U.S. patent number 3,648,109 [Application Number 05/114,260] was granted by the patent office on 1972-03-07 for sanitary shoe cover.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Precept, Incorporated. Invention is credited to Vance M. Hubbard, Jerry L. Tims.
United States Patent |
3,648,109 |
Tims , et al. |
March 7, 1972 |
SANITARY SHOE COVER
Abstract
A sanitary and protective covering for shoes constructed from
foldable material with its edges attached together to form a
covering. An opening is provided in the covering for the leg of the
wearer and an elastic band is attached around the periphery of the
opening to close the opening around the leg. A second elastic band
is attached to the seam in the sole of the covering to conform the
covering to the foot and retain the covering resiliently on the
foot. A conducting tape is attached to the sole of the covering and
extends a sufficient distance from the covering to allow its
insertion into the sock of the wearer.
Inventors: |
Tims; Jerry L. (Euless, TX),
Hubbard; Vance M. (Euless, TX) |
Assignee: |
Precept, Incorporated (Euless,
Tarrant County, TX)
|
Family
ID: |
22354217 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/114,260 |
Filed: |
February 10, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
361/223;
36/9R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B
3/163 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A43B
3/16 (20060101); A61n 001/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;317/2R,2B
;36/2.5B,7.5,10,9 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Beha, Jr.; William H.
Assistant Examiner: Moose, Jr.; Harry E.
Claims
What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the
United States is:
1. A covering for protecting and preventing contamination of a
conventional shoe worn by an individual, said covering having heel,
toe and sole portions, comprising:
a body of flexible and foldable material so constructed to form a
pocket adapted for receiving the heel and toe portions of the
conventional shoe, said pocket having an opening for allowing
insertion of the shoe through the opening, said pocket being formed
by securing said flexible foldable material together, said pocket
having a seam centrally located in the sole extending along and
between said heel and toe portions;
first resilient material means secured along a substantial portion
of the length of the sole portion of the covering for resiliently
urging the heel and toe portions thereof in a direction toward each
other for providing an incremental gathering of said flexible
material along the length of said sole portion to conform the
covering to the shoe and retain said covering on the shoe, said
first resilient material being affixed at said seam centrally
located in said sole; and
grounding means for preventing buildup of static electricity on
said individual, said grounding means comprising a length of
foldable conducting tape secured along the sole portion of the
covering, said conductor tape being affixed at said seam centrally
located in said sole.
2. The covering as defined in claim 1 further including second
resilient material means secured around the periphery of said
opening for holding the periphery of said opening against the upper
portion of the shoe and the leg of the individual.
3. A covering as defined in claim 1 wherein said centrally located
seam extends continuously around said heel, toe and sole portions
of said body and wherein said conducting tape is sewn along the
sole portion of said continuous seam.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to improvements in sanitary
protective coverings for shoes and the like and more particularly
to a new and improved shoe covering which will accommodate any shoe
or foot size and will close the opening of the covering around the
leg of the wearer.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Shoe coverings of the type of the present invention have particular
application in sterile rooms in hospitals and like institutions to
satisfy need in such establishments for covering the shoes of
attendants to prevent dust on the shoes from contaminating the
atmosphere of the room. The invention further has application in
areas requiring patient isolation to prevent contamination of shoes
and cross-contamination of patients.
Shoe coverings are also used in cast rooms where plaster of paris
casts are applied and where table drippings are likely to fall onto
the shoes of the persons working near the table and permanently
harm the shoes. Likewise, shoe coverings may have further
applications in other commercial establishments where shoe
coverings are desirable and necessary.
In the field of manufacture of these shoe coverings, it has been a
general practice to employ shoe coverings of the slipper or boot
shape which are more or less conventional in the shape of the heel
and toe portions. Although such devices have served the purpose,
they have not proved entirely satisfactory under all conditions of
service for the reasons that considerable difficulty has been
experienced in providing a snug fit to a variety of shoe and foot
sizes. One method of solving this problem has been to provide a
plurality of different sizes of shoe coverings to accommodate the
various shoe sizes.
