EP0507302A2 - Couvre-chaussures expansible - Google Patents

Couvre-chaussures expansible Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0507302A2
EP0507302A2 EP92105698A EP92105698A EP0507302A2 EP 0507302 A2 EP0507302 A2 EP 0507302A2 EP 92105698 A EP92105698 A EP 92105698A EP 92105698 A EP92105698 A EP 92105698A EP 0507302 A2 EP0507302 A2 EP 0507302A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
shoe cover
wearer
fold
folds
expandable
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP92105698A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0507302A3 (en
Inventor
Henry M. Hix
Robert J. Roeder
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Kimberly Clark Corp
Original Assignee
Kimberly Clark Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Kimberly Clark Corp filed Critical Kimberly Clark Corp
Publication of EP0507302A2 publication Critical patent/EP0507302A2/fr
Publication of EP0507302A3 publication Critical patent/EP0507302A3/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B21/00—Heels; Top-pieces or top-lifts
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B3/00—Footwear characterised by the shape or the use
    • A43B3/16—Overshoes

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a shoe cover for use as a protective covering over the foot and/or shoe of the wearer. More specifically, the shoe cover of the present invention has a built-in expandable heel which permits the formation of the shoe cover using an extremely simple design yet, upon donning by the wearer, gives the shoe cover a fit which is suitable for use in a wide variety of applications including, but not limited to, health care, surgical and clean room applications.
  • Disposable shoe covers are often used in the health care, surgical and clean room areas. Their primary function is to be worn over the shoes of the wearer, thereby protecting the wearer from the contaminants in the area in which the shoe cover is worn or, conversely, protecting the environment from contaminants contained in or on the shoe of the wearer. Additionally, the purpose of the shoe cover can be to protect both the wearer and the environment surrounding the wearer from one another.
  • workers not only wear protective shoe covers, but, they often wear entire suits of clothing including pants, tops, gowns, caps, face masks and gloves.
  • the purpose of such clothing is to minimize contamination of the operating room by bacteria, viruses and other contaminants associated with the wearer and, conversely, the wearer by contaminants within the operating room.
  • Much of the clothing, including shoe covers, worn by such personnel are either disposable, one-use items or washable, reusable items. While simplicity in design is critical in both reusable and disposable shoe covers, it is extremely important with respect to disposable shoe covers, where cost must be cut to a minimum.
  • a shoe cover which is simple in design, yet upon donning, has a shape which will conform to the foot and ankle regions of the wearer.
  • the shoe cover is made from a sheet of material which has a generally tube-like shape with an open end for receiving the foot of the wearer and a generally closed end opposite the open end which forms the toe portion of the shoe cover.
  • the shoe cover further includes a top portion and a bottom portion with the bottom portion having at least a first fold and a second fold to form an overlapping hinge portion between the first and second folds.
  • the overlapping hinge portion creates an additional amount of material in the area of the heel of the wearer which is at least partially expandable to create a heel portion when the shoe cover is donned.
  • the bottom portion of the shoe cover includes a first fold, a second fold, a third fold, and a fourth fold with the second and third folds defining an expandable hinge portion to accept the heel of the wearer and the first and fourth folds overlying the hinged portion between the second and third folds.
  • the design of the present invention provides an extremely simple shoe cover which is very easy to make because of its generally planar design.
  • the shoe cover lies relatively flat, thereby making it easier to stack, fold and ship.
  • Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe cover according to the present invention.
  • Figure 2 is a top view of a flattened-out version of the shoe cover of the present invention.
  • Figure 3 is a cross-sectional side view of a flattened- out shoe cover according to the present invention including an expandable heel portion and elastic.
  • Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of yet another shoe cover according to the present invention including a different expandable heel portion from that shown in Figure 3.
  • the present invention is directed to a shoe cover which incorporates an expandable heel in its design. While the shoe cover of the present invention will be described in conjunction with its use in surgical and operating room uses, this should not be considered a limitation as to the scope of the present invention. To the contrary, the present invention is intended to be used in all areas where protective coverings of the shoe and/or foot are necessary or desirable.
  • a shoe cover 10 made from a sheet material including a top portion 12 and a bottom portion 14 joined along peripheral side seams 16 to form a generally tube-shaped body 18 having a generally closed end or the toe portion 20 and a generally open end 22 opposite the closed end 20 for receiving the foot and/or shoe of the wearer (not shown).
  • the shoe cover 10 is rather tall in design and, therefore, has a leg portion 24 which is also tubular-shaped and intended to extend above the ankle and foot of the wearer (not shown).
  • the shoe cover of Figure 1 further includes an elastic retention means 25 about the ankle portion of the shoe cover 10, elastic retention means 26 located about the generally-open end 22 for retaining the uppermost portion of the leg portion 24 about the leg of the wearer (not shown) and additional elastic retention means 27 and 28 which extend laterally across the width of the top portion 12 to better conform the top portion 12 to the wearer's foot.
  • elastic retention means 27 and 28 can remain relatively flat to better contact walking surfaces.
  • the elastic retention means 25-28 may be made from any number of suitable materials which will cause the material of the shoe cover 10 to contract about the foot and/or ankle of the wearer. Elastic and/or heat-shrinkable polymers and rubber are but a few examples of materials which may be used in such situations. Attachment of the elastic members 25 through 28 may be made by such methods as stitching, gluing, thermal bonding and/or ultrasonic bonding.
  • the material chosen to manufacture the shoe cover of the present invention should be readily conformable to the foot, ankle and leg portions of the wearer. Suitable materials may, therefore, include woven and nonwoven materials as well as plastic films.
  • One material which is particularly well suited for the present invention is a nonwoven laminate comprising a layer of fine microfibers sandwiched between and laminated to two outer layers of more rigid spunbond material such as is disclosed and claimed in U.S. Patent No. 4,041,203, which is commonly assigned to the assignee of record, Kimberly-Clark Corporation. This material is sold by the Kimberly-Clark Corporation under the trademark EVOLUTION® fabric. Sealing of the material which forms the top and bottom portions may be by stitching, gluing, bonding or any other suitable means.
  • the Kimberly-Clark EVOLUTION® fabric is made form polypropylene. As a result, thermal and ultrasonic bonding are two particularly suitable means for forming the peripheral side seams 16.
  • the bottom portion 14 has an expandable heel portion 30 created by placing a plurality of folds across the width of the shoe cover 10. As shown, the bottom portion 14 has at least a first fold 36 and a second fold 38 to form an overlapping hinge portion 40 between the first and second folds 36 and 38.
  • the hinge portion 40 is at least partially expandable upon donning to create the heel portion 30. It should be appreciated that this hinged portion 40 can be formed in either one of two ways by simply reversing the direction of the first and second folds.
  • the first fold 36 causes the material of the bottom portion 14 to be folded back up on itself in the direction of the toe portion 20 while the second fold 38 causes the material to be folded back upon itself in the direction of the open end 22.
  • the hinged portion 40 lies between two layers of the material of the bottom portion 14 with the first fold 36 being closer in proximity than the second fold 38 to the open top end 22.
  • the hinged portion 40 can expand to form the heel portion 30 as shown in Figure 1.
  • the heel portion will allow sufficient area across the diagonal part of the wearers foot from the heel to the top of the ankle thereby facilitating donning and fit.
  • the shoe cover 101 includes a top portion 121, a bottom portion 141, a toe portion 201, an open top end 221 and a sealed periphery 161.
  • the shoe cover 101 may also be provided with elastic retention members 251, 261, 271 and 281 about the ankle region 291 and open top end 221 and the top portion 121, respectively.
  • the heel portion 301 has a first fold 361, a second fold 381, a third fold 401 and a fourth fold 421.
  • the second and third folds 381 and 401 form an expandable hinge portion 441 with the first and fourth folds 361 and 421 overlying the hinge portion 441 between the second and third fold lines 381 and 401.
  • the hinged portion 441 can expand to form a heel portion such as the heel portion 30 shown in Figure 1.

