Patent Publication Number: US-2009236377-A1

Title: Boot-jacks

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to boot-jacks, that is jacks for removing boots or like footwear. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Known jacks for use in removing ski-boots are awkward to use. 
     THE INVENTION 
     The present inventor has realised that the awkwardness with prior jacks is that, to remove both boots, difficult movements, positions and changes of position are required, and this can be ameliorated by, in effect combining two jacks, one for each foot. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a jack for use in removing one&#39;s feet from a pair of boots or other footwear items, each having a rearward, upward-facing shoulder, the jack comprising a base portion upon which the footwear items encasing the feet can be placed side by side, and two engagement means arranged side by side towards the rear of the base portion, each adapted to engage over a said shoulder of a respective said item placed as aforesaid to the front of the engagement means, the base portion and both engagement means together being of a sheet-like form with the engagement means having the form of being bent up from the base portion. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a jack for use in removing one&#39;s feet from a pair of boots or other footwear items, each having a rearward, upward-facing shoulder, the jack comprising a base portion upon which the footwear items encasing the feet can be placed side by side, and two engagement means arranged side by side to the base portion, each adapted to engage over a said shoulder of a respective said item placed as aforesaid to the front of the engagement means, and each being spaced a substantial distance from the front of the base portion whereby a foot in one said item can be used to hold down the base portion while the other foot is pulled up to remove it from the other said item, the base portion and both engagement means together being of a sheet-like form with the engagement means having the form of being bent up from the base portion. 
     Each engagement means is adapted to engage over a said shoulder. This is to engage over a shoulder of a respective one of a pair, of said boots or other footwear, when placed on said base. The rearward shoulder (i.e. to the rear) of e.g. a ski-boot faces backwards, so that the engagement means for this embodiment face forwards. 
     The jack may have any one or more of the following features:
         the base is plate-like.   the engagement means define a recess directed towards the location for the footwear to fit over a said shoulder. This arrangement is adapted for the two feet to be placed substantially parallel to each other, rather than with the two feet pointing in divergent directions.   the recess is curved to accommodate the heel of the footwear.   the recess is substantially semicircular.   the engagement means have rounded corners.   the engagement means are plate-like.   a single monolithic member comprises said base and said engagement means.   said member is of sheet-like form.   said form has a U-shape with a long arm to provide said base and a short arm to provide said engagement means.   said member is of metal, e.g. steel.   said member is of plastics material, e.g. moulded.   said member is of thermoplastic plastics material.   said material comprises polycarbonate.   said material comprises ABS (acrilonitrile-butadiene styrene).   said material comprises PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol), e.g. with a 70% admixture of polycarbonate.   said member is injection-moulded and/or is made by thermoforming.   said base has a non-slip upper surface portion.   comprising security means.   comprising floor-fixing means.   said floor-fixing means comprise aperture means in said base.   the base has a handle at an end opposite to the engagement means.   the handle is suitable to use as means by which to hang up the jack.   the handle is formed in the sheet-like form   comprising means to enable elevation of the jack to an angled position to enable seated removal of the footwear. Such means may be integral with the jack or a separate means, e.g. a wedge, forming part of a kit of parts therewith.   the width of said base is substantially equal to that of a pair of said footwear placed side by side.   the width of said base is in the range of from 15 to 30 cm.   the width of said base is in the range of from 20 to 25 cm.   which has a length equal to substantially the length of the intended footwear. Alternatively, it is possible to have it substantially shorter, down to about half this length, and still be able to use it by pressing with one heel (instead of with one whole foot) to release the other boot.   it can be folded, preferably across its length, to facilitate (e.g. by reducing its size) portability.   it is formed as (preferably two) interengageable parts that can be disengaged to facilitate portability.   in which said parts have tongue-and-groove means by which they can be interengaged. These means may extend transversely of the jack but preferably extend longitudinally. They may be a press-fit, so that the parts engage by being pressed together, or a slide fit if the means extend only along a straight stretch of the base.   said parts are substantially identical, e.g. to facilitate manufacture.   comprises connecting means to interconnect said parts, which means is part of connecting and/or reinforcing means which comprise recess means to accommodate a connecting and/or reinforcing member and such member.       

