Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Foot-supporting or foot-conforming feature
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-24
2001-08-14
Kavanaugh, Ted (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Foot-supporting or foot-conforming feature
C036S091000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06272772
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus mounted externally on a shoe to allow the wearer to have increased comfort and better support; in particular, this invention relates to an apparatus, method, and system to increase comfort and support in athletic shoes.
2. State of the Art
There are many types of shoes used in athletic endeavors. Each shoe provides as much support for the foot as possible in order to increase the useful life of the shoe and increase athletic performance. However, to get the best possible performance while protecting the foot against injury, some sort of additional support may be used by the athlete.
This problem may best be described with hockey skates. Leather lace-up hockey skates are inferior to the support offered by plastic molded recreational skates, but exceptional for the comfort and feel hockey players demand. Because of this unwavering demand for comfort, skate manufactures are limited in the rigidity enhancements that can be build into a hockey skate. As the leather “gives” through continual use, the support the skate gives the foot, the comfort level, and the skating ability of the skate decreases. As a result, even the highest quality hockey skate breaks down causing decreased foot stability and loss of confidence in skating performance. Many hockey players resort to taping the skate at the ankles to restore support, which limits essential forward flexion and does nothing to increase effective heel lock.
Therefore, there is a need for better support and comfort in skates which the present invention provides. The present invention is to be used as support for all types of shoes, boots, and skates ranging from basketball, hiking, tennis, and snowboard boots, to ice, and in-line hockey skates. This invention provides for a biometric crisscross pattern foot support system which provides improved athletic performance, extends the shoe's useful life, and provides for the ease of “breaking in” new shoes. Moreover, the crisscross pattern inherently facilitates forward flexion while markedly increases effective heel lock and overall stability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention, a footwear support system, provides for an apparatus, method, and system to increase comfort, support, and useful life of shoes, boots, and skates.
A first aspect of this invention comprises:
a shoe having an ankle, an arch, a front surface, and a sole;
a first strap member having a first side, a second side, a first pass-through buckle and a first free end; the first strap member securing the arch;
a second strap member having a first side, a second side, a second pass-through buckle and a second free end; the second strap member securing the ankle; and
the first strap member and the second strap member securing the front surface in a crisscross pattern.
Another embodiment of this invention, a footwear support system is:
a shoe having an ankle, an arch, and a front surface;
a first mating strap member attached to the arch;
a second mating strap member attached to the ankle;
a first attachment means attached to the arch for attaching with the second mating strap member; and
a second attachment means attached to the ankle for attaching with the first mating strap member.
A second aspect of this invention provides for a method of protecting and supporting a foot comprising:
securing a first strap member on a first side to a sole of a shoe;
securing a second strap member on a first side to an ankle of the shoe;
inserting a first free end of the first strap member through a second pass-through buckle on the second strap member;
tightening the first strap member and mating a first mating member with a first attachment means on a second side of the first strap member;
inserting a second free end of the second strap member through a first pass-through buckle on the first strap member;
tightening the second strap member and mating a second mating member with a second attachment means on a second side of the second strap member.
Still another method of protecting and supporting a foot comprises:
passing a first mating strap member through a second attachment means;
passing a second mating strap member through a first attachment means;
tightening and securing the first mating strap member into the second attachment means; and
tightening and securing the second mating strap member into the first attachment means.
A third aspect of this invention further provides a system for protecting and supporting a foot comprising:
a shoe having an ankle, an arch, a front surface, and a sole;
a first strap member having a first side, a second side, a first pass-through buckle and a first free end;
a second strap member having a first side, a second side, a second pass-through buckle and a second free end;
the first strap member having a first mating member proximate the first free end and a first attachment means for attaching with the first mating member proximate the first pass-through buckle; the first attachment means and the first mating member disposed on the second side of the first strap member;
the second strap member having a second mating member proximate the second free end and a second attachment means for attaching with the second mating member proximate the second pass-through buckle; the second attachment means and second mating member disposed on the second side of the second strap member;
securing the first side of the first strap member to the sole;
securing the first side of the second strap member to the ankle;
inserting the first free end of the first strap member through the second pass-through buckle;
inserting the second free end of the second strap member through the first pass-through buckle;
tightening the first strap member and attaching the first mating member with the first attachment means;
tightening the second strap member and attaching the second mating member with the second attachment means; and
forming an X on the front surface of the shoe with the first strap member and the second strap member.
Still another system for protecting and supporting a foot, comprises:
a shoe having an ankle, an arch, and a front surface;
a first mating strap member attached to the arch;
a second mating strap member attached to the ankle;
a first attachment means attached to the arch member for attaching with the second mating strap member;
a second attachment means attached to the ankle for attaching with the first mating strap member;
the first mating strap member and the first attachment means are disposed at opposite sides of the arch;
the second mating strap member and the second attachment means are disposed at opposite sides of the ankle;
passing the first mating strap member through the second attachment means;
passing the second mating strap member through the first attachment means;
tightening and securing the first mating strap member into the second attachment means;
tightening and securing the second mating strap member into the first attachment means; and
forming an X on the front surface with the first mating strap member and the second mating strap member.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1328333 (1920-01-01), Mann
patent: 3327410 (1967-06-01), Park, Sr. et al.
patent: 4130949 (1978-12-01), Seidel
patent: 4441265 (1984-04-01), Burns et al.
patent: 4547981 (1985-10-01), Thais et al.
patent: 4640025 (1987-02-01), DeRenzo
patent: 4811498 (1989-03-01), Barret
patent: 5269078 (1993-12-01), Cochrane
patent: 5822887 (1998-10-01), Turner
Kavanaugh Ted
Skinner Sutton Watson & Rounds
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