US20110113653A1 - Device for transforming on demand a city shoe into a sports shoe and shoes adapted to said device - Google Patents

Abstract

Footwear having a sole and a removable device placed under the sole of the footwear. A peripheral region of the sole and the removable device have male-female engagement portions in opposite regions for retaining the removable device under the sole. At least one of the male-female arrangements is provided on a flexible portion of the removable device. The removable device is provided in the vicinity of at least one of the male-female arrangements. A protruding release tab integral with the removable device can be selectively moved to cause the deformation of the flexible portion and the disengagement of the male-female engagement portions.

Description

• The invention concerns a device to convert an ordinary shoe into a sports shoe when so required, and the shoes fitted with this device.
• In a particular application envisaged, the shoe is convertible in order to be suitable for the practice of a sport, such as golf or walking on uneven ground, and also to allow one to walk normally on an ordinary surface such as even ground, a floor or a floor covering, or to move in a gymnasium or a dressing room or a reception area, for example, before or after taking part in the sport.
• Numerous devices have been proposed, composed of one or two strips equipped with spikes and designed to be attached under the sole and held in position by various means.
• U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,512 describes a device composed of a single strip to be applied under the heel, and which has a front wing and a rear wing which fit around and press against the front edge and the rear edge of the heel respectively.
• U.S. Pat. No. 2,118,778 describes a device composed of a narrow, u-shaped strip which is placed under the heel and is fixed to it by screws which pass through the wings of the strip and which penetrate into the underside of the heel.
• U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,306 describes a device composed of two strips which are attached under the sole, at the front and rear ends of the latter respectively, using lateral tabs which wrap against the sides and the front or against the rear of the sole respectively, so as to clip onto a top edge of the sole.
• Publication DE 867 968 describes a device composed of a single U-shaped strip which is applied in the middle zone of the sole between the sole and the heel, and whose wings are equipped with passages for retaining straps.
• U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,233 describes a device composed of a single flexible elastic strip attached by an extension to the underside of the heel of the shoe, with this strip being designed to occupy a working position in which the strip is located under the extension, across the shoe, or a retracted position in which the strip is located behind the shoe with the spikes hidden between the shoe and the strip. In this solution, the extension is attached, by gluing or during manufacture, to the underside of the heel, and the strip is equipped with wings designed to be folded against the sides of the shoe and to be attached to these sides by hollow buttons passing in holes in the wings, and attached to screws passing through perforations in the sides of the shoe.
• More recently (publication FR 2 831 030), a device has been proposed that is composed of two strips designed to be placed respectively under the forefoot and under the heel, each strip being at some distance from the corresponding end of the sole, thus presenting two longitudinal edges which are positioned across the sole and two lateral edges from which emerge two lateral winglets which fold up against the vertical sides of the sole, where these winglets and the vertical sides of the sole include resources that fit together for the detachable fixing of the strip to the shoe. In the invention described in this publication, the strips are inserted into cut-outs formed in the bottom surface of the sole in order to prevent movement of the strips while walking.
• These cut-outs can create problems of differential wear, can shorten the life of the sole, and can increase the production cost of the shoe.
• One object of the invention is to overcome drawbacks of the prior art. To this aim, the invention provides a footwear comprising a sole and a removable device placed under the sole of the footwear, a peripheral region of the sole and the removable device having male-female engagement portions in opposite regions for retaining the removable device under the sole, and at least one of said male-female arrangements being provided on a flexible portion of the removable device and said removable device being provided in the vicinity of said at least one male-female arrangement with a protruding release tab integral with said removable device and which can be selectively moved to cause the deformation of said flexible portion and the disengagement of said male-female engagement portions.
• In one particular embodiment, the removable device is in the form of a strip.
• The strip may be a front strip positioned under the forefoot and having two longitudinal edges and two lateral edges which are shorter than the two longitudinal edges, and has end portions extend upwardly from the lateral edges, the male-female engagement portions of the removable device being positioned in the upper region of the upwardly extending end portions. The two longitudinal edges may not be parallel to each other. The release tab may extend laterally from the end portion of the lateral edge opposite the other foot when the footwear is worn.
