to, or aligned with, one or more features of the first shoe (<NUM>).