     Another aspect of the invention provides any such jack in combination with a pair of footwear items intended for use with the jack. This may be a jack in which the spacing between said base portion and a said engagement means is substantially equal to the distance between a said shoulder and the bottom of the adjacent part of the respective said footwear item. 
     Another aspect of the invention provides a jack member comprising a base portion and engagement means arranged to the rear of the base portion, the base portion and engagement means together being of a sheet-like form with the engagement means having the form of being bent up from the base portion, and connecting means to connect the jack member side by side to another such member to form any such jack as aforesaid. This can be used for removing boots or other footwear having a heel with an upward and backward facing shoulder. 
     Such a member may have any one or more of the following features:
         said connecting means comprise part of tongue-and-groove means.   said connecting means comprise part of tongue-and-groove means along one side of said base and a complementary-shaped part of such tongue-and-groove means along an opposite side of said base.   said connecting means is part of connecting and/or reinforcing means which comprise recess means to accommodate a connecting and/or reinforcing member.       

     Another aspect of the invention provides a kit of parts for any such jack, comprising a pair of jack members, each being a jack member as aforesaid. 
     jack comprising a pair of jack members each separately as aforesaid. 
     A further aspect of the invention provides a jack comprising a pair of jack members each separately as aforesaid and a connecting and/or reinforcing member adapted to be accommodated by both members at once to hold them together. 
     In preferred embodiments:
         The base, e.g. as a plate, is made sufficiently wide and long to allow the user to stand with both feet on the jack (wearing a pair of the footwear) whilst using the pressure, or weight of the body, on one foot to hold down the jack and allow leverage (opposed forces, down and up respectively, by the two feet) by the wearer to pull the other foot out of its boot, shoe or other footwear. The rear hook-like form of the engagement means or grip has an elevation allowing enough height for the shoulder of a boot, shoe or other footwear heel to be inserted therein to be engaged or gripped. The hook-like grip has two curved insets (to provide the respective engagement means) cut out to allow the back of the boot, shoe or other footwear to be gripped for extra stability when leveraging the foot out of the same. The base plate and rounded grip are made out of a single piece, preferably a single moulding, to allow for increased durability and reduced complexity in manufacturing. The surface of the base plate is made non-slip to avoid accidents. There is a hole to provide a handle to facilitate portability. There may be provided a retractable, integrated or separate frame, member or other means to enable angled positioning of the base (with the back lower than the front) to facilitate seated boot removal if required. There may be provided a fixing mechanism to allow the device to be fixed to the floor if required, for security purposes and/or to aid the leverage.   Although primarily designed for ski boots, the jack device can be used more broadly for walking boots, wellingtons and shoes—the dimensions may change slightly.   The device is thus used to assist in the removal of boots or shoes but mainly ski boots, using double U-shaped insets on the raised rear ridge of the device to grip the heel of the boot or shoe, whilst applying downward pressure on the footplate with one foot, to allow the other foot to be leveraged from the boot or shoe. This is a mobile (portable) device which is mainly used when the wearer is standing. The device can also or alternatively be used for seated boot or shoe removal (i.e. when the wearer is sitting), e.g. in an angled position, or fixed to the floor for security (or added leverage) if required. For seated removal, wedge-shaped or other means are utilised to support the toe end of the device raised above its heel end.   The device has two U-shaped insets instead of one. It can have a full foot plate for stability, allowing removal from each foot by just bending the knee and leaning forward onto the weight-bearing other foot. It uses weight applied by one foot to leverage the other foot out of the boot, with the position of one foot possibly being slightly in front of the other. It is simpler and less technical to manufacture than prior jacks and can therefore be cheaper. It is basically a portable/mobile device, that does not need to be fixed to the floor but can be if this is required, e.g. for security purposes. It allows for space on the base plate to enable the feet to be placed one foot slightly in front of the other during operation, for extra stability.   A retractable, integrated or separate frame or other means may be used for elevation to an angled position to enable seated boot (or other footwear) removal.   The material used for the jack should be a durable, light material enabling a single mould to be used to form the main device, allowing for portability and ease of production. The material and/or design have to be suitable for the device to withstand the envisaged stresses. Because of the upward stress on the rear curve, the device (or at least the curved part thereof) may need to be re-inforced, e.g. lined (e.g. inside the curve) with a suitable metal, e.g. steel, to prevent the device from fracturing at the curve; it should preferably then be coated with plastics. Also, the material should be washable for ease of maintenance and hygiene.       

     Without using this jack (i.e. not according to the invention), the following method would be used to remove a ski boot:
         Loosen all clips and bindings   Lever forward the front lip of the boot   Press down with the hand on the back, upward-facing lip of the boot   Leverage foot forward and up—which often requires twisting your back into an uncomfortable position if executed whilst standing   Or sitting down, crossing legs and pushing the back of the boot away from the calf to lever the foot out of the boot.       

