Abstract
A shoe tree having a body with an exterior surface for contacting an interior surface defining a shoe interior cavity during storage. An adjustment member removably engages with a mount on a rear wall of the body of the shoe tree and is engaged to a heel member. The heel member, when rotated on the adjustment member, will increase or decrease the overall length of the shoe tree. The body portion may include an insert which has indicia thereon concerning one or both of a location of purchase or the owner of the shoe tree.
Claims
1. A shoe tree comprising: a body having a first end thereof opposite a rear wall of said body; said body having an exterior surface for contacting an interior surface of a shoe defining a shoe interior cavity; a mount positioned on said rear wall of said body; an adjustment member having a first end and having a second end opposite said first end; a heel member, said heel member having a first end thereof opposite a second thereof; said second end of said adjustment member in a threaded engagement with an axial cavity communicating with said first end of a heel member; said first end of said adjustment member positionable to a removable engagement with said mount; said heel member rotatable in said threaded engagement in a first direction to position said second end of said heel member further from said mount and rotatable in a second direction to locate said second end of said heel member closer to said mount; and wherein said shoe tree is positionable to an as-used position within said shoe interior cavity of said shoe with said first end of said body located within a toe box portion of said shoe interior cavity, and said second end of said heel member positionable to a contact against a heel end of said shoe interior cavity whereby a length of said shoe tree from said first end of said body to said second end of said heel member is adjustable by rotation of said heel member in said first direction or said second direction.
2. The shoe tree of claim 1, wherein said removable engagement of said first end of said adjustment member with said mount comprises: an opening in a rear side of said mount communicating with an interior cavity of said mount; said opening having a slot portion thereof extending from a lower end of said opening to a distal end of said slot; said adjustment member communicating through said opening and positioning said first end thereof within said interior cavity of said mount; a planar portion of said adjustment member located between said first end thereof and said second end thereof positioned to a removable engagement within said slot portion of said opening; and said removable engagement of said planar portion within said slot forming a connection preventing said adjustment member from rotating during rotation of said heel member.
3. The shoe tree of claim 2 additionally comprising: a retaining ball located in said cavity of said mount; a biasing member for biasing said retaining ball toward said opening in said rear side of said mount; said retaining ball forming a biased contact against said first end of said adjustment member while positioned within said interior cavity; and said biased contact biasing said planar portion of said adjustment member into said slot portion of said opening.
4. The shoe tree of claim 2, additionally comprising: said heel member formed of material which is substantially transparent; said axial cavity viewable through a sidewall surrounding said axial cavity; a position of said second end of said adjustment member viewable through said sidewall to define a viewable gauge of a position of said second end of said adjustment member within said axial cavity.
5. The shoe tree of claim 3, additionally comprising: said heel member formed of material which is substantially transparent; said axial cavity viewable through a sidewall surrounding said axial cavity; a position of said second end of said adjustment member viewable through said sidewall thereby defining a gauge of a position of said second end of said adjustment member within said axial cavity.
6. The shoe tree of claim 1, additionally comprising: said exterior surface of said body has a plurality of ridges thereon for contacting said interior surface of said shoe, and has a plurality of recesses located adjacent said ridges.
7. The shoe tree of claim 2, additionally comprising: said exterior surface of said body has a plurality of ridges thereon for contacting said interior surface of said shoe, and has a plurality of recesses located adjacent said ridges; and said recesses defining an increase in surface area of said exterior surface for moisture absorption therein.
8. The shoe tree of claim 3, additionally comprising: said exterior surface of said body has a plurality of ridges thereon for contacting said interior surface of said shoe, and has a plurality of recesses located adjacent said ridges; and said recesses defining an increase in surface area of said exterior surface for moisture absorption therein.
9. The shoe tree of claim 1, additionally comprising: a recess formed into said exterior surface of said body; and an insert having a first side positionable into said recess and having a second side opposite said first side thereof; said second side configured for positioning of indicia thereon identifying one or both of a location of purchase of said shoe tree or an owner of said shoe tree.
