Donning and doffing one's shoes can be a surprisingly difficult task given the need to bend over or find a seat to reach your feet and then having to fumble with the tongue, heel, and laces of the shoes to get them on your feet. Not only can this task be difficult, finding or locating your misplaced shoes can be half the battle. As various devices exist to help a person don and doff their shoes, several improvements can be made to provide an all-encompassing solution.
Thus there exists a need for a shoe container stool having a deployable footrest to help a person don and doff their shoes and also provide a reliable location for one to store their shoes.
The present invention generally relates to a stool, and more particularly, to a shoe container stool with a deployable footrest to house a pair of shoes therein and help a user don and doff their shoes.
The general purpose of the shoe container stool with a deployable footrest, described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a shoe container stool which has many novel features that result in a shoe container stool which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by prior art, either alone or in combination thereof. A shoe container stool with a deployable footrest is described herein. The shoe container may be in the general form of a hollow box having a front wall, a back wall, two side walls, and a top lid. In the front wall is a vertical elongated opening positioned through a middle portion of the front wall. The opening has at least two side edges and a bottom edge. Pivotally assembled to the opening is an elongated board. The elongated board includes an axle positioned transversely therethrough and at a location along the length of the board that separates the board into a top portion above the axle and a bottom portion below the axle. The axle has two opposing ends situated into respective axle caps located in the two side edges of the opening to permit the elongated board to pivot into and out of the elongated opening about the longitudinal axis of the axle. Thus, a user can deploy the elongated board from the opening to use the top portion of the board as a footrest to help don and doff their shoes.
The shoe container further includes a horizontal shelf positioned inside the hollow box at a vertical location between the axle and the top lid. The shelf has a bottom surface, and an abutment edge facing the elongated opening. The bottom surface contacts the bottom portion of the board to counter the forces applied to the top portion of the board when used as a footrest. The abutment edge abuts against the top portion of the board to stop the board from pivoting into the interior of the box.
The top lid of the shoe container can be opened to store one's shoes on the shelf inside the box and closed to permit the box to be used as a stool.
Thus has been broadly outlined the more important features of the present shoe container stool so that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. Objects of the present shoe container stool, along with various novel features that characterize the invention are particularly pointed out in the claims forming a part of this disclosure. For better understanding of the shoe container stool with a deployable footrest, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, refer to the accompanying drawings and description.
In the figures, identical structures, element or parts that appear in more than one figure are generally labeled with a same numeral in all the figures in which they appear. Dimensions of components and features shown in the figure are generally chosen for convenience and clarity of presentation and are not necessarily shown to scale. The figures are listed below.
The present invention has utility as a shoe container stool with a deployable footrest to help a user a don and doff theirs while also providing a reliable location to store one's shoes. The following description of various embodiments of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to those specific embodiments, but rather to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use this invention through exemplary aspects thereof.
It is to be understood that in instances where a range of values are provided that the range is intended to encompass not only the end point values of the range but also intermediate values of the range as explicitly being included within the range and varying by the last significant figure of that range. By way of example, a recited range of 1 to 4 is intended to include 1-2, 1-3, 2-4, 3-4, and 1-4.
As used herein, the term ‘shoes’ refers to all types of footwear including, for example, sneakers, boots, sandals, formal footwear, high heels, and the like.
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular
Referring to
The shoe container 10 further includes an elongated board 28 that can pivotally rotate into and out of the elongated opening 22, where
The axle 30 connects the board 28 to the shoe container 10. The axle 30 includes two opposing ends (36a, 36b) extending beyond opposing sides of the board 28. In the two side edges (24a, 24b) of the opening 22 are holes having axle caps (38a, 38b) therein, where the opposing ends (36a, 36b) of the axle 30 are situated into the respective axle caps (38a, 38b) to permit the elongated board 28 to pivot into and out of the elongated opening 22 about the longitudinal axis of the axle 30. This mechanism permits a user to deploy the elongated board 28 from the opening 22 to use the top portion 32 of the board 28 as a footrest to help don and doff their shoes. In some embodiments, the axle 30 is positioned inside a sleeve 40 in the elongated board 28. The axle 30 and sleeve 40 rotate relative to one another to improve the rotation of the elongated board 28 into and out of the elongated opening 22.
The shoe container 10 further includes a horizontal shelf 42 positioned inside the hollow box as best seen in
The top lid 18 of the shoe container 10 can be opened to store one's shoes on the top surface 44 of the shelf 42. The top lid 18 can then be closed, where a user can sit on the top lid 18 to use the shoe container 10 as a stool. The top lid 18 may be connected to the back wall 14 with one or more hinges (50a, 50b) to permit a user to pivotally open the top lid 18 without having to remove the entirety of the top lid 18 from the shoe container 10.
The shoe container 10 may further be optimally configured to accommodate users of all sizes. One such configuration is to angle the front wall 12 and elongated opening 22 to provide additional room for the user's foot on the top portion 32 of the deployed board 28. In a particular embodiment, the front wall 12 and opening 22 are angled between 10 degrees and 20 degrees from the vertical and towards the interior of the box to provide this additional room as best seen in
The shoe container 10 may further include one or more mechanisms to help secure the elongated board 28 in the opening 22 when pivoted therein. In a particular embodiment, the shoe container 10 includes a first securing mechanism 52 attached to either one of the top lid 18 or the front wall 12, and a second securing mechanism 54 attached to the elongated board 28. The first securing mechanism 52 and second securing mechanism 54 are configured to couple together to hold the elongated board 28 in the opening 22 when pivoted therein. In an embodiment, the first securing mechanism and the second securing mechanism magnetically couple to hold the elongated board in the opening when pivoted therein. In a more specific embodiment, the first securing mechanism is a magnet extending down from the top lid 18 and into the elongated opening 22, and the second securing mechanism is a ferromagnetic or paramagnetic material located on a surface of the top portion 32 of the elongated board 28 as best seen in
The shoe container 10 may further include a cross-board 56 positioned lengthwise on an interior surface of the front wall 12 and extending the width of the elongated opening 22. The cross-board 56 is located at a vertical position above the shelf 42 and below the top lid 18, where the cross-board 56 further stops the top portion 32 of the elongated board 28 from pivoting into the interior of the box.
The shoe container 10 may further include one or more venting holes 28 positioned through at least one of the front wall 12, back wall 14, two side walls (16a, 16b), or top lid 18. In specific embodiments, the shoe container 10 includes two pairs of venting holes 58, each pair positioned through opposing walls of the two side walls (16a, 16b), respectively. Each pair of venting holes 58 may further be located near a top edge of their respective side wall (16a, 16b). The venting holes 88 primarily allow shoes stored in the shoe container 10 to dry from sweat or from getting wet. The venting holes 58 may also be used to help a user maneuver the shoe container 10 to one position or another.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detail description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the described embodiments in any way. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.
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