Attachments for an item of footwear

Abstract

An attachment for an item of footwear having an outsole, the attachment comprising a body having first and second body surfaces, the body being releasably co-operable with the outsole in a first position in which the first body surface is disposable away from the outsole and in a second position in which the second body surface is disposable away from the outsole; an attaching portion which is associated with the body and which includes an inter-engageable formation for releasably attaching the attachment in the first and second positions; and a detaching portion which is associated with the body, the detaching portion having an edge portion moveable with respect to the body to allow the body to be released from the item of footwear. The invention also includes an outsole and an item of footwear to which the attachment can be releasably attached.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the description in association with the following in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an item of footwear having an outsole and front and heel attachments, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2( a) is a plan view of the attachments and the outsole of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2( b) is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 2(a);

FIGS. 3( a), (b) and (c) are perspective, plan and side views, respectively, of the heel attachment of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4( a), (b) and (c) are perspective, plan and side views, respectively, of the front attachment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a heel attachment, a front attachment and an outsole according to another embodiment of the present invention, when the attachments are (a) partially removed from the outsole, and (b) attached to the outsole;

FIG. 6( a) is a plan view of the attachments and outsole of FIG. 5(b);

FIG. 6( b) is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 6(a);

FIGS. 7( a) and (b) are perspective and plan views of the front attachment of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7( c) is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 7(b);

FIGS. 8( a) and (b) are perspective and plan views of the heel attachment of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8( c) is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 8(b);

FIG. 9( a) is a plan view of an outsole, and heel and front attachments according to a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9( b) is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 9(a);

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a heel attachment, a front attachment and an outsole according to yet another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11( a) is a plan view of the attachments and the outsole of FIG. 10 when the attachments are attached to the outsole;

FIG. 11( b) is a side view of the attachments and the outsole of FIG. 11(a);

FIG. 12( a) is a plan view of the front attachment of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12( b) is a cross-section along line A-A of the attachment of FIG. 12(a);

FIG. 13( a) is a plan view of the heel attachment of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13( b) is a cross-section along line A-A of the attachment of FIG. 13(a);

FIGS. 14( a) and (b) are perspective and plan views, respectively, of a heel attachment, front attachments and an outsole according to a yet further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14( c) is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 14(b);

FIG. 15( a) is a plan view of an attachment of FIG. 14;

FIG. 15( b) is a cross-section along line A-A of the attachment of FIG. 15(a);

FIG. 16( a) is a plan view of an alternative attachment to that of FIG. 15;

FIG. 16( b) is a cross-section along line A-A of the attachment of FIG. 16(a);

FIGS. 17( a) and (b) are perspective views of a rear attachment, a front attachment and an outsole according to another embodiment of the present invention, when the attachments are attached to the outsole and when they have been released from the outsole, respectively;

FIGS. 18( a) and (b) are plan views of FIGS. 17(a) and (b) respectively;

FIG. 18( c) is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 18(b);

FIG. 19( a) is a perspective view of a protrusion of an attachment according to the present invention;

FIG. 19( b) is a cross-section along line A-A of FIG. 19(a); and

FIGS. 20( a) to (c) are side views of alternative protrusions to FIG. 19.

Claims

1. An attachment for an item of footwear having an outsole, the attachment comprising: a body having first and second body surfaces, the body being releasably co-operable with the outsole in a first position in which the first body surface is disposable away from the outsole and in a second position in which the second body surface is disposable away from the outsole;an attaching portion which is associated with the body and which includes an inter-engageable formation for releasably attaching the attachment in the first and second positions; anda detaching portion which is associated with the body, the detaching portion having an edge portion moveable with respect to the body to allow the attachment to be released from the item of footwear.

2. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the edge portion is arranged for manipulation by a user's hand when the attachment is in the first or second positions to move the edge portion with respect to the body.

3. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outsole includes a recess, the body being shaped to be receivable in the recess.

4. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first body surface has a first surface-engaging property and the second body surface has a second surface-engaging property, the first or second surface-engaging properties being a frictional property of the surface.

5. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first body surface has a first surface-engaging property and the second body surface has a second surface-engaging property, the first or second surface-engaging properties being a sound generational property of the surface.

6. An attachment as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first body surface includes at least one protrusion for frictional engagement with a surface.

7. An attachment as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least one protrusion is an anti-skid cleat.

8. An attachment as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first body surface is disposable towards the outsole when the body is in the second position and the at least one protrusion is shaped to be receivable in at least one corresponding opening in the outsole when the body is in the second position.

9. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first body surface has a first surface-engaging property and the second body surface has a second surface-engaging property, the first surface-engaging property being different to the second surface-engaging property.

10. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body has at least one axis of symmetry for positioning in the first and second positions.

11. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body comprises a main body portion and an outer edge portion, the detaching portion including the outer edge portion.

12. An attachment as claimed in claim 11, wherein the body is resiliently deformable.

13. An attachment as claimed in claim 11, wherein the outsole comprises a protrusion, and the inter-engageable formation comprises at least one opening within the body for engageably receiving the protrusion.

14. An attachment as claimed in claim 11, wherein at least one of the first and second surfaces of the body are substantially planar.