• The strip may also be a heel strip positioned under the heel and having a back edge and a front edge. The heel strip may includes upwardly extending end portions from the back edge and the front edge. The male-female engagement portions of the heel strip may be positioned at the top of the upwardly extending and portions of the front edge and/or of the back edge. The release tab may extend at the front edge of the removable device toward the front part of the sole.
• The mole-female engagement portions may be tongue-recess engagement elements. The tongue-recess engagement elements on the sole may be recesses and tongue-recess engagement elements on the removable device may be claws engaging the recesses of the sole.
• The removable device is advantageously made integrally from a flexible material.
• The removable device may have on its underside ground anchoring arrangements.
• The following are some non-limiting examples of shoes in accordance with the invention, with reference to the figures in the attached drawings, in which:
• FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a shoe for the right foot seen from the left side, with two strips according to the invention in place, under the forefoot and under the heel respectively;
• FIG. 2 is a view in perspective similar to that ofFIG. 1 after removal of the strips;
• FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of the shoe for the right foot ofFIG. 1 fitted with the strips, and seen from the left side;
• FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of the strip located under the forefoot;
• FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-section of the shoe, in the region of the strip located under the forefoot and during the fitting of the strip, seen from the front of the shoe;
• FIG. 6 is a section similar to that ofFIG. 4, when fitting has been completed;
• FIG. 7 shows an example of a dowel;
• FIG. 8 is a view similar to that ofFIG. 5 in the case of a winglet variant;
• FIG. 9 shows an example of a fixing pin;
• FIG. 10 shows another example of a dowel;
• FIG. 11 is a magnified view of a resource for the attachment of a winglet;
• FIG. 12 is a top view of the sole of a shoe for the left foot fitted with strips according to the invention;
• FIG. 13 shows a variant of the strips of a device according to the invention;
• FIG. 14 schematically shows one phase of the fitting of the device ofFIG. 13 to a flat shoe for the left foot;
• FIG. 15 schematically shows a flat shoe for the right foot fitted with a device according toFIG. 13;
• FIG. 16 shows two views in perspective of a bootee for the right foot PD fitted with a device according to the invention, with the shoe being viewed from the top and the side;
• FIG. 17 shows the same shoe as inFIG. 16, but viewed from below and from the right;
• FIG. 18 shows the same shoe as inFIGS. 16 and 17, in the process of being fitted out, and
• FIG. 19 is a view in perspective of the two strips of the shoes ofFIGS. 17 and 18,
• FIG. 20 is a view in perspective of another embodiment of a shoe for the right foot seen from the bottom left side, with a front strip and a heel strip according to the invention in place, under the forefoot and under the heel respectively;
• FIG. 21 is an exploded view or the bottom part of the shoe ofFIG. 20;
• FIG. 22 is a close-up view of the front strip;
• FIG. 23 is a close-up view of the heel strip; and
• FIG. 24 is a view in perspective of the shoe ofFIG. 20, seen from the bottom front side of the shoe.
• The ordinary shoe for the right foot PD shown inFIGS. 1 to 3 is equipped with two spike-bearingstrips2,3 under theforefoot4 and under theheel5 respectively, surface-mounted on the underside of the sole S inFIG. 12, at some distance from the ends of the sole.
• Thestrip2 located under the forefoot (FIG. 4) has two longitudinalrectilinear edges2a,2bthat form an acute angle with each other.
• Preferably these two edges form an angle of 20° to 40°.
• The strip has twolateral edges2c,2dwhich are fitted withwinglets8,9 respectively, and which are adjacent to these edges and fold up onto thesides6,7 of the sole.
• The twolateral edges8,9 are of unequal width and are not parallel. As a result, the strip has the shape of an irregular quadrilateral whose opposite sides are neither in parallel nor have the same length (FIG. 12). This shape contributes to the retention in position of the strip in spite of the any frontal impacts suffered.
• Thesmall winglet8, located against the left side of the shoe for theright foot6, is equipped with ahole10 to allow apin11 carried by anextension12, fixed to the winglet by ahinge13, to pass through this hole when the extension is folded back onto the winglet (FIGS. 4 to 6). Thispin11 is intended to enter into adowel14 that is driven obliquely into theleft side6 of the sole. The pin can be solid or hollow.
• In a variant (FIG. 8), thesmall winglet8 carries the pin directly11, which is then equipped with ahead11bthat allows its extraction by hand or with a tool.
• Thelarge winglet9 carries two fixedstuds15,16 that are intended to enter into correspondinghollow dowels17,18 driven into holes in theright side7 of the sole (FIG. 11).
• Preferably, thesmall winglet8 is perpendicular to the strip while thelarge winglet9 is perpendicular or slanting outwards in relation to the strip (FIGS. 3 and 4). The same comments apply to thestrip3 located under the heel.
• Preferably, the sides of the sole against which the winglets of the strip are pressed have flats or recesses which ensure a good contact of the winglets with these sides. InFIG. 12, dashed lines (shown as M) show the position of the flats6a,7afor thewinglets8,9 of thestrip2 applied under the forefoot of the shoe for the left foot.
