US20050034333A1

US20050034333A1 - Boot with adjustable fitting

Info

Publication number: US20050034333A1
Application number: US10/639,859
Authority: US
Inventors: Eddie Chen; Phoenix Hsu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-08-12
Filing date: 2003-08-12
Publication date: 2005-02-17

Abstract

A boot includes a shell having a foot portion, an upper portion with an open top end, an opening extending from the top end to the foot portion, and an opposed pair of margins defining the opening. A liner has two opposite ends secured to an inner surface of the shell on two sides of the opening so that the liner has an outer surface facing the margins and the opening. A retaining unit is attached to the liner, and an adjustment pad is mounted on the retaining unit so as to adjust the fitting of the shell. The adjustment pad extends from the upper portion to the foot portion. Preferably, the adjustment pad has a thin section and a thick section which are placed selectively within the foot portion to vary the fitting of the shell.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a boot, more particularly to a boot which has an adjustment compressible pad to adjust the fitting of the boot.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical pull-on type shoe or boot is provided with a zipper 1 so that the shoe or boot can be put on or off easily. However, since such a boot is made by using a standard last, it is unable to fit properly different users' feet. Furthermore, unlike a shoe lacing, the zipper 1 is not adjustable to tighten or loosen the boot to conform to the size of the wearer's foot. Therefore, if the user with a thin foot puts on the boot, the boot would become loose, especially at the instep part of the foot.
In order to alleviate the aforesaid drawbacks, manufacturers utilize several sets of lasts with different dimensions for the production of different sizes of boots so as to conform to various sizes of feet. However, the need to provide such a lot of lasts not only increases the manufacturing cost but also complicates the process of producing boots. In addition, since shoe sellers must stock various sizes of boots, they may be burdened with the inventory of boots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a boot which is adjustable to fit different sizes of feet.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a boot which comprises: a shell having a foot portion, an upper portion with an open top end, an instep part formed at the juncture of the foot portion and the upper portion, an opening extending from the upper portion to the foot portion, and an opposed pair of margins defining the opening; a closure member attached to said margins to close the opening; a liner having two opposite ends secured to an inner surface of the shell on two sides of the opening, the liner having an outer surface facing the margins and the opening; a retaining unit attached to the liner; and an adjustment pad attached to the retaining unit so as to adjust the fitting of the shell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 is a front view of a conventional boot;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a side view of an adjustment pad used in the first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of the second embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the third embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the third embodiment;
FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view of the fourth embodiment;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the fourth embodiment; and
FIG. 13 is the same view as FIG. 12 but with an adjustment pad thereof being held at the outside of a shell.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be illustrated with reference to FIGS. 2 to 13 wherein like elements are represented by like reference numerals.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a first embodiment of the present invention includes a boot 2 which has an outsole 10 connected to a shell 20. The shell 20 includes an upper portion 21 connected to a foot portion 22, an instep part 25 at the juncture of the upper portion 21 and the foot portion 22, and an opening 23 which extends from the instep part 25 to an open top end of the upper portion 21. The opening 23 is defined by an opposed pair of margins 24 of the shell 20. A closure member, such as a zipper 60, is attached to the margins 24 to close the opening 23.
A liner 30 has two opposite ends 31 which are attached to the inner surface of the shell 20 on two sides of the opening 23 so that the liner 30 underlies the opening 23 and the margins 24, and has an outer surface facing the opening 23 and the margins 24. The outer surface of the liner 30 and the inner side of the margins 24 cooperatively define a space 26 (see FIG. 4). The liner 30 is made of a flexible material, preferably a stretchable material, such as a textile material, natural leather, synthetic leather, PU, PVC, etc.
An adjustment pad 50 is provided removably within the space 26 in order to adjust the fitting of the boot 2. The adjustment pad 50 includes an elongated pad 51 which extends from the upper portion 21 to the instep portion 25. The back side of the adjustment pad 50 is provided with a velcro fastener 52. The pad 51 is compressible and includes a foam material, such as an EVA foam, disposed thereinside. Preferably, the pad 51 has a thin section 511 and a thick section 512 which can be selectively placed in the instep portion 25.
For attachment of the adjustment pad 50, a retaining unit 40 is mounted on the liner 30. In this embodiment, the retaining unit 40 is formed as a velcro fastener 41 which is complementary to the velcro fastener 52 of the pad 51. The velcro fastener 41 is attached to the outer surface of the liner 30. The pad 51 is retained on the liner 30 by engaging the velcro fastener 52 with the velcro fastener 41. When the zipper 60 is closed, the space 26 is stuffed with the pad 51.
When the boot 2 is used by a wearer with a thin foot, the fitting of the boot 2 may be adjusted by extending downward the thick section 512 of the pad 51 to the instep part 25 as best shown in FIG. 4. As such, the thick section 512 is situated at the instep part 25 and can change or reduce the fitting of the instep part 25 of the boot 2. When the boot 2 is to be used by a wearer having a thick foot, the thin section 511 must be placed downward. Since the thin section 511 does not change or reduce the fitting of the instep part 25 as much as the thick section 512, the boot 2 still fits the wearer's foot. In case no adjustment is needed, the adjustment pad 50 may be detached from the liner 30.
Since the fitting of the boot 2 can be adjusted by using the adjustment pad 50, it is not required to provide various widths of lasts for the production of various widths of the boot 2. This simplifies the manufacturing of the boot 2, reduces the manufacturing cost, and alleviates the problems encountered with storage and inventory.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a second embodiment of the present invention is substantially similar to the first embodiment except for the features described as follows: The second embodiment includes a shell 20 having an opening 23′ which is provided at the rear side of the shell 20 and which extends from the top end of the upper portion 21 to a heel part 27 of the foot portion 22. A liner 30′ is provided at the rear side of the shell 20, and a retaining unit is formed as a pocket 42 which is attached to the inner surface of the liner 30′. An adjustment pad 50′ differs from the adjustment pad 50 of the first embodiment in that the adjustment pad 50′ has no velcro fastener 52. The adjustment pad 50′ is placed removably within the pocket 42.
Referring to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, a third embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment as follows: This embodiment includes a retaining unit which is formed as a stud 43 to retain an adjustment pad 50′, and an closure member which is configured to include two complementary velcro straps 61 and 62. The adjustment pad 50′ in this embodiment is similar to that of the second embodiment and is pivotable about the stud 43 so as to turn the thin or thick section 511 or 512 thereof downward to a position close to the instep part 25. The positions of the thin and thick sections 511 and 512 are therefore interchangeable by turning the adjustment pad 50′ about the stud 43. When the wearer puts on the boot and interengages the velcro straps 61 and 62, the opening 23 is closed so that the space between the liner 30 and the margins 24 is stuffed. This increases the tightness of the boot at the instep part 25.
Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, a fourth embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in that a retaining unit includes a lower retaining loop 44 and an upper retaining loop 45, and that an adjustment pad 50″ has additional straps 56 compared with the adjustment pad 50′. The lower and upper retaining loops 44, 45 are attached to the outer surface of the liner 30. The straps 56 of the adjustment pad 50″ are connected to two opposite ends of the elongated pad 51 and which incorporate respective male velcro fasteners. Two female velcro fasteners 55 are attached respectively to two ends of the elongated pad 51. In use, one of the straps 56 is hung on the lower retaining loop 44 by passing the strap 56 through the lower retaining loop 44 and then folding the strap 56 downward to engage the male velcro fastener of the strap 56 with the corresponding female velcro fastener 55 as shown in FIG. 11.
When the adjustment pad 50″ is not needed, it can be kept within a pocket 25 which is attached to the outer surface of the upper portion 21 of the shell 20 as shown in FIG. 12. Alternatively, the adjustment pad 50″ may be hung on the upper retaining loop 45 with one of the velcro straps 56 passing through the upper retaining loop 45 as shown in FIG. 13. The adjustment pad 50″ is therefore placed at the outside of the shell 20.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A boot comprising:

