Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~ 7~
The present invention relates to a boot holder.
More specifically the present invention relates to a
device for supporting a boot in an upright position
raised off the floor to allow wet boots to dry.
In winter climates where people move from wet,
icy or snowy streets into heated buildings, it is gener-
ally the custom that boots are removed by the individuals,
particularly in offices, waiting rooms, and the like, and
other shoes are worn in the building. In some cases
these boots are overboots and shoes are worn underneath
the boots. Most office buildings, waiting rooms and the
like provide a place for boots to be kept adjacent the
door to avoid the wet snow or melted ice from being
tracked into the building. Rubber mats or metal trays
are sometimes provided for the boots to rest in, however,
while this does avoid water marks on the floors of a
building, it does not permit the boots to dry in a short
period of time because the boots have their soles and
heels on the mat or tray and air cannot dry those areas
of the boots. Furthermore, tall boots often fold double
or fall into a messy pile of leather and man-made
materials which again prevents the boots from drying. If
boots are left in this state for long periods, they
deteriorate.
Attempts have been made to solve this problem
by different types of boot stands, racks or the like.
Some of these, as shown in Canadian patent 192,061 issued
August 12th, 1919 to Garant, U.S. patent 2,278,25~ issued
March 31st, 1942 to Gillett and U.S. patent 3,608,738
30 issued September 28th, 1971 to Anderson, all show boots
being supported upside down. Wh~reas this certainly
allows the boot to dry, it has been found that if a
boot is very wet or has a lot of snow on the sole portion,
it will melt and run down the sides of the boot which can
leave salt stains on the boot and also takes a longer
'~
~.
7~
time for the boot to dry. In many cases such a design
is unsuitable for waiting rooms and the like where
people are only in a waiting room for an hour or so.
Another type of boot rack is that shown in
Canadian patent 909,722 issued September 12th, 1972 to
Thibault. This design provides a stand where boots rest
on vertical strips with the tops of the boots held up-
right in grooves or apertures on a horizontal panel~
~owever, there is no adjustment for dif~erent heights of
boots, short boots or children's boots would not fit
into the grooves in the panels, and the unit itself is
cumbersome and far from being a portable unit suitable
for transporting from one place to another. In Canadlan
patent 272,781 issued August 2nd, 1927 to Fischer, a boot
rack is disclosed wherein boots or shoes are supported
by means of clothespin~type attachments. Whereas such
a device holds a boot or shoe in an upright position,
it requires two hands, one to hold the boot and one to
open the clothespin attachment and attach it to the boot.
Such a device is often inconvenient, especially i~ one
is carrying shoes or other articles in one hand.
I have invented a boot holder for suspending
a boot in an upright position by an upper part of the
boot. One of the main purposes of my boot holder is
that a boot can be removed from a person's foot and with
one hand fitted into the boot holder so it is held until
it is manually released. Thus, I avoid some of the
problems of the prior art boot holders, namely I do not
have to have my boot upside down, thus causing the sides
of the boot to become wet when snow or ice melt. I also
provide a boot holder which does not require two hands
to attach a boot, thus avoiding the necessity of
placing bags on what may be a wet floor in the lobbies
and hallways of public buildings and the like.
Furthermore, my invention provides a compact
~ ~g~
boot holder which may be adjusted for height to suit a
particular size and height of boot. For instance, if
high boots are the order of the day, then my boot holder
may be made so that the boot is supported from the top
of the boot to prevent the sides collapsing and also sup-
porting the sole of the boot off the ground, thus allow-
ing it to dry. In another embodiment, my invention pro-
vides a collapsible boot holder, one that can be carried
by a person, so that even if boot holders are not supplied
in public buildings and the like, individuals can carry
their own boot holders and support their boots therefrom.
The present invention provides a boot holder
for suspending a boot in an upright position by the
upper part of the boot, the holder comprising a central
vertical member with two self-binding clamping means
positioned one on each side of the central member, each
of the clamping means adapted to be lifted by the upper
part of the boot being inserted between the clamping
means and the central member,and fall back to clamp the
upper part of the boot between the clamping means and
the central member.
An embodiment of the invention is provided
wherein the clamping means includes a link pivoted at
one end having a free end to rest against the central
member and hold the upper part of the boot in a non-slip
relationship. The link may be replaced by a cam form
pivoted at one end to provide a tangential contact in a
non-slip relationship with the boot. A sleeve
may be provided around a central member at a location
where each of the clamping means clamps the upper part
of the boot.
