Sandal with toe separators

Abstract

A sandal comprising a base sole element and an upper element which enclose a human foot therebetween. Toe separators extend between the base sole element and the upper element, with each of the toe separators providing a wedging separation between adjacent toes of the human foot and the toe separators include a material such as memory foam to provide a cushioning sensation to the adjacent toes in contact therewith. A fabric cover of the memory foam may be textured to provide a massaging sensation as well. Separately the fabric may be comprised of an antimicrobial, antibacterial or antifungal fabric to thereby directly treat the area between the toes normally susceptible to athlete's foot.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An article of footwear comprising a base sole element and an upper element configured to enclose a human foot therebetween, wherein at least one toe separator element extends between the base sole element and the upper element, with each of the at least one toe separator being configured and positioned to provide a wedging separation between adjacent toes of the human foot and wherein the at least one toe separator is configured to provide a cushioning sensation to the adjacent toes in contact therewith. 
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the footwear comprises a sandal with one toe separator, configured and positioned for separation of a big toe and adjacent toe. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the footwear comprises a sandal with four toe separators, respectively configured and positioned for separation between five toes of a human foot. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one toe separator elements comprise elongated tubular elements comprising cushioning material configured to give with lateral pressure applied by the adjacent toes to provide the cushioning sensation and wherein the cushioning material substantially recovers to an initial configuration with removal of the toe from contact therewith. 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 4 , wherein the cushioning material is comprised of at least one of a gel, foam and memory foam. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 5 , wherein the cushioning material is comprised of memory foam. 
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 4 , wherein the cushioning material is enclosed within a decorative layer. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the decorative material is a fabric layer. 
     
     
         9 . The article of footwear of  claim 8 , wherein the fabric layer comprises a textured outer surface configured to provide a massaging effect to adjacent toes in contact therewith. 
     
     
         10 . The article of footwear of  claim 7 , wherein the fabric layer is comprised of at least one of an antimicrobial, an antibacterial and an antifungal fabric configured to provide respective antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal activity treatment to an area between the adjacent toes with which the toe separator is in contact. 
     
     
         11 . The article of footwear of  claim 8 , wherein the cushioning material is comprised of memory foam with a sheet of memory foam being integrally formed with the fabric layer as a bi-layer material, wherein a sized section of the bi-layer material is rolled into a tube comprising the toe separator, with the fabric facing outwardly and with ends of the sized section being seamed together to maintain configuration of the tube and wherein the seam is positioned to face the foot when the footwear is worn. 
     
     
         12 . The article of footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the tube has a circular cross section. 
     
     
         13 . The article of footwear of  claim 12 , wherein the seamed ends of the sized section are skived prior to the bi-layer material being rolled into the tube. 
     
     
         14 . The article of footwear of  claim 8 , wherein the fabric comprises an un-seamed tubular enclosure for the cushioning material. 
     
     
         15 . The article of footwear of  claim 8 , wherein the toe separator includes a centrally positioned stiffener element. 
     
     
         16 . The article of footwear of  claim 6 , wherein the footwear comprises four toe separators with the cushioning material of each of the toe separators being comprised of memory foam enclosed within a decorative fabric material comprised of at least one of antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal fabric and configured to provide respective antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal activity treatment to an area between the adjacent toes with which the toe separators are respectively in contact. 
     
     
         17 . An article of footwear comprising a base sole element and an upper element configured to enclose a human foot therebetween, wherein at least one toe separator element extends between the base sole element and the upper element, with each of the at least one toe separator being configured and positioned to provide a wedging separation between adjacent toes of the human foot and wherein the at least one toe separator is comprised of at least one of an antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal material with the at least one toes separator being configured to provide respective antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal activity treatment to an area between the adjacent toes with which the toe separator is in contact. 
     
     
         18 . A method for preventing microbial, bacterial and fungal growth between toes of a human foot, comprising the steps of:
 a) providing one of an antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal fabric on the exterior surface of toe separators of a sandal, and   b) placing the sandal on a human foot with placement and positioning of the toe separators into wedging contact between the toes of the human;   whereby respective antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal activity treatment is directly applied to an area between the adjacent toes with which the toe separator is in contact.