Abstract:
A protective foot pad comprises a sheet of protective material having a main body portion in the shape of the ball of a human foot and a locating tab extending from the main body portion for location between the first and second toes of the foot, an adhesive on one surface of the sheet for adhering the sheet to the foot, and a removable release liner covering the adhesive until the pad is to be adhered to the foot. The pad is especially suited for protecting the bare foot of a dancer, who will use the pad by removing the release liner to expose the adhesive, placing the exposed adhesive on the bottom of his or her foot to cover at least a portion of the ball of the foot, with the tab extending between the first and second toes, and bending the locating tab over the skin between the first and second toes. The main body portion can include one or more lateral extensions that adhere to the side of the foot. In one embodiment, the adhesive is a layer of material that is adhesive on both surfaces thereof, one of which has the releasable liner thereon. The other surface of the layer of material is disposed on an adhesive surface of the sheet, which is a non-woven, open-matrix, polyester layer.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a protective foot pad, and more particularly, to an inexpensive, easily applied and removed, disposable foot pad for a dancer that is largely invisible to an audience during a performance by the dancer. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Many performances, particularly so-called modern dances, rely for part of their effect on the perception that the performer is barefoot. However, to dance with no foot protection can cause injuries such as blisters, friction burns, skin tears, and splinters. Obviously, these types of injuries can be serious for dancers, who must take special care of their feet. In addition, dancing barefoot increases the risk of slipping or falling. The drawbacks of some of the prior attempts at providing foot protection for dancers that avoids these problems are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,051,457. 
         [0005]    Prior foot protectors appear to fall into two broad types. The first uses some form of truncated stocking with a floor contacting surface. This type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,051,457, as well as U.S. Patent Publs. No. 2006/0107444, No. 2006/0179549, and No. 2006/0196078. Similar types of footwear, although not necessarily intended specifically for dancers, are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,308,483, No. 1,452,302, No. 2,248,303, No. 2,572,152, No. 4,651,354, and No. 7,107,626, and in UK Patent Appln. No. 2,378,891. The second type of prior protective footwear for dancers is secured to the foot by straps that hold a protective pad in place at the desired location on the foot. This type of protective footwear is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,237,652, No. 4,277,897, No. 6,018,888, and No. D520,217, and WO99/51117. 
         [0006]    Both types of foot protectors are generally effective in avoiding problems encountered by dancing barefoot. However, they have drawbacks. For one thing, they are relatively expensive to be discarded after only one use, especially for recreational dancers, which means that either they must be worn even though they are soiled or they must be cleaned frequently. Another drawback is that they can be seen by an audience during a performance, which detracts from the esthetic value of the dance. And straps that hold the footwear in place can themselves cause blisters. 
         [0007]    There are hand and foot shields that can adhere directly to the skin, examples of which are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,465, German Patent No. DE 30 04 496, and Japanese Laid-Open Applns. No. 11-332602, No. 200132116, and No. 2001-218789. In addition, there are numerous compositions for sheets that adhere directly to the skin, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,217,853 and U.S. Patent Publs. No. 2003/0168118 and No. 2006/0034905. However, none of these products are constructed for use as disposable foot protectors for dancers (or others who require foot protection of a similar nature, such as gymnasts, those practicing martial arts, etc.). 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, disposable protective foot pad specially constructed for use by anyone needing foot protection, such as dancers, gymnasts, those practicing martial arts, etc. 
         [0009]    It is another object of the invention to provide a foot pad that adheres directly to a bare foot and is virtually invisible to observers when in use. 
         [0010]    In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a protective foot pad comprises a sheet of protective material having a main body portion in the shape of the ball of a human foot and at least one locating tab extending from the main body portion for location between two toes of the foot, an adhesive on one surface of the sheet for adhering the sheet to the foot, and a removable release liner covering the adhesive until the pad is to be adhered to the foot. In further aspects of the invention, a single tab is located for positioning between the first and second toes, and a plurality of tabs are located for positioning between other pairs of toes. 
         [0011]    In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of protecting a user&#39;s foot includes providing a protective pad comprising a sheet of protective material having a main body portion in the shape of the ball of a human foot and at least one locating tab extending from the main body portion, an adhesive on one surface of the sheet for adhering the sheet to the foot, and a removable release liner covering the adhesive, removing the release liner to expose the adhesive, placing the exposed adhesive on the bottom of the foot to cover at least a portion of the ball of the foot with the locating tab extending between two toes, and bending the locating tab over the skin between the toes and adhering the tab thereto. 
