Patent Publication Number: US-3874100-A

Title: Hygenic foot protector

Description:
O Unlted States Patent 11 1 1111 3,874,100 Schwitters 5] Apr. 1, 1975 [54] HYGENIC FOOT PROTECTOR 2,747,30l 5/1956 Crane 36/9 A 3,070,908 l/l963 Lipare 36/1 1.5 [76] lnvemorigg w a &#39;fi 3,228,124 l/1966 Schwarz 36/1 1.5  
 [22] Filed: Jan. 23, 1974 Primary E.\&#39;amine/&#39;Patrick D, Lawson [211 pp No 435 922 Arwrney, Agent, or Firm-Allison C. Collard 57 AB TR T [52] US. Cl. 36/115, 36/9 A S AC 511 Int. Cl. A43b 3/12, A43b 1/02 A hygemc foot Protector Such as a Sandal comprlsmg [58] Field Of Search 36/9 A, 11.5, 9 R a one or two Piece Sole and a fastening means Consisting of an annular ring connected to the sole. Snap fas- [56] References Cited teners can also be included on the fastening means UNITED STATES PATENTS and the foot protector can be constructed of celluloid, 7 H9 M9 Judkim 6/ A plastic, paper, coated paper or paper pulp. 2:669:636 2/1954 Israel 36/! 1.5  
 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures HYGENIC FOOT PROTECTOR The present invention relates to a hygenic foot protector and in particular. a sandal.  
  In places where a lot of people congregate. such as hotels. club houses of sporting clubs. shower and wash rooms in barracks and hospitals. saunas and public bath houses. and the people are required to walk barefoot. many times it is unavoidable that dirt and germs are present. However. by wearing shoes. one could prevent foot infections. However. in many cases. it is not feasable to wear shoes. or is it even permitted to do so.  
  The present invention provides a foot protection which can be used to prevent foot infections. and can be manufactured in large numbers. In the invention. the sole and the supporting means consist of cellulose material based on celluloid material. The use of this type of material has the advantageous that the sandal can be made at a low cost and can be discarded after use. There is no problem of discarding the used sandals because the material will decompose in a natural way. Even when the sandals are burnt. no obnoxious or other damaging fumes are produced. A sandal can be made of a sole which has two strip-like ends that can be secured together by a fastening means. In this fashion. the manufacturing and distribution (such as packing. storing. shipping. and selling) are advantageous and cheap. To connect the two ends of the sole. suitable connecting elements can be used. such as fastening buttons. (snap fasteners). or self adhering strips at both of the ends of the sole.  
  A particularly simple and therefore cost saving foot protection can be obtained by providing a one layer sole with which the sole connecting element is joined. A simple one layer foot protector can be provided in that the sole can be attached to the fastening means.  
  The sandal may also consist of a walking sole and a foot sole which are made of plates or material sheets punched out of corresponding material. The fastening means may be in form of a strip having their ends bonded together. It is also possible to bond the fastening means in a closed annular strip having one end bonded to the one layer sole.  
  The sandal may also consist of a walking sole and a foot sole which are punched out of corresponding sheet material. The soles are bonded together and the fastening means is placed therehetween. The fastening means preferably may be in one closed ring. These types of sandals can be packed in pairs and made available in large numbers in front of public bath houses. shower rooms and saunas.  
  In a further emlmdimcnt of this invention. the sandal can he made of ware proof material. The material is such that one can wear these sandals 1 2 hours in water. Hence. it is quite obvious that no shower or bath takes any longer. so that the sandals will last. However. if the sandal dissolves. it can be disposed of and replaced with a new one.  
  The material for the sandals may be made of paper having a thin layer of artificial material. The paper used for this purpose does not dissolve fora certain time period. The artificial layer may be so thin at certain places that this layer is removed by friction. so that water and air have access to the paper and effect the dissolving of the paper at these places. These types of sandals may he used as so called disposable sandals.  
  A particular device is made of a combination of paper and fiber pulp. The material made of paper pulp is covered with a water resistant upper layer. The use of paper or fiber pulp makes it possible to produce the sandals in large quantities. Thus. a preformed fixed form can be submerged into the paper pulp. For faster hardening of the pulp. the form can be heated.  
  The durability of the sandals can be improved by adding strengthening fibers in the material. The strengthening fibers may be made of artificial fibers which run longitudinally and/or laterally. thus forming a network-like structure.  
  In another embodiment of the invention. manufacturing costs can be saved in that the contours of the sandal and its associated fastening means are stamped out of a roll of foil material.  
