Anti-slip attachment for boots and the like

Abstract

An anti-slip attachment for boots and the like includes a flat plate member to underlie the article of footwear, the plate member being accessible at both side edges of the footwear article. A bracket supported by the plate member projects laterally away from the footwear article and defines an aperture through which an end of a pole can pass. Securement means are provided on the plate member, which allow a belt-member overlying the footwear article to draw the plate member firmly up against the article of footwear.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to footwear, and more particularly to an apparatus which can be provided for an article of footwear, and which will provide a virtually slip-free grip between the article of footwear and the surface over which the wearer is moving.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Many types of traction-improving devices for attachment to shoes and boots have been developed. In many cases the developer has thought along the lines of including cleats or the like within the structure of the article of footwear, which cleats may be spring biased toward the projected condition, or in which the cleats can be controlled in vertical movement by hydraulic or air-pressure lines.

[0003] An example of the prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,774, issued Oct. 17, 1989 to Lafever. In Lafever, the pointed cleats are spring-biased toward the retracted condition, and a source of fluid under pressure (air pump etc.) is provided to overcome the spring-bias, and cause the cleats to move downwardly so as to provide gripping traction.

[0004] While these prior attempts to improve traction between an article of footwear and a substrate upon which the user is walking function satisfactorily enough, they tend generally to provide insufficient downward pressure on the cleats to guarantee that the wearer will not slip and fall. Since the personal danger from falling remains the same regardless of the flaw in the cleats which led to the accident, it is clearly not sufficient to provide merely a “high degree” of protection. The protection must be 100% in order to rule out any possibility of falling and personal damage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] In view of the above, I have devised an apparatus to be utilised with articles of footwear, and which provides the equivalent of a virtually 100% reliable arrangement of cleats, without providing any additional “built-in” cleat or activation mechanism. Further, the proper functioning of the apparatus to be disclosed herein directly involves the user in the reliability of the equipment. As will be clear from the description below, the user himself determines the degree of “grip” between the substrate and his boots (shoes, etc.).

[0006] More particularly, this invention provides an attachment for an article of footwear, the article having a first side edge and a second side edge, the attachment comprising:

[0007] a plate member having:

[0008] a) a substantially flat body adapted to underlie the article of footwear,

[0009] b) a first portion accessible at said first side edge when the flat body underlies the article,

[0010] c) a second portion accessible at said second side edge when the flat body underlies the article,

[0011] d) bracket means supported by the plate member, the bracket means projecting laterally away from said article adjacent one of said portions when the flat body underlies the article, the bracket means defining an aperture through which an end of a pole can pass, and

[0012] e) securement means defined by said first and second portions, allowing a belt-like member overlying the article to draw the flat body firmly against the article.

[0013] Further, this invention provides, for use with an article of footwear, the article having a first side edge and a second side edge, the combination which comprises:

[0014] a pole having an elongate body with a top end and a bottom end, gripping means at the top end to allow the pole to be gripped manually, and cultrate means at the bottom end to allow the pole to bite into a substrate, thus counteracting any tendency for the pole to slip along the substrate, and

[0015] a plate member having:

[0016] a) a substantially flat body adapted to underlie the article of footwear,

[0017] b) a first portion accessible at said first side edge when the flat body underlies the article,

[0018] c) a second portion accessible at said second side edge when the flat body underlies the article,

[0019] d) bracket means supported by the plate member, the bracket means projecting laterally away from said article adjacent one of said portions when the flat body underlies the article, the bracket means defining an aperture through which the bottom end of the pole can pass, and

[0020] e) securement means defined by said first and second portions, allowing a belt-like member overlying the article to draw the flat body firmly against the article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] One embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

[0022] FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a person walking downhill and uphill, respectively, wearing the non-slip traction device of this invention;

[0023] FIG. 3 is an elevational view of one form of cane or pole forming a part of the general combination of items;

[0024] FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a boot with which this invention would typically be used; and

[0025] FIGS. 5 and 6 are top and side views, respectively, of a plate element for use with this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] The main component of the combination to which this invention is directed is seen in top view in FIG. 5, and in side view in FIG. 6. More particularly, the item can be referred to as a plate member 10 which appears substantially rectangular in the top view of FIG. 5. Adjacent the rightward end 12 is an aperture 14. Located adjacently inwardly from the aperture 14 is an integral ridge 16 which defines an elongate slot 18, through which the end of a belt-like fastener 20 can pass.

