Patent Publication Number: US-8112910-B2

Title: Shoe wrap and system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to shoe covers and, more particularly, to a shoe wrap and system for covering spikes on a track shoe so as to prevent damage to both the spikes and surface being walked on. 
     Participants in the sport of track often find it necessary or prudent to change their shoes between events. Such frequent changes are often because the sharp spikes of the track shoes may damage surfaces upon which the wearer may traverse, such as wood, tile, or even cement surfaces. Further, walking on surfaces other than the track may cause damage to the spikes themselves or simply result in a conglomeration of foreign substances within the spikes such as mud and grass. In addition, it is generally difficult to walk on normal surfaces with shoes 
     Various devices have been proposed in the art for covering the spikes of a track shoe or for protecting surfaces walked on by a wearer of track shoes. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices do not provide a removable sole for protecting surfaces from the spikes of a track shoe that is held in place by hook and loop fasteners so as to be quick to attach or detach. 
     Therefore, it would be desirable to have a shoe wrap for covering the spikes of a track shoe so that a surface being walked on is not damaged. Further, it would be desirable to have a shoe wrap for track shoes that is easy to attach and detach and compact to store when not in use. In addition, it would be desirable to have a shoe wrap having multiple layers and that is useful regardless of the pattern of spikes on the shoe. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, a shoe system according to the present invention includes a shoe having a sole with forward and rearward portions, the forward portion having opposed sides and including a plurality of spike elements and the rearward portion being void of spike elements. The shoe system includes a cover configured to span between the opposed sides of the forward portion lowerly adjacent the spike elements, the cover having opposed sides and including a lower layer, an intermediate layer, and an upper layer. The lower, intermediate, and upper layers are removably coupled to the shoe. The lower layer is constructed of flooring-friendly material, the intermediate layer is constructed of a yielding material, and the upper member is constructed of a porous material. The spike elements interact with the upper layer and at least a portion of the intermediate layer when the cover is lowerly adjacent the spike elements. Alternatively, the cover may include only a lower layer and an upper layer. The lower layer of the cover may include a rear section having a sloped configuration such that a user may walk smoothly with the cover attached to his shoes. 
     Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a shoe wrap and system for protecting a flooring surface from the negative impact of spikes on a spiked shoe. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a shoe wrap and system, as aforesaid, that is useful and effective regardless of the number or pattern of spikes on the shoe. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a shoe wrap and system, as aforesaid, that is easy and quick to attach to or detach from a spiked shoe. 
     Yet another object of this invention is to provide a shoe wrap and system, as aforesaid, including a lower layer having a flooring-friendly material, an intermediate layer having a yielding material, and an upper layer having a porous material. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide a shoe wrap and system, as aforesaid, having a strap with hook and loop fasteners for selectively coupling the shoe wrap to a shoe. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a shoe wrap and system that allows a user to walk smoothly when the shoe wrap is attached to a spiked shoe. 
     A still further object of this invention is to provide a shoe wrap and system, as aforesaid, that is economical to produce, compact to store when not in use, and easy to use. 
     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 shoe wrap according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention with a strap in a coupled configuration; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the shoe wrap as in  FIG. 1  with the strap in a released configuration; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the cover of the shoe wrap as in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4   a  is a side view of the cover as in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4   b  is bottom view of the cover as in  FIG. 4   a;    
         FIG. 5   a  is side view of the shoe wrap as in  FIG. 1  in use with a shoe; 
         FIG. 5   b  is a top view of the shoe wrap as in  FIG. 5   a;    
         FIG. 6   a  is a plan view showing the spiked elements of the shoe interacting with the upper layer of the cover and partially with the intermediate layer; and 
         FIG. 6   b  is a plan view showing the spiked elements of the shoe interacting with the upper and intermediate layers of the cover and partially with the lower layer. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A shoe system will now be described in detail with reference to  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 6   b  of the accompanying drawings. More particularly, the shoe system  100  includes a shoe  110  and a wrap  120 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5   a,  the shoe  110  has a sole  112  with forward and rearward portions  112   a,    112   b.  The forward portion  112   a  has opposed sides  113   a,    113   b  ( FIG. 5   b ) and includes a plurality of spike elements  114  (e.g., removably or permanently attached track spikes). The rearward portion  112   b  is void of spike elements  114 . In one embodiment, the forward portion  112   a  extends beneath the ball of a wearer&#39;s foot. The shoe  110  may, for example, be a track running shoe. The sole  112  includes a front end and an opposed rear end. The forward Portion  112   a  of the sole  112  is integrity connected together with the reaward portion  112   b  generally at a midpoint between the sole front and the rear end. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  5   a , and  5   b , the wrap  120  includes a cover  122  configured to span between the opposed sides  113   a ,  113   b  of the shoe sole  112  when lowerly adjacent the spike elements  114 . The cover  122  has opposed sides  123   a ,  123   b  and includes a lower layer  124 , an intermediate layer  126 , and an upper layer  128  ( FIG. 3 ). The lower layer  124  is constructed of floor-friendly material, the intermediate layer  126  is constructed of yielding material, and the upper layer  128  is constructed of porous material. The lower layer  124  may include a ground-contact face  124   a  having a plurality of treads  125 , as shown in  FIG. 4   b . The lower, intermediate, and upper layers extend between the sole front end and the midpoint between said front and rear ends. 