     The present embodiments enable one to take the boot off without having to apply the pressure with the hand to the back of the boot, which often requires twisting one&#39;s back into an uncomfortable position, whilst leveraging the knee forward and the foot upwards, and therefore allow one just to bend forward after the foot has been extracted and remove the boot from the device. 
     A further aspect of the invention provides a method of removing a pair of boots or other footwear items each having a rearward, upward-facing shoulder, in which method there is used a jack comprising a base portion and two engagement means arranged to the rear of the base portion, the base portion and both engagement means together being of a sheet-like form with the engagement means having the form of being bent up from the base portion, said items are placed side by side on the jack and each engagement means is engaged over a said shoulder and the foot pulled out of that item of the pair. 
     A further aspect of the invention provides a method of removing a pair of boots or other footwear items each having a rearward, upward-facing shoulder, in which method there is used a jack comprising a base portion and two engagement means arranged to the rear of the base portion, the base portion and both engagement means together being of a sheet-like form with the engagement means having the form of being bent up from the base portion, said items are placed side by side on the jack to the front of the engagement means and each engagement means in turn is engaged over a said shoulder of a respective said item and the foot pulled out of that item of the pair while pressing against the base portion with the other foot. 
     While each engagement means in turn is engaged over a said shoulder and the foot pulled out of that item of the pair, this is preferably done while holding down the jack by means of the other foot placed on said base. Preferably, the feet are placed side by side on said base for the extraction. Preferably, the extraction of each foot is performed without the use of the hands, e.g. using a wall or car boot to lean on or for extra support. Preferably, the total extraction of both feet is performed without the use of the hands, apart from possibly to remove from the base an item of said pair from which its foot has been extracted. Alternatively, the two engagement means are used simultaneously, and the jack is held down by some other means, e.g. by the hands (e.g. by using ski-sticks) or by a connection to the floor, e.g. with floor bolts, and e.g. each foot is withdrawn in turn from its footwear. 
    
    
     
       PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION RELATING TO THE DRAWINGS 
       Reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 1A  is a side view of the  FIG. 1  embodiment, in use; 
         FIG. 1B  is a side view of the  FIG. 1  embodiment, in a tilted position for seated withdrawal; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view of the  FIG. 1  embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a variation of the  FIG. 1  embodiment; 
         FIGS. 4 ,  5  and  6  are partial and complete side views of the  FIG. 3  embodiment showing how it may be collapsed for carrying; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of another variation of the  FIG. 1  embodiment; and 
         FIG. 8  is a partial side view of the  FIG. 7  embodiment showing how it may be assembled. 
     
    
    
