Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02502899 2005-03-31
ANKLE SUPPORT DESIGNED TO MAINTAIN
PROPER INTEGRAL BOOT FIT
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a continuation of United States Provisional Patent Application
No. 60/557,685 filed on March 31, 2004
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to footwear and, more particularly, to a
system to limit up and down movement of the heel in pull-on boots having no
harnessing systems.
Description of the Prior Art
Traditionally, rubber or synthetic rubber has dominated firefighter
footwear boots in the style commonly referred to as "bunker style". This
styling is a
pull-on and does not make use of any harnessing system such as laces or
zippers. The
reason for this popular style is that firefighters, responding to an emergency
call, do
not have time to lace up boots. The notion of pull-on remains embedded with
over
80% of the market. By convention, leather (or synthetic fabric) boots for the
fire
service provide the same styling. Given the nature of these materials, they
cannot be
manufactured pre-moulded to intimately contour the shape of the foot. Bunker
style
leather (or synthetic fabric) pull-up boots are notably absent of any
mechanism that
maintains the integrity of the heel-to-boot contact under walking, running or
when
suspended.
Firefighters wear boots to protect their feet against heat, cold, water,
puncture and cut wounds, and sprains. Their activities are not limited to only
walking, but running and crawling in all types of debris - often on un-level
or
unstable flooring. The importance of maintaining protective footwear securely
in
place has often been ignored because of the limitation of existing designs.
Applicant is not aware of any pull-on leather (or synthetic fabric)
boots offering any proven method of securing the foot into place to prevent
excessive
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heel lift when walking or running. Brands offering leather (or synthetic
fabric) such
as: Haix~, Pro-Warington~, Servus~, Ranger, Lacrosse~, Thorogood, Tradition
Footwear~ make reference to moulded heel counters (or heel cup) as ensuring
superior comfort and fit. Black DiamondTM refers to a comfort fit heel area.
Its design
is similar to the heel counter described above. Tradition Footwear' does have
some
foam padding in place, but only for enhancing ankle support and comfort.
Lacrosse~
makes reference to a tapered design above the ankle area to provide a better
fit and
easier donning and doffing.
From what is available in the market today, it is obvious that no one
has recognized the inherent need for ensuring that the entire back of the foot
area is
well anchored into place to prevent the heel from disengaging when walking,
running
or in a suspended state.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an aim of the present invention to apply ankle support technology
to pull-on leather (or synthetic fabric) boots such as those used by
firefighters so that
they may continue wearing pull-on boot without any harnessing system and feel
secure that the boot will not come off or lift from the heel when walking,
running or
suspended.
Therefore, in accordance with a general aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a bunker pull-on type boot comprising a boot body
adapted to be pull-on over a wearer's foot, a self fastening system operative
to
securely anchor the foot into the boot to substantially prevent heel lift when
walking
or running, said self fastening system including an ankle clip biased towards
a closed
position to snugly grasp the wearer's ankle.
In accordance with a further general aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a boot comprising an upper body for receiving a wearer's
foot, an
ankle clip mounted to said upper body for clipping about the wearer's ankle to
securely maintain the foot in position in said upper body, said ankle clip
comprising a
pair of gripping arms extending on opposed sides of said upper body in an
ankle area
thereof, a web extending at the back of said upper body and interconnecting
said
gripping arms, said gripping arms being biased towards each other to a close
position,
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the gripping arms opening up under the pressure exerted thereon by the
wearer's foot
when the wearer pulls-on the boot over his/her foot and automatically closing
down
against the wearer's ankle once the wearer's foot has been fully inserted in
the boot
pass the ankle clip.
It is another object of the present invention to further apply the ankle
support technology to lace-up leather (or synthetic fabric) boots for
enhancing foot
anchoring particularly as laces loosen over time. Lace-up boots used by
military,
police, medical and USAR first responders as well as some firefighters are
typically
provided with a secondary zipper harnessing system. It is understood that
emergency
responders will not have the time to lace up the boot over time they slip into
them.