         [0012]    In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, a method of making a protective foot pad includes providing a sheet of non-woven, open-matrix polyester material larger than the finished pad, one surface of the sheet having an adhesive thereon, providing an adhesive layer that is adhesive on both surfaces thereof, the adhesive layer having a removable release liner on one surface thereof coextensive with the adhesive layer, placing the surface of the adhesive layer without the release liner in contact with the adhesive surface of the sheet to form a pad blank, and cutting at least one pad in the shape of the ball of a human foot. 
         [0013]    In a preferred embodiment, the pad comprises a non-woven, open-matrix, polyester layer, one surface thereof being adhesive, which can be 3M™ spunlace, polyester, nonwoven tape, and a layer of material disposed on the adhesive surface of the polyester layer, which can be 3M™ hi-tack synthetic, rubber-based two-sided transfer adhesive with the release liner on one surface thereof The pad may optionally include an additional cushioning layer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The objects of the invention will be better understood from the detailed description of its preferred embodiments which follows below, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals and letters refer to like features throughout. The following is a brief identification of the drawing figures used in the accompanying detailed description. 
           [0015]      FIG. 1A  is a plan view of a right foot pad in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, and  FIG. 1B  is a plan view of a left foot pad in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of the left foot pad in place for use, and  FIG. 2B  shows a top view of the pad in place adhered to a foot illustrating the placement of the locating pad that is a feature of the illustrated embodiment of the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 1A  showing a preferred construction of a foot pad in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a plan view of a right foot pad according to another preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view corresponding to  FIG. 3 , showing an alternate construction of the foot pad in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0020]    One skilled in the art will readily understand that the drawings are not strictly to scale, but nevertheless will find them sufficient, when taken with the detailed descriptions of preferred embodiments that follow, to make and use the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  respectively depict a pad  10 R for the right foot and a pad  10 L for the left foot, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. It will be appreciated that the pads  10 R and  10 L are generally mirror images of each other. In this description, the same reference numerals will be used to denote like components of the pads, with an “R” suffix denoting right and an “L” suffix denoting left. The pads are shown relative to the bottom of the right foot LR and the left foot LF (depicted in phantom lines) to illustrate their relationship to the feet before being adhered thereto for use. Each pad includes a sheet of protective material having a main body portion  12  that is slightly wider laterally than the ball of the foot on which the pad is to be used. One surface of the sheet has an adhesive layer thereon for adhering the pad directly to the user&#39;s foot. A preferred laminated sheet construction is described in more detail below in connection with  FIG. 3 . 
         [0022]    It is important that the pad  10  be properly positioned on the ball of the foot for maximum protection. To that end, the sheet of material includes a locating tab  14 . The tab is located relative to the main body portion  12  so that when the tab is placed between the first (big) toe T 1  and the second toe T 2 , the pad will be positioned correctly on the ball of the foot. (The remaining toes T 3 , T 4 , and T 5  are shown for completeness.) The locating tab  14  need not be used in all embodiments of the invention, but it will be appreciated that it is difficult for a user to get his or her foot in a position providing a good angle for accurately viewing where the pad is located relative to the ball of the foot before applying it. Accordingly, the locating tab  14  assists the dancer in accurately placing the pad without help from another person. 
         [0023]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  show the main body portion  14  having lateral extensions  16   a  and  16   b  that make the main body portion as slightly wider than the ball of the ball of the user&#39;s foot. The purpose of this feature of the depicted embodiment of the invention is illustrated better in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2A  is a perspective view that shows the left foot pad  10 L in place on the ball of the foot. It illustrates particularly the extension  16   a  that protects the outside of the foot by wrapping around it to a suitable extent.  FIG. 2B  is a top view of the foot in  FIG. 2A  for showing the position of the locating tab  14  when the pad is applied to the foot. The second toe T 2  in  FIG. 2B  is shown separated from the first toe T 1  to enable the tab  14  to be readily seen in the drawing. Normally, the toes will be much closer together and make the locating tab  14  virtually invisible when the pad is in use.  FIG. 2B  also shows the extension  16   b  at the outside part of the foot. In other embodiments of the invention, the main body portion may not include the lateral extensions, or have only one of them. 
