Shoe scrubber and method of scrubbing shoes

Abstract

A shoe scrubber has a machine frame forming a trough extending in a longitudinal direction, a platform supported in the frame, extending longitudinally above the trough, and subdivided into two longitudinally extending paths, a respective pair of elongated longitudinally extending rollers having radially extending cleaning elements in the trough under each of the paths with the elements projecting upward through the platform, and means for rotating the rollers and thereby scrubbing dirt from soles of shoes on the platform in the paths.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A shoe scrubber comprising:
 a machine frame forming a trough extending in a longitudinal direction;   a platform supported in the frame, extending longitudinally above the trough, and subdivided into two longitudinally extending paths;   a respective pair of elongated longitudinally extending rollers having radially extending cleaning elements in the trough under each of the paths with the elements projecting upward through the platform; and   means for rotating the rollers and thereby scrubbing dirt from soles of shoes on the platform in the paths.   
     
     
         2 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 1 , wherein the drive means includes gearing for counterrotating the rollers of each pair 
     
     
         3 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 1  wherein the rollers each have axially spaced arrays of the cleaning elements and the platform is a grating having windows through which the arrays extend. 
     
     
         4 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 3 , wherein the cleaning elements of one of the rollers of each pair of rollers extend through every other window of the grating, and the cleaning elements of the other of the rollers of. 
     
     
         5 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 3 , wherein the elements are bristles extending radially outward from rotation axes of the respective rollers. 
     
     
         6 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a respective pair of longitudinally extending side-cleaning rollers carried on the frame flaning ea.   
     
     
         7 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 7 , wherein the cleaning elements of the side-cleaning rollers mesh and with the cleaning elements of the respective sole-cleaing roller such that rotation of the sole-cleaning rollers rotates the side cleaning rollers. 
     
     
         8 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 7 , further comprising:
 drive means for rotating the side-cleaning roller.   
     
     
         9 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 6  wherein the side-cleaning rollers are each relatively positioned such that the distance from the respective axis of rotation to the platform surface is between 15 mm and 50 mm. 
     
     
         10 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 6 , wherein the side-cleaning rollers have diameters between 30 mm and 100 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 1 , wherein the platform is formed by a grating. 
     
     
         12 . The shoe scrubber defined in  claim 1 , wherein the sole-cleaning rollers have a longitudinal length of between 90 cm and 250 cm. 
     
     
         13 . A shoe-cleaning method using a shoe scrubber having:
 a machine frame forming a trough extending in a longitudinal direction;   a platform supported in the frame, extending longitudinally above the trough, and subdivided into two longitudinally extending paths; and   a respective pair of elongated longitudinally extending rollers having radially extending cleaning elements in the trough under each of the paths with the elements projecting upward through the platform,   
       the method comprising:
 moving a respective shoe along each of the paths with a sole of each shoe on the grate; 
 rotationally driving the sole-cleaning rollers such that they engage and scrub the sole of the shoe on the grate in the respective path; 
 wetting the cleaning elements of the sole-cleaning rollers with a liquid in the trough such that the liquid is applied by each sole-cleaning roller to the sole of the shoe in the respective path. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method defined in  claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:
 providing two side-cleaning rollers above the grate flanking each of the paths; and   rotating the side cleaning rollers such that cleaning elements thereof engage and clean sides of the shoes in the paths.   
     
     
         15 . The method defined in  claim 14 , wherein the side-cleaning rollers are rotated by meshing the cleaning elements of the side-cleaning rollers with the cleaning elements of the underlying sole-cleaning rollers such that rotation of the sole-cleaning rollers is transmitted from the sole-cleaning rollers to the cleaning elements of the side-cleaning elements. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein a side edge of the sole ( 12 ) and an upper portion above the sole ( 12 ) are cleaned and/or disinfected with side-cleaning rollers ( 16 ).