Removable Rubberized Pointe Shoe Caps For Non-Traditional Studio and Other Flooring

Abstract

Removable rubberized pointe shoe caps are provided for using ballet pointe shoes on non-traditional studio and other flooring. An exemplary removable cap for a ballet pointe shoe comprises a rubberized material having a shape that is a substantial replica of an exterior portion of a particular ballet pointe shoe of a dancer, wherein the rubberized material removably covers only (i) a front portion of the particular ballet pointe shoe that includes a box portion, and (ii) a portion of a bottom of the particular ballet pointe shoe, and wherein the rubberized material has a substantially tight fit with respect to the front portion and the bottom portion of the particular ballet pointe shoe. The rubberized material may be, for example, Silicone rubber.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/010,898, filed Jan. 29, 2016, entitled “Removable Rubberized Pointe Shoe Caps For Non-Traditional Studio And Other Flooring,” incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The field relates generally to rubberized caps for ballet pointe shoes.

BACKGROUND

Flat ballet shoes are often used by dancers for class and warm ups. Flat ballet shoes do not allow a dancer to go on pointe (i.e., on their toes), only half pointe. Marley flooring is a traditional studio flooring that includes rubber, and allows dancers to use pointe shoes. Pointe shoes allow dancers to dance on pointe. Pointe shoes can only be used on the Marley studio flooring unless they are rubberized.

A need exists for removable rubberized pointe shoe caps that allow pointe shoes to be used on non-traditional studio and other flooring.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, removable rubberized pointe shoe caps are provided for non-traditional studio and other flooring. An exemplary removable cap for a ballet pointe shoe comprises a rubberized material having a shape that is a substantial replica of an exterior portion of a particular ballet pointe shoe of a dancer, wherein the rubberized material removably covers only (i) a front portion of the particular ballet pointe shoe that includes a box portion, and (ii) a portion of a bottom of the particular ballet pointe shoe, and wherein the rubberized material has a substantially tight fit with respect to the front portion and the bottom portion of the particular ballet pointe shoe. The rubberized material may be, for example, Silicone rubber.

Other illustrative embodiments include, without limitation, methods for creating such removable rubberized pointe shoe caps.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a pointe shoe;

FIG. 2 illustrates a removable rubberized cap for the pointe shoe of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates the pointe shoe of FIG. 1 with the removable rubberized cap of FIG. 2 affixed, according to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary implementation of a removable rubberized cap construction process, according to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an exemplary mold of portions of the pointe shoe, as created by the removable rubberized cap construction process of FIG. 4, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary second plaster mold of portions of the pointe shoe, according to one embodiment of the disclosure, as well as the corresponding actual pointe shoe;

FIG. 8 illustrates silicone rubber be applied to the second plaster mold of FIG. 7, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary removable cap, as created by the removable rubberized cap construction process of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 10 illustrates the exemplary removable cap affixed to the pointe shoes; according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure will be described herein with reference to exemplary removable rubberized pointe shoe caps. It is to be appreciated, however, that the disclosure is not restricted to use with the particular illustrative configurations shown. Aspects of the disclosure provide removable rubberized pointe shoe caps articles and methods for constructing such removable rubberized pointe shoe caps.

FIG. 1 illustrates a pointe shoe 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the exemplary pointe shoe 100 comprises a box portion 110, a front portion 120 and a bottom portion 150, in a known manner. The pointe shoe 100 allows a dancer to go up on his or her toes. Pointe shoe dancing is a beautiful art in ballet but is dangerous to do on non-studio flooring.

One or more aspects of the invention recognize that dancers are at times unable to practice in pointe shoes 100 on non-traditional floors, such as a hard wood floor (and must perform in flat shoes). In addition, since dancers may not perform on such non-traditional floors with enough regularity, a removable cap that covers the toe or front portion 120 of the pointe shoe 100 is a more cost effective solution than rubberizing the entire pointe shoe 100.

FIG. 2 illustrates a removable rubberized cap 200 for a pointe shoe 100, according to one embodiment of the disclosure. The removable rubberized cap 200 is created using a removable rubberized cap construction process 400, as discussed further below in conjunction with FIG. 4. Additional aspects and characteristics of the removable rubberized cap 200 are described below in connection with the removable rubberized cap construction process 400.

Generally, the exemplary removable rubberized cap 200 is a removable slip made of rubber that goes over the pointe shoe 100 (e.g., a dancer's shoe) so that they will not slip on non-traditional studio flooring. The removable rubberized cap 200 may be used, for example, by dancers who travel to hotels and other places that may not have Marley studio flooring as flooring for the stage. It is possible to rubberize the entire pointe shoe 100, however, this is permanent and cannot be removed. It also has a price and also means the purchase of a new pair of pointe shoes 100, which can be expensive. Because Marley already creates enough friction for a regular pointe shoe 100, you wouldn't be able to just have one pair of rubberized ones because it would create too much friction. Unlike this, the present invention is able to be removed from the shoe 100 when not needed and would save money.

