Protective cover for shoes

Abstract

A protective cover for footwear, preferably of the boot type of those used for heavy work in stables or in conditions of thick mud, sludge or sediments that are found on the ground and of those elements it is desired to prevent conventional footwear from getting dirty and investing more time and additional devices such as scouring pads, soaps, waxes, inks and any other that provides them with conventional maintenance that provides durability by avoiding wear and tear due to their use in these spaces. The cover includes variants for its installation or removal while in use and anti-slip elements that prevent the user from slipping, since the surfaces are crossed.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention refers to a protective cover for footwear, preferably of the boot type of those used for heavy work in stables or in conditions of thick mud, sludge or sediments that are found on the ground and of said elements it is desired to prevent conventional footwear from getting dirty and investing more time and additional devices such as scouring pads, soaps, waxes, inks and any other that provide them with conventional maintenance that provides durability by avoiding wear and tear due to their use in these spaces. The invention involves mechanical elements and is therefore considered an invention of this type.BACKGROUND

[0002] Conventionally, footwear represents the conventional way that exists to protect people's footwear, particularly when their daily activities are performed in conditions of sediment that is retained in the soil.

[0003] In order to avoid wear and tear, footwear requires preventive maintenance such as the removal of dirt and impurities from the environment and the floor, vigorous brushing to avoid the lodging of impurities in the roughness that is formed when stepping either on the outer surface of the footwear or on the bottom of the sole; afterwards, dyes, waxes are applied and finally the footwear is polished to provide maintenance that extends the life of the footwear, generally only on the upper part of the footwear.

[0004] However, the prevention described above only involves the upper part of the shoe, but we have forgotten the maintenance of the lower part of the shoe (the sole). When a person works in sediment conditions such as mud, sludge, excrement in stables, terraces, etc., he exposes the sole to a large number of sediments that dirty and deteriorate it.

[0005] The present invention corresponds to a footwear protective cover that allows to protect the footwear and to avoid a greater wear of the same and in its case, to avoid dirtying the conventional footwear and only remove the cover to clean it, without having to dirty the footwear that is used in a conventional way, subsequently the maintenance is provided to the cover separately from the footwear and it does not require the user to spend time and effort in changing the footwear either for any of the following reasons:

[0006] A. That the user does not wear non-skid footwear, given the number of accidents caused by slipping.

[0007] B. The grip of the footwear is not sufficient to prevent a fall.

[0008] C. That the footwear is new and will be exposed to sediment.

[0009] D. That the footwear should be used immediately upon leaving the rough conditions of use.

[0010] E. That time be set aside for the change of footwear to enter such spaces.

[0011] F. That economic resources be earmarked to have two types of footwear for work.

[0012] In the state of the technique, we find some patents related to this type of technical effect and among which we can refer as close to the present invention, the following:

[0013] The patent ES2733000T3 entitled Footwear with a split outsole, comprising an upper part (2), the upper forming an inner portion (62) for receiving a foot of a woman, the inner portion including a toe cap cavity (4) and a heel cavity (6); an outer midsole (8), the outer midsole having (i) a toe end (10), (ii) a heel end (12), (iii) an inner side (14), and (iv) an outer side (16), wherein a perimeter of the outer midsole is sewn to the upper thereby forming a bottom portion on the inner portion which is joined by a first seam (22); a heel outsole patch (24) sewn onto a heel portion (68) of a first face of the mid outsole; a toe outsole patch (26) sewn onto a toe portion (70) of the first outer midsole face; an insole (30) that is attached to the bottom of the inner portion; wherein A) there is a space (32) between (i) the heel outsole patch sewn onto the heel portion of the first midsole face and (ii) the toe cap outsole patch sewn onto the toe cap portion of the first midsole face, the space extending from the inner side to the outer side and occupying an intermediate position at the toe end and the heel end thereby allowing the entire shoe to fold around an axis (34) in the space between the inner side and the outer side; (B) the shoe is configured to fold between (i) an extended state in which the heel outsole patch and the toe outsole patch are coplanar or approximately coplanar and (ii) a folded state in which the shoe is curved around the axis such that a portion of the upper comprising the toe cavity is inserted into the heel cavity, and (C) the shoe has a maximum outsole ratio OR, wherein **Formula** wherein D is an average depth of a groove in the toe outsole patch used to stitch the outsole patch to the toe portion of the first midsole face, T is an average thickness of the toe outsole patch, W is a maximum width of the toe outsole patch, and M is a width of the midsole at the point of the maximum width of the toe outsole patch, where M is greater than W, and where the OR ratio of the shoe is greater than 7.0.

