U.S. patent application number 10/926127 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-02 for footwear emitting a fragrance and method for its fabrication.
Invention is credited to Wai Leung, Joseph N. Maxner.
Application Number | 20060042126 10/926127 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35940985 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060042126 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Maxner; Joseph N. ; et
al. |
March 2, 2006 |
Footwear emitting a fragrance and method for its fabrication
Abstract
An article of footwear that emits a fragrance includes a
fragrance-releasing substance impregnated or incorporated into and
absorbed by a part of the footwear such as by infusing the
fragrance-releasing substance into the selected part of the
footwear article. In one embodiment of the footwear described, the
fragrance-releasing substance is incorporated in an ornament that
has the appearance of an object in nature that emits a fragrance
similar to that emitted by the footwear.
Inventors: |
Maxner; Joseph N.;
(Southbury, CT) ; Leung; Wai; (Stamford,
CT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MARVIN N. GORDON
277 WEST END AVENUE
NEW YORK
NY
10023
US
|
Family ID: |
35940985 |
Appl. No.: |
10/926127 |
Filed: |
August 26, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/98 ; 36/1;
36/3B |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 1/0045 20130101;
A43B 23/24 20130101; A43B 3/0078 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
036/098 ;
036/001; 036/003.00B |
International
Class: |
A43B 23/16 20060101
A43B023/16 |
Claims
1. A method for fabricating an article of footwear including the
steps of providing a footwear form having an insole and an outsole,
and impregnating into a selected part of said footwear form a
fragrance-releasing substance that is absorbed into said footwear
part and is thereafter automatically and continuously released from
said footwear.
2. The method of claim 1, in which said fragrance-releasing
substance is a fragrance oil, and said impregnating step includes
infusing said fragrance oil into said selected footwear part.
3. The method of claim 1, in which said fragrance-releasing
substance is a fragrance oil, said impregnating step including the
step of applying said oil directly to said selected footwear
part.
4. The method of claim 3, in which said applying step includes
using a brush or applicator or spraying said oil onto said selected
footwear part.
5. The method of claim 1, in which said impregnating step includes
the step of immersing said selected footwear part into a container
containing said fragrance-releasing substance.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of securing
an ornament to said footwear insole that has the configuration of
an object, which in nature has a particular natural fragrance, and
in which said fragrance-releasing substance releases a fragrance
resembling said natural fragrance.
7. An article of footwear comprising an insole and an outsole, and
a fragrance-releasing substance directly impregnated into and
absorbed by at least a part of one of said insole and outsole.
8. The footwear article of claim 7, further comprising an ornament
secured to said insole and having the appearance of a natural
object having an associated fragrance, said impregnated
fragrance-releasing substance emitting a fragrance resembling that
of the natural object.
9. The article of footwear of claim 8, in which said
fragrance-releasing substance is impregnated into said
ornament.
10. The article of footwear of claim 9, further including an upper
secured to said insole, said ornament being secured to said upper
and being configured in the shape of a fragrant fruit or
flower.
11. The article of footwear of claim 9, in which said ornament is
molded from a polymer resin containing said fragrance-releasing
substance.
12. An article of footwear including an insole, an upper secured to
said insole and an outsole, an ornament in the shape of a fragrant
natural object secured to said upper, and a fragrance-releasing
substance impregnated into at least a part of said ornament and
emitting a fragrance resembling that of said natural object.
13. The article of footwear of claim 12, in which said ornament is
in the shape of a fruit or a flower having aa associated
fragrance.
14. The article of footwear of claim 13, in which said ornament is
molded from a polymer resin containing said fragrance-releasing
substance.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to footwear, and
more particularly to a fragranced footwear and a method for its
fabrication.
[0002] It has been recognized, as stated, for example, in U.S. Pat.
No. 5,924,221, that the use of a fragrance in connection with an
article of footwear, such as a sandal or an athletic shoe, would
enhance the commercial attractiveness and desirability of the
footwear to the consumer. As described in this patent, a fragrance
is imparted to the footwear by incorporating microcapsules having
encapsulated therein a fragrant liquid substance onto a surface of
the footwear. To release the fragrance, these microcapsules must be
ruptured, such as by scratching the surface of the footwear that
includes the microcapsules or by exerting pressure on that
surface.
[0003] This prior art approach to fabricating and using a footwear
that emits a pleasant fragrance is, however, insofar as it requires
the wearer to scratch or otherwise rupture the fragrance-enclosing
microcapsules, cumbersome to use, particularly for young children
who constitute a major market for fragranced footwear. The need to
embed the microcapsules that contain the fragrance liquid into the
footwear is also relatively complex and expensive, resulting in a
relatively high cost of fabrication and thus a higher cost to the
consumer.
[0004] It would thus constitute an improvement in the art to
provide a fragranced footwear in which the fragrant aroma emanates
from the footwear automatically and continuously without the need
for the wearer to manually scratch, rupture, or otherwise
manipulate the footwear in order to release the fragrance.
BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is accordingly an object of the present invention to
provide an article of footwear that emanates a fragrance
automatically and continuously.
[0006] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
fragranced footwear that does not require the use of scratching,
rupturing or any other type of manipulation to release the
fragrance from the footwear.