         [0024]    The extensions  16   a  and  16   b , which need not be incorporated in all embodiments of the invention, should wrap only along the sides of the foot. If they extend too far, they will be more prone to peeling off during strenuous movements by the user, in addition to being potentially visible to an audience. On the other hand, the extensions  16   a  and  16   b  assist in firmly adhering the pad to the user&#39;s foot, and it is preferred that the pad include the extensions  16   a  and  16   b  because they assist in holding the pad in place. It is important that the dimensions of the pad, including the extensions  16   a  and  16   b , be correctly matched to the size of the user&#39;s foot, otherwise the pad can become dislodged from the user&#39;s foot during strenuous activity. In that regard, one of the advantages of the present invention is that the pad can be trimmed to the optimum size based on the user&#39;s experience. That is, after a certain number of pads have been used, they can be trimmed to the precise configuration that is best for that user&#39;s foot. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2A  also illustrates another feature of the illustrated embodiment of the invention. The main body portion  12  in this embodiment is configured so that when the locating tab is properly placed, a part of the main body portion forms a toe protector  18  that adheres to the bottom of the first toe for additional protection. This also provides another area where the pad is adhered to the user&#39;s foot. 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  illustrates a preferred construction of the pad  10  of the present embodiment.  FIG. 3  is a cross-section taken along lines  3 - 3  in  FIG. 1A , and shows the two-part laminated construction of this embodiment. The protective material  20  of the pad includes a non-woven, open-matrix, polyester material  22  that provides the surface for contacting the floor and protecting the dancer&#39;s foot when the pad is in use. In the present embodiment, the protective layer  20  also includes an adhesive  24  on the other surface of the polyester layer. The laminate construction includes an adhesive layer  26  that is adhesive on both of its surfaces and a release liner  28  disposed on the adhesive layer. 
         [0027]    The pad  10  can conveniently be fabricated by using as the protective layer  22  a commercially available product such as 3M™ spunlace, polyester, nonwoven tape. One surface of the tape has thereon an acrylate adhesive, which in turn is protected by a poly-coated Kraft paper liner (not shown) with a silicone release composition. It is described in detail in 3M&#39;s “Technical Information Sheet, Product Number 9916” (2004), which is incorporated by reference herein. The adhesive layer  26  and release liner  28  are also most conveniently a commercially available product sold as a laminate  30  of the release liner  28  and a double-sided adhesive  26  adapted specially to provide a secure bond with human skin, and should preferably be a very aggressive synthetic rubber-based adhesive provided with the release liner on one surface. One such product that has been found suitable is 3M™ hi-tack transfer adhesive, which is sold in roll form and is described in detail in 3M&#39;s flyer “Hi-Tack Transfer Adhesive, Product No. 1504” (September 2006), which is incorporated by reference herein. It will be appreciated that a pad with this construction can be easily trimmed to size with conventional fabric scissors. 
         [0028]    Fabricating a pad in accordance with a preferred method employs a sheet of the product intended as the protective layer that is larger than the finished pad. For most efficient manufacture, the sheet will be larger than the surface area of several pads. The Kraft paper liner is removed to expose the adhesive  24 . A suitable amount of the laminate  30  is removed from the roll on which it is provided, and the thus-exposed adhesive  24  is then brought into intimate contact with an exposed expanse of the adhesive layer  26 . Following this fabrication of a blank of the laminated construction shown in  FIG. 3 , a number of pads can be cut out from the blank by stamping or any other suitable manufacturing process. It is contemplated that a number of sizes of pads will be made available for purchase to fit different size feet. It will be understood to be within the scope of the invention to provide uncut sheets of the laminated construction shown in  FIG. 3  that a user can cut to a desired size to fit his or her feet. In addition, the pad can be provided in different colors to more closely match the color of different users&#39; feet. It is also within the scope of the invention to provide a sheet in which the layers  22 ,  24 , and  26  are perforated in the shape of the foot pads  10 R and  10 L shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , so that the release liner  28  provides a supporting matrix from which the foot pads can be peeled just prior to use. 
