U.S. patent application number 14/179696 was filed with the patent office on 2014-08-21 for imprinted tape for combined functional and decorative purposes.
The applicant listed for this patent is Martez Wilson. Invention is credited to Martez Wilson.
Application Number | 20140230164 14/179696 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49002011 |
Filed Date | 2014-08-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140230164 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wilson; Martez |
August 21, 2014 |
IMPRINTED TAPE FOR COMBINED FUNCTIONAL AND DECORATIVE PURPOSES
Abstract
In order to spat an athletic performer's shoes to reinforce the
foot and the ankle, an elongated tape formed of a flexible base is
coated on one side with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and imprinted
on the other side with repetitive versions of a team or sponsor's
trademark, logo, or the like in colors associated with the team or
sponsor. The tape may be used by wrapping the shoes and ankles in a
manner known as spatting to reinforce the shoes and display the
imprinted design.
Inventors: |
Wilson; Martez; (Metairie,
LA) |
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Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Wilson; Martez |
Metairie |
LA |
US |
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|
Family ID: |
49002011 |
Appl. No.: |
14/179696 |
Filed: |
February 13, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13586175 |
Aug 15, 2012 |
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14179696 |
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61603640 |
Feb 27, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
12/142P |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 23/24 20130101;
B44C 1/105 20130101; G09F 2003/0282 20130101; A43C 11/24 20130101;
A43B 7/20 20130101; A43B 5/00 20130101; A43B 23/0275 20130101; A43B
3/0078 20130101; A43B 5/18 20130101; B42D 15/00 20130101; A43B
7/1495 20130101; G09F 3/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
12/142.P |
International
Class: |
A43B 5/00 20060101
A43B005/00 |
Claims
1. The method of spatting soft sided athletic shoes having cleats
on their bottoms to reinforce a wearer's feet and ankles against
injury and simultaneously promote a sponsor of the wearer
comprising: wrapping the shoes, while being worn, with flexible
tape having adhesive on one side and a design related to the
sponsor imprinted repeatedly along the length of the tape on the
opposite side, the wrapped tape extending on the bottoms of the
shoes, between the cleats, around the soft sides, and around the
ankles of the wearers, with the imprinted sides exposed.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 13/586,175 filed Aug. 15, 2012, which claims priority of
U.S. Provisional Application 61/603,640 filed Feb. 27, 2012, the
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to adhesive tape imprinted with
company logos, team colors, and the like for use in spatting
athletic shoes and related purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Spatting is a process of taping over cleats worn by football
players to provide more foot and ankle support than is provided by
the generally soft sided athletic shoes. The tape is typically
applied over the shoe and around the feet and ankles of a player
after the player dons the cleats and usually extends around the
bottom of the shoe between the football cleats. By spatting over
the cleats they are able to substantially minimize the possibility
of their ankles rolling which can result in a sprain.
[0004] Many professional football players are under contract to
wear a particular brand of shoes during games for publicity
purposes. Spatting over the shoes may obscure the company logos on
the shoes and also change the shoe appearance to minimize spectator
recognition of the shoe source. The brand owners therefore
discourage or prohibit players under contract from wearing spatted
cleats.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention is accordingly directed toward unique
forms of tape which will resolve this conflict between the players'
desire to spat their shoes and the brand owners' desire to obtain
publicity by the use of their shoes in football games without the
identifying characteristics of the shoe being hidden by spatting
tape.
[0006] Broadly, the present invention is directed toward tapes
which are imprinted or otherwise marked with a manufacturer's logo
or related sponsor-identifying designs and colors. These logos and
related designs can be imprinted on a roll of tape so that the
design appears on a number of locations on the shoe after it is
spatted using the tape of the present invention. The same tape
could also be used to tape the wrists of the players as well as for
a variety of related purposes.
[0007] Tape formed in accordance with the present invention can
assume a variety of designs. Conventionally players have used black
tape for spatting purposes and accordingly black adhesive tape with
the shoe brand logo appearing repeatedly on the tape would be one
form of the present invention. Alternatively, the tape could be
imprinted with the logo of the players' team, its sponsors, and
similar promotional material.
[0008] The tape could have a background color based on the team's
predominant color, usually the color of the uniforms and the like,
or a color associated with the brand owner. The tape could also be
tied in with other promotions such as during breast cancer
awareness month, by imprinting pink tape with the shoe brand logo,
the team's logo, its sponsors, and the like on the tape in a
contrasting color.
