RETRACTABLE SOFT SOLE SHOE BRUSH

BROSSE RETRACTABLE POUR SOULIER A SEMELLE MOLLE

English Abstract

A retractable cleaning brush specifically designed to clean and restore the soft suede
soles of Ballroom, Latin, and Jazz style dance shoes.
The brush is made of small blunt tipped bristles which effectively remove wax, dirt, and
other foreign materials from the soles of said dance shoes by combing the fabric, thus
restoring the original integrity to these said dance shoes, and which will not cause injury
if occasional contact is made with exposed skin.
The brush head is contoured for ease of use while not compromising cleaning results.
The brush head which is designed to retract into the handle when not in use, eliminates
the need for a separate carrying case or protective cover.
The sheath handle is ergonomically designed for safe and easy use by the use of built in
finger grip ridges.

French Abstract

Brosse de nettoyage rétractable conçue spécialement pour nettoyer et restaurer les semelles de suède molles de souliers pour la danse de salon, la danse latine et le jazz. La brosse est composée de petits poils à bouts arrondis qui sont efficaces pour enlever la cire, la saleté et d'autres matières étrangères de la semelle des souliers de danse susmentionnés. Les poils peignent le tissu, redonnant ainsi leur intégrité aux souliers de danse, et ne blessent pas l'utilisateur en cas de contact occasionnel avec la peau. La forme de la tête de la brosse est conçue pour faciliter l'usage de cette dernière sans compromettre la qualité du nettoyage. Étant donné que la tête peut se rétracter dans le manche lorsque la brosse est inutilisée, il n'est pas nécessaire d'avoir un étui ou un couvercle de protection. La conception ergonomique du manche-gaine permet un usage sécuritaire et facile grâce aux nervures intégrées servant de prises pour les doigts.

Claims

Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed
are defined as follows:
1. A brush for cleaning the suede soles of Ballroom, Latin, and Jazz style dance shoes,
made of short, safe, blunt tipped bristles, which are attached to a contoured brush head.
2. A brush that is defined in claim 1, that retracts into a hollow sheath which then acts as
the brushes handle.
3. A non slip handle for the brush defined in claim 1.

Description

~2~1 975
Specification
This invention relates to a hand-held retractable shoe brush that is used for cleaning wax
and other debris from the soft suede soles of Ballroom, Latin, and Jazz dance shoes.
The tool that is commonly used is a flat headed, wire bristle brush which is used in many
applications such as scouring and scraping. [eg. rust removal] this style of brush is hard
to maneuver as the wire bristles get caught in the fabric causing tearing and premature
wear of the dance shoe soles and requires an excessive amount of force to operate in this
capacit,v as the combined amount of the sharp bristles of a flat surface generate a great
amount of holding power. The wire bristles on this type of brush are sharp enough to
puncture or scratch exposed skin with just an minimum amount of contact. The handle
on this type of brush is of the same design as that of a paint brush handle, which is flat
and designed for applying materials without a great amount of force, the cleaning of
dance shoes require that the brush is drawn across the sole of the shoe towards the user.
This type of brushing action combined with the holding power of the sharp wire bristles
on the fabric, result in the brush being constantly yanked from the users hand. With the
bristles exposed on this type of brush, an additional piece of equipment is needed such as
a carrying bag or box to keep the wire bristles from fl~ ;in~ other objects or clothing
that may be in a garment bag or hs~n~bag
Using bristles that are made of durab1e plastic with blunt rounded tips [ 1], suede sole
dance shoes may be effectively cleaned of debris while not tearing at the fabric, ensuring
longer life of said shoes. The blunt tips are also non injurious to the occasional contact
with exposed skin. The curved head of this brush [2] allows that only two or three offset
rows of bristles make contact with the fabric at a time, therefore easing the amount of
force required to operate this tool. The brush head is mounted on a shaft [3] that retracts
into a hollow sheath 14] that acts as a handle. The handle is ergonomically designed with
finger grips [5~ which aid in keeping the tool in the operators hand without slipping as
the tool is operated by the pulling action against the dance shoe sole fabric. Guide rails
[6] are used to glide the shaft in the sheath handle. ~he brush head shaft is secured in the
open or closed position of said sheath by a locking tab [7~ that is moulded onto the shafts
Thumb operated locking device [8] that fits into slots on the sheath handle [9].~he end of
the brush shaft has a stopper, which butts up against a matching stopper on the sheath
handle (10),
Materials used in the manufacture of the brush head shaft and sheath handle may be of
metal, plastic, wood or any combination thereof.

Representative Drawing