Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an article of footwear. More particularly, the invention relates to an article of footwear that can be worn as a form of overshoe, for example over a sports shoe such as a football boot or the like.

Background

Overshoes, sometimes referred to as shoe covers or galoshes, are known to conventionally provide protection for the wearer's shoes against damage from environmental factors such as water, snow, dust, dirt and chemicals. Conventional overshoes are typically utilitarian in fashion and simply provide a barrier between the environmental factors and the shoe inside. Examples include some kinds of snow boots which can be pulled on over the user's shoes to protect the user's shoes and feet when going outside into snow and slush. The snow boots would only be worn outside and typically be left near the outside doorway.

Embodiments of the present invention, on the other hand, are designed to protect environments, such as inside the cabin of a car for instance, from damage and/or dirt that could be caused or introduced by sports shoes and the like after being worn outdoors. For example, the sole of some sports shoes, such as football boots have hard cleats on the bottom which can damage surfaces. Moreover, football boots with cleats and other sports shoes with highly textured soles have a tendency for dirt and grass debris to cling to them, and are often wet and muddy after the user has worn them for training or competition. Accordingly, there are circumstances where it would be advantageous to cover the boots before entering a car or indoor area, rather than removing the boots.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention as disclosed herein provide an article of footwear that may be worn as an overshoe, comprising a sole made of a flexible material, a removable insole made of a flexible and resilient material that is resistant to penetration from spikes, studs and cleats common to many sports shoes, and an upper portion made from a flexible water resistant material, such as neoprene. The article of footwear is designed such that it can be worn over another shoe, such as a sports shoe. Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided an article of footwear adapted to encapsulate a sports shoe, including a releasable fastener at the heel to provide, in use, rearward access for ingress and egress of a user's shoe-clad foot.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an article of footwear comprising: a sole portion including a bottom outsole and a top insole; and an upper portion defining a leg opening, the upper portion having at least one releasable fastener at or near the heel and extending downwardly from leg opening towards the sole, wherein the upper portion and the sole portion define a cavity therebetween sized to encapsulate a sports shoe, and wherein the fastener when released allows a user to insert their shoe-clad foot into the cavity from the rear of the footwear article.

In embodiments of the invention, the at least one releasable fastener comprises at least one zip fastener extending from the leg opening to the sole. The at least one releasable fastener may comprise a zip fastener located at the rear of the upper portion and extending vertically from the leg opening down to the sole.

Additionally or alternatively, the footwear article may have a tongue portion that is attached to the sides of the upper portion with at least one releasable fastener. The at least one releasable fastener may comprise at least one zip fastener extending from the leg opening to a bottom end of the tongue portion. In an embodiment, the at least one releasable fastener comprises two zip fasteners, each extending from the leg opening to a bottom end of the tongue portion.

The insole of the footwear article may include a removable tray that is formed from a flexible and resilient material resistant to penetration from the spikes or cleats of a sporting shoe.

In embodiments of the invention, the upper portion is at least substantially constructed from a waterproof stretch fabric, for example a neoprene material or the like. The upper portion may include a tongue portion that allows the cavity formed within the upper portion to expand when a shoe-clad foot is inserted, in use. In some embodiments, the tongue portion of the upper portion is stitched to the upper portion around its edges thereby maintaining water resistance of the article of footwear. The sole of the footwear article may be constructed from a durable high density rubber-like material, for example.

In embodiments of the invention, at least one flexible lace may be arranged to draw the sides of the upper portion together across the tongue portion when tightened, in use. Although partially stylistic in nature, in embodiments the footwear article is provided with relatively stiff plastic members that extend diagonally from the sole to the tongue portion on each side. The at least one lace may extend through apertures in the diagonal members. The at least one lace can be made of an elastic material. A spring toggle stopper may be provided on the at least one lace thereby allowing efficient tightening and loosening of the footwear upper portion, in use.