  The separating lines in the foil for the sandals may be perforated so that the individual parts may be removed from the roll of foil material. As already outlined. the contour may correspond to the sole from which the two fastening means extend. and can be bent upwardly and connected with each other at their ends. thus forming a fastening means for the foot. To connect these two ends. they may be fitted with connecting elements. These connecting elements may be self adhering layers which are covered with a known removable foil material. The connecting elements may also consist of snap fasteners. whereby each end of the fastening element is provided with one positive and one negative snap button. These snap fasteners may also he provided separately. whereby the fastening means are provided with openings for the snap buttons. However. any other conccivable fastening connection is possible and may be used. The stamped out foot protector on which is stamped out on a roll of foil may be made available in front of bath houses. showers. and hotel rooms. with the foil being rolled up in a corresponding support.  
  The sandal may consist of a running or walking sole. and a foot sole. whereby the contour of both soles. and the fastening means are stamped in a roll of foil as discussed before. A plurality ofdifferent foot sizes may be stamped out adjacent to each other. so as to accommodate the different foot sizes. These may be available on rolled up foil material. which on one side. are provided with a self adhering layer. As a fastening means. a perforated piece of foil material extending from the sole may be provided. In this fashion. a sandal may be formed so that the self adhering portions are pressed against each other. and the fastening means is mounted between the sole portion. The fastening means are preferably not provided with a self adhering layer. Therefore. the fastening means do not have to be formed in the same foil material together with the sole portions. For example. two different types of foil rolls may be provided wherein one has a one sided adhering layer for the soles and one has a fastening means which is not provided with an adhering layer. As already mentioned. material which is exceptionally well suited for sandals of this type is a material which is based on celluloid. Also paper or similar material may be used because it is not particularly water resistant. and particularly suitable for hotel rooms.  
  In cases where the sandal comes into contact with water. for example. in shower rooms and saunas. it is advisable to use plastic material for the sandals. The  
 paper material may also be made water resistant by a layer of plastic material.  
  Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which disclose the embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits and scope of the invention.  
  In the drawings wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:  
  FIG. 1 shows a sandal with two sole portions and a ring-like fastening portion;  
  FIG. 2 shows a partly rolled out web of foil with perforated contours of a sandal;  
  FIG. 3 shows a ready made sandal according to FIG.  
  FIG. 4 shows sandal coutours with sole portions and fastening means in a partly rolled out foil; and  
  FIG. 5 shows a partly made sandal according to FIG. 4.  
  Referring to FIG. I, there is shown a sandal consisting of a sole and the fastening means 1. The sole consists of foot sole 2 and walking sole 3. When the entire whole sandal is made, the walking sole and the foot may be bonded together by putting the fastening means in between.  
  In FIG. 2, an outline 5 of sandal contour 6 is stamped into a web of foil by perforation. Laterally extending stripelike flaps 7 carry fastening elements at their ends, such as snap buttons 8.  
  FIG. 3 shows a ready made sandal which is separated from the foil material 4 shown in FIG. 2 and formed by bending the strip-like flaps upwardly. A bonding layer 9 is provided for connecting the respective ends of the flaps.  
  FIG. 4 shows a partly rolled out web of foil material 10, wherein the contour of the sole is indicated by perforations. The fastening means 12 extends from the superimposed sole portions 11. On the lower portion of the sole, the foil material is provided with a bonding layer 13, on which a cover foil 14 is provided which can be peeled off.  
  As can be seen from FIG. 5, the sole portions which are removed from the web of foil 10, as shown in FIG. 4, are released from the cover foil 14 and are pressed together with their respective bonding layers 13 so that portion 12 can be bend annularly, and inserted between the sole portions before the same are bonded together.  
  While only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.  
 What is claimed is:  
  l. A hygenic foot protector such as a sandal comprismg:  
 a foot sole for supporting the foot of the user;  
 a walking sole adhesively secured to the foot sole for contact with a supporting surface; and  
 an endless annular ring constructed of a continuous strip of material bonded between said foot sole and said walking sole to receive the foot of the user, said soles and said ring being constructed of a disposable paper product.  
  2. The hygenic foot protector as recited in claim I wherein the disposable paper product is water resistent.  
  3. The hygenic foot protector as recited in claim 1 wherein the disposable paper product is provided with a water resistent surface.  
  4. The hygenic foot protector as recited in claim 1 wherein strengthening threads are inserted into the disposable paper product.