Cleaning apparatus for removing deodorant, powder and particulates from fabric

Abstract

A cleaning apparatus (10) for removing a substance from fabric. The cleaning apparatus comprises a foam substrate having a thickness (TH) between a top surface (11) and a bottom surface, wherein an outer edge (13) is defined along an exterior perimeter of the thickness. The cleaning apparatus also comprises a central portion (ID) having a continuous shape interrupted by a plurality of discontinuities (141 through 144) extending from the top surface to the bottom surface along the outer edge. Still further, the cleaning apparatus comprises a plurality of protrusions extending outward from the central portion, wherein each protrusion is located between two discontinuities in the plurality of discontinuities.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present embodiments relate to cleaning apparatus and are more particularly directed to such apparatus for removing deodorant, powder and particulates from fabric, such as clothing.

In the area of women's clothing by way of example, and particularly in higher end shops and boutiques, customers typically desire to try on clothes prior to making a decision whether to purchase the clothing. However, often the customer will have earlier applied one or more grooming materials, such as make-up, deodorant, or the like. Often these materials include at least in part some powder or other fine particle substances. As a result, and as seen long in the industry of sales of such clothes, the powder or other fine particle substances on the customer may in part or in whole wipe off onto the clothing being sampled, thereby presenting a modest or more prominent stain on the clothing. As a result, should the customer then decide not to purchase the clothing being sampled, then the seller is left in the position of then having a potentially soiled item of clothing. Alternatively, if the customer purchases the sampled item, then they own the potentially soiled clothing item. Consequently, in either case, someone is then left to attempt to remove the mildly staining material, where for the seller they must do so or otherwise risk losing a sale of the clothing to a subsequent customer or the buyer must do so as to avoid any embarrassment and to render the clothing more usable.

In connection with the above, it has often been left to the clothing seller to devise a manner to remove, at least to the extent visible, the staining material from the clothing or fabric at issue. Various commercially available cleaners could be sought in this regard. Additionally, one technique that has been known in the boutique industry is to remove a piece of the thin anti-static polyurethane foam material that is used by the dry cleaning industry as a pad between the top of a garment hanger and an item of cleaned clothing, and then to use that foam to gently rub against the above-described staining materials. This foam has been found in some instances to remove the staining material, at least to the extent that is noticeably visible.

Presumably as a further evolution to the hanger material described above, a commercially available product is now being offered for sale in connection with addressing the above-described problem, that is, to remove deodorant and the like from women's clothing. This product appears to be formed from the same anti-static foam as that used by the dry cleaning industry as a pad between the top of a garment hanger and an item of cleaned clothing. However, the product is cut in the shape of a circular pad, with a thickness of 1.25 inches and a diameter of 3.0 inches. It is believed that the density of this product is on the order of 21 i.f.d. (“indention firmness deflection”).

While the preceding approaches have useful application, the present inventors have discovered that they may be improved upon. Such improvements are borne out in the preferred embodiments, as discussed below.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the preferred embodiment, there is a cleaning apparatus for removing a substance from fabric. The cleaning apparatus comprises a foam substrate having a thickness between a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein an outer edge is defined along an exterior perimeter of the thickness. The cleaning apparatus also comprises a central portion having a continuous shape interrupted by a plurality of discontinuities extending from the top surface to the bottom surface along the outer edge. Still further, the cleaning apparatus comprises a plurality of protrusions extending outward from the central portion, wherein each protrusion is located between two discontinuities in the plurality of discontinuities.

Other aspects are also disclosed and claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1a illustrates a plan view of the preferred embodiment cleaning apparatus 10.

FIG. 1b illustrates a top view of the preferred embodiment cleaning apparatus 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1a illustrates a plan view of a cleaning apparatus 10 according to the preferred embodiment. By way of introduction, cleaning apparatus 10 is for use by a person so as to attempt to remove staining substances from fabric by rubbing apparatus 10 against those substances. Looking now in more detail to the preferred embodiment, cleaning apparatus 10 is formed of a foam material and, thus, may be cut or other4wise formed from a foam substrate. Preferably, the foam has various attributes, which the present inventors have determined provide favorable success when attempting to remove items such as make-up, deodorant, and other powder or light particle-including substances from fabrics. As described above in the Background Of The Invention section of this document, such substances are likely to be found on various fabrics in the form of clothing at sales facilities, where one or more persons have previously tried on the clothing and one or more substances have rubbed off from them onto the clothing. In any event, the foam implemented to form cleaning apparatus 10 preferably includes various attributes. As one attribute, the foam preferably includes polyurethane but more particularly is treated with one of various known chemicals so as to increase the density of the foam. More specifically, in the preferred embodiment, such treatment causes the polyurethane foam of cleaning apparatus 10 to have a density on the order of 50 i.f.d. (“indention firmness deflection”). As another attribute, the preferred embodiment is not comprised of anti-static foam. As a result of one or more of these attributes, the preferred embodiment has been found empirically to provide success in removing offending materials from fabrics, and the durability and longevity of the preferred embodiment is considered to be improved over that of the prior art.