[0014] However, the division presented in the sole is in front and rear, but it is attached to or forms a single piece with the footwear, so that despite having two components in the sole, it is not employed in the manner in which the protection is performed in this invention.

[0015] A second patent is patent number ES2708316T3 entitled Footwear article and part of it, comprising a part of an article of footwear, the part (10) being arranged to fit under the foot of an user in an article of footwear, the part (10) comprising a matrix structure (12) defining a series of ducts (26, 30), each duct extending between upper and lower surfaces of the piece, wherein the piece further comprises, at least one lamellar member (14-22) substantially inside the matrix structure (12) and forming a continuous molding with the same, the lamellar member or each lamellar member (14-22) being convex, such that the apex of the lamellar member or each lamellar member approaches and faces the top surface of the piece, the lamellar member or each lamellar member being made from an elastomeric material and being made from a harder material than the matrix structure, such that the lamellar member or each lamellar member acts as a laminated spring.

[0016] However, in this case, there is an element that provides protection, internal to the sole of the shoe, as conventionally there are many developments of this type to solve comfort problems for the user's foot and not for the footwear itself.

[0017] Patent ES2823423T3 entitled Sole assembly for an article of footwear, which comprises An article of footwear comprising: an upper part having a closed bottom, said upper part defining a foot receiving space over that closed bottom; an upper sole disposed in said foot receiving space, said upper sole made from a first foam, wherein the first foam is an expanded thermoplastic polyurethane foam, or a thermoplastic elastomer foam; and an inner sole disposed in said foot receiving space over said upper sole, said inner sole made from a second foam having an energy efficiency of less than about 80% and a dynamic compression set of more than about 10%; wherein said upper sole has a thickness of at least 1 millimeter and said inner sole has a thickness of at least 3 millimeters; said upper sole and said inner sole having a combined thickness of at least 5 millimeters in a central portion of a forefoot region of the article of footwear; characterized in that said first foam has an average modulus at a stress of 535 kPa of approximately 750 to about 950 kPa and an energy efficiency of at least approximately 78% and a dynamic compression set of less than approximately 10%. This being the closest to the invention proposed for registration.DESCRIPTION

[0018] The characteristic details of this novel protective cover for footwear are clearly shown in the following description and accompanying figures, where the same reference signs are shown to indicate the parts and figures shown.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0019] FIG. 1 is a conventional top perspective view of the inverted protective shoe cover; noting that the grip drawing is merely illustrative and not limiting.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a conventional sectional perspective view of the protective shoe cover, focusing on the heel receiving chamber.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a sectioned top view of the protective shoe cover, focusing on the front.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a conventional top perspective view of the protective shoe cover.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the protective cover for footwear; noting that the grip drawing is merely illustrative and not limiting.

[0024] FIG. 6 is a conventional posterior sectioned perspective view of the protective shoe cover placed on a conventional shoe.

[0025] FIG. 7 is a top view of the protective cover for footwear and the manner in which mating with conventional footwear is achieved.

[0026] FIG. 8 is a conventional perspective view of a boot-type shoe, indicating the use of the protective shoe cover, in its third variant.

[0027] FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view with fisheye type approach to indicate at least one notch.

