U.S. patent application number 10/215325 was filed with the patent office on 2003-05-29 for shoe with concealed gaiter fasteners.
Invention is credited to Chen, Eddie.
Application Number | 20030097765 10/215325 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46281015 |
Filed Date | 2003-05-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030097765 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen, Eddie |
May 29, 2003 |
Shoe with concealed gaiter fasteners
Abstract
A shoe includes an upper with a gaiter which has a top end, a
bottom end, and two opposite lateral sides interconnecting the top
and bottom ends. The gaiter further includes, adjacent to the
lateral sides thereof, first and second fasteners so as to place
the gaiter in a closed position. A third fastener is attached to an
inner surface of the gaiter between the lateral sides and between
the top and bottom ends of the gaiter. A fourth fastener to
interlock with the third fastener is attached to the upper adjacent
to the top end of the upper. The third and fourth fasteners are
therefore concealed within the gaiter and is prevented from
contacting external debris, mud, sand or the like.
Inventors: |
Chen, Eddie; (Taichung City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP
1111 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NW
WASHINGTON
DC
20004
US
|
Family ID: |
46281015 |
Appl. No.: |
10/215325 |
Filed: |
August 9, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10215325 |
Aug 9, 2002 |
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09994692 |
Nov 28, 2001 |
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6477788 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
36/2R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 17/005 20130101;
A43B 3/166 20130101; A43B 3/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/2.00R |
International
Class: |
A41D 017/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A shoe comprising: an upper having a top open end, and a bottom
end; a sole connected to said bottom end; a gaiter including a top
end, a bottom end, and two opposite lateral sides interconnecting
said top and bottom ends, said gaiter further including first and
second fasteners attached to said gaiter adjacent to said lateral
sides to engage each other and to place said gaiter in a closed
position; and third and fourth fasteners, said third fastener being
attached to an inner surface of said gaiter between said lateral
sides and below said top end of said gaiter, said third fastener
having a lower end at least as high as said bottom end of said
gaiter so that said third fastener is not exposed from said gaiter
when said gaiter is assembled with said upper, said fourth fastener
being attached to said upper adjacent to said top end of said
upper.
2. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower end of said
third fastener is higher than said bottom end of said gaiter.
3. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said third and fourth
fasteners are configured as hooks-and-loops fastener elements that
form a Velcro fastener.
4. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper further
includes a collar member which extends along and inwardly of said
top end of said upper, said fourth fastener being attached to an
inner side of said upper and extending between said collar member
and said top end of said upper.
5. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first and second
fasteners include hooks-and-loops fastener elements.
6. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first and second
fasteners form a zipper.
Description
[0001] This application is a Continuation-In-Part application of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/994,692 which is filed on Nov.
28, 2001 and which is pending.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe
which has a detachable gaiter and a concealed type fastening system
to fasten the gaiter to an upper of the shoe.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] It is known in the art to provide a shoe with a gaiter which
can wrap around the ankle and leg of a user for keeping debris,
mud, water or the like from entering the shoe and from staining
portions of the clothes of the user above the shoe. U.S. Pat. No.
5,491,911 discloses a detachable gaiter with a fastening system
which includes buttons and button holes respectively provided in
the gaiter and the upper so as to fasten the gaiter to the upper. A
fastening belt is provided additionally so as to keep the gaiter
around the ankle and the leg of the wearer. The fastening system as
such is not suitable to keep water or mud from entering the shoe
due to the presence of the button holes. In addition, the belt
which is more or less rigid may cause the user to feel
uncomfortable.
[0006] A shoe suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,573 incorporates a
gaiter with hooks-and-loops fasteners (Velcro fasteners) to
interengage two opposite overlapping ends of the gaiter after the
gaiter is disposed around the ankle and the leg of the wearer. The
shoe further includes a pouch disposed at the collar of the upper
thereof to receive the gaiter and a zipper to close the pouch. In
this system, since the zipper is exposed from the shoe and the
pouch, the zipper can get dirty with mud and/or sand, or can even
be abraded by debris, sticks or rocks when the shoe is used in
hiking or hunting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] An object of this invention is to provide a shoe with a
gaiter which is waterproof and which has a concealed type fastening
system to fasten the gaiter to an upper of the shoe, thereby
eliminating the aforesaid problems encountered with the prior
art.
