ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30 -- United States Patent no. 12,369,707, issued on July 29, was assigned to Carl Freudenberg KG (Weinheim, Germany).

"Beveled broom and step-on dustpan cleaning system" was invented by Doug Metzel (Lombard, Ill.) and Robert Ancheta (Aurora, Ill.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A beveled broom and step-on dustpan cleaning system including a step-on dustpan having a step-on portion configured to allow a user to collect debris in a receptacle of the dustpan when a force is applied on the step-on portion. The dustpan includes a lip portion which is configured to seal against a floor surface upon a user stepping on the step-on portion to collect debris. A beveled broom havin...