Wearable Disposable Covering Of Heat Shrink Film

Abstract

A wearable disposable covering of heat shrink film and, more particularly, a covering for a hand or foot. It can be placed over a shoe or directly onto the foot of a wearer and is usable as a disposable bowling shoe with the covering having a first part thereof defining a sole when placed on a foot and a second part thereof shaped to fit over the top of the foot and around the heel and the covering being of a size to loosely fit onto the foot and then be tightly drawn onto the foot by application of heat to the covering.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

A shrink device for shrinking the covering disclosed herein by application of radiant heat energy is disclosed in the copending application of Messrs. McLeod, Lutz and Dragone, Ser. No. 881,768, filed Dec. 3, 1969.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to disposable coverings of heat shrink film wearable by a person for a desired use and more particularly to an overshoe which can fit onto a street shoe or directly onto a foot for many uses, including use as a disposable bowling shoe.

Various types of disposable coverings for feet are used in various fields, such as in germ-free atmospheres wherein an overshoe can be used to enclose a street shoe. These coverings have been designed for total enclosure of the foot and have not provided for a tight-fitting overshoe type of covering which, after desired use, can be torn off the shoe and thrown away. In the bowling field, most bowling establishments maintain a supply of rental bowling shoes which requires a substantial inventory because of the various sizes that must be stocked. The disposable bowling shoe disclosed herein avoids the inventory problem, since the disposable overshoe can be stocked in a relatively small number of sizes and sold to bowlers for placement onto their street shoes or for direct placement onto a stockinged foot when the bowler's shoe is not of the proper shape for bowling. This limited number of sizes is sufficient to handle both adult and children's shoe sizes because of the heat shrink properties of the film which enables the bowling overshoe to shrink to the size of the street shoe.

The disposable overshoe also has utility for wear over street shoes for protection thereof in inclement weather wherein the heat shrink film can have sufficient strength and wear characteristics to maintain its structural integrity during use.

The disposable overshoe is constructed to either be storable in a flat condition or in minimum space and adapts itself to a vending operation whereby the overshoes can be purchased from a vending machine and, after placement on the purchaser's shoes, the overshoes can be shrunk onto the street shoes by application of heat as by a shrink device as disclosed in the copending application referred to above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved wearable and disposable covering for the wearer thereof which is constructed of relatively inexpensive heat shrink film and which will upon the application of heat conform to the body part of the wearer on which the covering is placed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable overshoe for street wear or for bowling or other uses wherein the overshoe has a body of heat-shrinkable material having a first part thereof forming the sole of the overshoe and a second part forming the upper of the overshoe, and with said overshoe being of a size to loosely fit onto a street shoe and be tightly drawn onto the street shoe on application of heat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable overshoe as defined in the preceding paragraph wherein the overshoe is formed from a single contoured sheet of film with overlapped parts sealed together along their periphery while leaving an opening for insertion of a street shoe and with additional film portions overlapped to permit expansion of the overshoe from a flat condition to a three-dimensional shape for fitting onto a street shoe.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a disposable overshoe formed of premolded material wherein the first and second parts are formed from separate sections of material and heat-sealed together along their periphery.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a disposable overshoe as defined in the preceding paragraphs wherein: the heat shrink film is selected to have slip properties sufficiently similar to leather whereby the overshoe is usable in bowling; the heat shrink film is selected from the class of polyolefins, vinyls and polyesters; and, the film is biaxially oriented to shrink in two directions upon the application of heat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the wearable disposable covering as an overshoe in flat condition prior to use;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken generally along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of the disposable covering shown in place on a street shoe and with heat elements of a shrink device shown diagrammatically about the overshoe;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the overshoe after application of heat drawn tightly against a street shoe;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention where the overshoe is formed of premolded parts;

FIG. 6 is a section taken generally along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention with the overshoe shown in flat condition;

FIG. 8 is a section taken generally along the line 8--8 of FIG. 7 on an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 9 is a view of the overshoe of FIG. 7, shown in final position on the street shoe of the wearer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4 is formed from a sheet of heat shrink film having similarly contoured sections at both sides of a centerline extended from front to rear of the overshoe and which is the line defined by the fold 10 in the material. The two sections are positioned in abutting relation, as shown in FIG. 1, and a vertical heat seal line 11 along the heel secures the sections together in the heel area and a second heat seal line 12 in the toe area of the overshoe seals the front part of the sections together. The heat seal 11 extends from a bottom point 11a to a top point 11b while the heat seal 12 extends from a bottom point 12a to a top point 12b. Thus, the two contoured film sections 20 and 21 are brought together and heat-sealed together in the general configuration of a shoe and with the two films being free of each other along the top between the heat seal points 11b and 12b for insertion of a foot or shoe of a wearer.

In order to provide a width for the sole portion of the overshoe, a portion of the film is overlapped and has lengths 25 and 26 at opposite sides of the fold line 10 extending for the entire length of the overshoe. These lengths are extended in coplanar relation when the overshoe is opened out to receive a street shoe and define the major portion of the sole of the overshoe.

A wearer receives a pair of the overshoes in flat condition, as shown in FIG. 1, and opens out each overshoe and fits them over street shoes, as shown for one shoe S in FIG. 3. Heat is then applied to the overshoe, as indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 3, as by quartz lamps 30 applying radiant heat energy to the overshoe and the overshoe shrinks down tightly onto the street shoe, as shown in FIG. 4. The details of the shrink device utilizing radiant heat energy are fully disclosed in the copending application referred to above.

As shown in FIG. 4, the film lengths 25 and 26 are beneath the street shoe forming a sole for the overshoe, while the film portions to either side of the seal 12 form a first part which is the upper for the overshoe overlying the toe area and the rearward portions of the film sections 20 and 21 extend around the heel and counter of the shoe.

