US2986823A - Overshoe - Google Patents

Description

S. KOS

OVERSHOE June 6, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 26, 1960 A ttorneys June 6, 1961 s. Kos 2,986,823

` OVERSHOE v Filed Jan. 26, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inoenzor 57345714 KOS A ttorne y5 2,986,823 OVERSHOE Stasia Kos, 40 E. 64th St., New York, N.Y. Filed Jan. 26, 1960, Ser. No. 4,631 Claims. (Cl. 36-7.1)

This invention relates to footwear and particularly to articles designed to be worn over the shoe so as to afford protection therefor.

A desideratum in the -footwear trade is to provide women with an overshoe which is suiiiciently light in weight and flexible in character as to be capable of being carried in a hand bag. A problem which has beset potential manufacturers of such an overshoe is that the shoe, which is made of such light and ilexible material, is easily torn and damaged in use particularly, as it may be imagined, in the heel section. Being practically a disposable item consumed in one or two uses, it must be manufactured cheaply enough to be sold at a low price. Standardization is, of course, recognized as a significant factor relating to the diminishment of manufacturing cost. It is, therefore, apparent that such a shoe could be cheaply produced if it could be made in one size and yet could be employed as a shoe protector for nearly all sizes and shapes of womens shoes. The overshoe which is made according to applicants invention may be so employed.

To this end, the overshoe is made of a light, plastic material having an elastic stitching about the rim of its opening. No cutting and consequent sealing of the material is required to `form the nished article which further contributes to economy of manufacture. The sole of the overshoe is fiat and unpleated, with no demarcation -for the heel. The back and vamp portions are fashioned with pleats or folds of the excess material which is inevitably generated as the top is formed, no cutting of the material being desired or needed. rThe pleats are capable of rolling in and out and thereby shortening and lengthening so that the overshoe can accommodate to various shoe shapes and sizes. rlhe pleated vamp section of the overshoe is foreshortened to accommodate the larger shoe in order that more material may be allotted to the sole section while the extent Vof the pleated back section of the overshoe is governed generally by the size of the womans shoe heel which is protected by the overshoe. The side and vamp portions of the overshoe are somewhat puckered to provide additional extensibility.

One object of the invention is to provide an overshoe which is especially adapted to accommodate various shapes and sizes of shoe and heights of heel.

Another object of the invention is to provide an overshoe which is economical to manufacture, neatv in appearance and light in weight.

Other objects and advantages of the invention may be appreciated on reading the followingdetailed description of one embodiment which is taken in conjunction FIG. 7 is 4fragmentary View on enlarged scale showing the vamp pleats shortened for a relatively long shoe; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view on enlarged scale showiilg the vamp pleats lengthened for a relatively short s oe.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is provided a sheet of flexible, light weight plastic material 10 such as polyethylene, which is generally rounded at the edge of its vamp section 11 and back or heel section 12.. Intermediate the vamp and heel sections is disposed a sole section 13. It is to be noted that neither the heel, the vamp nor the sole sections are precisely defined areas. Rather the dimensions of the sole section, for example, will depend on the dimension of the two other sections, particularly the vamp section, which in turn is governed by the size of the shoe which the nis-hed product is required to accommodate.v

Except for the button down or strap portion 11a of the vamp section, both the vamp and heel sections are pleated with each pleat being formed, as shown in FIG. 8, by folding the material back on itself on fold line a and then folding again on lines b which is normally located in a position on the vamp and back section that will terminate in the foot opening 14 of the overshoe at the nadir of notch 1S. As explained below, however, the lines b, while located as shown in FIG. 6, when the overshoe is in fully relaxed condition, will change their angular disposition relative to the fold lines b when the article is stretched over a shoe the extent of this change being dependent on the degree of stretching.

