U.S. patent application number 11/767519 was filed with the patent office on 2008-05-29 for footwear cover having water absorbent characteristics and non slip, longwear soles.
Invention is credited to Sophie Hamelin, Normand Roy.
Application Number | 20080120869 11/767519 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39462236 |
Filed Date | 2008-05-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080120869 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Roy; Normand ; et
al. |
May 29, 2008 |
Footwear cover having water absorbent characteristics and non slip,
longwear soles
Abstract
A footwear cover having water absorbent characteristics and non
slip, longwear soles comprises a footwear cover for covering
footwear symmetric so as not to have a left or a right side. The
footwear cover has a covering surface made of soft, pliable,
washable, and resilient material. A non slip sole is attached to
the underside of the covering surface. An elastic band around a
point of entry of a user's footwear tightens at the user's ankle
when the footwear is put in. An absorbent padding material, located
inside of the footwear cover, is made of a material known to have
excellent liquid or moisture absorption characteristics.
Inventors: |
Roy; Normand; (Joliette,
CA) ; Hamelin; Sophie; (Joliette, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
INVENTARIUM
SUITE 1607, 4050 ROSEMONT
MONTREAL
QC
H1X 1M4
omitted
|
Family ID: |
39462236 |
Appl. No.: |
11/767519 |
Filed: |
June 24, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/7.1R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 3/163 20130101;
A43B 17/102 20130101; A43B 13/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/7.1R |
International
Class: |
A43B 3/16 20060101
A43B003/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 27, 2006 |
CA |
CA2569051 |
Claims
1. A footwear cover for covering footwear symmetric so as not to
have a left or a right side comprising: a covering surface made of
soft, pliable, washable, and resilient material; a non slip sole
attached to the underside of said covering surface; an elastic band
around a point of entry of a user's footwear that tightens at the
user's ankle when said footwear is put in; an absorbent padding
material located inside of said footwear cover made of a material
known to have excellent liquid or moisture absorption
characteristics.
2. A footwear cover as in claim 1 wherein: said footwear
substantially elliptical in shape with said point of entry located
at a central location so that said footwear cover does not have a
predefined front or back.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority based on Canadian patent
application CA2569051, filed Nov. 27, 2006
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates generally to footwear but more
particularly to a non-disposable footwear cover capable of
absorbing moisture from footwear while providing good floor
adherence capability with its non slip soles.
PRIOR ART CAPABILITY AND MOTIVATIONS, AS HELPING TO SHOW
PATENTABILITY HERE
[0003] There exists a variety of shoe and boot covers, generally of
the disposable kind which allow a user to walk into certain areas
in which it is important not to soil the floor surface. This can be
for dental or medical clinics, hospitals, or for clean rooms such
as used in the fields of biology or microelectronics.
[0004] For such specialized applications where extremely clean shoe
covers are needed, it is preferable to have disposable shoe covers
which won't carry contaminants from one area to another. But there
are several other types of environments where it is not so critical
to be sanitized and use disposable covers but rather keep an
environment unsoiled. For example, in wintertime, if a tradesman or
repairman has to enter a dwelling, instead of having to remove his
boots--which may be soiled by mud, snow or dust--putting on covers
over the soiled footwear has the advantage of not having to remove
one's footwear and not having to walk on one's socks, while at the
same time not soiling the floor surface of the dwelling. Fur such
occasional use, it is not necessary to have disposable footwear
covers, just a pair of reusable and washable covers.
[0005] Such reusable and washable covers are found in the prior art
but may not have the convenience of being put on very fast
regardless of the direction by which they are slipped over the
footwear. Also, the footwear covers of the prior art fail to
provide materials which is known to absorb moisture as found in
snow or mud which generally clings to the footwear.
[0006] Even in hindsight consideration of the present invention to
determine its inventive and novel nature, it is not only conceded
but emphasized that the prior art had many details usable in this
invention, but only if the prior art had had the guidance of the
present invention, details of both capability and motivation.
