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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cleaning objects, of the type having a releasable
cleaning/treating agent and, more particularly, to a tag for use in
association with the cleaning object to display a message after the
cleaning/treating agent is expended.
2. Background Art
It is known to form cleaning/treating agents into a discrete mass, such as
a bar. Certain body maps, waxes, polishes and the like are manufactured so
that the cleaning/treating agent defines the entire mass. As the
cleaning/treating agent is released, the size of the mass diminishes.
One example of such a structure is a conventional bar of soap. With the bar
diminished in size to a relatively thin shape, the bar becomes brittle.
The small bar is difficult to use and parts thereof often break off and
may cause clogging of drains, as in sinks and showers. The thin bar is
also prone to dissolving into a soft, shapeless mass.
Another problem with the conventional cleaning object of the type described
above is that once expended, no identifying material remains as might be
valuable to a consumer. Typically, a bar of soap will have impressed
thereon a company name or trademark for the product. However, in a
relatively short time period, the impressed information is worn away so
that the only identifiable material remaining is the color of the
releasable cleaning/treating agent. Since the outer wrapper is normally
discarded before the first use, the consumer may be unable to identify a
product that he/she considers worthy of re-purchase. The result of this
may be a loss of return business to a supplier.
Various inserts and attachments have been devised throughout the years for
use with cleaning objects, such as soap bars. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,707,334,
to Unfried, and 3,773,672, to Bredice, inserts are shown embedded in a
soap bar, primarily to maintain the integrity of the bar through its
useful life.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 680,052, to Lynch, and 246,989, to Wilkerson, external
attachments are shown for a soap bar primarily to serve as a support for
the soap bar to prevent disintegration thereof as when the soap sits in a
pool of water.
None of the above patents addresses the problem of identifying the product
or providing other useful information in association with the product
after the exhaustion of part or all of the useable soap mass.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, an improved cleaning/treating object is
provided of the type having a body with an exposed surface defined by a
releasable cleaning/treating agent such that the body size diminishes as
the cleaning/treating agent is released. A tag is connected to the body
and has a message thereof. The tag is defined by a material that is
different than the cleaning/treating agent so that as the
cleaning/treating agent on the body is expended, the tag remains
sufficiently intact that the message thereon is still identifiable.
With the invention, the manufacturer or supplier of the cleaning/treating
object can place a wide range of information on the tag. The information
can be in the nature of an identification of the entity manufacturing or
supplying the product or information relating to the quality of the
cleaning/treating object or another product. The information could include
instructions regarding use or might be a coupon for the same or another
product. Other messages are also contemplated by the invention that might
be valuable to the consumer and/or supplier.
The body may be made from a number of different materials, such as soap,
wax, etc.
The tag may be partially or fully embedded in the cleaning/treating agent.
Alternatively, the tag may be at least partially exposed as to define a
handle or an area with the message thereon that is at all times visible
during the useful life of the product.
The tag can be made from a number of different materials. Examples of such
materials are metal, plastic, wood, paper, and the like.
The tag may be encased in a protective layer to preserve the message
thereon.
The invention also contemplates a cleaning/treating object of the type
having a body with an exposed surface defined by a releasable
cleaning/treating agent such that the body size diminishes as the
cleaning/treating agent is released. A tag having a message thereon is
connected to the body with the tag being constructed to remain
sufficiently intact that the message thereon is identifiable after the
cleaning/treating agent defining the body is expended.
The tag could be made from the cleaning/treating agent and protected as by
a coating or a protective sheath.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cleaning/treating object with a tag connected
thereto according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an end elevation view of the cleaning/treating object of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the cleaning/treating object of FIGS. 1
and 2;
FIG. 4 is an isolated plan view of one type of tag according to the present
invention;
FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of a plurality of the tags embedded in a
cleaning/treating object;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cleaning/treating object with a modified
form of tag, according to the present invention, incorporated therein;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cleaning/treating object with a tag,
according to the present invention, serving as a handle for the
cleaning/treating object;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a tag, according to the present invention,
encased in a protective material; and
FIG. 9 is a plan view of another form of tag, according to the present
invention, encased in a protective material.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In FIGS. 1-3, a cleaning/treating object is shown at 10 with a tag 12,
according to the present invention, connected thereto. The
cleaning/treating object 10 has a body 14 defined by a solidified
cleaning/treating agent. The shape of the body 14 is not critical to the
present invention. It is known to make cleaning/treating objects in round
shapes, oval shapes, etc. The cleaning/treating agent can be any of a
number of different compositions. It could be soap, wax, an abrasive, or
the like.
