TWO-PIECE SHOE DEVICE AND METHOD

Abstract

A shoe device includes two separate pieces, a first piece for the toe portion of the shoe and a second piece for the closure portion of the shoe. The underside of both pieces includes an adhesive allowing the first piece to be stuck to the toe portion of the shoe, and allowing the second piece to be stuck to overlie the closure portion on the shoe. Once the two pieces are put on the shoe using the adhesive on each piece, the two pieces are preferably further secured in place using multiple wraps of tape that wrap around each piece and around the sole of the shoe to assure that neither of the two pieces can dislodge during use of the shoe, such as during an athletic contest.

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This invention generally relates to shoes, and more specifically relates to a two-piece device that attaches to a person's shoes to protect the wearer from foot injury.

2. Background Art

Many different devices have been invented for protecting shoes or for protecting a person's foot while wearing shoes. Safety shoes and boots that have steel toe protectors or composite toe protectors that are manufactured as an integral part of the shoe or boot are well-known. Other shoe devices have been developed for various purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,552,700 to Watts discloses a shoe toe protector that has elastic straps that go under the sole of the shoe. This protector is for protecting an infant's shoe from being soiled or scuffed when the infant creeps or crawls. A similar toe-protector for infant's shoes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,723,469 to Shusterman. This device includes a lower sole that goes underneath the toe portion of the shoe, along with straps that wrap around the heel of the shoe to keep the toe-protector in place. U.S. Pat. No. 2,712,185 to Corrigan discloses a one-piece safety protector for shoes that overlies the entire lace and toe portion of the shoe. The safety protector includes straps that wrap around the heel of the shoe to keep the safety protector in place. A baseball shoe safety protector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,055 to Herman. This device includes inturned portions and a web that allows the device to be slid over the shoe and firmly engage with the sole, along with holes that allow the device to be secured using the shoe laces of the shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,970 to McArthur et al. discloses a shoe protector that goes over the toes of the shoe and attaches with straps that go behind the heel of the shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,060 to Brncick et al. discloses an athletic shoe toe protector that is placed over the toe portion of an athletic shoe. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0359733 discloses a soft protective shoe cover that is a single piece that covers the toe and laces portion of a shoe, and wraps around the heel of the shoe. This device protects the shoes from falling liquid or solid matter falling from a work area.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A shoe device includes two separate pieces, a first piece for the toe portion of the shoe and a second piece for the closure portion of the shoe. The underside of both pieces includes an adhesive allowing the first piece to be stuck to the toe portion of the shoe, and allowing the second piece to be stuck to overlie the closure portion on the shoe. Once the two pieces are put on the shoe using the adhesive on each piece, the two pieces are preferably further secured in place using multiple wraps of tape that wrap around each piece and around the sole of the shoe to assure that neither of the two pieces can dislodge during use of the shoe, such as during an athletic contest.

The foregoing and other features and advantages will be apparent from the following more particular description, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, where like designations denote like elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a prior art athletic shoe;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the prior art athletic shoe shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a two-piece shoe device for protecting the foot of the wearer of the shoe;

FIG. 4 is a top view of showing the two-piece shoe device;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the toe portion of the two-piece shoe device showing an adhesive layer 510 on the underside of the toe portion;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the closure portion of the two-piece shoe device showing an adhesive layer 610 on the underside of the closure portion;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the toe portion of the two-piece shoe device showing multiple strips of adhesive tape on the underside of the toe portion;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the closure portion of the two-piece shoe device showing multiple strips of adhesive tape on the underside of the closure portion;

FIG. 9 is a side view showing securing the toe portion and the closure portion to the sole of the shoe using multiple wraps of tape, such as athletic tape;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a method for the two-piece shoe device within the scope of the preferred embodiments; and

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a method for providing a shoe with a matching two-piece shoe device, and for using the two-piece shoe device on the shoe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A shoe device includes two separate pieces, a first piece for the toe portion of the shoe and a second piece for the closure portion of the shoe. The underside of both pieces includes an adhesive allowing the first piece to be stuck to the toe portion of the shoe, and allowing the second piece to be stuck to overlie the closure portion on the shoe. Once the two pieces are put on the shoe using the adhesive on each piece, the two pieces are preferably further secured in place using multiple wraps of tape that wrap around each piece and around the sole of the shoe to assure that neither of the two pieces can dislodge during use of the shoe, such as during an athletic contest.

