AU2004203246B1 - Overshoes - Google Patents

Description

19/87/2004 22:53 +B13-9699-9886 D SHA~KS ASOCS PAGE 83/22 1

OVERSHOES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to overshoes for use by persons working on or traversing roofs, wet or slippery surfaces and the like.

BACKGROUND

Persons engaged in working on roofs often find that available boots or shoes do not provide adequate grip for safe and efficient working. Their use may in particular amount to a safety hazard. Examples of such persons are plumbers, specialist roof repairers, painters and tilers.

Various forms of overshoes have been devised and tried, but none appears to the applicant to have earned widespread acceptance.

Apart form the basic problem of inadequate grip, i.e. no-slip capability, overshoes must be able to be securely attached to boots or shoes without significant risk of relative movement between the shoe or boot and the overshoe.

Wear and tear in the applications mentioned can be severe, and so low replacement cost is desirable. This tends to militate against arrangements offering secure holding of the boot or shoe within the overshoe.

A further requirement is of course lightness, and this also makes the use of excessively elaborate arrangements. for holding the overshoe on a shoe or boot undesirable.

The present invention provides an improved overshoe, which addresses all of the above problems and provides, it is believed a useful and attractive alternative in the marketplace.

It is believed that potential applications of the overshoe here disclosed extend beyond those listed above. For example, persons called on to work on wet or slippery surfaces (eg cleaners) may find the overshoes useful. With soles having suitable characteristics, eg resistance to damage from solvents, other applications where this is important may be found.

The lightness that can be achieved, and the improvement to stability may even make the overshoes useful for some elderly persons.

COMS ID No: SBMI-00834268 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:00 Date 2004-07-19 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

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OAccording to the invention there is provided an overshoe for wearing externally on a shoe or boot including: a lower sole having an anti-slip characteristic; an upper sole secured to said lower sole; a harness for securing said upper sole beneath a sole of a boot; and Ia heel support secured to and extending upwardly from a heel portion N of the upper sole, said heel support adapted in use to lie against a heel end of O said boot, wherein the harness includes first and second elongate flexible tension Omembers, of which: said first tension member is secured to a front portion of said upper sole at a first front anchoring point adjacent to a right side of said upper sole and in use extends upwardly from said first front anchoring point thence rearwardly over and across an upper surface of the boot to a left side of the boot thence rearwardly along said left side of the boot to a first rear anchoring point on said heel support; and said second tension member is secured to a front portion of said upper sole at a second front anchoring point adjacent to a left side of said upper sole and in use extends upwardly from said second front anchoring point thence rearwardly over and across an upper surface of the boot to a right side of the boot thence rearwardly along said right side of the boot to a second rear anchoring point on said heel support, and wherein said first and second tension members are adapted to be varied in length by a user to tension said tension members against said boot and thereby secure said overshoe to said boot. This arrangement for securing an overshoe to a boot has been found to be surprisingly effective and simple.

In a preferred embodiment, said lower sole is formed from open-celled expanded plastics foam to impart an anti-slip characteristic to said lower sole.

It is particularly preferred that said foam is of such stiffness and said lower sole is of such thickness that at all points of said lower sole at least a portion of the cells of said foam remain open when a user stands on a flat 0 Ssurface wearing a pair of boots fitted with a pair of said overshoes.

At least one said tension member may include a strap of which a first portion extends at least partway between said front and rear anchoring points associated with said tension member with the length of said strap first portion being variable by a user to vary the length of said tension member.

Preferably, in use: N said strap of said at least one tension member passes through an Copening in either that tension member or in said heel portion and a second z- 10 portion of said strap extends forwardly from said opening to a free end; and Osaid second portion of said strap is releasably secured to said first portion of said strap by fastening means.

Conveniently, said fastening means includes cooperating halves of a hook-and-loop fastener a first said half being secured to said first strap portion and a second half being secured to said second strap portion. However, this is not to be taken to preclude the use of other shortening means, such as a buckle.

Where a hook-and-loop fastener is used, at least one of said halves is preferably elongate along said strap. This permits a range of tension member lengths to be selected and securely maintained.

Said strap may extend from said front anchoring point associated with said strap to said free end with said opening being an opening in said heel support. In another possibility, said strap may extend from said front anchoring point associated with said strap to said free end with said opening being an opening in a ring, eyelet or buckle secured to said heel support.

The heel support may be or include a part formed from the same material as said upper sole. In a particularly preferred arrangement, said heel support and said upper sole are formed from a single piece of sheet material folded at a boundary between said upper sole and said heel support.

It has been found desirable that said upper sole is formed of a material having a lesser degree of flexibility than the material of said lower sole.

