Sterilizer for footwear

May 21, 1940.

2,201,548

S. H. TREINIS

STERILIZER FOR FOOTWEAR

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May 21, 1940.

2,201,548

S. H. TREINIS

STERILIZER FOR FOOTWEAR

Filed June 28, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2

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Patented May 21, 1940

2,201,548

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,201,548 STERILIZER FOR FOOTWEAR Silas H. Treinis, New York, N. Y. Application June 28, 1939, Serial No. 281,532

Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for use in the sterilization of footwear such as shoes, slippers, boots and the like, for the purpose of destroying bacteria or other condition which may 9 prevail in footwear so as to insure and guard against disease conditions of the foot brought about largely by the existence of bacteria or other foreign matter in the shoe or the material employed in the construction thereof. Oftentimes, 10 these objectionable characteristics are due to the improper curing of hides or to the method of processing the linings or other materials used in the construction of footwear. It is a further object to provide an apparatus by means of which 10 footwear may be processed or rendered sterile from time to time during the use thereof to eliminate and also prevent the spread of various types and kinds of foot diseases that might be contracted apart from the footwear, or in other 20 words, which may develop from causes outside of the footwear itself; a further object being to provide an apparatus in which a number of shoe or other supporting members are arranged, preferably in pairs, with a sterilizing light associated 25 with said supporting means to expose the rays directly to the interior of the shoe, and particularly the toe portion thereof, and in the use of rays which will produce in a very short period oftime a substantially complete sterilization of 30 the footwear; a further object being to provide an apparatus of the character described wherein each pair of shoe tree units may be readily detached from the cabinet for repair, replacement and the like; a further object being to provide 33 shoe trees having a toe portion forming a guard or shield for the light generating tube or bulb employed, so as to provide for quick attachment and detachment of shoes or other footwear without danger of destruction to said tubes; a still 4Q further object being to provide an apparatus of the class described in the form of a portable cabinet which may be conveniently moved from place to place to render the same accessible for any type and kind of display or demonstration; 43 and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in an apparatus of the class and for the purpose specified, and in a method of sterilizing footwear, as more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, 55 and in which:

(Cl. 250—51)

Fig. 1 is a front view of a cabinet made according to my invention, with part of the construction broken away.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the cabinet as shown in Fig. 1, the section being 5 aproximately on the line 2—2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan and sectional view of the transformer and shoe tree housing as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a partial section on the line 4—4 of 10 Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a section substantially on the line 5—5 of Fig. 4.

To illustrate one adaptation of the invention, I have shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, 15 a portable cabinet 10 consisting of a box-shaped casing (I which is arranged within and between and supported by two U-shaped tube frames 12 which may be chromium plated or otherwise finished to produce an attractive appearance. The 20 upper cross head ends 12α of the frames protrude above the top of the casing 11 to form hand-gripping portions facilitating movement of the cabinet freely over a floor or other supporting surface by casters 13 supported in the 25 lower ends 12b of the frames 12. The side members of the frames 12 are also preferably braced adjacent the lower ends thereof by a rail 14.

The front of the cabinet is open and a door 15 is hinged to one side as seen at 16 having a 30 handle 17 at the other side thereof with a suitable catch or other means for retaining the door in closed position, as is indicated at 18. The door (5 is in the form of a rectangular frame within which is supported a transparent panel or window 35 19, the lower portion 19α of which may be colored or ornamented in any desired way to render the same opaque or substantially so. This section 19α may have centrally thereof a representation of a white cross 20. 40

Below the casing 11 is a supplemental housing 21. Upon the front panel of the housing 21 is supported centrally thereof a switch box 22, and two switch arms 23 and 24 are exposed externally of the housing to facilitate operation of 45 the different lights employed. At 25 is shown a lead-in cord at the end of which is a plug 26 for coupling with a suitable outlet socket of a source of electric supply. The switch 24 controls the circuit to an illuminating bulb 27 supported with- 50 in a shield or reflector 28 arranged centrally of the front top corner of the casing, the wires to the bulb 27 being indicated at 29.

The other switch 23 controls the circuit to wires 30, 31 which extend to a socket 32 in the 53

2,201,548 bottom of the casing i I, and other circuit wires 30α, 31α are placed in circuit with the wires 30, 30α through a plug 33 detachable with respect to the socket. The purpose of this construction is 5 to provide for the detachment of the entire treatment mechanism 34 from the casing (&lt; whenever desired. This mechanism comprises a large casing 35 having a downwardly and forwardly inclined top wall 36 upon which are arranged removable plates 31 for detachably supporting independent tube and shoe tree units 38 so that each of such units may be separately attached and detached for repair or other purposes. The mechanism 34 as a whole is supported : upon angle-iron cleats 3S arranged upon the inner surfaces of the side wails of the casing. These cleats have upturned flanged ends 40 to retain the casing 35 against shifting movement within the chamber of the cabinet. It will also be apparent that if desired, means may be provided for definitely securing the treatment mechanism 34 within the cabinet. As this mechanism is quite heavy, it will be self-supporting.