     Referring to the drawings, the dimensions  10 ,  30 ,  40 ,  60 ,  70 ,  100 ,  240 ,  340  are 10, 30, 40, 50, 70, 100, 240, 340 mm respectively. 
     A jack  12  for removing ski-boots  14  having a rearward, upward-facing shoulder  16 , comprises a base  18  and two engagement means  20  each adapted to engage over a said shoulder  16  of a respective one of a pair of said boots  14  when placed on said base  18 . The rearward shoulder  16 , i.e. to the rear of the ski-boot  14  faces backwards, so that the engagement means  20  face forwards. 
     The boots  14  each have a heel  22  with an upward and backward facing shoulder  16 . Feet encased in the footwear  14  can be located side by side on the base  18 , as seen in  FIG. 2 , and two engagement means  20 ,  20  engage over said shoulders  16  and are mounted side by side to the base  18 , facing towards the location for the footwear  14 . 
     The base  18  is plate-like. The engagement means  20  define a recess  202  directed (opening) towards the location  24  for the footwear  14 , in order to fit over a said shoulder  16 . This arrangement is adapted, as seen in  FIG. 2 , for the two feet placed in footwear items  14 ,  14  to be placed substantially parallel to each other, rather than with the two feet pointing in divergent directions. The recess  202  is curved to accommodate the heel  22  of each item  14 . The recess  202  is substantially semicircular. The engagement means  20  are plate-like; they may have rounded corners  26 ,  FIG. 3 , the rounded corners of being of very small radius, e.g. 2-3 mm, to avoid sharp corners that could damage the ski-boots, since the larger the radius the less effective the grip on the boot by means  20 . The jack  12  is formed so that a single monolithic member  28  comprises said base  18  and said engagement means  20 . The member  28  is of sheet-like form. This form has a U-shape (as seen clearly in  FIGS. 1A and 6 ) with a long arm  18  to provide said base  18  and a short arm  20  to provide said engagement means  20 . Said member  28  is of injection-moulded of thermoplastic plastics material, comprising a polycarbonate. Preferably, said material comprises ABS (acrilonitrile-butadiene styrene) or PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol) with a substantial, e.g. 70%, admixture of polycarbonate. 
     Said base  18  has a non-slip upper surface portion  32 , and comprises security means  34  in the form of floor-fixing means  34  comprising aperture means  34  in said base whereby base  18  can be secured by screws (not shown) to the floor (not shown). The base  18  also has a handle  36  at its end opposite to the engagement means  20 . The handle  36  is suitable to use as means  36  by which to hang up the jack  12 . The jack  12  comprises means  38  to enable elevation of the jack  12  to an angled position, as shown in  FIG. 1B , to enable seated removal of the footwear  14 . As shown, such means  38  are integral with the jack  12 , being in the form of sturdy struts  38 , preferably of metal or the same hard plastics material as the rest of the device  12 , hinged at points  42  to base  18 , retracting into slots  44  in the bottom of base  18 , and provided with stops  46  to prevent them from opening out too far from base  18 . 
     The width  240  of said base  18  is substantially equal to that of a pair of said footwear  14  placed side by side, as seen in  FIG. 2 , which is substantially to scale, which also shows that jack  12  has a length  340  equal to substantially the length of the intended footwear. 
     Jack  12 ,  FIG. 3 , can be folded across its length in order to facilitate (by reducing its size) portability of jack  12 . For this purpose, base  18  has a split  48 , seen more clearly in  FIG. 4 , and a hinge  50  (which may alternatively be formed integrally as a folding portion of the material of base  18  if this material has suitable properties) joining together the resulting two parts  181  and  182  of base  18  so that part  182  can be folded down, initially as seen in  FIG. 5  and then to the position seen in  FIG. 6  for carrying. 
     Alternatively, jack  12 ,  FIG. 7  is formed as two interengageable parts  183 ,  184  that can be disengaged to facilitate portability. These parts  183 ,  184  have tongue-and-groove means  52 ,  54 , see more clearly in  FIG. 8 , by which they can be interengaged. These parts  183 ,  184  extend longitudinally of the jack  12 , including its curved portion that forms engagement means  20 . For this purpose, tongue  52  can be pressed sideways into groove  54  so that parts  183 ,  184  are a press-fit, i.e. the parts  183 ,  184  mutually engage by being pressed together sideways. Alternatively, if tongue-and-groove means  52 ,  54  extend only along a straight stretch of the base, from the toe end  185  to point  186 , they can be slid together longitudinally to form a slide-fit. Said parts  183 ,  184  are made mutually identical in order to facilitate manufacture. 
     In the embodiments of  FIGS. 3 to 8 , the jack  12  also comprises connecting and/or reinforcing means  56  to interconnect said parts  181 ,  182  or  183 ,  184 , which means  56  comprise a connecting and/or reinforcing member  562  and recess means  561  to accommodate member  562 . 
     The jack  12  may be sold in combination with a pair of footwear  14  to use with the jack  12 . 
     The jack member  183  or  184  (for use in removing boots or other footwear  14  having a heel  22  with an upward- and backward-facing shoulder  16 ) comprises a base  18  upon which a foot encased in the footwear  14  can be placed, and heel-gripping means  20  mounted to the base  18 , the member  183  or  184  having means  52 ,  54  to connect it side by side to another such member  184  or  183 , respectively to form a jack  12  as described above in relation to  FIG. 7 . Said connecting means  52 ,  54  comprise part  52  of tongue-and-groove means  52 ,  54  along one side of said base  18  and a complementary-shaped part  54  of such tongue-and-groove means  52 ,  54  along an opposite side of said base  18 . Preferably, said connecting and/or reinforcing means  52 ,  54 ,  56  comprise recess means  561  to accommodate connecting and/or reinforcing member  562 . The member  562  is adapted to be accommodated by both members  183 ,  184  at once to hold them together as well as re-inforce the combination of held-together members  183 ,  184 . Thus, the jack  12  may be sold in the form of a kit of parts comprising a pair of jack members  183 ,  184 . 
     Thus, there is employed a method of removing a pair of boots or other footwear items  14  each having a rearward, upward-facing shoulder  16 , in which method there is used a jack  12  comprising a base  18  and two engagement means  20 , and each engagement means  20  in turn is engaged over a said shoulder  16  (by placing each boot  14  in turn with its heel  22  in to one or other recess  202  of engagement means  20  so that its shoulder  16  engages under the edge defining recess  202 ) and the foot pulled out of that item  14  of the pair. This is done while holding down the jack  12  by means of the other foot placed on said base  18 . The feet are placed side by side on said base  18  for the extraction. The extraction of each foot is performed without the use of the hands; and the total extraction of both feet is performed without the use of the hands, apart from possibly to remove from the base  18  an item  14  of said pair from which its foot has been extracted.