10. The shoe tree of claim 2, additionally comprising: a recess formed into said exterior surface of said body; and an insert having a first side positionable into said recess and having a second side opposite said first side thereof; said second side configured for positioning of indicia thereon identifying one or both of a location of purchase of said shoe tree or an owner of said shoe tree.
11. The shoe tree of claim 9, additionally comprising: said insert being removably held in said recess by a magnetic engagement of said insert with a magnetically attractive mount in said recess.
12. The shoe tree of claim 10, additionally comprising: said insert being removably held in said recess by a magnetic engagement of said insert with a magnetically attractive mount in said recess.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES
[0030] FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a mode of the shoe tree device herein showing a body portion positionable within the internal cavity or toe box of a shoe and a heel member removably engageable thereto by connection of an adjustment member with a mount engaged with the body portion.
[0031] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the mount which is positioned in an engagement at a rear wall of the body portion of all modes of the device herein, such as shown in FIGS. 1, 11, 14 and 16 herein.
[0032] FIG. 3 shows a face of the mount and a keyhole-shaped opening formed in the mount which is adapted for removable engagement with a first end of the adjustment member shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 and FIG. 13.
[0033] FIG. 4 shows a perspective side view of the mount showing a retaining ball which is positionable into a cavity of the mount to biased positioning, such as with a spring or other biasing member.
[0034] FIG. 5 shows the mount of FIGS. 1-3 from another side view showing the retaining ball biased by a spring or other biasing component to project from an opening communicating with the cavity, to a position to biasly contact and hold the first end of the adjusting member downwardly engaged within the cavity of the mount.
[0035] FIG. 6 depicts the adjusting member assembly having threads thereon configured to threadably engage an axial slot at a first end of the heel member, opposite the second end thereof shaped as a globe.
[0036] FIG. 7 shows the components of FIG. 6 operatively engaged for adjustment in length with a transparent body portion of the heel member allowing user viewing of the amount of translation of the threaded adjusting member into and out of the heel member.
[0037] FIG. 8 depicts an enlarged side view of the body of the mount which is engaged in the endwall of all body portions herein where the retainment ball is biased against the rounded first end of the adjustment member in a removable engagement with the mount.
[0038] FIG. 9 shows the device, as in FIG. 1, assembled in a removable engagement of the adjustment member with the mount with a planar portion of the adjustment member engaged in a slot of the keyhole-shaped opening of the mount.
[0039] FIG. 10 depicts the device, as in FIG. 9, but shows the employment of a foot-shaped body which is biased to slide outward from a center slot.
[0040] FIG. 11 depicts a particularly preferred mode of the body portion of the device herein having an exterior which includes ridges or peaks and having recesses therebetween.
[0041] FIG. 12 is a side view of the body portion of FIG. 11.
[0042] FIG. 13 shows the device herein with the body portion of FIG. 11 in an as-used position within a shoe.
[0043] FIGS. 14-15 depict another mode of the body portion of the device herein.
[0044] FIG. 16 shows another configuration for the body portion of the shoe tree device herein including a magnetically engageable indicia plate.
[0045] FIG. 17 shows the body portion of the device herein wherein an indicia plate is positioned within a recess or formed area on the body portion and held in place by the magnets.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0046] Referring now to the shoe tree device 10 herein shown in simple format by the depictions of FIGS. 1-17, there is seen in FIG. 1 a perspective view of a mode of the shoe tree device 10 herein showing a body portion 12 which is positionable within the front portion or toe box 66 (FIG. 13) of the internal cavity of a shoe to maintain a shape thereof. The body portion 12 has a first side which inserts toward and into the toe box 66 opposite an endwall 32. Also shown is a rearward or heel member 14 having a first end opposite a second end which has a globe-shaped portion 16 located at the second end thereon.