A prior art athletic shoe 100 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The shoe 100 includes a sole portion 110 with a plurality of cleats 120, a toe portion 130, a closure portion 140, a tongue 150, and a heel portion 160. The term “closure portion” is not a term that is known in the art, but is used herein to mean the portion of the shoe that allows tightening the shoe using one or more fasteners on the wearer's foot after the wearer puts on the shoe. Examples of known fasteners include shoelaces, hook-and-loop straps, snaps, elastic, etc. The term “closure portion” as used herein broadly includes any suitable fastener to tighten a shoe around a wearer's foot, whether currently known or developed in the future. For the specific example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the closure portion 140 includes a shoelace.

Some sports, including soccer and American football, are sports where a player can be injured by other players stepping on their shoes. For example, linemen in American football often step on each other's feet. Needless to say, having a very large person with considerable weight step down on the top of another player's foot with a cleated shoe can cause considerable damage and pain. The two-piece shoe device disclosed and claimed herein can substantially reduce the likelihood of injury when a player steps on another player's foot during an athletic contest.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a shoe device 300 includes two separate and distinct pieces, a first piece 310 that overlies the toe portion of the shoe and a second piece 320 that overlies the closure portion of the shoe. Some of the known shoe devices, such as the device in U.S. Pat. No. 2,712,185 to Corrigan, cover the entire toe and closure portion of the shoe. Such a device would not be well-suited to use in an athletic contest because the device would inhibit movement of the wearer's foot. Similarly, the device in U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,055 to Herman covers the entire toe and closure portion of the shoe. While the device in Herman is a “Baseball Shoe Safety Protector”, this device would not be desirable for a high-contact sport like soccer or American football. If the device in Herman were made of a soft enough plastic that the wearer's foot movement were not significantly restricted, this would not provide the needed protection should another player step on top of the device. If the device in Herman were made of a rigid enough plastic to protect a wearer's foot when stepped on, the device would inhibit natural movement of the wearer's foot because the device would restrict the movement of the toes at the ball of the wearer's foot. Another shoe protector device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,060 to Brncick et al. This device only protects the toes and does not protect any other part of the wearer's foot. The two-piece shoe device 300 disclosed and claimed herein overcomes the limitations known in the art by providing separate pieces, a first that overlies the toe portion of the shoe and a second that overlies the closure portion of the shoe. By providing two separate pieces, the movement of the wearer's foot is not impeded. As can be imagined looking at FIGS. 3 and 4, should the wearer flex the toes to get up on the balls of the wearer's feet to run fast, the shoe 100 can still articulate at the ball of the foot because there is a gap between the first piece 310 and the second piece 320. The two-piece shoe device thus provides protection for the wearer's foot from someone stepping on the shoe while not impeding the natural movement of the foot necessary to compete in an athletic contest.

The first piece 310 preferably substantially covers the toe portion of the shoe 100, and does not have any portion that extends below or under the sole portion of the shoe. In the preferred embodiments, the first piece 310 comprises a molded plastic piece formed to fit snugly over the toe portion of the shoe 100. Similarly, the second piece 320 preferably covers at least a portion of the closure portion of the shoe, and does not have any portion that extends below or under the sole portion of the shoe. In the preferred embodiments, the second piece 320 comprises a molded plastic piece formed to fit snugly over the closure portion of the shoe 100. In the specific configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the second piece 320 substantially covers all of the laces in the closure portion of the shoe 100. Note, however, the second piece 320 could be configured to cover at least a portion of the closure portion of the shoe without covering all of the closure portion of the shoe.

The first piece 310 and second piece 320 can be made of any suitable material, including naturally-occurring materials as well as manmade materials. In the preferred embodiments, the first piece 310 and second piece 320 are made of a suitable plastic or composite material that is preferably lightweight while being rigid enough to provide substantial protection for the top of the wearer's feet. One suitable material is thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride. One specific brand of thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride is Kydex, which is a registered trademark of Sekisui Kydex, LLC. The benefit of thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride is it comes in sheets and can be molded to a suitable shape using heat. Thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride is very well-known in molded gun holsters and knife sheaths. The first piece 310 and second piece 320 could be molded from thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride using heat using shaped molds as is well-known in the art. The molded thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride could be based on a mold that will fit a number of different shoes, or could be based on a mold representative of a single shoe. In other embodiments, suitable materials for the first piece 310 and second piece 320 include injection-molded plastic. In addition, the two pieces of the shoe device disclosed herein could be 3D printed from any suitable material.

The first piece 310 includes a lower shoe-contacting surface and an upper surface. Similarly, the second piece 320 includes a lower shoe-contacting surface and an upper surface. Referring to FIG. 5, the lower shoe-contacting surface of the first piece 310 is shown to include an adhesive 510. Similarly, the lower shoe-contacting surface of the second piece 320 is shown to include an adhesive 610. Adhesive 510 and 610 can be any suitable type of adhesive, but is most preferably a sheet of foam adhesive that is fixedly attached on one side to the shoe-contacting surface. In one specific embodiment, the sheet of foam adhesive includes a paper backing that can be peeled off to expose a lower adhesive portion of the sheet of foam adhesive so each piece can be stuck to a shoe. The shoe-contacting surfaces of the two pieces 310 and 320 preferably include adhesive in any suitable form.

Instead of a single sheet of foam adhesive, each piece could have multiple strips of foam double-stick tape. FIG. 7 shows the first piece 310 with three pieces 710, 720 and 730 of double-stick tape that are fixedly attached to the first piece 310 and include a paper backing on each strip that can be peeled off when the first piece 310 needs to be stuck to the toe portion of a shoe. FIG. 8 similarly shows the second piece 320 with five pieces 810, 820, 830, 840 and 850 of double-stick tape. For the configuration shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when a person desires to use the two-piece shoe device, the user removes the backing from the strips 710, 720 and 730 on the first piece 310 and sticks the first piece 310 to overlie the toe portion of the shoe, and the user then removes the backing from the strips 810, 820, 830, 840 and 850 on the second piece 320 and sticks the second piece 320 to overlie the closure portion of the shoe.

Any suitable type of double-stick tape can be used. The most preferred double-stick tape is a foam tape with high-strength adhesive. One suitable double-stick tape is Gorilla Heavy Duty Mounting Tape that can hold up to 30 lbs (13.6 kg), which is available on Amazon.com or at a number of different retailers. Of course, a large number of other suitable double-stick tapes could be used within the scope of the disclosure and claims herein.

Instead of double-stick tape, the adhesive strips 710, 720 and 730 in FIGS. 7 and 810, 820, 830, 840 and 850 in FIG. 8 could be double-stick hook-and-loop fasteners. By using double-stick hook-and-loop fasteners, the two pieces 310 and 320 could be removed from a shoe, then replaced when needed.

