This application claims priority to EP Patent Application No. 10290473.7 filed Sep. 3, 2010. The contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety
The present invention concerns a reusable protective overshoe adjustable directly to town shoes with very great ease, enabling visitors to move about occasionally in risk areas, in the context of individual protective equipment.
Traditionally, during visits to a factory or building site, when wearing safety shoes is obligatory, EP-2064964 explains that several drawbacks are present:
One problem however remains, which concerns the manufacture of the overshoe and the conditions of use that stem therefrom.
This is because in EP-2064964 it is stated that it comprises an elastic adjustable to the town shoe size connected to a leather and/or textile upper covering a toecap, a slip-resistant sole, a lining for the upper made from leather and/or textile, a similar lining for cladding the inside of the toecap, and a rear protective apron for the heel made from leather and/or textile.
In addition, a precise operating method has to be followed for manufacture: firstly, all the components are cut out; secondly, some of the components are assembled by stitching; thirdly, the toecap is lined with the elements cut out from leather and textile(s); finally, the sole is adhesively bonded.
An overshoe may comprise a hollow front part having an opened rear, so that a shoe having a heel can be engaged in said hollow front part, and a rear band adapted to pass behind said heel of the shoe, the rear band being structurally separate from the front part and connected to it by connection means, wherein the rear band is a single-piece moulding, and the front part and the rear band are made of one of an elastomer and a thermoplastics material.
According to a further embodiment, the connection means may comprise movement means allowing movement between the front part and the rear band. According to a further embodiment, the hollow front part may have a sole that becomes thinner at said opened rear. According to a further embodiment, the hollow front part may have a sole which, at a lower surface, extends towards said opened rear at least substantially as far as in line with the top of an area of the front part that goes up over the instep. According to a further embodiment, the hollow front part may have a sole which is serrated and provided with studs, staggered longitudinally. According to a further embodiment, said movement means may comprise, on sides of the front hollow part, two structurally separate parts comprising a projecting cylindrical pin terminating in a broadened head and assembled with a tubular barrel having a broadened head, said assembly passing into orifices in the front part and in the rear band. According to a further embodiment, at the rear, the rear band may have a tongue projecting upwards. According to a further embodiment, the front part can be made from plastic material reinforced at the front by a shell which is more rigid than said plastic material and embedded in the plastic material in which the front part is formed. According to a further embodiment, the shell can be made from non-metallic, non-magnetic composite material. According to a further embodiment, the connection means provided partly on the front part and partly on the band can be made from malleable plastic material and are interengaged. According to a further embodiment, the rear band may have laterally, on each side, a slot elongated in the direction of elongation of the rear band. According to a further embodiment, the rear band, which can be in a single piece, broadens from front to rear. According to a further embodiment, in front, on an instep, the front part may have at least one protrusion elongated essentially horizontally and extending laterally. According to a further embodiment, the band may have an elongation capacity greater than 1000%.
According to another embodiment, an assembly may comprise a shoe having a heel, and, an overshoe comprising:—a hollow front part having an opened rear through which the shoe is engaged in said hollow front part, and,—a rear band passing behind said heel of the shoe, the rear band being structurally separate from the front part and connected to it by connection means, the rear band being a single-piece moulding, and—the front part and the rear band are made of one of an elastomer and a thermoplastics material.
For an illustrated presentation of all the features concerned here an embodiment will now be detailed non-limitatively and an alternative presented, in relation to the accompanying drawings, which form an integral part of the present description and wherein:
According to various embodiments, an overshoe may comprise:
Preferably, this overshoe may more specifically be characterised in that:
This should effectively overcome the drawbacks mentioned above while also enabling visitors not to take their shoes off during factory visits or occasional passages through risk areas. Since the foot is not in contact with the overshoe, there is also no need to clean after use.
The latter point will be all the more satisfied if there is compliance with the recommendation according to which the front part and the band are, preferably exclusively, made from elastomer or thermoplastic material. A hardness of between 5 and 60 Shore D is recommended. This will also ensure good safety in use.
It is also recommended that the connecting means between the front part and the band allow relative movement between them. The use of articulation means is advised. Rotation means will in particular be favourable to enabling the front part and the rear band to pivot with respect to each other. Thus ease of manufacture and ease of use are combined.
To facilitate walking and further increase safety in use, it is also advised that a sole should equip the front part, this sole preferably becoming thinner towards the rear.
Also, for safety both against chemical attacks from products present on the floor and slipping, it is recommended that, underneath, the sole should extend towards the rear at least as far as substantially in line with the top of an area of the front part that goes up over the instep, and/or this sole is serrated and provided with studs, staggered longitudinally.