• The strips are designed so that the small winglets are facing inwards, that is toward the space between the shoes, so that the user is easily able to start the removal of a strip by resting the corresponding foot on the other knee and then grasping the small winglet in order to extract, from the sole, the fixing pin that carries this extension or, if the winglet has a removable pin, by pulling on the head of this pin to extract the latter from the sole and so detach the winglet from the sole, after which he can lift the strip and extract, from the sole, the studs which were holding the large winglet. These operations can be facilitated if the strip and its winglets have a certain ability to deform.
• FIG. 11 is a magnified view of a sole at the location of aventilation hole20 of the shoe, which passes obliquely through the sole S and which is fitted with ahollow dowel17 designed to receive ahollow pin15 for attaching thewinglet9 of the strip. This is seen only by itshead15a, visible outside the winglet. The strip and the winglets are preferably made of a thin metal with a thickness of no more than a few millimeters. It is equipped with spikes, striations, etc, depending on the sport to be played. The user can thus have a net of strips allowing the playing of different sports or suitable for a variety of surfaces.
• In the previous implementations, the longitudinal edges of the strips are rectilinear. In a variant, these edges can be curvilinear. In fact, the edges are all shaped to facilitate the retention of the strip and its resistance to frontal impacts.
• When the edges are curvilinear, the mean axes of the curves form an acute angle with each other, preferably in therange 20° to 40°.
• FIGS. 13 to 19 relate to implementation variants.
• FIG. 13 shows variants of strips, marked20 and30, with theirwinglets80 and90. These strips have curvilinear longitudinal edges.
• In addition, in these variants, thelarge winglet90 carries twostuds140 designed to be inserted into suitable cut-outs formed on the side of the sole facing outwards (and therefore seen when walking), while thesmall winglet80 carries atop claw141 designed to grip the top of the sole.
• Preferably, the strip, for example in nylon or other synthetic material having the desired qualities of resistance to abrasion and a certain flexibility, is created by moulding together with its studs and its claw.
• The studs are advantageously fitted with a gripping tab (not shown) which enters with them into the holes in the sole but which can be grasped to extract the stud from the hole in the sole, in a similar manner to the connection blocks used in computer connections. Preferably, recesses are formed on the sides of the shoe in order to accommodate theclaws142.
• To fit the strips, the user proceeds as indicated above for the previous implementation, except that after inserting the studs of a strip into the holes provided for this purpose in the sole on one side of the shoe, he pulls on the strip, taking advantage of the flexibility of the strip or of the sole, so as to hook the claw onto the sole on the other side of the shoe (FIGS. 14 and 15).
• He then proceeds in a similar manner for the other shoe.
• FIG. 15 shows two views of a flat shoe for the right foot PD fitted with a device according to the invention. It can be seen that the studs are located on the winglets on the right side of the shoe facing outwards, while the claws are visible on the left side.
• It can be seen in these figures that thelongitudinal edges20a,20bof thestrip20 located under the forefoot are not parallel to each other and form an acute angle with each other. These edges are also oblique in relation to the transverse axis A of the sole (FIG. 15). As a result, these edges have a curvilinear shape which reduces the incidence on the strip of frontal impacts which would tend to shift it.
• The same applies to the shoe for the left foot.
• The same considerations apply to the case of the bootees (FIGS. 16 to 19).
• The invention is not limited to these implementation examples.
• Hereafter, another embodiment of the shoe is described with reference toFIGS. 20 to 24.
• The ordinary shoe for the right foot PD shown inFIGS. 20 to 24 is equipped with tworemovable strips2,3 under theforefoot4 and under theheel5 respectively, surface-mounted on the underside of the sole S. In this description, word “shoe” relates to any kind of footwear.
• Afront strip2 is located under theforefoot4 at some distance from the front end of the sole S. Aheel strip3 is located under theheel end5 of the sole S.
• Preferably, thefront strip2 is located under theforefoot4 where the head of the metatarsal leans on.
• Thefront strip2 located under the forefoot (FIG. 22) can have two longitudinalrectilinear edges2a,2bthat form an acute angle with each other. Preferably these two edges form an angle of 20° to 40°.
• Thefront strip2 has twolateral edges2c,2dwhich are fitted with upwardly extending and portions, likewinglets8,9 respectively, and which are adjacent to these edges and extends uprightly up to the sides of the sole S. The twolateral edges2c,2dare of unequal width and are not parallel. As a result, thefront strip2 has the shape of an irregular quadrilateral whose opposite sides are neither in parallel nor have the same length. This shape contributes to the retention in position of the strip in spite of frontal impacts suffered.
• Thefront strip2 located under theforefoot4 can also be of substantially the same shape as described above but with curvilinearlongitudinal edges2a,2b. In fact, the edges are all shaped to facilitate the retention of the strip and its resistance to frontal impacts.
• Eachwinglet2c,2dof thefront strip2 carries a male-female engagement portion, like atopclaw81,91, designed to grip the top of the sole S.
• Preferably, male-female engagement portions, likerecesses46,47, are formed on the sides of the sole S in order to accommodate theclaws81,91.
• Arelease tab82 is provided to thewinglet8 on the inner side of the foot on which the shoe is to be put on. The inner side of the foot is the side facing the other foot, i.e. for a right foot, the inner side is its lateral left side and for a left foot, the inner side is its lateral right side. In other words, therelease tab82 extends opposite the correspondingclaw81.
