U.S. patent number 3,768,182 [Application Number 05/243,780] was granted by the patent office on 1973-10-30 for soft and securely held shoe.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Nippon Rubber U.S.A. Corp.. Invention is credited to Al Powers.
United States Patent |
3,768,182 |
Powers |
October 30, 1973 |
SOFT AND SECURELY HELD SHOE
Abstract
An athletic shoe designed for wear without stockings, which
avoids discontinuities where the shoe is tight against the foot,
which permits considerable expansion to accommodate a range of
widths and arch heights, but which firmly encircles the foot for a
tight fit that is desired in athletic shoe wearing. The shoe has
soft side walls and a reinforcing overlay on either side, with the
bottom of the overlay extending between a point immediately behind
the ball of the foot to a point immediately behind the arch, and
with the top of the overlay extending forwardly from the bottom and
to a locgtion above the soft side walls, the top of the overlay
carrying lacing rings so that the tops of the overlays are laced
together over the tongue. The rear of the shoe has a padding and
liner extending with a forward directional component over the top
of the stiff counter. The tongue of the shoe is very wide and long
and is greatly skived at its edges.
Inventors: |
Powers; Al (Los Angeles,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Nippon Rubber U.S.A. Corp. (Los
Angeles, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
22920106 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/243,780 |
Filed: |
April 13, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/114 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B
5/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A43B
5/00 (20060101); A43b 000/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;36/2.5R,2.5AM,54,68,71 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lawson; Patrick D.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a shoe which includes side walls constructed of soft material
for sockless wear of the shoe, the improvement comprising:
first and second overlays respectively lying at the inner side and
outer side of said shoe over said soft side walls, each overlay
having a lower portion joined to the sole of the shoe and an upper
portion;
said first overlay having a lower portion extending rearwardly from
approximately a location immediately behind the ball of the foot
and the overlay extending forwardly and upwardly from its lower
portion to its upper portion and said second overlay lying
substantially opposite said first overlay;
each overlay having fastening means at its upper portion for tying
to the upper portion of the other overlay.
2. The improvement described in claim 1 wherein:
each of said overlays is stiffer than the soft side walls under
it.
3. The improvement a shoe described in claim 1 wherein:
said shoe has a plurality of eyelets along either side of its
centerline at locations forward of the upper portions of said
overlays, said eyelets extending through said side walls so that
laces tying them together are pressed between the walls forming
said eyelets and the forward tongue region underneath the walls
forming the eyelets; and
said fastening means includes rings lying over said overlays so
that laces tying them together are more free to slip thereon.
4. The improvement described in claim 1 wherein:
said fastening means comprises lace engaging means lying on top of
said overlays, the upper portions of said overlays being thick
enough and extending high enough that most of the lace portions
tying said overlays together are spaced a distance above the
tongue, whereby there is a minimum of pressing of the laces on the
tongue.
5. The improvement described in claim 1 wherein:
said overlays and side walls are stitched together along a line
spaced from the top of said side walls;
said fastening means includes lacing rings lying on said overlays,
said lacing rings having grommet-like lower portions extending
through holes in said overlays above said stitch lines and lying
over said soft side walls.
6. In a shoe constructed of soft material, the improvement
comprising:
walls defining an ankle opening with a rear portion including a
stiff counter which is at least partially rigid, a padding lying
inside the counter, and a soft liner lying inside the padding;
said padding and liner extending above the top of the counter with
a generally forward directional component at the inner surface of
the shoe and said padding being thicker above the counter than
below it.
7. The shoe described in claim 6 wherein:
said padding forms a thick collar along the upper rear portion of
said ankle opening except at the extreme rear thereof to closely
surround the Achilles tendon of the foot.
8. In a shoe constructed of soft material, the improvement
comprising:
a tongue having top and bottom layers joined together around their
peripheries with a layer of resilient padding between them along
their middle, the tongue being soft and easily deformable both
above and below the padding, the side edges of said layers being
tapered in thickness, and the rear portion of the top layer being
wider than the bottom layer between joined regions near opposite
sides of the tongue to cause the sides of the tongue to naturally
curl down.
9. In a shoe which includes side walls constructed of soft
material, the improvement comprising:
first and second overlays respectively lying at the inner side and
outer side of said shoe over said soft side walls, each overlay
having lower and upper portions;
said first overlay having a lower portion extending rearwardly from
approximately a location immediately behind the ball of the foot
and the overlay extending forwardly and upwardly from its lower
portion to its upper portion and said second overlay lying
substantially opposite said first overlay;
each overlay having fastening means at its upper portion for tying
to the upper portion of the other overlay.
