US20100313389A1

US20100313389A1 - Shoe pair matching clip device

Info

Publication number: US20100313389A1
Application number: US12/483,232
Authority: US
Inventors: William Granich
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-06-11
Filing date: 2009-06-11
Publication date: 2010-12-16

Abstract

The present invention is a shoe matching device with internal tension spring capacity to clip matching pairs of shoes together to prevent separation temporarily. It can be easily placed and removed from the pair of shoes. This invention presents a method and device to keep matching pairs of shoe physically together.

Description

BACKGROUND

Pairs of shoes matched by size, style or color can often get separated or lost. Losing one shoe of a pair of shoes, mismatching shoes, or simply having stored shoes that are disorganized, for example in a closet, is annoying and problematic. Mismatched shoes also cause clutter and messes within a household environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip in operation clipped onto a pair of shoes in a side rear prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip showing structural features from a right side rear prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip showing structural features from an end prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip showing structural features from a left side front prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip installed in a shoe in an interior prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In a following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration a specific example in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

General Overview:

The present invention is a shoe pair matching clip device that is simple to use and inexpensive. The present invention enables the matching pair of shoes to be easily physically held together and separated with minimal effort giving the user an easy method of keeping the pairs of shoes organized and mated. FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip in operation clipped onto a pair of shoes in a side rear prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention.
Many items of use in our daily lives come in pairs. When those pairs get physically separated they can be lost or difficult to find. Losing one shoe in a pair of shoes 110 is costly to replace requiring the purchase of a new pair and then disposing of what may be one shoe that has more useful life, but not as a single. Loss of time in searching for a shoes' mate is frustrating and annoying. Employee time spent searching for a shoes' mate and the economic loss in a commercial setting is costly. A shoe pair matching clip 100 provides a cost effective, fast and easy to use device and method for maintaining pairs of shoes in physical contact until their next use or when the pair of shoes is on display for sales or promotion purposes of one embodiment of the present invention.
The shoes are held together side by side with the shoe pair matching clip device by easily slipping the device down the two inside portions of the shoe openings and toward the front of the pair of shoes, acting as a clip, clamp or fastener of one embodiment of the present invention.
The present invention can be manufactured for different sizes of shoes such as men's, women's and children's sizes. The shoe pair matching clip 100 can be configured to fit different styles of footwear such as dress, casual, high-tops, athletic and various styles of sports shoe style categories. The shoe pair matching clip can be manufactured from a number of materials that provide compression forces with stability and rigidity, such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), memory metals, and/or suitable material and many other recycled and/or biodegradable materials or combination thereof.

Detailed Description:

It should be noted that the illustrations show in many cases angular edges or flat faces, the angular edges or flat faces are illustrated for ease of understanding of directional changes and distinction of structural elements. The underlying principles apply to clipping pressure and bowed tension in other embodiments of the shoe pair matching clip wherein some or all of the angular edges or flat faces maybe rounded or curved.
FIG. 2 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip showing structural features from a right side rear prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention. A shoe pair matching clip 100 is handled primarily by a grab base 210 which has finger holes 220 for more secure gripping. A heel clip 240 at the rear of the shoe pair matching clip 100 secures the back portion of the pair of shoes. The heel clip 240 maintains clipping pressure through the heel clip bowed tension structure 230 which is reinforced by heel clip side supports 260. At the opposite end of the shoe pair matching clip 100 which is positioned further inside the shoes is a raised tongue support 250 to provide vertical stability with a point to press against the inside tongue area of each shoe and limit vertical pivoting of one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip showing structural features from an end prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention. The shoe pair matching clip 100 extends into the interior of the shoes with the arch extension 300. The arch extension 300 has an arch clip 320 to provide a clipping point further into the shoe interior near the arch support. The arch extension 300 is formed by two opposing arch clip bowed tension structure 310 sections to maintain clipping pressure on the arch clip 320. The arch extension 300 terminates with two opposing raised tongue support 250 of FIG. 2 which are directed toward the outside of each shoe to form a flared end opening 330 to ease the initial installation or slipping of the shoe pair matching clip 100 into the pair of shoes of one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip showing structural features from a left side front prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention. The two arch extension 300 of FIG. 3 are reinforced at the point where they start the extension from the grab base 210 of FIG. 2 with an arch extension lateral support 400 to reduce damage from the stress of spreading apart as the shoe pair matching clip 100 of FIG. 1 is being installed. The arch extension lateral support 400 additionally adds additional tension to maintain clipping pressure on the arch clip 320 of FIG. 3 of one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 for illustrative purposes only shows an example of a shoe pair matching clip installed in a shoe in an interior prospective view of one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5 a men's dress shoe interior section 500 is illustrated as though the shoe were cut in two sections longitudinally with the inside half of the left shoe shown in this illustration. The shoe pair matching clip 100 is shown after installation demonstrating its position inside the shoe. FIG. 5 shows where the heel clip 240 of FIG. 2 at the rear of the shoe pair and the arch clip 320 of FIG. 3 hold the pair of shoes together. FIG. 5 shows where the raised tongue support 250 of FIG. 2 provides a point to press against the inside tongue area of each shoe and limit vertical pivoting. The terminal ends of the arch extension 300 raised tongue support 250 are slightly flared out to the outside to allow a wider point of initiating installation of one embodiment of the present invention.
The shoe pair matching clip 100 of FIG. 1 is a device to securely hold a pair of two shoes physically together. In one embodiment the purpose of the shoe pair matching clip 100 of FIG. 1 is for organizational purposes of personal shoes. Other purposes can include storage of shoes, as a packing aid for shoes when traveling and shoes for display in commercial applications such as sales or promotion in other embodiments of the present invention. The shoe pair matching clip 100 of FIG. 1 is an easily installed device that provides a stable and secure method of keeping a pair of shoes in physical contact with three points of contact and support.
The foregoing has described the principles, embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed. The above described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and it should be appreciated that variations may be made in those embodiments by workers skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A shoe pair matching device for physically keeping a pair of shoes together, comprising;

a grab base with finger holes configured to provide a secure gripping and handling part of the matching device;

a heel clip having a bowed tension structure with side supports configured to create and maintain clipping pressure and physical contact at a rear of the pair of shoes;

an arch extension that extends into an interior of the pair of shoes;

an arch clip having a clipping point located at a distal end of the arch extension near a back of the interior of the pair of shoes;

two opposing arch clip bowed tension structure sections configured to maintain clipping pressure on the arch clip;

an arch extension lateral support configured to reinforce the arch extension and to provide additional clipping tension;

raised tongue supports configured to provide vertical stability to the matching device; and

a terminating flared end located at an end of the matching device configured to simplify user insertion of the matching device into the pair of shoes.

2. The shoe pair matching device of claim 1, wherein the heel clip is made of a material that has compression clipping tension for maintaining physical contact at the rear of the pair of shoes.

3. The shoe pair matching device of claim 1, wherein the arch extension extends into the interior of the shoes to allow multiple points of contact.

4. The shoe pair matching device of claim 1, wherein the raised tongue supports are configured to provide vertical stability with a point for the user to press against an inside tongue area of each shoe for compressing and decompressing the matching device.

5. The shoe pair matching device of claim 1, wherein the matching device is made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

6. The shoe pair matching device of claim 1, wherein the matching device is made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

7. The shoe pair matching device of claim 1, wherein the matching device is made of a memory metal.

8. The shoe pair matching device of claim 1, wherein the matching device is made of a combination of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene and memory metal.