In a first embodiment, the adhesive on the shoe-contacting portions of the two pieces 310 and 320 are used to attach the two pieces to a shoe. In a second embodiment, an additional step can be taken to assure the two pieces 310 and 320 remain attached to the shoe. American football is such an aggressive sport that attaching the first and second pieces 310 and 320 with adhesive alone may be insufficient given the forces at play. Thus, in a second embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the two pieces 310 and 320 can be further attached to the shoe using multiple strips of tape. The most preferred tape is athletic tape that is used to tape up knees and ankles because almost all locker rooms already have an ample supply of athletic tape on hand. Referring to FIG. 9, the first piece 310 has multiple wraps 910, 920 and 930 of athletic tape that wrap around the top of the first piece 310 and around the sole of the shoe, preferably while minimizing contact with the cleats. Similarly, the second piece 320 has multiple wraps 940, 950, 960, 970 and 980 that wrap around the top of the second piece 320 and around the sole of the shoe, preferably while minimizing contact with the cleats. In the second embodiment, the first piece 310 and second piece 320 are first attached to the shoe using adhesive on the first piece 310 and second piece 320, then the wraps of tape are added to further secure the first piece 310 and second piece 320 in place. In a third embodiment, the first piece 310 and second piece 320 do not include adhesive, and instead are held in place entirely by the wraps of tape. While athletic tape is preferred, any suitable tape could be used within the scope of the disclosure and claims herein.

Referring to FIG. 10, a method 1000 in accordance with the preferred embodiments attaches the two-piece shoe device to a shoe. For the purpose of method 1000 in FIG. 10 and method 1100 in FIG. 11, the first piece 310 in FIGS. 3-9 is referred to as a “toe cover” and the second piece 320 in FIGS. 3-9 is referred to as a “closure cover.” Attach the toe cover to overlie the toe portion of the shoe using the underside adhesive on the toe cover (step 1010). Attach the closure cover to the shoe using the underside adhesive on the closure cover to overlie the closure portion of the shoe (step 1020). Apply multiple wraps of tape around the toe cover and the sole of the shoe (step 1030). Then apply multiple wraps of tape around the closure cover and the sole of the shoe (step 1040). Method 1000 is then done.

Referring to FIG. 11, a method 1100 in accordance with the preferred embodiments provides a shoe with matching toe cover and closure cover, and attaches the two-piece shoe device to the matching shoe. Provide a shoe with a matching toe cover and closure cover (step 1110). Attach the toe cover to overlie the toe portion of the shoe using the underside adhesive on the toe cover (step 1120). Attach the closure cover to the shoe using the underside adhesive on the closure cover to overlie the closure portion of the shoe (step 1130). Apply multiple wraps of tape around the toe cover and the sole of the shoe (step 1140). Then apply multiple wraps of tape around the closure cover and the sole of the shoe (step 1150). Method 1100 is then done.

A shoe device includes two separate pieces, a first piece for the toe portion of the shoe and a second piece for the closure portion of the shoe. The underside of both pieces includes an adhesive allowing the first piece to be stuck to the toe portion of the shoe, and allowing the second piece to be stuck to overlie the closure portion on the shoe. Once the two pieces are put on the shoe using the adhesive on each piece, the two pieces are preferably further secured in place using multiple wraps of tape that wrap around each piece and around the sole of the shoe to assure that neither of the two pieces can dislodge during use of the shoe, such as during an athletic contest.

The disclosure and claims herein support a shoe device comprising: a first piece comprising a toe covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a first upper surface opposite the lower shoe-contacting surface, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the first piece comprises a first adhesive; and a second piece separate from the first piece, the second piece comprising a closure covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a second upper surface, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the second piece comprises a second adhesive.

The disclosure and claims herein further support a combination shoe and two-piece shoe device comprising: the shoe; the two-piece shoe device comprising a first piece comprising a toe covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a first upper surface opposite the lower shoe-contacting surface, wherein the first piece comprises a first molded plastic piece formed to fit snugly over the toe of the shoe, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the first piece comprises a first adhesive, wherein the first piece has no portion that extends below or under the sole of a shoe when properly attached to the shoe using the first adhesive; and a second piece separate from the first piece, the second piece comprising a closure covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a second upper surface, wherein the second piece comprises a second molded plastic piece formed to fit snugly over a closure portion of the shoe, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the second piece comprises a second adhesive, wherein the second piece has no portion that extends below or under the sole of a shoe when properly attached to the shoe using the second adhesive.

