Patent Application
20220400808
This invention relates generally to sandals, and more particularly to an improved sandal that is strongly resistant to a central plug of the sandal being pulled through a sole of the sandal while being worn by a user.
Sandals having toe thongs, also known as flip-flops, are typically constructed by pulling plugs of the toe thong downwardly through holes formed in the sandal. The plugs must be larger than each hole to ensure the toe thong doesn't separate from the sole, but still small enough to be pulled through the holes. A tool may be used to narrow and taper the plug, but the usefulness of the tool is capped if the plug is significantly larger than the holes.
This method of manufacture is widely implemented, but pressure on the plugs too-frequently results in the sandal falling apart during wear. There is a need for a sandal that is manufactured to prevent the plugs from easily pulling out of the sole. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides a sandal comprising a sole having a front hole, and a pair of rear holes, a toe thong that includes a center portion and a pair of side straps, the center portion having an oversized front plug, and each of the side straps having a rear plug.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a sandal having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide a sandal having a front plug that is oversized and significantly larger than prior art front plugs, to prevent pullouts where the front plug is pulled through the front hole of the sole.
A further objective is to provide a sandal having a unique method of manufacture wherein a front plug does not pass through any holes in the sole of the sandal.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In such drawings:
The above-described drawing figures illustrate the invention, sandals having a front plug that is oversized and significantly larger than prior art front plugs, to prevent pullouts where the front plug is pulled through the front hole of the sole. The invention also includes a unique method of manufacture wherein the front plug does not pass through any holes in the sole of the sandal during assembly, as described in greater detail below.
For the purposes of this application, the term “oversized” is defined to mean having at least one dimension, such as a height H or a width W, that is more than three times as large as a diameter FHD of the front hole 22 (shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the sole 20 is formed of a resilient material, such as rubber, polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) or polyurethane foam, etc., a composite of these, or any other suitable materials known in the art. Furthermore, a top surface 25a of the sole 20 may be a different material than a bottom surface 25b, i.e., having different degrees of cushioning, different surface textures, etc. In some embodiments, said surface textures may be custom molded on the top and/or bottom surfaces 25. In this embodiment, the center portion 32 of the toe thong 30 is in the form of a slightly flared resilient joint, but in other embodiments may be rigid, or soft as in cloth, and/or may include additional structures known in the art (e.g., a sealing portion, flange, etc.). Additional features may also be included in the sole 20 and/or toe thong 30, such as padding, arch support, ornamental features, etc. Furthermore, additional straps may be included, such as a heel strap or a securing strap, or any other similar features, as deemed suitable by one skilled in the art.
As shown in
In some embodiments, RD of the rear plugs 38 is between approximately 5-20 mm in diameter, and in this particular embodiment RD is approximately 14 mm. Obviously, other sizes may be implemented, depending on the size of the sole 20, and the diameter of the front and rear holes 22 and 24 (FHD and RHD, respectively, best shown in
In some embodiments, FHD and RHD are both between approximately 5-10 mm, in this embodiment approximately 7.5 mm As shown in
As shown in
As used in this application, the words “a,” “an,” and “one” are defined to include one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise. The terms “approximately” and “about” are defined to mean+/−10%, unless otherwise stated. Also, the terms “have,” “include,” “contain,” and similar terms are defined to mean “comprising” unless specifically stated otherwise. Furthermore, the terminology used in the specification provided above is hereby defined to include similar and/or equivalent terms, and/or alternative embodiments that would be considered obvious to one skilled in the art given the teachings of the present patent application. While the invention has been described with reference to at least one particular embodiment, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments, but rather the scope of the invention is defined by claims made to the invention.
