Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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MICROFIBER CHALKBOARD ERASER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001 ] The present invention relates generally to chalkboard and marker board
erasers, and specifically to a chalkboard and marker board eraser using
microfiber material
as a cleaning material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Blackboard erasers are a common item of everyday life. There are few
among us who, as elementary school students, have not undertaken the chores of
assisting a
teacher in cleaning a blackboard or cleaning blackboard erasers by banging
them together in
the school yard. As such, many of us remember problems attendant with using
the common
blackboard eraser.
[0003] The common blackboard eraser typically is made from laminated felt pads
attached to a cardboard backing board, and with its use, three problems arise.
The first is the
chalk dust. The felt pads are normally made of nylon threads that do not hold
much chalk
dust, thereby chalk dust is released into the classrooms with use. A second
problem is the
construction of the eraser. The felt pads and backing used to secure the felt
pads are often
too thin causing a user to hold the eraser by the sides of the felt pads in
order to clean a
blackboard. Therefore, the user often gets chalk dust on his or her fingers
just from using the
eraser. The third problem is that of ghosts. Common chalkboard erasers do not
clean the
chalkboard sufficiently; a significant quantity of chalk dust remains after
using the common
eraser, and the common eraser does not completely erase the writing but often
leaves a
significant image of the erased writing (a ghost image) that may interfere
with new writing.
[0004] Several improvements have been made to overcome the problem of chalk
dust. Many of the improvements have taken the form of adding mechanical
brushes or
rollers to the eraser, or by adding bins or other devices to collect the dust
. See U.S. Patents
6,895,627 to Lin, 4,941,225 to Liao, 4,742,594 to Chen, 4,392,268 to Victor,
and 4,080,683
to Chong. Other improvements have been made to overcome the problem of an
eraser easier
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to use, the improvements included adding holders, handles, straps, and backing
plates. See
U.S. Patents 5,365,631 to Emerick, 5,072,483 to Durand, and 4,543,680 to
Vlahos. Still
other improvements made to erasers for whiteboards include providing
disposable cleaning
surfaces. See U.S. Patent 4,937,910 to Frazier and U.S. Application
2004!0205919 by Sims.
[0005] The common blackboard eraser comprises laminated felt pads made mostly
of
nylon threads. Other cleaning materials such as chamois and sponge can erase
the
blackboard cleaner than felt, but each alternate material has at least one
disadvantage.
Sponge has a short life expectancy, and the cleaning efficiency of chamois
decreases rapidly
with use and chamois is difficult to clean.
[0006] However, none of these improvements were widely adopted. The eraser of
yesterday is the eraser of today.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In accordance with the invention, a microfiber chalkboard eraser is
provided
for use with chalkboards, marker boards, and other writing surfaces, wherein
the erasing
surface is a microfiber material. The microfiber chalkboard eraser comprises a
rectangular
central core of a resilient material, a microfiber cleaning sheet covering the
central core, and
a cap or holder securing the covering and the resilient core.
[0008] Obj ects of the invention are to provide a microfiber chalkboard eraser
that can
more completely clean the chalkboard, that can hold more chalk dust, that can
remove chalk
dust easier and faster, and that can clean the chalkboard more efficiently
than the common
chalkboard eraser.
[0009] Other objects of the invention include providing an easily replaceable
cleaning surface that can be reused after being cleaned, and providing an
eraser that has a
finger cap or holder to keep the user's forgers free from chalk dust.
[0010] The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of
the
present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description of the
present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011 ] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a unit
of this
specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the
description serve
to explain the principles of the invention.
In the drawings:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a microfiber chalkboard eraser
according to
the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the eraser of FIG. 1 before
assembling
without the forger holder cap;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of the eraser of FIG. 1 in partially
assembled
condition without the finger holder cap;
(0015] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cleaning sheet;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the central core 11 in a first state of
assembly,
wherein the cleaning sheet 13 has been reversed;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the eraser of
FIG. 1 in
which the top surface is not covered;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the eraser
of FIG.
1 in which only the bottom surface of the central core is covered; and
[0019] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the eraser of
FIG.
1 in which the front surface, the back surface, the bottom surface, and the
top surface of the
central core are covered.
DETAILED DESPRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] Refernng now to FIGS. 1 through 4, a first embodiment of the microfiber
chalkboard eraser 10 is shown which includes a central core 11 (shown on FIG.
2), a finger
cap or holder 12, and a microfiber fabric cleaning sheet 13. More
specifically, the holder 12
has a rectangular shape with an open bottom (not shown). The holder 12 has a
height
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sufficient to keep the user's forgers from the cleaning sheet 13 thereby
avoiding chalk dust.
The holder 12 may be made of plastic or other suitable materials. The central
core 11 has a
rectangular form and sized to fit within the holder 12, and in some aspects,
retain the
microfiber fabric cleaning sheet 13 on the central core 11 when the covered
central core 11 is
placed within the holder 12. The central core 11 preferrably may be made from
of EPS
(Expanded Polystyrene) foam or EPP (Expanded Polypropylene) foam.
[0021 ] The central core 11 is covered by the microfiber cleaning sheet 13.
