EP0021612A1 - Protective toe cap - Google Patents

Protective toe cap Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0021612A1
EP0021612A1 EP19800301743 EP80301743A EP0021612A1 EP 0021612 A1 EP0021612 A1 EP 0021612A1 EP 19800301743 EP19800301743 EP 19800301743 EP 80301743 A EP80301743 A EP 80301743A EP 0021612 A1 EP0021612 A1 EP 0021612A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
toe cap
footwear
toe
protective
toes
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP19800301743
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0021612B1 (en
Inventor
Alan James Hutchins
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Firth Cleveland Engineering Ltd
Original Assignee
Firth Cleveland Engineering Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Family has litigation
First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=10505727&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=EP0021612(A1) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Application filed by Firth Cleveland Engineering Ltd filed Critical Firth Cleveland Engineering Ltd
Publication of EP0021612A1 publication Critical patent/EP0021612A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0021612B1 publication Critical patent/EP0021612B1/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B7/00—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements
    • A43B7/32—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements with shock-absorbing means
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A43—FOOTWEAR
    • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
    • A43B23/00—Uppers; Boot legs; Stiffeners; Other single parts of footwear
    • A43B23/08—Heel stiffeners; Toe stiffeners
    • A43B23/081—Toe stiffeners
    • A43B23/086—Toe stiffeners made of impregnated fabrics, plastics or the like
    • A43B23/087—Toe stiffeners made of impregnated fabrics, plastics or the like made of plastics

Definitions

  • the invention relates to protective toe caps for use in footwear for protecting the toes of the wearer against injury.
  • Conventional protective footwear incorporates a pressed steel toe cap which is built in to an article of footwear in such a way that it is adapted to lie over the toes of the wearer and extend down to the sole portion of the article of footwear around the sides and the front of the toe area.
  • the toe cap then protects the toes of the wearer against being crushed when the front portion of the footwear is subjected to a heavy load or a hard blow.
  • Protective footwear incorporating steel toe caps can be cumbersome and heavy and this disadvantage is particularly relevant in the case of safety footwear for ladies. It has already been proposed in U.K.
  • Patent Specification 1,284,736 to form a toe cap for protective footwear from a plastics material but to achieve a useful degree of protection it was found necessary to provide the toe cap with a thick solid body of plastics material which was in use loaded purely in compression and so acted more as a spacer between the load and the ground than as a bridge protecting the toes.
  • This known toe cap of plastics material was also cumbersome because it required an increased length to the article of footwear and it was of limited value because it gave little or no protection against localised loads applied immediately behind the protective block.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide an improved toe cap moulded from plastics material.
  • a protective toe cap for use in footwear for protecting the toes of the wearer against injury, comprising a curved member adapted to lie over the toes of the wearer and extend down to a lower edge at the sole portion of the footwear around the sides and the front of the toe area of the foot, the member being moulded from fibre reinforced plastics material and having a thickened area around the lower front part thereof and the forward part of the sides thereof, the thickened portion tapering in an upward and rearward direction and merging smoothly with the main thinner part of the toe cap.
  • the rear edge of the toe cap tapers smoothly from the main part of the toe cap to facilitate merging of the rear edge of the toe cap with the upper of the article of footwear.
  • the lower edge is reinforced by an inwardly directed integrally moulded flange.
  • the drawing shows a toe cap with a generally curved shape for conforming to the toe part of a safety boot or safety shoe so that in use it would bridge the toes of the wearer and extend down to the sole of the shoe or boot in front of and to the side of the toes.
  • the toe cap is in the form of a single continuous curve in three dimensions.
  • the toe cap is moulded from a high strength fibre reinforced plastics material and in a typical example, the fibre is glass fibre.
  • the fibre is incorporated into the plastics material matrix in such a way as to form a composite which can be moulded without laying up individual layers of fibres.
  • the main area of the toe cap 11 is of substantially uniform thickness.
  • the front part 12 of the toe cap and the forward part 13 of the sides of the toe cap are of increased thickness compared with the main area 11 and this increased thickness tapers gradually and merges smoothly with the main part 11 of substantially uniform thickness.
  • the lower edge of the toe cap is provided with an inwardly directed integrally moulded flange 15.
  • a further feature which assists the appearance of the boot or shoe is that the rear edge portion 14 of the toe cap is tapered in thickness to facilitate merging of the toe cap with the remainder of the boot or shoe.
  • the decreased thickness in this area does not significantly affect the strength of the toe cap as a whole and allows a slight increase in the general thickness of the main area 11 without introducing an unsightly appearance.

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Epidemiology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)

Abstract

A toe cap for safety footwear is moulded from fibre reinforced plastics material and incorporates a thickened forward part (12) which tapers gradually and merges smoothly with the main part of the toe cap. The rear edge (14) ofthetoecap is further tapered. An integral flange (15) strengthens the lower edge of the toe cap.