[0027] Attention is now directed to FIG. 3 which shows a pole having an elongate body 24 with a top end 26 and a bottom end 28. At the top is provided gripping means (the conventional cane grip) while at the bottom there is provided a metal point 30, which is sized so as to fit easily into the aperture 14 of the plate member 10.

[0028] It will now be quite clear how the various components work together to eliminate the risk of slipping or sliding, especially on icy surfaces. More particularly, the user inserts the two poles such that the metal points thereof are engaged in the respective apertures 14 of the two plate members, the latter having been strapped, belted or otherwise tied in position against the boot 32. Furthermore, the user of this apparatus can increase or decrease the force with which the poles 22 are urged downwardly into the substrate. Since this force is totally under the control of the user, there is no danger of slippage (because the user can simply increase the pressure as soon as he/she detects slipping movement).

[0029] Located in each plate member 10, at the opposite end from the aperture 14, there is an elongate opening 34. The belt-like fastener 20 can be threaded through the slot 18 and the opening 34, and may include the usual buckle components.

[0030] While the plate member 10 is preferably made of a metal, specifically the metal aluminum because of its lightness, it will be understood that the plate member could also be constructed of various high-strength plastics. The main factor in the choice of materials is that the plate member 10 must be sturdy enough to withstand stress build-up or stress concentration problems adjacent the aperture 14, the slot 18 and the opening 34.

[0031] While a single embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described hereinabove, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the essence of this invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An attachment for an article of footwear, the article having a first side edge and a second side edge, the attachment comprising:

a plate member having:

a) a substantially flat body adapted to underlie the article of footwear,

b) a first portion accessible at said first side edge when the flat body underlies the article,

c) a second portion accessible at said second side edge when the flat body underlies the article,

d) bracket means supported by the plate member, the bracket means projecting laterally away from said article adjacent one of said portions when the flat body underlies the article, the bracket means defining an aperture through which an end of a pole can pass, and

e) securement means defined by said first and second portions, allowing a belt-like member overlying the article to draw the flat body firmly against the article.

2. For use with an article of footwear, the article having a first side edge and a second side edge, the combination which comprises:

a pole having an elongate body with a top end and a bottom end, gripping means at the top end to allow the pole to be gripped manually, and cultrate means at the bottom end to allow the pole to bite into a substrate, thus counteracting any tendency for the pole to slip along the substrate, and

a plate member having:

a) a substantially flat body adapted to underlie the article of footwear,

b) a first portion accessible at said first side edge when the flat body underlies the article,

c) a second portion accessible at said second side edge when the flat body underlies the article,

d) bracket means supported by the plate member, the bracket means projecting laterally away from said article adjacent one of said portions when the flat body underlies the article, the bracket means defining an aperture through which the bottom end of the pole can pass, and

e) securement means defined by said first and second portions, allowing a belt-like member overlying the article to draw the flat body firmly against the article.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1, in which the plate member is made of metal.

4. The combination claimed in claim 1, in which the plate member is of aluminum.

5. The combination claimed in claim 1, in which the securement means includes an opening defined in the plate member adjacent each of said portions, so as to allow said belt-like member to pass through the openings.

6. The combination claimed in claim 2, in which the plate member is of aluminum, and in which the securement means includes an opening defined in the plate member adjacent each of said portions, so as to allow said belt-like member to pass through the openings.

7. The combination claimed in claim 2, in which the cultrate means is a metallic point.

8. The combination claimed in claim 6, in which the cultrate means is a metallic point.