[0007] That is, it is emphasized that the prior art had/or knew
several particulars which individually and accumulatively show the
non-obviousness of this combination invention. E.g., [0008] a) cost
of fabric, elastic bands rubber soles; [0009] b) The nature of an
invention as being a "novel combination", in spite of existence of
details separately, is especially significant here where the
novelty is of the plurality of concepts, i.e., the use of footwear
covers having the durability for multiple use, water and/or
moisture absorbing qualities; [0010] c) The addition of providing
long lasting non slip soles; [0011] d) The matter of particular
practicality in having footwear covers which are simpler and faster
for a user to put on and take off at a later time than it is for a
user to remove his footwear and put them on again at a later time;
[0012] e) The ease of tooling for the present invention has surely
given manufacturers ample incentive to have made modifications for
commercial competitiveness, if the concepts had been obvious;
[0013] f) The prior art has always had sufficient skill to make
many types of footwear covers, more than ample skill to have
achieved the present invention, but only if the concepts and their
combinations had been conceived; [0014] g) Substantially all of the
operational characteristics and advantages of details of the
present invention, when considered separately from one another and
when considered separately from the present invention's details and
accomplishment of the details, are within the skill of persons of
various arts, but only when considered away from the integrated and
novel combination of concepts which by their cooperative
combination achieve this advantageous invention; [0015] h) The
details of the present invention, when considered solely from the
standpoint of construction, are exceedingly simple, basically a
strong fabric, a resilient elastic band, industrial type sewing,
water absorbent fabric, non slip material for the soles and the
matter of simplicity of construction has long been recognized as
indicative of inventive creativity; [0016] i) Similarly, and a
long-recognized indication of inventiveness of a novel combination,
is the realistic principle that a person of ordinary skill in the
art, as illustrated with respect to the claimed combination as
differing in the stated respects from the prior art both as to
construction and concept, is presumed to be one who thinks along
the line of conventional wisdom in the art and is not one who
undertakes to innovate; and [0017] j) The predictable benefits from
a novel footwear cover product and usage having the features of
this invention would seem sufficiently high that others would have
been working on this type of product, but only if the concepts
which it presents had been conceived.
[0018] Accordingly, although the prior art has had capability and
motivation, amply sufficient to presumably give incentive to the
development of a product according to the present invention, the
fact remains that this invention awaited the creativity and
inventive discovery of the present Inventor. In spite of ample
motivation, the prior art did not suggest this invention.
PRIOR ART AS PARTICULAR INSTANCES OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE THIS NOVEL
PRODUCT AND INSTALLATION METHOD
[0019] In view of the general advantages of the present invention
as an improved embodiment of the prior art, it may be difficult to
realize that the prior art has not conceived of the combination
purpose and achievement of the present invention, even though the
need for keeping floor cleans is a known requested commodity for
people nowadays who, in the case of installation workers who
require to enter dwellings and have to check their footwears before
entering a dwelling or children who constantly run in and out of
the hose, often bringing in dirt. Surely the need for easy to put
on and take off footwear covers has been known for decades and the
technology to achieve such results has been known for years and
that the various combination provided in this invention would have
been desired and attempted long ago, but only if its factors and
combination-nature had been obvious.
[0020] Other considerations, as herein mentioned, when
realistically evaluated show the inventive nature of the present
invention, a change in concept which the prior patent and other
prior art did not achieve.
SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART'S LACK OF SUGGESTIONS OF THE CONCEPTS OF
THE INVENTION'S COMBINATION
[0021] And the existence of such prior art knowledge and related
ideas embodying such various features is not only conceded, it is
emphasized; for as to the novelty here of the combination, of the
invention as considered as a whole, a contrast to the prior art
helps also to remind of needed improvement, and the advantages and
the inventive significance of the present concepts. Thus, as shown
herein as a contrast to all the prior art, the inventive
significance of the present concepts as a combination is
emphasized, and the nature of the concepts and their results can
perhaps be easier seen as an invention.
[0022] Although varieties of prior art are conceded, and ample
motivation is shown, and full capability in the prior art is
conceded, no prior art shows or suggests details of the overall
combination of the present invention, as is the proper and accepted
way of considering the inventiveness nature of the concepts.
[0023] That is, although the prior art may show an approach to the
overall invention, it is determinatively significant that none of
the prior art shows the novel and advantageous concepts in
combination, which provides the merits of this invention, even
though certain details are shown separately from this
accomplishment as a combination.
[0024] And the prior art's lack of an invention of an economical,
easy to use footwear having no left or right, instantly adjustable
by way of an elastic band, a non slip sole and resilient water
absorbing characteristics combined with washability so as to clean
off the inside that is quickly soiled with mud, dirty snow and
such, which are goals only approached by the prior art, must be
recognized as being a long-felt need now fulfilled.
[0025] Accordingly, the various concepts and components are
conceded and emphasized to have been widely known in the prior art
as to various installations; nevertheless, the prior art not having
had the particular combination of concepts and details as here
presented and shown in novel combination different from the prior
art and its suggestions, even only a fair amount of realistic
humility, to avoid consideration of this invention improperly by
hindsight, requires the concepts and achievements here to be
realistically viewed as a novel combination, inventive in nature.
