Patent Application
20140150301
This invention relates generally to footwear protection and, more particularly, a motorcycle boot having a protection member situated on a top surface of a front portion of the boot having a textured surface configured to resist repeated contact with a foot operated gear shift lever of a motorcycle.
The gears of a motorcycle are shifted by action of the foot of a rider. For instance, the motorcycle may be placed into first gear by pressing down on the gear shift lever with the foot. Then to shift into second gear, the shift lever is urged upwardly by the user's foot. The same action is taken to shift into third gear, and so on. Motorcycle riders know that this repeated up-shift action quickly causes an unsightly wear mark to be formed on the top of a motorcycle boot and, in time, to wear a hole completely through the top surface.
Various devices have been proposed in the art for covering and protecting an outer surface of a boot or other type of foot covering. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices and proposals in the art often require a covering device to be strapped on, slid on, or otherwise affixed to the boot or shoe.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a motorcycle boot that includes a protection member having a textured surface situated on a top surface of a front portion of the boot that resists wear from repeated contact with a gear shift lever.
A wear protective motorcycle boot according to the present invention for use when operating a motorcycle shift lever includes a sole having a front end, a rear end, and side edges extending between the sole front and rear ends. A toe portion extends upwardly from the sole front end. A top surface of the boot is situated rearwardly from the toe portion and upwardly from the side edges of the sole. An ankle portion extends upwardly from the top surface. A protection member is situated on the top surface of the boot between the toe portion and the ankle portion, the protection member including a textured surface configured to resist wear when bearing against the motorcycle shift lever. In some embodiments, the protection member may be removable and selectively attached to front portion of a boot.
Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot having a protection member that resists wear caused by contact with a motorcycle gear shift lever.
Another object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot, as aforesaid, that includes a protection member situated on a top surface of a front portion of the boot that resists wear so as to avoid wearing a hole in the boot.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot, as aforesaid, in which the protection member includes a textured surface that is more durable than a traditional boot surface.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot, as aforesaid, that is aesthetically attractive.
A further object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot, as aforesaid, that in some embodiments is removable from a boot surface.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.
A motorcycle boot that is resistant to wear when operating a motorcycle shift lever according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The motorcycle boot 10 includes a sole 12 and an upper portion 20 supported by the sole 12. The sole 12 may include a front end 14, an opposed rear end 16, and side edges 18 extending therebetween in a traditional manner (
The wear protective motorcycle boot 10 also includes a protection member 40 situated on the front portion 24 and configured to withstand repeated contact between the boot 10 and a motorcycle shift lever (not shown). The protection member 40 includes a top side having a textured surface 42 that is configured to resist wear when contacted repeatedly by a motorcycle shift lever. The textured surface may include a plurality of nubs 44, other irregular or roughened sections, grooves, or the like so as not to be easily worn down (
In one embodiment, the protection member 40 is fixedly attached to the top surface 26 of the front portion 24 of the boot, such as with stitches (
In another embodiment, the protection member 40 may be removably coupled to the front portion 24 of the boot 10 (
In use, the wear protective motorcycle boot 10 prevents repeated use of a foot operated gear shift lever from wearing a hole or other unattractive wear marking on the upper surface of a motorcycle boot 10. As described above, a motorcycle boot 10 includes the protection member 40 properly positioned on a top surface 26 of a front portion 24 of a motorcycle boot 10, the protection member 40 have a roughened or textured surface that is resistant to wear. The protection member 40 may be coplanar and permanently affixed to the front portion 24 so as to be attractive.
It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.