Description

  • The invention relates to protective toe caps for use in footwear for protecting the toes of the wearer against injury.
  • Conventional protective footwear incorporates a pressed steel toe cap which is built in to an article of footwear in such a way that it is adapted to lie over the toes of the wearer and extend down to the sole portion of the article of footwear around the sides and the front of the toe area. The toe cap then protects the toes of the wearer against being crushed when the front portion of the footwear is subjected to a heavy load or a hard blow. Protective footwear incorporating steel toe caps can be cumbersome and heavy and this disadvantage is particularly relevant in the case of safety footwear for ladies. It has already been proposed in U.K. Patent Specification 1,284,736 to form a toe cap for protective footwear from a plastics material but to achieve a useful degree of protection it was found necessary to provide the toe cap with a thick solid body of plastics material which was in use loaded purely in compression and so acted more as a spacer between the load and the ground than as a bridge protecting the toes. This known toe cap of plastics material was also cumbersome because it required an increased length to the article of footwear and it was of limited value because it gave little or no protection against localised loads applied immediately behind the protective block.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide an improved toe cap moulded from plastics material.
  • According to the present invention there is provided a protective toe cap for use in footwear for protecting the toes of the wearer against injury, comprising a curved member adapted to lie over the toes of the wearer and extend down to a lower edge at the sole portion of the footwear around the sides and the front of the toe area of the foot, the member being moulded from fibre reinforced plastics material and having a thickened area around the lower front part thereof and the forward part of the sides thereof, the thickened portion tapering in an upward and rearward direction and merging smoothly with the main thinner part of the toe cap.
  • Preferably the rear edge of the toe cap tapers smoothly from the main part of the toe cap to facilitate merging of the rear edge of the toe cap with the upper of the article of footwear.
  • Preferably the lower edge is reinforced by an inwardly directed integrally moulded flange.
  • An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:
    • Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a toe cap according to the invention
    • Figure 2 is a corresponding plan view of the toe cap.
    • Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross section of the toe cap on line III-III of Figure 2; and
    • Figure 4 is a transverse section on line IV-IV of Figure 2.
  • The drawing shows a toe cap with a generally curved shape for conforming to the toe part of a safety boot or safety shoe so that in use it would bridge the toes of the wearer and extend down to the sole of the shoe or boot in front of and to the side of the toes. The toe cap is in the form of a single continuous curve in three dimensions.
  • The toe cap is moulded from a high strength fibre reinforced plastics material and in a typical example, the fibre is glass fibre. The fibre is incorporated into the plastics material matrix in such a way as to form a composite which can be moulded without laying up individual layers of fibres.
  • The main area of the toe cap 11 is of substantially uniform thickness. The front part 12 of the toe cap and the forward part 13 of the sides of the toe cap are of increased thickness compared with the main area 11 and this increased thickness tapers gradually and merges smoothly with the main part 11 of substantially uniform thickness.
  • It has been found that this gradual merging and tapering of the thickness around the front end of the toe cap helps to strengthen the whole of the toe cap and thereby allows an acceptably thin main portion 12 to be used. It is essential to avoid excessive thickness in the main area 11 because this would adversely affect the appearance of the boot or shoe which may well be a fashion product as well as a safety product. The limited thickening and gradual taper of the front part of the footwear merely adds a requirement for a small increase in length and does not detract significantly from the appearance of the footwear.
  • To provide further strengthening, the lower edge of the toe cap is provided with an inwardly directed integrally moulded flange 15.
  • A further feature which assists the appearance of the boot or shoe is that the rear edge portion 14 of the toe cap is tapered in thickness to facilitate merging of the toe cap with the remainder of the boot or shoe. The decreased thickness in this area does not significantly affect the strength of the toe cap as a whole and allows a slight increase in the general thickness of the main area 11 without introducing an unsightly appearance.

Claims (3)

1. A protective toe cap for use in footwear for protecting the toes of the wearer against injury comprising a curved member adapted to lie over the toes of the wearer and extend down to a lower edge at the sole portion of the footwear around the sides and the front of the toe area of the foot, the member being moulded from fibre reinforced plastics material and having a thickened area around the lower front part thereof and the forward part of the sides thereof, the thickened portion tapering in an upward and rearward direction and merging smoothly with the main thinner part of the toe cap.
2. A protective toe cap as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the rear edge of the upper part of the toe cap tapers smoothly from the main part of the toe cap to facilitate merging of the rear edge of the toe cap with the upper of the article of footwear.
3. A protective toe cap as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the lower edge is reinforced by an inwardly directed integrally moulded flange.
EP19800301743 1979-06-08 1980-05-27 Protective toe cap Expired EP0021612B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB7920020 1979-06-08
GB7920020 1979-06-08

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0021612A1 true EP0021612A1 (en) 1981-01-07
EP0021612B1 EP0021612B1 (en) 1983-11-09

Family

ID=10505727

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19800301743 Expired EP0021612B1 (en) 1979-06-08 1980-05-27 Protective toe cap

