Sponge With Crumb Catching Tray

Abstract

The present invention generally concerns a cleaning product having two parts. More specifically, the invention includes a sponge that, when moist, nests and friction fits against the inner walls of a similarly shaped tray. The sponge, Part A, is an absorbent material. The tray, Part B, is made from abrasive fibers. In a first configuration, both parts fit together to wipe clean and scour surfaces like a dual action sponge. In a second configuration, the sponge is removed from the tray, thereby converting the same into a crumb catching device. The sponge is used to push debris from surfaces into the tray's open receptacle. Such waste is then emptied from the tray into a trash bin. The invention saves a user's hands from unwanted touching of discarded waste.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A cleaning product with two configurations comprising:
 a. A sponge that is nested and held within a receptacle of a similarly shaped tray for a first configuration, and   b. a second configuration that includes the sponge being removed from the receptacle of part a. to convert the tray into a debris or crumb catching device.   
     
     
         2 . The cleaning product of  claim 1 , wherein the first configuration includes the sponge and the tray being used together making a dual sided sponge, wherein the top surface of the sponge is less abrasive and can absorb fluids and the walls and underside of the tray's floor are more abrasive and can scour tough stains. 
     
     
         3 . The cleaning product of  claim 1 , wherein the sponge, when moist, nests in a receptacle of a similarly shaped tray by friction fit due to the inner walls of the similarly shaped tray having inner dimensions that are slightly smaller than the total dimensions of the moist sponge. 
     
     
         4 . The cleaning product of  claim 1 , wherein the sponge is made from a list of materials selected from the group of: cellulose, polyurethane, melamine, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl acetate, low density polyether, acrylates including methacrylates, methacryloyloxybenzophenone (MABP), polystyrene, urea-formaldehyde, polyester, including co-polymers, and any combinations thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The cleaning product of  claim 1 , wherein the tray is made from an open non-woven fiber selected from a list of materials including: horse hair, silk, cotton, wool, jute, hemp, polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, coconut shell fibers, agave fibers, henequen fibers, sisal fibers, olefin fibers, polyethylene and polypropylene, carbon n fibers, nylon, hexamethylene adipamide, polycaprolactam, walnut shell fibers, acrylic, cellulose acetate, polyvinylidene chloride-vinyl chloride copolymers, glass fibers, rayon, vinyl chloride-acrylonitrile copolymers, metal fibers, or any combinations thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The cleaning product of  claim 5 , wherein the open non-woven fiber is bound to abrasive particles selected from the group of: talc, calcium, flint, garnet, calcium carbonate, melamine formaldehyde, calcium silicate, pumice, kaolins aluminum oxide (including ceramic aluminum oxide, heat-treated aluminum oxide, and white-fused aluminum oxide), silicon carbide, topaz, tungsten carbide, alumina zirconia, diamond, ceria, cubic boron nitride, cerium oxide, nepheline syenite, clay, zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, fused alumina-zirconia, boron nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, garnet, crushed natural materials, crushed nut shells, methacrylate, methylmethacrylate, polyamide, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polymethacrylic acid, polymethylmethacrylate, polycarbonate, polystyrene, melamine-formaldehyde condensates, and any combinations thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The cleaning product of  claim 6 , wherein the abrasive particles are bound to the open non-woven fibers by resins selected from the group of: acrylic resin, phenolic resin, nitrile resin, ethylene vinyl acetate resin, polyurethane resin, polyurea or urea-formaldehyde resin, isocyanate resin, styrene-butadiene resin, styrene-acrylic resins, vinyl acrylic resin, aminoplast resin, melamine resin, polyisoprene resin, epoxy resin, ethylenically unsaturated resin, bismaleimide binders, vinyl ether resins, beta unsaturated carbonyl groups, acrylate resins, acrylated isocyanurate resins, isocyanurate resins, acrylated urethane resins, acrylated epoxy resins, alkyd resins, hide glue, varnish, and radiation cured crosslinked acrylate binders, nitrile rubbers, epoxies, surfactants, polyethylene glycol, polyvinylpyrrolidones, polylactic acid (PLA), polyvinylpyrrolidone/vinyl acetate copolymers, polyvinyl alcohols, carboxymethyl celluloses, hydroxypropyl cellulose starches, polyethylene oxides, polyacrylamides, polyacrylic acids, cellulose ether polymers, polyethyl oxazolines, esters of polyethylene oxide, and polypropylene oxide copolymers, urethanes of polyethylene oxide, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The cleaning product of  claim 7 , wherein the open non-woven fibers are bound to mildly abrasive particles with Mohs Hardness from about 1 to 7 and a preferred average particle size of 160 micrometers. 
     
     
         9 . The cleaning product of  claim 7 , wherein the open non-woven fibers are bound to harder abrasive particles with Mohs Hardness greater than 8 and a preferred average particle size of 45 micrometers or finer. 
     
     
         10 . The cleaning product of  claim 5 , wherein the open non-woven fibers are manufactured as scrims and are 0.25″ thick to about 0.50″ thick. 
     
     
         11 . The cleaning product of  claim 1 , wherein the sponge and the similarly shaped tray can be a shaped as a rectangle, a square, an oval, a circle, an s-shaped, a star, a flower, or other decorative shapes that will reasonably allow nesting of the sponge within the similarly shaped tray. 
     
     
         12 . The cleaning product of  claim 1 , wherein the similarly shaped tray has notches cut into each opposing side walls at each of their top center most edge.