FIG. 1b illustrates a top view of cleaning apparatus 10. From this perspective as well as the plan view of FIG. 1a, various additional preferred attributes may be observed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1a, preferably cleaning apparatus 10 includes a top surface 11 defined along the substrate of foam material, where the foam has a thickness TH that extends from top surface 11 down to the bottom surface of apparatus 10, where the bottom surface is not visible from the perspective of FIGS. 1a and 1b. Further, an outer edge 13 is exposed along the exterior perimeter of thickness TH. The outer perimeter of apparatus 10 includes a number of discontinuities, shown in FIG. 1 at 12₁ through 12₈. Each discontinuity represents a location where the shape of top surface 11 is interrupted, and further each discontinuity preferably extends from top surface 11 downward to the bottom surface, thereby extending through edge 13 of apparatus 10. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, top surface 11 has a continuous curved shape, but the continuity of that shape is interrupted at each location of a discontinuity. Also, in the illustrated and preferred embodiment, discontinuities 12₁ through 12₈ are achieved by forming cleaning apparatus 10 in the shape of a scallop, or it may be said to be scalloped. With the scalloping, cleaning apparatus 10 can be perceived in general as having a centrally positioned generally circular section having an inner diameter ID, and extending outward from that circular section are four protrusions 14₁, 14₂, 14₃, and 14₄; in other words, without the discontinuities and the protrusions, then apparatus 10 would present a circular shape. However, the preferred embodiment includes protrusions 14₁ through 14₄, and each protrusion is generally formed between a pair of perimeter discontinuities, so that protrusion 14₁ is located between discontinuities 12₁ and 12₈, protrusion 14₂ is located between discontinuities 12₂ and 12₃, protrusion 14₃ is located between discontinuities 12₄ and 12₅, and protrusion 14₄ is located between discontinuities 12₆ and 12₇. Note that in an alternative embodiment, an alternative central shape may be included with a number of protrusions extending from it.

Given the preferred and illustrated shape of apparatus 10, it is possible for the width, W, from the top of apparatus 10 to extend beyond that of the inner diameter, ID. Note also therefore that the overall configuration as now described permits the amount of surface area along edge 13 to be greater than that which would exist if apparatus 10 were purely circular with a same inner diameter ID. Further, with this shape and geometric configuration, cleaning apparatus 10 is more easily held by a user which thereby supports a more comfortable yet rigorous cleaning use with the device. In addition, in the preferred embodiment, cleaning apparatus 10 has a cross-sectional thickness, TH, along its edge 13, that is preferably on the order of 0.75 inches. This preferred thickness is less than that of the earlier-described commercially available product, and it along with the device shape, as further facilitated by protrusions 14₁, 14₂, 14₃, and 14₄, have proven more favorable for using cleaning apparatus 10 to remove substances in more confined crevices, such as may exist between buttons or at interfaces of one piece of fabric with another on a garment. Also in the preferred embodiment, width W of cleaning apparatus 10 is on the order of 3.0 inches, again facilitating a favorable level of comfort and use in the hand of a person.

Given the preceding, preferably cleaning apparatus 10 is used by a person so as to attempt to remove staining substances from fabric, such as may be desired in various instances, including at sales locations or also for personal use such as in the privacy of one's home. In any event, where a substance that includes at least in part some powder or other fine particles has become lodged on fabric, be it clothing or otherwise, the various attributes of the preferred embodiment permit a user to rub the offending substance with the preferred embodiment, in which case in a successful endeavor the substance will be at least in part removed from the fabric. Such a use may be achieved with little effort and at a very modest cost, thereby saving the cost or futility of additional efforts to remove an undesirable stain from the fabric at issue.

From the above, it may be appreciated that the above embodiments provide useful application in the field of removing various substances from fabric and with various advantages over the prior art. Further, while the present embodiments have been described in detail, various substitutions, modifications or alterations could be made to the descriptions set forth above without departing from the inventive scope which is defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A cleaning apparatus for removing a substance from fabric, comprising:

a foam substrate having a thickness between a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein an outer edge is defined along an exterior perimeter of the thickness;

a central portion having a continuous shape interrupted by a plurality of discontinuities extending from the top surface to the bottom surface along the outer edge; and

a plurality of protrusions extending outward from the central portion, wherein each protrusion is located between two discontinuities in the plurality of discontinuities.

2. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the foam substrate comprises an indention firmness deflection on an order of 50.

3. The cleaning apparatus of claim 2 wherein the thickness is on the order of 0.75 inches.

4. The cleaning apparatus of claim 3 wherein the central portion comprises a circular portion.

5. The cleaning apparatus of claim 4 wherein the plurality of discontinuities consists of eight discontinuities.

6. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1:

wherein the foam substrate comprises a generally circular top surface and bottom surface; and

wherein the foam substrate further comprises a plurality of extensions extending from the generally circular top surface and bottom surface.

7. The cleaning apparatus of claim 6 wherein the plurality of extensions consists of four extensions.

8. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the foam comprises foam that is not anti-static foam.

9. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the thickness is on the order of 0.75 inches.

10. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the central portion comprises a circular portion.

11. A method of removing a substance from fabric, comprising:

rubbing the substance with a cleaning apparatus, the cleaning apparatus comprising: a foam substrate having a thickness between a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein an outer edge is defined along an exterior perimeter of the thickness; a central portion having a continuous shape interrupted by a plurality of discontinuities extending from the top surface to the bottom surface along the outer edge; and a plurality of protrusions extending outward from the central portion, wherein each protrusion is located between two discontinuities in the plurality of discontinuities.