Other attempts to solve this problem have involved complex shoe
covering structures which can be adjusted or folded to fit various
shoe sizes, but these solutions are complicated and expensive to
manufacture and are uncomfortable to the wearer and difficult to
install over the shoe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a new
and improved sanitary and protective covering for shoes which will
fit a large variety of shoe or foot sizes and yet is simple and
inexpensive to manufacture and easy to attach to the foot of the
wearer and even provide a means for preventing the buildup of
static electricity in the body of the wearer. To attain this, the
present invention contemplates the use of a unique sanitary shoe
covering configuration whereby the covering will stretch to fit a
large variety of shoe or foot sizes due to an elastic portion in
the sole thereof.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of this invention is the provision of a sanitary and
protective covering for shoes.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sanitary and
protective covering for shoes which will fit various shoe and foot
sizes.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a sanitary
and protective covering for shoes which will prevent static
electricity buildup in the body of the wearer.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an
improved sanitary and protective covering for shoes which is simple
and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a
new and improved sanitary and protective covering for shoes which
is quick and easy to apply and fasten to the shoe.
Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this
invention will be readily appreciated by those or ordinary skill in
the art as the same becomes better understood by reference to the
following detailed description when considered in connection with
the accompanying drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the new and improved
sanitary and protective covering attached over a shoe, the foot of
the wearer shown in phantom;
FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the device showing the heel
portion;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the new and improved sanitary and
protective covering;
FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view rotated 180.degree. from the view of
FIG. 1 showing the sole portion of the new and improved sanitary
and protective covering;
FIG. 5 shows a section of the device taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 1
looking in the direction of the arrows; and
FIG. 6 shows a section of the device taken along line 6--6 of FIG.
1 looking in the direction of the arrows.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings wherein like referenced characters
designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,
there is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, which illustrate a preferred
embodiment, a new and improved sanitary and protective covering for
shoes generally designated 11. As can be seen, this covering fits
over the shoe of the wearer and provides a sanitary and
noncontaminating covering therefor which is simple and inexpensive
in construction. The body of this covering 11 is constructed with
two halves 12 and 14 which can be cut in a single piece. These
halves can be formed from a plurality of materials such as nonwoven
papers and yarn-reinforced cellulose, cloth, light canvas, muslin,
plastic or the like. The covering could also be constructed from
heat sealable materials which could be attached together by
utilizing heat and pressure as is well known in the art. The
materials utilized could be supplied from a manufacturer in webs or
rolls and cut by use of a die into one piece having identical
halves 12 and 14 which are then joined together.
Once the body has been cut to shape, it can be sewn or adhered
together at its edges along a continuous seam which includes a toe
seam portion 18, sole seam portion 24, and heel seam portion 16, as
can be viewed in FIGS. 1, 4 and 2, respectively. The heel seam
portion 16 extends in an upward direction from the sole seam
portion 24 and stops short of extending completely up the heel of
the covering 11, as illustrated in FIG. 2. It is to be understood,
of course, that the heel seam portion could also extend completely
up the heel. The toe seam 18 extends from the sole seam portion 24
in an upward direction and ends adjacent an opening 20. This
opening 20 is provided to allow the wearer to insert his foot or
shoe into the covering 11 as shown in FIG. 1.
The sole seam portion 24 of the covering 11 has a length of
grounding tape 26 extending along a portion of the length of this
seam (FIG. 4), the tape being sewn between the two edges of the
halves 12 and 14. This grounding tape 26 can be of any suitable
conductive material and is of such a length to extend up into the
interior 40 of the covering and thereafter through the opening 20
where it can be inserted into the sock of the wearer as shown in
FIG. 1 to provide a suitable ground to prevent static electricity
buildup in the wearer.
As a particular feature of the invention, a strip of elastic
material 28 is secured along a major portion of the length of the
seam joining the portions 12 and 14 so as to pull the heel and toe
portions of the covering 11 toward each other, thus causing the
covering 11 to conform to any foot or shoe size and retain the
covering on the foot. Specifically, and as a preferred embodiment
illustrated in FIG. 3, the elastic strip 28 is attached to the seam
within the interior portion 40 of the covering and extends from the
end of the toe seam portion 18 along the entire length of the sole
seam portion 24, and thereafter along the heel seam portion 16.
This elastic strip 28 will cause the flexible material to
incrementally gather and fold along the length of the strip 28 to
conform the covering to the shoe or foot as shown in FIGS. 3 and
4.
As shown in the sectional view illustrated in FIG. 6, a length of
elastic material 22 is attached around the peripheral edge of the
opening 20. This elastic material 22 holds the edge of the opening
firm against the leg of the wearer to additionally retain the
covering on the foot.
It is to be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure
relates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that
numerous modifications or alterations may be made therein without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth
in the appended claims.
* * * * *