GB1589837A - Shoe for receiving attachable and interchangeable accessories - Google Patents

Description

(54) SHOE FOR RECEIVING ATTACHABLE AND INTERCHANGEABLE ACCESSORIES (71) I, TEC TUNG TE WANG, a Chinese citizen of No. 24, 4th Floor, Ren Ai Road, Sec. 1, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a shoe which may be adapted for use with a plurality of various attachable and interchangeable accessories, preferably skating accessories whereby said accessories may be selectively and removably locked into a bottom portion of said shoe, and whereby certain safety features are provided in the form of front and rear stops for a roller skate.

Conventional shoes designed for selective use as either a shoe or roller skate generally relate to collapsible" roller skates wherein rollers are provided in preformed depressions in the sole of said shoe and are partially releasable in response to a suitable release means so that at least a portion of each roller will extend from its respective depression, said release means generally serving to support said rollers in the extended position.

The major defect of such constructions is that there is insufficient support to the rollers when in the extended position so that skating tends to be unstable. Also, due to the fact that the total support function is localised to a very small point in the central portion of the shoe body, these skates are not capable of supporting much weight and are therefore suitable only for very young children. For the same reason, these skates are extremely susceptable to malfunctions and damage and generally provide a very short useful life.

Another defect of such shoe/skate combinations is that the rollers are generally not easily detachable from the shoe body so that when the supportive device fails, the combination becomes useless as either a skate or a shoe.

Yet another defect of such a shoe/skate combination is that as the rollers must be concealable in the body of the shoe and are generally not detachable therefrom, it is not possible to change different type of rollers or other skating accessories to provide a variety of skating effects.

The purpose of the present invention is to improve the above said defects and to provide a shoe to which skating accessories may be fitted that is of a very stable construction and which is far less susceptable to malfunction, providing a greatly increased useful life.

According to the invention, there is provided a shoe adapted for selective use with one of a plurality of skating means, comprising a shoe body having formed along the length of the sole thereof a longitudinal slot arranged in use to receive from below a portion of a mounting plate that enters the slot and has the same shape and configuration as the slot, said slot being spaced from the forward and rear ends of the shoe body, locking means mounted on said shoe body including a locking member slidably movable from a locking position extending transversely across said slot into an unlocking position to one side of said slot, yieldable means urging said locking member into said locking position, and manually operable operating means connected to said locking member for moving said locking member into said unlocking position against the urging force of said yieldable means.

The present invention provides a shoe to which accessories are easily attachable and detachable so that a variety of skating means, can be interchanged to produce different skating effects.

The design of the shoe is such that support is distributed uniformly over the accessory, providing more stability and allowing persons of all ages to use the skate with a minimum chance of malfunction.

In a preferred embodiment, a shoe/skating means combination is provided in which overall safety is increased by the provision of suitable stops which are located at both the front and rear portions of the skating means in such a way that they will not interfere with the walking function of the shoe when the skating means is removed.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only with reference to the appended drawings, wherein:- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a show body adapted for receiving and holding various skating means; Figure 2 is a view in partial cross section thereof showing a skating means in place; Figure 3 is a view in cross section of a catch means; Figure 4A is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a roller skating means suitable for fitting to the shoe body of Figure 1; Figure 4B is a similar view of a second embodiment thereof; Figure 4C is a similar view of an ice skating means suitable for fitting to the shoe body of Figure 1; and Figure S is a second embodiment of the shoe body of Figure 1.

Refernng to Figs 1 and 2, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention includes a shoe body 10 having suitable fastening means 11 for fastening the shoe body 10 to the foot of the user. Along the bottom portion 12 of the shoe body 10 is provided a sole 20 of a suitable material to provide suitable traction when wearing the shoe for the purpose of walking. Along the length of the sole 20 and into the shoe body 10 is a generally arcuate slot 13. The slot 13 runs longitudinally along the central bottom portion 2 of the shoe body 10 and is spaced from each end of the shoe. As shown in Fig 2, the top portion 110 of the shoe body 10 may be contoured to provide comfort to the foot of the user.

At a central portion of one side of the shoe body 10 there is provided a suitable catch means 30. As shown in Fig 3, the catch means comprises a bore 35 through a suitable portion of the shoe body 10 communicative with the longitudinal slot 13.

