US3258863A - Safety footwear for bath or shower - Google Patents

Description

July 5, 1966 B. PAGET 3,258,863

SAFETY FOOTWEAR FOR BATH OR SHOWER Filed Oct. 28. 1963 Fra. 2.

INVEN TOR. BLANCHE PAGET A TTOE/VEY United States Patent 3,258 863 SAFETY FOOTWEAR FR BATH OR SHOWER Blanche Paget, 3951 W. 7th St., Los Angeles, Calif. Filed Oct. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 319,154 1 (Ilaim. (Cl. 36-62) This invention relates to safety footwear for use in the bath or shower or the like.

It is an object of my invention to provide a new and useful article of footwear which is adapted to be worn upon the feet to prevent dangerous slipping and falling in the bath or shower or on wet surfaces.

It is a further object of my invention to provide such footwear which resists slipping and falling on dry surfaces as well as wet surfaces and which functions on both types of surfaces.

Another object of my invention is to provide footwear of the type described which is simple and economical to manufacture, which is adjustable to fit any wearer and which preferably includes means formed integrally with the footwear for both holding it upon the foot and adjusting it to the size and shape of the foot of the wearer.

A further object of the invention is to provide an article of footwear of the type described in which the gripping power of the floor or ground engaging portion is actually increased rather than decreased when wet.

It is another object of the invention to provide such an article of footwear which is capable of use on either foot and which need be adjusted only once as to size and which will thereafter permanently retain the size to which it has been adjusted.

In essence, my invention contemplates an article of footwear which comprises a body member formed of a single piece of rubber or other suitable similar material. A major portion of the floor engaging area is covered with a relatively thin layer of cloth, preferably terry cloth, which is permannetly bonded to the body member. On a wet surface, the terry cloth absorbs water and its gripping power is substantially increased, so that it acts to prevent accidental slipping or falling. The body member incorporates as an integral part thereof means for mounting and holding it on the foot and for adjusting it to diiferent shapes and sizes of feet. The body member may be used on either foot, so that only one size and shape need be manufactured.

It is accordingly among the objects of my invention to provide an article of footwear having all of the advantages and benefits of the structure set forth above. My invention also comprises such other objects, advantages, and capabilities as will later more fully appear and which are inherently possessed by my invention.

While I have shown in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of my invention, it should be understood that the same is susceptible of modification and change without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Referring to the drawings,

FIG. 1 is an isometric view showing my footwear in use, with the foot of the wearer indicated in phantom lines;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plane view of my footwear in open position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of FIG. 2 showing the cloth and screen finish;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. *3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary isometric view of the inside of the top of the footwear in closed position, showing how the tongues are locked together.

A preferred embodiment which has been selected to illustrate my invention comprises a body member 10,

I main portion 12.

V 3,258,863 Patented July 5, 1966 ICC which is preferably formed of natural or synthetic rubber or other suitable elastomeric material or material having similar properties.

The top or inside of the body member is smooth, while the bottom or outside is provided with a slightly raised screen finish 11, which provides a plurality of small protuberances in a grid pattern across the entire bottom or outer surface of the body member 10.

The body member 10 includes a main portion 12, which is oblong rectangular in shape. Extending outwardly from the main portion 12, but preferably formed as integral parts thereof, are a pair of tongues 13 and 14. The tongue 13 is provided adjacent its outer end with a pair of spaced transverse slits 15. The tongue 14 is provided with a plurality of serrations 16, which extend along both side edges of the tongue 13.

Each of the serrations 16 comprises a straight portion 17, which extends transversely to the tongue 14 and a diagonal portion 18, which extends diagonally inwardly from the outer end of the straight portion 17 to the inner end of the straight portion 17 of the next adjacent serration 16. Beyond the serrations 16, the tongue 14 is provided with a rounded end 19, which is slightly smaller in width than the slits in the tongue 13.

The body member 10 is preferably formed first in a partially cured state. A relatively thin piece of cloth material 20, preferably terry cloth, is then placed in overlying relationship to the center of the bottom of the The rubber or similar material forming the body member 10 is then vulcanized and completely cured through the application of heat and pressure simultaneously to bond the cloth permanently to the bottom or outside of the main portion 12 of the body member 10.