[0047] A first end of the heel member 14 has an axial passage 18 (FIG. 7) which communicates into the heel member 14. Preferably, this axial passage 18 has a threaded interior surface adapted to threadably engage with a threaded portion 20 formed on a cylindrical shaped adjustment member 22. At a first end of this adjustment member is located a ball-shaped projection 24. In between a ball-shaped projection 24 and the threaded portion 20 of the adjustment member 22 is positioned a planar area 26 of the adjustment member, where at least one surface thereof, and preferably opposing surfaces, are shaped planar rather than the round shape of the rest of the adjustment member 22.
[0048] As can be seen in the disassembled view in FIG. 1 and in FIGS. 2-5, the ball-shaped projection 24 is sized to pass through a circular portion 28 of a substantially keyhole-shaped opening 29 formed in a mount 30. The mount 30 is located in an endwall 32 of the body portion 12. The opening 29 has a narrower slot 34 opposite the circular portion 28. This key hole opening 29 communicates with a cavity 36 formed within the mount 30.
[0049] At a second end of the cavity 36, opposite the first end thereof where the opening 29 is positioned, can be seen a projecting retaining ball 38. This retaining ball 38 is engaged in a passage and biased to this projecting position by a biasing member or spring 40 or the like, such that it can be forced away from the opening 29 momentarily, but it will return to the biased projecting position thereafter. This, as noted below, provides a means to retain the planar area 26 of the adjustment member 22 within the slot 34 of the opening 29 with the device 10 in the as-used position. It also helps maintain the adjustment member 22 engaged to the mount 30 during insertion and removal of the device 10 from a shoe. Further, as noted, the retaining ball 38 can move toward the spring 40 biasing the retaining ball 38 and helping prevent potential damage to the heel of the shoe should the user over tighten the contact of the globe shaped portion 16 against the heel.
[0050] As can be seen in FIGS. 6-7, the threaded portion 20 of the adjustment member 22 is threadably engageable with the threaded sidewall of the axial passage 18 positioned within the heel member 14. In use, rotation of the heel member 14 in one direction will cause translation of the threadably engaged heel member 14 toward the heel end of an internal cavity of a shoe, and rotation in the opposite direction will cause a translation of the heel member 14 away from the heel end of the shoe. In this fashion, the user can place the ball-shaped projection 24 of the adjustment member 22 through the circular portion 28 of the opening 29 and into the cavity 36 of the mount 30.
[0051] Once so positioned, with the planar section engaged in the slot 34, rotation of the heel member 14, in a direction to cause the ball shaped projection 16 to translate toward the heel end of the shoe cavity, will cause the curved surface of the ball-shaped portion 16 to form a biased contact against the curved interior wall at the heel end 65 (FIG. 13) of the shoe interior cavity 67 (FIG. 13). With the planar section formed by the opposing planar areas 26 slid into engagement into the slot 34, the adjustment member 22 is held in a static position enabling the rotation of the heel member 14 without rotating the adjustment member 22 thereby allowing rotation of the heel member 14 to adjust the amount of force exerted to the device in an as-used position, such as in FIG. 13.
[0052] In a particularly preferred mode of the device 10, shown in FIG. 7, the wall 42 surrounding the axial passage 18 of the heel member 14 is formed of substantially transparent material, thereby allowing the user to view how far the threaded portion 20 of the adjustment member 22 is translated into the threaded engagement in the axial passage 18. This provides a viewable gauge to the user when rotating the heel member 14 to exert more or less biasing force to both ends of the device 10, when in an as-used position within a shoe.
[0053] Shown in FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view of the body of the mount 30 which is engaged into the endwall 32 (FIG. 9) of the foot-shaped body portion 12, such as in FIG. 1 or FIG. 9. As shown, the retaining ball 38 projects from a passage 44 which communicates with the cavity 36 in the mount 30. The biasing member, such as a spring 40, continuously biases the retaining ball 38 to the depicted projecting position wherein it contacts against the ball-shaped projection 24 of the adjustment member 22. In this fashion, the retaining ball 38 holds down the adjustment member 22 and maintains the planar section formed by the two planar areas 26 of the adjustment member 22 within the slot 34 of the opening 29. This maintains the device 10 in the elongated adjustment achieved by the user with the device 10 in the as-used position within a shoe interior cavity 67 and allows for adjustment by rotating the heel member 14 in the threaded engagement with the now stationary adjustment member 22.
