Child's shoe fit sensor
First Claim
1. A shoe size fit sensor that indicates by a perceptible alarm that the shoe of an infant, a toddler or other small child is too tight for wear, said sensor comprising;
- a sensor located within an inside toe region of a shoe,a power supply connected to said sensor,at least one switch connecting said power supply with said sensor and a perceptible alarm,said sensor responsive to setting off said perceptible alarm when a child'"'"'s toe makes contact with said sensor when the shoe is too tight,said at least one switch comprising an upwardly extending toe switch responsive to forcible forward or lateral contact from a toe of a foot.
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Abstract
A shoe size fit sensor indicates by a perceptible alarm that the shoe of an infant, a toddler or other small child is too tight for wear. The shoe fit sensor sets off a perceptible visual and or audible alarm when a child'"'"'s toe makes constant with the sensor when the shoe is too tight. To avoid false alarms when the child kicks with the shoe, a time delay is provided so that incidental touching of the sensor by momentary kicks does not set off the constant alarm. The sensor also determines when a sock is "bunched up" in the toe area, and distinguishes this condition from a condition where constant contact by a portion of the child'"'"'s foot indicates that the shoe is too tight.
38 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A shoe size fit sensor that indicates by a perceptible alarm that the shoe of an infant, a toddler or other small child is too tight for wear, said sensor comprising;
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a sensor located within an inside toe region of a shoe, a power supply connected to said sensor, at least one switch connecting said power supply with said sensor and a perceptible alarm, said sensor responsive to setting off said perceptible alarm when a child'"'"'s toe makes contact with said sensor when the shoe is too tight, said at least one switch comprising an upwardly extending toe switch responsive to forcible forward or lateral contact from a toe of a foot. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A shoe size fit sensor that indicates by a perceptible alarm that the shoe of an infant, a toddler or other small child is too tight for wear, said sensor comprising:
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a sensor located within an inside toe region of a shoe, a power supply connected to said sensor, at least one switch connecting said power supply with said sensor and a perceptible alarm, said sensor responsively setting off said perceptible alarm when a child'"'"'s toe makes contact with said sensor when the shoe is too tight, wherein said at least one switch comprises a plurality of switches, wherein one of said plurality of switches is a toe switch responsive to forcible forward contact from a toe and at least one further switch is a side switch responsive to forcible lateral contact from a side area of a foot.
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13. A children'"'"'s shoe size alarm system comprising a child'"'"'s shoe having therein alarm means for alerting an adult to a tight-fit condition;
- switch means for electrically triggering the alarm means;
battery means for energizing the alarm means;
sensor means for sensing a tight-fit condition; and
delay means for delaying alarm triggering for a preselected time interval,where the alarm means comprises a battery wired to at least one light-emitting diode (LED) where battery current to the at least one LED is controlled by the switch means; and
wherethe switch means comprises alternating, spaced-apart interdigitated electrical conductors charged, respectively with positive and negative voltage; and
wherethe sensor means comprises at least one spring having a tab of electrically conducting material thereon for contacting the interdigitated positive and negative switch conductors, and thereby closing the at least one switch; and
wherethe at least one spring maintains the electrically conducting tab in a normally spaced-apart relationship to the interdigitated switch conductors, thereby maintaining a normally open switch condition and a normal standby condition or zero current draw from the battery; and
wherethe sensor means for sensing a tight-fit shoe condition comprises the at least one spring, the spring being contacted and compressed by the foot of the child, thereby closing the switch and triggering the alarm; and
wherethe delay means for delaying alarm triggering for a preselected time interval comprises a circuit having at least one complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) comparitor, a plurality of electrical resistors of differing electrical resistance values, and at least one capacitor, and a battery, wherein, when power is supplied to the at least one comparitor and at least two resistors form a voltage divider biasing the negative input to the at least one comparitor at a voltage of about +2.5 volts; and
further wherea large value resistor charges the at least one capacitor and a large-value resistor having a resistance value at least ten times the value of a small value resistor so that eventually the voltage at the positive input to the at least one comparitor 15 exceeds the voltage at the negative input, thereby switching on the at least one comparitor and triggering the shoe size alarm. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
- switch means for electrically triggering the alarm means;
Specification