WO2016023093A1

WO2016023093A1 - Adjustable shoe

Info

Publication number: WO2016023093A1
Application number: PCT/CA2014/000622
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chris Lintaman; Chan KUEI-I
Original assignee: Chris Lintaman; Kuei-I Chan
Priority date: 2014-08-15
Filing date: 2014-08-15
Publication date: 2016-02-18

Abstract

An adjustable shoe comprises a shoe body, a wing, and a control device. The shoe body has an outsole and an upper attached on the outsole. The wing has a fixed portion, with which the wing is attached to the shoe body, and a movable portion connected the fixed portion. The movable portion is connected to the shoe body through the control device, which brings the movable portion of the wing in a direction toward the upper to press the shoe body.

Description

ADJUSTABLE SHOE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to shoes, and more particularly to an adjustable shoe.

Description of Related Art

A pair of well-fitting shoes is important for people exercising and athletes from all sports, which not only decreases risks of injuries, but also improves overall performance. Take cycling shoes for example, only when the shoes completely fit a cyclist's feet, power of the cyclist can be most efficiently transmitted to the pedals, the shoes are more comfortable, and the feet of the cyclist can be best protected in such a way. However, it is not always easy to find a pair of perfectly fitting shoes for everyone, because one's feet may be somewhat caught between two shoe sizes. In addition, we all more or less have a size difference between our two feet. Generally, such size difference is so slight that it does not even bother us, but when it comes to sports such as cycling, skiing, snowboarding, mountain hiking, etc., an athlete would prefer better fitting shoes to help achieve better performance.

To solve the problem, some sportswear manufacturers have introduced heat moldable shoes, which can be molded in response to extreme heat, and therefore can be tuned to approximately fit the foot of an athlete. Though, once a heat moldable shoe is molded, it only fits one specific person, and its size cannot be adjusted again during competition, engaged in the related sporting activity or in the field, in other words the shoes cannot be adjusted'On the fly", so the usage of heat moldable shoes is quite limited. Moreover, the manufacturing cost is relatively higher, which further hinders the popularity of this kind of products. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide an adjustable shoe, of which a width and a length can be adjusted depending on different situations quickly, easily and "on the fly", and therefore the adjustable shoe is suitable for wide, skinny, long or short feet.

The present invention provides an adjustable shoe which includes a shoe body, a wing, and a control device. The shoe body has an outsole and an upper attached on the outsole. The wing has a fixed portion and a movable portion connected to the fixed portion, and is attached to the shoe body with the fixed portion thereof, wherein the movable portion is movable. The control device connects the shoe body and the movable portion of the wing, wherein the control device brings the movable portion of the wing in a direction toward the upper to press the shoe body.

Whereby, the width and the length of the adjustable shoe provided in the present invention can be adjusted within a certain extent, and therefore a pair of the adjustable shoes would perfectly fit the feet of a user. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of some illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing that the movable portions of the wings are brought toward the upper to press the shoe body;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing that the movable portions of one of the wings are away from the upper;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, an adjustable shoe 1 of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a shoe body 10, three wings 20, a control device 30, and a plurality of hooks 40. The shoe body 10 has an upper 12 and an outsole 14, wherein the upper 12 is attached on the outsole 14. Each of the wings 20 has a fixed portion 24 and a movable portion 22, which can be moved toward or away from the upper 12. In the first preferred embodiment, the fixed portion 24 of each of the wings 20 is fixed between the upper 12 and the outsole 14; in other embodiments, it can be attached to the upper 12 or the outsole 14. More specifically, for those shoes having a midsole attached on the outsole, the fixed portion 24 can also be attached to the midsole. In addition, the fixed portion 24 of the wings 20 are connected together to provide a strong structure, and such structure is convenient for manufacturing and installation. However, the connection relation between the fixed portions 24 of the wings 24 is not the limitation of the present invention.

By definition, the shoe body 10 has a front F, a rear R opposite to the front F, a lateral side L, and a medial side M opposite to the lateral side L. One of the wings 20 is positioned at the lateral side L, while two of the wings 20 are positioned at the front F. Though, the number and the positions of the wings are not the limitation of the present invention either. In practice, there can be only one wing, or the wings 20 can be respectively positioned at the rear R or the medial side M, which depends on different purposes.

