Abstract:
A boot has an upper, at least one slot extending through the upper, and means for closing the at least one slot to prevent the ingress of unwanted materials. The closing means may comprise a piece of material that overlaps and covers the at least one slot.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention is directed to a boot with handles and storm covers over the handles. 
     Many boots frequently have handles to help someone pull the boot on. The handles may be slots cut into the uppers of the boot. Each boot may have one handle on each side of the upper. U.S. Design Pat. No. D645,653 to Cook illustrates such a boot. 
     The slots which form the handles may extend from the outer side of the upper to the inner side of the upper. Since the slots are openings, they allow the ingress of moisture, snow, wet leaves, etc. 
     There is a need for a mechanism for covering the handles so that unwanted material, such as moisture, snow, wet leaves, etc., are not able to enter the interior of the boot. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with the present disclosure, there is provided a boot which broadly has an upper, at least one slot extending through the upper, and means for closing the at least one slot to prevent the ingress of unwanted materials. The closing means may comprise at least one piece of material which covers the at least one slot. The at least one piece of material may be non-porous and flexible. 
     Other details of the boot handle storm cover are set forth in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals depict like elements. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a boot; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the boot of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the boot of  FIG. 2  taken along the lines  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the boot of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIGS. 1-4  illustrate a boot  10  having an upper  12  and a lower  14  which includes a sole  16 . The upper  12  may be formed from any suitable material. For example, it can be formed from leather, a rubber or plastic material, a woven or non-woven material, a knitted material, and combinations thereof. As an example, the upper  12  may have a plastic portion  20  and an upper fabric portion  22  joined to the portion  20  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The lower  14  may also be formed from any suitable material including but not limited to leather, rubber, a plastic material, and combinations thereof. The upper  12  and the lower  14  may be joined together in any desirable manner. For example, they could be bonded together or they could be sewn together. 
     The sole  16  may be formed from leather, rubber, EVA, fabric, a plastic material, thermal plastic rubber, fabric, and combinations thereof. If desired, the sole may be provided with a tread pattern such as that shown in  FIG. 4  and may have a heel  18 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the boot  12  may have an outer side  24  and an inner side  26 . The upper  12  on each of the outer side  24  and the inner side  26  may be provided with a handle  30 . Each handle  30  may be a slot  32  which extends from an outer surface  34  of the upper  12  to an inner surface  36  of the upper  12 . The slot  32  may have any desired shape. For example, it may be oval shaped. Each slot  32  preferably has a width which allows one or more fingers of a hand to be inserted into the slot. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , in order to prevent the ingress of unwanted materials such as leaves, water, snow, etc. into the boot  10  via the handles  30 , a means  40  for closing the slots  32  forming the handles  30  is provided. The closing means  40  may comprise a piece  42  of material which covers the interior surface of and the opening in each slot  32 . The piece  42  of material may comprise any suitable material which is impervious to water, snow, leaves, etc. For example, the piece  42  of material may be a solid, non-porous, and flexible material such as neoprene, leather, and the like. The material piece  42  may be sewn to the inner surface  36 . Alternatively, the material piece  42  may be bonded to the inner surface  36  by an adhesive. 
     By using a flexible material  42  for the storm cover, one is able to comfortably slip one&#39;s fingers into the slot  32  and grasp the upper surface  44  of the slot and thereby pull the boot on. 
     While the boot  12  has been illustrated as having handles  30  in the inner and outer sides  24  and  26  of the upper  12 , it should be recognized that the boot  12  could also have a handle in the rear of the upper  12 . The handle in the rear may be in addition to or in lieu of the handles  30 . When present, the handle in the rear would have its slot cover a piece of material to prevent the ingress of unwanted materials. 
     There has been provided with the present disclosure a boot handle storm cover. While the boot handle storm cover has been described in the context of specific embodiments thereof, other unforeseen alternatives, modifications, and variations may become apparent to those skilled in the art having read the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace those alternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the broad scope of the appended claims.