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Patent Searching and Data


Title:
DISPOSABLE SWEATING PROTECTION FOR FOOTWEAR
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/1997/032498
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The invention relates to a disposable absorbent protection to be attached to shoes, particularly to ladies' open shoes, which for attaching purpose is provided with a tape and tape cover. The object of the invention is to form an absorbent protection to absorb the moisture produced when sweating, and to prevent chafing of the shoe. To implement said aim, the protection comprises a main part (1) having the shape of an insole, and side wings (2u, 2s; 2k) integral with the main part and releasable therefrom along weakening lines (3u, 3s; 3k) conforming to the contour of the main part on both sides of said main part and/or in the tip part and/or in the heel part, while the side wings are attached to the main part along a short distance only, and extending in the form of tongues of appropriate shape, preferably in both directions, so that the side wings attached to the inside of the upper part of the shoe cover substantially the entire edge zone limited to the sole part of the shoe. The protection is produced from an absorbent agent with a smooth surface, such as cellulose fibre.

Inventors:
JUSELIUS MIRJA (FI)
Application Number:
PCT/FI1996/000129
Publication Date:
September 12, 1997
Filing Date:
March 04, 1996
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
JUSELLES OY (FI)
JUSELIUS MIRJA (FI)
International Classes:
A43B17/10; A43B17/18; A43B19/00; (IPC1-7): A43B17/18
Foreign References:
US1585050A1926-05-18
US2048294A1936-07-21
US2288199A1942-06-30
US5404657A1995-04-11
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Claims:
Claims
1. A disposable absorbent protection to be attached to shoes, particularly to ladies' open shoes, which for attaching purposes has been provided with adhesive surfaces, characterized in that it comprises a main part (1) similar in shape to a shoe insole, and side wings (2u,2c;2k) integral with the main part and detachable therefrom along weakening lines (3u,3s;3k) conforming to the contour of the main part on both sides of said main part and/or in the tip part and/or in the heel part, and that the side wings are attached to the main part only at a short distance, extending in the form of tongues of appropriate shape, preferably in both directions so that the side wings attached to the inside of the upper part of the shoe cover substantially the entire edge zone limited to the sole part of the shoe, and that the protection is smooth in surface, and comprises an absorbent agent, such as cellulose fibre.
2. Protection according to claim 1, characterized in that it has been made from laminate comprising a coating with a smooth surface and an absorbent inner part, such as soft tissue, and possibly a plastic layer, said laminate surface being adhesive or comprising adhesive agents, and the adhesive areas being covered with a release cover.
3. Protection according to claim l or 2, characterized in that the adhesive areas are stringformed areas, surrounding the main part (l) and the side wings (2u,2s; 2k) .
4. Protection according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the adhesive areas are formed of a tape string (4) arranged in the middle of the main part (1) , and respectively, arcuate tape strings (6u,6s;6k) arranged on the inner edge areas of the side wings.
5. Protection according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pair of protection comprises a left¬ side and a rightside protection.
6. Protection according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has been handled with an agent to re¬ fresh the feet, suchas a germkiller and/or the like.
Description:
Disposable sweating protection for footwear

The present invention relates to a sweating protection for footwear, determined more specifically, a disposable absorbent protection to be attached to ladies' open shoes, said protec¬ tion being provided with a tape for fixing.

In the summer when the ladies do not often wear any stockings, their feet sweat in more or less covering shoes, and the shoes become wet and chafe the feet. In order to relieve the chafing problem, protections made from nylon have been developed, so- called open-shoe socks to be put on the feet. However, they do not remain firmly on the feet, neither do they remove the problems caused by sweating.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a better protection than the shoe protection known in the art and which will eliminate the drawbacks caused by the sweating feet. According to the present invention, this is implemented by means of a sweating protection for shoes, the characteristic features thereof being presented in the characteristic features' part of the accompanying claim 1.

Accordingly, the protection of the invention comprises a main part being of the shape of a shoe insole, and side wings in¬ tegral therewith on both sides of the main part and/or in the main part and/or tip part. The side wings can be detached along a weakening line. The weakening line conforms to the contour of the main part. The side wings are fixed to the main part merely at a relatively short distance and they extend, advantageously in both directions, in the form of tongues, their shape being such that when attached to the inner surface of the upper part of the shoe, they cover substantially the entire edge zone limited to the sole part of the shoe. The protection is smooth on the surface and it contains absorbent material, such as cellulose fibre.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pro¬ tection is produced from a laminate in which the top surface is smooth and the inner part is absorbent, being made e.g. of soft tissue, and possibly provided with a plastic layer. The surface of the laminate is adhesive or contains adhesive areas. The ad-hesive areas are covered with a release cover.

According to another preferred embodiment, the adhesive areas are string-like in shape surrounding the main part and the side wings.

According to another preferred embodiment, being simpler to produce, the adhesive areas are formed from tape strings, of which one is arranged in the middle of the main part extend substantially across the entire length thereof, and the others are arcuate tapes positioned on the inner edge areas of the side wings. The tapes are covered with a release cover.

According to a further embodiment, the protection pair com- prises a left-side and a right-side protection.

The protection has preferredly been handled with an agent to refresh the feet, such as talcum or menthol, or a germ-killer, or equivalent.

The protection of the invention is preferably produced from a similar material as ladies' thin sanitary towels or pants' protection. A laminate may also be used as a production material, the surface of which touching the feet is smooth and comprising an absorbent agent inside it and additionally a thin plastic insulation. The adhesive areas are provided on the side facing the shoe either in the form of adhesive tape strings or as an adhesive layer covering the entire surface protected with a layer of release cover paper. Most preferably the protections are punched from a laminate not requiring closing of the edge, as in sanitary towels.

For shoes of different sizes and shapes, punching of different shapes is used. Hereby, not only the shape of the protection varies, but especially also the shape of the side wings, with the purpose of providing a protection edge zone being as complete as possible, without any wrinkles and folds. The coverage of the side wings is dependent on their shape and especially on their arcuatedness and length.

A sweating protection with a soft surface feels very nice against a bare foot. It prevents chafing and absorbs moisture, whereby the foot remains dry and in good condition. It also prevents the foot from being miscoloured, which is very common when shoes with dyed lining are worn.

The protection is easy to fit in place. The cover paper of the adhesive areas is removed, the main part of the protection is attached to the sole part of the shoe, whereafter the side wings are attached to the sides of the shoe, to the heel part, and perhaps to the tip part. If a shoe with an open heel is in question, the side wing of the main part is torn off. Respec¬ tively, if the shoe to be protected is open in the toes or on the inner side, the respective parts are detached from the protection.

Since attaching the protection to a shoe is simple and the price is low due to low material costs and uncomplicated pro¬ duction method, the protection is a typical disposable product which can be replaced, if needed, even several times a day. The protection may also be used with socks and stockings, in which case it absorbs further moisture, makes the contact between the shoe and the foot smoother, prevents the sock or stocking from being miscoloured because of dyeing shoes, etc.

A preferred embodiment of a sweating protection of the invention is presented below, reference being made to the accompanying figure presenting the protection on top of the blank, with the side facing the shoe being turned up.

The blank is a protection for a right-foot shoe provided with tape strings. The main part thereof is indicated with reference numeral 1, the side wing on the outer side with numeral 2u, and the side wing on the inner side with numeral 2s. The side wing of the heel part is indicated with numeral 2k. The tip lacks a side wing. One may see in the figure that the punched weakening lines 3u,3s, respectively 3k, are rather short. At the end points of the weakening lines 3u and 3s, the side wings 2u and 2s of the side edges extend as arcuate tongues. This shape emables the protection to form substantially an intact inner lining on the inner surface of the shoe without any wrinkles and folds. If needed, excessive parts can be torn off from the tongues. The outer edge of the side wing 2k in the heel part is slightly arcuate whereas the edges extending from the weakening line 3k are relatively straight. Hereby, the side wing of the heel conforms well against the inner wall of the heel part of the shoe.

The main part 1 of the protection is provided with an elongated tape 4, the cover paper whereof being indicated with numeral 5. The side wings 2u and 2s are provided with arcuate tapes 6u and 6s and cover papers 7u and 7s thereof . The heel part is respectively provided with a tape 6k and a cover paper 7k thereof .