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0021612B1 (en)
CA (1) CA1131905A (en)
DE (1) DE3065511D1 (en)
ES (1) ES251224U (en)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2515706A1 (en) * 1981-10-30 1983-05-06 Morel Serge Fibrous reinforcing pieces for shoe mfr. - by dry blending fibres and resin to reduce overall energy needs
FR2525443A1 (en) * 1982-04-23 1983-10-28 Agulhon Michel Protective toe cap for safety shoe - which has shell open at bottom and with back made of polycarbonate with mineral fibres
EP0100181A1 (en) * 1982-07-28 1984-02-08 Imperial Chemical Industries Plc Protective toe caps
GB2138272A (en) * 1980-03-21 1984-10-24 Britton Limited G B Protective toe caps
WO1986004490A1 (en) * 1985-02-08 1986-08-14 Siskind Leland B M Tow guard for footwear and footwear so made
DE3529999A1 (en) * 1985-08-22 1987-02-26 Bayer Ag INJECTED SHOE TOE MADE OF THERMOPLASTIC PLASTIC
EP0239313A2 (en) * 1986-03-25 1987-09-30 Haskon Corporation A protective toe cap for footwear
US4862606A (en) * 1986-02-20 1989-09-05 Siskind Leland B M Toe guard for footwear, process for its manufacture, and footwear so made
US5137748A (en) * 1989-09-13 1992-08-11 Dai-Ichi Kogyo Keiyaku Co. Method for electrostatic coating of a resin molding
FR2693087A1 (en) * 1992-07-02 1994-01-07 Yoshida Kogyo Kk Shoe end reinforcement and safety shoe provided with such reinforcement.
EP0769258A1 (en) * 1995-10-18 1997-04-23 Alpinestars S.p.A. Method for producing a protective element for sports shoes and/or items of clothing and product obtained with said method

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA2119837C (en) * 1994-03-24 1998-09-22 Gilles Fortin Metatarsal guard for safety shoe

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1726198A (en) * 1926-05-05 1929-08-27 Stahl Eugen Football boot and the like
US2151554A (en) * 1937-02-13 1939-03-21 Helmer G Josephson Armored shoe
US2747303A (en) * 1952-10-22 1956-05-29 Lillian L Abrahams Protector for shoes
GB1220846A (en) * 1968-05-31 1971-01-27 Marcel Josef Elkins Improvements in protective devices for footwear

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1726198A (en) * 1926-05-05 1929-08-27 Stahl Eugen Football boot and the like
US2151554A (en) * 1937-02-13 1939-03-21 Helmer G Josephson Armored shoe
US2747303A (en) * 1952-10-22 1956-05-29 Lillian L Abrahams Protector for shoes
GB1220846A (en) * 1968-05-31 1971-01-27 Marcel Josef Elkins Improvements in protective devices for footwear

Cited By (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2138272A (en) * 1980-03-21 1984-10-24 Britton Limited G B Protective toe caps
FR2515706A1 (en) * 1981-10-30 1983-05-06 Morel Serge Fibrous reinforcing pieces for shoe mfr. - by dry blending fibres and resin to reduce overall energy needs
FR2525443A1 (en) * 1982-04-23 1983-10-28 Agulhon Michel Protective toe cap for safety shoe - which has shell open at bottom and with back made of polycarbonate with mineral fibres
EP0100181A1 (en) * 1982-07-28 1984-02-08 Imperial Chemical Industries Plc Protective toe caps
GB2127275A (en) * 1982-07-28 1984-04-11 Ici Plc Protective toe caps
WO1986004490A1 (en) * 1985-02-08 1986-08-14 Siskind Leland B M Tow guard for footwear and footwear so made
DE3529999A1 (en) * 1985-08-22 1987-02-26 Bayer Ag INJECTED SHOE TOE MADE OF THERMOPLASTIC PLASTIC
EP0219633A1 (en) * 1985-08-22 1987-04-29 Bayer Ag Injection-moulded thermoplastic toe cap
US4862606A (en) * 1986-02-20 1989-09-05 Siskind Leland B M Toe guard for footwear, process for its manufacture, and footwear so made
EP0239313A2 (en) * 1986-03-25 1987-09-30 Haskon Corporation A protective toe cap for footwear
US4735003A (en) * 1986-03-25 1988-04-05 Haskon Corporation Protective toe cap for footwear
EP0239313A3 (en) * 1986-03-25 1988-09-21 Haskon Corp A protective toe cap for footwear
US5137748A (en) * 1989-09-13 1992-08-11 Dai-Ichi Kogyo Keiyaku Co. Method for electrostatic coating of a resin molding
FR2693087A1 (en) * 1992-07-02 1994-01-07 Yoshida Kogyo Kk Shoe end reinforcement and safety shoe provided with such reinforcement.
EP0769258A1 (en) * 1995-10-18 1997-04-23 Alpinestars S.p.A. Method for producing a protective element for sports shoes and/or items of clothing and product obtained with said method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA1131905A (en) 1982-09-21
EP0021612B1 (en) 1983-11-09
ES251224U (en) 1980-10-01
DE3065511D1 (en) 1983-12-15

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