US20140174969A1

US20140174969A1 - Disposable footwear

Info

Publication number: US20140174969A1
Application number: US14/089,052
Authority: US
Inventors: Ronald Maceo WRIGHT
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-11-23
Filing date: 2013-11-25
Publication date: 2014-06-26

Abstract

A disposable footwear for being worn on a human foot. The disposable footwear protects the foot. The disposable footwear can be made from rubber material. The disposable footwear can form to the contours of the foot. The disposable footwear can be provided in a discrete package to be portable as a kit. The disposable footwear covers the foot to protect the foot from debris, moisture, contaminants, and/or bacteria.

Description

FIELD

The disclosure generally relates to disposable footwear. The disposable footwear can provide protection for a human foot.

BACKGROUND

There are many situations where and when a person is required to remove his/her shoes (e.g. when going through airport security, prayer services for some religions, etc.), or removal of shoes is desired (i.e. taking a shower in at a gym or locker room, yoga studio, dance studio, Karate/Martial Arts class, swimming pool, walking outside, cleaning a bathroom, etc.). In particular, women who wear high heels often remove the high heels when walking outside on the street because the high heels, although they provide a particular sense of style, are not very comfortable for walking Accordingly, it is common for women to walk barefoot outside on the streets. It is also very common that women walk barefoot at night when visibility is reduced and hazards on a surface of the street or sidewalk are difficult to avoid. When a person is barefoot, the foot is not protected from unhealthy substances (e.g. dirt, virus, bacteria, etc.). Thus, women suffer from injury to the foot or deal with issues having come into contact with unhealthy substances. Further, when the dirtied foot is inserted back into the shoe, the inside of the shoe becomes dirtied (contaminated with harmful and/or unhealthy substances). Further, when the person removes the shoe at a different location and walks without the shoe, he/she can contaminate the location with the same harmful and/or unhealthy substances. For example, a person who showers barefoot at a public shower of a gym may become contaminated with bacteria on his/her feet, and then the contaminated foot is inserted into his/her shoes, contaminating the shoes, and then when he/she arrives at his/her home and removes his/her shoes, his/her feet continue to contaminate his/her home with the bacteria, which can infect other people at his/her home.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the disposable footwear includes a foot-shaped plastic sheath configured to cover at least a portion of a foot, an opening for inserting the foot into an inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath, a sole portion, and a plurality of toe-covering portions, each of the toe-covering portions for covering each toe of the foot separately, wherein the foot-shaped plastic sheath is made of a stretchable material. An embodiment of the disposable footwear further includes an adhesive compound disposed on the inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath, wherein the adhesive compound is for adhering at least a portion of the stretchable material to the foot. The disposable footwear can include a moisturizing compound and/or a disinfecting compound disposed on the inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath. An embodiment of the disposable footwear further includes the sole portion having an uneven surface for providing friction between the sole portion and a surface in contact therewith when worn and in use by the user.
An embodiment of a kit includes (a) a disposable footwear, and (b) a package that contains the disposable footwear. Accordingly, the kit can include only one disposable footwear for one foot of a person in one convenient package. An embodiment of the kit includes an airtight sealed package. Another embodiment of the kit includes the package containing a second disposable footwear. Thus, the kit can include a convenient package containing a pair of disposable footwear for protecting both feet.
An embodied method of using the disposable footwear includes a step of opening a package containing a disposable footwear, a step of removing the disposable footwear from the package, and wearing the disposable footwear on a foot. The step of wearing the disposable footwear includes covering each toe of the foot with each of the toe-covering portions of the disposable footwear. The method can also include removing a second disposable footwear from the package, and wearing the second disposable footwear on a second foot. The step of wearing the second disposable footwear includes covering each toe of the second foot with each of the toe-covering portions of the second disposable footwear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the disposable footwear when worn.

FIG. 2 shows a view from the rear of the disposable footwear when worn.

FIG. 3 shows a view from the bottom of the disposable footwear.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a package having a disposable footwear therein.