[0054] Shown in FIG. 9 is the device 10, as in FIG. 1, fully assembled to the configuration employed in the as-used positioning, shown for example in FIG. 13, where the curved surface of the globe-shaped portion 16 contacts the heel end of the shoe interior cavity 67, and the exterior surface of the body portion 12 contacts the surface of the shoe interior cavity 67 in the toe box 66 (FIG. 13) area of the shoe 64.
[0055] Also shown in FIG. 9 is an insert 46, which is removably engageable within a recess 48 formed in the exterior of the body portion 12. There can be an infinite number of such inserts 46 available to users, all of which will removably engage within the complimentary shaped recess 48. Such inserts 46 may have indicia thereon as to a geographic location where they came from, such as a golf course where the insert 46 can be purchased as a souvenir. Such inserts 46 can also be formed with a surface on which the user may write, to provide a means to label the shoes themselves on which the device 10 is engaged.
[0056] In a current favored mode of engaging the insert 46 into the recess 48, a magnet 59 (FIG. 16) would be positioned within the recess 48 such as on the bottom surface thereof and would magnetically retain the insert 46 within the recess 48. While a frictional engagement of the insert 46 in the recess 48 would also work, it was found that magnetic 59 holding of the insert 46 worked better, should the device 10 be jarred or dropped.
[0057] Additionally shown in FIG. 9 are the two opposing preferred planar areas 26 of the adjustment member adjacent the threaded portion 20 of the adjustment member 22 which is preferably formed in a cylindrical shape so as to allow for the formation of the threaded portion 20 thereon. This planar area 26 is formed on both sides of the cylindrical adjustment member 22, thereby forming a planar section of the adjustment member 22 which is sized for sliding engagement and positioning within the slot 34 in the mount 30. By sliding engagement is meant that the diameter of the slot 34 is slightly larger than the space between the planar surface 26 on one side of the adjustment member 22 and the opposite planar surface on the opposite side of the adjustment member 22, and the formed planar section will slide into the slot 34 in a sliding contact against the sides of the slot 34.
[0058] This sliding engagement is preferred because the adjustment member 22 is held in a tighter confinement when the device is engaged in an as-used positioning, as shown as in FIG. 13, making it more stable. Further, this sliding engagement configuration provides a more stable lateral positioning of the ball shaped member end of the adjustment member 22, wherein the biased pressure of the of the retaining ball 38 against the ball shaped projection 24, as shown in FIG. 8, is constantly maintained. This is because the adjustment member 22 and the ball shaped projection 24, when located within the mount 30, cannot move sideways when held by the sliding engagement.
[0059] The engagement of the planar section formed by the two planar areas 26 within the slot 34 maintains the ball-shaped projections 24 substantially centered under the biased retaining ball 38. Further, as noted above, the depicted sliding engagement of the mirrored planar surfaces 26, forming the planar section, forms a lock to prevent further rotation of the threaded portion 20 of the adjustment member 22 and allows the user to rotate the heel member 14 to adjust the total formed length of the device 10 and the force exerted from both ends to a shoe.
[0060] Shown in FIG. 10 is a mode of the device 10 similar to that of FIG. 9. However, the foot-shaped body 12 is formed of a first portion 52 which is centrally spaced from a second portion 54 and which are biased apart along the central gap 55. The first portion 52 and second portion 54 are in a sliding engagement upon a third portion 55 of the body, such as slots on the first and second portions engaged on a projection from the third portion 55 on a wall opposite the endwall 32. When inserted into the interior cavity 67, the first portion 52 and second portion 54 will compress and narrow the gap 55 slightly and thereafter, exert an outward biased contact of each of the two portions against a respective side surface of the shoe. A biasing member, such as a spring 40 (FIG. 8) is positioned in the gap 55 to bias the two body portions away from each other.
