Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Occupational or athletic shoe
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-23
2002-06-18
Yu, Mickey (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Occupational or athletic shoe
C036S00710R, C036S015000, C036S023000, C036S100000, C036S043000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06405459
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an overshoe designed to fit over conventional shoes, and in particular, an overshoe for replacing conventional rental shoes required by operators of bowling alleys facilities.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, bowling is basically an indoor sport that utilizes expensive bowling surfaces which are usually formed of hardwood and a synthetic material or the like and includes an approach portion that is traveled on extensively by bowlers. Due to the expensive nature of these bowling alleys and the desirability to maintain the alleys in an immaculate condition and so as to minimize bowling differences between alleys, certain rules and/or regulations have been established by the operators of bowling facilities. In particular, most bowling facilities require that the users of the facilities wear a shoe which will not mark, damage, or cause undue wear to the bowling alleys, and in particular, the approach portions of the alleys.
In response to these requirements, some frequent bowlers have purchased shoes that are specifically designed for bowling. However, occasional bowlers, which constitute a significant portion of the market for bowling facilities, rely on the supply of rental shoes maintained by the operators of the bowling facility. Typically, the bowling facilities rent these shoes to any user who does not have proper shoes for bowling. As would be expected, this requires the owner of the bowling facility to maintain a large supply of these specialized shoes in various sizes and in men's and women's styles. As such, the casual bowler is almost sure to be forced to wear a shoe which has been worn previously by others. Such shoes, in many instances, do not fit as comfortably as the user's conventional shoes. Additionally, the bowling facility may have only a limited number of a particular size of bowling shoe, thus forcing some users to wear rental shoes that are too large or too small.
In order to minimize the spreading of any foot diseases and minimize the objections of the casual bowler in wearing shoes previously worn by others, the proprietors of bowling facilities sanitize the rental shoes between uses by different people. An antibacterial aerosol spray is typically used to sanitize such rental shoes.
In order to withstand the repeated use of these shoes by different users, such rental shoes are typically constructed with an all-leather upper and a thick outsole. This construction translates into a high cost for maintaining an adequate supply of rental shoes. Additionally, the antibacterial cleaner repeatedly applied to these shoes causes the shoes to deteriorate more quickly. Thus, bowling rental shoes deteriorate more quickly than a shoe which is not subjected to repeated applications of antibacterial cleaners.
In order to provide bowling facility operators with an alternative to maintaining a supply of conventional bowling shoes for rental purposes, several designs of bowling overshoes to be worn over a conventional shoe have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,888 issued to Rickman discloses a bowling overshoe constructed from a toe cup portion and a heel cup portion, both of which are constructed of leather, and an elastic member connecting the toe cup and heel cup portions together. The toe and heel cup portions each include one adjustable strap so as to accommodate different shoe sizes. In particular, the heel cup portion includes a single strap arranged to extend over the vamp portion of a user's shoe and an adjustable toe strap which extends over the portion of a user's shoe covering the user's toes.
Recently, certain bowling facilities have begun to hold special events within the facility, referred to as “glow-bowling”. A glow-bowling event is unique in that bowlers are allowed to bowl in partial darkness with music and light shows similar to that provided in a nightclub including “black lights” which cause florescent materials to emit light energy and thus appear to glow. Some bowlers have been known to wear florescent clothing during such events. For safety and other reasons, certain areas of the facility are lighted so that bowlers can safely walk through the facility. However, in some facilities, even the approach portion of the bowling lanes are left in darkness, illuminated with only black lights.
Despite the development of several alternatives to rental shoes, bowling facilities continue to maintain large supplies of conventional rental shoes for use by their patrons. Thus, a need exists for an improved bowling overshoe for replacing conventional overshoes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One aspect of the present invention includes the realization that known alternatives for conventional bowling shoes can be inadequate. For example, as noted above, one known bowling overshoe is constructed of heel cup and toe cup portions, each having a single strap for tightening around a user's shoe. It has been found that such a design is perceived to be inadequate for safety and comfort reasons.
For example, in order for a user to safely install such an overshoe onto a conventional shoe, the straps must be sufficiently tightened to prevent the overshoe from slipping off the user's shoe, not only during bowling, but under any situation. In particular, a user wearing such an overshoe might accidentally slip or trip while wearing the overshoe, which is likely to subject the overshoe to higher loads than those transferred to the straps under normal use. Thus, the straps holding the overshoe to the user's conventional shoe must be tightened sufficiently to prevent the overshoe from slipping off if the user slips or trips.
Because the overshoe taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,888 is attached only with one strap on each end, and since these straps need to be sufficiently tightened, as noted above, these straps can cause discomfort to the user by causing excessive pressure beneath the strap. For example, the uppers of conventional shoes can be made from a variety of materials. Such materials can include nylon, leather, vinyl, or a combination of any of these and other materials. A strap tightened around the outer periphery of such an upper can cause the upper to wrinkle, thus creating an uncomfortable protrusion within the user's conventional shoe. Such a protrusion can cause a blister during use.
Another drawback of the type of bowling shoe described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,888, is that since the heel cup and toe cup portions are made from a relatively inelastic material, e.g., leather, such an overshoe could not comfortably accommodate a broad range of shoe sizes. For example, FIG. 2 from U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,888 is reproduced herein as FIG.
1
. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the bowling overshoe taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,888 includes a heel cup portion
12
and a toe cup portion
14
. The heel cup portion
12
includes a generally semicircular side wall
16
sewn to an insole
18
so as to correspond generally to the shape of a conventional shoe. However, the width
20
of the heel cup
12
limits the sizes of conventional shoes which the overshoe
10
can accommodate.
For example, if a conventional shoe placed within the overshoe
10
is too narrow, the heel cup portion
12
will not closely follow the outer contours of the conventional shoe, and thus, may not provide a stable connection between the overshoe
10
and the conventional shoe. Conversely, if the conventional shoe is too large, the heel of the conventional shoe might overlap and extend beyond the insole portion
18
and thus prevent the heel cup portion
12
from providing a tight fit with the conventional shoe. The toe cup portion
14
can experience similar problems.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a bowling overshoe comprises an upper configured to substantially surround an upper of a conventional shoe and constructed of a stretchable material. The overshoe also includes a stretchable insole having a toe and heel area. A first
Borenstein Stephen F.
Prevost Robert
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
Master Industries, Inc.
Stashick Anthony
Yu Mickey
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