In another embodiment, the boot holder is sup-
ported from a stand resting on the floor and the clamp-
ing means has a single height adjustment means to ~djust
the height of the clamping means above the floor. The
~7~
-- 4
central member may be telescopic and the stand collapslble.
In another embodiment the boot holder has the central mcmber
wall mounted. A plurality of central vertical members may
be provided formed into a multiple boot holder, and in yet
a further emhodiment the clampin~ means includes a loop at
least partly formed of resilient strip material with a free
end adapted to be lifted by the upper part of the boot being
inserted between the free end and the central member to hold
the upper part ~f the boot i~ a non-slip relationship.
In drawings which illustrate the embodiments of
the invention,
Fig. 1 is a side ~iew showing a boot supported on
one embodiment o the boot holder of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a front ~iew showing one embodiment
of the boot holder of the present in~ention without a boot
supported thereon.
Fig. 3 is a partial front sectional elevational
view showing a boot suspended from the boot holder.
Fig. 4 is a partial front sectional elevational
view of a cam form clamp according to one embodiment of the
invention.
Fig. 5 is a partial front sectional elevational
view of another embodiment of clamp for the boot holder.
Fig. ~ is a partial front elevational view
showin~ a spring clamp as another embodiment for the boot
holder.
Fig. 7 is an isometric view showing a multiple
boot holder according to one embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 8 is an isometric view showing another
-30 embodiment of a multiple boot holder.
Fig. 9 is an isometric view showing a wall mounted
boo~ holder according to one embodiment of the prescnt
invention.
Referrin~ now to the drawings, a boot holder 10
is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 having a central Yertic~l post 11
-- 5 --
with a stand 12 at the base and a clamping mechanism 13 to
support a boot 14 attachad to the post 11. The clamping
mechanism has a height adjustment such as an adjustment
screw 15 to allow the mechanism 13 to be moved up and down
the post 11 and adjusted to the required height. Whereas
an adjustment scre~ 15 is shown in the drawing a sleeve
with a friction fit on the post 11 may be used ~or height
adjustment. Fig. 1 shows a boot 14 raised off the ~loor to
allow air to reach the underside of the sole and heel and
thus permit the boot 14 to dry. A hook 16 is shown at the
top of the post 11 primarily bent over ~or safety so that
no sharp ends are apparent. The hook 16 may also be used
for hanging the boot holder i~ desîred.
Fig. 2 illustrates the boot holder 10 having a
telescopic lower portion 20 into which the main post 11
slides. A locking mechanism (not shown) allows for a
variation in height of the post 11 and the base members 1
are shown in dotted lines as being foldable, thus the
holder can be collapsed and folded for ease of storage and
for carrying by a person in a handbag or the like~
- A detail of a clamp mechanism 13 according to one
embodiment of the in~ention is shown in Fig. 3 with an
upper part of a boot 14 suspended from the clamp mechanism
13. An inverse U-shaped member 30 has a top portion 31 to
hold the clamp mechanism 13 to the post 11. The top portion
31 has a hole where the central post 11 fits and in the
embodiment shown in Fig. 3 the adjustment screw 15 is
tightened so that the clamp mechanism 13 is held rigidly to
the post 11. Adjustment of height of the clamp mechanism 13
on the post 11 is achieved by simply loosening thP adjust-
ment screw 15 and moving the clamp mechanism 13 upwards and
downwards as desired on the post 11. Holding the boots 1~
is achie~ed by two links 32 rectangular in shape, connected
and pivoted at pivot point 33 at the extremes o~ the
U-shaped member 30. The free end of each lin~ 32 rests on
~7~
-- 6 --
a sleeve 34 around the post 11 to protect the boot 14 ~rom
being damaged when gripped between the end of the link 32
and the post 11. The sleeye 34 may be formed of rubber,
plastic or other suitable matexial, and may be molded
integral with the top portion 31 of the member 30. The
height adjustment may be by means of a clampin~ device, or
by the sleeve having a ~riction fit on the post 11. The
two links 32 are sloped upwards from the pivot point 33 to
rest against the rubber slee~e 34 so that they cannot pivot
downwards beyond a horizontal position. When the upper part
of a boot 14 is pushed upwards it raises the link 32 which
then falls back to pinch the side of the boot 14 between
the link 32 and the post 11. ~hen the boot is released,
the weight of the boot pulls the link 32 downwards to jam
the side of the boot against the slee~e 34 and suspending
the boot 14. Thus, to suspend a boot requires simply
pushing the boot upwards into the U-shaped member 30 and
releasin~ it. The boot 14 is then suspended from the clamp-
ing mechanism 13 and to free the boots it is merely
necessary to lift the links 32 and the boots 14 are re-
leased.
