Patent Application
20120210609
This invention/device relates to prevent a wearer of enclosed footwear from suffering from the introduction of debris and foreign objects. In particular, the invention serves the objective to protect a wearer from dust, plant matter and small particles to enter his or her boots, whether engaged in an indoor or outdoor activity, and also relates to a method for quick and easy removal from the footwear to wear and without removing this footwear.
One objective is to protect, for example, the wearer's socks and footwear lining from dirt, powder cement, wood chips, saw dust, cut grass, hazardous material and etc. during activities such as construction, logging or gardening, etc.
A further objective is to protect the inside of footwear from scattering debris or splashing oil, when hiking or biking respectively.
Similar protection is needed against swamp, bog, marshland walking, insects, small reptiles or other creatures, mud, sandy soil, fluid asphalt puddles or even rainwater.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide a system that is cheap to produce and distribute, may be easily and simply carried and stored (in pockets), worn/fastened and removed without the hassle of removing boots.
Many activities and situations in which humans engage involve messy surroundings and may cause dispersion of particles, debris and even fluids into the space surrounding the feet and footwear of the person engaged in the activity. These various substrates may then invade the footwear of the wearer, causing great inconvenience, physical discomfort, annoyance and difficulty of removal. Several situations involve such substrates, including but not limited to, walking outdoors, cutting wood, repairing furniture, painting, hiking, mowing lawns, cycling, construction, clearing of garbage or environmental hazards, etc.
One example is during the sawing of logs and lumber, especially with an automated or a chain saw. There is frequently the tendency of saw dust and wood particles getting into the boots or onto the socks. The socks and the inside lining of the boots become embedded with saw dust and wood particles. The boots then need intense cleaning in order to get rid of all the dust and the socks tend to absorb small wood particles, which often cannot be removed by ordinary washing, thus destroying the socks.
Another example occurs when mowing lawns or cutting or pruning big bushes. Often very plants grow shedding very prickly, brittle or sticky parts, some even with pods, seeds or tiny leaves, of which fragments tend to end up in the footwear and congregate or clump together. Removal becomes very difficult and time consuming.
The solution, somewhat simple, but nevertheless novel is to use a cover or guard of some form of fabric, which may have various useful properties, which is easily fastened, removed, stain, stick, cling and water resistant and easily cleaned thereafter. Merely wrapping a piece of fabric around the upper ankle and over the top edge of the boot is insufficient when walking and moving, as it can easily fall off. Similarly, a fixed-shaped cover like a sleeve over the boot cannot be easily donned and removed while keeping the boots on.
There is therefore a need for an easily fastenable cover that does not fall off, but is flexible enough to be removed when needed. It need not fasten TO the footwear, but rather merely around the calf like a piece of clothing, such as a ladies garter, or merely a sleeve, that then fits OVER the footwear, in order to protect from any annoying foreign bodies from getting inside one's footwear. Again, it should be flexibly shaped that the form of the footwear is rather immaterial, although it is understood that such a device can only really be useful to fit over closed or sealed footwear.
The material used to create the body of the invention may include, but is not limited to, fabrics of choice, like denim, cotton, polyester, leather, suede, etc., and the fabric piece 1 may be bound by fastening materials like common elastic 2, Velcro 3 and a snap button 4, as shown in
A preferred embodiment of the fabric guard 1 is fastened around the calf above the boots' edge with an elastic band 2, Velcro hook and loop strips 3 around the opposing edges which join and one button 4, making the seal adjustable as shown in
When a piece of fabric 1 is used which is 18 inches long by 9 inches wide as in
Additionally, the invention could instead be made from disposable materials and could be sold in boxes of 100 s. Furthermore, in hot climates or in hot summers, where it is more appropriate to wear shorts, this product is particularly useful.
