US2756518A - Expandable foot covering - Google Patents

Description

July 31, 1956 M. E. RANEY EXPANDABLE FOOT COVERING INVENTOR.

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UnitedStates Patent EXPANDABLE FOOT COVERING Marjorie Ellis Raney, New York, N. Y. Application April 18, 1952, Serial No. 282,994 2 Claims. (Cl. 3 6-9) This need has traditionally been met by the well-known type of inflexible knitted or cloth bootees or leather shoes, which are arbitrarily constructed to predetermined size and shape and hence must be purchased considerably over-size or frequently replaced to accommodate the rapidly growing foot of the infant. Otherwise, the bootee or shoe becomes too tight, and the proper development of the infants foot may be seriously impaired. It is unsatisfactory to purchase over-size bootees because of the difliculty of keeping them on the infants foot without drawing the fastening means so tight that the proper circulation of the blood is impaired. Therefore, frequent replacement is essential, with the result that the expenditure required for foot covering during approximately the first year of a childs life is a considerable and often a burdensome amount.

A principal object of the instant invention is to eliminate the necessity, and attendant cost, of providing the infant with several pairs ofconventional boots of various sizes during the first year period of rapid growth of the child, and to provide a more comfortable and healthful bootee for this purpose, adapted to permit the free development of the infants foot without the constriction of an inflexible, hard pair of leather shoes or an inflexible pair of knitted or cloth bootees.

i A further object of this invention is to provide a warm, flexible infants bootee that will adjust easily and comfortably to the rapidly changing size of the growing infants foot, while at the same time maintaining an attractive appearance, and having a simple means for retaining the bootee on the foot with uniform effectiveness throughout the period of use of the bootee.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bootee of the type described that will be simple to manufacture and have a low initial cost.

A broader object of the invention is to provide a flexible foot covering adapted to adjust itself to varying foot lengths. i

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as the description progresses.

Briefly, the invention is exemplified by an infants bootee constructed principally of two pieces of flexible and preferably warm material, such-as knitted wool or an equivalent material that will stretch invtwo directions. One of the pieces serves to provide the'equivalent of the sole and heel portions of the conventional boot and extends up the rear part of the leg to a region well above the ankle bones and forwardly about half-way around the leg..'. ,The other piece forms the equivalent of theupper portion of the conventional boot and complements the first piece, to which it is joined, as by stitching, in the manner shown on the drawing, to form a bootee having a toe shape corresponding to that of the conventional moccasin type but differing radically therefrom in the heel construction, in that no definite heel shape is built into the bootee, thereby allowing for the adaptation of the toe-to-heel dimensions to the changing needs of the infant.

The problem of retaining the bootee securely on the infants foot without the necessity of employing fastening means so snug as to prevent proper circulation of the blood is solved by the simple expedient of a drawstring adapted to be inserted through one row of a series of vertically spaced rows of eyelets arranged circumferentially of the leg-embracing portion of the bootee in the general region of the ankle bones. When the foot is small, the lowermost row of holes falls just above the ankle bones, and the drawstring may be inserted in this row of holes to retain the bootee without having to be tightened unduly, inasmuch as the drawstring does not slip over the ankle bones when tightened to only a comfortable degree. As the foot grows, and more of the leg portion becomes in effect foot portion, the higher rows of holes come successively into use.

The invention and the manner of making it will be more clearly understood by reference to the detailed description that follows of the preferred embodiment illustrated on the drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation showing the bootee in full lines, with the drawstring in the lowermost row of holes, as it would be worn on an infant of an age of perhaps two weeks, and in dotted lines, with the drawstring in the second or intermediate row of holes, as it would be worn on an infant of an age of perhaps six months, whose foot has outgrown the smaller foot length;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the bootee of this invention as worn by an infant about two weeks old; and,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the bootee as worn by an infant about one year old.

In the embodiment illustrated by the drawing, the invention comprises upper and lower pieces indicated in their entirety by the reference characters 1 and 2, respectively, and fashioned of a flexible and preferably warm material that will yield and stretch in two directions. For example, pieces 1 and 2 may be formed of knitted wool,.but any equivalent flexible material may be employed.

Pieces 1 and 2 are formed separately, prior to assembly,

to approximately plane developments of the general shape indicated, without, however, the formation of a special, enlarged heelor quarter-forming portion in piece 2. The piece 1 has a curvate lower forward portion 3 simulating in general the curvature of the forward, tip or toe portion of the human foot and, in the preferred embodiment shown, the curvature of the toe portion of a conventional moccasin-type boot, to which it corresponds. Piece -1 also has an elongated toe and instep portion 4 extending rearwardly and upwardly and terminating in an upper edge 5, the portion 4 forming the front or forward legembracing and upper instep-covering portions of the assembled bootee.

Piece 2 has a curvate, forward, lower portion, as indicated generally at 6, this portion being made wide enoughto provide at the toe of the assembled device, in effect, both a sole portion 7 and the walls, or wall equivalents, 8 of the toe, these corresponding to similar portions of the conventional moccasin-toe bootee.

extending rearwardly and upwardly from portions 7 and 8 and which forms the rest of the sole, the lower archbootee, and terminates in an upper edge 10. The quarter As indicated by the reference numeral 9, piece 2 has an elongated portion the heel region to allow for expansion into a greater sole or foot length, with the upper edge of the elongated portion 9 aligning with or complementing upper edge 5 q -i e rre Par es o nie e 1: o define the uprer'raargia 0,5" he e PQ iQB; of h a sembl d bQQl5 Q-. Borders. 4 and 2 coope te; o rn e QQteaud cg -embraciug: Don. t c o the a sem led ar i l which as; wilt be lear from he. Pre edin e c p io comprise that Por ion of the be ee. extend ng ear rdly and, upwardly, from the toe portion, of the assembled article, asformcd from the toe portions 3 and 6 of the pieces 1 and 2.