Microfibers are small fibers having a dimension of about 0.01 to about 5
denier, typically
about 0.1 to about 1.0 denier. Denier is a scale for the heaviness (largely
related to
thickness) of fibers in a fabric. The higher the denier, the thicker the
fiber. The denier value
is defined as the mass in grams per 9000 meters of yarn. Microfibers are
typically made
from two relatively incompatible polymer materials, for example, polyester and
polyamide in
a weight percentage ratio ranging from about 50/50 to about 90/10. The fibers
are spun
extruded and then split into microfilaments during manufacturing. The most
common
structure of the microfiber is a core structure with wedge shaped perimeter
structures. The
yarn made from the microfiber contains high surface area wedge shaped
filaments and a core
filament with furrows and channels. These furrows and channels help provide a
capillary
action, which draws the dust including chalk dust into the void spaces
resulting in microfiber
fabrics having much higher capacity of holding chalk dust than traditional
cleaning material
like nylon threads, sponge, and chamois. Since there can be about 180,000
microfibers per
square inch, the soft fabric has a large surface area available for contact
with chalk dust,
thereby removing more chalk and chalk dust from blackboards than commonly used
chalkboard erasers.
[0022] FIG. 2 shows the central core 11 in a first state of being covered by
cleaning
sheet 13. FIG. 3 show the central core 11 in a second state of being covered
by the cleaning
sheet 13.
[0023] Refernng now to FIG. 4, the microfiber cleaning sheet 13 has panels
connected along fold lines. Each panel of the microfiber cleaning sheet 13 has
two sides; the
side adjacent to the central core 11 is the front side of this panel, and the
opposite side is the
back side. The microfiber cleaning sheet 13 includes a first side cover panel
30, a top cover
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panel 32, a second side cover panel 34, a bottom cover panel 36, and a third
side cover panel
38. The bottom cover panel 36 is connected to the first side cover panel 30 at
fold line 35,
and the third side cover panel 38at fold line 37. The top cover panel 32 is
connected to the
first side cover panel 30 at fold line 31 and to the second side cover panel
34 at fold line 33.
[0024] A first end cover panel 40 and a second end cover panel 44 are
connected to
the bottom cover panel 36 and the top cover panel 32 respectively at fold line
39 and 43. A
third end cover panel 42 and a fourth end cover panel 46 are connected to the
bottom cover
panel 36 and the top cover panel 32 respectively at fold line 41 and 45.
[0025] The dimensions of the microfiber cleaning sheet 13 are such that when
folded
along the fold lines 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43 and 45, the microfiber
cleaning sheet 13
completely covers the central core 11. The microfiber cleaning sheet 13 may be
secured
using any convenient means, including hook and loop fasteners as shown in
FIGS. 2 through
4. For example, loop strip 48 is attached to one edge of the back side of the
second side
cover panel 34, and loop strips 50 are attached to one edge each of the back
side of the
second and fourth end cover panels 44 and 46. Hook strip 47 (shown on FIG. 3)
is attached
to one edge of the front side of the third side cover panel 38 in a position
to mate with loop
strap 48 when the microfiber cleaning sheet 13 is folded to cover the central
core 11.
Likewise, hook strips 49 (shown on FIG. 3) are attached to one edge each of
the front side of
the first and third side cover panels 40 and 42.
[0026] The central core 11 is fully covered by the microfiber cleaning sheet
13 all
side sides when the panel 34 is attached to the panel 38 and the panel 44 is
attached to the
panel 40 and the panel 46 is attached to the panel 42. The microfiber
chalkboard eraser 10 is
assembled when the central core fully covered by the microfiber cleaning sheet
13 is fitted in
the holder 12 with panel 36 as the cleaning surface.
[0027] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the central core 11 in a first state
of
assembly, wherein the cleaning sheet 13 has been reversed so that the back
side of the
cleaning sheet 13 is placed adjacent to the central core 11. When the cleaning
surface or the
back side of bottom cover panel 36 is soiled with chalk dust, the covered
central core 11 can
be removed from the holder 12, and the covered central core 11 can be
repositioned so that
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the back side of the top cover panel 32 is the cleaning surface. The covered
central core is
then reinserted into the holder 12. When the top cover panel is soiled, the
covered central
core can be removed from the holder 12, the cleaning sheet 13 removed from the
central core
11, and reversed as shown in FIG. 5 so that the clean front side now faces
outward. The
cleaning sheet 13 may be replaced on the central core 11 and reinserted into
the holder 12.
In this manner, the cleaning sheet 13 has four surfaces with which to clean a
blackboard; the
front side of the top cover panel, the back side of the top cover panel, the
front side of the
bottom cover panel, and the back side of the bottom cover panel. When all four
surfaces are
soiled, the cleaning sheet 13 may be washed or replaced.
[0028] A second embodiment of the present invention is shown is FIG. 6,
wherein
the microfiber cleaning sheet comprises a bottom cover panel 36, a first side
cover panel 30,
a third side cover panel 38, a first end cover panel 40, and a third end cover
panel 42. Panels
30, 38, 40, and 42 are attached to the central core 11 using any convenient
means such as
hook and loop fasteners (not shown). The third embodiment is shown without
holder 12, but
holder 12 may be used.
[0029] FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention in which the
microfiber cleaning sheet 13 comprises only a bottom cover panel 36 attached
to the bottom
surface of the central core 11 by means like hook and loop fasteners. Also the
finger holder
cap 12 of the first embodiment optionally may be used.
[0030] A fourth embodiment is shown in FIG. 8, wherein the cleaning sheet 13
comprises a top cover panel, a bottom cover panel, a first side cover panel, a
second side
cover panel, and a third cover panel. A loop strip 48 is attached to one edge
of the front side
of the second side cover panel 34 corresponding to a loop strip (not shown)
attached to the
back side of one edge of the third side cover panel 38. When the cleaning
sheet 13 is
assembled to cover the central core 11, the ends of the central core 11 are
uncovered.
Preferably, holder 12 of the first embodiment secures the cleaning sheet 13
and the central
core 11.
[0031 ] As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without
departing
from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be
understood that the
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above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the
foregoing
description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed
broadly within its
spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes
and
modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or
equivalence of such
metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
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