FOOTWEAR KIT FOR PHYSICALLY DISABLED PERSONS

Abstract

A footwear kit may include a shoe horn, a hooking device, and a shoe configured for use with the hooking device and shoe horn. The shoes of the footwear kit may include an eyelet on the tongue of the shoe. If the shoe is configured with a closure flap, the closure flap may also include an eyelet near the end of the closure flap. Alternatively, the footwear kit may include eyelet attachments that may be affixed to existing shoes at the tongue or closure flap. The shoe horn may have a handle at a first end and a curved member at a second end for assisting a user to place his or her heel in the heel of a shoe. The hooking device may have a handle at a first end and a hook at a second end configured for hooking the eyelets lactated on the shoes.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/315,782, filed Mar. 19, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally related to a footwear kit that may assist physically disabled persons to put on and remove footwear (e.g., sneakers) without the assistance of another. Persons with physical disabilities that prevent them from bending or kneeling may have a difficult time putting shoes on. In some instances, these disabled persons may use a device to assist in slipping their foot in each shoe, however they may still run into the problem of adjusting the shoe tongue in the proper position. Moreover, securing the shoes to their feet using a Velcro® strap or shoes laces, for example, may also be difficult if they are unable to reach their foot.

As can be seen, a complete footwear kit that allows physically disabled persons to put on and remove shoes without the need to bend or kneel may ease the burden of this daily activity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a footwear kit is provided that includes a shoe horn having a first shaft with a first handle at one end and a curved member at an opposing end where the shoe horn is disposed to aid placing a user's heel in a shoe, a hooking device having a second shaft with a second handle at one end and a hook at an opposing end, and a pair of shoes each having a tongue with a first eyelet configured therein where the first eyelet is disposed to be manipulated by the hook of the hooking device.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for assisting a user to place a shoe on a foot, the method including directing a user to hook a tongue of the shoe with a hooking device where the hooking device hooks an eyelet located on the tongue of the shoe, directing the user to place the foot in the shoe, directing the user to place a shoe horn in a heel of the shoe, and directing the user to push the foot into the shoe while simultaneously pulling the tongue up with the hooking device.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a footwear kit is provided that includes a shoe horn having a first shaft with a first handle at one end and a curved member at an opposing end where the shoe horn is disposed to aid placing a user's heel in a shoe, a hooking device having a second shaft with a second handle at one end and a hook at an opposing end, and at least one eyelet attachment that is configured to be affixed to an existing shoe.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of two tools of a footwear kit according to the present invention;

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary shoe of the footwear kit according to the present invention;

FIG. 2B illustrates a perspective view of another exemplary shoe of the a footwear kit according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates use of a hooking device of the footwear kit;

FIG. 4 illustrates use of an elongated shoe horn of the footwear kit; and

FIG. 5 illustrates use of the hooking device to secure a closure flap on the shoe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Various inventive features are described below that can each be used independently of one another or in combination with other features. Broadly, embodiments of the present invention generally provide a footwear kit for assisting physically disabled persons put on and remove footwear without the assistance of another.

An exemplary embodiment of a footwear kit 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1-FIG. 2B. FIG. 1 illustrates two tools of the footwear kit 10. The first tool shown in FIG. 1 is an elongated shoe horn 12. The elongated shoe horn 12 may have a handle 14 and a shoe horn end 16 that may be curved to assist in placing the heel of a user's foot into a shoe. The shoe horn 12 may also include a hole in the handle 14 that may be manipulated by the second tool as discussed below. The handle 14 may also be curved at about a 90 degree angle to allow a user to lift the shoe horn 12 off the ground by stepping on the curved portion thus lifting the shoe horn 12 perpendicular to the ground. The shoe horn 12 may be made from a sturdy material, such as a hard plastic or wood.

The second tool show in FIG. 1 is a hooking device 18. One embodiment of the hooking device 18 may include a rod 20 that has a handle 24 at a first end and a hook 22 at the other end. The rod 20 may range from about ⅛″ to ½″ in diameter, may be about 20″ to 30″ in length, and have an inferior end that forms the semicircular hook 22 that may be about 1″ to 2″ in width. Typically, the rod may be a ⅛″ rod that is 24.5″ long with a hook 22 that is 1¼″ wide. The handle 24 of the hooking device 18 may be a curved handle similar to the shoe horn 14 or an elliptical grip measuring 3″ to 4″ in width and 1″ to 2″ in height, where the elliptical grip may typically be 3¼″ wide and 1⅝″ high. The handle 24 may be set at 90 degrees to the inferior end of the device. The hooking device 18 may include a blunt area at the end of the hook 22 that may be inserted into the heel of a shoe to assist removal of the shoe by providing gentle downward pressure on the handle 24 of the rod 20. Some embodiments of the hooking device 18 may be made from stainless steel.