It will. be seen that no. definite orfixed heek shape and .9, q sqeel dimension. is built into the bootee; of this invQDiiQm neither of the pieces 1 and 2, northe as-. sembled device, having. an arbitrary dividing line estab: lished; between the footand leg portions. The portion of the; bootee, serving as. a foot port-ion at anyparticular stag in the life of the infant thus is determined by the size;- to, which; the infants foot has developed at the particuler time, the bootee adapting itself readily to. the changing: foot-size requirements,

Thc only adjustment required during the life of the bootce, isthey adjustment of the means. for retaining it on the infants foot. This is an exceedingly simple adjust-- rnent when the retaining means take the preferred form illustrated on the drawing. As shown, a plurality of vertically spaced rows 11, 12, and 13 of eyelets or apertures I4; arranged and: spaced: circumferentiallyof the leg portion formed jointly by the portions- 4 and 9, accommodate 0 a drawstring which. may be inserted in the eyelets of= a selected row and tightened to reduce the effective circumference ofthe upper in that particular region, to: hold it against slipping below the ankle bones. The bottom: row of holes 11 is located so as to fall-just-abovethe anklebones: ofi an. infant about two Weeks old; The additional rows 12 and- 13 are spaced successively vertically higherthan the row 11, and so as to in turn fall justabove the akle bones and receive the drawstring when the; infant isof an age of approximately six months and one year, respectively.

The number of rows of eyelets can be increased or decreased, depending upon the number of adjustments desired, and other retaining means may be employed in lieu ofg or in addition to, the drawstring-and 'eyelets. Itis important, however, to employ a type or retaining means that can be located justabove the ankle bones at all stages of wear, so that the legportion can be tightenedsufiiciently in that local area to resist slipping over theankle bones but without having to be tightened to the point where circulation of the blood is impaired,

In making the foot covering according to the method; of the instant invention, the pieces 1 and-2 are preformed; as by knitting, and placed together in coniplementalfashion, and the curvate portions forming the toe, and, t

the adjacent edges oftheleg embracing portions, from the top down to the bottom row' of eyelets, are, secured together; first, as bysewing. The order of" performing these initial 'securing steps is not critical. Thereafter, working from the secured portions toward the quarter portion, the sewing or; stitching together of'the two pieces of; material adjacent their lateral edges is progressively continuedto form the completed line of stitching illus; trated by the dotted line, 16. While the stitching thus beingcornpleted', the material of pprtion 9; is stretched or-p ijlled to form a fullness at; the quarter, which is not,

sh t-alien up again by such naturalresilience as the material-may-havefbut; which is retained at least inpartafter the stitching is eornpletem andthus facilitates-the accpm; modation of the heel'of the wearer. A hemmay be pro; videdat the top of 'the upper portions as shown at 17' by the dotted line; All of 'the other edges may e overcast,

to prevent ravelling making the bootee ofthis; inventipn, it is; of? importance to avoid the estab-- a definite and invariablefoot-length; this. being 4.?- accomplished by providing as the only suggestion of a had. a fullness in the general region of the netti n f piece 2 in which the heelwill fall during the varying stages of growth of the foot. 1

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention that will provide the advantages sought, but it is to be understood that this description is to be construed as merely illustrative and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the invention'being defined by the subjoi'ned claims.

What I claim is; I

l. A foot covering for the human foot comprising a first piece, oi'flextible material. capable; of stretching in two directions having a. curvate.lowe forward portion simulating in general the curvature of the forward, toe portion of the human foot and an elongated upper portion extending rearwardly and upwardly and terminating in an upper edge, said upper portion forming the front leg-embracing and insteprcovering portion of the foot covering, a second piece of flexible material capable of stretching in two directions having a curyate lower, forward portion shapedand dimensioned complementally tothe'lower, for-ward portion of the first piece and providing forward sole and} wall equivalents in the foot covering, said second-piece havin g an elongated rearward lyextending portion extending rearwardly and upwardly irom its lower; forwardportion. and: terminating in an upper edge which complements the upper edge of saidupper portion and combines therewith to form the upper edgeof the leg portion of the foot covering, said elongated rearwardly extending portion of the second piece forming the rest of the sole, the shankportion, the quarter portion, and the rearleg-embracing portionofthe foot covering, and having a portion of" extra fullness extending over; the general region in which the heel of thefoot normally will fall, so that no predetermined foot length is built into the footcovering and the foot covering adjusts-itself to varying foot sizes, said first and second: ieces being joined'together at their forward" and lateral edges throughout substantially their entire lengths to form the unitary: foot covering, said elongated rearwardly extending portion and said upper portion having a plurality of circumferentially extending sets of vertically spaced alternatively utili'zabl'efastening retaining means located in the region above. the, portion of'extra fullness and atleastone 0ft which will normally fall just 2. A footcovering as definedin claim I, in which-said" f st ning ai ea s. omprise a. plu ality of. spaced apertures arranged'in circumferentially. extendingandjvertically" spaced rows. so locat d as, to, fall respectively just. above the ankle bones as. the fo'ot length ofjthe, wearer r s nd h r by ex a s sorincr ases he. l ngthofthe. leg-embracing portion ofthe, foot, covering. and a draw..

string insertable in a selected row of-aperturesnextahove he kl n f r. c sing he eficctixecircurnfercnce in the region local'to the selectedrqwt.

References: Cite in the file-j of this: patent- UNITED STATES PATENTS"

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