Removable gaiter for protecting footwear

Abstract

A removable gaiter for protecting a footwear includes an upper, enveloping the foot of the user, which is associated with a sole and is provided with eyelets for laces for tying, and further includes an upper portion, which when deployed envelops the area of the tibia of the user, and is connected to a lower portion, which when deployed envelops the area of the instep; the lower portion is provided, on the lower perimeter edge, with first elements for temporary engagement with complementarily-shaped grip elements associated with and protruding laterally from the upper in an area above that of the heel of the sole.

1 . A removable gaiter, for protecting a footwear, the removable gaiter comprising: an upper, enveloping a foot of a user, which is associated with a sole and is provided with eyelets for laces for tying, and further comprising an upper portion, which when deployed envelops an area of a tibia of the user, and is connected to a lower portion, which when deployed envelops an area of instep, said lower portion being provided, on a lower perimeter edge, with first means configured for temporary engagement with complementarily-shaped grip means associated with and protruding laterally from said upper in an area above that of a heel of said sole. 
     
     
         2 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 1 , further comprising second means configured for temporary engagement with at least one of said laces and third means for temporary engagement of lower lateral ends of said upper portion and said lower portion once coupled together. 
     
     
         3 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 1 , wherein a zipper is attached to lateral edges of said upper portion and said lower portion to draw the lateral edges together so as to envelop, when deployed, said areas of the instep and of said tibia. 
     
     
         4 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 1 , wherein said upper portion and said lower portion are made with the same soft material, which can be, for each one or separately, partially or completely waterproof. 
     
     
         5 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 1 , wherein, in a condition in which said gaiter is not associated with said footwear, the gaiter can be arranged on a plane that gives the gaiter a substantially frustum shape with curved lateral edges. 
     
     
         6 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 1 , wherein said first means for temporary engagement are constituted by two strips, made of material known by the Velcro® trademark, which at a first end are attached to said lower perimeter edge of said lower portion in an area adjacent to a vertical central axis to said gaiter in a condition in which said gaiter is opened out on a plane. 
     
     
         7 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 6 , wherein said grip means are associated with and protrude laterally from said upper in an area that lies above the the heel of said sole and in an area that lies under said two strips. 
     
     
         8 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 1 , wherein said grip means are constituted by bands, metallic or made of a resilient material, shaped substantially as the Greek letter Ω (omega) and arranged substantially parallel to said sole transversely to said upper at the heel area. 
     
     
         9 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 8 , wherein the shape of said bands is such as to define, once the bands are associated with said upper, a space to allow the insertion of said strips into said space. 
     
     
         10 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 6 , wherein after said two strips are inserted into said space comes a subsequent folding thereof until a second, free end thereof, positioned against a strip, which is attached internally to said gaiter in an area that lies above said lower perimeter edge of said lower portion. 
     
     
         11 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 10 , wherein a disengagement between said first means for temporary engagement and said grip means occurs by manually detaching said second, free end of said strips from said two strips. 
     
     
         12 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 3 , wherein said second means for temporary engagement to at least one of said laces are constituted by a hook protruding from a vertex of a substantially triangular flap one side of which is stitched to said gaiter at an end of said lower perimeter edge. 
     
     
         13 . The removable gaiter according to  claim 12 , wherein a cap of an automatic press-stud is placed on a face of said substantially triangular flap directed away from said lower portion and cooperates with a socket associated with another face of said gaiter to which said flap is fixed, tapes of a zipper being associated with the lateral edges of said upper portion and said lower portion to draw the lateral together so as to envelop, when deployed, said areas of the instep and of the tibia.