- Another arrangement of a clamping mechanism 13 is
shown in Fig. 4 wherein a cam form 40 replaces the link 32
of Fig. 3. The cam form 40 has a frictional surface 41 and
provides tangential contact with the boot 14 regardless of
the thickness of the side of the boot 14. In this embod~-
ment, the clamping angle is always optimal and thus the boot
is held in a non-slip relationship at all times. Another
configuration is shown in Fig~ 5 with a slidiny member 50
having a tapered end 51 and a slot 52 to slide on two pins
53 attached to the arm of the U-shaped member 30. When a
boot is pushed upwards into the clamp the tapered end 51
forces the sliding membex 50 upwards to move in the direc-
tion o the slot 52. T~e sliding member 50 then falls back
by gravity and grips the boot between a bevelled corner o~
-- 7 --
the tapered end 51 and the post 11. Another embodiment o
a clamping mechanism 13 is shown in Fig. 6 wherein the
mechanism 13 is Eormed of two loops 60 of a resilient strip
material such as spring steel or plastic. The loops may
be entirely resilient or may have just the free portion
61 made of resilient strip material. The top of the loop
60 is attached to a tubular sliding section 62 fitting
over the post 11. Height adjustment is provided to position
the tubular section 62 at any de~ired position on the post
11. The free end of the loops 60 are arranged to practi-
cally touch the post 11, or a rubber sleeve on the post, so
that when a boot 14 is pushed up between the free end 61
of the loop 60 and the post 11, the free end 61 springs
back or drops back and pinches the side o~ the boot. When
the boot is released, the boot is gripped between the free
end 61 o~ the loop 60 and the post 11.
Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate embodiments of multiple
boot holders with se~eral posts 11. Four posts 11 are shown
in line in Fig. 7 connecting to a top beam 70 and a bottom
beam 71 with the clamping mechanisms 13 ar~anged so that
the boots are suspended on each side of the line of posts
11. Stand members 72 are shown extending from each side
of the bottom beam 71 to provide a firm support base for
the multiple unit. The four posts 11 are arranged in a
different configuration in Fig. 8 so that they are in a
square relationship, each having two top beams 80, two
bottom beams 81 and support members 82 between the two
bottom beams 81 to position them apart and act as a support
base. A single boot holder is illustrated in Fig. 9 where-
in the clamping mechanism 13 is located on a post 11 whichis joined to a horizontal member 90 attached to a wall
mounting 91. The boot holder shown in Fig. 9 can be
mounted at a desired height on a wall so that the boots are
suspended above the floor and height adjustment can be
provided between the clamping mechanism 13 and the post 11.
All types of boots may be supported by the boot
holder of the present invention. By having an adjustable
height for the clamping mechanism 13 on the central post ll,
children's boots, short boots, long boots, all types of
boots can be suspended. The boots are suspended upright
from the top so they do not sag or fold over. The soles
and heels are positioned abo~e the floor, thus allowirlg air
to reach these areas and allow the boots to dry. The boot
holder may be made as a single unit, collapsible or fixed,
alternatively the holder may be made so that the base
members can be removed from the central post thus making
the unit portable. There are many uses for a boot holder
of this type, storage at home allows boots to be stored for
the summer in a suspended pbsition. Such holders may be
made portable so that indi~iduals can carry their holders
with them. ~lternatively, multiple boot holders can be
provided for home use, for use in offices or waiting rooms,
wherever people gather and temporarily remove tlleir boots.
The multiple boot holders may be collapsible or foldable
so they can be stored for the summer and reused the
following winter.
Materials of construction can be metal, plastic,
wood or a combination of these. The materials are prefer-
ably able to withstand contact with salt and water without
deterioration-
Various changes may be made to the embodimentsshown herein without departing from the scope of the present
in~ention which is limited only hy the following claims.
:,,,
