Shoe having a two-part vamp

Abstract

A shoe for deformed feet having a vamp which consists of two parts both fixed to the shoe sole. The front part of the vamp is shaped to house the tip of the foot, whereas the rear part of the vamp is substantially triangular in shape. One of the three apexes of the rear part is fixed to the rear part of the sole. The two remaining apexes are designed to retain tightening members to hold the shoe removably to the foot.

Description

The present invention concerns a shoe or the like, in particular a child's shoe, which is easy to put on and to take off.

The difficulties which are usually encountered when a shoe has to be put on a child's foot, or to the foot of a person suffering from deformed or defective feet, are generally known. As a matter of fact, in the case of shoes of the usual kind, it is necessary to thread the foot into the opening of the shoe, the upper part whereof is defined by the shoe vamp, while the said opening is first advantageously enlarged and then restrained by means of appropriate closing members, designed to restrain and to adapt the vamp to the wearer's foot.

When the foot is introduced into the shoe, it is subjected to deformations and compressions which -- in particular when the wearer is a child -- are easily the cause of foot distortions and traumas.

The present invention facilitates the operation which is necessary to put the shoe on and it consents -- owing to the suppression of such difficulties as are encountered during said operation, as well as of other drawbacks -- so as to maintain the foot, in the shoe, in the appropriate walking position, even then if the limb concerned shows deformations or if it is otherwise impaired.

Another purpose of the invention is, to make the embodiment of shoewares, especially of childrens shoewares, easier and in particular to facilitate the union of the different component parts of the shoe, for instance by means of rows of stitches.

Still another purpose of the invention is the embodiment of shoes which, besides showing the above described features, are such as to fully meet the buyers' requirements as concerns a fashionable look of the shoes and still others.

The shoe, object of the present invention, is characterized in that the uppers or vamp thereof consist of at least two complemental elements fixed to the sole, the front parts of said elements housing at least the tip of the foot, while the rear part thereof is substantially triangular in shape, the tip of one of said elements being secured to the heel of the shoe, while the two remaining elements are provided with members designed to connect and to join the above mentioned elements to one another, in order to surround the instep of the foot in such a way as to restrain the shoe to said foot.

According to a preferred embodiment of the shoe, the shape shown by the rear part of the vamp is substantially that of an isosceles triangle, while the apex of said rear vamp part, opposite to the base, is advantageously realized, in such a way that it can be fixed to the heel of the shoe below the undersole, while the base of said triangular element forms a ring, the diameter whereof is adjustable, to adapt said base to the instep of the foot, while the ends of said base retain the connecting members consisting, for example, of strings or the like, to tighten said base and to adapt it to the instep of the foot.

In order to ensure the desired union between the various parts of the uppers or vamp and thereby the adaptability of said parts to the foot, the ring-shaped area shown by the rear element, as well as the middle or upper area of the opening shown by the front element, are provided with removable connecting members, such members restraining the different parts of the vamp to one another, so as to consent quick and comfortable footsteps.

The present invention will be now explained in the following description, wherein reference is made to the annexed drawing showing, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of a shoe according to the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a closed children's shoe.

FIG. 2 is a similar view, with the shoe open.

With reference to said Figures, the illustrated children's footwear is so conceived that it can be put on easily and that, once put on, it adapts itself to the foot, without causing distortions, nor undue deformations.

In said Figures, reference letters A and B show the sole and the heel of the shoe respectively while, according to the present invention, the uppers or vamp C consist of two distinct elements, that is of a front part C1 and of a rear part C2.

Both of the above mentioned parts are advantageously shaped, so as to match the foot's shape. The first of said parts shows an arch-shaped edge C.sub.3 fixed, for example by means of a row of stitches, to the front edge A.sub.2 of sole A, in such a way that the two ends C.sub.4 and C.sub.5 of said arch-shaped edge are situated next to the middle part or to the rear part of heel B, while the middle area C.sub.6 of the arch-shaped edge C.sub.3 is disposed at the point of the shoe. On the other hand, the free edge C.sub.8 of the front element C.sub.1 of vamp C forms a large opening defined, at the lower part thereof, by the rear part of the shoe sole, while said opening can be made entirely accessible by turning the rear element C.sub.2 upside down, as shown in FIG. 2. The rear triangular element C.sub.2 of the vamp has substantially the shape of an isosceles triangle and said element C.sub.2 is so disposed, that two of the tips C.sub.10 and C.sub.12 thereof, which pertain to the basis of the triangle concerned, are practically aligned in horizontal direction, so as to form an annular area, so as it will be described in the following.