The tag 12 has a rectangular shape with at least one flat surface 16
thereof bearing a message 17. In this case, the message 17 is the
identification of either the manufacturer or supplier of the object 10.
The tag 12 is fully embedded in the body 14 and is shown to have the same
general shape as the body 14. However, it is not necessary that the tag 12
have a conforming shape. In this case, the tag 12 serves the dual purposes
of reinforcing the body 14 and providing identifying material to the
consumer with the cleaning/treating agent defining the body 14 exhausted.
More particularly, the cleaning/treating object 10 has an exposed surface
18 which is normally wetted and drawn against a surface to be
cleaned/treated. As the cleaning/treating agent is released, the body 14
reduces in size. With the cleaning/treating agent fully expended, the tag
12 remains intact.
The tag 12 can be made from a number of different materials that will
survive the environment in which the cleaning/treating agent is used. For
example, the tag 12 can be made from metal, plastic, wood, paper, or other
suitable material.
The message 17 can be applied to the tag 12 in a number of different
manners. The message 17 might be engraved or printed on the tag 12. Other
methods of applying the message 17 are within the scope of the invention.
The tag 12 can contain a wide range of information that is valuable to the
consumer. For example, the tag 12 may contain identifying material with
respect to the supplier, manufacturer, or nature of the object 10 or
another product. The tag 12 can contain other information relating to
purchase. For example, the tag 12 could serve as a coupon for purchase of
the same or another product.
The tag 12 could contain information relating to the use of the object 10.
In one variation, a transparent window at 22 can be defined in the body 14
to allow instructions or the like to be visible therethrough to the user
throughout the useful life of the object 10.
Multiple tags with messages 17' thereon can also be embedded fully or
partially in the body. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the tags 12' are shown embedded
in a body 14'. The tags 12' can be embedded in spaced relationship so that
they are exposed and releasable at different times during the useful life
of the object 10'.
In FIG. 6, a further modified form of tag 12" is shown. The tag 12" is
embedded in one wall 24 of a cleaning/treating object 10". With this
arrangement, the message 17" remains at all times exposed and visible to
the user.
In FIG. 7, a further modification, according to the invention, is shown. In
FIG. 7, a tag 12"' is shown attached to a body 14"' and defines a handle
which can be grasped by the user to facilitate transportation,use, and
storage of the object 10"'. The identifying message 17"' remains at all
times visible through the useful life of the object 10"'.
In FIG. 8, a further modified form of tag 12"" is shown. The tag 12""is a
folded over sheet of paper which is contained within a protective sheath
26. The sheath 26 may be made of plastic or paper that is impervious to
water. The tag 12"" within the sheath 26 can be partially or fully
embedded in an object 10, 10', 10", 10"'. With this arrangement, the tag
12"" can be made as from paper, typed upon, and protected by the sheath
26. Once the body 14, 14', 14", 14"' is diminished in size sufficiently to
expose the tag 12"", the sheath 26 can be separated from the body 14, 14',
14", 14"' and opened to expose the tag 12"".
A further modified form of tag 12""' is shown in FIG. 9. The tag 12""' is
itself made from an expendable cleaning/treating agent, which can be the
same as or different than the cleaning/treating agent in which the tag
12""' is partially or fully embedded. A protective sheath 28 seals the tag
12""' from water or other liquid as may cause it to dissolve. The tag
12""' with the surrounding sheath 28 can be embedded partially or fully in
the body 14, 14', 14", 14"'. Once the body 14, 14', 14", 14"' is
diminished to the point that the tag 12""' is visible, the tag 12""' can
be pealed away and the sheath 28 opened to view the message 17""' thereon.
Once the user has viewed the message 17""', the tag 12""' can be exhausted
in the same manner as the body 14, 14', 14", 14"" within which it is
embedded.
With the inventive structure, the manufacturer and/or supplier of an
expendable cleaning/treating object can provide to the consumer a wide
range of valuable information concerning the product, the
manufacture/supplier, the use of the product, repurchase of the product,
etc. At the same time, the tag 12, 12", 12", 12"', 12"" and 12""' serves
to reinforce the body 14, 14', 14", 14"' in use.
The foregoing disclosure of specific embodiments is intended to be
illustrative of the broad concepts comprehended by the invention.
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