Through said bore is provided a pin 31 and a cylindrical locking member 32. Said locking member 32 is urged into the slot 13 by means of a spring 34 which is biased between a stopper 33 and said locking member.

By pulling the pin 31 manually, the locking member 2 will leave the slot 13. In this way the catch means 30 is always in the shoe body 10 and will not be lost or misplaced.

A variety of skating means is provided to be used in conjunction with a shoe of the construction described above, as shown in Figs 4B and 4C.

With particular reference to Fig 4A, one embodiment of a skating means includes a set of rollers 50 mounted on a suitable mounting plate 40. The mounting plate 40 is constructed so that the upper edge 41 thereof follows the configuration of the slot 13. A hole 401 is provided at a suitable posts tion on the mounting plate 40 for locking engagement with the cylindrical locking member 32 of the catch means 30. To insert the roller assembly the catch means 30 is pulled and held manually out of the slot 13 whereupon the mounting plate 40 may be Inserted until the upper edge 41 thereof is flush with the top of the groove 13, as shown in Fig 2. The catch means 30 is then released, whereupon the force of the spring 34 will cause the locking member 32 to enter and extend beyond the hole 401.In this way the roller assembly is locked into place within the shoe body 10.

According to one embodiment of a roller assembly, the rollers 50 are provided on shaft 43. Said shafts 43 extend beyond the edge of the shoe body on each side thereof and are contained in generally "U" shaped support casings 44. Said casings 44 are flat across the top and are flush with the sole 20 of the shoe when the roller assembly is in it correct position in the slot 13.

The mounting plate 40 is also provided at each end with an extending portion 42 which is also flush against the soie 20 of the shoe body 10 to provide better support. In this way the weight of the user is distributed uniformly along the upper edge 41 of the mounting plate 40 and the bottom of the groove 13, along the extended portions 42, as well as along the flat upper portions of the support casings 44.

As a safety feature, a stop 46 of a suitable material may be secured to both the front and rear extended portions 42 to enable the user to stop safely even when skating at high speeds.

As shown in Fig 4B, according to a second embodiment of the roller assembly, the rollers 50 may be rotably secured to protruding portions 441 of the mounting plate 40' so that the rollers 50 are not in contact with the sole 20 of the shoe body 10 and are free to rotate. In this embodiment the rollers are provided along the central portion of the bottom of the shoe so that more dexterity is required when skating, thus creating a different skating effect. Rubber stops may also be used with this embodiment by attaching them by means of a screw through a hole 45 provided at both the forward (not shown) and rear portions thereof.

According to a combination shoe and a skate as disclosed, it is possible to employ a wide variety of skating means of various designs, including a blade 60 for ice skating, as shown in Fig. 4C. The ice skating blade 60 consists of a mounting plate in the same configuration as the preceding embodiments, having upper support edges 61 and a suitable hole 601 for engagement with the catch means 30 of the shoe body 10. The lower portion of the mounting plate is extended and formed in a suitable configuration for skating on ice. To provide better support, semi-round support posts 64 in the same general configuration as the support casings 44 of a previous embodiment may be formed integrally with the mounting plate.The support posts 63 have flat upper surfaces which fit flush against the sole 20 of the shoe 10 and extend transversely across the sole 20 of the shoe 10 on either side of the skate 60, providing the necessary sup port and stability required to skate.

Of course, the style of the shoe body itself may be subject to many various designs. For example, to provide more comfortablewalking when the skating means are not in use, the shoe 10 may be provided with an inclined tow portion 1 A and a slightly rounded heel portion 12B as shown in Fig.

5.

In this way there is provided a shoe that is suited for walking in the normal fashion and which, in conjunction with various inter changeable skating means of the type dis closed above, may be used for roller skating, ice skating and the like. It will be noted that skating means will be subject to a great vari ety of designs without leaving the scope of the present invention and should be restricted only by the claims heretofollow.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A shoe adapted for selective use with one of a plurality of skating means, compris ing a shoe body having formed along the length of the sole thereof a longitudinal slot arranged in use to receive from below a portion of a mounting plate that enters the slot and has the same shape and configuration as the slot, said slot being spaced from the for ward and rear ends of the shoe body, locking means mounted on said shoe body including a locking member slidably mov able from a locking position extending transversely across said slot into an unlocking position to one side of said slot, yield able means urging said locking member into said locking position, and manually oper able operating means connected to said locking member for moving said locking member into said unlocking position against the urging force of said yieldable means.