10. The improvement described in claim 9 wherein:
said fastening means comprises lace engaging means lying on top of
said overlays, the upper portions of said overlays being thick
enough and extending high enough that most of the lace portions
tying said overlays together are spaced a distance above the
tongue, whereby there is a minimum of pressing of the laces on the
tongue.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to shoes.
Shoes can be designed for wear without stockings by constructing
them with soft linings that are free of large discontinuities such
as heavy stitching, particularly at the regions where the shoe is
held tightly against the foot. When shoes are worn without socks,
the wearer often becomes particularly concerned with snug and
secure fitting, so that it is desirable to provide means for
achieving this while assuring softness and lack of discontinuities.
Secure fit is especially important in the case of shoes designed
for athletic wear. In addition to secure and comfortable wearing,
it is desirable to construct a shoe so that it can be rapidly put
on and taken off, since this is one of the main advantages to
wearing a shoe without stockings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an
athletic shoe is provided which can securely support and hold onto
the foot by the use of moderate pressures, but without high
pressure spots, along selected regions of the foot where support is
needed and by allowing looser support at regions where considerable
flexing occurs and firm support is not required. The shoe has soft,
flexible walls along either side extending between the toe and the
heel, but also includes overlays of strong and firmer material
lying over certain areas of the soft side walls. The overlays have
bottom portions fastened to the sole and have upper portions
carrying lacing rings, so that tight lacing forces are applied
first to the stiffer overlays. The overlay at the inner side of the
shoe extends from a point behind the ball of the shoe, so that the
ball region of the foot is not tightly held, but only the arch
region which does not flex considerably during walking is tightly
held. The overlay extends upwardly from the sole with a forward
directional component so that its upper end covers a large portion
of the lacing region. The tongue of the shoe is wider and longer
than normal, and is highly skived at each side and tends to hold
itself in a curved configuration, to minimize discontinuities where
the edge of the tongue meets the inner surface of the side wall and
to lower this region so it occurs where the lacing pressure is
lower. At the heel of the shoe, a soft and resilient part extends
over the stiff counter with a forward directional component to
receive snugly the Achilles tendon of the foot.
The novel features of the invention are set forth with
particularity in the appended claims. The invention will best be
understood from the following description when read in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe constructed in accordance
with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a partially sectional side view of the shoe of FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the shoe of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of FIG.
3;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the rear portion of the tongue of the shoe
of FIG. 1, shown prior to assembly thereof; and
FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of FIG.
3.
FIG. 1 illustrates a sockless shoe of the invention, which is
especially useful for athletic wear where especially firm support
of the shoe is desirable. The shoe includes a sole 10, a toe region
12 and a heel region 14. A pair of side walls 16, 18 extend from
the toe to the heel. The particular shoe which is illustrated is
for the left foot, so that the side 16 is the inner side which lies
against the ball and main arch of the foot while the other side 18
is the outer side. A tongue 20 extends between the opposite side
walls 16, 18 and from the toe region 12 to the front of the ankle
opening 22 of the shoe. The opposite sides of the shoe are held
together by a lacing 24 that lies over the tongue 20.
In order to provide comfortable wear, the side walls 16, 18 are
constructed of soft and highly pliable material. While such
material can reduce localized pressure, it may not be able to
provide firm support for the foot. Even if the shoe is laced fairly
tight, the pliable side walls may give enough during wear so that
the shoe is loosened. If the shoe is laced very tightly, the
pliable material may be so easily deformed that it cannot evenly
distribute the lacing forces, so that there are localized high
pressure areas along the top of the shoe at regions where the laces
engage the side walls. In order to overcome these disadvantages, a
pair of overlays 26, 28 is provided that stiffen the side walls at
selected regions where such stiffening is required to maintain
tight lacing and to distribute lacing forces.
The inner side overlay 26 which lies at the inner side of the shoe
is constructed similarly to the outer side overlay 28 and is
positioned substantially opposite it. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4,
the inner side overlay 26 has a bottom portion 30 which is fastened
to the sole of the shoe, and has an upper portion 32 which lies
over the tongue. The bottom portion 30 extends from a point 34
which lies immediately behind the ball of the foot indicated at 36,
so that it does not cover the region at the ball of the foot where
considerable expansion and contraction occur during wear, and which
is a region that is highly variable between different persons. The
bottom portion 30 of the overlay extends to a point 38 which may
lie immediately behind the arch of the foot. It may be noted that
there is a cut-out 40 on the bottom region of the overlay, there
being bottom overlay portions in front of and behind this cut-out
region.