Other features of the overshoe are mentioned below.
It should be noted that a set of several overshoes each comprising all or some of the features presented here is also involved, this set comprising several front parts of several different sizes and fewer rear bands than front parts.
Further embodiments concern an assembly of:
a shoe having a heel, and,
an overshoe comprising:
In the illustrations, an overshoe 1 can be seen, comprising a hollow front part 3 open at the rear (AR) so that the shoe is engaged therein (fine line 5;
The hollow front part 3 preferably may have a sole 31.
The rear band 7 is structurally separate from the front part 3, that is to say the two parts constitute two separate independent pieces.
These pieces 3, 7 are however connected together by connecting means 8.
In this case, these means 8, called movement means, allow movement between the front part 3 and the band 7.
Here it is a case of articulation means allowing rotation between the front part 3 and the rear part 7.
Preferably, for reasons of efficacy, simplicity of manufacture and reduced cost, these means allowing movement, and therefore referenced in a general way 8, may comprise, on each side of the front hollow part 3, two structurally separate parts 9, 11 comprising a projecting cylindrical pin 9a terminating in a broadened head 9b and forcibly engaged or screwed in a tubular barrel 11a itself terminating in a broadened head 11b; see
The means 8 or 9, 11 pass through orifices, respectively 30, 70, in the front part and the rear band. They can thus preferably be disposed perpendicular to the overshoe extension axis 15.
In
In order to facilitate manoeuvring of the band, it is advised that it has at the rear a tongue 71 projecting upwards. In
Concerning the band 7 again, it can be seen in
Also concerning the band 7, it can still be seen in
It is also recommended that, for the above reasons, the front part 3 and the band 7 be entirely made from elastomer or thermoplastic material, in particular VTP (vulcanised thermoplastic), TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) or TPE (thermoplastic elastomer), preferably with a hardness of between 5 and 60 Shore D. There will thus be obtained, favourably, a product that can be washed with water and with very good resistance to cuts, abrasion and numerous splashings with food or chemicals, hydrocarbons in particular.
Another recommendation is that the band 7 should have a capacity for elastic extension greater than 1000%, or even 1150%. Remenant deformation of less than 50% is also advised. This band can preferably be moulded in a single piece.
Resistance of the elastic to being pulled away from the overshoe of 900 N is also provided.
In order to combine safety and ease of walking, it is also recommended, as shown for example in
In
In
In
It is advised that the shell 18, when the front part 3 is moulded, be embedded in plastics material, in which said front part will be formed.
This shell here goes up as far as the bottom of the instep. Moreover, in the figures, it extends in the front of the sole 31, which increases the strength thereof.
The shell 18 can be metal, stainless steel in particular; however, it is advised that it be made from non-metallic non-magnetic composite material.
Provision is made, with such a shell, to provide protection for the toes against impacts equivalent to 200 joules and against risks of crushing under a maximum load of 1500 daN.
In
As in the previous version, the lateral part 33a of less thickness is extended forwards at the instep, above the area reinforced by the hollow shell 17, this protruding area joining said part 33b, with which it forms here the same assembly, including the integral tongue 330b, which, facing, projects upwards; see also
If only one stud is provided on either side, rotation will be enabled between the parts 3, 7. A row or rows of several orifices 110a, 110b, 110c disposed substantially parallel to the extension axis 15, as illustrated, will allow adjustment for height, and therefore adaptation for shoe size.
It should be noted that, in the two versions, the use of connecting means 8 provided partly on the front part 3 and partly on the band 7, produced from malleable plastic material and interengaged (here forcibly and/or by screwing like the pin or pins and barrel or barrels or the stud or studs and orifice or orifices) will assist a secure and inexpensive connection.
The connections 8 could be removable, once the parts have been formed respectively on the front part 3 and on the band 7 engaged together. This will make it possible to replace for example a broken band and will allow interchangeability.
Concerning yet another aspect of the concept presented here, it is also recommended that a unit of several available overshoes, each of the type presented above, should comprise several front parts 3 of several different shoe sizes and fewer rear bands 7 than front parts 3.
Thus it would be possible to provide only three sizes of front parts 3 covering sizes 35 to 48 and only one, or even two, different rear bands 7, with the advantages in terms of less cost, ease of stock management and interchangeability, or even limitation of any errors in assembly between the parts 3, 7 that will result therefrom.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10290473.7 | Sep 2010 | EP | regional |