Transformable footwear

Abstract

A shoe is disclosed which is formed of three independent components, namely a bottom, an inner shoe assembly, and an outer dressing. The bottom is provided with a plurality of tongues which may be engaged, through the opening in the bottom of the outer dressing, in the slots of lining 19 of the inner shoe assembly. The front tongue is directed rearwardly, and the rear tongue is directed forwardly. These tongues are integrally formed with strips that cooperate with the edges of the slots to constitute antero-posterior and lateral stops.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 413,883, filed Nov. 8, 1973; now U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,919 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Description

The present invention relates to footwear and more particularly to a transformable shoe.

In accordance with an aspect of this invention a shoe is provided which comprises three independent components, namely, a bottom comprising a wearing sole and a heel, an inner shoe assembly comprising an insole, integral with a complete lining, and an outer dressing chosen from a series created for its variety. The outer dressing comprises a visible upper which is extended by a lower inset part to enable it to be fitted on the inner shoe assembly, and dismountable or detachable connecting means are provided between the insole and the bottom.

As disclosed in the above-identified patent application, the insole of the inner shoe assembly is integral with three thin tongues located at the heel, waist and front of the shoe respectively, the first two being directed rearwardly and the third forwardly, while the bottom defines three housings accessible on its upper surface by three slots for receiving and locking the tongues of the inner shoe assembly by bending the latter downwardly at both ends.

The present invention improves the solidity of the joint between the insole of the inner shoe assembly and the bottom, in particular by avoiding the inner shoe assembly gaping at the front and by avoiding the inner shoe assembly's moving relative to the bottom while the wearer is walking, running, jumping, pivoting or performing various exercises, both in the antero-posterior and transverse direction.

In accordance with the present invention, the three tongues, formed integrally either with the insole of the inner shoe assembly or with the shoe bottom, are disposed so that the front tongue is directed rearwardly, while the rear tongue, at least, is directed forwardly. Each of these tongues is formed with an integral transverse strip that cooperates with the edges of a corresponding slot in a cooperating shoe part to form antero-posterior and lateral stops.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1 -- 3 are perspective views shown synoptically with respect to each other and illustrating the various elements of a shoe constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the shoe shown in FIGS. 1 - 3;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along line V--V of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6-8 are perspective views shown synoptically of another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 9-11 are perspective views, also shown synoptically of yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 - 3 of the drawing, it is seen that the shoe of the present invention consists of three independent elements, namely; a bottom 1 (FIG. 3) having a sole 4 and a heel 5, an inner shoe assembly 2 (FIG. 1) comprising a lining 6 and an insole 7, and an outer dressing 3 (FIG. 2) comprising a lining 16 and a bottom 17. These three components are assembled by means of three thin projecting tongues 14 cooperating with slots 15 formed in insole 7 and passing through windows or openings 18 in the bottom 17 of outer dressing 3.

In the above mentioned patent application the corresponding tongues 14 are formed integrally with the insole 7 of the inner shoe assembly, while in the present invention these tongues are secured to or formed integrally with the bottom 1. The tongues 14 herein may be oriented in the same relative directions as those of said application; i.e. as shown in FIGS. 6-8 (wherein the reference numerals refer to elements corresponding to those shown in FIGS. 1-3) the tongues 14 on the bottom 1 may be directed such that the tongues at the heel and waist are directed rearwardly while the tongue at the toes is directed forwardly. However it has been found advantageous, in order to avoid the upper 3 gaping with respect to the bottom 1, to adopt another orientation of the tongues.

Accordingly, as seen in FIG. 3, the tongue 14 located at the metatarsus (or front of the shoe) is directly rearwardly (FIGS. 3 and 4) so that the support of this tongue against the edge of the corresponding slot 15 in inner shoe assembly 2 is brought close to the forward end and the risk of gaping is removed. Similarly, the tongue 14 located at the heel of the shoe is directed forwardly (FIGS. 3 and 4) so that the support of this tongue against the edge of its corresponding slot 15 in inner shoe assembly 2 is brought close to the rear end of the shoe and the risk of the rear of the insole 7 gaping relatively to the heel 5 is avoided. Finally, the tongue 14 located at the waist or middle of the shoe is directed forwardly to allow the inner shoe assembly 2 to be assembled on the bottom 1 by bending and also to allow convenient locking of the bottom to the inner shoe assembly.

In the illustrative embodiment, the tongues 14 are formed integrally with the bottom 1 and the slots 15 are formed in a flexible lining 19 sewn at its periphery to the insole 7 of the inner shoe assembly 2. Thus tongues 14 can easily be housed or inserted in slots 15 after assembly between said lining and insole. However, it will be apparent that this arrangement, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is adaptable to the embodiment of the above mentioned patent application. That is, the tongues 14 orientated in this way can be secured to or formed integrally with the insole 7 of the inner shoe assembly and cooperate with slots 15 of a strip lining the bottom 1.