15. An attachment as claimed in claim 11, wherein the body is disc-shaped.

16. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the attaching portion extends from one side of the body.

17. An attachment as claimed in claim 16, wherein the attaching portion includes an arm having an arm opening.

18. An attachment as claimed in claim 17, wherein the outsole includes a protrusion, the arm opening being sized and shaped to engageably receive the protrusion.

19. An attachment as claimed in claim 17, wherein the arm and the body are integrally formed into a single piece.

20. An attachment as claimed in claim 19, wherein the single piece is resiliently deformable.

21. An attachment as claimed in claim 20, wherein the single piece includes at least a first layer of material forming the body and at least a second layer of material forming the attaching portion, the first layer being less resilient than the second layer.

22. An attachment as claimed in claim 16, wherein the detaching portion is integral with the attaching portion.

23. An attachment as claimed in claim 22, wherein the detaching portion includes an outer edge portion of the attaching portion.

24. An attachment as claimed in claim 16, further including a second attaching portion located at another side of the body from the first attaching portion, the second attaching portion including an edge defining an opening in the body.

25. An attachment as claimed in claim 24, wherein the outsole has a protrusion, and the edge is shaped to engage with the protrusion to attach the attachment to the item of footwear.

26. An attachment as claimed in claim 25, wherein at least a portion of the edge is tapered.

27. An attachment as claimed in claim 17, wherein the attaching portion includes a second arm having an opening, the second arm extending from an oppositely facing side of the body to the first arm.

28. An attachment as claimed in claim 16, wherein the body extends across the outsole when the attachment is in the first or second positions.

29. An attachment as claimed in claim 16, wherein the attaching portion includes at least one arm having a free end.

30. An attachment as claimed in claim 29, wherein the outsole includes an opening, the free end being shaped to be engageably receivable into the opening.

31. An attachment as claimed in claim 30, wherein the detaching portion includes an edge portion of the arm.

32. An attachment as claimed in claim 29, wherein the arm is attached to the body by a hinge.

33. An attachment as claimed in claim 16, wherein the attaching portion includes a pair of arms, each having a free end.

34. An attachment as claimed in claim 33, wherein the outsole includes at least one opening for engageably receiving the free ends, the pair of arms being located adjacent each other such that moving the arms towards each other disengages the free ends of the arms from the opening, and moving the arms away from each other engages the free ends of the arms with the at least one opening.

35. An attachment as claimed in claim 33, further comprising a further pair of arms, each having a free end and extending from a substantially oppositely facing end of the body from the first pair.

36. An attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detaching portion comprises a tab member extending from the body, the tab member having an edge portion for manipulation by a user's hand to detach the attachment from the item of footwear.

37. An attachment as claimed in claim 36, wherein the tab member has a recessed holding portion.

38. An attachment as claimed in claim 36, wherein the inter-engageable formation includes an edge defining an opening in the body.

39. An attachment as claimed in claim 38, wherein the outsole includes at least one protrusion and the edge is shaped to engage with the protrusion.

40. An attachment as claimed in claim 39, wherein at least a portion of the edge is tapered.

41. An attachment as claimed in claim 38, further comprising a bridging member extending across the opening.

42. An attachment as claimed in claim 41, wherein the bridging member comprises an opening formed therethrough.

43. An outsole for an item of footwear, the outsole comprising an inter-engageable formation for releasably attaching an attachment according to claim 1.

44. An outsole as claimed in claim 43, the outsole being shaped to allow the detaching portion of the attachment to be manipulatable by a user's hand to detach the attachment from the item of footwear.

45. An outsole as claimed in claim 44, wherein the inter-engageable formation comprises at least one protrusion extending from the outsole for engagement with a corresponding at least one opening in the attachment to releasably attach the attachment to the outsole.

46. An outsole as claimed in claim 45, wherein the at least one protrusion is at a toe-end, a heel-end and/or at a side of the outsole.

47. An outsole as claimed in claim 45, wherein the at least one protrusion is resiliently deformable.

48. An outsole as claimed in claim 45, wherein the at least one protrusion is integral with a shaft member which is associated with the outsole and is more rigid than the outsole.

49. An outsole as claimed in claim 43, including a surface-engaging face wherein the inter-engageable formation comprises an edge defining a recess in the surface-engaging face, the recess being shaped to receive at least a portion of the attachment.

50. An outsole as claimed in claim 49, wherein a portion of the edge of the recess is shaped to allow a user to manipulate by hand the attachment when the attachment is in the first or second positions to detach the attachment from the item of footwear.

51. An outsole as claimed in claim 50, wherein a portion of the edge of the recess is lipped to allow retention of the attachment in the recess.

52. An outsole as claimed in claim 49, wherein the recess has a base from which extends a protrusion, the protrusion being shaped to engage with a corresponding opening in the attachment to releasably attach the attachment to the outsole.

53. An outsole as claimed in claim 49, wherein the recess has a base, the base having at least one opening therein which is shaped to receive at least one corresponding protrusion of the attachment.

54. An outsole as claimed in claim 49, wherein the recess has a side wall, the side wall having at least one opening for engagement with a corresponding protrusion of the attachment.

55. An item of footwear including an outsole according to claim 43.