a shell having a foot portion, an upper portion with an open top end, an instep part formed at the juncture of said foot portion and said upper portion, an opening extending from said upper portion to said foot portion, and an opposed pair of margins defining said opening;

a closure member attached to said margins to close said opening;

a liner having two opposite ends secured to an inner surface of said shell on two sides of said opening, said liner having an outer surface facing said margins and said opening;

a retaining unit attached to said liner; and

an adjustment pad attached to said retaining unit so as to adjust the fitting of the shell.

2. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adjustment pad includes a compressible foam, and is composed of a thin section and a thick section connected to said thin section.

3. The boot as claimed in claim 2, wherein said adjustment pad is elongated and extends from said foot portion to said upper portion, said thin and thick sections being selectively positioned within said foot portion when said adjustment pad is retained by said retaining unit.

4. The boot as claimed in claim 3, wherein said opening extends from said top end to said instep part, said thin and thick sections being selectively positioned within said instep part.

5. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein said opening extends from a heel part of said foot portion to said top end of said upper portion.

6. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adjustment pad is attached removably to said retaining unit.

7. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein said retaining unit includes a velcro fastener attached to said outer surface of said liner, said adjustment pad having a complementary velcro fastener to engage said velcro fastener, said adjustment pad being retained between said liner and said margins.

8. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein said retaining unit includes a pocket which is formed on said liner, said adjustment pad being received within said pocket.

9. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein said retaining unit includes a retaining stud secured to said liner, said adjustment pad being mounted on said retaining stud.

10. The boot as claimed in claim 9, wherein said adjustment pad has a thin section and a thick section, said adjustment pad being pivoted to said retaining stud at a location between said thin and thick sections.

11. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein said retaining unit includes a retaining loop attached to said outer surface of said liner, said adjustment pad further including a strap connected to one end of said adjustment pad, said strap being passed through and hung on said retaining loop.

12. The boot as claimed in claim 11, wherein said adjustment pad further includes a velcro fastener provided on said strap.

13. The boot as claimed in claim 1, wherein said retaining unit further includes a pocket formed on an outer surface of said shell.