[0028] FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view with fisheye type approach to indicate at least one flange.DESCRIPTION

[0029] Note, the engravings on the bottom of the sole are merely illustrative and not limiting.

[0030] Based on the above figures, the protective cover for footwear comprises a single flexible body 1, which fits over the sole 2 of the conventional footwear 3 where it is used and leaves it trapped inside, thanks to the fact that said body 1, on its inside coincides with the shape of the sole 2 of the footwear 3 and also on its periphery forms an edge 4 which fits over the edge of seams 5 of the footwear 2 and due to its flexible effect, it molds once it accommodates the sole 2 of the footwear 3; by the heel 6, the body 1, maintains the shape of the heel since it hosts it in a chamber 7, which traps it, acquiring the shape of said heel 6 and due to said effect, prevents sediments from the floor from soiling the sole 2 of the footwear 3 while it is kept in use; on the outside, such body 1, has an anti-skid surface 8 which is composed of at least two types of anti-skid surfaces, the first surface 9, is surrounded by the second surface 10, and the first one is arranged around the sole 2 and is aligned with block-shaped segments 11 arranged sequentially along the entire periphery of the sole 2, while in the center of the heel 6 and the sole 2 of this surface 9, the second surface 10 is formed by block-shaped segments of different shapes and irregularly arranged to prevent the user from slipping laterally, which is not achieved with the first surface 8.

[0031] A first variant is that the edge 4 has at least one notch 13 for inserting a fingernail or finger (due to the flexibility of the body 1) and thereby easily removing the invention.

[0032] A second variant consists in that the edge 4 has at least one flange 14 for inserting a fingernail or finger (due to the flexibility of the body 1) and thereby easily removing the invention.

[0033] A second variant consists in that the rim 4 has at least one ring 12 for inserting a finger (due to the flexibility of the body 1) and thereby easily removing the invention

[0034] Having sufficiently described my invention, which I consider as a novelty and therefore claim as my exclusive property what is contained in the following claims:

Claims

1. A protective cover for a footwear comprising:a single flexible body 1, which is adapted to fit over a sole 2 of the footwear 3, wherein the single flexible body 1 is trap inside the sole, wherein said single flexible body 1, on the inside, coincides with a shape of the sole 2 of the footwear 3, wherein the single flex body 1 includes on a periphery forms an edge 4 which fits over an edge of seams 5 of the footwear 3 and wherein the single flexible body 1 is flexible molds once it fits over the sole 2 of the footwear 3; by a heel 6, the body 1, maintains a shape of the heel since the heel 6 is hosts in a chamber 7, which traps the heel 7, acquiring the shape of said heel 6 and due to said effect, prevents sediments from the floor from soiling the sole 2 of the footwear 3 while is in use; wherein on an outside side, said body 1, has an anti-skid surface 8 which includes at first anti-skid surface 9, which is surrounded by a second anti-skid surface 10, and the first anti-skid surface is arranged around the sole 2 and is aligned with block-shaped segments 11 arranged sequentially along the entire periphery of the sole 2, while the first anti-skid surface 9 is located at a center of the heel 6 and the sole 2, wherein the second anti-skid surface 10 is formed by block-shaped segments of different shapes and irregularly arranged to prevent an user from slipping laterally, which is not achieved with the first anti-skid surface 9.

2. The protective cover for footwear of claim 1, wherein the edge 4 has at least one notch 13 for inserting a fingernail or finger for removing the protective cover.

3. The protective cover for footwear of claim 1, wherein the edge 4 has at least one flange 14 for pulling with the fingers for removing the protective cover.

4. The protective cover for footwear of claim 1, wherein the edge 4 has at least one ring 12 for pulling with the finger for removing the protective cover.

5. The protective covers for footwear of claim 1, wherein the first anti-skip surface 9 and the second anti-skid surface, have a depth between 1 mm and approximately up to the middle section of the protective cover; an inclination in the depth varying in a range from 1° to 89° with respect to the orthogonal position of the sole 2 of the footwear.

Images