The control device 30 includes two fasteners and two connecting members. In the first preferred embodiment, the fasteners are cable dials 32 disclosed in US patent 8516662, 8468657, or 7954204, and the connecting members are wires 34 as examples. The cable dials 32 are engaged on the upper 12 of the shoe body 10. The hooks 40 are respectively provided on the movable portions 22 of the wings 20 and the upper 12 in a way that the wires 34 can respectively connect the movable portions 22 of the wings 20 and the cable dials 32. In more details, the wing 20 at the lateral side L of the shoe body 10 is connected to one of the cable dial 32 through three hooks 40, wherein one of these hooks 40 is provided on the movable portion 22 thereof, while the other two of the hooks 40 are provided on the upper 12. As for the wings 20 at the front F of the shoe body 10, each wing 20 respectively has one hook 40 provided thereon, and one of the wires 34 directly connects the movable portions 22 and one of the cable dials 32. In other embodiments, a cable dial (fastener) can also be connected to only one movable portion 22 by a wire (connecting member).

The cable dials 32 are adapted for being turned by a user to pull or release the corresponding wire 34, and consequently the corresponding movable portion 22 is brought toward or away from the upper 12. As shown in FIG. 2, if the cable dials 32 are turned in a specific direction to pull the corresponding wires 34, the corresponding movable portions 22 would be driven to press the shoe body 10, which slightly compresses a space therein. In other words, when the movable portion 22 of the wing 20 at the lateral side L is brought toward the upper 12, a width of the shoe body 10 is decreased. And similarly, when the movable portions 22 of the wings 20 at the front F are brought toward the upper 12, a length of the shoe body 10 is decreased as well.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, if the cable dials 32 are turned in an opposite direction to loosen the corresponding wires 34, the corresponding movable portions 22 would no longer be forced to press the shoe body 10, and therefore the corresponding movable portion is away from the upper 12, and the space inside the shoe body 10 is slightly broadened. In this way, a user can adjust the length and the width of the adjustable shoe 1 simply by turning the cable dials 32 to make it perfectly fit his/her feet.

In order to make the movable portions 22 flexible enough to be moved, and still able to provide necessary support and deliver power of a user effectively at the same time, the wings 20 are preferably made of flexible yet rigid materials, such as carbon fiber, fiber glass, rubber, TPU, nylon, ABS, PVC, and etc. Of course, the materials listed herein are not limitations of the present invention, but only a few examples. As shown in FIG. 4, an adjustable shoe 2 of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention has basically the same structure with the first preferred embodiment, except that the control device 30 thereof includes a plurality of fixation members and a plurality of straps 54 instead. The fixation members are buckles 52 in the second preferred embodiment, which are provided on the upper 12, and each has a loop 52a for the corresponding strap 54 to pass through. Each of the straps 54 has an end 54a connected to the movable portion 22 of one of the wings 20, and an opposite end 54b passing through the loop 52a of one of the buckles 52. The loop 52a of each of the buckles 52 is adapted to tightly hold the corresponding strap 54 at different locations thereon. More specifically, each of the straps 54 has a ladder 54c thereon, and the loop 52a of each of the buckles 52 has a protrusion 52b therein. With certain force applied on any of the loop 52a, the protrusion 52b inside is pressed to be fitted on the ladder 54c. Therefore, the straps 54 can be respectively tightly held by one of the buckles 52. With such design, a width and a length of the adjustable shoe 2 can be adjusted by pulling the straps 54 to bring the movable portion 22 of the corresponding wing 20 toward the upper 12. And once the width and the length of the adjustable shoe 2 are appropriately adjusted, the straps 54 can be fixed with the buckles 52.

As shown in FIG. 5, an adjustable shoe 3 of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention also has similar structures with the aforementioned embodiments, except that the control device 30 has a shoe lace 62. The movable portions 22 of the wings 20 and the upper 12 of the shoe body 10 are respectively provided with a plurality of perforations 64 thereon. The perforations 64 allow the shoe lace 62 to thread through. In a similar way, a width and a length of the adjustable shoe 3 can be adjusted by pulling and tying the shoe lace 62 to make the movable portions 22 appropriately press the shoe body 10.

