Patent Publication Number: US-5832632-A

Title: Wading boot construction

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of wading boots in general, and in particular to an oversized wading boot having a shoe attachment system. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,067,260; 4,713,895; 1,877,080; and 3,574,958, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse overboot style wading boots. 
     While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical way to insure that a positive engagement exists between the user&#39;s boot or foot and the bottom or boot portion of a user&#39;s wader. 
     As anyone who has traversed marshland or soft mudflats is all too painfully aware, these areas are extremely difficult to traverse due to the &#34;boot sucking&#34; effect encountered therein wherein the users foot is withdrawn relative to the wading boot which is held captive by the vacuum effect created by the mud and water. 
     As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved type of wading and/or overboot that has a special provision to lift the bottom of the wader simultaneously and in conjunction with the lifting of the user&#39;s foot and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly stated, the improved wading boot construction that forms the basis of the present invention comprises in general, a reinforced sole unit that is operatively secured to the interior sole portion of a wading boot or overboot and a strap unit which is operatively secured to the reinforced sole unit to immobilize the user&#39;s foot and/or shoe relative to the reinforced sole unit. 
     As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, in both the preferred and alternate versions of this invention, at least one side of each wading boot is provided with an enlarged tongue element to permit the user to gain easy access to the strap unit so that the strap unit may be secured over the top of the user&#39;s foot and/or shoe. 
     In this manner, as the user attempts to lift their foot out of the mud or muck, the strap unit will hold the bottom of the user&#39;s foot and/or shoe tightly against the sole unit such that the bottom of the wading boot becomes an extension of the sole of the user&#39;s foot to break the vacuum forces acting against the outside surface of the wading boot. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other attributes of the invention will become more clear upon a thorough study of the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention, particularly when reviewed in conjunction with the drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved wading boot construction that forms the basis of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an isolated detail view of one portion of the strap unit; 
     FIG. 3 is a transparent perspective view of the boot construction; 
     FIG. 4 is an isolated detail view of the tongue closure arrangement; and 
     FIG. 5 is an isolated detail view of the sole unit and the strap unit. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particularly to FIG. 1, the improved wading boot construction that forms the basis of the present invention is designated generally by the reference number 10. The construction 10 comprises in general, an outer boot unit 11 having an external tongue unit 12, an internal sole reinforcing unit 13, and a securing strap unit 14. These units will now be described in seriatim fashion. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the outer boot unit 11 comprises a generally conventional boot member 20 having a reinforced sole portion 21 secured to a rubberized upper boot portion 22. At least one side of the upper portion 22 is provided with an external tongue unit 12. 
     The external side tongue unit 12 comprises in general, an overlapping flap 24 of the upper boot portion 22 wherein one side of the flap 24 is provided with a plurality of strap elements 25 and the other side of the flap 24 is provided with a like plurality of fastening members 26 which are dimensioned to captively engage the strap element 25. The flap terminates in the vicinity of the arch of the sole portion 21. 
     As can best be seen by reference to FIG. 4, each of the fastening members 26 of the preferred embodiment comprise a loop element 27 dimensioned to receive the free end 25&#39; of the strap elements 25. The free end 25&#39; of the strap element 25 and the adjacent portion of the boot upper portion 22 are provided with hook and loop fasteners 28. 
     It should be noted at this juncture that not only may any type of adjustable fastening member 26 be substituted for the arrangement herein described, but that the primary reason for the side positioning of the tongue unit 12 is to provide additional access to the arch portion of the user&#39;s foot and/or footwear when disposed within the outer boot unit 11 as will be explained presently. 
     Turning now to FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, it can be seen that the internal sole reinforcing unit 13 comprises a generally rigid sole insert member 30 which is fixedly secured to the interior surface 29 of the sole portion 21 of the boot member 20 by conventional fastening means 31 such as screws, adhesives, or the like. 
     Still referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, it can be seen that the securing strap unit 14 comprises an internal strap member 40 which is fixedly secured on one end 41 to the rigid sole insert member 30 proximate the arch portion 32 of the sole insert member 30. In addition, the strap member 40 has a free end 42 which is adapted to be received by a buckle element 43 which is disposed on a short strap segment 44 for securing the strap unit 14 over the user&#39;s footwear 100 in a well recognized fashion. 
     As was mentioned previously, the wading boot construction 10 which forms the basis of the present invention allows the user to easily insert a boot or other footwear 100 into the confines of the boot member 20 when the side tongue unit 12 is disposed in its open position. Then, once the footwear 100 is positioned within the boot member 20, the user will secure the strap member 40 over the footwear 100 to firmly engage the footwear 100 with the reinforced sole unit 13 and by extension, the bottom of the wading boot member 20. 
     Once the wading boot construction 10 is properly deployed and the tongue closure straps 25 secured, the user can readily traverse &#34;boot sucking&#34; terrain with confidence since the user&#39;s feet will be immobilized within the boot member 20 and all of the force exerted to extract the boot will be applied to the sole 21 of the boot as opposed to the boot upper 22. 
     Although only an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims. 
     In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. Thus, although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooded parts together, whereas, a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures.