US3595403A

US3595403A - Apparatus for suspending wet footwear

Info

Publication number: US3595403A
Application number: US797854A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert J Lane
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-02-10
Filing date: 1969-02-10
Publication date: 1971-07-27
Anticipated expiration: 1988-07-27

Abstract

Apparatus for suspending wet footwear from a support, such as a clothesline, curtain rod, wall peg, or other projection including a flexible loop which may be formed of a plastic material, such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, or Teflon, or it may be formed of wire. If the loop is formed of a plastic material, a plurality of spaced straps or hangers are formed with their inner ends integral with the loop and each is provided with an aperture at its outer end. The loop is shaped to surround an inverted footwear piece and suspend it therein and the hangers which pass over the toe piece of the footwear are connected together by an S-shaped hook, one portion of which may be passed over a suitable support, such as a clothesline, curtain rod, or other projection. When the loop is formed of wire which surrounds the foot piece, the hangers are formed of pieces of wire, each having a hook at its inner end and at its outer end. The inner portions of the hangers pass over the inverted toe end portion of the foot piece and the hooks on the outer portions of the wire hangers are arranged to pass over the support to hold the loop and the shoe or boot pieces in a suspended state. To prevent movement of the wire strips upon the loop, the loop is crimped at the opposite sides of the hooks on the inner wire pieces or hangers.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor Robert J. Lane I 4710 Longwood Ave., Penna, Ohio 44134 [21] Appl. No. 797,854 [22) Filed Feb. 10, 1969 [45] Patented July 27, 1971 [54] APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING WET FOOTWEAR 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl. 211/38 [51] Int. Cl A471 7/08 [50] FieldotSearch 211/38, 37, 34

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 384,334 6/1888 Reichenbach 211/34 2,294,607 9/ 1942 Peck 21 1/34 2,383,651 8/1945 Hill 211/34 X 2,412,847 12/1946 Tilburg.. 211/35 2,787,379 4/1957 Fritz 211/38 2,703,651 3/1955 Brocklehurst.... 21 1/34 2,969,151 1/1961 Krstulovich 211/34 Primary Examiner-Nile C. Byers, Jr. Attorney.lohn Mahoney ABSTRACT: Apparatus for suspending wet footwear from a support, such as a clothesline, curtain rod, wall peg, or other projection including a flexible loop which may be formed of a plastic material, such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, or Teflon, or it maybe formed of wire. 1f the loop is formed of a plastic material, a plurality of spaced straps or hangers are formed with their inner ends integral with the loop and each is provided with an aperture at its outer end. The loop is shaped to surround an inverted footwear piece and suspend it therein and the hangers which pass over the toe piece of the footwear are connected together by an S-shaped hook, one portion of which may be passed over a suitable support, such as a clothesline, curtain rod, or other projection. When the loop is formed of wire which surrounds the foot piece, the hangers are fonned of pieces of wire, each having a hook at its inner end and at its outer end. The inner portions of the hangers pass over the inverted toe end portion of the foot piece and the hooks on the outer portions of the wire hangers are arranged to pass over the support to hold the loop and the shoe or boot pieces in a suspended state. To prevent movement of the wire strips upon the loop, the loop is crimped at the opposite sides of the hooks on the inner wire pieces or hangers.

PATENTEB JUL27 I97! SHEET 1 UP 2 INVENTOR. OB ER T J. LAN E PATENTEU JUL27 Ian sum 2 or 2 INVENTOR.

ROBERT J. LANE APPARATUS FOR SUSPENDING WET FOOTWEAR The present invention relates to apparatus for suspending wet footwear, such as shoes, boots, overshoes, or galoshes in such a manner that they may be quickly dried.

In footwear that becomes wet in service, such as boots, shoes, overshoes, or galoshes, it is customary to leave them in the kitchen, bathroom, or basement. During continuous wet weather in which the streets and sidewalks are covered with snow for substantial period of time, footwear, such as shoes, boots, rubbers, or galoshes become wet and if it is necessary to wear them again before they have been thoroughly dried, colds may result and this is particularly true of footwear worn by children.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus by means of which pieces of footwear may be suspended in such a manner that the footwear may be quickly dried.

Another object of my invention is to provide apparatus for suspending footwear, such as boots, shoes, rubbers, or galoshes, in such a manner that they will not only dry quickly but any water that may be present in the interior of the footwear will drain therefrom during the drying process.

My invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of apparatus for suspending pieces of footwear, such as a boot, an overshoe, a rubber, or a galosh so that it will dry in a short period of time;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on a plane passing through the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detail view showing the use of my improved apparatus for suspending footwear, such as a boot or overshoe;

FIG. 4 is a modified form of my improved apparatus; and

FIG. 5 is an elevationalview of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 for suspending footwear as exemplified by a boot.