The footwear kit 10 may also include at least one pair of shoes that may be used in conjunction with the shoe horn 12 and hooking device 18. As illustrated in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, each shoe 26a and 26b may include an eyelet 30 configured on a portion of a tongue 28 of the shoe. The eyelet 30 may have about a ⅛″ to ½″ central diameter, where it is typically ¼″. The eyelet 30 may be set about ¾″ from a superior portion of the shoe tongue 28 and may be centered on the shoe tongue 28.

As shown in FIG. 2A, some embodiments of the shoe 26a may be configured to have a closure flap 32 that includes a centered eyelet 34 toward the end of the closure flap 32. The closure flap 32 may be a hook and loop fastened closure flap, such as a Velcro® closure flap, for example. As shown in FIG. 2B, other embodiments of the shoe 26b may include laces 40 that may be elastic laces.

In some embodiments, the footwear kit 10 may include eyelet attachments that may be affixed to a tongue or closure flaps of existing shoes the user may own instead of including a new pair of shoes. Such an attachment may clip on, glue on, or snap on to the shoe tongue in order to allow the hooking device 18 to be used with the user's existing shoes.

Use of the footwear kit is illustrated in FIG. 3-FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 3, a user may begin the process of placing a shoe on his or her foot by first engaging the eyelet 30 of the shoe 26a with the hook 22 of the hooking device 18. The user may then pull the shoe tongue 28 up and away from the shoe 26a in order to insert his or her foot 38 in the shoe 26a. The distal hooked end may also be used to lift the shoe near the user for placement on the foot or for placing the shoes in storage. The hooked end may further be used to assist in putting on underwear, slacks, skirts, and their removal as well as to pick up garments from the floor or towels in the bathroom.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the user may place the elongated shoe horn 12 in the heel of the shoe 40 and simultaneously pull up on the shoe tongue 28 using the hooking device 18 to ease his or her foot 38 into the shoe 26a.

If the shoe 26a is configured with a closure flap 32 as shown in FIG. 5, the user may then disengage the hooking device 18 from the shoe tongue 28 and insert the hook 22 of the hooking device 18 into the eyelet 34 located on the closure flap 32. The user may then laterally pull the closure flap 32 to tighten and secure it to a Velcro® fastener 36, for example. The same steps may be used to remove the closure flap 32 by using the hooking device 18 and pulling the closure flap 18 open. If the shoe is configured with pre-tied elastic laces then a user may use the hooking device 18 with the shoe tongue 28 to adjust the fit of the shoe.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A footwear kit comprising:

a shoe horn having a first shaft with a first handle at one end and a curved member at an opposing end, the shoe horn disposed to aid placing a user's heel in a shoe;

a hooking device having a second shaft with a second handle at one end and a hook at an opposing end; and

a pair of shoes wherein each shoe has a tongue with a first eyelet configured therein, the first eyelet disposed to be manipulated by the hook of the hooking device.

2. The footwear kit of claim 1, wherein the shoe further comprises a closure flap having a second eyelet therein.

3. The footwear kit of claim 2, wherein the closure flap comprises a hook and loop fastener.

4. The footwear kit of claim 1, wherein the shoe further comprises pre-tied elastic laces.

5. The footwear kit of claim 1, wherein the second handle of the hooking device is an elliptical handle.

6. The footwear kit of claim 1, wherein the second handle of the hooking device is a circular handle.

7. The footwear kit of claim 1, wherein the first handle of the shoe horn comprises a hole disposed to be manipulated by the hooking device.

8. The footwear kit of claim 1, wherein the first handle of the shoe horn comprises a curved portion that is relatively perpendicular to the first shaft.

9. A method for assisting a user to place a shoe on a foot, the method comprising:

directing a user to hook a tongue of the shoe with a hooking device wherein the hooking device hooks an eyelet located on the tongue of the shoe;

directing the user to place the foot in the shoe;

directing the user to place a shoe horn in a heel of the shoe; and

directing the user to push the foot into the shoe while simultaneously pulling the tongue up with the hooking device.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

directing the user to hook a closure flap of the shoe with the hooking device wherein the hooking device hooks an eyelet located on the closure flap; and

directing the user to secure the closure flap to the shoe with the hooking device.

11. A footwear kit comprising:

a shoe horn having a first shaft with a first handle at one end and a curved member at an opposing end, the shoe horn disposed to aid placing a user's heel in a shoe;

a hooking device having a second shaft with a second handle at one end and a hook at an opposing end; and

at least one eyelet attachment that is configured to be affixed to an existing shoe.

12. The footwear kit of claim 11, wherein the eyelet attachment is configured to be affixed to a shoe tongue.

13. The footwear kit of claim 12, wherein the eyelet attachment is configured to be affixed to a closure flap of a shoe.