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US 2019/0053577 A1Published application
Footwear with protective toe guard and related method
AssigneeWolverine Outdoors, Inc.
InventorJohn H. Burch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Footwear is provided including a protective toe element in the form of a rigid protective toe guard nested in a recess defined by a sole component so that the toe guard is of a low profile and has an at least partially closed bottom which cleanly transitions to an upper surface of the sole component. The footwear and its components provide impact and crushing force resistance, yet the footwear is low profiled and flexible enough to provide enhanced mobility and comfort to a wearer.
Claims20
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper including an interior portion and an exterior portion, the interior portion including a first lower peripheral allowance, the exterior portion including a second lower peripheral allowance;
- a sole including a sole upper surface, the sole upper surface defining a sole recess in a forward portion of the sole corresponding to a location of a plurality of toes of a wearer of the footwear;
- and
- a protective toe guard constructed from a rigid material, the toe guard including a toe guard exterior and defining a toe guard interior compartment sized to receive the plurality of toes of the wearer of the footwear, the protective toe guard including an upper wall and a sidewall extending from the upper wall to a bottom upper wall, thereby generally forming a cup shape, the upper wall configured to extend over a plurality of tops of the plurality of toes, the bottom wall including a bottom wall upper surface and a bottom wall lower surface,
- wherein the protective toe guard is at least partially disposed in the sole recess so that the bottom wall upper surface is flush with the sole upper surface,
- wherein the interior portion of the upper is disposed in the toe guard interior compartment,
- wherein the exterior portion of the upper is disposed adjacent the toe guard exterior in an overlapping manner so as to conceal at least a portion of the protective toe guard.
4 more elements
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper including an interior portion and an exterior portion;
- a protective toe guard in the form of a toe cup including a bottom wall and a sidewall joined with the bottom wall extending upward to an upper wall that extends over a plurality of toes of a wearer of the footwear, the bottom wall including a bottom wall upper surface and an opposing bottom wall lower surface;
- and
- a sole including a sole upper surface, the sole upper surface defining a recess having a perimeter of a length sufficient to extend around the bottom wall of the toe cup,
- wherein the interior portion is closed at a bottom portion with a Strobel board, the Strobel board extending into the toe cup over the bottom wall,
- wherein the toe cup is nested in the recess within the perimeter thereof,
- wherein the sole upper surface is at least one of flush with and above the bottom wall upper surface of the toe cup.
4 more elements
A method of manufacturing an article of footwear comprising:
- providing an upper interior portion having a liner closed along a bottom with a Strobel board, the upper interior portion including a first toe box;
- placing a protective toe guard in the form of a rigid toe cup adjacent the upper interior portion so that an upper wall of the toe guard extends over the first toe box, a sidewall of the toe guard extends around a forward portion of the toe box, and a bottom wall having a bottom wall upper surface extends under a bottom surface of the Strobel board;
- extending an upper exterior portion over an exterior of the toe guard so that a lower peripheral allowance of the upper exterior portion extends adjacent the bottom wall of the toe guard;
- placing a sole having a sole upper surface adjacent the bottom surface of the Strobel board, the sole defining a recess in a total region of the sole, the bottom wall being inserted into the recess so that an upper surface of the bottom wall is substantially flush with an upper surface of the sole;
- and
- securing the sole to the Strobel board and the toe guard.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.