The overlay 26 extends with a forward directional component from
the bottom 30 to the top 32 thereof. As a result, the upper region
32 extends along much of the lacing region of the shoe, and in fact
extends along a majority of the effective lacing region. As also
shown in FIG. 3, several lacing rings 42-45 are fastened to the
upper portion 32 of the overlay. When the shoe lace 24 is
tightened, the lacing forces are transmitted to the overlays 26,
28. The overlays can directly transmit the tension forces to the
sole 10 of the shoe, since they extend to the sole and are fastened
to it. Since the overlays resist stretching, they will not greatly
loosen during wearing of the shoe, so that tight lacing is
maintained. The lacing forces on the overlays allow them to press
on the soft side walls 16, 18 and the tongue 20 which press on the
foot, and particularly the foot region lying over the arches. The
stiff overlay and soft side wall and tongue layers help to
distribute the lacing forces to avoid localized high pressure spots
immediately beneath the lacing rings. The overlays are preferably
stiffer than the side walls, but do not have to be since the fact
that the overlay provides an additional covering results in greater
stiffness at regions covered by the overlays.
The upper portions of the side walls 16, 18 which lie over the rear
portion of the tongue 20 rise to a height which is typical for
shoes. The upper portions 32 of the overlays rise even further,
extending at least one-fourth inch and preferably more than
one-half inch further over the tongue, as indicated at A (FIG. 3)
at the rear of the upper overlay portion 32. As indicated in FIG.
4, this allows the overlay to support the lacing 24 so that only a
small portion of the lacing directly contacts the tongue 20 when
the tongue is pressed up by the foot to the position 20a.
The soft side walls 16, 18 have eyelets such as those shown at 51,
52, 53 which are of the usual type that are formed completely
through the wall. When the lacing 24 is tightened, portions of it
are pressed between the side walls 16, 18 and the tongue, and much
of the lacing extending between the eyelets 51-53 presses against
the tongue. As a result, there is a high friction so that the
lacing does not tend to loosen. On the other hand, the ring-type
lacing engagers 42-45 on the overlays do not provide high friction
for holding the lacings against loosening, since the lacing
extending between the rings are not squeezed between a side wall
and a tongue. The lacing can more easily slip at the portion
between the rings, also because much of the lacing does not even
contact the tongue since the upper portions 32 of the overlays lie
near the top of the tongue (see FIG. 4). As a result, the lacing
portion from the ring 45 to the rear of the overlay can be quickly
tightened and loosened. When the wearer pulls the ends 56 (FIG. 1)
of the lacings prior to tying a bow, the lacing portions along the
overlays can slide so that they all can be pulled tight. When the
wearer unties the bow and pulls up on the tongue, the lacing
portions that tie the overlays together can readily slip on the
lacing rings so that the foot is readily loosened from the shoe and
can be removed.
The forward portion of the lacing which ties together the soft side
walls 16, 18 where they are not covered by an overlay, does not
readily slip. Accordingly, the forward lacing portion tends to
maintain the original configuration which is adapted to the
wearers' foot. When the wearer first puts on the shoe and at
occasional readjustments, he pulls the forward lacing portion tight
enough to conform the soft side walls to the ball region of his
foot. This is the region which is most variable between people. By
using soft side walls, the shoe can be widened and narrowed at the
ball region of the foot so that a single shoe can readily
accommodate a range of widths such as from a B width to an E width.
Once the forward lacing portion has been tightened, the shoe will
thereafter tend to retain a configuration closely surrounding the
ball portion of the wearer's foot. The rearward lacing portion
which must be tightened and loosened every time the shoe is put on
or taken off, is therefore differentiated from the forward lacing
portion which does not have to be loosened and tightened regularly.
Thus, close conformance to the wearer is achieved while
facilitating rapid operation of the shoe in putting on and taking
off.
The ring-type lacing engagers have grommet-like parts 58 (FIG. 4)
that extend through holes formed in the overlays above the stitch
line 59 where the overlays and side walls are stitched together. As
a result, the hard grommet-like portions 58 do not bear on the foot
or even the tongue 20, but are further cushioned by the side wall
16 or 18.
The tongue 20 is constructed to well-distribute the lacing or tying
forces, and also to minimize discontinuities that could cause
discomfort particularly in sockless wear of the shoe. As shown in
FIG. 4, the tongue includes an upper layer 60, a lower layer 62
which contacts the foot, and a padding 64 between the upper and
lower layers. A thick padding 64 is utilized, but only along a
center portion of the tongue. Each of the layers 60, 62 is skived,
or tapered in thickness, along its side edges. A large amount of
skiving is provided, with the thickness B beside a stitch line
which is spaced a distance C of about 3/16 inches from the extreme
side edge of the shoe being less than the thickness D of a single
layer 62 at the middle of the tongue. Furthermore, the tongue is
wider than usual, and, as shown in FIG. 2, extends a distance E
from the top of the overlay of more than 1 inch and preferably more
than 11/2 inches. The great width of the tongue means that the side
edges lie a considerable distance from the center of the tongue
where the pressure due to lacing is highest, and instead the edge
lies nearer the sole where the pressure decreases. The skiving
produces a minimum discontinuity where the edge of the tongue meets
the inner surface of the side wall.
The tongue also extends rearwardly further than is usual, extending
a distance F behind the high point of the side wall 16 where it
lies over the tongue, of more than 1/2 inch. This rear extension of
the tongue means that the rear edge of the tongue lies higher along
the foot. The portion of the tongue lying under the overlays and
rearward of them is constructed so it tends to maintain a curvature
that conforms it to the foot. This is desirable particularly
because of the thick padding in the tongue which might otherwise
tend to cause wrinkling of the lower tongue layer 62. In order to
provide such a tendency to curve, the tongue is initially
constructed with the rear ends of the layers 60, 62 having the
shapes shown in FIG. 5 when they are flat. The upper layer 60 is
wider along the rear end of the tongue than the lower layer 62, so
that when the layers are stitched together the rear end tends to
hold itself in a curve, and it holds regions in front of it also in
a curve. The tongue extends to the toe region, where it is not
curved as greatly, so that the curvature of the tongue changes
along its length. The fact that the tongue extends up to and over
the toe region 12 and to the sole, means that there is a minimum of
discontinuities at the inner surface of the shoe even at the toe
region.
The support of the foot at the rear or heel region is important to
provide secure attachment of the shoe to the foot. As shown in FIG.
2, the rear or heel portion of the shoe includes a soft inner layer
70, a layer of padding 72, a counter 74, and an outer layer 76. A
loop 78 is attached to the outer layer. The counter 74 is of an
ordinary stiff kind which extends in a curve to support the lower
heel portion of the foot, the top 74T of the counter extending to a
typical height. However, the padding 72 and inner and outer layers
70, 76 form an extension above the counter that rests against the
Achilles tendon of the foot. This extension 80 is not as stiff as
the counter 74, but is self-supporting and can apply some pressure
to the foot. This is particularly true because the extending
portion 80 is highly curved about a substantially vertical axis 82
as indicated in FIG. 3. The extension 80 extends upwardly from the
counter, and with a forward directional component, so that it can
bear firmly against the Achilles tendon of the foot which is also
curved forwardly. By thus snugly surrounding the rear of the foot
even along the curved Achilles tendon portion, a more snug fit is
obtained. The use of only a padding to back the soft inner layer 70
assures that there is no high pressure on the Achilles tendon that
could cause discomfort. At a region immediately forward of the
extension 80, the shoe is provided with a thick collar 84 along the
upper portion of the ankle opening, as shown in FIG. 6.
The walls of the shoe around the ankle opening 22 are formed to
provide good support normally achieved by extending the walls to a
considerable height, and yet to prevent rubbing on the ankle bone
which is a disadvantage often resulting from high walls at the
ankle opening. The walls around the ankle opening are high at the
rear where the extension 80 is located, and at the rear end of the
tongue at a point 86. However, the walls are cut-out between these
regions, rising at a steep angle G of more than 30.degree. from a
point 88 where the ankle bone of the wearer extends lowest and
which is forward of the center of the ankle opening to the point
86.
Thus, the invention provides a shoe which can firmly support and
girdle the foot, maintaining tightness of lacing during wear,
without localized high pressure regions or large discontinuities
where there is high pressure or where there is likely to be
rubbing. The shoe utilizes stiffer overlays over selected regions
of soft side walls, with rear lacing rings being located on the
overlays. A wide, long and naturally curved tongue is provided, and
there is also provided a forwardly extending extension over the
heel counter, with the extension shaped to closely surround the
Achilles tendon.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been
described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that
modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in
the art and consequently it is intended that the claims be
interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.
* * * * *