Patent Application
20110061266
This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 098131064, filed on Sep. 15, 2009.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an article of footwear, more particularly to an article of footwear that is waterproof, wear-resistant, and lightweight.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many kinds of foot arch correction devices are known for correcting foot arches of the users. For example, Taiwanese Patent Nos. 1289055, M244062, and M249630. The foot arch correction device generally has a special curved body. When the user's foot steps on the foot arch correction device, the user's foot is forced to press against the curved body of the foot arch correction device to improve dynamic mechanism of the foot portion to thereby restore the user's foot to normal foot arch.
The foot arch correction device is usually installed in shoes having a solid and thick sole that can provide a stable supporting force, such as casual shoes and leather shoes. However, casual and leather shoes are not suitable for use in wet or muddy places, such as in kitchens, bathrooms, outdoor vegetable gardens or farms, etc. Slippers are often used for such areas because they are light and waterproof, and are conveniently slipped on and off. To allow an article of footwear to be wearable in different kinds of settings and work requirements, the applicant has installed the foot arch correction device in conventional footwear that is waterproof and lightweight, such as the locally known “Bush shoes” which are made of soft plastic foamed material. However, the applicant found that because the material of such conventional footwear is soft, the foot arch correction device is not well supported, so that the correction function of the foot arch correction device cannot be utilized. Hence, conventional waterproof and lightweight footwear cannot be directly installed with the foot arch correction device. If the foot arch correction device is to be directly installed into conventional footwear, because it occupies a substantial space, a space for insertion of the user's foot is minimized. As a result, it becomes uncomfortable to wear such conventional footwear.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear that is waterproof and wear-resistant, that is lightweight, and that can be suitably installed with a foot arch correction device.
According to this invention, an article of footwear comprises a sole body, an upper, an instep strap, and a foot arch correction device. The sole body is made of a lightweight, wear-resistant, waterproof material, and has a front region, a heel region, and a middle region between the front and heel regions. The sole body includes a support plate made of a material harder than the sole body and disposed in the sole body, a filling pad disposed in the sole body and covering the support plate, and front and rear tread members respectively attached to front and rear bottom faces of the sole body. The sole body further has amounting groove that is formed in a top surface thereof and that has a groove bottom wall, and a retaining groove formed in the groove bottom wall. The support plate is disposed in the retaining groove. The filling pad is disposed in the mounting groove. The upper is integrally connected as one piece with the sole body, and includes a vamp part connected to and extending above the front region and having a rear edge, a rear wall extending upwardly from the heel region, and left and right sidewalls extending upwardly and respectively from left and right ends of the sole body and having front ends connected to the rear edge of the vamp part, and rear ends connected to the rear wall. The instep strap is disposed rearwardly of the upper, and includes an instep abutment strap section extending convexedly from one of the left and right sidewalls toward the other one of the left and right sidewalls and having first and second ends. One of the first and second ends is integrally connected as one piece with one of the left and right sidewalls. The instep abutment strap section is spaced apart from the rear edge of the vamp part. The foot arch correction device is supported by the support plate.
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:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
Referring to
The sole body 2 is shaped to correspond to that of a user's foot 1 (see
The upper 3 is integrally connected as one piece with the sole body 2, is made of an ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) foam material, and includes a vamp part 31 connected to and extending above the front region (FR) and having a rear edge 312, a rear wall 34 extending upwardly from the heel region (HR), and left and right sidewalls 32, 33 that extend upwardly and respectively from left and right ends of the sole body 2, that are located respectively on two opposite sides of the user's foot 1, and that respectively have front ends connected to the rear edge 312 of the vamp part 31, and rear ends connected to the rear wall 34. The vamp part 31 and the sole body 2 cooperatively define a foot-receiving opening 311. The vamp part 31 is not limited to that illustrated in the drawings. The vamp part 31 may be designed differently according to one's desire. For example, the vamp part 31 may be provided with a hole (not shown) that communicates spatially with the foot-receiving opening 311, or a plurality of decorative pieces (not shown) may be adhered to an outer surface of the vamp part 31. The sidewalls 32, 33 further have upwardly extending protrusions 321, 331 projecting upwardly and respectively therefrom. The upper 3 further includes a protective piece 35 connected to a top face of the vamp part 31 and having a tough body made of reinforcing fibers. The protective piece 35 can strengthen the protective covering of the vamp part 31 so as to prevent injury of the user's foot 1.