         [0029]    In using a pad according to the present invention, the dancer will first insure that his or her feet are clean and dry. A commercial form of the invention can be sold with an alcohol swab to maximize the effectiveness of the aggressive adhesive that is used in the adhesive layer  26 . (If sold as separate pieces, the pads will be provided in pairs for the left and right feet.) The dancer will then separate the pad  10  from the release liner  28  and position the pad on the ball of the foot by placing the tab  14  between the first and second toes as discussed above. The main body portion  12  will be pressed against the ball of the foot over its entire extent and, if the pad is large enough, along the sides of the dancer&#39;s foot and under the first toe as shown in  FIG. 2 . The locating tab is folded up between the first and second toes and secured firmly to the skin there. These instructions can be conveniently printed on the back of the release liner  28  for the user&#39;s ease of reference. It is also possible to provide the pads as a single sheet on which lines are printed in the shape of pads to enable the user to cut the pads from the sheet just prior to use. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  shows an alternate embodiment of the pad identified by reference numeral  10 R′, having multiple locating tabs  14   a ,  14   b ,  14   c , and  14   d . The tab  14   a  of this embodiment corresponds to tab  14 R shown in  FIG. 1A . Tab  14   b  is located relative to the main body portion  12 R′ of the pad so that when the pad is correctly positioned on the ball of the user&#39;s foot, the tab  14   b  is between the user&#39;s second toe T 2  and third toe T 3 . The tabs  14   c  and  14   d  are likewise located on the pad so that they line up with the spaces between the user&#39;s third and fourth toes (T 3  and T 4 ) and fourth and fifth toes (T 4  and T 5 ), respectively. The tabs  14   a - 14   d  have extended lengths to make it easier for the user to pull them through the spaces between the toes from the top of the foot. Once the tabs are positioned between the toes, they can be trimmed to the proper length to permit them to adhere firmly to the user&#39;s foot without being unduly visible (as in  FIG. 2B ). This embodiment facilitates use of the pad, provides more reference points (the multiple tabs) for properly positioning the pad on the ball of the user&#39;s foot, and more securely attaches the pad to the user&#39;s foot.  FIG. 4  illustrates a right-foot pad, but it will be understood that the left-foot pad will have the same features. 
         [0031]      FIG. 5 , a cross-sectional view corresponding to  FIG. 3 , shows an alternate construction of the pad. The protective layer  20 ′ of the construction shown in  FIG. 5  includes an additional cushioning layer  40  that provides extra protection to the user&#39;s foot. The cushioning layer can be made of any suitable material, such as a silicone rubber, a gel, or other shock absorbing composition. One surface of the cushioning layer  40  can be adhered to the adhesive  24 , and the adhesive layer  26  is in turn is adhered to the other surface of the cushioning layer. This construction can be used with any pad configuration. 
         [0032]    It will be appreciated that the pad  10  will provide excellent protection for a dancer&#39;s feet by reducing the resistance to movement across the floor. It will inhibit the formation of calluses, as well as protecting any blisters or calluses that are already present from becoming more severe. Because the pad is inexpensive (especially compared to existing foot-protection products for dancers), it can be discarded after one use. As noted above, this eliminates the need for cleaning between uses and further increases the convenience to the user. It also makes effective foot protection more readily available to recreational dancers. Finally, because it only covers the bottoms of the dancer&#39;s feet (or, at most, the bottoms and a small portion of the sides of the feet), the pad is largely invisible to an audience during a performance, and thus does not distract from the effect intended by the choreographer in creating a dance meant to be performed barefoot. In that regard, if the pad embodiment with one or more tabs is used, the tab(s) will not be visible between the toes. Moreover, the product becomes even more “invisible” during use, as any residue from the dance floor is picked up by both the dancer&#39;s feet and the pad as the dance proceeds, so that even if the bottoms of the dancer&#39;s feet should be momentarily visible the pad is not seen. 
         [0033]    In addition, the foot pad of the present invention, while having exceptional utility for dancers, is not limited to that particular application. One other example of a potential users are gymnasts, who often perform dance-like movements during free programs. In addition, those engaging in martial arts contests or exhibitions will also find the present invention useful for protecting their feet. Of course, other uses will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the invention is specifically not intended to be limited to use only in the environments specifically mentioned. 
         [0034]    Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that only selected preferred embodiments of the invention have been depicted and described, and it will be understood that various changes and modifications can be made other than those specifically mentioned above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims that follow.