[0009] The tape could be transparent with the company logo and
other related information imprinted thereon so that the underlying
logos on the shoe could be seen through the tape.
[0010] The tape material could range from a paper base to a fabric
base or a plastic base, as long as the tape is sufficiently
flexible and has sufficient tensile strength to create the spatting
and the like.
[0011] The imprinting on the tape can be of any desired color as
long as it provides a reasonable contrast with the background.
Tapes could also be provided with logos of sponsors such as
Gatorade, Pepsi, etc. or graphic material such as drawings or
photos.
[0012] The tape used in connection with the present invention may
have the same compositions and pressure-sensitive adhesives on one
side, as well as the same dimension, as tapes presently used for
spatting. They may vary from one inch to up to about three inches
in width. The base materials may be paper compositions, fabric
compositions, or plastic compositions. When fabric compositions are
used, the logos or the like may be woven into the base fabric.
Alternatively, they may be imprinted onto the tape base on the
non-adhesive side.
[0013] The process of spatting shoes may involve taping prior to
insertion in the athletic shoes, taping after the insertion of the
foot into the athletic shoes, or combinations of both.
[0014] In either form of taping it is important to tape the ankles
to minimize the possibility of ankle rollover injuries which can
result in sprains putting the athletes out of action for some
period of time. One preferred form of taping would be to tape the
ankles with several turns around the arch of the foot, then insert
the foot into a shoe and tape the outside of the shoe with the arch
support extending into several turns around the ankle. However, any
form of taping can be used with the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] Other objectives, advantages, and applications of the
present invention will be made clear by the following detailed
description of preferred embodiments of the invention. The
description makes reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a football shoe
incorporating cleats ("cleats") being spatted with adhesive tape
from a roll incorporating an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a shoe without cleats being
similarly spatted by an inventive form of adhesive tape in
accordance with the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of spatting applied to a shoe
and the adjacent ankle employing tape formed in accordance with the
present invention;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of spatting tape formed in
accordance with the present invention; and
[0020] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a football cleat with spatting
formed using tape in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Referring to the drawings, in FIG. 1 a roll 10 of tape 12,
formed in accordance with the present invention, is being used to
spat a cleat 14. The cleat 14, or football shoe, comprises a
conventional upper 16 having projecting cleats 18 on its bottom
surface.
[0022] The tape 12 is illustrated as being imprinted on its outer
surface with a series of stars. The underside, or the opposed
surface, is coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive to secure the
tape to the shoe 14 and portions of the ankle 20 of the wearer. The
tape 12 may be imprinted on its upper side with any of a variety of
designs, but preferably the logo of a sponsor or of a shoe
manufacturer who contracts with a professional football player who
wears the shoes. The imprinted legend may be the entity's logo,
trademark, motto, or simply the entity's name. The imprinting 22,
shown to be a star in FIG. 1, is preferably imprinted on the tape
base material which may be any flexible material such as woven
fabric, flexible plastic sheeting, or the like. The marking, such
as the star 22, and the underlying material may be imprinted in
contrasting colors, preferably associated with the sponsor,
licensor, or the like.
[0023] Alternatively, the designs, such as the star 22, might be
imprinted on transparent tape, allowing portions of the underlying
shoe to be rendered visible. As seen in FIG. 1, the spatting, as is
conventional, surrounds the midsection of the shoe and extends
across the underside of the shoe. As illustrated in FIG. 3, it
further surrounds the ankle of the wearer to provide reinforcing
against stresses imposed on the shoe during a sporting activity, in
particular preventing sprained ankles. FIG. 2 illustrates how the
tape is brought up from the section surrounding the midsection of
the shoe and around the ankle, and FIG. 3 illustrates the completed
spatting.
[0024] FIG. 5 illustrates the underside of a shoe containing cleats
18 and illustrates the manner in which the taping extends between
the cleats, leaving the cleats to operate in a conventional
manner.
[0025] Use of the adhesive tape of the present invention to spat a
cleat or other athletic shoe thus accommodates the need of a player
to reinforce the shoe and foot against the stresses imposed in
athletic training and participation in sport events, while
providing prominent display of a sponsor's name, logo, motto, or
the like.
* * * * *