The zipper accommodates this need by allowing them fast entry and exit from
the
boot. Over time, the laces will have a tendency to loosen and while commonly
accepted that a re-tightening of the laces should be done periodically, it
cannot be
expected. The ankle support technology will act as a safety backup by ensuring
the
foot remains well anchored regardless of the fact that the laces may be loose.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing
by way of illustration a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which:
Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of a conventional bunker-type boot
illustrating how the wearer's heel is lifted away from the insole while
walking;
Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of a bunker type boot provided with a
ankle support adapted to secure the boot to the wearer's foot and prevent
lifting of the
heel while walking or running, in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of the boot shown in Fig. 2; and
Fig. 4 is a rear elevation view of the boot shown in Fig. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As will be seen hereinafter, the present invention generally relates to
the adaptation of form fitting ankle support material within "bunker style"
boot for
the specific purpose of maintaining maximum boot/foot contact that is, in the
contact
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between the heel of the foot and the sole of the boot during walking or
running
motion and when suspended.
Bunker, pull-on styles leather (or synthetic fabric) boots are
characterized by the fact that they do not make use of any fastening system.
Boots are
pulled on and expected to maintain good integrity principally through the
design of
the boot.
Fig. 1 illustrates a conventional bunker type boot 10 having no
harnessing or fastening system. As depicted by arrows 11, the heel is free to
move
upwardly away from the insole 12 of the boot 10 while walking. As shown in
Fig. 2,
the present invention overcomes this drawback by integrating an ankle support
20
into the upper of a boot 22, the ankle support "clipping" about the wearer's
ankle to
prevent lifting of the heel from the insole 24 of the boot 22 while walking.
The ankle support 20 is preferably inserted between the inner and
outer skins of the boot 22 and fixedly secured in position by any appropriate
means.
The ankle support 20 can be seen as an ankle wrap which provides lateral
support to
the wearer's ankle and which is anatomically formed to snugly fit about the
wearer's
ankle. In addition to providing lateral support, the ankle support 20 acts as
a fastening
system to secure the bunker pull-on boot 22 to the wearer's foot. More
particularly,
the ankle support 20 is provided in the form of a C-shaped clip including a
pair of
spring loaded ankle gripping arms 26 and 28 biased towards a closed position.
When
the wearer's pull-on the boot 22 over his/her foot, the arms 26 and 28 open up
under
the pressure exerted thereon by the foot and subsequently close down against
the
wearers ankle once the foot has been fully inserted in the boot pass the ankle
support
20. It is the inherent resiliency of the support ankle 20 which provides this
self
fastening property to the boot 22. The clamping action of the ankle support
about the
ankle of the wearer's advantageously allows securing the boot to the wearer's
foot
without having to tighten or fasten any harnessing system. This system is
particularly
advantageous when applied to firefighter or other emergency responder's
footwear,
where the wearer has not always the time to properly tighten the boot around
his/her
foot to create a snug fit.
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As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the ankle support 20 wraps around the
entire back half of the ankle area of the wearer. The support is placed above
the
counter and extends upward to the bottom of the calf area. Within the boot 22,
it is
strategically located at the ankle level to perform its dual function.
The ankle support can be made of a relatively rigid material with a
relatively soft cover padding material. For instance, the core material can be
an
injection moulded plastic material. The soft padding material provides a
comfortable
fit for the wearer by surrounding the relatively rigid spring loaded material.
The ankle padding could be made of SBR-foam. This is vulcanized
synthetic rubber air foam. The support 20 is moulded with multiple reliefs,
such as
relief cutouts 27 in a back web portion 25 of the support 20 (see Fig. 4) to
permit
natural flex motion of the wearer's foot while walking or running. The support
is
designed to conform to the natural curvature of the human foot. The foam
material is
designed to mould comfortably around the back of the foot and ankle. It uses a
combination of material flex and shape to ensure full and secure coverage to
the
anatomy of the foot. The moulded foam piece is designed to maintain the foot
anchored securely into the boot during movement. The foam piece can be
directly
embedded securely underneath the leather or synthetic fabric outer layer of
the boot.
It is mufti-level foam designed to work with the natural anatomy of the foot.
The
foam material is designed to allow for vertical flex of the foot and does not
interfere
with the natural movement of the foot.
As an integral part of the boot, the ankle support 20 provides a grasp
of the entire ankle area - an important requirement particularly in the bunker
style
leather (or synthetic fabric) boots, which are pull-on and use no harnessing
method.
In addition, this special ankle support 20 provides extra comfort and
support, without inhibiting the natural movement of the human ankle.
The ankle support discussed above could also be integrated to laced-
up style boots, such as those used by military; police; medical, USAR
personnel and
a minority of firefighters. In this case, the support would serve to enhance
the fit and
allow for more reasonable tightening of laces. Also, over time as Iaces loosen
the
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ankle support padding would contribute to ensure that foot/boot interface is
not
degraded.
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