US 8,539,698 B1Granted

Footwear safety apparatus, device, and method

OwnerMichael J. Woodruffinventor

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Abstract

A footwear traction device is disclosed that enhances regular or slip-resistant shoes during a slip-in-progress. The traction device includes an adhesive layer embedded with microscopic friction additives, natural or engineered, and partially covered with an epoxy resin in a design that pierces and grips the microscopic roughness of a surface and any contaminants thereon, providing emergency traction during a slip. The footwear traction device provides more than one opportunity to recover from a slip and regain traction. In the event that a fall is unavoidable, the footwear traction device provides a first and a second push back force, spreading the force of the fall over a larger area, minimizing the absolute force of the fall and providing a safer trajectory during the fall. The slip recovery method and system of the present invention offers an economical solution that reduces the financial and human toll caused by slip-and-fall accidents and deaths.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A footwear traction device that provides multiple slip recovery opportunities, comprising in combination:

a shoe having an outsole with a bottom surface between a front end and a rear end adapted to contact a walking surface, and a heel located behind the rear end of the outsole, the heel having a bottom surface adapted to contact the walking surface, and a beveled surface formed on an outer most part of the heel, said beveled surface is specifically designed to not contact the walking surface until a person walking on the walking surface begins to slip;
a layered composition only on the beveled surface of the heel, the layered composition having micro-shapes in a layered configuration, consisting of:
a first layer of a smooth base adhesive material,
a second layer of a plurality of microscopic particles with sharp tips and pointed shapes having a hardness between approximately 9 and approximately 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, embedded in the first adhesive layer, and
a third layer of an epoxy resin coating covering the plurality of microscopic particles and the first layer of the smooth base adhesive material, wherein the epoxy resin leaves sharp tips and pointed shapes of the microscopic material exposed for microscopic piercing of a walking surface;
and
the first adhesive layer for allowing the layered composition with micro-shapes to directly attach only to the beveled surface on the heel of the shoe, wherein the beveled surface on the heel and its attached composition in combination does not contact the walking surface until the a person walking on the walking surface begins to slip.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.