Whether the tongues are integrally formed with or secured to insole 7 (as shown in FIGS. 9-11) or to bottom 1 (as shown in FIGS. 1-3), and whether the end tongues are directed towards each other or opposite to each other, it has been found advantageous to adopt, at least for the end tongues, the particular configuration described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. As seen therein, each tongue 14 has, in projection, a transverse strip 20 forming an extra thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the lining 19 of the inner shoe assembly. When the inner shoe assembly 2 is mounted on the bottom 1, i.e. when the tongues 14 are located between this lining 18 and the insole 7 the front edge 21 (FIG. 4) of the front strip 20 abuts against the front edge 22 of the corresponding slot 15. Similarly, the rear edge 22' of the rear strip 20 abuts against the rear edge 23 of the corresponding slot 15 of lining 19. This forms a positive antero-posterior locking of the inner shoe assembly 2 with respect to the bottom 1.

As will be appreciated, the side edges 24 of the front strip 20 abut against the side edges 25 of the corresponding slot 15, and the same applies to the rear strip, thereby forming a positive lateral locking of the inner shoe assembly 2 with respect to bottom 1.

In the illustrative embodiment, tongues 14 and their integral strips 20 (and also lining 19) are made of synthetic material reinforced with glass fibers; of course, any other material having the required solidity, flexibility and reliability is suitable. Since the tongues 14 are flexible, they insure an elastic locking of the inner shoe assembly 2 onto the bottom 1. In this case, these tongues are applied against the element 1 or 7 with which they are integral, the slots 15 are relatively wide and the strips 20 project onto said tongues (FIG. 4). On the other hand, if the tongues are sufficiently stiff to ensure a rigid locking at the joint, the strips 20 are interposed between them and the element 1 or 7.

Although the present invention has been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be appreciated that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe which is transformable by substituting one of the elements thereof, said shoe comprising three independent elements including a one piece bottom having a wearing sole and a heel, an inner shoe assembly having an insole secured to a complete shoe lining, and an outer dressing selected from a series of dressings created for variety and having a visible upper and a lower inset portion adapted to be secured to the inner shoe assembly; and detachable connecting means for securing said bottom, insole and outer dressing together; said detachable connecting means including three thin projecting tongues secured to said bottom at the heel, waist and metatarsus respectively; the first two being directed rearwardly and the third forwardly; said insole of the inner shoe assembly having three slots formed therein for receiving the tongues of the bottom by bending the inner shoe assembly downwardly at both ends.

2. A shoe which is transformable by substituting one of the elements thereof, said shoe comprising three independent elements including a one piece bottom having a wearing sole and a heel, an inner shoe assembly having an insole secured to a complete shoe lining, and an outer dressing selected from a series of dressings created for variety and having a visible upper and lower inset portion adapted to be secured to the inner shoe assembly; and detachable connecting means for securing said bottom, insole and outer dressing together; said detachable connecting means including three thin projecting tongues secured to the insole of said inner shoe assembly at the heel, waist and metatarsus, the first two being directed forwardly and the third rearwardly; said bottom having three slots formed therein for receiving the tongues of the inner shoe assembly by bending said inner shoe assembly downwardly at its opposite ends.

3. A shoe which is transformable by substituting one of the elements thereof, said shoe comprising three independent elements including a one piece bottom having a wearing sole and a heel, an inner shoe assembly having an insole secured to a complete shoe lining, and an outer dressing selected from a series of dressings created for variety and having a visible upper and a lower inset portion adapted to be secured to the inner shoe assembly; and detachable connecting means for securing said bottom, insole and outer dressing together; said detachable connecting means including three thin projecting tongues secured to said bottom at the heel, waist and metatarsus respectively; the first two being directed forwardly and the third rearwardly; said insole of the inner shoe assembly having three slots formed therein for receiving the tongues of the bottom by bending the inner shoe assembly downwardly at both ends.

4. A transformable shoe as defined in claim 1 wherein at least said front and rear tongues have a transverse strip formed integrally therewith and having a predetermined edge configuration; said slots in said insole having a configuration complementary to said transverse strips to respectively receive said strips whereby the slots and strips cooperate to form stops opposing lateral and antero-posterior displacement of said inner shoe assembly relative to said bottom.

5. A transformable shoe as defined in claim 2 wherein at least said front and rear tongues have a transverse strip formed integrally therewith and having a predetermined edge configuration; said slots in said bottom having a configuration complementary to said transverse strips to respectively receive said strips whereby the slots and strips cooperate to form stops opposing lateral and antero-posterior displacement of said inner shoe assembly relative to said bottom.

6. A transformable shoe as defined in claim 3 wherein at least said front and rear tongues have a transverse strip formed integrally therewith and having a predetermined edge configuration; said slots in said insole having a configuration complementary to said transverse strips to respectively receive said strips whereby the slots and strips cooperate to form stops opposing lateral and antero-posterior displacement of said inner shoe assembly relative to said bottom.