US2571606A - Foot mop - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 16, 1951 PETERSON 2,571,606

FOOT MOP Filed May 20, 1948 2 SHEETS-Sl-IEET 1 IN VEN TOR. ESTHER PETERSON BY W Anna/may E. PETERSON FOOT MOP 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed May 20, 1948 INVENTOR. ESTHER PETERSON Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOOT MOP Esther Peterson, New York, N. Y. Application May 1948, Serial No. 28,200

4 Claims. (01. 15227) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in an article for dry mopping and/ or polishing floors.

According to the invention, there is provided a mop or polisher flexible throughout and incorporating a bottom wall structure carrying the mopping or polishing instrumentalities, as a multiplicity of strands of yarn or the like, and an overlying stall for the fore part of a foot of the user of the device, whereby with such foot inserted into said stall shufliing or sliding movements of the foot may be employed while walking so as to dry mop and/or polish the floor. Thus a back-tiring kneeling posture is entirely obviated, and the work of dry mopping and/or polishing the floor is easily and quickly performed.

Since the concept of the invention is to provide a foot borne article for the purposes stated which is preferably not to be placed on a shod foot, but instead on a preferably bare foot, particularly for dry mopping and/or polishing and which is entirely constructed of cloth so that the entire article may be conveniently washed for renewing and refreshing the same after repeated uses.

Furthermore, in dry mopping and/or polishing the flexibility of the article allows a side of the article to be swept along the floor closely alongside a baseboard, and allows the toe portion of the article to be applied with complete efiectiveness to a floor corner. In these connections, a feature of the invention is an arrangement such that the yarn strands or the like are indiscriminately but considerably projected beyond the bounds of the flexible bottom wall struc ture, this in part resulting from the manner of securement of such strands or the like to said structure.

Another object of the invention proposes forming the article of a separate foot engaging portion and bottom mop portion releasably connected together by means of a single lace engaged through aligned openings formed in the portions, in a manner so that the bottom mop portion may be separated from the foot engaging portion to be separately laundered or replaced.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article of the class described which is efficient for its intended purposes, which is easily kept in a sanitary condition and which may be manufactured and sold at a reasonable cost.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will behad to the following description 2 and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the dry mopping and/or polishing article constructed in accordance with the present invention and shown on a foot of a user.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the article.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of the article, but with the layers at the back partially separated.

Fig. 4 is a partial enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a partial enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged-detailed view of a portion of Fig. 3.

Fig. '7 is a transverse sectional View of the bottom layer of the bottom wall, per se.

The dry mopping and/or polishing article, according to the present invention, includes a bottom wall I0 of superimposed layers Ill and l of a suitable textile fabric. While any material may be used ior forming the layers of the bottom wall [0, a good quality canvas is preferred.

The bottom wall H! has the outline of a somewhat elongated oval, with its more sharply rounded end at the rear of the articl so as to lie below the heel area I4 of the foot l5 upon which the article is engaged.

To the. underside of the bottom layer Ill of the bottom wall In the mopping and/or polishing instrumentalities are secured. These, as shown in Fig. 7, are clumps of short-length strands of yarn or the like; said clumps being, in part, fore and aft extending columns or rows IS, with the strands of each such row caught at substantially midway points along their lengths by a line of stitching ll, passing through the bottom layer lll of the bottom wall I0.

Also, included, for providing complementary mopping and/or polishing instrumentalities, is a bank 18 of said strands, similarly arranged and similarly stitched to the bottom layer lfl of the bottom wall I6, as at l9; said bank extending all around the bottom wall Ill and with the stitching l9 near the peripheral edge of the bottom layer lil This bank l8, when the device is completed, becomes distended or laterally ofi'set, for projection not only below but outwardly beyond the edges of the bottom wall II], as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

A stall 20 for receiving the front portion of the foot I is provided in top layer III of the bottom wall I0, and in part by an added piece 2|) of suitable textile fabric, so cut that it may be marginally coupled around its front and along its sides to the top layer |0 of the bottom wall ID at the marginal portions of the latter around the front and partially along the sides thereof, and then so as to be laterally upwardly arched as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and upwardly and rearwardly inclined as shown in Fig. 1, to present a foot entry opening 2| as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Said opening 2| is finished by a tape 22 and stitched in place as indicated at 23; and the device is completed by application of a tape 24 longitudinally folded on itself. The tape 24 is stitched, as at 25, all around the top layer ID of the bottom wall l0 and the marginal portions of the fabric piece 2|) complemental to the top layer I0? for establishing the stall 2B, securing those parts together as an integral unit. A similar tape 24 held in position by stitches 25 binds the edges of the bottom layer l0 With the stall 20 even only fairly snugly fitting the fore part of the foot I5, the device will not be accidentally displaced from the foot; particularly if, as shown in Fig. 1, the tapes 24 are also somewhat constricted along that part of its length where the same is run around the rear end of the layers Ill and IN of the bottom wall ID to cause the rear end of the bottom wall to be upwardly canted, as indicated at 2B in Fig. 1. In this connection, it is pointed out that the working strokes of the device are intended to be those of a person normally walking or shufiiing in a forward direction.

Also, for snug fitting of the stall 20; the tape 22 may be a longitudinally elastically stretchable one.

Means is provided for releasably securing the layers ||l and l0 together, so that the bottom layer Ill including the mopping and/or polishing instrumentalities may be separated from the top layer HI to facilitate independent washing and cleaning of the mopping and/or polishing instrumentalities or to permit the bottom layer *l-O including the mopping and/or polishing instrumentalities to be replaced when they become worn.

The releasable securing is accomplished by providing the top layer with eyelets 40 in alignment with complementary eyelets 4| formed in the bottom layer I0 A single lace 42 is engaged through the aligned eyelets 40 and 4| and has its ends secured together at the back of the bottom wall H], as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. With the lace 42 entirely removed from the eyelets 40 and 4| it will be appreciated that the bottom layer l0 will be completely separated from the top layer It! of the bottom wall In for the purposes outlined.

In forming the eyelets 40 and 4|, it is preferred that the layers Ill and Ill be formed with small holes and that the edges of the holes be bound by stitches 43, as illustrated in detail about the eyelet 4| in Fig. 6. This eliminates the use of metal and prevents the article from scratching the floor surfaces when in use.

The manner of using the article is as follows:

Two of the articles constructed in accordance with the present invention are placed upon the feet and the wearer walks or shuffies about the floors of the house so as to simultaneously dry mop and polish the floors. The sides of the feet may be run along the base boards of the room and the toe portions of the feet may be effectively used for dry mopping and/or polishing in the corners or other inaccessible places of the room.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction hereindisclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. An article for the purpose described, comprising a bottom wall flexible throughout, a collection of mopping instrumentalities secured to and dependent from the underside of said bottom wall, and a stall for the fore part of a foot and partially provided by said bettoin wall and partially provided by an added piece of flexible material secured to said bottom wall at the top and front thereof, said bottofii wall being formed of superimposed layers and said top layer being attached to said piece of flexible material and said bottom layer having said mopping instrumentalities secured thereto, and means for releasably securing said layers together.

2. An article for the purpose described, comprising a bottom wall flexible throughout, a collection of mopping instrumentalities secured to and dependent from the underside of said bottom Wall, and a stall for the fore part of a foot and partially provided by said bottom wall and partially provided by "an added piece of flexible material secured to said bottom wall at the top and front thereof, said bottom wall being formed of superimposed layers and said top layer being attached to said piece of flexible material and said bottom layer having said mopping instrumentalities secured thereto, said layers being formed with aligned eyelets, and a lace engaged through said eyelets. to secure said layers together.

3. Anarticle for the purpose described, comprising a bottom wall flexible throughout, a collection of mopping instrumentalities secured to and dependent from the underside of said bottom wall, and a stall for the fore part of a foot and partially provided by said bottom wall and partially provided by an added piece of flexible material secured to said bottom wall at the top and front thereof, said bottom wall being formed of superimposed layers and said top layer being attached to said piece of flexible material and said bottom layer having said mopping instrumentalities secured thereto, said layers being formed with aligned eyelets, and a lace engaged through said eyelets to secure said layers together, said eyelets being formed by providing said layers with holes and binding the edges of the holes with stitches.

4. An article for the purpose described, comprising a bottom wall flexible throughout, said bottom wall being formed of superimposed layers of fabric material releasably secured together, a collection of mopping instrumentalitiessecured to the bottom face of the bottom layer, a piece of fabric secured to the top face of the top layer adjacent one end thereof forming a stall for a foot, and a tape secured along the rear edge of said piece of fabric. h

ESTHER PETERSON.

(References on following page) 5 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Number file of this patent: 25,382 653,663 UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 131,319 Number Name Date 665 732 1,141,580 Reddick June 1, 1915 806:694 2,067,687 Teare Jan. 12, 1937 431,824

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Switzerland Mar. 19, 1902 France Nov. 19, 1928 Switzerland Apr. 16, 1929 France May 13, 1929 France Sept. 28, 1936 Great Britain Mar. 18, 1938

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