And especially is this a realistic consideration when viewed from
the position of a person of ordinary skill in this art at the time
of this invention, and without trying to reconstruct this invention
from the prior art without use of hindsight toward particulars not
suggested by the prior art.
FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
[0026] In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known
devices now present in the prior art, the present invention, which
will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide
objects and advantages which are:
[0027] To provide for a footwear cover that is instantly adjustable
by way of an elastic band, has a non slip sole, is resilient, has
water absorbing characteristics combined with washability.
[0028] To attain these ends, the present invention generally
comprises a footwear cover for covering footwear symmetric so as
not to have a left or a right side. The footwear cover has a
covering surface made of soft, pliable, washable, and resilient
material. A non slip sole is attached to the underside of the
covering surface. An elastic band around a point of entry of a
user's footwear tightens at the user's ankle when the footwear is
put in. An absorbent padding material, located inside of the
footwear cover, is made of a material known to have excellent
liquid or moisture absorption characteristics.
[0029] In a variant of the preferred embodiment, the footwear cover
is substantially elliptical in shape with the point of entry
located at a central location so that the footwear cover does not
have a predefined front or back.
[0030] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more
important features of the invention in order that the detailed
description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in
order that the present contribution to the art may be better
appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that
will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject
matter of the claims appended hereto.
[0031] In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment
of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited in its application to the details of
construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in
the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The
invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced
and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that
the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose
of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
[0032] As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the
conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be
utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods
and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present
invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded
as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not
depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
[0033] Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and
especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art
who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to
determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence
of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is
neither intended to define the invention of the application, which
is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to
the scope of the invention in any way.
[0034] These together with other objects of the invention, along
with the various features of novelty which characterize the
invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed
to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better
understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the
specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to
the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter which contains
illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0035] FIG. 1a Side elevation of the footwear cover.
[0036] FIG. 1b Close up view of FIG. 1a.
[0037] FIG. 2 Front elevation of the footwear cover.
[0038] FIG. 3 Perspective view of the footwear cover empty.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0039] A footwear cover (10) has a covering surface (12) made of
soft, pliable, washable, and resilient material. Attached to the
underside onto the soft, pliable, washable, and resilient material
is a non slip sole (14). The manner by way the non slip sole (14)
is attached can be taken from any known or yet to be invented
attachment technique or process and need not be discussed herein.
An elastic band (16) around a point of entry (18) of a user's
footwear (20) tightens at the user's ankle (22) when the footwear
(20) is put in. The interior of the footwear cover (10) is padded
with an absorbent padding material (24) made of a material known to
have excellent liquid or moisture absorption characteristics while
being soft, pliable and easy to wash either by hand or by machine
so that the entire footwear cover (10) can be machine washed at
once without the need for removing parts. Also, the absorbent
padding material (24) dries rapidly. In fact, all parts are
preferably fixedly attached so as to provide long lasting
characteristics since these footwear covers (10) are not of the
"one use" type but rather long lasting like slippers or other such
footwear and as such are made of durable material which will change
over the years as better materials are found that can improve the
product. Sowing and/or gluing of the individual parts are the
preferred methods of assembly and such methods of assembly are well
known in the art and need not be discussed herein.
[0040] Optionally, a loop (26), can be attached to the covering
surface (12) so as to allow for hanging the footwear cover (10). Of
course, this feature is not essential and is not necessarily found
on the footwear cover (10).
[0041] The footwear cover (10) is symmetric, that is there is no
predefined left or right so a user does not have to figure out
which is left and which is right. In fact, a variation of the
embodiment such as illustrated in FIG. 3 could even forego of the
front and back by having the footwear cover (10) being
substantially elliptical in shape with the point of entry (18) in
the middle. In such an embodiment, the footwear cover (10) will
reposition and stretch itself longitudinally in the direction of
the front of the footwear (20).
[0042] As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and
operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent
from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion
relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.
[0043] With respect to the above description then, it is to be
realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts
of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape,
form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are
deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and
all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings
and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed
by the present invention. For example, although size is not too
critical, it is obvious that various sizes such as small, medium
and large, for example could be provided for the footwear cover
(10) so that children, teenagers, men and women can find an
adequate size to fit over their footwear.
[0044] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only
of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous
modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in
the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact
construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly,
all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to,
falling within the scope of the invention.
* * * * *