Shoe with concealed gaiter fasteners

Abstract

A shoe includes an upper with a gaiter which has a top end, a bottom end, and two opposite lateral sides interconnecting the top and bottom ends. The gaiter further includes, adjacent to the lateral sides thereof, first and second fasteners so as to place the gaiter in a closed position. A third fastener is attached to an inner surface of the gaiter between the lateral sides and between the top and bottom ends of the gaiter. A fourth fastener to interlock with the third fastener is attached to the upper adjacent to the top end of the upper. The third and fourth fasteners are therefore concealed within the gaiter and is prevented from contacting external debris, mud, sand or the like.

Description

[0001] This application is a Continuation-In-Part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/994,692 which is filed on Nov. 28, 2001 and which is pending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe which has a detachable gaiter and a concealed type fastening system to fasten the gaiter to an upper of the shoe.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] It is known in the art to provide a shoe with a gaiter which can wrap around the ankle and leg of a user for keeping debris, mud, water or the like from entering the shoe and from staining portions of the clothes of the user above the shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,911 discloses a detachable gaiter with a fastening system which includes buttons and button holes respectively provided in the gaiter and the upper so as to fasten the gaiter to the upper. A fastening belt is provided additionally so as to keep the gaiter around the ankle and the leg of the wearer. The fastening system as such is not suitable to keep water or mud from entering the shoe due to the presence of the button holes. In addition, the belt which is more or less rigid may cause the user to feel uncomfortable.

[0006] A shoe suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,573 incorporates a gaiter with hooks-and-loops fasteners (Velcro fasteners) to interengage two opposite overlapping ends of the gaiter after the gaiter is disposed around the ankle and the leg of the wearer. The shoe further includes a pouch disposed at the collar of the upper thereof to receive the gaiter and a zipper to close the pouch. In this system, since the zipper is exposed from the shoe and the pouch, the zipper can get dirty with mud and/or sand, or can even be abraded by debris, sticks or rocks when the shoe is used in hiking or hunting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] An object of this invention is to provide a shoe with a gaiter which is waterproof and which has a concealed type fastening system to fasten the gaiter to an upper of the shoe, thereby eliminating the aforesaid problems encountered with the prior art.

[0008] Accordingly, a shoe of the present invention comprises: an upper having a top open end and a bottom end; a sole connected to the bottom end; and a gaiter including a top end, a bottom end, and two opposite lateral sides interconnecting the top and bottom ends. The gaiter further includes, adjacent to the lateral sides, first and second fasteners to engage each other and to place the gaiter in a closed position. A third fastener is attached to an inner surface of the gaiter between the lateral sides and below the top end of the gaiter, the third fastener having a lower end at least as high as the bottom end of the gaiter so that the third fastener is not exposed from the gaiter when the gaiter is assembled with the upper. A fourth fastener is attached to the upper adjacent to the top end of the upper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a shoe according to the present invention, with a gaiter being in a closed state;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the gaiter of the shoe of FIG. 1;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the shoe of FIG. 1 but with the gaiter in an open state;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the shoe of FIG. 1;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a plan view of another gaiter embodying the present invention; and

[0015] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an assembly of the gaiter of FIG. 5 with a shoe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, a shoe 1 embodying the present invention is shown to include an upper 2 having a sole 3 and a gaiter 4. The gaiter 4 is made of a material, such as PVC or PU, or a fabric, and includes a top end 41, a bottom end 42, and two opposite lateral sides 43 interconnecting the top and bottom ends 41, 42. The gaiter 4 further includes first and second fasteners which are configured as hooks-and-loops fastener elements 44, i.e. Velcro fasteners, disposed adjacent to the lateral sides 43. When the gaiter 4 is placed around the ankle and leg of a wearer with the lateral sides 43 in an overlapping position, the hook-and-loop fastener elements 44 are interengaged, thus placing the gaiter 4 in a closed state as shown in FIG. 1.

[0017] A third fastener 5 is configured as a Velcro strap which has upper and lower ends 51, 52 attached to an inner surface of the gaiter 4 between the top and bottom ends 41, 42 and between the opposite lateral sides 43 of the gaiter 4. The lower end (i.e. the lowest end) 52 of the third fastener 5 is higher than the bottom end 42 of the gaiter 4.

[0018] A fourth fastener 6 is also formed as a Velcro strap to interlock with the Velcro strap of the third fastener 5. The Velcro straps of the third and fourth fasteners 5 and 6 include hook-and-loop fastener elements. The fourth fastener 6 is attached to an inner surface of the upper 2 adjacent to the top end 21 of the upper 2 without extending to the tongue 8 of the upper 2. Preferably, the upper 2 is additionally provided with a collar member 7 which extends along and inwardly of the top end 21 of the upper 2. The fourth fastener 6 is attached to the inner surface of the upper 2 and extends between the collar member 7 and the top end 21 of the upper 2, The collar member 7 serves to prevent the fourth fastener 6 from contacting the ankle of the wearer.

[0019] As mentioned above, the third and fourth fasteners 5 and 6 are attached to the inner surface of the gaiter 4 and are spaced from the bottom end 42 of the gaiter 4 so that the third and fourth fasteners 5, 6 are completely concealed within the gaiter 4. Due to the concealed third and fourth fasteners 5 and 6, the problems encountered with the conventional exposed zipper as described hereinbefore can be eliminated.

[0020] FIGS. 5 and 6 show another gaiter 4′ which embodies the present invention. The gaiter 4′ differs from the gaiter 4 in that the third fastener 5 has its lower or lowest end 52 substantially as high as the bottom end 42 of the gaiter 4′ so that the third fastener 5 is not exposed from the gaiter 4′ when the gaiter 4′ is assembled on the upper 2. In addition, the gaiter 4′ has opposite lateral sides 43 provided with first and second fasteners 44′ which are formed as zipper elements.

[0021] While the first and second fasteners 44, 44′ described hereinbefore are configured as Velcro straps and zipper elements, they may be any other suitable fasteners such as laces, snap studs, etc.

[0022] While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A shoe comprising:

an upper having a top open end, and a bottom end;

a sole connected to said bottom end;

a gaiter including a top end, a bottom end, and two opposite lateral sides interconnecting said top and bottom ends, said gaiter further including first and second fasteners attached to said gaiter adjacent to said lateral sides to engage each other and to place said gaiter in a closed position; and

third and fourth fasteners, said third fastener being attached to an inner surface of said gaiter between said lateral sides and below said top end of said gaiter, said third fastener having a lower end at least as high as said bottom end of said gaiter so that said third fastener is not exposed from said gaiter when said gaiter is assembled with said upper, said fourth fastener being attached to said upper adjacent to said top end of said upper.

2. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower end of said third fastener is higher than said bottom end of said gaiter.

3. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said third and fourth fasteners are configured as hooks-and-loops fastener elements that form a Velcro fastener.

4. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper further includes a collar member which extends along and inwardly of said top end of said upper, said fourth fastener being attached to an inner side of said upper and extending between said collar member and said top end of said upper.

5. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first and second fasteners include hooks-and-loops fastener elements.

6. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first and second fasteners form a zipper.