SHOE PROTECTOR
A sole protector having a sole protector material with a lower surface that is meant to be exposed when the sole protector is applied to a shoe, an adhesive layer on an opposite surface of the sole protector material and a peel-away backing layer on the adhesive wherein the sole protector material is the same color as the sole on which it is placed and it covers about 85% of the sole of the shoe onto which it is applied.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/117,259 filed Feb. 17, 2015 which is incorporated herein in its entirely.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe embodiments of the invention are directed to a protection device for the sole of a pair of high-end shoes as well as a portion of the interior or the entire interior of a shoe to reduce and possibly prevent a foot from sliding in various types of footwear. People often spend significant amounts of money on fashion items and shoes are no exception. It is estimated that about $254 Billion are spent on shoes globally. Recently, at least one designer, Christian Louboutin, has incorporated color into the soles of the shoes that have his design. In particular, his color is red and it is well known among fashion conscious consumers that such shoes are very expensive and can cost thousands of dollars.
The soles of a pair of shoes, especially dressy shoes often take a beating during their wear. When the shoes are brand new, the sole is unblemished. Often this can result in the shoe being very slippery on floorings. After time, however, the sole becomes damaged by the flooring such as concrete, gravel, for example, on which the sole is exposed to. This can be especially concerning for an owner of designer shoes such as Louboutins since there is a certain status in having the red color of the shoe intact.
There are some known devices and techniques for addressing the issue of new shoes being slippery. One such know device is commercially available from Apara and is known as “Grippy Steps” as shown in
Such devices do not prevent slipping effectively because they only cover a small portion of a sole and they do not adhere well to the sole.
Alternatively, a technique that has been used is to take a brand new pair of shoes to a cobbler who then sands off the entire sole to give it texture and thus grip to enable a permanent bonding adhesive to adhere an aftermarket rubber piece to the shoe to provide a gripping benefit. This technique damages the sole of the shoe and is not desirable with designer shoes that incorporate color into their soles. These types of shoes have become vintage collectibles and thus it would be beneficial to preserve the integrity of the original sole. Also, the bond is intended to be permanent and thus not removable or repositionable.
The embodiments of the invention offer several goals. They are designed to protect the sole of a shoe, they are designed to be removable and repositionable without causing damage to the sole and without leaving virtually any residue after removal as well as be reusable and they provide security in reducing the slippage between the sole of a shoe and the particular flooring it encounters. Used in the interior of the shoe, they reduce or prevent the foot from slipping inside the shoe. The embodiments of the invention are made to be durable to withstand weather conditions without coming unglued.
In addition, protectors can be made for children's shoes.
Alternatively, the protector can be sold in a generic shoe shape.
Preferably, the protector is removable without leaving a sticky residue on the sole. Also, it is preferable if the protector is reusable. The protector may be made in any color or it may be clear so as to allow the original sole material to show through the protector. The portion of the protector exposed to the flooring may have a texture such as ridges, for example. The protector may also have an abrasive incorporated therein to provide a non-skid surface. The protector may also have graphical representations such as patterns, logos, expressions, inspirational messages or quotes, milestone with dates (e.g., wedding dates, graduation dates, years, etc) trends, brand endorsements, celebrity branding, music artists, college and professional sports teams, comic book characters, Disney characters, private label, influential people, charitable causes (e.g., breast cancer, leukemia, no kid hungry, SPCA, etc), for example, printed thereon such as that shown in
The material the protector may be made of is preferably a polymer material that is often used in shoe design. More preferably, the material is a textured polyurethane It naturally has an antislip property that can enhance the traction the shoe has with the flooring. Various adhesives may be used. The adhesive should preferably create a durable bond while allowing the material to be removed from the shoe without causing damage to the sole. Optionally, the adhesive should allow the material to be reused on either the same or a different pair of shoes. Preferably a pressure sensitive adhesive may be used.
In another embodiment, a complementary insole protector can be made to go inside the shoe in the ball of the foot area so that a person's foot does not slip inside the shoe and prevents the foot from sliding forward along with the foot slipping inside the shoe. This can be particularly helpful with high heels or any shoe with a non-fabric insole. It is also useful in men's shoes. The insole protector is shaped based on the brand and/or model as well as size of the shoe. Alternatively it can be sold in a generic shoe shape. The inside protector may also cover the entire insole of a shoe. This is particularly useful for athletic shoes.
Other embodiments of the claimed inventions will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the inventions disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the inventions being indicated by the following claims.
Claims
1. A sole protector comprising:
- a sole protector material having lower surface that is meant to be exposed when the sole protector is being used on a shoe and an upper surface that is not meant to be exposed when the sole protector is being used on a shoe;
- an adhesive layer located on the upper surface of the sole protector material; and
- a peel-away backing layer located over and adhered to the adhesive layer which can be removed to expose the adhesive layer,
- wherein the sole protector material covers about 85% of the sole of the shoe onto which it is to be applied.
2. The sole protector of claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the sole protector material is a textured surface.
3. The sole protector of claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the sole protector material has a graphical representation thereon.
4. The sole protector of claim 3 wherein the graphical representation may be of a sports team logo, a trademark, an illustration.
5. The sole protector of claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the sole protector material is textured to provide an antiskid property.
6. The sole protector of claim 1 where in the sole protector material is reusable.
7. The sole protector of claim 2 wherein the textured surface is ridges.
8. The sole protector of claim 1 wherein the sole protector material is a polymer material.
9. The sole protector of claim 8 wherein the material is a polyurethane.
10. The sole protector of claim 1 wherein the sole protector material has the same shape as the sole of the shoes onto which it is to be applied.
11. A method of protecting a sole comprising:
- providing a sole protector material having lower surface that is meant to be exposed when the sole protector is being used on a shoe and an upper surface that is not meant to be exposed when the sole protector is being used on a shoe;
- providing an adhesive layer located on the upper surface of the sole protector material;
- providing a peel-away backing layer located over and adhered to the adhesive layer which can be removed to expose the adhesive layer; and
- removing the peel-away backing layer to expose the adhesive layer so that the sole protector material may be applied to the sole of a shoe, wherein the lower surface of the sole protector material is the same color as the sole of the shoe on which it is to be applied and the sole protector material covers about 85% of the sole of the shoe onto which it is to be applied.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising providing the lower surface of the sole protector material with a textured surface.
13. The method of claim 11 further comprising providing the lower surface of the sole protector material with a graphical representation thereon.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the graphical representation may be of a sports team logo, a trademark, an illustration.
15. The method of claim 11 wherein the lower surface of the sole protector material is made of an antiskid material.
16. The method of claim 11 where in the sole protector material is reusable.
17. The sole protector of claim 12 wherein the textured surface comprises ridges.
18. The sole protector of claim 11 wherein the sole protector material is a polymer material.
19. The sole protector of claim 18 wherein the sole protector material is a polyurethane.
20. The sole protector of claim 1 wherein the lower surface of the sole protector material is the same color as the sole of the shoe on which it is to be applied.
21. The sole protector of claim 1 wherein the sole protector material also covers the heel portion of a shoe.
22. A method of using the sole protector of claim 1 comprising adhering the sole protector material to an interior surface of a shoe.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 16, 2016
Publication Date: Aug 18, 2016
Inventor: Ricci Bryan (McKinney, TX)
Application Number: 15/044,496