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(11) | EP 1 059 060 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Footwear wiper |
| (57) A footwear wiper (20) comprises an outer metal wire frame (22), a series of rubber
or plastics separators (10) each extending between two opposite parallel sides of
the outer frame (20), a series of twisted-in fibre rods (30), each extending parallel
to the two sides of the frame through holes (14) in the separators (10) and further
twisted-in fibre rods (32A, 32B, 32C) raised from the level of the base mat. This
allows both the sides and bottom of the footwear to be cleaned efficiently. |
Field of Invention
Description of Prior Art
[0002] Conventional footwear wipers are manufactured using fibre and metal for use at the entrances, exits, doorways and openings of all types of buildings. However, the designs and techniques used in the prior art serve the purpose only partly, creating certain disadvantages as listed below.
[0003] Objects adhering to footwear, such as dirt, mud and snow, are not completely removed from the footwear as the wiped dirt accumulates on the brush fibres, since these are placed and fixed on a flat horizontal plane generally parallel to the floor on which the footwear wiper is placed. Therefore such inventions of doormats with footwear wipers and other profiles are not efficient and require periodical cleaning by lifting, shaking or vibrating. These vigorous actions are not only tedious but reduce the lifetime of the mat drastically.
[0004] The conventional type of footwear wipers made out of coconut fibre and the like and having rubber or plastic and metal components for the base have tight configuration on a flat surface thereby preventing drying by rapid evaporation and any moisture acquired with dirt during rains or snow.
[0005] Boot scrapers with steel wires incorporating fibres are also known in the art. However, these also suffer from the above mentioned disadvantages, since the brush fibres are stationary and fixed to a steel wire frame without allowing any movement or without any gaps in-between them. In addition, such bootscrapers have the disadvantage in that they may corrode rapidly due to the frequent presence of moisture. Footwear wipers principally formed of metal wires may potentially cause injury to the user and/or damage to the footwear.
[0006] The conventional type of footwear wiper made out of twisted in fibre rods with a helical wire grid also had limitation of designs and patterns, which were restricted.
[0007] The Applicant's Sri Lankan Patent No. 11028 and EP-A-818174 describes a twisted in brush fibre rod mat wherein twisted in brush coconut fibre rods are rotatably fixed onto a galvanised steel wire frame through holes in plastic / rubber separator grids. A machine and method for making the mats is also disclosed. However, these mats generally clean only the bottom of the shoes or boots when the user stands on them; they are less successful in cleaning the sides.
Summary Of Invention
[0009] It is an object of the present invention to overcome most of the disadvantages of the footwear wipers and floor mats of the prior art.
[0010] It is another object of the present invention to provide a footwear wiper using, as far as is practicable, ecologically friendly recyclable material such as natural fibres, rubber and plastics.
[0011] It is a further object of the present invention to overcome the high cost of production of conventional footwear wiper made of expensive material such as metal, especially steel.
[0012] It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a footwear wiper capable of more efficient cleaning of the sides of boots and shoes when the user steps on the wiper.
[0013] According to the invention, there is provided a footwear wiper comprising an outer metal wire frame, a series of rubber or plastics separators each extending between two opposite parallel sides of the outer frame, a series of twisted-in fibre rods, each extending parallel to the two sides of the frame through holes in the separators to give a base mat with two opposing faces, characterised in that the base mat is further provided with at least one (preferably three) additional twisted-in fibre rods raised from the level of the base mat.
This conveys a number of advantages over the prior art.
[0014] Firstly, the footwear wiper of the invention wipes the sides of the shoe / boot as well as the bottom side simultaneously. Brushing of the bottom of the shoe or boot is carried out by the twisted in fibre rods on the base frame, and of the sides by the raised rods.
[0015] Secondly, the circular twisted in fibre rods enables the entire circular surface to be used and the dirt can fall under the mat while providing air circulation for rapid evaporation and the frequently present moisture. This allows the mat to dry quickly.
[0016] Thirdly, the disadvantage of causing injury with material such as steel / metal is also overcome by using twisted in fibre rods, plastics and rubber material.
[0017] Many different arrangements of the twisted in brush fibre rods of the base frame may be envisaged. Typically, however, the twisted in fibre rods of the base mat are aligned substantially perpendicularly to the additional brush fibre rods that are raised from the level of the base mat.
[0018] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the twisted brush fibre rods of the base mat are capable of self-rotation. The rotation of the said brush fibre rods enhances the life of the mat by ensuring uniform wastage all around the circumferential surface. The cleaning efficiency of the footwear wiper is also enhanced, as the dirt or dust is allowed to fall into the space provided in between the adjacent rotary circular brush fibre rods to fall into under the footwear wiper without sticking in the cleaning brush fibre.
[0019] The footwear wiper of the present invention may further be provided with at least two rubber anti slip strips on the underside of the base mat. Typically, the rubber anti-slip strips extend along the sides of the mat directly opposite the two outside twisted in fibre rods.
[0020] The base frame may be so arranged with twisted in fibre rods to obtain pre-determined designs by using unique plastic / rubber grid separators / spacer tubing grid. The base design may be round, square, zigzag, octagonal or any other desired shape or design as shown in the drawings described below.
[0021] Ecologically friendly and non-corrosive materials are preferred in making the footwear wiper of the invention.
[0022] The wire frame may be made out of any suitable material, such as metal or tough plastic. Metal, particularly iron and steels, are preferred; galvanised iron or steel is especially preferred.
[0023] The separators, and spacers (if provided) are generally made from rubber or plastic. Natural or synthetic rubber may be used; the rubber may be vulcanised rubber. Of the plastics, polypropylene and PVC are especially preferred.
[0024] The twisted-in brush fibre rods may be made from any suitable fibre, including coir fibre, plastic fibre such as polypropylene fibre and PVC fibre, and palmyrah fibre; however, coir (coconut) fibre is preferred.
[0025] The invention also permits introduction of various additional cosmetic effects, designs and patterns of the footwear wiper by using different colour types available in materials.
[0026] In preferred embodiments, the plastic / rubber separators or the rods may be provided with ridges or studs, which enable the hardened dirt and snow to be broken up by its sharp edges; the dirt or snow etc. can then fall through the spaces provided in between the rods. Preferably, such ridges and studs, when present on the thin rubber / plastic separators on both top and bottom sides of the thin walls are designed symmetrically about the axis along the centre of the holes. The ridges and studs enhance the strength of the separators thereby increasing the strength of the finished footwear wiper.
[0027] In preferred embodiments, the twisted in brush fibre rods fitted to the said footwear wiper are round in profile. This allows the coconut fibre to be radially spread from the centre to give improved brushing action as well as faster moisture evaporation.
[0028] The footwear wipers according to the invention may be made according to the process described in the Applicant's previous application published under EP-A-818174, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference thereto.
Brief Description of Drawings
[0029] The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a cross-section through a rubber/plastics separator for use in the footwear wiper according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a plan view of a partially constructed base mat according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 3 is a plan view of a base frame according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 4 is a plan view of the completed footwear wiper according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the footwear wiper shown in Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is an end view of the footwear wiper shown in Fig. 4;
Fig. 7 is a side view of the footwear wiper shown in Fig. 4;
Fig. 8 is a plan view of the base frame of a partially completed footwear wiper according to a different embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 9 shows the embodiment of Fig. 8 with the twisted-in fibre rods inserted;
Fig. 10 illustrates the embodiment of Fig. 9 with the outer frame covered by coconut fibre;
Fig. 11 is a plan view of the completed footwear wiper of Figs. 8-10 with the raised fibre rods added; and
Fig. 12 is an underneath view of the footwear wiper shown in Fig. 11 illustrating the rubber anti-slip strips attached to the bottom thereof.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiment
[0030] A rubber/plastics separator strip is shown in Fig. 1. The strip is shown generally at 10. It is relatively thin (i.e. only approximately 4.5 mm thick) and is made by an injection moulding process. It has different size diameter holes as follows:-
a) two holes 12, to receive the outer wire arms 22 of the frame 20 (see Fig. 2), at the extreme ends of the separator 10;
b) a series of equi-spaced, larger holes 14, to receive twisted in fibre rods 30 (see Fig. 4);
c) a series of small holes 16, i.e. about 2.0-2.24 mm diameter, in between the larger holes 14, to receive wires (not shown), around which are plastic spacer tubes 24 (see Figs. 2 and 3), holding the separators 10 at equal intervals.
[0031] Ridges and/or studs 18 on the separators 10 enhance the strength of the thin separators 10, thereby increasing the durability of the footwear wiper of the invention.
[0032] As noted above, the outer frame is preferably made from galvanised iron or steel wire. The rubber / plastic separators having ridges or studs and holes accommodate twisted in fibre rods.
[0033] Fig. 2 illustrates the first stage of assembly of the frame of the footwear wiper 20 according to the invention. A separator 10 is installed onto the outer wire frame 22 through holes 12 in separator 10. The desired number (in this case, two) rubber or plastic spacer tubes 24 are then installed onto wires 22 to keep the separators spaced apart, preferably at equal intervals. This process is repeated to the ends of the frame 22, whereupon a final separator 10 is installed (see Fig. 3). The wire 22 is then folded over as shown in Fig. 3 to complete the base frame.
[0034] Fig. 4 shows the completion of the footwear wiper 20. To complete the base mat, twisted in brush fibre rods 30 are inserted through the holes 14 in separators 10. As shown in Fig. 4, these rods are perpendicularly aligned to the plastic / rubber separators 10. Finally, the wiper is completed by installing rods 32A, 32B so that they overlay the separators 10 along the edges of the wiper and rod 32C which overlays separator 10 along the central axis of the footwear wiper. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, these three twisted in fibre rods 32A, 32B and 32C are aligned perpendicularly direction to the rods 30 of the base mat.
[0035] When the user stands on the footwear wiper 20, the soles of the shoe / boot are wiped by the rods 30 of the base mat and the three raised, transversely aligned twisted in fibre rods 32A, 32B and 32C shown in figure 4 wipes the side portions of the shoe / boot.
[0036] The skilled person will recognise that many alternative designs could be envisaged, all which would fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. For example, Figs. 8 to 11 illustrate various stages of the construction of an alternative embodiment 20' in which some of the twisted in fibre rods 30' are bent at the extreme ends and rods 30'' are provided to fill the gaps created. In Figs. 8 to 11, components identical to those in Figs. 1 to 7 are indicated by the same number followed by a prime (') character. As shown in Fig. 10, the outer frame may also be covered by fibre cover 34.
1. A footwear wiper (20) comprising a outer metal wire frame (22), a series of rubber
or plastics separators (10) each extending between two opposite parallel sides of
the outer frame (20), a series of twisted-in fibre rods (30), each extending parallel
to the two sides of the frame through holes (14) in the separators (10) to give a
base mat with two opposing faces, characterised in that the base mat is further provided with at least one additional twisted-in fibre rod
(32A, 32B, 32C) raised from the level of the base mat.
2. A footwear wiper (20) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the twisted in fibre rods (30)
of the base mat are aligned substantially perpendicularly to the additional twisted
in fibre rod or rods (32A, 32B, 32C) that are raised from the level of the base mat.
3. A footwear wiper (20) as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, provided with three fibre
rods (32A, 32B, 32C) raised from the level of the base mat, one (32C) extending along
the central axis of the base mat and the other two (32A, 32B) along the sides.
4. A footwear wiper (20) as claimed in claim 3 wherein the central fibre rod (32C) is
positioned perpendicular to the fibre rods (30) of the base mat and is raised therefrom,
so that all the sides of the shoe or boot are wiped by the three fibre rods (32A,
32B, 32C) raised from the base mat while the soles are in contact with circular fibre
rods (30) of the base mat.
5. A footwear wiper (20') as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, provided with
at least one rubber anti-slip strip (40) on the underside of the base mat.
6. A footwear wiper as claimed in claim 5, wherein two rubber anti-slip strips (40) are
provided, said two rubber anti-slip strips (40) extending along the sides of the mat
directly opposite, and substantially parallel with, the two outside twisted in fibre
rods (32A, 32B).
7. A footwear wiper (20) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further provided
with spacer tubes (24) to keep the separators (10) spaced apart.
8. A footwear wiper as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, where the separators
(10) or the rods (30) are provided with ridges and studs (18).
9. A footwear wiper as claimed in claim 7, wherein the ridges and studs (18) are present
on both the top and bottom sides of the separators (10) and are arranged symmetrically
about the axis along the centre of the holes (12, 14, 16) in the separators (10).
10. A footwear wiper as claimed in any one of the preceding claims where the circular
brush fibre rods (30) of the base mat are capable of rotation within the holes (16)
of the separators (10).
11. A footwear wiper as claimed in any one of the preceding claims where the twisted in
brush fibre rods (30, 32A, 32B, 32C) are curved in profile.