The other tip C.sub.14 of triangle C.sub.2 shows a certain width and said tip is appropriately secured to the rear part of heel B and said tip is secured as well to the corresponding rear area of undersole D. The above mentioned tips C.sub.10 and C.sub.12 are advantageously shaped and predisposed, to connect and unify the members P consisting, for example, of shoe buckles, as illustrated; or otherwise of strings or the like, so that the annular area defined by the basis of the triangular element C.sub.2 can be adapted to the instep of the wearer's foot and tightened thereto, by bringing the pierced tongue C.sub.12 in engagement with shoe-buckle F. The front element C.sub.1 of vamp C foresees, at the upper part thereof and at its middle longitudinal part, a hook G to engage the upper edge of the pierced tongue C.sub.12, when the upper annular area of the triangular elements C.sub.2 is fitted to the foot's instep, to realize a mutual restraint between the two elements of the vamp.

From the foregoing it can be easily understood that the above described and illustrated shoe is easy to put on, without deforming nor compressing the foot.

After the introduction of the foot into the receptacle defined by the front element C.sub.1, the shoe is fixed and restrained to said foot, by surrounding the instep of the foot with the upper area of the triangular element C.sub.2 in a ring-like manner, while a connecting member F closes the above mentioned area. During the above described operations, hook G engages the pierced tongue which is then threaded into and restrained to buckle F, to restrain the shoe, in a perfect manner, to the wearer's foot. In case that the end-use of the shoe requires it, vamp C can be provided with a reinforcing or stiffening area; for example, it is possible to provide the rear element C.sub.2 of said vamp, at the lateral areas thereof, with flexible, advantageously restrained reinforcing lintels, in order to impart to such area of the vamp as corresponds to the ankle, an advantageous stiffness.

The advantages, as well as the new and surprising characteristics of the shoe claimed with the present patent application, have been already confirmed i.e., of a shoe which, as already described in the foregoing, allows the foot to take a position that corresponds to the very best physiological position of the foot, without compressing nor distorting it, that is, without the danger to deform the foot. Furthermore, due consideration should be given also to the advantages provided by the shoe of the present invention, such advantages allowing for an easy connection of the different parts of the shoe to one another, in particular by means of rows of stitches.

Finally, still in accordance with the present invention, it is possible to realize, without encountering difficulties and satisfactorily, a new type of shoes, capable of meeting all of the physiological requirements of the wearer, by shaping the inside of the shoe concerned, in particular the instep thereof, advantageously and in such a way as to meet any of the wearer's requirements.

It is of course possible to modify and to vary the shoe object of the present invention according to the wearer's individual requirements, also to his aesthetic requirements. For example, as previously mentioned, the connecting members F and G can be of the most appropriate kind, while the retaining members G can be, as well of any such type as known in the art.

Furthermore, in order to secure an efficient position of the foot, the two elements C.sub.1 and C.sub.2 of the vamp can be provided, at the adjacent edges thereof, with flexible, bellow-shaped covering members to close the vamp sideways, thus preventing the penetration of water and/or of other foreign matters into the shoe, without depassing the domain of the invention claimed and hence that of the present patent application.

Claims

I claim:

1. A shoe for deformed feet particularly for children's feet, comprising, in combination a sole with a shaped undersole, said undersole adapting to the instep of the foot; a first vamp element fixed to the front part of said sole to retain the end of the foot; a second substantially triangularly shaped vamp element with one of the vertexes of said second vamp element fixed to the rear part of said sole, the other vertexes of said triangle being joined to one another in the form of a ring; and joining members for holding the shoe to the neck of the foot, said rear element of the vamp having substantially the form of an isosceles triangle, the vertex whereof, opposite to the base, can be anchored to the heel of the shoe below the undersole, the base of said triangular element being ring-shaped, the diameter of said ring-shaped element being variable, so as to restrain said ring-shaped element to the instep of the foot.

2. Shoe as claimed in claim 1, including retaining elements to removably connect the ring-shaped area of the rear triangular element with the upper middle part of the front element of the vamp.

3. Shoe as claimed in claim 2 wherein the ring-shaped area of the rear triangular element has tongues to retain connecting and assembling members, at least one of said tongues removably engaging a hook on the middle part of the front element of the vamp.

4. A shoe for deformed feet particularly for children's feet, comprising, in combination a sole with a shaped undersole, said undersole adapting to the instep of the foot; a first vamp element fixed to the front part of said sole to retain the end of the foot; a second substantially triangularly shaped vamp element with one of the vertexes of said second vamp element fixed to the rear part of said sole, the other vertexes of said triangle being joined to one another in the form of a ring; and joining members for holding the shoe to the nect of the foot, the edges of the rear element extending from the apex of said rear element anchored to the heel, said edges superimposing at least in part, on the limb to define an opening into which the front element of the vamp is threaded.

5. Shoe as claimed in claim 4, wherein the areas adjacent to the edges of the rear element of the shoe have reinforcing elements.

6. Shoe as claimed in claim 4, wherein the reinforcing parts shown by the rear part of the vamp comprise at least in part, of flexible listels extending substantially along at least part of the edges, said edges extend from the apex of said element anchored to the heel.