• Therelease tab82 is shaped so that it can be stepped on with the shoe fitted on the other foot and is physically linked to theclaw81 on thesame winglet8.
• Bending downward therelease tab82 releases the corresponding claw61 (on the same side) from therecess46 on the side of the sole S.
• Preferably, thefront strip2, for example in nylon or other synthetic material having the desired qualities of resistance to abrasion and certain flexibility, is manufactured by being integrally molded with itswinglets8,9,claws81,91 andrelease tab82.
• When theedges8,9 are curvilinear, the mean axes of the curves form an acute angle with each other, preferably in therange 20° to 40°.
• Theheel strip3 is shaped to fitly cover theheel part5 of the sole S, and comprises aplate31 with the shape of theheel part5 of the sole S, namely backedge32 and a front edge33 (FIG. 23). Both edges32,33 may have same concavity or different concavity.
• From theback edge32, aback post320 extends in substantially upright manner and ends with a male-female engagement portion, like aback claw321, for fixing theheel strip3 to the sole S or the shoe. Theback claw321 extends inwardly from theback post320. A corresponding male-female engagement portion, like a recess58, in the sole S or the shoe is then provided to receive theback claw321.
• From thefront edge33 of theheel strip3 an upwardly extending end portion, like afront winglet330, extends substantially in upright manner and ends with a male-female engagement portion, like afront claw331 facing inwards, and with arelease tab332 facing outwards. Therelease tab332 and thefront claw331 are thus physically connected. Thefront claw331 is shaped to cooperate with a corresponding male-female engagement portion, like arecess59, on the sole S for fixing the heel-strip3 under the sole S. Once theheel strip3 fixed under the sole S, it can be removed by bending downward therelease tab332. Bending therelease tab332 releases thefront claw331 from the corresponding recess of the sole.
• Preferably, theheel strip3, for example in nylon or other synthetic material having the desired qualities of resistance to abrasion and certain flexibility, is manufactured by being integrally molded with itswinglet320 and post310,claws311,321 andrelease tab332. Theback post320 is preferably stronger than thefront winglet330 and thus less flexible.
• Therecesses46,47,58,59 on the side of the sole S ensure a good contact of the winglets and post with these sides.
• For fixing thefront strip2 onto the shoe PD, the user just needs to adjust oneclaw81 or91 to thecorresponding recess46 or47 in the sole S and apply an adequate pressure on theother claw91 or81 so that it deforms due to the material flexibility and lodges into the correspondingother recess47 or46 in the sole S. Eventually, pulling thefront strip2 is necessary prior to applying pressure.
• For fixing theheel strip3 onto the sole S, the user has to adjust theback claw321 to the corresponding recess58 in the sole S or shoe and apply a pressure onto thefront claw331 so that it deforms due to the material flexibility and lodges into the correspondingrecess59 in the sole S. Eventually, pulling theheel strip3 is necessary prior to applying pressure.
• For removing thefront strip2 out from the sole S, the user can use his other foot by stepping onto therelease tab82 causing its downward bending, which releases theclaw81 on the same side from the correspondingrecess46 of the sole S. Thus, he does not need to bend his back or lower himself down. The user can also bend down or lower down and use his hand or any tool to apply pressure on therelease tab82 for causing its downward bending. Then, he pushes sideward to release theother claw91.
• For removing theheel strip3, the user lifts his foot off the ground and grasps therelease tab332, bends it downwards, thereby releasing thefront claw331 of theheel strip3 from the correspondingrecess59 in the sole S, then pushes theheel strip3 backwards to release theback claw321 from the correspondingrecess59 of the sole S. The user can also just lower himself down, lifts the heel part of the shoe while leaning on the front part of the shoe, grasps therelease tab332 and removes it as mentioned above.
• He then proceeds in a similar manner for the other shoe.
• The same applies to the shoe for the left foot.
• The strips can be covered on their undersides by a suitable material such as gum or leather.
• At least one strip can have ground anchoring arrangements, such as studs or spikes, on its underside to turn the shoe into a sports shoe. These studs or spikes can be conical such as those used for football (soccer) shoes. They can also be crenel-shaped and placed on the edges of circles such as those used for golf shoes.
• The underside of the strip can also have any suitable design for any use (leisure, sporty, city . . . ).
• With the possibility for replacement, thestrips2,3 can lengthen the life span of the sole S. Indeed, the strips are preferably placed under the sole where friction between the shoe and the ground is most considerable (head of the metatarsal and heel). Thus, almost only the strips are worn-out during use of the shoe and they can be replaced easily.
• Covering the whole heel gives the advantage to provide efficient wearing heel strips. Indeed, one individual does not wear out his shoes the same way another one will. Some will wear out the inner side of the heel, others the outer side of the heel. It also provides a larger space for endowing the heel strip with any kind of underside element so that it best suits the activity for which the shoe is aimed at.
• The invention is not limited to these implementation examples.