The instep strap 4 is disposed rearwardly of and is spaced apart from the upper 3, and is spaced apart from the rear edge 312 of the vamp part 31 at a distance (47). The instep strap 4, as shown in
Since the instep abutment strap section 41, the upper 3, and the sole body 2 are made integrally as a one-piece body, the manufacture thereof is easy. Further, when the user's foot 1 is in contact with the instep abutment strap section 41, the presence of the soft pad 46 on the inner surface of the instep abutment strap section 41 provides a protective cushion to the user's foot 1. In this embodiment, the extension strap section 43 is connected integrally as one piece with the second end 412 of the instep abutment strap section 41. However, in an alternative embodiment, the extension strap section 43 may be a separate single strap that is connected to the second end 412 of the instep abutment strap section 41.
In use, the extension strap section 43 is passed through the buckle 42, and is folded back over the instep abutment strap section 41 to lock the instep strap 4 to a selected adjustment length and to position the user's foot 1 in the foot-receiving opening 311. At this time, the instep abutment strap section 41 abuts and surrounds the cuneiform bone 11 of the user's foot 1 in proximity to the rear edge 312 of the vamp part 31.
The heel strap 5 extends above the rear wall 34, and includes a heel abutment strap section 51 and an extension strap section 52. The heel abutment strap section 51 has a plurality of loop fasteners 53, a first end 511 fixed to a buckle 42′ provided on the protrusion 321, and a second end 512 opposite to the first end 511. The extension strap section 52 is connected integrally as one piece with the second end 512 of the heel abutment strap section 51, and is provided with a plurality of hook fasteners 54. A soft pad 55 is mounted to an inner surface of the heel abutment strap section 51. The extension strap section 52 extends through the buckle 42′, and is folded back over the heel abutment strap section 51 so as to inter-engage the hook and loop fasteners 54, 53, thereby locking the heel strap 5 to a selected adjustment length.
The foot arch correction device 6 is supported by the support plate 22, and is connected detachably to the sole body 2 through hook and loop fasteners 25, 62 provided respectively on the top surface of the sole body 2 at the heel region (HR) and a bottom surface of the foot arch correction device 6. The foot arch correction device 6 can be made and sold separately from the other components of the article of footwear of the present invention.
In use, when the user's foot 1 is inserted into the foot-receiving opening 311, and steps on the foot arch correction device 6, the instep strap 4 is adjusted so that the instep abutment strap section 41 abuts and surrounds the cuneiform bone 11 of the user's foot 1, and the heel strap 5 is adjusted so that the heel abutment strap section 51 abuts and surrounds the heel portion of the user's foot 1, as best shown in
With reference to
From the aforementioned description, it is apparent that the article of footwear of the present invention has the support plate 22 embedded within the sole body 2 so as to increase the longitudinal rigidity of the sole body 2 at the center thereof, after which the filling pad 23 covers the support plate 22. The foot arch correction device 6 can then be connected detachably to the sole body 2, and is supported by the support plate 22, so that the correction function thereof can be effectively utilized. Hence, the foot arch correction device 6 can be mounted suitably to the article of footwear of the present invention. Further, the article of footwear of the present invention is provided with the adjustable instep strap 4 to suit the feet of different users, and the instep strap 4 is provided with the soft pad 46 on the inner surface thereof to thereby provide comfort during wear of the article of footwear of the present invention.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are 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 interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 098131064 | Sep 2009 | TW | national |