Description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention are described in greater detail hereinbelow, presented by way of non-limiting example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side view of an article of footwear with detailed views of the tongue portion and the rear closure mechanism;

Figure 2 is a second side view of the article of footwear shown in Figure 1 showing a sports shoe entering the rear of the article of footwear;

Figure 3 is a rear view of the article of footwear shown in Figure 1 showing a sports shoe inside the article of footwear;

Figure 4 is an isometric view of the sole and removable insole of the article of footwear shown in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a side view of an article of footwear in another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 shows the article of footwear of Figure 5, illustrating operation of a rear closure; and

Figure 7 shows the article of footwear of Figure 5, illustrating operation of a front closure.

Detailed Description

In the description herein, certain directional terminology may be used which, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, should be considered with reference to a shoe as ordinarily worn by a user when standing upright. Figure 1 shows an article of footwear 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The footwear 10 comprises a sole 20, an upper portion 22 and a rear closure mechanism such as a zip 23 with a zipper pull tab 24. The upper portion of the footwear 10 is further provided with a tongue portion 27 across which extend elastic laces 25 with a spring toggle stopper 26 for adjusting the tension in the laces. On each side of the footwear, diagonal members 29 extend forwardly from the sole 20 to the tongue portion 27 which provide apertures or loops through which the laces can pass.

The rear closure mechanism may be in the form of a zipper fastener 23, with a zipper pull tab 24 for ease of use. Other forms of fastener for the rear closure may alternatively be used, such as press studs, buttons and button holes, and/or hook and loop fabrics. The zip fastener is thought to be the most convenient, however. The rear closure mechanism can be opened to allow access to the interior of the footwear from the back. This enables a user to easily insert their foot while either wearing a sports shoe or not. In an embodiment, the cavity formed between the sole 20 and the upper portion 22 is sized to be able to fully encapsulate (with an opening at the ankle portion of the article of footwear 10) a sports shoe, such as a football boot 40 with studs or cleats 41, while a user is wearing the shoe.

Figure 2 shows an example of a football boot 40 being inserted into the article of footwear 10 through the rear opening. Although, in practice, this would be done while the user is wearing the boot 40, for ease of illustration the user is not shown in the drawing.

Although a single, centrally located zip fastener is shown in the drawings for the rear closure, it may alternatively be preferred to provide the fastener to one side or other of the heel, or to provide a pair of fasteners disposed to each side of the heel. Where a pair of zip fasteners is provided, the zipper pull tabs may be linked to one another with a fabric strip so that they can both be operated simultaneously with one action by the user.

The elastic laces 25 and spring toggle stopper 26 allow the laces to be readily tightened or loosened to adjust the size of the cavity formed between the sole 20 and the upper portion 22 such that a user is able to comfortably wear the article of footwear 10 while either wearing a sports shoe, or another type of shoe, or not wearing a shoe. The laces may be formed from an elastic material, cotton, nylon or a combination thereof. The diagonal members 29 may be made from a relatively stiff plastic material, for example, which transfer the load created by the tension in the laces 25 to the sole 20 to create a comfortable fit for a user. In the illustrated embodiment, the diagonal members 29 are located on both the lateral side 30 and medial side 31 of the article of footwear 10. In the embodiment as shown, two diagonal members 29 are located on each of the lateral side 30 and medial side 31 of the article of footwear 10.

Figure 3 is a rear view of the footwear article 10 in which the football boot 40 has been fully inserted into the interior cavity of the footwear, as seen through the rear opening open which remains unfastened. Once again, in this condition the football boot 40 would ordinarily be worn on the foot of the user at the time.

The upper portion 22 and the tongue portion 27 are preferably formed from a flexible, waterproof or water resistant material such as neoprene, or thermoplastic polymer materials such as polypropylene or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). A waterproof stretch fabric is preferred since it provides a good barrier and also allows the upper to stretch somewhat and conform around different kinds of shoes or boots that may be worn by the user. In this embodiment, the tongue portion 27 is stitched around its edge 28 to the upper portion 22 to make the article of footwear 10 water resistant. The tongue portion 27 is preferably shaped such that it allows for the volume of the cavity formed between the sole 20 and the upper portion 22 to vary in order to accommodate a user wearing a sports shoe, or only a user's foot.

