ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,297,636, issued on May 13, was assigned to The Boeing Co. (Chicago).

"Systems and methods for cleaning a floor of a lavatory within an internal cabin of a vehicle" was invented by Darren Carl McIntosh (Mukilteo, Wash.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A cleaning system and method for an enclosed space include a floor including a hydrophobic material configured to repel liquid. One or more wipers are configured to sweep one or both of the liquid or debris off the floor, such as into an inlet of a vacuum."

The patent was filed on Oct. 27, 2022, under Application No. 17/974,663.

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