US20140150301A1

US20140150301A1 - Boot Wear Protector

Info

Publication number: US20140150301A1
Application number: US13/705,238
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard Jennings
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-12-05
Filing date: 2012-12-05
Publication date: 2014-06-05

Abstract

A wear protective motorcycle boot according to the present invention for use when operating a motorcycle shift lever includes a sole having a front end, a rear end, and side edges extending between the sole front and rear ends. A toe portion extends upwardly from the sole front end. A top surface of the boot is situated rearwardly from the toe portion and upwardly from the side edges of the sole. An ankle portion extends upwardly from the top surface. A protection member is situated on the top surface of the boot between the toe portion and the ankle portion, the protection member including a textured surface configured to resist wear when bearing against the motorcycle shift lever. In some embodiments, the protection member may be removable and selectively attached to front portion of a boot.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to footwear protection and, more particularly, a motorcycle boot having a protection member situated on a top surface of a front portion of the boot having a textured surface configured to resist repeated contact with a foot operated gear shift lever of a motorcycle.
The gears of a motorcycle are shifted by action of the foot of a rider. For instance, the motorcycle may be placed into first gear by pressing down on the gear shift lever with the foot. Then to shift into second gear, the shift lever is urged upwardly by the user's foot. The same action is taken to shift into third gear, and so on. Motorcycle riders know that this repeated up-shift action quickly causes an unsightly wear mark to be formed on the top of a motorcycle boot and, in time, to wear a hole completely through the top surface.
Various devices have been proposed in the art for covering and protecting an outer surface of a boot or other type of foot covering. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices and proposals in the art often require a covering device to be strapped on, slid on, or otherwise affixed to the boot or shoe.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a motorcycle boot that includes a protection member having a textured surface situated on a top surface of a front portion of the boot that resists wear from repeated contact with a gear shift lever.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A wear protective motorcycle boot according to the present invention for use when operating a motorcycle shift lever includes a sole having a front end, a rear end, and side edges extending between the sole front and rear ends. A toe portion extends upwardly from the sole front end. A top surface of the boot is situated rearwardly from the toe portion and upwardly from the side edges of the sole. An ankle portion extends upwardly from the top surface. A protection member is situated on the top surface of the boot between the toe portion and the ankle portion, the protection member including a textured surface configured to resist wear when bearing against the motorcycle shift lever. In some embodiments, the protection member may be removable and selectively attached to front portion of a boot.
Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot having a protection member that resists wear caused by contact with a motorcycle gear shift lever.
Another object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot, as aforesaid, that includes a protection member situated on a top surface of a front portion of the boot that resists wear so as to avoid wearing a hole in the boot.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot, as aforesaid, in which the protection member includes a textured surface that is more durable than a traditional boot surface.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot, as aforesaid, that is aesthetically attractive.
A further object of this invention is to provide a wear protective motorcycle boot, as aforesaid, that in some embodiments is removable from a boot surface.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wear protective motorcycle boot according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the boot as in FIG. 1 with reinforced protection member;

