MICROFIBER CLEANING CLOTH CLOTHING ARTICLE AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLY
Microfiber cloth is attached, with an opening on one margin to permit insertion of a finger, to a backing formed by articles of regularly worn clothing, including shirt tails, the tip of neckties, scarves, sweaters, pants or other clothing article, making the microfiber cloth more accessible and ready to use for cleaning surfaces of personal devices without risk to soiling any exposed surface of the backing.
The present application is a continuation-in-part application of co-pending application Ser. No. 13/707,361 filed Dec. 6, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. ______. This application also claims benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. provisional Application No. 61/568,245, filed on Dec. 8, 2011, titled “Microfiber Cleaning Cloth Clothing Article and Method of Assembly,” the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to methods and apparatus for cleaning smooth surfaces of personal devices such as cell phone screens, eye glasses, electronic screens and the like.
Microfiber cloth has been developed for cleaning smooth surfaces. Examples of products in which such surfaces are found include eyeglasses, cell phones, MP3 players, computers, televisions and other articles with display screens. A microfiber cloth is designed to attract dust and remove oil on contact with the glass surface.
It is a common practice to use shirttails and the like clothing to casually and occasionally clean such surfaces of personal devices. However convenient this may be, this method is often unsatisfactory because the fabric of clothing is unsuitable to clean such surfaces, spreading contaminants instead of removing oil and dust.
What is needed is an effective and convenient method and device for casual cleaning of glass surfaces.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to the invention, a piece of microfiber cloth is attached to an article of fabric having another purpose, such as an article of regularly worn clothing. The attachment sites include a shirt tail, a necktie, pants, pockets, lapels, scarves or other clothing article that is regularly worn, making the microfiber cloth more accessible and ready to use for cleaning glass surfaces of personal devices. Microfiber cloth is attached to clothing in convenient and unobtrusive locations using an attachment medium, such as a heat-activated adhesive interlayer or iron-on cloth piece. The cloth piece is preferably shaped to fit the shape of the clothing area that serves as a support base or backing.
In a particular embodiment, the microfiber cloth patch is attached on all but a portion of one side to the triangular tip of a necktie, the patch shaped to conform to the tip of the necktie, the patch having an unattached margin so as to form a pocket under the tip of the necktie, the pocket opening being on a side of the patch. This structure permits a user to insert a finger under the tip of the necktie and adjacent the inside of the patch so that the finger may stroke the surface to be cleaned through the cleaning side of the patch without soiling the tip of the necktie.
The article of clothing is transformed into a cleaning cloth when the microfiber piece is attached to the article of clothing. The pocket configuration maybe used in other embodiments, such as on a shirt tail.
The method of attachment is preferably by means of a heat activated adhesive sheet, but the edges of the pocket opening may be attached to the underlying material, such as by thread.
The invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description in connection with accompanying drawings.
It is conventional wisdom that a microfiber cloth cannot be ironed because of the risk of fusing and thus clogging the split fibers. To address and overcome this problem, the iron-on sheet 16 and the substrate 14 are placed between the heat source (hot iron) and the microfiber cloth 12, the assembly is placed on a cold heat sink, and the heat source is applied at the lowest effective heat setting for the shortest effective time. Alternatively, heat is applied only to the margins of the cloth sheet 12 and its heat-sensitive backing 16, leaving the untreated center area of the cloth sheet of sufficient size for the cleaning function, and providing a space forming a pocket where an opening 17 between adjoining sides of the cloth 12 provides access to the interior of the pocket. The untreated center area can be protected by a layer of heat-insulative material (not shown) that is smaller than the extent of the side margins of the iron-on attachment cloth 12. While sewing is an alternative, the preferred embodiment is as an iron-on attachment cloth 12. Loops 13, 15 of thread sewing the corners of the pocket opening 17 to the underlying backing 14 may provide extra strength against separation, and a void 19 in the iron-on sheet 16 may provide an assured void adjacent the pocket opening 17. The pocket opening 17 may be a chord with endpoints at between about one-half to about one-third of the distance from opposite corners of a square patch of the cloth 12. If the endpoint is more than about one-half along the length of the margin, then there is little room for a finger or fingers to be inserted. It it is less than one-third, bonding strength of the backing is sacrificed. However, if the bonding strength is adequate, endpoints may be at the opposite corners of the cloth 12 without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Articles to which a microfiber sheet 12 may be attached flush to provide a cleaning medium for screens and the like include shirt tails, scarves, sweaters, pants, ties, gloves, purses, lapels, bags or other articles and clothing that are regularly worn or carried, making the microfiber cloth more accessible and ready to use.
Adhesives and attachment media that could be used include, but are not limited to: Iron-on adhesive tape, liquid iron-on adhesive, superglue, hot glue, epoxy, liquid cement, sewn thread, etc. It is preferred and has been determined that the iron-on adhesive tape is preferred for convenience and longevity.
The invention has been explained with reference to specific embodiments. The claims are incorporated into the description of the invention. Other embodiments will be evident to those of skill in the art. It is therefore not intended that the invention be limited, except as indicated by the appended claims.