The upper sole may be formed from carpet made of plastics material and suitable for exterior use. Such carpet is available for use in boating, Scamping and like applications, and is able to be used in wet environments

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Owithout damage or deterioration.

The upper and lower soles may be shaped to generally conform with the shape of a said boot.

However, in another arrangement that has been found useful, the upper and lower soles have a transversely extending and substantially Nstraight front edge. The upper and lower soles may be at their widest at this N front edge. The overshoe in this form has been found useful for roofing Oapplications, where the front edge assists in obtaining a satisfactory grip on wet and/or sloping surfaces. To enhance the overshoe in this form, the Oovershoe may include reinforcing means adjacent to said front edge and adapted to stiffen said upper and lower soles at or near said front edge.

Further inventive features of the overshoe of the invention will become apparent below. In order that the invention can be better understood it will now be described non-limitingly by reference to preferred embodiments as shown in the attached Figures, of which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a boot fitted with an overshoe according to the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the boot and overshoe as shown in Figure 1, seen by an observer looking in the direction of arrow Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the boot and overshoe as shown in Figure 1, seen by an observer looking in the direction of arrow Figure 4 is a perspective view of the overshoe shown in Figure 1, now shown ready for fitting to a boot; Figure 4a is a magnified view of the part of Figure 4 enclosed by circle Figure 5 is a perspective view of a boot fitted with a further overshoe according to the invention; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the overshoe shown in Figure 5, now shown ready for fitting to a boot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Figures 1 to 4 and 4a show an overshoe 1 that is an embodiment of the invention, fitted to a boot 2. Only one boot 2 and one overshoe 1 are shown, it being understood that overshoe 1 would be one of a pair, for use with a pair of boots 1. The overshoe 1 in fact lends itself to use in pairs of which the members are identical rather than handed, and in suitable applications, can lead to cost savings.

Overshoe 1 has a sole 3 that is in two parts, namely an upper sole 4 N 5 and a lower sole 5. These are of the same shape and size and secured to each other (for example using a suitable adhesive).

ILower sole 5 is chosen to have a characteristic that is desired for the overshoes. Overshoe 1 is intended for use on wet and/or slippery surfaces, Sand for this application is formed from a piece of open-celled expanded S 10 plastics foam, a material that is readily available commercially. Although a Oconstant thickness lower sole 5 is shown, there is no reason why a lower sole with a variable thickness could not be provided.

Although other materials may be used, upper sole 4 is cut from carpet of the type that is popularly used in exterior applications, eg in boating and camping. Such carpet is made of plastics materials. Typically such carpet itself has two layers (not shown), of which one, although having some flexibility, is relatively stiff compared to the other. In overshoe 1, the relatively stiff layer of upper sole 4 is secured to the lower sole 5 so that its less stiff layer, which is like an unwoven "flock", is at the top.

An important feature of overshoe 1 is heel support 6, which is upstanding from the rear end of sole 3. Although it is not essential that it be made this way, heel support 6 is formed in overshoe 1 by simply providing a rear extension to upper sole 4 when it is cut and folding it upward along a fold line 7. Fold line 7 extends along a straight transversely extending rear edge 8 of lower sole As can be seen in Figures 3 and 4, heel support 6 has elongate reinforcing eyelets 100 defining two elongate openings 9 and Two straps 11 and 12 are provided for securing the overshoe 1 in place on boot 2 in the way shown in Figures 1 to 3. Strap 11 is secured to sole 3 at a front anchoring point 13 close to the left side of sole 3 near its forward end, and extends rearwardly to pass through opening 10. The remaining portion of strap 11, having a free end 14, is brought forward from opening 10 and secured to that portion of strap 11 that lies between front anchoring point 13 and opening 10. As best seen in Figure 4, which shows overshoe 1 without Sboot 2, this is achieved by providing co-operating hook-and-loop fastener Shalves 15 and 16 on strap 11. Fastener halves 15 and 16 are of known type r(eg "Velcro"). Fastener half 16, in the form of a flexible pad, has hooks and fastener half 15 has loops, and is also in the form of a flexible pad. Fastener N 5 halves 15 and 16 are well adapted to being secured to flat strap 11, e.g. by stitching.

IDSimilarly, strap 12 extends rearwardly from a front anchoring point 17 N near the right side of sole 3 near its front end to pass through opening 9 in heel support 6 and then forwardly to its free end 18. The portion of strap 12 between opening 9 and free end 18 is secured to the portion between front anchoring point 17 and opening 9 by hook-and-loop type fastener halves 19 and 20 with loop half 20 and a hook half 19 secured at longitudinal positions on strap 12 on opposite sides of opening 9.