When the cure is completed, the cloth 20 is completely inseparable from the body member 10. The cloth 20 preferably extends across the entire width of the main portion 12 and along a substantial portion of its length.

The tongues 13 and 14 are used to mount the footwear on the foot of the wearer and to adjust it for different sizes and shapes of feet. The rounded end 19 of the tongue 14 is first passed through the outer slit 15, then beneath the material between the slits 15 and back out through the inner slit 15. The tongue 14 is preferably moved through the slit 15 until at least one pair of the serrations 16 has passed through each of the slits 15. The serrations 16 are formed so that their diagonal portions 18 pass easily through the slits 15, by being 'bent or twisted inwardly, but the straight portions 17 act to prevent reverse movement of the tongue 14 back through the slits 15 by engaging the material adjacent to the ends of the slits 15.

There is a double locking action which takes place in that the slits 15 are spaced apart fro-m each other a distance equal to the distance between the straight portions 17 of the serrations 16. The straight portions 17 of one serrati-on accordingly engage the bottom of the tongue 13 adjacent to the ends of the outer slit 15, while the straight portions 17 of the next adjacent serration simultaneously engage the top of the tongue 13 adjacent to the ends of the inner slit 15. This double locking action prevents accidental disengagement of the tongue 14 from the tongue 13.

Once the footwear has been adjusted for the particular size and shape of the feet of the wearer, the wearer can leave the tongues 13 and 14 in a fixed position and merely slip the footwear on and oif the feet, since the body member 10 and tongues 13 and 14 are all resilient and can accordingly be expanded when put on and removed and will contract to resiliently grip the feet.

In use, the cloth material 20 engages the floor or other surface. When the surface is dry, the cloth provides sufficient frictional engagement to prevent slipping. This is supplemented by the added frictional engagement provided by the raised screen finish 11, both adjacent to the cloth material 20 and in cooperation with it, since the screen finish 11 underlies the cloth material 20 and supplements its gripping action.

When the surface is wet, the water acts as a lubricant for the rubber, but its effect is the opposite on the cloth material, particularly if terry cloth is used. The cloth absorbs the water and its gripping action is substantially increased, so that the wearer is protected from accidentally slipping or falling while wearing the footwear.

In use, the footwear is worn so that it extends transversely across the ball of the foot of the wearer.

Since rubber possesses good gripping qualities when dry and the gripping power of terry cloth increases when it is wet, my footwear is adapted for use on both wet and dry surfaces.

In addition to being useful in the bath or shower, my footwear is adapted for use on wet surfaces of all kinds, including the area around a swimming pool or beach, a wet sidewalk or patio, etc.

I claim:

An article of footwear for use on a wet or dry surface comprising a body member formed of rubber or the like, said body member having an oblong substantially rectangular main portion, the outer surface of said main portion having a screen finish providing a grid of small raised protuberances, a pair of elongated tongues formed integrally with said main portion and extending outwardly therefrom in opposite directions, one of said tongues having a pair of spaced transverse slits disposed adjacent the outer end thereof, the other of said tongues having a plurality of aligned successive serrations extending along the edges thereof, the distance between said serrations being approximately equal to the distance between said slits, said second named tongue and serrations adapted to be passed through said slits so that one pair of serrations engages the top of said first named tongue adjacent the ends of one of said slits and the adjacent pair of serrations engages the bottom of said first named tongue adjacent the ends of the other of said slits to adjust said footwear to the foot of the wearer and hold said footwear thereon, and a relatively thin layer of terry cloth vulcanized and permanently bonded to the center of the bottom of said main portion, said cloth extending across substantially the entire width of said main portion and along a substantial portion of its length, said cloth overlying said protuberances so that said cloth and protuberances co-act to engage said surface, said cloth being adapted to absorb water from said surface when wet to increase the gripping power of said footwear upon said wet surface and prevent accidental slipping and falling by the wearer.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,810,027 6/1931 Moran et al. 2417.1 2,004,098 6/1935 Andrews 2417 2,075,229 3/1937 Rose 368.1 X 2,189,489 2/1940 Fritz 367.6 2,643,389 6/1953 Wegner 2170 2,771,691 11/1956 Luchs 2-239 X 2,995,838 8/1961 Servin 369 FOREIGN PATENTS 267,040 3/1927 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner.

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