US3087260A - Combined gaiter and overshoe - Google Patents

Description

April 30, 1963 M. A. HUDON 3,087,260

COMBINED. GAITER AND OVERSHOE Filed Feb. 5, 1962 INVENTOR. MA/z/E ANTOINETTE HUDON' A TrOQA/EYJ 3,087,260- Patented Apr. 30, 1963 nited Sta Pat Filed Feb. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 171,192

1 Claim. (Cl. 36-7.2)

This invention relates to gaiter construction and refers more particularly to a gaiter with a removable sandal.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means for protecting :a persons lower leg and foot from rain, snow and other effects of inclement weather.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a combined gaiter and sandal from which the gaiter may be removed and the sandal worn separately.

Another object is to provide a combined gaiter and sandal that is easy to put on and take oif. Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

In achieving the aforementioned objectives of the pres ent invention, it was found desirable to provide a combined gaiter and sandal which has a leg portion contoured to fit around a persons leg between the knee and ankle and adapted to be secured thereon by means of a slide fastener extending from top to bottom along a vertical seam at the side of the leg. The lower part of the leg portion has a widened segment which covers the frontal half of the ankle. A sandal ty pe overshoe is removably connected to the bottom of the leg portion by means of a slide fastener. The sandal is also adapted to be worn separately in which case it is slipped over the wearers street shoe and secured in place by a heel strap.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing showing, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the inventive concept.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a combined gaiter and sandal constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is the same as FIGURE 1 showing the combined gaiter and sandal as it appears when worn on a wearers leg.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the sandal portion.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the gaiter showing the sole strap used for securing the gaiter to the leg.

Throughout the specification, like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts.

The combined gaiter and sandal has a leg portion 11 which is shaped to fit around the wearers leg between the knee and ankle. The leg portion 11 comprises a longit udinally elongated piece of material, preferably of plastic or rubber, which has longitudinal margins 12 and -13. Secured along each margin 12 and 13 are two halves 14 and 15, respectively, of a slide fastener 16 by means of which the leg portion 11 is secured to the wearers leg -17 after wrapping it around the leg between knee and ankle with the slide fastener positioned at the side of the leg (FIG. 1). The slide fastener 16 may be one of a type old and well known in the art and the halves 14 and 15 thereof are secured to the leg portion 11 in a conventional manner as, for example, by stitching. The bottom of the leg portion 11 has an integral transverse frontal section 18 which extends down over and covers the front half of the wearers ankle. Connected to the bottom edge of transverse section 18 is one-half 20 of another slide fastener 21 which is used to connect the after described sandal-like overshoe 22 to the leg portion 11. The leg portion 11 also has a sole strap 30 for securing the leg portion on the leg when only the gaiter is worn. The sole strap 30 is wrapped under the foot outside the overshoe 22 and is street shoe 23.

secured on the inner side ofthe leg portion by means of a snap fastener 31 (FIG. 4).

The sandal-like overshoe 22 which is also made of a resilient material, preferably plastic or rubber, is contoured to fit snugly over the front half of the wearers Integral with the sandal 22 is a strap 24 which extends around the wearers heel and acts to secure the overshoe properly on the street shoe. Connected to the upper front edge of the sandal 22 is the other half 25 of a slide fastener 21. The rear bottom 19 of the leg portion 11 extends below and overlaps the upper part of sandal 22 for the purpose of barring the entry of water at points where the sandal 22 is not connected to the leg portion 11.

In operation:

The wearer may don the combined gaiter and sandal of the present invention in several ways. In the first manner, the gaiter or leg portion 1 1 is wrapped around the lower leg and secured thereon by means of slide fastener 1-6. This covers the leg from the knee to the ankle. The wearer then pulls the sandal-like overshoe 22 over the front of street shoe 23 and slips the strap 24 under and around the heel 26 of the street shoe to hold the sandal 22 securely on their foot. In this position the strap 24 is also covered by the rear bottom 19 of leg portion 11. The sandal 22 is then secured to the front of the leg portion by means of slide fastener 21. In this manner the combined gaiter and sandal provides protection from rain, snow, etc. Inasmuch as this type of foot protector is intended mainly for use by women, the heel of the sandal 22 is left open as at 27 to allow the heel 26 of the street shoe to pass through. This is done for the reason that the walkers balance depends on the heel of high-heeled shoes striking the ground everfly and if the heel was also covered by the sandal 22 it might interfere with proper grounding of the heel. As an alternate, the wearer may first connect the sandal 22 to leg portion 11 by means of slide fastener 21. The overshoe 22 is then slipped over the street shoe as described above, after which the leg portion 11 is wrapped around the leg and the margins thereof brought together at the side of the leg and then connected by slide fastener 16.

If the wearer desires to wear only the sandal 22, it maybe slipped on as described above.

It is thus seen that the above described combined gaiter and sandal offers a high degree of protection to the wearers foot from rain, snow, etc. Further, it is easy to put on and remove and may be worn by women wearing high heels with comfort and facility. It is obvious that it can be made from a variety of resilient materials such as plastic, rubber, etc., and marked with designs to give it an air of attractiveness.

While there is disclosed above but one embodiment of the combined gaiter and sandal, it is possible to produce still other embodiments without departing from the inventive concept herein disclosed.

What is claimed is:

A leg protector for protecting the wearers lower leg and foot during inclement weather, said leg protector comprising a gaiter having an elongated wide contoured body with substantially straight side margins, said gaiter being adapted to fit snugly around the wearers leg between the knee and the ankle, slide fastener means for connecting together the margins of said gaiter at the side of the wearers leg, an ankle piece integral with the bottom of said gaiter and extending forwardly a distance therefrom for covering the wearers instep, the bottom rear portion of said gaiter extending downwardly on the wearers heel to a level below said ankle piece, a sandal adapted to fit over the wearers foot, said sandal having 3 4 an opening at the rear of the sole and a heel portion References Cited in the file of this patent constituting a strap for supporting the sandal on the wear- UNITED STATES PATENTS ers foot, said heel portion extending upwardly on the V wearers foot and under the bottom of said gaiter, slide 1,577,633 Parry y 17, 1923 fastener means for connecting a from upper marginal 5 2,209,080 Feifl May7,1940 portion of said sandal to the margin of said ankle piece, 2,429,507 F E 5 1 1947 and a sole strap connected at one end to one side of 2,505,339 Pmkard a P 25, 1950 said gaiter, said sole strap being adapted to girt the un- 3,003,261 Graham et 8 Oct 1961 derside of said sandal, the other end of said soie strap FOREIGN PATENTS having a snap fastener for securing said sole strap to 10 said gaiter at the side opposite the first mentioned side. 247,216 Switzerland Nov. 17, 1 947

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