Claims
1. An article comprising:
- a microfiber cloth shaped for flush attachment to an area of a fabric substrate, the fabric substrate having a primary use other than for cleaning; and
- an attachment medium adjoining the microfiber cloth to a mating surface of the fabric substrate to form a cleaning article incorporated into the substrate for cleaning a personal device having a smooth surface, the microfiber cloth having a pocket opening of sufficient size to permit the insertion of a finger.
2. The article according to claim 1 wherein the attachment medium is a heat-activated adhesive.
3. The article according to claim 1 wherein the attachment medium is a heat-activated adhesive and further including threads attaching the microfiber cloth to the substrate adjacent edges of the pocket opening.
4. The article according to claim 2 wherein the adhesive is a backing sheet.
5. The article of claim 1 wherein the fabric substrate is a shirt tail.
6. The article of claim 1 wherein the fabric substrate is a necktie.
7. The article of claim 1 wherein the fabric substrate is a pocket.
8. An article comprising:
- a microfiber cloth shaped for flush attachment to an area of a fabric substrate of a backing at the tip of a necktie;
- an attachment medium comprising a heat-sensitive adhesive adjoining the microfiber cloth to a mating surface of the fabric substrate to form a cleaning article on the back of the tip of the necktie and including a pocket opening in a margin of the microfiber cloth of sufficient size to permit the insertion of a finger so that a personal device can be cleaned with the microfiber cloth on the back of the tip of the necktie without soiling the front of the necktie.
9. A method for forming a cleaning article comprising:
- placing a heat-activated adhesive medium sheet upon a mating surface of a fabric article, the adhesive medium sheet being shaped to conform with the mating surface of the fabric article;
- placing the microfiber cloth sheet upon the heat-activated medium sheet, the microfiber cloth sheet being shaped to conform with the mating surface of the fabric article with an opening along one margin for insertion of a finger; thereafter
- placing a heat-insulative material sheet against the microfiber cloth sheet to cover the microfiber cloth sheet, the heat-insulative material being smaller than the extent of margins of the microfiber cloth sheet;
- applying sufficient heat to activate the heat-activated adhesive medium at at least the margins of the microfiber cloth sheet, while leaving at least a portion of one margin open in order to attach he microfiber cloth sheet flush to the mating surface of the fabric article with the adhesive medium sheet to add a cleaning element to the fabric article having a pocket for insertion of a finger.
10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the attaching is by heating the adhesive as a heat-activated adhesive sheet with a hot iron.
11. The method according to claim 9 wherein the attaching is by heating the adhesive as a heat-activated adhesive sheet with a hot iron, and sewing edges of the one margin to the mating surface.
13. An article for cleaning smooth surfaces comprising:
- a fabric article;
- a microfiber cloth sheet; and
- a heat-activated adhesive medium sheet, the microfiber cloth sheet being attached to the fabric article by:
- placing the heat-activated adhesive medium sheet upon a mating surface of a fabric article, the adhesive medium sheet being shaped to conform with the mating surface of the fabric article;
- placing the microfiber cloth sheet upon the heat-activated medium sheet, the microfiber cloth sheet being shaped to conform with the mating surface of the fabric article pith an opening along one margin for insertion of a finger; thereafter
- placing a heat-insulative material sheet against the microfiber cloth sheet to cover the microfiber cloth sheet, the heat-insulative material being smaller than the extent of margins of the microfiber cloth sheet;
- applying sufficient heat to activate the heat-activated adhesive medium at at least the margins of the microfiber cloth sheet in order to attach the microfiber cloth sheet flush to the mating surface of the fabric article to add a cleaning element to the fabric article;
- the fabric article selected from the group consisting of a necktie, a shirt, a blouse, a handbag, an accessory tag, a pocket, a trouser.
14. An article for cleaning smooth surfaces comprising:
- a fabric article; and
- a microfiber cloth sheet suitable for use in cleaning, the microfiber cloth sheet having on one side a coating of a heat-activated adhesive, the microfiber cloth sheet being attached to the fabric article by:
- placing the microfiber cloth sheet with its side with the heat-activated medium against the fabric article, the microfiber cloth sheet being shaped to conform with the mating surface of the fabric article with an opening along one margin for insertion of a finger; thereafter
- placing a heat-insulative material sheet against the microfiber cloth sheet to cover the microfiber cloth sheet, the heat-insulative material being smaller than the extent of margins of the microfiber cloth sheet;
- applying sufficient heat to activate the heat-activated adhesive medium at at least the margins of the microfiber cloth sheet in order to attach the microfiber cloth sheet flush to the mating surface of the fabric article to add a cleaning element to the fabric article;
- the fabric article selected from the group consisting of a necktie, a shirt, a blouse, a handbag, an accessory tag, a pocket, a trouser.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 10, 2014
Publication Date: Apr 16, 2015
Inventors: Nathanael Moon Bonham (Provo, UT), Keith Hansen Allen (Provo, UT)
Application Number: 14/566,530
International Classification: A47L 13/16 (20060101); A41D 1/06 (20060101); A41D 27/20 (20060101); A41B 1/00 (20060101); A41D 25/00 (20060101);