Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
This invention relates ~o foo-~wear such as a pair
of shoes or boots and in particular footwear designed for
chilclren.
Young children often have difficul~y in determining
which shoe or boot of a pair is intended for the left foot
and which fits the righ~ foot. The confusion is due to the
similarity in size and shape of each member of the pair.
Sometimes it is difficult to -train a chlld to put the proper
piece of footwear on the proper foot.
The present invention provides foo-twear equipped
with means for signaling or telling a child when his O.L` her
footwear is not arranged in ~he proper manner for wear. The
signal device disclosed herein can be provided easily and
wi~:h litt:Le additional expense. Moreover, with normal use
it can be expected to last a considerahle length of time
without requiring replacement. or maintenance.
According to the present invention, footwear for a
person comprises Eirst and second matching foo-twear members,
a magnet mounted in the first member close -to one side of
the member and arranged a selected distance from the heel
end of the first member, and a signa:Ling device mounted in
the second member. The signaling device includes battery
means -Eor powering the device and a magne-tically activated
switch which i9 located close to the side of the second
member which is opposite the side that corresponds to the
one side of the first member. The swit:ch is approximately
said selected distance from the heel end of the second
member.
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In one preferred embocliment the magnet is
permanently fixed in the heel of the first member and the
~ignaling device is located in a chamber provided in the
heel of the second member.
Further features and advan~ages will become
apparent from the fol:lowing de~ailed description of a
preferred embodiment wherein:
Figure l is an illustration showing the general
arrangement of footwear that incorporates -the present
invention, which footwear is arranged ln ~he proper manner
for wear;
Figure 2 i5 a side view of the left shoe of E'igure
l showing the placement of the magnet therein;
Figure 3 is a cut.-away sectional view taken along
the line from III-III of Figure l; and
Figure 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating the
circuit for the signalling device.
Except as described hereinafter, the footwear
constructed in accordance with the present invention is
constructed in the usual manner. This is illustrated in
Figure 2 where a standard shoe, modified to incorporate the
present invention, is shown. It will be understood that the
- present invention can be us~d in any type of footwear
including shoes, boots, slippers, sandals, etc. For ease of
description, reference will hereinafter be made only to the
illustrated shoes but this should not be ~aken as limiting
the present invention to use in conjunction with shoes only.
~ ~3'~
Figure 1 of ~he drawings shows the general pat-tern
and layout for a right shoe lO and a lef-t shoe 12, both
viewed from the -top. Each of these shoes comes with a heel
14 or 16 in the posi~ion indicated, l~ accordance wi-th the
present invention, one of ~hese shoes has a magnel: 18
mounted therein and loca-~ed close to one side of the shoe.
In -~he illustration of Figure 1, the magnet is located in
the left shoe but i-t will be understood tha-~ it could be
located in the right shoe instead~ A signalling device 20
is mounted in the other shoe, in t'his case the right shoe.
The precise construction of this signalling device will be
described in detail hereinafter. As shown in Figure 1, the
signalling device is also loca~ed close ~o one side of the
right shoe and ln fact is located close to the side of the
right shoe opposi-te the side t.ha-t corresponds to the side of
the left shoe where the magnet is located. It should
further be noted that the magnet is located a predetermined
or select:ed distance d from the rear end or heel end o~ the
shoe. $imilarly the signall,ing device is also located
approximately said prede-termined distance d from ~he rear
end of the right shoe. When the shoes are arranged
properly~ tha-t is with the left shoe on the left hand side
and the right shoe on the right hand side as shown in Figure
l, *he signaling device will not buz,z or sound an alarm.
However when the shoes are not arranged properly, it will be
appreciated that magnet l~ will be in close proximity to t'he
signaling device 20. Because the signaling device has a
magne-~ically activated swil:ch 22 arranged close to the side
of the shoe, -~he presence oE -t.he maynet will close the
switch and sound an alarm or buzzer. This wlll tell -~he
child tha-~ ~he shoes are not arranged properly and should be
re-arrangecl before they are put on -~he child's fee~.
The cut-away view of Figure 3 shows an insulating
plastics housing 24 which can be place~ in a chamber 26
formed in the shoe that is to have the signalling deviceO
I~ wil:L be apprecia~ed ~hat this housing 24 contains the
electrical circuit and e]ect.ri.cal component shown in Figrue
4 and it can be permanently sealed if desired. The housing
can be made from an upper part 27 and a co-operating lower
part 28 ~hat can be permanently fused ~ogether.
Al~ernative:Ly if it is desired ~o provide means for
replacing the bat~ery of the signalling device the two par~s
27 and 28 can be detachably connected ~oge~her. ~ small
flap 30 can be provided in ~he heel t.o cover the chamber 26.
Then when one wishes to replace ~he siynalling device or the
battery t~herein the flexible flap 30 can be peeled bac~ ~o
permit removal of the signalling device from the chamber.
It will be understood that ~he housing 24 can be made strong
enough to support the flap 30 from beneath when it is
restored to the position shown i.n Figure 3.
Turning now to the signalling device and circuit
illustrated in Figure 4, the battery means is indicated at
32 and it is connected by the electric wire or lead 37 to
the ground 50. The opposite terminal of the battery
32 is conl-lected to a magne~ically activa~e~l reed swi-~ch 22.
-In one pre-Eerred embodirnen~ -~he battery is a 3 vol~ lithium
ba-ttery and ~he swi-~ch is a Burroughs number 1129-1812-000
-A00. It wi:ll be appreciated that -this -t:ype of swi~ch will
close ~he circu:i~ when i~ is in close proximity to a rnagnet
such as the magnet 18. Connectecl between t-he switch 22 and
the signaling means 36 are a load resis-~or 40 and a biasing
reslstor 42. In the illustrated preferred embodiment the
resistor 40 can be size 470 ohms while the resistor 42 is
220 K. There is a curren~ limiting re~istor 44 connected 1-o
the signaling rneans 36 by a wire or lead 46. Both of the
resistors 40 and 44 are connected to a transistor 48 which
is connected to ground at 50. In one preferred embodiment,
the transistor is one available from Radio Shack, catalogue
number C-1537.
The preferred signaling means 36 is a piezoelectric
crystal element such as that available from Radio Shack,
catalogue number 273-064. It will be appreciated that
closure of switch 22 will cause the crystal element at 36 to
emit a buzzing sound that can easily be heard. The
operation and construction of such crystal elements are well
known and further description of this element is believed
unnecessary.
From the above description, it will be seen that
the present inventors have provided an inexpensive means
which will enable small children -to readily determine for
t:hemselves when their shoes or boots are properly arranged.
It i5 -~:hus be:Lieved tha~: ~he present invention will find its
primary use in children's footwear, particularly footwear
intended for children up to seven years of age. Although
the illustrated footwear has ~he bat-tery and the alarm
clevice located in the hee:ls of the shoes, it will be readily
appreciated l-hat both could be located closer ~o the front
of the shoes if desired. This is particularly true if the
shoes or boo~s have thick soles.
It will be further appreciated that instead of
triggering an alarm, the closure of the switch could trigger
the operation of a musical or voice device made small enough
to be incorporated in a shoe or boot. It will be clearly
understood that the term "signal means" or "signaling
device" used herein and hereafter are intended to include
all such devices, alarms, or buzzers. The construction of
such muslcal or voice devices is now well known in the
electronics art.
It will be appreciated that various modifications
or changes could be made to the footwear described herein
without departing from the spirit and scope of this
invention and all such modifications and changes fall within
the scope of the appended claims are intended to be covered~