Preferably, the heat shrink film is chosen from the class of polyolefins, vinyls and polyesters and is biaxially oriented to shrink in two directions upon the application of heat to be drawn down fairly tightly against the street shoe and avoid any cumbersome addition to the street shoe. Tests have shown that such materials have suitable slip characteristics whereby the overshoe can form a disposable bowling shoe for use by bowlers without requiring the conventional bowling shoe. The film can be opaque or have decorative effects, as desired, to provide a pleasing appearance. The particular strength of the film can be selected dependent upon the use to be made of the overshoe and with the proper film selection permitting use of the overshoe as a protector for street shoes when required for inclement weather.

The second embodiment of the wearable disposable covering is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and is formed of two parts which are separate pieces 40 and 41, with the upper piece 40 having a top opening 42. In this embodiment, pieces 40 and 41 can be premolded to the generally desired shape and thus this overshoe has a fair degree of rigidity. The two pieces 40 and 41 are heat-sealed around the entire perimeter of the overshoe by heat sealing of abutting edges 45 and 46 of the respective pieces 40 and 41. A tab 47 extends from the rear of the overshoe to facilitate placement of the overshoe onto a street shoe and also to facilitate withdrawal or removal of the overshoe. The overshoe shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6 is sufficiently large to easily fit onto a street shoe and then upon application of heat is drawn down onto the street shoe for use. The piece 41 forms the sole area of the overshoe, while the piece 40 forms the upper of the overshoe and extends over the toe area as well as around the heel of a foot and the counter of a street shoe. The overshoe of this embodiment can be made of the same materials referred to in the first embodiment and similarly can have desired colors or decorative treatment. This embodiment shows a slight waffling 49 on the undersurface of the sole portion as an optional variation for desired surface characteristics of the overshoe.

The third embodiment is shown in FIGS. 7-9 and has parts 50 and 51 formed from a single contoured sheet of film with both parts being similarly contoured about a line 52 defined by a fold in the material extending transversely of the overshoe. The contoured parts are brought into overlapping relation and heat-sealed together at their periphery to form a heat seal line 55 extending around the toe and to the rear of the overshoe terminating at points 55a and 55b. The part 50 defines the upper of the overshoe and has an opening 56 for insertion of the street shoe, indicated generally at S. The overshoe is shown in flat condition in FIG. 7 and with overlapped film sections 58 and 59 extending from the fold line 52 and which have their outer edges sealed by the heat seal line 55. When the overshoe is opened, the film sections 58 and 59 provide a height for the overshoe whereby the back part of the overshoe can span the counter of the street shoe S and with a part 60 being at the level of the shoe edge as shown in FIG. 9.

The disposable overshoes made and tested have been found to have satisfactory strength using a film of 4 mil thickness. With the embodiments of the types shown in FIGS. 5-9, it is possible to have two different films or two different film thicknesses used in constructing the disposable overshoe with a thicker and longer wearing film forming the sole and the upper being formed of a thinner film and with the two films being each sealed throughout their periphery. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, a further heat seal would be made across the back.

With the structures disclosed herein, it is possible to easily store a quantity of the disposable coverings and vend them automatically if desired. A wearer applies them and then operates a heat shrink device to shrink the covering to a final fit. It will be evident that a disposable covering is disclosed herein for the terminal part of a person's limb, such as a foot, and wherein the covering can be made of heat shrink film having properties including thickness, color and decoration for the desired purpose, and which can readily be vended and self-applied by a wearer.

Claims

We claim:

1. A disposable overshoe for placement over a street shoe comprising, a body of heat-shrinkable material having a first part thereof shaped to underlie and extend up the sides of the sole of a street shoe and a second part thereof shaped to fit over the toe, along the sides and around the counter of the shoe, said first and second parts being joined along their peripheries; said overshoe being of a size and contour to loosely fit onto a street shoe and upon application of heat being tightly drawn onto the street shoe with said first portion substantially flat across the bottom of said street shoe.

2. A disposable overshoe as defined in claim 1 wherein said material has slip characteristics generally similar to leather.

3. A disposable overshoe as defined in claim 1 wherein said material is biaxially oriented film to shrink in two directions.

4. A disposable overshoe as defined in claim 1 wherein said material is selected from the class of polyolefins, vinyls and polyesters.

5. A disposable overshoe as defined in claim 1 with said first and second parts are comprised of heat-shrinkable materials having different wear characteristics.

6. A disposable overshoe as defined in claim 4 wherein said first and second parts are separate pieces formed of premolded material.

7. A disposable overshoe as defined in claim 4 wherein said first part extends up the back of the heel of the street shoe to sufficiently impart height to the overshoe and joins said second part in the area of the heel of the street shoe.

8. A disposable overshoe for use in bowling or for other foot-covering purposes by placement onto the foot of a wearer comprising, a body of heat shrink film having a first part to form the sole of the overshoe and a second part forming the upper of the overshoe, said body being formed from a single sheet of film having similarly contoured sections at both sides of a centerline extending from front to rear, said sections being positioned in abutting relation and heat-sealed together up the toe and counter portions of the overshoe, said sole portion being foldable from toe to heel whereby said overshoe can be folded and stored in a flat condition.

9. A disposable overshoe as defined in claim 8 wherein said material has slip characteristics generally similar to leather.

10. A disposable overshoe as defined in claim 8 wherein said film is biaxially oriented to shrink in two directions.

11. A disposable overshoe as defined in claim 8 wherein said film is selected from the class of polyolefins, vinyls and polyesters.