Patent Application
20120246804
Not Applicable
T-Paks Step Outs are for use in fashion.
T-Paks Step Outs are a foam adhesive that one sticks on the inside back of a pant leg. It keeps the pants from getting stuck between the heel of your foot and the insole of your backless shoes.
When I was first deciding what material to make the Step Outs, I thought of cardboard. However I figured cardboard would be too stiff and not reusable. One day I was walking through an arts and crafts isle in a local store and saw rectangular foam sheets (8½ inches by 5½ inches and 2 millimeters thick) with peel and stick adhesive backing. I thought they would be perfect for my invention. So, I purchased the stack of foam sheets and began to cut out different shapes and sizes. I then tested them myself with backless heels and long jeans. I tried rectangular, triangle, diamond and half circle. I found the half circle worked the best and was the most comfortable and discrete from the outside of the pant leg.
The way to reproduce Step Outs is:
You will need one of the foam sheets (8½ inches by 5½ A inches and 2 millimeters thick) with adhesive backing, a ruler, scissors and a round soup/cereal bowl that has a lip that is approximately 5¾ inches measuring from one side of the bowl to the other. Place the foam sheet on a hard surface so that the one of the 8½ inch sides is horizontal. One of the 8½ inch sides will remain straight and uncut. From one of the bottom corners measure up 2 centimeters on the side of the foam sheet that is 5½ inches. Draw approximately a 1¼ inch straight horizontal line. Do the same thing on the other side that is 5½ inches. Place your soup/cereal bowl upside down onto the foam sheet so that the bowl creates a half circle on the foam sheet. Trace around the lip of the bowl so that you draw a half circle on the foam sheet. The half circle should be about 3 inches tall measuring from the straight/uncut horizontal side of the foam sheet to the top of the half circle. Now cut with scissors along the lines you have drawn. You now have a foam sheet that looks like a 2 dimensional profile of a hat. Discard the other half of the foam sheet.
Turn your pant leg inside out. Remove the adhesive backing from one of the Step Outs. Apply the Step Outs to the bottom of your pant leg where your heel will be. The straight and uncut edge of the Step Out will go along the hem of your pant. The circular part of the Step Out will be pointing towards your calf. Now turn your pant leg back to normal. Do the same to the other Step Outs and your other pant leg. Put your backless shoes on and walk. The Step Outs will keep the bottom of your pant leg from getting caught between your heel and the insole of the shoe. While the Step Out can be reused and moved to another pair of pants, Steps Outs will lose some of their ability to adhere to the pant leg. In addition, Step Outs do not work well with flat sandals and flip flops.
