Shoe Donning Aid Providing Lowering Support

Abstract

A shoe donning aid comprising a generally downwardly extending U shaped horn portion having an internal and external horn walls. The shoe donning aid comprises a latching mechanism which may be of resilient, locking, or latch type, the latching mechanism exerts sufficient force or forces on the shoe to allow the lowering the shoe to the ground using a lanyard. After the user's foot is inserted into the shoe, pulling on the lanyard overcomes or releases the latching forces, allowing extraction of the shoe donning aid. The latching mechanism is positioned lower than the top portion of the donning aid as to eliminate that obstacle from the target opening of the foot. Various variations and embodiments are shown and described.

1 . A shoe donning aid for facilitating donning a shoe having a shoe front region and a shoe rear region, a shoe counter and a shoe opening disposed generally in the shoe rear region, the shoe donning aid comprising:
 a shoe horn having an internal horn wall, an external horn wall and a top portion coupled therebetween to define in cross-section a downwardly opening U shaped form, the U shaped being dimensioned to at least partially receive therein the shoe counter;   a latching mechanism coupled to the shoe horn and disposed below the top portion, the latching mechanism being selectively transitionable between a latched state and a released state;   the latching mechanism having at least one horn contact point disposed to impart a forwardly directed force to press the shoe counter directly or indirectly against the internal horn wall when the latching mechanism is in the latched state, and to reduce the forwardly directed force responsive to the latching mechanism transitioning to the released state; and,   an anchor point coupled to the latching mechanism or formed therein, wherein a force exerted on the anchor point transitions the latching mechanism from the latched state to the released state.   
     
     
         2 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising at least one support leg extending further downwardly than the internal horn wall. 
     
     
         3 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the latching mechanism comprises a rocker arm hingedly coupled to the shoe horn at a hinge point, the at least one horn contact point being coupled to the rocker arm or formed thereby; and,
 a spring disposed to urge the horn contact point forwardly to impart the forwardly directed force.   
     
     
         4 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the rocker arm comprises a rocker top portion and a rocker bottom portion separated by the hinge point, the horn contact point being coupled to the bottom portion or formed by a portion thereof, and anchor point being disposed in the top portion or coupled thereto, wherein a forward force exerted on the anchor point acts to counter the spring and thus reduce the forwardly directed force, thus transition the latching mechanism to the released state. 
     
     
         5 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein a lanyard is coupled to the anchor point, the lanyard being routed through at least one lanyard passage formed in the shoe donning aid, the passage affecting a direction change of a tensile force exerted by the lanyard. 
     
     
         6 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein operationally, the lanyard exits the shoe donning aid rearwardly of the shoe counter, and below the top portion. 
     
     
         7 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the latching mechanism comprises a spring coupled directly or indirectly to the horn contact point and disposed to urge the horn contact point forwardly to impart the forwardly directed force. 
     
     
         8 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 7 , further comprising an anchor point coupled directly or indirectly to the horn contact point; and,
 a cantilevered bracket coupled to the shoe horn and extending rearwardly the anchor point, the bracket having a lanyard passage or notch oriented to affect a direction change to a tensile force exerted by a lanyard coupled to the anchor point.   
     
     
         9 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the latching mechanism further comprises a rocker arm hingedly coupled to the shoe horn at a hinge point, the rocker having a bottom portion and the at least one horn contact point is coupled thereto or formed thereby, the spring acting on the rocker arm to bias the bottom portion thereof forwardly, the bottom portion having the lanyard anchor therein or coupled thereto. 
     
     
         10 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the rocker arm further comprises an upper portion extending above the hinge point, for biasing the bottom portion rearwardly by displacing the top portion forwardly. 
     
     
         11 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the bracket and the spring are disposed below the top portion. 
     
     
         12 . A shoe donning aid for facilitating donning a shoe having a shoe front region and a shoe rear region, a shoe counter and a shoe opening disposed generally in the rear region of the shoe, the shoe donning aid comprising:
 a shoe horn having an internal horn wall, an external horn wall, and a top portion coupled therebetween to define in cross-section a downwardly opening U shaped form, the U shaped being dimensioned to at least partially receive therein the shoe counter;   a lock mechanism coupled to the shoe horn, the lock mechanism being transitionable between a locked state and an unlocked state, the lock mechanism comprises at least one horn contact point disposed to impart a forwardly directed force to press the shoe counter directly or indirectly against the internal horn wall when the lock mechanism is in the locked state, the horn contact point is allowed to retract away from the shoe counter when the lock mechanism is in the unlocked state.   
     
     
         13 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the lock mechanism is disposed below the top portion. 
     
     
         14 . The shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 12 , further comprising a spring element disposed to impart a rearwardly directed force to the horn contact point. 
     
     
         15 . A shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the lock mechanism comprises a rotatable cam disposed to directly or indirectly force the horn contact point sufficiently forward to impart a frictional force against shoe counter when the lock mechanism is in the locked state and to allow the horn contact point to retract when the lock mechanism is in the unlocked state. 
     
     
         16 . A shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 12 , further comprising at least one support leg extending downwardly from the external horn wall or the top portion, and extending below the internal horn wall. 
     
     
         17 . A shoe donning aid for facilitating donning a shoe having a shoe front region and a shoe rear region, a shoe counter and a shoe opening disposed generally in the shoe rear region, the shoe opening being partially defined by an internal side of the shoe counter and two opposing side walls extending forwardly from the counter, the shoe donning aid having a longitudinal plane, and a lateral plane associate therewith, the shoe donning aid comprising:
 a shoe horn having an internal horn wall and an external horn wall, which are coupled to form a downwardly opening U shaped cross-section, the shoe horn being dimensioned to receive therein the shoe counter, the external wall having at least one horn contact point;   A lanyard anchor point coupled directly or indirectly to the shoe horn;   two side extensions coupled thereto directly or indirectly to the shoe horn and extending forwardly thereof, the side extensions being disposed on opposing sides of the longitudinal plane, each of the side extensions having at least one side contact point, at least one of the side extensions being resiliently movable laterally;   the internal wall of the shoe horn and the two forward extensions forming, at least in part, an internal portion of the shoe donning aid, the internal part being dimensioned to be elastically received within the shoe opening such that operationally the horn contact point being disposed against an outside wall of the shoe counter and imparting forwardly directed longitudinal force thereto, the at least one contact point of each of the side extensions being operationally disposed against the respective shoe side wall and resiliently imparting a lateral force thereto, the lateral force directed to urge the respective side wall away from the longitudinal plane, the combination of the magnitude and direction of the respective longitudinal and lateral forces being sufficient to support the weight of the shoe.   
     
     
         18 . A shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 17  further comprising at least one support leg extending further downwardly than the internal horn wall. 
     
     
         19 . A shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 17 , wherein pulling a lanyard coupled to the lanyard anchor point acts to reduce the longitudinal force magnitude. 
     
     
         20 . A shoe donning aid as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein the horn contact point is urged forwardly by resiliency of the external horn wall.