The sole 20 may be formed from a durable high-density rubber-like material. In a preferred embodiment, the sole 20 fully encloses the ground facing portion of the article of footwear 10. The fully enclosed and durable sole allows the article of footwear to be worn in various outdoor terrain, such as wet, muddy, dusty or rocky surfaces. As shown in Figure 4, in a preferred embodiment, a removable insole 21 is shaped to at least partially cover the inside side of the sole 20. In a preferred embodiment, the removable insole 21 is formed from a durable and resilient material that is resistant to scratching from the spikes or cleats of sports shoes.

Figures 5 to 7 show an article of footwear 110 according to an alternate embodiment. In this case the footwear article 110 is provided a fastenable access opening at the front as well as at the rear. Instead of the tongue portion 27 being stitched at the sides to the upper portion 22, a pair of zipper fasteners 123 are provided, one on each side of the tongue. Each of the fasteners 123 can be unzipped from the leg opening down toward the toe of the footwear, by means of respective zipper pull tabs 124 on sides of the tongue portion 27. This allows the tongue portion to fold forwardly, as shown in Figure 7, for enhanced access to the interior cavity of the footwear. The tongue fasteners may be utilized independently of the rear closure mechanism. Alternatively the user may wish to open both the tongue fastener and the rear closure to make inserting their foot particularly easy. A user may also wish to open only the rear closure, as shown in Figure 6, or only the tongue fastener, as shown in Figure 7, to insert their foot.

Other forms of fastener for the tongue closure may alternatively be used, such as press studs, buttons and button holes, and/or hook and loop fabrics. The zip fastener is thought to be most convenient, however. The zip fastener may be a water resistant zip fastener so that the article of footwear 110 is water resistant.

Although a zip fastener is shown on two sides of the tongue portion 27 in Figure 7, it may alternatively be provided on only one side or the other of the tongue portion. Where a pair of zip fasteners is provided, the zipper pull tabs may be linked to one another with a fabric strip so that they can be both operated simultaneously with one action by the user.

Since the sides of the tongue portion 27 can be released from the footwear upper in this embodiment, the laces 25 are laced through eyelets at the edges of the tongue, rather than being secured to the upper 22 or sole 20.

While the embodiments described hereinabove are in the context of an overshoe designed for use over a football boot or the like, the invention should be considered to be applicable for use with other types of shoes or boots also, such as: sports shoes or boots designed for soccer, rugby, other field sports, track & field spikes, shoes for hockey, golf, snow sports, cycling, motorsports, as well as shoes for recreational activities such as fishing, beach play, camping, hiking, farm activities, gardening and the like, but also work activities such as on building sites. Embodiments of the invention could also play a role in minimising occupational hazards - slippery floors, wet weather, rough terrain, avoiding damage to footwear from spillage or flooding, and could provide a guaranteed standard without the need to change existing footwear. Benefits are thought to include: o Style; o Avoid damage to footwear - outer, soles, studs, spikes; o Avoid damage to environment - car, home flooring, unnecessary impact on non-playing surfaces; o Easier to fit appropriate footwear at home - doing football boots up or taking off at home with good seating and dry conditions; o Avoids the need for separate footwear for a variety of activities; o Allows individuals to use their preferred footwear for activities where they may choose to use less supportive or cushioned shoes; o Individuals could use orthotics in situations where they may otherwise choose alternative footwear - gardening is a prime example; o Could be provided in a variety of team colours; o If manufactured locally could consider customisation - local football teams, schools etc.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

While various features of embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments. List of reference numerals

10 article of footwear

20 sole

21 removable insole

22 upper portion

23 zipper

24 zipper pull tab

25 elastic laces

26 spring toggle stopper

27 tongue portion

28 stitching around edges of the tongue portion

29 diagonal members

30 lateral side

31 medial side

40 football boot

41 studs/cleats

110 article of footwear according to an alternate embodiment

123 zipper on tongue portion

124 zipper pull tab on tongue portion