My improved apparatus may be molded or constructed of any suitable material, such as plastic or metal. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the apparatus is formed of a plastic material that is slightly flexible, such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, or Teflon and consists of a loop I which is essentially in the shape of the bottom portion of a piece of footwear, such as a boot or a galosh, or it may be in the form of the base of a shoe. For purposes of illustration, a boot 2 is shown and the loop is shaped to engage the boot at a short distance below its sole and heel. Although the loop is flexible and will bend to a limited extent, to facilitate its stiffness, it is preferably provided with a rib 3 and for suspending the boot, it is inverted so that any water therein may run out. As shown in FIG. 3, the loop extends around the boot or shoe at a short distance below the face of the sole and heel and to hold the boot or shoe in a suspended position, a plurality of strips or straps are provided which may be formed of a plastic material, such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, or Teflon Because the strips are preferably more flexible than the loop, if desired the rib 3 on the strips may be omitted. As shown, one of the strips 4 is arranged at the toe end of the loop in a position to engage the toe of the footwear and

strips

5 and 6 are arranged to extend across the sole of the footwear at a point approximately midway between the toe end and the rear end of the heel. As shown, each of the strips or straps is provided with an enlarged tab, each designated by the numeral 7 and each tab has an eye or aperture therein which is designated by the numeral 8. It will of course be understood that the size of the loop may be varied to tightly engage different sizes of footwear.

In fastening the footwear to a suitable support, such as a clothesline, a shower curtain, a rod, wall peg, over the back of a chair, or any other convenient projection, the straps or

hangers

4, 5, and 6 are moved upwardly from the position shown in FIG 1 to a position in which a hook, such as one end of a S- shaped hook 8A may be passed through the apertures in the outer ends of the hangers and the other portion of the S-hook may be applied over one of the supports previously mentioned, such as a curtain rod which has been designated by the letter A. Because the shoe, boot, or galosh, is inverted in its suspended position, any water therein will drain out and the footwear will soon become dry so that it may be used in a short period of time after being supported in place. While my improved apparatus is preferably formed of a plastic material, this is not essential because it may be formed of other flexible material, such as wire, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

As shown in FIG. 4, the loop is formed of flexible wire, the ends of which are connected together as indicated by the numeral 10. The loop 9 is of such size and is so shaped that it will fit around the heel and toe of the footwear indicated by the numeral 2 as shown in FIG. 5 and is provided with means for suspending the loop, together with the footwear arranged therein. For this purpose, three hangers l1, l2, and 13 are provided, hanger 11 being arranged adjacent the toe of the boot or ovcrshoe and hangers I2 and 13 being arranged on opposite sides of the boot or overshoe. While the hangers may be secured to the loop in any convenient manner, as shown, each hanger is provided with a hook 14 which may be turned around the loop at the desired points. For instance, hanger 11 may be turned at its inner portion around the loop 9 at that end which is arranged to support the toe portion of the boot or shoe, and the hangers l2 and 13 are arranged to extend over the sides of the toe portion of the boot and in this connection, it may be stated that as shown hanger 13 is arranged somewhat closer to the portion of the loop 9 that is arranged to support the heel than the hanger 12. To hold the hangers in the desired place on the loop, the wire may be crimped on the opposite sides of each hanger, as indicated by the letters C. The crimping may be performed with a suitable tool, such as pliers or if desired, a thin wire may be wound snugly around the loop on each side of the inner hooked portion of each hanger.

In suspending the fastener, the shoe, boot, overshoe, or galosh, may be inverted as shown in FIG. 5 with a portion of the loop 9 around the heel and the hangers ll, 12, and 13 arranged to engage the toe portion of the footwear. As shown, the outer ends of the hangers are provided with hooks 15 which are arranged to engage a suitable support, such as a clothesline or a curtain rod which is designated in FIG. 5 by the letter B.

It will of course be understood that my improved apparatus is not only useful in facilitating the drying of the footwear so that it may be used when needed but it also aids in teaching children to hang their wet footwear in a neat manner on suitable supports. The support may be of any suitable type. For instance, in the use of the apparatus by campers or service men, the fasteners may be secured to a tree limb or a forked stake driven into the ground.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for suspending a piece of wet footwear in an inverted position including a flexible member in the form of a continuous loop which is shaped to provide a portion which engages the piece of footwear below its heel portion and other portions which engage the piece of footwear below its sole including its toe portion to maintain the piece of footwear in an inverted position to thereby hasten the drying thereof, and a plurality of spaced hangers, the inner portion of each of which is connected to the loop and the outer portion of each of which is shaped to engage a support.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the loop and each hanger are composed of a flexible plastic material and in which the loop and each of the hangers have a rib extending outwardly from its central portion to increase the rigidity of the plastic material.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which three hangers are provided, one of which extends from the toe-shaped portion of said loop and the other two of which extend from the oppositely disposed sides of the toe-shaped portion.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which three hangers are provided, one of which has an inner portion formed integral with the toe-shaped portion of said loop and an outer portion having an aperture therein and the other two hangers each having inner portions formed integral with the opposite sides, respectively, of the loop and each having an outer aperture therein, and means having a portion extending through the apertures in said hangers and a second portion extending around a support for suspending the loop and the piece of footwear supported therein.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the flexible loop is in the form of a wire having its end portions connected together to form a continuous loop and the means associated with the loop for suspending said loop and the piece of footwear supported therein are in the form of hangers, one of which is arranged at the toe-shaped end of said loop and the other two of which are arranged on the opposite sides, respectively, of the loop, and each of said hangers having an inner end connected to the loop and an outer end having a hook thereon, each of which outer hooks are shaped to be applied to a support for suspending the foot piece in place.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which means are provided for limiting the movement of the inner portion of each of the hangers upon the loop.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which means formed integral with the loop are provided on the opposite sides of the inner hooks of the hanger for limiting the movement of the inner portion of the hangers upon the loop.