[0008] Accordingly, a shoe of the present invention comprises: an
upper having a top open end and a bottom end; a sole connected to
the bottom end; and a gaiter including a top end, a bottom end, and
two opposite lateral sides interconnecting the top and bottom ends.
The gaiter further includes, adjacent to the lateral sides, first
and second fasteners to engage each other and to place the gaiter
in a closed position. A third fastener is attached to an inner
surface of the gaiter between the lateral sides and below the top
end of the gaiter, the third fastener having a lower end at least
as high as the bottom end of the gaiter so that the third fastener
is not exposed from the gaiter when the gaiter is assembled with
the upper. A fourth fastener is attached to the upper adjacent to
the top end of the upper.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a
shoe according to the present invention, with a gaiter being in a
closed state;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the gaiter of the shoe of FIG.
1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the shoe of FIG. 1 but with
the gaiter in an open state;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the shoe of FIG.
1;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a plan view of another gaiter embodying the
present invention; and
[0015] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an assembly of the
gaiter of FIG. 5 with a shoe.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, a shoe 1 embodying the
present invention is shown to include an upper 2 having a sole 3
and a gaiter 4. The gaiter 4 is made of a material, such as PVC or
PU, or a fabric, and includes a top end 41, a bottom end 42, and
two opposite lateral sides 43 interconnecting the top and bottom
ends 41, 42. The gaiter 4 further includes first and second
fasteners which are configured as hooks-and-loops fastener elements
44, i.e. Velcro fasteners, disposed adjacent to the lateral sides
43. When the gaiter 4 is placed around the ankle and leg of a
wearer with the lateral sides 43 in an overlapping position, the
hook-and-loop fastener elements 44 are interengaged, thus placing
the gaiter 4 in a closed state as shown in FIG. 1.
[0017] A third fastener 5 is configured as a Velcro strap which has
upper and lower ends 51, 52 attached to an inner surface of the
gaiter 4 between the top and bottom ends 41, 42 and between the
opposite lateral sides 43 of the gaiter 4. The lower end (i.e. the
lowest end) 52 of the third fastener 5 is higher than the bottom
end 42 of the gaiter 4.
[0018] A fourth fastener 6 is also formed as a Velcro strap to
interlock with the Velcro strap of the third fastener 5. The Velcro
straps of the third and fourth fasteners 5 and 6 include
hook-and-loop fastener elements. The fourth fastener 6 is attached
to an inner surface of the upper 2 adjacent to the top end 21 of
the upper 2 without extending to the tongue 8 of the upper 2.
Preferably, the upper 2 is additionally provided with a collar
member 7 which extends along and inwardly of the top end 21 of the
upper 2. The fourth fastener 6 is attached to the inner surface of
the upper 2 and extends between the collar member 7 and the top end
21 of the upper 2, The collar member 7 serves to prevent the fourth
fastener 6 from contacting the ankle of the wearer.
[0019] As mentioned above, the third and fourth fasteners 5 and 6
are attached to the inner surface of the gaiter 4 and are spaced
from the bottom end 42 of the gaiter 4 so that the third and fourth
fasteners 5, 6 are completely concealed within the gaiter 4. Due to
the concealed third and fourth fasteners 5 and 6, the problems
encountered with the conventional exposed zipper as described
hereinbefore can be eliminated.
[0020] FIGS. 5 and 6 show another gaiter 4' which embodies the
present invention. The gaiter 4' differs from the gaiter 4 in that
the third fastener 5 has its lower or lowest end 52 substantially
as high as the bottom end 42 of the gaiter 4' so that the third
fastener 5 is not exposed from the gaiter 4' when the gaiter 4' is
assembled on the upper 2. In addition, the gaiter 4' has opposite
lateral sides 43 provided with first and second fasteners 44' which
are formed as zipper elements.
[0021] While the first and second fasteners 44, 44' described
hereinbefore are configured as Velcro straps and zipper elements,
they may be any other suitable fasteners such as laces, snap studs,
etc.
[0022] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *