Footwear with a container opener

Abstract

An article of footwear is provided and includes a sole, an upper attached to the sole and a strap removably attached to the upper, the strap having a first end and a second end, one of the first end and the second end including a container opener, where the strap is removed from the upper and the container opener is configured to remove a cap secured to a container.

Description

FOOTWEAR WITH A CONTAINER OPENERBACKGROUND

[0001] The present application relates generally to footwear, and more particularly, to an article of footwear including a container opener that is removably attached to the article of footwear and enables a user to open a container.

[0002] People enjoy drinking beverages at parks, beaches and other locations that are away from their home. Typically, they must bring an opener with them to be able to open beverage containers having caps or other sealed covers. However, sometimes people forget to bring the opener or the opener may get lost such that they cannot easily open the containers. Alternatively, a person may have to purchase an opener or go back home to get it. Other times, a person may be wearing clothing that does not have a pocket or other way to store the opener thereby making it necessary to hold the opener or place it somewhere where it may get lost or misplaced. All of these situations can be a burden especially if a person is not near their home or near a place where they can purchase an opener.

[0003] It is therefore desirable to provide an article of footwear having a removable opener that is part of the article of footwear so that the opener is readily available when needed to open a beverage container.SUMMARY

[0004] The present invention is an article of footwear that includes an upper attached to a sole and a strap that is removably attached to the upper, where the strap includes a container opener that is configured to remove a cap of a container.

[0005] In an embodiment, an article of footwear is provided and includes a sole, an upper attached to the sole and a strap removably attached to the upper, the straphaving a first end and a second end, one of the first end and the second end including a container opener, where the strap is removed from the upper and the container opener is configured to remove a cap secured to a container.

[0006] In another embodiment, a strap is provided and removably attached to an upper of an article of footwear, where the strap includes a strap body having a first end and a second end, one of the first end and the second end including a container opener, one of the first end and the second end including a snap-fit connector configured to be removably connected to the upper and the second end including a container opener that is removably connected to the upper, where the strap body is removed from the upper and the container opener is configured to remove a cap secured to a container.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an article of footwear including a removable container opener.

[0008] Fig. 2 is a top view of the article of footwear of Fig. 1 .

[0009] Fig. 3 is a right side view of the article of footwear of Fig. 1 .

[0010] Fig. 4 is a left side view of the article of footwear of Fig. 1 .

[0011] Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the removable opener shown in Fig. 1.

[0012] Fig. 6 is a top view of the removable opener of Fig. 5.

[0013] Fig. 7 is a top view of the removable opener of Fig. 5.

[0014] Fig. 8 is a right side view of the removable opener of Fig. 5, where the left side view is a mirror image of this view.

[0015] Fig. 9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the strap that includes an adjustment device.

[0016] Fig. 10 is a top view of another embodiment of the article of footwear having an adjustment strap and a container opener removable secured in the adjustment strap.

[0017] Fig. 11 is a side view of the article of footwear of Fig. 10 where the container opener is removed from the adjustment strap.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The present invention is an article of footwear having a removable container opener the is easily removed from the article of footwear to open a beverage container at any location.

[0019] Referring now to Figs. 1-4, an embodiment of an article of footwear or shoe 20 is shown where the article of footwear 20 includes a sole, generally indicated as 22, where the sole 22 is attached to an upper 24. The sole 22 is preferably made with a fabric material, but may also be made with an integral, molded component made of a material having a designated hardness value or made with different materials having the same hardness value or different hardness values. As shown in Fig. 1 , the upper 24 is attached to the sole 22 by sewing the upper on the sole using stitching. The upper 24 may also be attached to the sole 22 using an adhesive, attached by molding the upper to the sole or at least partially molding the upper within the sole or using any suitable attachment method or combination of methods, such as attaching the upper to the sole using an adhesive and stitching. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper has a closed toe. It should be appreciated that the upper may have an opentoe, may have side straps and a toe post such as on a flip flop or any suitable shape or configuration.

[0020] The article of footwear 20 also includes an outsole 26 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 where the outsole 26 is attached to a bottom surface 28 of the sole 22 by an adhesive or by molding, and is made of rubber. The outsole 26 includes a plurality of tread members 30 that are configured to grip an underlying surface, such as the ground, during movement. It should be appreciated that the sole 22 and outsole 26 may be made of any suitable materials or combinations of materials.

[0021] In the illustrated embodiment, the upper 24 includes a foot opening 32 that is configured to receive a user’s foot. The foot opening 32 is defined by an upper wall 34 and opposing sidewalls 36 that are attached together by stitching or molded together, where one of the sidewalls 36a is attached to a medial side 37 of the sole 22 and the other sidewall 36b is attached to a lateral side 39 of the sole 22. The foot opening 32 may be any suitable size and shape to accommodate different sizes of users’ feet.

[0022] Referring to Figs. 1 and 5-8, a strap 38 is positioned adjacent to the foot opening 32 and extends over the upper 24 from a medial side 37 to a lateral side 39. The strap 38 has a strap body 40 with a first end 42 and an opposing second end 44, where the first end 42 is removably attached to the medial side 37 of the upper 22 using a snap connector. Specifically, the first end 42 of the strap body 40 has a first snap part 46 having a receptacle 48 (Fig. 4) on a bottom surface of the strap 38. The first snap part 46 connects with a second strap part 50 attached to the upper 24 where the second strap part 50 has a post 52 (Fig. 4) that is configured to be inserted in and connected to the receptacle 48 by a friction fit or snap fit connection. In another embodiment, the first snap part 46 has a post and the second strap part 50 has areceptacle where the post of the second strap part is inserted in and connected to the receptacle of the first snap part as described above.

[0023] A second end 44 of the strap body 40 has a container opener 54 with a base 56 and a closed loop portion 58 integrally formed with the base. As shown, the base 56 of the container opener 54 has a rectangular through-hole 60 configured to receive the second end 44 of the strap body 40 where a portion of the strap body is threaded through the through-hole 60 and attached back to the strap body by stitching, an adhesive, a hook and loop connector or other suitable connectors or connection methods. The second end 44 of the strap body 40 secures the container opener 54 to the strap 38. In the illustrated embodiment, the base 56 includes a lip or tab 62 that extends at least partially into a through-hole 64 defined by the closed loop portion 58 of the container opener 54. Also, the loop portion 58 of the container opener 54 includes a notch 78 that has a semi-circular shape. In another embodiment, an opener portion is formed with the base 56 where the opener portion has opposing arms that are spaced from each other and define a central opening for receiving an edge of a container cap. It should be appreciated that the opener portion may be any suitable size and shape.

[0024] In use, the closed loop portion 58 of the container opener 54 is secured at least partially under a portion of an edge of a container cap and the tab 62 contacts the upper surface of the cap, where the container opener 54 is pivoted upward to pry the container cap away from a container. In an embodiment, the container opener 54 is made with metal, such as stainless steel, but may be made with a durable plastic, a composite material or other suitable material or combination of materials.

[0025] The container opener 54 is removably attached to the upper 24 by a securing strap 66 that is on the lateral side 39 of the upper and attached by insertinga portion of the securing strap 66, which is at a first end 68 of the securing strap, between the upper 24 and the sole 22. The securing strap 66 may be secured in place using an adhesive, stitching or any suitable attachment method. A second end 70 of the securing strap 66 has a first snap part 72 with a receptacle 48 that is on a bottom surface of the securing strap. The upper 24 includes a second snap part 74 having a post 52 that is aligned with the first snap part 72 and configured to fit into the receptacle 48 in a friction fit or snap fit connection. In another embodiment, the first snap part 72 has a post and the second strap part 74 has a receptacle and the first snap part and the second strap part are connected together as described above. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the first snap part 72 is positioned over the through-hole 64 in the container opener 54 so that the post 52 extends at least partially through the through-hole 64 and connects with the receptacle 48 of the second snap part 74 to removably secure the container opener 54 and thereby the strap 38, to the upper 24. In this way, both the first end 42 and the second end 44 of the strap 38 are removably attached to the upper 24 so that the container opener 54 may be removed from the shoe and used to remove a cap from a container. In an embodiment, the loop portion 58 of the container opener 54 includes a notch 78 that has a semi-circular shape where the first strap part 72 and more specifically, the post 52 of the first strap part is seated in the notch 78 to limit movement of the container opener 54 when the container opener is secured to the upper 24. In the above embodiment, the container opener is secured to the upper 24 by a snap-type connection. It should be appreciated that the container opener may be secured to the upper 24 using a hook and loop connection, i.e., Velcro®, one or more clips, one or more hooks or any other suitable connector or combination of connectors.

[0026] In the above embodiments, the strap 38 holds or secures the container opener 54 on the upper 24, but also helps to adjust the fit of the article of footwear or shoe 20, and more specifically, the position of the upper 24 relative to a user’s foot by adjusting the position of the strap 38 on the upper 24 by adjusting the length of the strap 38. Also, the upper 24 may have a closed toe and be backless as shown in Figs. 1 -4, may be an upper used with a sandal or flip flop, may be an upper on a shoe having a back in a heel area or be an upper for any type of shoe.

[0027] In an embodiment, the strap body 40 includes an adjustment device 76 (Fig. 9) that enables a length of the strap body to be adjusted to different lengths. The adjustment device 76 may be a buckle, a hook and loop connector that enables the strap body 40 of the strap 38 to be attached to itself at different lengths or any suitable adjustment device or adjustment method. Adjusting the length of the strap body 40 enables the strap 38 to be tightened or loosened to adjust the positions of the upper wall 34 and / or sidewalls 36 of the upper 24 relative to a user’s foot and thereby adjust the comfort and fit of the shoe 20 on the user’s foot.

[0028] In an embodiment, the strap body 40 has a predetermined width, length and thickness so that the strap 38 is flexible and also provides support to the user’s foot. The width, length and thickness of the strap body 40 may be adjusted to accommodate the different sizes of a person’s foot.

[0029] Furthermore in the above embodiments, the first and second ends 42 and 44 of the strap body 40 of the strap 38 may be connected to the upper 24 using a buckle type connector, a hook and loop connector, such as Velcro®, or any suitable connectors or connection methods.

[0030] In the above embodiments, the container opener is positioned under an edge of a cap to pry and remove the cap from a container, such as a bottle. Thecontainer opener may also be a crown cork opener, a speed opener, a corkscrew-type opener, a card-style opener, a ring opener, a multi-purpose opener or any combination of openers.

[0031] When a person wants to open a container having a cap at home or at a remote location, the person detaches or removes the first end 42 and the second end 44 of the strap body 40 from the upper 24. The container opener 54 on the second end 44 of the strap 38 is then positioned over a cap or cover of a container, such as a beverage container, so that the front edge of the closed loop portion 58 of the container opener 54 is positioned under at least a portion of an edge of the cap and the tab 62 is positioned on a surface of the cap. The user then pivots the container opener 54 so that the front edge of the container opener 54 moves upward and the tab 62 moves downward against the cap to pry the cap away from the beverage container. When the user is finished using the container opener 54, the first end 42 and the second end 44 of the strap 38 is re-attached to the upper 24 as described above so that the container opener 54 is securely attached to the shoe 20 for future use. The container opener 54 is therefore readily available to be used to open a container at any location without concern about losing or misplacing the container opener.

[0032] Referring to Figs. 10 and 11 , another embodiment of the article of footwear is shown where the article of footwear or shoe 80 includes an upper 82 attached to a sole 84. An adjustment strap 86 is attached to the upper 82 and is threaded through a securing ring 88 attached to the upper 82 or sole 84, or a through- hole formed in the upper 82 or sole 84 so that the adjustment strap 86 may be adjusted relative to the upper 82 to adjust the fit and comfort of the shoe 80 on a person’s foot. As shown in Fig. 11 , a first end 90 of the strap 86 includes hook or loop connectors 92a and a second end 94 of the strap 86 includes corresponding hook or loopconnectors 92b so that the adjustment strap 86 is secured is place on the upper 82 after adjustment of the strap 86. In this embodiment, the first end 90 of the adjustment strap 86 includes an opening 96 at an end of a pocket 98 formed within the adjustment strap 86, where the pocket 98 is configured to receive a container opener 100 that is removably inserted into the pocket 98 of the adjustment strap by a friction fit or by a snap-type connector, hook and loop connector, hook-type connector or other suitable connector to secure the container opener in the pocket of the adjustment strap.

[0033] In use, a user releases the adjustment strap 86 from the upper 82 as shown in Fig. 11 and removes the container opener 100 to be used to open a container having a cap, such as a bottle. The container opener 100 may also be removed while the adjustment strap 86 is secured in position on the upper 82 as shown in Fig. 10. After using the container opener 100, the user re-inserts the container opener in the pocket 98 within the adjustment strap 86 as described above.

[0034] While particular embodiments of the present article of footwear are shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:1 . An article of footwear comprising: a sole; and an upper attached to said sole; and a strap removably attached to said upper, said strap having a first end and a second end, one of said first end and said second end including a container opener, wherein said strap is removed from said upper and said container opener is configured to remove a cap secured to a container.

2. The article footwear of claim 1 , wherein said first end and said second end are each removably attached to said upper.

3. The article footwear of claim 1 , wherein said upper defines a foot opening configured to receive a user’s foot and said strap is positioned adjacent to said foot opening.

4. The article of footwear of claim 1 , wherein said strap including an adjustment device configured to adjust a length of said strap.

5. The article of footwear of claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first end and said second end of said strap includes a receptacle and said upper includes a post, said receptacle being configured to receive said post in a snap-fit connection.

6. The article of footwear of claim 1 , wherein said strap is made with a fabric material.

7. The article of footwear of claim 1 , wherein said container opener is made with metal.

8. The article of footwear of claim 1 , wherein said container opener has a base and a closed loop extending from said base, said closed loop defining a through-hole for receiving at least a portion of the cap of the container.

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