Landscapes

  • Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)
EP19920105698 1991-04-05 1992-04-02 Expandable heel shoe cover Withdrawn EP0507302A3 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US68096491A 1991-04-05 1991-04-05
US680964 1991-04-05

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0507302A2 true EP0507302A2 (fr) 1992-10-07
EP0507302A3 EP0507302A3 (en) 1993-01-27

Family

ID=24733228

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19920105698 Withdrawn EP0507302A3 (en) 1991-04-05 1992-04-02 Expandable heel shoe cover

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0507302A3 (fr)
KR (1) KR920019296A (fr)
AU (1) AU648155B2 (fr)
CA (1) CA2056758A1 (fr)
MX (1) MX9201168A (fr)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2007027717A1 (fr) * 2005-08-30 2007-03-08 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Couvre-chaussures jetables
US7584552B2 (en) 2004-11-08 2009-09-08 Weather Or Not, Llc Heel stabilizer
GB2504707A (en) * 2012-08-07 2014-02-12 Elina Ayaokur Waterproof overshoes

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3564335A (en) * 1969-01-30 1971-02-16 American Hospital Supply Corp Electrically conductive shoe cover
DE2059585A1 (de) * 1970-12-03 1972-07-06 Alois Alberer Schutzbekleidung fuer Schuhe und Fuesse
US3737723A (en) * 1972-02-04 1973-06-05 Lorton Labor Ltd Disposable shoe covering
FR2441351A1 (fr) * 1978-11-20 1980-06-13 Mutexil Soc Procede pour la fabrication de surchaussures en une matiere non-tissee

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2176463A (en) * 1937-11-18 1939-10-17 Int Paper Co Protective garment

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3564335A (en) * 1969-01-30 1971-02-16 American Hospital Supply Corp Electrically conductive shoe cover
DE2059585A1 (de) * 1970-12-03 1972-07-06 Alois Alberer Schutzbekleidung fuer Schuhe und Fuesse
US3737723A (en) * 1972-02-04 1973-06-05 Lorton Labor Ltd Disposable shoe covering
FR2441351A1 (fr) * 1978-11-20 1980-06-13 Mutexil Soc Procede pour la fabrication de surchaussures en une matiere non-tissee

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7584552B2 (en) 2004-11-08 2009-09-08 Weather Or Not, Llc Heel stabilizer
WO2007027717A1 (fr) * 2005-08-30 2007-03-08 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Couvre-chaussures jetables
GB2504707A (en) * 2012-08-07 2014-02-12 Elina Ayaokur Waterproof overshoes

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU1400292A (en) 1992-10-08
AU648155B2 (en) 1994-04-14
MX9201168A (es) 1992-10-01
KR920019296A (ko) 1992-11-19
EP0507302A3 (en) 1993-01-27
CA2056758A1 (fr) 1992-10-06

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