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of another embodiment of the invention that includes a protection member that is selectively attachable to a motorcycle boot; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view as in FIG. 3 illustrating a bottom side of a protection member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A motorcycle boot that is resistant to wear when operating a motorcycle shift lever according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The motorcycle boot 10 includes a sole 12 and an upper portion 20 supported by the sole 12. The sole 12 may include a front end 14, an opposed rear end 16, and side edges 18 extending therebetween in a traditional manner (FIG. 1). The boot 10 may also include a toe portion 22 adjacent the front end 14 of the sole 12 and a front portion 24 situated rearward of the toe portion 22. The front portion 24 may include a top surface 26 and side surfaces extending between the top surface 26 and the sole side edges 18. Specifically, the side surfaces may be characterized as inside 30 and 32 outside surfaces. The motorcycle boot 10 may also include an ankle portion 34 situated rearward the boot front portion 24, the ankle portion 34 extending upwardly from the top surface 26 of the front portion 24 and from the sole 12 The ankle portion 34 may include a plurality of spaced apart holes arranged to receive laces.
The wear protective motorcycle boot 10 also includes a protection member 40 situated on the front portion 24 and configured to withstand repeated contact between the boot 10 and a motorcycle shift lever (not shown). The protection member 40 includes a top side having a textured surface 42 that is configured to resist wear when contacted repeatedly by a motorcycle shift lever. The textured surface may include a plurality of nubs 44, other irregular or roughened sections, grooves, or the like so as not to be easily worn down (FIG. 2).
In one embodiment, the protection member 40 is fixedly attached to the top surface 26 of the front portion 24 of the boot, such as with stitches (FIGS. 1 and 2). The protection member 40 may be coplanar with the surface of the first portion top surface 26 so as to be generally smooth in appearance and touch. The protection member 40 may have a generally rectangular configuration situated at least on the top surface 26 of the front portion 24 and may also extend onto one side surface toward the sole 12. In this embodiment, the protection member 40 may extend all the way to the sole 12 or to a point displaced from the sole 12. Preferably, the protection member 40 extends onto the inner side surface 30 as this side is most likely to repeatedly contact the shift lever.
In another embodiment, the protection member 40 may be removably coupled to the front portion 24 of the boot 10 (FIG. 3). Specifically, the protection member 40 may include a bottom surface 46 having a layer of adhesive configured to adhere to a surface of the boot 10 when pressed thereon (FIG. 4). It is understood that a removable protection member 40 may take the form of a sticker and may be round, square, rectangular, or any other suitable shape.
In use, the wear protective motorcycle boot 10 prevents repeated use of a foot operated gear shift lever from wearing a hole or other unattractive wear marking on the upper surface of a motorcycle boot 10. As described above, a motorcycle boot 10 includes the protection member 40 properly positioned on a top surface 26 of a front portion 24 of a motorcycle boot 10, the protection member 40 have a roughened or textured surface that is resistant to wear. The protection member 40 may be coplanar and permanently affixed to the front portion 24 so as to be attractive.
It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A boot wear protector for use with a boot having a sole, a toe portion extending upwardly from the sole, an top surface situated rearwardly from the toe portion, and an ankle portion situated rearwardly from the top surface and extending upwardly from the top surface, said boot wear protector comprising:

a protection member attached to the top surface of the boot between the toe portion and the ankle portion; and

wherein said protection member includes a textured top surface that is configured to resist wear from a motorcycle gear shift lever.

2. The boot wear protector as in claim 1, wherein said protection member includes a generally rectangular configuration and extends from the top surface of the boot to the sole of the boot.

3. The boot wear protector as in claim 1, wherein said protection member is removably coupled to the top surface of the boot.

4. The boot wear protector as in claim 1, wherein said protection member is fixedly attached to the top surface of the boot with stitches.

5. The boot wear protector as in claim 1, wherein said protection member is coplanar with the top surface of the boot.

6. The boot wear protector as in claim 1, wherein said textured surface includes a plurality of nubs.

7. The boot wear protector as in claim 1, wherein said protection member includes a bottom surface having adhesive that is configured to selectively adhere to the top surface of the boot.

8. The boot wear protector as in claim 1, wherein said protection member is situated on the toe portion of the boot.

9. The boot wear protector as in claim 8, wherein said protection member is removably coupled to the top surface of the boot.

10. A wear protective motorcycle boot for use when operating a motorcycle shift lever, comprising:

a sole having a front end, a rear end, and side edges extending between said sole front and rear ends;

a toe portion extending upwardly from said sole front end;

an top surface situated rearwardly from said toe portion and upwardly from said side edges of said sole;

an ankle portion extending upwardly from said top surface; and

a protection member situated on said top surface of said boot between said toe portion and said ankle portion;

wherein said protection member includes a textured surface configured to resist wear when bearing against the motorcycle shift lever.

11. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 10, wherein said protection member includes a generally rectangular configuration and extends from the top surface of the boot toward the sole of the boot.

12. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 10, wherein said protection member is removably coupled to the top surface of the boot.

13. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 10, wherein said protection member is fixedly attached to the top surface of the boot with stitches.

14. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 10, wherein said protection member is coplanar with the top surface of the boot.

15. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 14, wherein said textured surface includes a plurality of nubs.

16. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 10, wherein said textured surface includes a plurality of nubs.

17. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 10, wherein said protection member includes a bottom surface having adhesive that is configured to selectively adhere to the top surface of the boot.

18. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 10, wherein said protection member is situated on the toe portion of the boot.

19. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 18, wherein said protection member is removably coupled to the top surface of the boot.

20. The wear protective motorcycle boot as in claim 19, wherein said protection member includes a bottom surface having adhesive that is configured to selectively adhere to the top surface of the boot.