As shown in FIG. 6, an adjustable shoe 4 of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention again has similar structures of the aforementioned embodiments, except that the control device 30 thereof includes a plurality of bands 72, wherein each of the bands 72 goes through a slit 74 on the movable portion 22 of one of the wings 20. Specifically, each of the bands 72 has a first end 72a fixed on the upper 12, and an opposite second end 72b that goes through one of the slits 74, and the second end 72b can be affixed to the first end 72a. In the fourth preferred embodiment, the first end 72a of each band 72 is provided with Velcro loops, while the second end 72b thereof is provided with Velcro hooks. In other embodiments, the second end 72b can be affixed to the first end 72a in different ways. However, these ways are not described in detail herein because they are not the focus of the present invention. Again, a user is able to adjust a width and a length of the adjustable shoe 4 by pulling the bands 72 to bring the movable portions 22 of the wings 20 toward the upper 12.

In summary, the width and the length of the adjustable shoes 1, 2, 3, 4 provided in the present invention can be easily adjusted to fit the feet of a user. It is worth mentioning that such design is especially suitable for cycling. Though in all of the aforementioned embodiments, each movable portion 22 is suspended from the corresponding fixed portion 24, a movable portion can be directly stitched or glued on the upper in other embodiments. It must be pointed out that the embodiments described above are only some preferred embodiments of the present invention. All equivalent structures which employ the concepts disclosed in this specification and the appended claims should fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claims:

1. An adjustable shoe, comprising:

a shoe body, which has an outsole and an upper attached on the outsole;

a wing having a fixed portion and a movable portion connected to the fixed portion, wherein the wing is attached to the shoe body with the fixed portion thereof, and the movable portion is movable; and

a control device connecting the shoe body and the movable portion of the wing, wherein the control device brings the movable portion of the wing in a direction toward the upper to press the shoe body.

2. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, wherein the fixed portion of the wing is attached to the shoe body at where between the upper and the outsole thereof.

3. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, wherein the wing is positioned at a front of the shoe body.

4. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, wherein the wing is positioned at a side of the shoe body.

5. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, wherein the wing is made of flexible yet rigid material.

6. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a connecting member and a fastener; the fastener is engaged on the upper of the shoe body; the connecting member connects the movable portion of the wing and the fastener; the fastener is adapted to bring the movable portion in the direction toward the upper through the connecting member.

7. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a connecting member and a fastener; the fastener is engaged on the upper of the shoe body; the connecting member connects the movable portion of the wing, the upper of the shoe body, and the fastener; the fastener is adapted to bring the movable portion in the direction toward the upper through the connecting member.

8. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a shoe lace; the movable portion of the wing and the upper respectively have a plurality of perforations thereon for the shoe lace to thread through; the shoe lace is adapted to be pulled and tied to bring the movable portion in the direction toward the upper.

9. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a band having a first end fixed on the upper, and an opposite second end passing through a slit on the movable portion of the wing to be affixed to the first end; the band is adapted to be pulled to bring the movable portion in the direction toward the upper.

10. The adjustable shoe of claim 9, wherein the first and the second ends are respectively provided with Velcro hooks and Velcro loops.

11. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a strap and a fixation member; the fixation member is provided on the upper, and has a loop which allows the strap to pass through; the strap has a ladder thereon, and has two opposite ends; one end of the strap is fixed on the movable portion of the wing, and the other end thereof passes through the loop of the fixation member; the loop of the fixation member tightly holds the strap at different locations thereon; the strap is adapted to be pulled to bring the movable portion in the direction toward the upper.

12. The adjustable shoe of claim 1, further comprising another wing having a fixed portion and a movable portion connected to the fixed portion, wherein the wing is attached to the shoe body with the fixed portion thereof, and the movable portion is movable; the control device connects the shoe body and the movable portion of the wings, and the control device brings the movable portion of the wing in the direction toward the upper to press the shoe body.

13. The adjustable shoe of claim 12, wherein the wings are respectively positioned at opposite sides of the shoe body.

14. The adjustable shoe of claim 12, wherein the fixed portions of the wings are connected together.

15. The adjustable shoe of claim 12, wherein the control device comprises a connecting member and a fastener; the fastener is engaged on the upper of the shoe body; the connecting member connects the movable portions of the wings and the fastener; the fastener is adapted to bring the connected movable portions in the direction toward the upper through the connecting member.