Claims (13)

1. A footwear comprising a sole and a removable device placed under the sole of the footwear, a peripheral region of the sole and the removable device having male-female engagement portions in opposite regions for retaining the removable device under the sole, and at least one of said male-female arrangements being provided on a flexible portion of the removable device and said removable device being provided in the vicinity of said at least one male-female arrangement with a protruding release tab integral with said removable device and which can be selectively moved to cause the deformation of said flexible portion and the disengagement of said male-female engagement portions.

2. The footwear ofclaim 1, wherein the removable device is in the form of a strip.

3. The footwear ofclaim 2, wherein the strip is a front strip positioned under the forefoot and having two longitudinal edges and two lateral edges which are shorter than the two longitudinal edges, and has end portions extend upwardly from the lateral edges, the male-female engagement portions of the removable device being positioned in the upper region of the upwardly extending end portions.

4. The footwear ofclaim 3, wherein the two longitudinal edges are not parallel to each other.

5. The footwear ofclaim 3, wherein the release tab extends laterally from the end portion of the lateral edge opposite the other foot when the footwear is worn.

6. The footwear ofclaim 2, wherein the strip is a heel strip positioned under the heel and having a back edge and a front edge.

7. The footwear ofclaim 6, including upwardly extending end portions from the back edge and the front edge.

8. The footwear ofclaim 7, wherein the male-female engagement portions of the removable device are positioned in an upper region of the upwardly extending end portions.

9. The footwear ofclaim 6, wherein the release tab extends at the front edge of the removable device toward the front part of the sole.

10. The footwear ofclaim 1, wherein the male-female engagement portions are tongue-recess engagement elements.

11. The footwear ofclaim 10, wherein the tongue-recess engagement elements on the sole are recesses and tongue-recess engagement elements on the removable device are tongue-shaped claws engaging said recesses.

12. The footwear ofclaim 1, wherein the removable device is made integrally from a flexible material.

13. The footwear ofclaim 1, wherein the removable device has on its underside ground anchoring arrangements.

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