[0007] It is a further object of the invention to provide an
article of footwear of the type described which can be fabricated
relatively inexpensively and easily.
[0008] The footwear of the invention includes a liquid
fragrance-releasing liquid substance which is impregnated, such as
by an infusion of the fragrant liquid, or otherwise directly
applied into a desired part of the footwear. The
fragrance-releasing substance may be impregnated into the footwear
by manual infusion or otherwise directly applied to the footwear as
by the use of a brush or applicator, or by being sprayed onto the
desired part of the footwear. Alternatively, the footwear may be
directly immersed, either wholly or partially, into a vat or other
type of receptacle that contains the liquid fragrance-releasing
substance, which is then absorbed into the immersed part of the
footwear.
[0009] In a further aspect of the invention, a decorative ornament
may be attached to the footwear, such as one that is configured as
an object found in nature that has a pleasant fragrance such as a
fruit or a flower, and the fragrance-releasing substance that is
incorporated into the ornament has a fragrance that is associated
with that object. For example, the ornament may be in the form and
color of an orange and would have impregnated therein a fragrance
of a real orange. This fragrance may be incorporated into the
entire ornament or a portion thereof by means similar to that
described above, that is, by immersion, infusion, or by the
application of the fragrance oil to the ornament by spraying or by
the use of an applicator.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0010] To the accomplishment of the above and to such other objects
as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to an
article of footwear that emits a fragrance and a method for its
fabrication, as defined in the appended claims and as described in
the following specification as considered with the accompanying
drawing in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an article of footwear
including a fragrance-emitting substance in accordance with an
embodiment of the invention; and
[0012] FIG. 2 is a side elevation of an article of footwear that
includes a fragrance-emitting ornament in accordance with another
embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] Referring to the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 an
article of footwear, here shown as a sandal or slipper generally
designated 10. As in a conventional sandal, footwear 10 includes an
insole 12 on which the wearer places his or her foot, an outsole
14, the bottom of which that rests on the ground, perhaps a wedge
16, and an upper or thong 18.
[0014] In accordance with the present invention, a
fragrance-releasing substance, oil or liquid is directly
impregnated or incorporated into all or a selected part of sandal
10, the fragrance of which is thereafter automatically and
continuously released from the sandal. The impregnation or
incorporation of the fragrance-releasing substance into the
footwear may be achieved, for example, by manually infusing the
fragrance-releasing liquid into the selected part of the sandal 10,
or by applying the fragrance-releasing liquid, such as by the use
of a brush or other type of manual applicator so that the fragrance
liquid is absorbed into the selected sandal part. Alternatively,
the fragrance liquid may be incorporated into the sandal 10 by
spraying the fragrance oil onto the selected sandal part or by
immersing the selected part of the sandal into a vat or other
container containing the fragrance oil so that the
fragrance-releasing oil is absorbed into the immersed part of the
sandal.
[0015] Many different types of fragrances and fragrance oils are
commercially available from numerous fragrance manufacturers for
use in the practice of the present invention. A non-exclusive list
of such manufacturers includes International Flavors and
Fragrances, Givaudon, Alpine Aromatics, and Matsui Fragrances. The
details of the impregnation or incorporation of the particular
fragrance-releasing substance into the footwear 10, as described
above, will depend on the type of fragrance-releasing oil used and
will be readily apparent to the skilled worker in the art; it is
thus not further described here.
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates a variation on the fragranced footwear of
FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a sandal generally designated 10a
includes a molded ornament 20 securely attached or secured in any
known manner to the thong 18. Ornament 20 is preferably made of a
suitable plastic material and is of the configuration, and also
preferably the color of, an object in nature having a pleasant
aroma such as a fruit, for example, an orange or strawberry, or a
flower. In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, a
fragrance that replicates or simulates the fragrance emitted by the
natural object of which ornament 20 is a representation is
impregnated or incorporated into the ornament 20. That is, for
example, if the ornament 20 represents an orange, the fragrance
that is impregnated or incorporated into the ornament 20 will have
the aroma or fragrance of a natural orange.
[0017] The desired fragrance may be incorporated into the ornament
20 in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the
embodiment of FIG. 1. That is, a fragrance oil of the desired aroma
may be immersed, infused, applied by brush or other type of
applicator, or spray painted onto all or any desired part of
ornament 20. Alternatively, the ornament may be molded from a
polymer resin having the desired fragrance. For example, if
ornament 20 is in the form of a strawberry, ornament 20 may be
molded from a polymer resin having the fragrance of a strawberry
such as International Flavors and Fragrances Polyiff 3335-pbh
strawberry (EVA).
[0018] It will be appreciated from the foregoing disclosure that
the present invention has provided a fragranced article of footwear
and a method for its fabrication in which the fragrance emanates
from the footwear automatically and continuously until it is
depleted. Since the fragrance is not encapsulated, as it is in the
prior art, the wearer need not scratch or manually rupture or
otherwise manipulate the footwear to release the fragrance from the
footwear. It will be further appreciated that the embodiments of
the invention hereinabove described are merely illustrative in
nature, and that variations may be made to the above-described
embodiments, such as the use of the invention in other types of
footwear, such as a sneaker, athletic shoe or other sport footwear,
without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention.
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