Rentable bowling overshoe

Abstract

A bowling overshoe for fitting over footwear of a casual bowler. The bowling overshoe comprises a lower sole, an upper portion integral with the lower sole, a gripping section attached to a bottom surface of the lower sole and a slide section attached to the bottom surface of the lower sole. The gripping section, the slide section and the lower sole are each substantially unstretchable while the upper portion of the bowling overshoe is sufficiently stretchable to facilitate the bowling overshoe receiving, via an access opening, and accommodating different size footwear.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention is directed to a bowling overshoe designed to fit over conventional shoes of a bowler for replacing conventional rental shoes required by operators of bowling alleys facilities.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]As is well known, bowling is an indoor sport that utilizes relatively expensive bowling surfaces that are conventionally formed of hardwood, or possibly a synthetic, surface and typically includes an approach section that is traveled on extensively by bowlers. Due to the expensive nature of such bowling alleys and the desirability to maintain the alleys in an pristine condition, operators of such bowling facilities have established certain rules and / or regulations. For example, substantially all bowling facilities require any bowler, casual or otherwise, utilizing the facility to wear a shoe which will not mark, scratch, mar, damage or otherwise cause excessive or undue wear to the bowling alleys and, more specifically, to the ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015]A further object of the present invention is to provide bowling overshoe with a side wall which includes a more resilient and stretchable annular band region which extends around the entire perimeter of the bowling overshoe, adjacent the interface between the upper sole and the lower sole, which permits the overshoe to reliably and comfortably accommodate a greater range of different shoe sizes and different shoe types and styles and thereby increase the versatility of the bowling overshoe and thus decrease the amount of inventory required to be carried by the operator of the bowling facility in order to cater to the full range of clientele of the bowling facility.

[0016]Still another object of the present invention is to provide a bowling overshoe which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain but which still provides a satisfying and rewarding bowling experience for the casual bowler such that the casual bowler is unable to detect any relative movement between the conventional footwear being worn by the bowler and the bowling overshoe.

[0017]A further object of the present invention is to provide a bowling shoe in which a desired logo, emblem, company name, event and / or any other promotional or advertising material can be easily and readily molded, imprinted, embossed or otherwise permanently or temporarily affixed to the bowling overshoe so that such bowling shoes can be handed out by event sponsors, bowling facilities, companies, etc., to facilitate memorializing a special event, special date, a particular milestone, etc., and / or merely as a means for advertising or promoting a desired company, event, etc.

[0018]Another object of the present invention is to provide a rentable bowling shoe which can be readily manufactured by a molding process so that a desired additive, e.g., a fluorescent, a phosphorescent or a persistent luminescent material, for example, may be added prior to the molding process so that the resulting bowling overshoe has the desired characteristic(s), feature(s), properties and / or functionality flowing manufacture thereof, i.e., e.g., the bowling overshoe will be fluorescence, phosphorescence or emit a persistent luminescence.

[0019]A still further object of the present invention is to manufacture each different size of the bowling overshoe, e.g., extra small, small, medium, large and extra large, in a different color so as to readily distinguish between these various sizes and permit the casual bowler to quickly and easily identify which color bowling shoes is the correct and proper size to be worn by that casual bowler.

Problems solved by technology

Moreover, such bowling shoes may not fit properly or as comfortably as the casual bowler's conventional shoes.

Additionally, the bowling facility may have only a limited amount of a particular size of bowling shoes, thus forcing some casual bowlers to wear rental bowling shoes that are either too large or too small for the casual bowler, and this could significantly diminish the amount of enjoyment the casual bowler experiences during bowling, and thus significantly decreasing the chances that the casual bowler will return to the bowling facility for another bowling activity.

This construction results in a relatively high ownership cost for the operator in order to maintain an adequate supply of rental bowling shoes for the casual bowlers.

Additionally, the antibacterial spray, which is applied to these bowling shoes, after each use, tend to cause accelerated wear, tear and / or deterioration of the bowling shoes, particularly when compared to a pair of bowling shoes which is not subjected to repeated applications of such antibacterial aerosol spray / antibacterial cleaner.

Notwithstanding the above developed alternatives to rental bowling shoes, such alternatives still have associated shortcomings and drawbacks and operators of bowling facilities are still required to maintain a large supply of conventional rental shoes for use by their rental customers.

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