Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
s~
This invention relates to a boot that has a foot portion
and a Elexible leg portion extending upwardly thereErom wherein the
leg portion is continuous around the boot and can be wrapped snug-
gly arGund the lower portion of the leg oE a wearer.
Boots of this nature are commonly worn by children and
the principal purpose of the wrap-around leg portion is to exclude
snow and water from enterin~ the boot. The upper must be amply siz-
ed to permit easy insertion of the foot and must have a means for
folding its excess circumference and securing it in wrap-around
relation on the leg to prevent entry of snow and the like in use.
While these boots are popular with children because children often
find themselves out of door under conditions of heavy snow, they
are also used extensively by adults as a snow boot.
Boots with uppers and folding means for the uppers cap-
able of achieving these objectives broadly are co~mon. This inven-
tion is primarily concerned with a means for securing the flexible
upper in wrap-around relation. Generally speaking, adults do not
have a great deal of difficulty in securing the upper in wrap-
around relation with the presently available means for securing the
uppers, notwithstanding the fact that many o~ the securement means
are not as convenient as they might be. Children, on the o-ther
hand, and especially children of about the age of three tend to
have difficulty in securing the upper in wrap-around relation. It
has been observed that the commonly used securing means cannot be
manipulated with reliability by the averge child of about three
years of age.
\
3~5S~
The securing means oE the prior art include buckles and/
or straps that tie a folded over section of the flexible upper
tothe main section of the Elexible upper whereby to achieve the
necessary snug fit around the leg to exclude snow. Buckles are too
complex for a small child to operate and are also inconvenient to
an older person. Straps can be secured with buckles or with a hook
and loop adhesive material. Hook and loop adhesive rnaterials
overcome the objection to buckles for an adult but a small child
has difficulty in reliably closing any type s-trap securement. He
does not, generally speaking, have the alignment skills necessary
to reliably secure the boot.
Moreover, a buckle and/or a strap securement means for
these boots often leaves something to be desired from a weather-
proof point of view. Snow and/or water can penetrate under the
folded over portion of the leg and result in discomfort.
Zippers and laces are also used but these expedients are
even more complex.
It is an object of this invention to provide a snow boot
design having a flexible wrap around leg portion that can be simply
and positively closed even by a three year old user.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a
snow boot design having a flexible wrap-around leg portion that
forms an eEfective exclusion to snow and water.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a snow
boot design having a flexible wrap-around ley portion that is econ-
omic to manufacture.
With these and other objects in view, a boot according to
this inven-tion has a foot portion and a leg portion of flexible
water repellan-t material, said leg portion comprising:
an elongate V-shaped gusset in the flexible leg portion
with its upper edge at the upper eclge of -the flexible leg portion;
an elongated flap coextensive with one side of the gus-
set;
a first elongated strip of adhesive material on the inner
side of said flap;
a seco~d elongated strip of adhesive material at the
other side of said gusset and coextensive therewith;
said first and said second elongated strips of adhesive
material being adapted to unite one to the other when pressed into
contact with each other;
said elongated strips of adhesive material having a width
whereby they can be adhered together with variable overlap to fold
said gusset varying amoun-ts to vary the closed circumference of
said leg portion to achieve a snug fit around the leg of a user in
use and exclude snow and moisture.
The invention will be clearly understood after reading
the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the
drawings.
Figure 1 is an illustration of a boot according to this
invention with the V-shaped gusset and elongated flap in the open
position;
5S~
Figure 2 is an illustration of the same boot with the gus-
set Eolded and the elongated adhesive s-trips adhered with substan-
tial overlap to make a relatively narrow c:Losed circumference of
the leg portion;
Figure 3 is an illustration of the boot with the elongat-
ed strips of adhesive material adhered -together with less overlap
whereby to fold the gusset a lesser amount than in Figure 2 to pro-
vide a relatively wide closed circumference of the leg portion.
Figure 4 is an illustration along the line 4-4 showing
the construction of the gusset.
Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally re-
fers to a boot that has a foot portion 12 and a leg portion 14 of a
flexible water repellant material such as nylon. The foot portion
is normally made of rubber or a plastics equivalent thereof and the
flexible leg portion is often fleece lined. The leg portion is con
tinuous from its bottom to its upper edge and has an elongated V-
shaped gusset 16 at its front. Gusset 16 is sewn into the upper
along each of its elongated side edges.
An elongated flap 18 extends along one side edge of the
gusset 16 and an elongated strip of adhesive material 20 extends
along the marginal portion of the other side of the gusset 16. The
inner side of the flap 18 has an elongated strip of adhesive mater-
ial 22 secured thereto.
The adhesive material that thus extends along the side ed-
ges of the V-shaped gusset is preferably a hook-and-loop type of ad-
hesive such as Velcro (Trade Mark oE Velcro U.S.A. Inc.) or Staylok(trade mark oE Calko MIlls I.td.). These Eastenings comprise two
sheets, one of which has a series of loops and the other of which
has a series of hooks. When the two sheets are pressed together
they adhere and form a fastening. They can be, with force, torn
apart. This type of fastening is well known in the clothing and
other businesses.
While the invention disc:Loses a hook and loop type of
fastener, other pressure sensitive fastening devices for the fas-ten-
ing strips 20 and 22 are contemplated.
The user slips his foot into the boot when it is in the
position of Figure 1 with the gusset open and the adhesive strips
unsecured. If the user has little other bulk around his lower leg
he will want to provide for substantial wrap-around and he will
take the flap 18 and draw it around to wrap the gusset portion
around his leg and apply the strip 22 to the strip 20 to secure the
boot in a closed position as illustrated in Figure 2. In Figure 2
the upper portion of the flap 18 has been illustrated as turned
over to indicate the amount of overlap o-f the adhesive strips 20
and 22. The overlap is relatively substantial and a relatively
large overlap is achieved.
In Figure 3 the elongated Elap 18 has been illustrated
with less overlap to provide a larger circumference. This position
would be used where, for example, the user wanted to fold the lower
end of a long trouser into the boot. The user in each case, how-
ever, would achieve the amount of overlap and wrap-around to obtain
a snugt fit of the upper around the leg.
,
~3~iS~
The simplicity with which the upper can be wrapped around
the leg without any requirement for alignment oE straps or securing
means will be apparent. The user merely has to take the free flap
18 and draw it around the leg. By so doing the elongated strips of
adhesive material will automatically come into contact with each
other as the closure is made around the leg. It will also be appar-
ent that the seal is an effective one and extends from top to bot-
tom of the gusset. There is little possibility of snow or moisture
lodging itself in the folds oE the gusset during use.
While the closure is one that can be effec-ted by the
youngest wearer of this type of boot without help it is also a posi-
tive and effective one that will commend itsel~ to a user of this
type of boot of any age. It is both easier to use and highly effec-
tive.
It will also be apparent that the construction is rela-
tively inexpensive to manufacture since it has no buckles to apply
or straps to align, zippers to sew, lacP eyelets to provide.
Figure 4 is a cross-section of the upper portion of the
boot illustrating the manner in which the gusset is sti-tched into
the boot. The gusset is preferably made from a nylon material.
Embodiments of the invention other than the one illustxat-
ed will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is not
intended that the foregoing description should be read in a
limiting sense.
