Shoes, Especially For Children

Abstract

A shoe of the opening type, especially for children, comprises a first sole and a top composed of two parts made in a single piece, namely an upper and a heel-piece, the latter being constituted by two separate portions independent of each other: a front portion adjacent to the upper and a rear portion opening at the entry of the shoe, fixed to the base of a stiffening formed by the extension of said first sole.

Description

The present invention is generally concerned with footwear, especially for children, and in particular footwear of the type which can be widely opened to facilitate engagement of the foot.

It has already been proposed to separate completely the upper from the heel-piece by fixing them independently of each other to the front and to the rear of the first sole.

When the heel-piece of these shoes is swung towards the rear so as to put them on the child's feet, a fold is produced in the sole at each manipulation.

In the case of walking shoes, especially with a stiff sole, the preceding arrangement does not give complete satisfaction and in particular it results in a rapid deterioration of the sole.

Shoes have also been proposed which open by opening the sole at its middle, but this results in fragility of the sole underneath the plantar arch.

The present invention has for its object a shoe, especially for children, which is free from these disadvantages and which enables the shoes to be put easily on the child's feet, at the same time being of simple and robust construction.

The shoe of the opening type forming the subject of the invention is characterized in that the upper part of the shoe is in a single piece fixed to the sole, with the exception of a rear portion which is adapted to swing towards the rear by pivoting about the bottom rear extremity of the shoe, forming a pivotal axis, the said rear portion having removable retaining means on the front of the shoe.

The rear portion is preferably fixed to an extension of the first sole to the rear of the shoe and it comprises two lateral wings of the shoe adapted to be held on the front of the shoe in order to ensure its closure.

The main advantage of such an arrangement is that when the shoe is once open, it has the general shape of a Turkish slipper which permits easy introduction of the child's foot.

After introduction, the rear portion of the shoe is lifted, the foot is held inside the shoe in such manner that it cannot slip, by folding back the lateral wings of this rear portion on the upper, after which the wings are assembled together on the top of the upper.

In the part of the shoe which corresponds to the plantar arch of the foot is provided a domed or raised internal support adapted to provide an elastic and flexible support for the plantar arch. This internal support is not liable to be deformed or damaged during the swinging movement, since this does not take place at the level of the front of the instep but at the level of the rear side of the heel-piece.

According to an alternative form of the invention, the shoe comprises a second sole and a heel, the second sole being extended to the rear and forming a raised portion which partially extends over the height of the stiffening.

The shoes according to the invention may be provided with different means of closure by assembly of the lateral wings, for example by means of laces, fixing straps and buckles or fixing straps and false buckles with press-studs, etc.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention will furthermore be brought out in the description which follows below, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the same shoe ready for introduction of the foot;

FIG. 3 is a view in cross-section taken along the line III--III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial view in perspective of the shoe, showing the internal support;

FIG. 5 is a view of a shoe with a buckle and fixing strap;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a shoe with a closure comprising a false buckle and a press-stud.

In the form of construction chosen and shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, which concerns the right foot of a pair of children's shoes, there is seen in FIG. 1 a shoe 1 of leather or other material formed by an under portion consisting of a first sole 2 and a top comprising two portions, a front portion 3 and a rear portion 4. The rear portion 4, fixed to the base 5 of the stiffening 6 of the shoe, is provided with two lateral wings 7, preferably substantially equal (see FIG. 2), and which are cut out so as to partially cover the upper 3 of the shoe 1, as shown in FIG. 1. The above wings are held assembled together in this position by means of a lacing 8.

FIG. 3 shows the bottom rear extremity of the shoe, forming a connecting edge 9 between the rear portion 4 of the shoe and the first sole 2.

This first sole 2 is turned up at the rear and forms the stiffening 6, sewn over its whole periphery and along its central axis to the rear portion 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, inside the shoe is arranged a support for holding the plantar arch. This support is formed by a domed half-disc 10 of sponge rubber, covered with a skin 11 of small thickness, of leather or other porous material. The half-disc 10 is fixed by gluing to this skin 11, which is sewn over its periphery to the sole 2.

The support has a thick straight edge 12 and a thinner arcuate edge 13. The edge 12 is adapted to be placed against the inner side of the edge of the shoe. This latter is reinforced externally by the first sole 2 which rises slightly in the form of a wave at this point, while the edge 13 extends towards the center and middle of the shoe while becoming thinner. The domed half-disc 10 thus forms a support which effectively sustains the plantar arch of the child's foot.

According to an alternative form shown in FIG. 5, the shoe is provided with a buckle 14 fixed at the extremity of one of the wings 7 of the rear portion 4. When the rear portion 4 is swung back in order to close the shoe, this buckle 14 receives a fixing strap 15 which extends from the second lateral wing 7.

According to another form of construction, to this shoe are fitted a second sole 16 and a heel 17 (shown in broken lines in FIG. 5), of rubber, crepe rubber, plastic material or any other suitable material.

Ribs (not shown) are formed on the underside of the heel 17 and the sole 16, so as to prevent slipping.

The rear extremity of the heel 13 has a vertical edge at right angles, while the front extremity forms a V, the arms of which open out towards the front and towards the sides of the shoe.

The sole 16 is turned up at the rear of the shoe so as to form a tongue 18 which extends over part of the height of the stiffening 16 and forms a support.

In a manner similar to that of FIG. 2, the shoe is shown in the opening position with the lateral wings 7 of the rear portion 4 drawn in chain-dotted lines.

Another walking shoe shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 also comprises a second sole 16 and a heel 17 thicker than that shown previously, the sole 16 being turned up at 4 at the rear of the shoe. This portion 4 is formed by two unequal lateral wings, one of which terminates in a fixing strap 19 which is intended to be engaged in a false buckle 20. This buckle 20 is arranged on its internal face so as to co-operate with a press-stud 21 fixed for that purpose in the other lateral wing 7.

The fixing strap 19 is adapted to pass beneath a metal hook 22 fixed on an added top portion 23 of the upper 3 and which holds the assembly of the wing 17 and fixing strap 19 in position.

It will of course be understood that alternative forms of construction may be added to the forms of embodiment which have just been described without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention. Thus, there may be envisaged in particular, closure means for the assembly of the wings of the type known under the commercial name "VELCRO" or magnetic closures, etc.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. A shoe of the opening type, especially for children, characterized in that its top portion is made in a single piece fixed to the sole, with the exception of a rear portion which is adapted to swing towards the rear by pivoting about the rear bottom extremity of the shoe, forming a pivotal axis, said rear portion being provided with removable means of retention on the front of the shoe, said rear portion comprising two lateral wings which are adapted to cover, at least in part, the facing edges of the front portion of the heel-piece.

2. A shoe as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said rear portion is rigidly fixed to an extension of the sole at the rear of the shoe.

3. A shoe as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said lateral wings are provided with eyelets for closure by lacing.

4. A shoe as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the lateral wings comprise an assembly and closure device of the buckle - fixing strap type.

5. A shoe as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that one lateral wing is extended by a fixing strap which comprises a device for assembly to the other wing of the press-stud type, while means for retaining said wing are provided on the top portion of the shoe.

6. A shoe as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that said retaining means are constituted by a metal hook, under which the fixing strap is passed.