The disclosure and claims herein additionally support a method for protecting the foot of a wearer of an athletic shoe, the method comprising: providing a two-piece shoe device comprising: a first piece comprising a toe covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a first upper surface opposite the lower shoe-contacting surface, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the first piece comprises a first adhesive; and a second piece separate from the first piece, the second piece comprising a closure covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a second upper surface, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the second piece comprises a second adhesive; attaching the first piece to a toe portion of the athletic shoe by pressing the first piece onto the toe portion such that the first adhesive attaches the first piece to overlie the toe portion; and attaching the second piece to a closure portion of the athletic shoe by pressing the second piece onto the closure portion such that the second adhesive attaches the second piece to overlie the closure portion.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations are possible within the scope of the claims. Thus, while the disclosure is particularly shown and described above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A shoe device comprising: a first piece comprising a toe covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a first upper surface opposite the lower shoe-contacting surface, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the first piece comprises a first adhesive; anda second piece separate from the first piece, the second piece comprising a closure covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a second upper surface, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the second piece comprises a second adhesive.

2. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the first adhesive comprises a first adhesive sheet that substantially covers the lower shoe-contacting surface of the first piece.

3. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the second adhesive comprises a second adhesive sheet that substantially covers the lower shoe-contacting surface of the second piece.

4. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the first adhesive comprises double-sided tape.

5. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the second adhesive comprises double-sided tape.

6. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the first adhesive comprises a portion of a first hook-and-loop fastener.

7. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the second adhesive comprises a portion of a second hook-and-loop fastener.

8. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the first piece comprises a molded plastic piece formed to fit snugly over the toe of a shoe.

9. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the second piece comprises a molded plastic piece formed to fit snugly over a closure portion of a shoe.

10. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the first piece comprises thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride.

11. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the second piece comprises thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride.

12. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the first piece has no portion that extends below or under the sole of a shoe when properly attached to the shoe using the first adhesive.

13. The shoe device of claim 1 wherein the second piece has no portion that extends below or under the sole of a shoe when properly attached to the shoe using the second adhesive.

14. A combination shoe and two-piece shoe device comprising: the shoe;the two-piece shoe device comprising a first piece comprising a toe covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a first upper surface opposite the lower shoe-contacting surface, wherein the first piece comprises a first molded plastic piece formed to fit snugly over the toe of the shoe, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the first piece comprises a first adhesive, wherein the first piece has no portion that extends below or under the sole of a shoe when properly attached to the shoe using the first adhesive; anda second piece separate from the first piece, the second piece comprising a closure covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a second upper surface, wherein the second piece comprises a second molded plastic piece formed to fit snugly over a closure portion of the shoe, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the second piece comprises a second adhesive, wherein the second piece has no portion that extends below or under the sole of a shoe when properly attached to the shoe using the second adhesive.

15. The shoe device of claim 14 wherein the first molded plastic piece comprises thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride.

16. The shoe device of claim 14 wherein the second molded plastic piece comprises thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride.

17. A method for protecting the foot of a wearer of an athletic shoe, the method comprising: providing a two-piece shoe device comprising: a first piece comprising a toe covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a first upper surface opposite the lower shoe-contacting surface, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the first piece comprises a first adhesive; anda second piece separate from the first piece, the second piece comprising a closure covering piece having a lower shoe-contacting surface and a second upper surface, wherein the lower shoe-contacting surface of the second piece comprises a second adhesive;attaching the first piece to a toe portion of the athletic shoe by pressing the first piece onto the toe portion such that the first adhesive attaches the first piece to overlie the toe portion; andattaching the second piece to a closure portion of the athletic shoe by pressing the second piece onto the closure portion such that the second adhesive attaches the second piece to overlie the closure portion.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising: applying a first plurality of wraps of tape around the first piece and a toe portion of a sole of the athletic shoe; andapplying a second plurality of wraps of tape around the second piece and a second portion of the sole of the athletic shoe.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the tape comprises athletic tape.