GB2205479A - Improvements in and relating to pedestrian safety - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to make pedestrians more visible to vehicular traffic there is provided reflective material in or attached to footwear, especially sports shoes. One embodiment utilises a cylindrical device 5 for engagement in a hole bored in the heel of footwear and having a planar disc-like reflective surface. Another embodiment comprises a strip of plastics material 15 having a reflective surface and self-adhesive means for securing in position. In a further embodiment (Fig. 3a), reflective strip may be used for, or attached to, the rear part (19) of the shoe with self-adhesive hemispherial reflectors (5') fixed to the shoe heel. In a final embodiment (Fig. 4), the reflective material may be incorporated in or attached to the front of the shoe at the sole, upper or toe. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: Improvements in and relating to pedestrian safety DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to in particular a means of drawing attention to the wearer of footwear so as to increase wearer safety.

Pedestrians walking, jogging or running, other than in daylight hours can be difficult to see and the failure by a motorist to notice pedestrians using the roads, for example in country lanes where there are no footpaths, or simply when crossing a road from one side to the other, can result in a serious accident.

Accordingly, there is a need for some convenient means of drawing attention to pedestrians.

Wearing special reflective apparel in the form of arm bands or body reflectors is all very well but require a conscious effort on the part of the wearer to put on in addition to other clothing and in the case of joggers or runners, is perhaps not consistent with the minimum clothing requirements of shorts alone to keep cool in warm weather.

Accordingly, there is a need for a means of drawing attention to the pedestrian without the need to use items additional to those required for walking, jogging, running etc.

According to one aspect of the present invention I propose placing reflective means on footwear to render the wearer more easily visible.

Such reflective means may be provided around the sole and/or heel part of the shoe and/or as a part of the uppers.

According to one embodiment, I propose to bore one or more holes in the heel of the footwear and insert reflective means. I prefer to bore three holes through the heel, from one side to the other, so that three reflectors are visible to each side of the heel.

Another may be bored in the back of the heel to be especially visible from the rear. The reflectors may be a screw fit or glued in place.

As an alternative to boring holes in the heel, I propose to stick discrete reflective devices to the heel so that they are visible from different angles say to both sides and the rear. As a further alternative, I propose to secure a strip of reflective material around the heel region of the footwear so as to be visible from the rear and both sides. A still further alternative is to apply reflective means to other parts of the footwear say the uppers or the edges of the sole, or even to make those parts from a reflective material so that for example reflective material is also visible from the front as well as the sides and rear. One such part which is especially suitable in this respect is the material let in to reinforce the heel.

Thus, I propose reflective means as aforesaid for affixing to footwear. I propose that these reflectors be fitted to sports shoes, and especially running shoes, so that joggers and runners can be seen more easily when out running at night, dusk or dawn when visibility would be impaired. By this simple means, the headlights of cars would pick out pedestrians and so improve safety. Equally however, the reflectors could be fitted to ordinary shoes and could be especially valuable in drawing attention to pedestrians at night, dawn or dusk, for example children walking to and from school in Winter time.

Accordingly I propose the reflective devices as aforesaid for fitting to footwear.

The present invention will now be described further, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe having reflective means according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure la is a fragmentary underneath plan view of the heel portion of Figure 1; Figure ib is a perspective view of a reflector device used in Figure 1 and la; Figure 2a is a fragmentary perspective view of another embodiment of shoe having an alternate configuration of reflective means; Figure 2b is an underneath plan view of the shoe of Figure 2a; Figure 3a and 3b is a fragmentary perspective view and plan view respectively of yet another embodiment; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a shoe illustrating reflective means on other parts of the shoe.

Referring firstly to Figures 1, la and ib of the drawings, there is illustrated one shoe of a pair, shown by way of example as a casual shoe and could preferably be a training shoe. Three holes 1 are bored through the heel portion 3 and inserted into each side of the heel and respective devices 5; These conveniently comprise a head 7 having a reflective pattern or material 11 applied thereto and the shank 9, preferably reduced in diameter, which is dimensioned to fit into the bore. The shank may be a push fit, a screw fitting and/or glued in place. The described reflectors face to both sides of the heel.