As shown in FIG. 7 andpFIG. 8, each pleat is provided with a top relatively straight edge portion 16 followed by the notched portion 15, the two portions together defining the depth of the pleat at the top. This depth is relatively fixed being assured by sewing, as by-crochet, through the top portion 16 by means of an elastic thread 17 which also connects the top sewn portions 16. The material is sewn lwhile the thread is extended which on relaxing causes it to form puckers 18 at regularly spaced intervals between the top portions 16. This puckering naturally affords the opening 14 of the nished article the capability of being extended for fitting over a Vlarger shoe.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 the elastic thread y17 terminates at points cv and d on the vamp at which points there are attached an elastic strap 20 and button 21, respectively. There are no pleats in the above described sense formed in the material between the points c and d. However, there will be a fold in the material formed on the fold line 22 as a result of sewing the elastic strap to two layers of material for a small distance the overshoe.

over a shoe which is larger in length and width than from the point c and there will also be a `fold back line 23 terminating at point c as a consequence of the attachment of the free end of the elastic strap 20 to the button 21.

.As shown by comparison of the shoe illustrated in FIG. 2 with the widerV shoe illustrated in FIG. 5, the fold lines 22 and 23 in the, latter figure have been displaced slightly which is permitted by the elongation of the elastic thread 17 sewnin the pleated and side wall sections of Additionally, the button 2.1 at point d is moved farther from the longitudinal center line of the overshoe due to the stretching of the unsewn portion of the elastic strap 20. yLess puckering .in the pleated material across theV vamp of the overshoe illustrated in FIG. 5

-isalso evident. Accordingly, the overshoes ability to accommodate a wider shoe is demonstrated. p l

Comparison of the overshoe disclosed in FIG. 2 with the'longer overshoe shown in FIG. 4 reveals the fact that the opening 14 in the latter has been elongated ex- `posing a-portion of the shoe instep. Material in the toe of the shorter overshoe which composed the pleats of the vamp becomes transferred to the sole in the toe of the larger overshoe. The sole of the overshoe is plain and unpleated which must mean that the pleatsin the vamp section of the larger overshoe have been foreshortened. Again noting FIGS. 7 and 8, it is apparent that the pleats are generally triangular in shape with sides a and b composing the long sides of the triangle and the side composed of the notched portion and the straight edge portion I16 constituting its base. Although side a is relatively iixed in position, side b can be displaced as a consequence o f stretching the overshoe in the longitudinal direction. This displacement occurs as material is rolled out of the pleat when tension is placed on wall material extending therefrom as the overshoe accommodates to the larger shoe. As a result, the pleat becomes narrower and more abbreviated in length. This is demonstrated in FIG. 7 which on comparison with FIG. 8 discloses a pleat in the overshoe which is under longitudinal tension. The puckering eiect is minimal and the pleat is relatively short as comparedrwith the same features of the material illustrated in FIG. 8.

It will be noticed that the pleats in the vamp section of the overshoe, for example, are generally biased oif the longitudinal center axis of the overshoe and hence are enabled to contribute material in both the transverse and longitudinal directions as they become shorter and narrower for the longer and wider shoe. The top of each pleat is substantially demobilized by sewing the elastic thread through the three layers of material adjacent the straight portion 16 and as a result more of the displacement of side b occurs near the bottom of the pleat than the top which is brought to facilitate the capacity of the pleat to contribute to the desired elongation and widening of the overshoe.

The same adjustability in the overall length of the pleats `is required in the heel or back section 12 of the overshoe so that it can accommodate itself automatically to shoe heels of different height. As shown in FIG. 3 the pleats in the overshoe which is fitted over a high heel shoe are longer than the pleats in the same section of the overshoe on a low heel shoe. This is due to the design of the two types of womens shoes. The back of the lower heel being disposed farther from the toe of the shoe than is the back of the higher heel, more longitudinal tension is exerted by the lower heel on the overshoe and, as a consequence, the pleats are foreshortened.

It is thus seen that the overshoe whichl is herein described is functionally endowed to self accommodate t'o various shoe shapes and sizes, this desideratum being afforded as an immediate and logical consequence of its design features. These features severally contribute to the desired result and as such constitute a basis for invention. It is recognized that other features of design may be incorporated without materially altering the basic concept of the invention the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is: l

l. An overshoe fabricated of uncut, exible and virtually inelastic material, said overshoe having an extensible foot opening, a heel section, a vamp section and a sole section intermediate said heel and vamp sections, said vamp section having separated regions comprising a plurality of connected pleats and a fold region intermediate the pleated regions, each of the pleats in the separated regions of the vamp section having two lateral folds converging in the direction of said sole section with only one of said folds being stitched near the top thereof to the material connecting said pleat to its adjoining pleat thereby freeing the other'fold to be positionally altered relative to the first-mentioned fold when the overshoev is dimensionally modified, said vamp section having an elastic strap and button attached respectively to its separated, pleated regions and adapted for resiliently constraining the material in the pleated and intermediate regions of the vamp section.

