Disposable shoe cover for athletic use

Abstract

A disposable shoe cover for athletic use includes a unitary flexible material sheet folded into a shoe shape. The shoe shape defines a sole, an upper and a closed-loop shoe-receiving opening in the upper adapted to receive a wearer's shoe. Surface gripping members are provided on the sole.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 60 / 842,473 filed on Sep. 5, 2006 and 60 / 874,360 filed on Dec. 12, 2006. The contents of both said applications are incorporated herein by this reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates to footwear for golfing and other sports wherein specialized sole configurations are required for gripping a playing surface. [0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art [0005] By way of background, certain sports such as golf require shoes equipped with spikes or other gripping configurations on the soles thereof. Such footwear is not generally worn for normal use and may even be banned from certain indoor (or outdoor) areas in order to protect susceptible surfaces from scratching, marring or other damage. This is disadvantageous for athletes who do not desire to change their shoes prior to or following play, or wh...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] According to exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, the flexible material sheet may be maintained in the shoe shape by a front seam extending along a mid-portion of the upper from the shoe-receiving opening toward a forward end of the sole, and by a rear seam extending along a mid-portion of the upper from a rearward portion of the shoe-receiving opening toward a rearward end of the sole. The front seam and the rear seam may each extend inwardly into an interior of the disposable shoe cover to improve the aesthetic appearance thereof. The flexible material sheet may be selected from the group consisting of fabric material and plastic sheet material, and may be water resistant. The foot-receiving opening may comprise an elastic band so that it may be expanded to receive a wearer's shoe. The gripping members comprise spikes and may be permanently or detachably mounted to the sole. In one configuration, the gripping members may be disposed on a forward portion of the sole and the disposable shoe cover may further comprise a heel member on a rearward portion of the sole. In another configuration, the gripping members may be disposed on forward and rearward portions of the sole. An optional insole may be provided having a textured upper surface for gripping a bottom of a wearer's shoe. One or more adjustable retention straps or retention bands may also be provided that are adapted to wrap around a forward portion of the upper to assist in securing the disposable shoe cover to a wearer's shoe. Alternatively, an adjustable seam may be provided on the upper.

Problems solved by technology

This is disadvantageous for athletes who do not desire to change their shoes prior to or following play, or who may be traveling and do not wish to pack an extra set of shoes.

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