Shown as dotted at 13 is a rearward facing reflector device 5 fitted into a hole bored in the heel.

Of course it is not essentially that the heads be larger in diameter than the shank, the reflector devices may be simple cylinders fitting into the bored holes and finishing flush or projecting as desired.

Figures 2a and 2b show an alternative embodiment in which a strip of reflective material 15 is adhered to the heel portion. A strip of luminous plastics material is especially suitable having say a selfadhesive applied to the backing thereof which is revealed after removing a backing sheet.

Figure 3a and 3b shows a further alternative in which hemispherical reflective devices 5' such as plastics devices with multi-facial surfaces are adhered to the heel portion of the sole. The heads of the devices 5 of Figure 1 could be hemispherical as an alternative to being flat as illustrated; or the devices 5' flat disc like devices. Again a selfadhesive may be on the back of the disc to facilitate fixing in place after removal of a backing.

A still further alternative, which for convenience is shown in Figure 3a is to have the heel portion 19 of the upper 21 made from or covered with a reflective material, such as a luminous plastics or woven fabric. Other parts of the uppers may also be provided with luminous parts to attract attention and even the underneath of the sole.

Certain models of running shoes are equipped with so called balance weights or shock absorbers for fine tuning the shoes to give optimum performance on different surfaces and these are conveniently provided in the heel, fitting into transverse bores.

Accordingly, in a particularly convenient arrangement my reflective means can be incorporated into these devices, thus avoiding the need to modify the sole construction of the shoe.

Figure 4 illustrates how my proposed reflective means can be incorporated in other parts of the shoe/footwear, such as around the edge of the sole at the front as at 30, or on the uppers - say at one or more of the sides 32, the toe 34 in the top 36.

Such reflective means can comprise discrete items affixed to the material of the shoe such as by adhesive or stitching or, especially in the case of the uppers, be incorporated in the make up of the shoe as actual parts thereof.

Claims (17)

1. Footwear having reflective means as a part thereof or affixed thereto.

2. Footwear as claimed in claim 1 in which the reflective means is associated with the heel and/or sole and/or the uppers.

3. Footwear as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the reflective means comprises one or more discrete reflective devices secured to the footwear.

4. Footwear as claimed in claim 3 in which the reflective means is secured in place by adhesive.

5. Footwear as claimed in claim 3 or 4 in which the or each reflective device comprises a substantially cylindrical member which is insertable into a hole therefor bored in the heel of the footwear, and wherein an end of the member carries the reflective material.

6. Footwear as claimed in claim 5 in which the hole is a through hole across the heel with reflective devices visible to both sides of the heel.

7. Footwear as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the reflective device comprises a strip-like material having an adhesive backing.

8. Footwear as claimed in claim 7 in which the strip-like material is a luminous plastics.

9. Footwear as claimed in any preceding claim when in the form of a sports shoe.

10. Footwear constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings of Figures 1, la and lb, or 2a and 2b or 3a and 3b or Figure 4.

11. A reflective device adapted for fixing to footwear comprising a footwear engaging surface and an externally visible reflective surface.

12. A reflective device as claimed in claim 11 in which the externally visible reflective surface is either hemispherical or planar.

13. A reflective device as claimed in claim 11 or 12 in which the footwear engaging surface is planar to accept adhesive means for securing it in position.

14. A reflective device as claimed in claim 13 in which a self-adhesive is used over which is a releasable cover strip.

15. A reflective device as claimed in claim 11 or 12 in which the footwear engaging surface is cylindrical for fitting into a corresponding hole in the footwear.

16. A reflective device as claimed in claim 11 in the form of a strip of plastics material one side of which is reflective and the other side carries an adhesive preferably covered with a releasable backing.

17. A reflective device for footwear constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings of Figures 1, la and lb, or 2a, 2b or 3a, 3b.