Arranged within the casing 35 centrally there”.·> of is a suitable transformer 41 to which the conductors 30α, 31α are coupled. Extending from the transformer are two wires 42 and 43, the wire 42 going to one terminal 44 of a plug socket 45, the other wire 43 going to a terminal 46 of another plug socket 41. Another wire 43 extends from the terminal 44 to the terminal 49 of the socket 41, whereas a wire 50 extends from the terminal 46 to a terminal 5i of the socket 45. In this way, both outlets from the trans^:;·= former are placed in circuit with both sockets 45, 41 for the supply of current to independent tube units 52 and 53 through a plug 54 coupled with a socket 45 and a plug 55 coupled with the socket 41, as readily traceable in Fig. 3 of the . drawings.

Each tube unit 52, 53 is of the same general construction and consists preferably of a quartz tube shaped to form two loop portions 52α, 53α which fit within toe guards 56 of shoe tree brack_?T), ets 51. As each bracket is of the same con'' struction, the brief description of one will apply to both. The brackets 57 comprise a bottom rod 58 secured to the plate 31. One end of the rod terminates in an upwardly extending _r;). heel engaging portion 59. The toe part 56 comprises a cross-like frame 60 which is disposed over the loop 52α—53α and extends beyond the sides and rounded end thereof, as clearly seen in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Arranged upon the _;,. cross frame is a cross strap 61 of perforated metal which forms a guard around the loops 52α, 53α. This strap has a spring mounting in connection with the cross frame, as seen at 62, Fig. 5 of the drawings, and also includes a depending ₍... strap portion 63 which is secured to the forward end of the bar 53, as indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. It will be understood that the cross frame of the shoe tree extends upwardly and then outwardly in the manner indicated in Fig. _G5 4 of the drawings.

The toe portion of the tree is entirely exposed as seen at 64 so that the rays of light emanating from the rounded or loop portions 52α, 53α of the bulb or tube may extend into the toe portion ;_(l 65 of a shoe indicated in dot and dash lines at G6 in Fig. 4 of the drawings; whereas the light will also extend onto the entire sole portion of the shoe as well as the surrounding walls thereof through the perforations in the guard strip 61. At the same time, light, will be directed to the instep as well as heel portions of the shoe, but the more concentrated light is directed to the parts of the shoe which are usually more susceptible to contamination.

It is preferred that ultra-violet ray tubes be _r, employed, but any type or kind of tube may be used which will be beneficial for the purpose intended. However, I have found from experimentation, that ultra-violet tubes, delivering a radiation of approximately 2537 Angstrom units ,,. will produce satisfactory results. It will of course be understood that due to different existing conditions in the footwear being treated, longer and shorter periods of treatment time may be utilized, and this is especially true in the , treatment of used footwear. ''

It will be understood that it is my intent and purpose that apparatus of the type and kind under consideration may be used first by the manufacturer in the treatment of shoes before delivery to the storekeeper. Secondly, that such apparatus will be used by the merchant selling the shoes to insure the sterilization of shoes before they are tried on a customer or before delivery to a customer when not tried on. As a 24 matter of protection, the merchant may also utilize this apparatus to sterilize unpurchased shoes after having been applied on the foot of a prospective customer. As a matter of fact, it is within reason to recommend the use of appa- οθ, ratus of this type and kind in the home to render shoes sterile from time to time, but in any event, apparatus of this type and kind would be practical and desirable for use in clubs, and in fact, hotels and other public places. A very desir- 35 able use of apparatus of this type and kind is in shoe repair shops for the sterilization of repaired shoes, and in fact, it is being considered to recommend to customers purchasing shoes, the periodical sterile treatment of the shoes at .,, a very nominal service charge over a period of ’ ' the life of the shoes. This is especially practical in view of the fact that it takes but a few moments to accomplish the desired sterilization.

It will be understood that by utilizing the _;1,_. plugs 54, 55, each tube and tree unit may be detachable from the casing 35 by simply removing the plates 37. Suitable supports as at 67 will be provided for supporting the tubes 52. 53 in connection with the plates 37. It will of _rj), course be apparent that the present illustration ° ' is merely to demonstrate one adaptation of the invention from the standpoint of the arrangement of the separate parts, especially the shoe trees and light tubes. Furthermore, it will be _rr, apparent that in many instances a greater num- ^i>M' ber of pairs of treatment units may be employed in a complete cabinet or as part of one complete treatment apparatus. By directing the circuit from the transformer to each unit, each unit will .... operate independently of the other so that if one of these units should become inoperative by the burning out of the ray tube employed or for any other reason, the operation of the other units will not be affected. In fact, in factories where sterile treatment of the shoes is provided prior to the packing and shipment thereof, the sterilizing means employed may be arranged upon a substantially open table or support to render the same quickly accessible for the attachment and detachment of footwear. The use of cabinets of ‘ the type and kind under consideration is more for display uses thereof as might be provided upon a sales floor or in a window used as a display feature, and also where it is desirable to

2,201,548 house the ultra-violet tubes to prevent unnecessary escape of the rays.

From a broader aspect, my invention relates primarily to the provision of means for generat5 ing light rays such for example as ultra-violet rays, and to the exposure of such rays to footwear and particularly the inner wall structure of the footwear, and still more particularly to the toe portion thereof in providing a sterilizing 10 agent concentrated upon the sections or parts of footwear which are most likely to contain germs or bacteria common in causing various foot diseases, and in preventing the spreading of such diseases of the feet. In this connection, it will 15 of course be apparent that shoes may be treated singly as well as in pairs. In referring to footwear, it is intended to cover both men’s, women’s, and children’s footwear of various types and kind, regardless of the style or particular classi20 fication thereof, as boy’s shoes, slippers, sandals and the like.