Patent Application
20170164681
This invention relates generally to slippers and more specifically to non-slip safety slippers.
Heretofore, safety footwear have been designed in the form of a sock which includes a pattern of flexible material applied to the bottom side of the sock. The purpose of the flexible material is to restrict slippage as the wearer stands or walks upon a floor. These types of socks may be used by medical patients, yoga participants, or people relaxing at home.
While the patterned, flexible material provides increased traction, such may still result in foot slippage upon the underlying floor. Furthermore, these types of stockings are not designed to be worn in a shower or other type of wet environment.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for safety foot wear that provides a better slip resistance and that may be worn in a wet environment. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.
In a preferred form of the invention a safety slipper comprises a stretchable fabric material forming an upper portion having a foot opening therein and a non-skid tread coupled to the upper portion. The non-skid tread has a matrix of holes therethrough which are sized to allow the passage of water through the non-skid tread.
With reference next to the drawings, there is shown a safety slipper or footwear 10 in a preferred form of the invention. The slipper 10 has an elastic, stretchable fabric material upper portion 12 and a porous anti-skid lower portion, sole, or tread 13 joined to the upper portion 12 along their outwardly turned mutual peripheral edges by a side seam 14. The upper portion 12 is configured to fit closely about the foot of a wearer. The slipper may, of course, be produced in any number of overall sizes to fit people of different foot sizes.
The upper portion 12 has a top or foot opening 16 and a profile heel pocket 17 formed by an anterior heel seam 18 set at an angle from the anterior end 19 of the slipper 10. The heel seam 18 is formed by the aft ends of the stretchable fabric material being joined together with the fabric edges facing outwardly so as not to rub against the skin of the wearer. The upper portion 12 is formed from a material having stretch properties such as a warp or weft knit material comprised of 90 percent nylon fibers and 10 percent elastane fibers (also known under the tradename Spandex). The anterior heel seam 18 is set approximately 15 degrees inwardly from vertical to help prevent the upper portion from repositioning during the patient's gait or other movement. The heel seem 18 is formed by sewing a gore seam with the material edges facing outwardly, similarly to the joiner of the upper and lower portions, so that the raw edges do not rub against and thereby cause irritation to the skin of the wearer.
The lower portion 13 is generally symmetrical along a longitudinal axis LA so that the slipper may be worn on either foot, i.e., the slipper is not formed to fit a particular foot but may be worn on either the right or left foot. The lower portion 13 is made from a mesh material such as a scrim cloth type material having a knit of polyester threads 21 coated with a soft poly-vinyl chloride outer layer 22, as best shown in
The scrim cloth type material of the lower portion provides for a cris-crossing pattern or matrix of interconnected nodes, lines, bumps, bulges, etc. 23 defining a linear series or array of continuous spaces, interstices, holes, or pores 24 therebetween, the holes 24 are considered to be continuous because the extend from one to another separated only by a thread 21 positioned within a only a portion of the hole. The term “matrix” as used herein is defined as an arrangement of holes in a rectangular array of rows and columns. The holes 24 are shown in
In use, a person may don the slipper by simply sliding a foot through the foot opening 16 and into position within the slipper 10. The high friction coefficient of the slipper diminishes the risk associated with a person wearing such in a wet, slippery or high risk area. The slipper may also be worn by a person during bathing or showering or when walking across a variety of wet floor conditions, as water is allowed to pass through the “sole” of the slipper by passing between the matrix of nodes 23 and through the matrix of spaces 24. This free flow through the slipper also prevents the accumulation of water within the slipper and resulting weighting of the slipper.
The porous nature of the lower portion 13 allows moisture to flow freely to and from the surface of the underlying floor, thus reducing the hydroplaning effect which may occur in other types of footwear. The goal of reducing slippage is extremely desirous to healthcare, home care, and hospital facilities and the like as such may result in great bodily harm to the weak or elderly, or where normal gait has been affected and may result in greater liability to the medical facility. The poly-vinyl chloride material also possesses a high tensile strength to help reduce the chance of shearing in the sole portion of the slipper and is resistant to many chemical fluids, thus resisting the breaking down when exposed to such.
It should be understood that as used herein the term weave or knit may be used interchangeably.
It should be understood that the nodes 23 may be joined together in linear fashion so as to form elongated lines or strings of non-skid material, rather than individual nodes, with spaces between adjacent lines of material to allow the passage of water therethrough. As such, the term node may be used herein to describe an elongated formation of material.
It thus is seen that a safety slipper is now provided that provides greater non-skid capabilities. Although the slipper has been illustrated and described in its preferred form, it should be understood that many modifications, additions and deletions may be made to that specific form without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/271,462 filed Oct. 12, 2011.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13271462 | Oct 2011 | US |
| Child | 15445103 | US |