     A rear section  124   b  of the ground contact face  124   a  includes a sloped configuration ( FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b ). More particularly, the rear section  124   b  is angled upwardly from the treads  125  toward the intermediate layer  126  such that the smoothness of walking while the cover  122  is attached to a shoe  110  is enhanced ( FIG. 5   a ). The ground contact face  124   a  is situated lowerly adjacent the sole midpoint between the sole front and rear ends. 
     A flooring-friendly material is any material that does not scratch, mar, or otherwise damage flooring such as wood, metal, carpet, asphalt, rubber-coated running track surface, etc. Non-exclusive examples of flooring-friendly material include rubber and expanded foam. A yielding material is any resilient material capable of being deformed or punctured. Non-exclusive examples of yielding material include silicone rubber, neoprene, or the like. A porous material is any material through which a spike element may be passed with little or no cutting of the material. Non-exclusive examples of porous material include felt and woven fibers. In one embodiment, the yielding material is silicone rubber and the flooring-friendly material is rubber having a greater shore A value than the shore A value of the silicone rubber. 
     The wrap  120  includes means for removably coupling the lower, intermediate, and upper layers  124 ,  126 ,  128  to the shoe  110 , as shown in  FIG. 5   a.  In one embodiment, the means for removably coupling the lower, intermediate, and upper layers  124 ,  126 ,  128  to the shoe  110  includes a first strap  132   a  extending from the cover side  123   a,  a second strap  132   b  extending from the cover side  123   b,  and a fastener  124  ( FIG. 2 ) releasably coupling together the first and second straps  132   a,    132   b.  The fastener  124  may be a hook and loop fastener ( FIG. 2 ), laces, clasps, buckles, or any other appropriate coupling device. 
     The cover  122  may be configured to not extend lowerly adjacent the shoe sole rearward portion  112   b  when the cover  122  is lowerly adjacent the shoe sole forward portion  112   a  and the lower, intermediate, and upper layers  124 ,  126 ,  128  are coupled to the shoe  110 , as shown in  FIG. 5   a.  In other words, in one embodiment the cover  122  does not extend lowerly adjacent the shoe sole rearward portion  112   b  when the cover  122  is lowerly adjacent the shoe sole forward portion  112   a  and the lower, intermediate, and upper layers  124 ,  126 ,  128  are coupled to the shoe  110 . Such a configuration may increase the portability of the wrap  120  and/or provide other benefits. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b,  when the cover  122  is lowerly adjacent the spike elements  114  and the lower, intermediate, and upper layers  124 ,  126 ,  128  are coupled to the shoe  110 , the spike elements  114  interact with the upper layer  128  and at least a portion of the intermediate layer  126 , and at least a portion of the lower layer  124  separates the spike elements  114  from a ground surface. The spike elements  114  may interact with a portion of the lower layer  124  ( FIG. 6   b ), or the spike elements  114  may be completely separated from the lower layer  124  ( FIG. 6   a ) so that the spike elements  114  and the lower layer  124  do not interact. Importantly, the spike elements  114  should not be able to extend through the lower layer  124  to the ground surface. 
     In use, the shoe  110  may be worn and used in a traditional manner to protect the wearer&#39;s foot and to provide traction when running. To avoid removing the shoe  110  between races to protect the ground surface from scratching, marring, or other damage and to protect the spike elements  114  from damage, the wrap  120  may be placed about the shoe  110  ( FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b ). More particularly, the cover  122  may be placed lowerly adjacent the shoe sole  112 , the straps  132   a,    132   b  may be extended about the shoe  110 , and the fastener  124  may couple together the straps  132   a,    132   b  to secure the cover  122  to the shoe sole  112 . As discussed above, coupling the wrap  120  to the shoe  110  causes the spike elements  114  to interact with the upper layer  128  and at least a portion of the intermediate layer  126 , and at least a portion of the lower layer  124  separates the spike elements  114  from a ground surface ( FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b ). In other words, the spike elements  114  pass through the upper layer  128 , become embedded in the intermediate layer  126 , and are separated from the ground surface by the lower layer  124 . The user may then walk without fear of damaging the ground surface or the spike elements  114 , and the treads  125  may provide traction. The sloped configuration of the rear section  124   b  of the ground-contact face  124   a  of the lower layer enables a person to walk smoothly as opposed to on their toes when the cover  122  is attached to a shoe. As repeated interaction with the spike elements  114  may fragment the intermediate layer  126 , the upper layer  128  may be particularly useful in restricting portions of the intermediate layer  126  from passing through the upper layer  128  and separating from the lower layer  124 . 
     It is understood that the shoe wrap  120  may include only a lower layer  124  and an upper layer  128  (alternative construction not shown). So long as the spike elements  114  are not too long, they will pass into and through the upper layer  128  and interact partially with the lower layer  124  while still being separated from a ground surface by the lower layer  128 . 
     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.