It will be readily apparent that provided the fastener halves 15 and 16 and 19 and 20 are suitably located on straps 11 and 12 and of suitable length, a degree of length adjustability is provided for the portion of strap 11 between front anchoring point 13 and opening 10 and for the portion of strap 12 between front anchoring point 17 and opening 9.

Although halves 16 and 19 have been stated to be hook halves, this is not essential. Halves 15 and 20 could instead be the hook halves, with 16 and 19 being loop halves.

Figure 4a is a enlarged detail view of the free end 18 of strap 12. As shown in Figure 4a, strap 12 is folded to define free end 18, with a line of stitching 101 securing the two thicknesses of strap 12 together. This arrangement enables free end 18 to be readily graspecd for when putting on, taking off or adjusting strap 12. Strap 11 is similarly made at its free end 14, with a line of stitching 102 similar to stitching line 101.

In Figures 1 to 3, overshoe 1 is shown secured to boot 2, ready for use.

Strap 11 extends upwardly from front anchoring point 13, then rearwardly and across an upper surface 21 of boot 2 and then rearwardly to opening 10. It will be noted that strap 11 is secured to sole 3 near the left side of sole 3 and crosses the upper surface 21, so that it passes the right side of boot 3 before reaching opening 10. Similarly, strap 12 is secured to the right front of sole 3, extends upwardly, then rearwardly and across surface 21 and passes along

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Sthe left side of boot 2 before reaching opening 9.

Anchoring points 13 and 17 comprise slit-like openings in upper sole 4, with straps 11 and 12 passing through them and being secured (eg by adhesive) to the underside of upper sole 4 and above lower sole By suitable positioning and orientation of openings 9 and 10 and I anchoring points 13 and 17, the arrangement of straps 11 and 12 shown N permits straps 11 and 12 to lie comfortably and securely flat against the boot S2. Once tightened using fasteners 15 and 19 straps 11 and 12 secure 10 overshoe 1 reliably to boot 2. Note that the use of heel support 6 is important Oin providing suitable positioning of openings 9 and 10 and, especially, in limiting undesired movement of boot 2 in overshoe 1. The arrangement of heel support 6, and straps 11 and 12 has been found surprisingly effective in this regard. It is particularly desirable that heel support 6 be secured to upper sole 4 across substantially its whole width at the rear of sole 3, and the arrangement shown, whereby the material of upper sole 4 is simply folded up to provide heel support 6 is a convenient way to achieve this.

In addition to limiting undesirable movement of boot 2 in overshoe 1, heel support 6 has the additional advantage of transferring edge loads on sole 3 to the ankle area of a wearer, and so is believed to assist in providing extra stability against falling to a wearer when the sole 3 is wider than boot 2.

A suitable material for straps 11 and 12 is the woven plastics webbing used for automotive safety belts, lifting slings and the like. However, this is not to preclude the use of other suitable materials as required.

Although the overshoe 1 will be recognized to be of very simple and potentially inexpensive construction, and so is a preferred embodiment, other arrangements are possible. For example, instead of openings 9 and 10 being openings in eyelets 100, they could more cheaply be simply slits (not shown) in heel support 6. Such an arrangement may be preferred for example where a short-life or even disposable overshoe 1 is satisfactory. Another possibility is to secure rings or eyes (not shown) to opposite edges of heel support 6 instead of providing eyelets 100 in heel support 6.

Another variation that is possible (although not shown) is to secure suitable buckles to heel support 6 to provide anchoring of rear ends of straps 11 and 12 instead of fastener halves 15 and 16 and 19 and Figures 5 and 6 show another important embodiment of the invention.

An overshoe 30 is the same as overshoe 1 in respect of the way and the components by which it is secured to a boot 31, and so items having the Isame functions as items of Figures 1 4 are similarly numbered save for (having a suffix However, overshoe 30 has a sole 32 that is differently Oshaped from sole 3 of overshoe 1. Sole 32 includes an upper sole 33 and a S 10 lower sole 35 (corresponding to upper sole 4 and lower sole 5 of sole 3) and Ohas a substantially straight transversely extending front edge 34. Sole 32 is widest at front edge 34, and is also shown as being substantially wider than boot 31 along its length. Overshoe 30 has been found very useful for roofing workers, as the extra width, especially at the front edge 34, can provide very satisfactory grip on sloping and slippery surfaces. It is possible to provide a measure of stiffening to sole 3 adjacent to such a widened front edge 34 to further enhance grip. A relatively stiff lamina (not shown) may be secured to the upper or lower surface of upper sole 33 near front edge 34 for this purpose.