FIG. 5 shows the package of FIG. 4 having been opened.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. A system, a method, and a device disclosed herein are directed towards a disposable footwear for protecting a person's foot when the person is required to remove his/her shoes (and/or the person desires to remove his/her shoes) and the person desires to have an appearance of being barefoot. The disposable footwear provides the person with protective cover for his/her foot when his/her shoe is removed. After the person has used the disposable footwear, the person can conveniently discard the disposable footwear. The disposable footwear provides the person a convenient way of being without a shoe for a while and avoid contaminating an inside of the shoe when the shoe is worn again.
The disposable footwear has advantages to socks because socks have a different function from the disposable footwear. Generally, socks are not intended to protect the foot from virus and/or bacteria. Socks are generally made of fabric or yarn and are permeable to many substances, such as virus and/or bacteria. Thus, socks generally cannot not provide protection to the feet for preventing contamination of the feet from the likes of virus and/or bacteria.
The disposable footwear can be used in fitness industry for those individuals and or groups using public facilities that require the removal of shoes, e.g. yoga class, swimming pool, men and women locker rooms, dance class, ballet, aerobics, step class, and more.
For example, many indoor floor sport enthusiasts have to suffer though dusty, dirty floor surfaces. Often, indoor floor sport areas are neglected for month between cleanings. These conditions can lead to a lack of cleanliness at the most inopportune times, i.e., when often the only option is being barefoot when participating in these athletic activities.
Gymnasium and indoor courts, for example, are hard surfaces that are generally maintained to provide very smooth surfaces. Such smooth hard surfaces when covered with dust, lint, hair, and other debris tend to diminish the amount of traction that a bare foot can provide, particularly when the bottom surface of the bottom of the foot becomes contaminated by collecting dust, fibers and other forms of debris. Such debris often sticks to the sole of a player's foot and this diminishes and eventually leads to a significant reduction or loss of traction between the player's foot and the floor surface. Such dust accumulates rather quickly in spite of all attempts to keep the floor dust and bacteria free. People who use the gymnasium often find it necessary to wipe the bottoms of their feet quite frequently, with their hands or other devices in order to restore some of the original tackiness of their feet.
Further, the disposable footwear can be used for modeling and runways shows, walking between dressing rooms, showers, back stages, show preparations, sauna, whirlpools, indoor and outdoor showers, and pools. The disposable footwear can be worn by infants, teenagers, young adults, senior citizens, handicap, obese, disabled, models, actors, actress, priest, religious, adult industry, and others. The disposable footwear can be provided to customers at high end retail stores, boutique and specialty shops, nail salons and spas, etc.
For travel and business, the disposable footwear can protect a person's feet during security check points of airports (when removal of shoes is required). Further, when riding on an airplane, many people desire to remove their shoes due to controlled air pressure in the cabin of the airplane (it is common for the foot to swell making the wearing of shoes very uncomfortable). However, the person may wish to walk about the cabin and/or use the restroom on the airplane. The disposable footwear can be used to protect the person's foot (feet) in such situations. The disposable footwear can also be used to protect a person's foot on boats, on buses, trains, hot air balloons, etc.
In many cultures and religions, there are many situations where removal of shoes is required, out of respect or other reasons. For example, at some churches, temples, or other religious buildings, removal of shoes are absolutely required. Some cultures require removal of shoes at weddings, anniversaries, blessings, baptisms, coming of age and other daily activities. The disposable footwear can be used in the above situations and provide protection for the person's foot (feet). For example, facilities such as religious temples within the Hindu culture require people to remove their shoes prior to entering the worshiping areas where the god statues are located. As a result, the participant in any religious ceremony has to remove all shoes and sometimes even their socks. For this to take place successfully, a foot cover would be a viable solution to preventing the foot from any debris the floors may have collected.
The disposable footwear can also provide protection outside. For example, when a person wishes to enjoy a day of being barefoot at the beach but suddenly need to use a public bathroom and/or portable toilet, the disposable footwear can be used to protect the person's feet and after the deed has been done, the dirtied disposable footwear can be discarded, conveniently.
In some situations, a person may wish to participate in an event that includes jumping into a frozen lake (often wearing only a swimsuit). In such events, it is common for people to be barefoot and suffer from frostbite to the foot because the barefoot is touching the ice on the lake, and the surface skin being exposed and in contact with the ice can cause injuries. The disposable footwear can be worn in the above situations and provide protection for the person's foot (feet) from exposure and contact with the ice.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the disposable footwear 10. The disposable footwear 10 can provide protection to a foot because the disposable footwear 10 can be resistant to one or more of cuts, heat, cold, chemicals, virus, bacteria, dirt, etc. The disposable footwear 10 has a foot-shaped plastic sheath 100 which is configured to stretch and form to cover at least a portion of a foot. Preferably, the foot-shaped plastic sheath 100 covers the entirety of the toes and the sole of the foot. The foot-shaped plastic sheath 100 is made of a stretchable material. The material may be air-permeable. The material may be water impermeable. The disposable footwear 10 has a plurality of toe-covering portions 102(a), 102(b), 102(c), 102(d), 102(e) at the front of the plastic sheath 100, so that each of the toe-covering portions 102(a)-(e) can form to and cover each toe of the foot separately. The plastic sheath 100 includes an opening 104 for inserting a foot so that the foot can be inserted into an inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath 100. The disposable footwear 10 has a sole portion 106, which is the surface area that would contact a surface of the ground (and/or floor).
FIG. 2 illustrates a rear portion of the disposable footwear 10. The opening 104 is shown to be near and below the ankle when worn. The opening 104 can be tapered to fit at the ankle of the wearer. In another embodiment, the opening 104 may be tapered to fit at a calf area of the wearer.
FIG. 3 illustrates the disposable footwear 10 when viewed from the bottom. The sole portion 106 includes an uneven surface. Preferably, the uneven surface is provided at the sole portion 106 even when worn. The uneven surface can be one or more surface structures 108 (e.g. texture, ribs, ridges, etc.) for increasing friction between the sole portion 106 and the surface of the ground (and/or floor).
The disposable footwear 10 can be available in various sizes, styles, and/or colors. For example, the disposable footwear 10 can be clear or substantially clear, such that when worn, it would provide an appearance of the person being barefoot. This can provide advantages to social and/or religious situations, where appearing to be barefoot is important. Accordingly, the disposable footwear 10 may be transparent. In other embodiments, the disposable footwear 10 may be in one or more colors, such as, for example, red, green, brown, beige, yellow, or any combinations thereof. Accordingly, a person can choose from a variety of colors that not only match the color of their wardrobe, but only may blend with the complexion of their skin. Further, the disposable footwear 10 can be personalized with text and/or graphics, such as a team name, a team logo, a symbol, a picture, a photo, or any combinations thereof.
The disposable footwear 10 can be made of a stretch material. In an embodiment, the material is a recyclable material, such that the used disposable footwear 10 may be recycled. A material from which the disposable footwear 10 can be made from is latex, a form of rubber. Although there are many different forms of latex, the disposable footwear 10 may include using one or more of the following materials.