FIG. 3 illustrates the pointe shoe 100 of FIG. 1 with the removable rubberized cap 200 of FIG. 2 affixed, according to one embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the front portion 120 of the pointe shoe 100 (including the box 110), as well as a portion of the bottom 150 of the pointe shoe 100, are covered by the removable rubberized cap 200, and helps the removable rubberized cap 200 stay on the shoe 100.

In one or more embodiments, it is not necessary for the removable rubberized cap 200 to cover all of the bottom/sole of the pointe shoe 100.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary implementation of a removable rubberized cap construction process 400, according to one embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the exemplary removable rubberized cap construction process 400 initially obtains plaster, silicone putty, silicone rubber, and a pointe shoe during step 410.

During step 420, the box and front portions of the pointe shoe 100 and part of the bottom of the pointe shoes are covered with silicone putty to create a mold 500 (as discussed further below in conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6) of these portions of the pointe shoe. Generally, one or more embodiments recognize that silicone putty is similar to Play-Doh™, is easy to mold and captures substantially every detail. When the mold 500 dries, on the inside of the mold 500 there is a replica of the outside of the shoe.

During step 430, the mold 500 is filled with plaster and when the plaster dried, another replica or mold 700 of the shoe 100 is created, as discussed further below in conjunction with FIG. 7. Silicone rubber is poured over mold 700 during step 440. When the silicone rubber was dry, the silicon rubber is peeled off of the mold 700 and cut it with scissors into desired shape of the cap 200, shown in FIG. 2. The silicone rubber can be easily cut and is poured on the plaster mold to create the shape.

In one or more embodiments, the cap 200 is desired to be tight on the pointe shoes. For example, for a test case, a mold of a pointe shoes a few sizes smaller than the one the cap would be tested on was used. Every dancer's shoe is unique. When they first buy the shoe, it is new and just the same as any other shoes of the same brand. However, once the dancer starts to use the shoe it becomes different than the other ones. The box 110 of the shoe 100 might be more broken in on one side than the other, for example, according to the way the dancer dances. This is why it would be better to use an old pair of pointe shoes to make the molds for the rubber cap. Most dancers stay with the same shoe for pointe shoes because different dancers have different shoes according to their strength in their feet. For example, one who has a better and stronger pointe in their feet might have a stronger box on their shoe.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary mold 500 of portions of the pointe shoe 100, as created by the removable rubberized cap construction process 400, according to some embodiments. As noted above, the inside of the mold 500 has a replica of the outside of the pointe shoe 100. The exemplary mold 500 is created during step 420 of the removable rubberized cap construction process 400 by covering the box portion 110 and front portion 120 of the pointe shoe 100 and part of the bottom 150 of the pointe shoe with silicone putty.

FIG. 5 also shows the inside of the silicone putty mold 500. This mold captures the outside features of the pointe shoe 100.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate view 600 of the exemplary mold 500 of FIG. 5, as created by the removable rubberized cap construction process 400.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary second plaster mold 700 of portions of the pointe shoe 100 on the left, as created by the removable rubberized cap construction process 400, according to some embodiments, as well as the corresponding actual pointe shoe 100 on the right. As noted above, the mold 500 of FIG. 5 is filled with plaster during step 430 and when the plaster dries, the second mold 700 of the shoe 100 is created. Silicone rubber is then poured over the mold 700 to create the removable cap 200 of FIG. 2, when the silicone rubber was dry, as shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 7 illustrates how the plaster mold 700 captures very specific details of the shoe 100, which is very important in the process of making this product.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary removable cap 900, as created by the removable rubberized cap construction process 400.

FIG. 10 illustrates the exemplary removable cap 900 affixed to the pointe shoes 100.

It should again be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration only. Many variations and other alternative embodiments may be used. Also, the particular configurations of pointe shoe caps and associated methods illustratively shown in the drawings can be varied in other embodiments. Moreover, the various assumptions made above in the course of describing the illustrative embodiments should also be viewed as exemplary rather than as requirements or limitations of the disclosure. Numerous other alternative embodiments within the scope of the appended claims will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A removable cap for a ballet pointe shoe, comprising:

a rubberized material having a shape that is a substantial replica of an exterior portion of a particular ballet pointe shoe of a dancer, wherein the rubberized material removably covers only (i) a front portion of the particular ballet pointe shoe that includes a box portion, and (ii) a portion of a bottom of the particular ballet pointe shoe, and wherein the rubberized material has a substantially tight fit with respect to the front portion and the bottom portion of the particular ballet pointe shoe.

2. The removable cap of claim 1, wherein the rubberized material comprises Silicone rubber.

3. The removable cap of claim 1, wherein the substantial replica is created using at least one mold of the exterior portion of the particular ballet pointe shoe.