As can be seen in Figure 6, lower sole 35 is extended slightly rearwardly of the lower rear edge 104 of heel support 6a in a lower sole extension 105. That is, lower sole extension 105 is integral with open-celled expanded plastics foam of lower sole 35. Lower sole extension 105 further enhances stability for applications such as roofing. To somewhat reduce contact between members of a pair of overshoes 30, extension 105 is cut away to surfaces 106 at its corners.

In overshoes made according to the invention, it has been found desirable, for best gripping, to choose the thickness and inherent stiffness of the lower sole (eg 5 or 34), when it is made of open-cell expanded plastics foam in such a way that at least a portion of the cells of the lower sole remain open when a user stands on a flat surface wearing a pair of boots fitted with a pair of the overshoes. That is, the lower sole should not be squeezed so far as to close all cells at any point of the lower sole, under ordinary loads.

v Many variations may be made without departing from the spirit and 0 scope of the invention.

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Claims (13)

1. An overshoe for wearing externally on a shoe or boot including: a lower sole having an anti-slip characteristic; an upper sole secured to said lower sole; a harness for securing said upper sole beneath a sole of a boot; and O a heel support secured to and extending upwardly from a heel portion of the upper sole, said heel support adapted in use to lie against a heel end of said boot, wherein the harness includes first and second elongate flexible tension members, of which: said first tension member is secured to a front portion of said upper sole at a first front anchoring point adjacent to a right side of said upper sole and in use extends upwardly from said first front anchoring point thence rearwardly over and across an upper surface of the boot to a left side of the boot thence rearwardly along said left side of the boot to a first rear anchoring point on said heel support; and said second tension member is secured to a front portion of said upper sole at a second front anchoring point adjacent to a left side of said upper sole and in use extends upwardly from said second front anchoring point thence rearwardly over and across an upper surface of the boot to a right side of the boot thence rearwardly along said right side of the boot to a second rear anchoring point on said heel support, and wherein said first and second tension members are adapted to be varied in length by a user to tension said tension members against said boot and thereby secure said overshoe to said boot.

2. An overshoe according to claim 1 wherein said lower sole is formed from open-celled expanded plastics foam to impart an anti-slip characteristic to said lower sole.

3. An overshoe according to claim 2 wherein said foam is of such Sstiffness and said lower sole is of such thickness that at all points of said lower sole at least a portion of the cells of said foam remain open when a user stands on a flat surface wearing a pair of boots fitted with N 5 a pair of said overshoes. I4. An overshoe according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or wherein at least N one said tension member includes a strap of which a first portion Sextends at least partway between said front and rear anchoring points associated with said tension member and wherein the length of said strap first portion is variable by a user to vary the length of said tension member. An overshoe according to claim 4 wherein in use: said strap of said at least one tension member passes through an opening in either that tension member or in said heel portion and a second portion of said strap extends forwardly from said opening to a free end; and said second portion of said strap is releasably secured to said first portion of said strap by fastening means.

6. An overshoe according to claim 5 wherein said fastening means includes cooperating halves of a hook-and-loop fastener a first said half being secured to said first strap portion and a second half being secured to said second strap portion.

7. An overshoe according to claim 6 wherein at least one of said halves is elongate along said strap.

8. An overshoe according to claim 6 or 7 wherein said strap extends from said front anchoring point associated with said strap to said free end and wherein said opening is an opening in said heel support. I 12 O

9. An overshoe according to claim 6 or 7 wherein said strap extends from said front anchoring point associated with said strap to said free end and wherein said opening is an opening in a ring eyelet or buckle secured to said heel support. An overshoe according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein said heel (support is or includes a part formed from the same material as said Supper sole.

11. An overshoe according to claim 10 wherein said heel support and said upper sole are formed from a single piece of sheet material folded at a boundary between said upper sole and said heel support.

12. An overshoe according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein said upper sole is formed of a material having a lesser degree of flexibility than the material of said lower sole.

13. An overshoe according to any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein said upper sole is formed from carpet made of plastics material and suitable for exterior use.

14. An overshoe according to any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein said upper and lower soles are shaped to generally conform with the shape of a said boot. An overshoe according to any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein said upper and lower soles have a transversely extending and substantially straight front edge.

16. An overshoe according to any one of claims 1 to 13 or claim wherein said upper and lower soles are widest at their front ends. ,i I 13 S17. An overshoe according to claim 15 or 16 including reinforcing means Sadjacent to said front edge and adapted to stiffen said upper and lower soles at or near said front edge.

18. An overshoe substantially as described herein by reference to Figure 1 to 3. S19. An overshoe substantially as described herein by reference to Figure 4.