- PVC, Polyvinyl chloride;
- PE, Polyethylene; and/or
- Nitrile rubber, also known as Buna-N, Perbunan (NBR). NBR is a synthetic rubber copolymer of acrylonitrile (ACN) and butadiene;

The disposable footwear 10 can also include, on the inside of the foot-shaped sheath 100, various substances and/or compounds, for providing certain benefits to a person. The disposable footwear 10 can include a moisturizing agent, such as, lotion, aloe vera, and/or oils. The disposable footwear 10 can include a disinfecting agent, such as phenolic, carbolic acid, and/or alcohol based antiseptic. The disposable footwear 10 can include an agent that is alcohol free. The disposable footwear 10 can include a rinse free sanitizer.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show the disposable footwear 10 being conveniently provided in a package 200. FIG. 4 shows package 200 that is sealed containing the disposable footwear 10 (not shown in FIG. 4). FIG. 5 shows the package 200 which has been opened, providing access to the disposable footwear 10 contained in the package 200. The package 200 may be small, portable, and sealed air tight and/or water tight. Accordingly, a kit 20 can have a package 200 and a disposable footwear 10 contained therein. Each package 200 can contain one or two disposable footwear 10.
In an embodied method of protecting a foot includes, opening the package containing a disposable footwear, then removing the disposable footwear from the package, and then wearing the disposable footwear on a foot. Further, the method can also include removing a second disposable footwear from the package, and wearing the second disposable footwear on a second foot.
With regard to the foregoing description, it is to be understood that changes may be made in detail without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is intended that the specification and depicted embodiment to be considered exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the broad meaning of the claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A disposable footwear, comprising:

a foot-shaped plastic sheath configured to cover at least a portion of a foot;

an opening for inserting the foot into an inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath;

a sole portion; and

a plurality of toe-covering portions, each of the toe-covering portions for covering each toe of the foot separately,

wherein the foot-shaped plastic sheath is made of a stretchable material.

2. The disposable footwear according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesive compound disposed on the inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath, wherein the adhesive compound is for adhering at least a portion of the stretchable material to the foot.

3. The disposable footwear according to claim 1, further comprising a moisturizing compound disposed on the inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath.

4. The disposable footwear according to claim 1, further comprising a disinfecting compound disposed on the inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath.

5. The disposable footwear according to claim 1, wherein the sole portion having an uneven surface for providing friction between the sole portion and a surface in contact therewith when in use by the user.

6. A kit, comprising:

a) a disposable footwear that includes:

a foot-shaped plastic sheath configured to cover at least a portion of a foot;

a sole portion; and

wherein the foot-shaped plastic sheath is made of a stretchable material; and

b) a package that contains the disposable footwear.

7. The kit according to claim 6, wherein the package is sealed airtight.

8. The kit according to claim 6, further comprising:

c) a second disposable footwear that includes:

a foot-shaped plastic sheath configured to cover at least a portion of a foot;

a sole portion; and

wherein the second foot-shaped plastic sheath is made of a stretchable material, wherein the package contains the second disposable footwear.

9. A method of protecting a foot, comprising:

opening a package containing a disposable footwear;

removing the disposable footwear from the package, wherein the disposable footwear, includes a foot-shaped plastic sheath configured to cover at least a portion of a foot, an opening for inserting the foot into an inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath, a sole portion, and a plurality of toe-covering portions, wherein the foot-shaped plastic sheath is made of a stretchable material; and

wearing the disposable footwear on a foot, including separately covering each toe of the foot with each of the toe-covering portions of the disposable footwear.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

removing a second disposable footwear from the package, wherein the second disposable footwear, includes a foot-shaped plastic sheath configured to cover at least a portion of a foot, an opening for inserting the foot into an inside of the foot-shaped plastic sheath, a sole portion, and a plurality of toe-covering portions, wherein the foot-shaped plastic sheath is made of a stretchable material; and

wearing the second disposable footwear on a second foot, including separately covering each toe of the second foot with each of the toe-covering portions of the second disposable footwear.