2. An overshoe fabricated of uncut, flexible and virtually inelastic material, said overshoe having an extensible foot opening, a heel section, a vamp section and a sole section intermediate said heel and vamp sections, said vamp section having separated regions comprising a plurality of connected pleats and a fold region intermediate the pleated regions, each of the pleats in the separated regions of the vamp section having two lateral folds converging in the direction of said sole section with only one of said folds being stitched near the top thereof to the material connecting said pleat to its adjoining pleat thereby freeing the other fold to be positionally altered relative to the first-mentioned fold when the overshoe is dimensionally modified, the top of said other fold being notched to facilitate the stitching of said iirst-mentioned fold while leaving the notched fold unstitched, said vamp section having an elastic strap and button attached respectively to its separated, pleated regions and adapted for resiliently constraining the material in the pleated and intermediate regions of the vamp section.

3. An overshoe fabricated of uncut, eXible and virtually inelastic material, said overshoe having an extensible foot opening, a pleated heel section, a vamp section and a sole section intermediate said heel and vamp sections, said vamp section having separated regions comprising a plurality of connected pleats and a fold region intermediate the pleated regions, each of the pleats in the pleated heel section and the separated regions of the vamp section having two lateral folds converging in the direction of said sole section with only one of said folds being stitched near the top thereof to the material connecting said pleat to its adjoining pleat thereby freeing the other fold to be positionally altered relative to the first-mentioned fold when the overshoe is dimensionally modified, said vamp section having an elastic strap and button attached respectively to its separated, pleated regions and adapted yfor resiliently constraining the material in the pleated and intermediate regions of the vamp section.

4. An overshoe fabricated of uncut, flexible and virtually inelastic material, said overshoe having anV extensible foot opening, a pleated heel section, a vamp section and a sole section intermediate said heel and vamp sections, said vamp section having separated regions cornprising a plurality of connected pleats and a fold region intermediate the pleated regions, each of the pleats in the pleated heel section and the separated regions of the vamp section having two lateral folds converging in the direction of said sole section with only one of said folds being stitched near the top thereof to the material connecting said pleat to its adjoining pleat thereby freeing the other Vfold to be positionally altered relative to the first-mentioned fold when the overshoe is dimensionally modified, the top of said other fold being notched to facilitate the stitching of said first-mentioned fold while leaving the notched fold unstitched, said vamp section having an elastic strap and button attached respectively to its separated, pleated regions and adapted for resiliently constraining the material in the pleated and intermediate regions of the Vamp section.

5. An overshoe fabricated of uncut, exible and virtually inelastic material, said overshoe having an extensible foot opening, a pleated heel section, a vamp section and a sole section intermediate said heel and vamp sections, said vamp section having separated regions comprising a plurality of connected pleats and a fold region intermediate the pleated regions, each of the pleats in the pleated heel section and the separated regions of the vamp section having two lateral folds converging in thev direction of said sole section with only one of said folds being stitched near the top thereof to the material connecting said pleat toits adioining Vpleat thereby freeing the r'other fold to be positionally altered relative to the rst-mentioned fold when the overshoe is dimensionally modified, the top of said other fold being notched to facilitate the stitching of said rst-mentioned fold while leaving the notched fold unstitched, the connecting material between adjacent pleats in the vamp and heel sections being puckered, said vamp section having an elastic strap and button attached respectively to its separated, pleated regions and adapted for resiliently'constraining the material in the pleated and intermediate regions of the vamp section.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Walters May 20, Artz Nov. 2, Valentine et al. Mar. 5, Krevis Mar. 17, France Feb. 3, Teague July 31,

FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Feb. 26,

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