Shoe tongue

Abstract

 A shoe tongue includes an outer shell and a bladder with flowable padding material disposed inside the bladder. The shell defines an opening; and a portion of the bladder is transparent and lies below the opening to make the flowable material visible to a viewer. The tongue also includes padding layers disposed within the outer shell.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field Of The Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a shoe tongue, and more particularly to a shoe tongue with an enclosure containing flowable padding material and with a window for displaying the padding material.

Description Of The Prior Art

[0002] Shoe tongues in shoes provide padding for the top of the foot and protect the foot from the pressure provided by the shoe's laces and the various shocks which the shoe absorbs. The prior art includes a large number of padded shoe tongues with a wide variety of features.

[0003] For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,458,429 entitled Tongue For A Shoe, Particularly A Sport Shoe, And A Shoe Including Such A Tongue which issued on July 10, 1989 to Schmid discloses one such tongue. This tongue includes a front layer with a multiplicity of orifices. Each orifice contains a porous or reticular material.

[0004] The prior tongues suffer a number of disadvantages, including unnecessary complexity which increases the cost of manufacture. In addition, they do not provide the necessary comfort and support, especially when used with sport shoes.

[0005] Unlike prior padded shoe tongues, the shoe tongue of the present invention is of simple construction. It provides padding material which comfortably bridges the veins on top of the foot and allows the user to comfortably secure the shoe to the foot. It also protects the top of the foot from the various shocks which the shoe absorbs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In accordance with this invention, a shoe tongue includes a top and bottom layer which define the outer shell of the tongue. This outer shell may be woven mesh nylon, leather, synthetic leather, combinations of these materials, or any other flexible material. The tongue also includes two layers of open-celled polyurethane foam padding or padding made of any other suitable material. These layers lie substantially co-extensively with the top and bottom layers; and they provide padding in the tongue. Alternatively, the tongue may not include any padding layers or may include only one foam layer or more than two layers.

[0007] A bladder disposed between the two foam layers provides further padding. It contains a flowable fitting material. This material may be a two phase material, including a substantially homogeneous, substantially stable viscous and flowable material made of wax and oil and discrete, light weight, and sturdy microbeads. The bladder includes two layers of thermoplastic material heat sealed or otherwise fixedly secured together along their edge portions to encapsulate the flowable material between them.

[0008] Stitching or any other suitable means secures the various layers together along corresponding edge portions to form the tongue. The tongue includes a strip of material or binding which extends around its periphery, stitched or otherwise secured around the edge portions of the outer shell. This strip provides a smooth finish to enhance the appearance of the tongue and to prevent the material edges from causing any discomfort to the foot. Alternatively, stitching through turned edge portions of the layers of the tongue may provide adequate finishing obviating the use of binding.

[0009] The top layer of the outer shell defines an opening; and the shoe tongue includes a second, smaller bladder made of transparent thermoplastic material which lies below the opening. This smaller bladder also contains a predetermined amount of the flowable padding material. Thus, the opening defined by the outer shell allows an individual to observe the flowable material and manipulate it with his or her fingers. Alternatively, the tongue may include only one bladder with the opening exposing a portion of it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] For a more complete understanding of this invention, one should now refer to the embodiment illustrated in greater detail in the accompanying drawings and described below by way of an example of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the shoe tongue of the present invention showing the tongue in place in a shoe (drawn in phantom).

FIG. 2 is a exploded perspective view of the shoe tongue of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the tongue with the outer shell partially cut away to show the various components of the shoe tongue.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 1.

[0011] While the following disclosure describes the invention in connection with this embodiment, one should understand that the invention is not limited to this embodiment. Furthermore, one should understand that the drawings are not to scale and that graphic symbols, diagrammatic representations or fragmentary views may, in part, illustrate the embodiment. In certain instances, the disclosure may not include details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

AND EMBODIMENT

[0012] Turning now to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows the tongue of the present invention generally at 10 in place in shoe S. A top layer 11 and a bottom layer 12 provide the outer shell of the tongue. The top layer 11 has a generally bell-like configuration; and includes a first segment 13 made of mesh nylon or any other suitable flexible and porous material. It also includes a second segment 14 made of leather, synthetic polyurethane leather or any other flexible sheet material. This segment 14 defines an opening 15 which allows inspection of the inside of the tongue as described below. Stitching 16 or any other securing means fixedly secures the segment 12 and 13 together as shown in Fig. 1. The bottom layer 12 is a one-piece mesh nylon layer having the same size and shape as the size and shape of the top layer 11.

[0013] Alternatively, the top layer 11 may be a one-piece, continuous layer of material, e.g., mesh nylon. In addition, both the top and bottom outer layers may be woven mesh nylon, leather, synthetic leather, combinations of these materials, or any other flexible material.

[0014] A first padding layer 17, a second padding layer 18, and a flowable material 19 disposed in a bladder 20 provide padding. The padding layers 17 and 18 are open celled polyurethane foam; and they have the same peripheral configuration as the top and bottom layers. In addition, the padding layer 17 lies in face-to-face relation with the top outer layer 11 while the padding layer 18 lies in face-to-face relation with the bottom outer layer. Although the tongue shown includes two foam layers, it may include only one layer or more than two layers. Furthermore, it may not include any foam layers.

[0015] The flowable material 19 has two phases. The first phase is continuous and includes a substantially homogeneous, substantially stable viscous and flowable material, e.g., wax and oil. The second phase is discontinuous and includes discrete, light weight, and sturdy microparticles, e.g., glass beads. One example of this flowable material is a material marketed under the trademark FLOLITE° by Alden Laboratories, Boulder, Colorado.

[0016] The bladder 20 includes two layers of thermoplastic material, e.g., polyurethane, heat sealed or otherwise fixedly secured together along their edges to completely encapsulate the flowable material. The bladder 20 includes a seal 21 disposed along the middle of the bladder to separate the inside of the bladder in two along a substantial portion of the bladder. The heat sealed edge 22 of the bladder 20 has a predetermined width which receives stitching 23, securing the bladder to the bottom outer layer 12 through the padding layer 18.

[0017] A second bladder 24 constructed with the same materials and in a similar manner as the bladder 20 lies below the opening 15 with its edges stitched or otherwise fixedly secured to the portion of the top outer layer 11 adjacent the opening 15. The second bladder 24 contains a predetermined portion of the material 19 which may include a dye for imparting a predetermined color to the material. This bladder is transparent, allowing an individual to observe the material 19 through the opening 15. One may also manipulate the flowable material 19 through this opening 15. This feature serves as a point of purchase advertisement for the shoe containing the flowable material.

[0018] To construct the tongue of the present invention, a manufacturer constructs the various layers including securing the top layer 11 and the bladder 12 together and fixedly securing a tab 25 to the layer 11. The next step includes placing the various layers in overlapping relation as shown in Fig. 2. The next step includes placing the trim strip or binding 26 around the edges of these layers and stitching the top and bottom layers 11 and 12 and two foam padding layers 17 and 18 together through the trim strip 26. (Alternatively, the manufacturer may turn the edges of the various layers and place stitching through them to avoid using the binding.) The final step includes stitching a logo strip 27 on the tongue as shown in Fig. 1. (The tab 25, trim strip 26, and logo strip 27 are woven nylon or any other suitable material.)

[0019] While the above description and the drawings disclose and illustrate one embodiment of the present invention, one should understand, or course, that the invention is not limited to this embodiment. Those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains may make modifications and other embodiments employing the principles of this invention, particularly upon considering the foregoing teachings. For example, the tongue may include only one transparent bladder (or a bladder with a transparent portion) which extends under the opening in the outer shell. It may also include more than two bladders. In addition, the tongue may include one layer of material, e.g., leather, with a bladder secured to its back surface. The applicant intends to cover any such modifications which incorporate those features which constitute the essential features of this invention.

Claims

1. A padded tongue for a shoe comprising: an outer shell; bladder means disposed in the outer shell for providing a closed enclosure; and a flowable padding material disposed in said bladder means.

2. The shoe tongue of claim 1, wherein said flowable padding material includes a first phase of a substantially homogeneous, substantially stable viscous and flowable material and a second discontinuous phase.

3. The shoe tongue of claim 2, wherein the first phase includes wax and oil and the second phase includes discrete, light weight, and sturdy microbeads.

4. The shoe tongue of claim 1, wherein the outer shell defines an opening and a portion of the bladder means lies below the opening, said portion being transparent to allow inspection of the flowable material.

5. The shoe tongue of claim 1, further comprising at lease one padding member disposed in the outer shell.

6. The shoe tongue of claim 1, wherein the bladder means includes a first and second bladder, the second bladder being substantially smaller than the first bladder.

7. A padded tongue for a shoe comprising: top and bottom outer layers; bladder means for providing a closed enclosure, said bladder means disposed between the top and bottom outer layers; flowable padding material disposed in the bladder means; the top outer layer defining an opening and the bladder means including a transparent portion disposed below the opening; and securing means for securing the top and bottom outer layers together along corresponding outer edge portions.

8. A padded tongue for a shoe comprising: a layer of flexible material; bladder means secured to the layer; and a flowable padding material disposed in said bladder means.

Drawing