2. A shoe in accordance with claim 1, wherein the locking member is operable to engage in a hole provided in the portion of the mounting plate which in use is received in the slot.

3. A shoe in accordance with claim 2, wherein the catch locking member has a portion arranged to enter a hole in said mounting plate portion to releasably retain the mounting plate portion in the slot.

4. The combination of a shoe in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3 and skating means releasably attached thereto, the skating means having a mounting plate including a portion having the same shape and configuration as said slot, being received therein and being releasably detainable therein by engagement of said catch means with the mounting plate portion within the slot.

5. A combination in accordance with claim 4 as dependent upon claim 2, wherein the skating means comprises a mounting plate with a hole extending through the plate and being engaged by said locking member, the bottom portion of said skating means being provided with a plurality of rollers or an ice-skating blade.

6. A combination in accordance with claim 5, wherein the skating means is provided with supporting means extending from each side of the mounting plate and fitting in abutment with the shoe sole when said mounting plate portion is detained within said slot.

7. A combination in accordance with claim 6, wherein the skating means is provided with rubber safety stops at the front and rear ends of the mounting plate.

8. A combination in accordance with claim 6, wherein the rollers of the skating means are attached to the ends of said supporting means.

9. A shoe substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3 or 5 of the accompanying drawings.

10. Combinations of a shoe and skating means substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (10)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. support, semi-round support posts 64 in the same general configuration as the support casings 44 of a previous embodiment may be formed integrally with the mounting plate. The support posts 63 have flat upper surfaces which fit flush against the sole 20 of the shoe 10 and extend transversely across the sole 20 of the shoe 10 on either side of the skate 60, providing the necessary sup port and stability required to skate. Of course, the style of the shoe body itself may be subject to many various designs. For example, to provide more comfortablewalking when the skating means are not in use, the shoe 10 may be provided with an inclined tow portion 1 A and a slightly rounded heel portion 12B as shown in Fig. 5. In this way there is provided a shoe that is suited for walking in the normal fashion and which, in conjunction with various inter changeable skating means of the type dis closed above, may be used for roller skating, ice skating and the like. It will be noted that skating means will be subject to a great vari ety of designs without leaving the scope of the present invention and should be restricted only by the claims heretofollow. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A shoe adapted for selective use with one of a plurality of skating means, compris ing a shoe body having formed along the length of the sole thereof a longitudinal slot arranged in use to receive from below a portion of a mounting plate that enters the slot and has the same shape and configuration as the slot, said slot being spaced from the for ward and rear ends of the shoe body, locking means mounted on said shoe body including a locking member slidably mov able from a locking position extending transversely across said slot into an unlocking position to one side of said slot, yield able means urging said locking member into said locking position, and manually oper able operating means connected to said locking member for moving said locking member into said unlocking position against the urging force of said yieldable means.

2. A shoe in accordance with claim 1, wherein the locking member is operable to engage in a hole provided in the portion of the mounting plate which in use is received in the slot.

3. A shoe in accordance with claim 2, wherein the catch locking member has a portion arranged to enter a hole in said mounting plate portion to releasably retain the mounting plate portion in the slot.

4. The combination of a shoe in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3 and skating means releasably attached thereto, the skating means having a mounting plate including a portion having the same shape and configuration as said slot, being received therein and being releasably detainable therein by engagement of said catch means with the mounting plate portion within the slot.

5. A combination in accordance with claim 4 as dependent upon claim 2, wherein the skating means comprises a mounting plate with a hole extending through the plate and being engaged by said locking member, the bottom portion of said skating means being provided with a plurality of rollers or an ice-skating blade.

6. A combination in accordance with claim 5, wherein the skating means is provided with supporting means extending from each side of the mounting plate and fitting in abutment with the shoe sole when said mounting plate portion is detained within said slot.

7. A combination in accordance with claim 6, wherein the skating means is provided with rubber safety stops at the front and rear ends of the mounting plate.

8. A combination in accordance with claim 6, wherein the rollers of the skating means are attached to the ends of said supporting means.

9. A shoe substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3 or 5 of the accompanying drawings.

10. Combinations of a shoe and skating means substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.