[0061] Further shown in FIG. 10 is indicia 56 positioned on the heel member 14. In this mode, an infinite number of heel members 14 can be made available for purchase at different venues either as souvenirs of a visit to that venue where the indicia 56 indicates such or with indicia 56 which indicates some sort of celebration for the user which is commemorated. In this mode of the device 10, the different heel members 14, sold or distributed at different locations, are all configured in the fashion to engage with the adjustment member 22. Thus, the different heel members 14 can be purchased by or given to the user as mementos of a special day or as souvenirs of a visit to a location identified by the indicia 56, which, of course, may be lettering or may be a photo or artwork or a logo or other means for identifying a day, date, or location.
[0062] Shown in FIGS. 11-12 is a particularly preferred mode of the body portion 12 of the device 10 herein. In this configuration of the body portion 12, the exterior surface is not smooth or even but includes ridges 60 or peaks with recesses 62 therebetween. The body portion 12, as in FIGS. 11-16, may be formed of polymeric material, such that the body portion 12 may be molded. The polymeric material forming such may have a durometer allowing for a slight compression of the exterior surface of the body portion 12 where it contacts against the interior of the shoe 64 (FIG. 13). Additionally, silver ions or other antimicrobial additives may be added to the material forming the body portion 12 to inhibit bacteria growth.
[0063] The body portion 12, as in FIGS. 11-13, is especially preferred in that it was found that the inclusion of ridges 60 and adjacent recesses 62 formed into the exterior surface of the body portion 12 provided enhanced ability to concurrently maintain shoe shape but also employ the increased surface area formed with the recesses to help vent and absorb moisture that might be in the shoe 64. The body portion 12, as in FIG. 11, is shown in FIG. 13 in the as-used positioning which locate the body portion 12 biased into the toe box 66 of the shoe 64, which as noted, is the common as-used positioning for all modes of the device 10 herein.
[0064] Another preferred mode of the body portion 12 of the device 10 is shown in FIGS. 14-15. As shown, the mount 30, common to all modes of the device herein, is shown mounted in the endwall 32 of the body portion 12. In the mode shown in FIGS. 14-15 the body portion may be formed of a softer polymeric material, such as a closed cell foam or other polymeric material which may be molded to shape and size. Antimicrobial additives, such as silver ions or aluminum ions, can be added to the polymeric material during molding to enhance resistance to bacteria growth.
[0065] In FIGS. 16-17 are depicted another configuration for the body portion 12 of the shoe tree device 10 herein which is formed to a shape similar to that of a human foot. In some modes of the device 10 the body portion 12, as in FIGS. 16-17, may be molded from polymeric material, as noted above. Alternatively, they may be printed with a 3D printer, based on a scan of the foot of the user, to yield body portions 12 which substantially match the shape of the foot of the user. This has the advantage of helping to form and maintain the shoe and the interior in the same shape as the foot of the user to maximize comfort.
[0066] An insert 46 is shown to be engageable to the body portion 12 using a magnet 59 to hold the insert 46 in place. The insert 48 can have permanent indicia 56 formed thereon, or it can be written on the surface of the insert 46. The insert 48 can have an erasable surface for such to allow for the use of felt pens to mark the insert 46 which would work well in a setting where the shoes 64 are labeled for the owner, or a date to use or pick up, or some other temporary purpose.
[0067] As noted, because of the interchangeability of the adjustment member 22 with any mount 30, the device herein can be provided in a kit wherein a plurality of different shaped body portions 12, such as those shown in FIGS. 10-16, are provided. The user can then pick the appropriately configured body portion 12 for the intended shoe and engage the adjustment member 22 with a heel member 14 threaded thereon to the mount 30 engaged in the body portion 12 chosen.
[0068] While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the user configurable shoe tree device have been shown and described herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in some instances, some features of the shoe tree invention may be employed without a corresponding use of other features thereof, without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth. It should also be understood that various substitutions, modifications, and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Consequently, all such modifications and variations and substitutions are included within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
