CONVERTIBLE DANCE SHOW

Abstract

An article of footwear having a street shoe configuration and a dance shoe configuration is provided. The shoe includes a sole and an upper having a lacing system, lace and a tongue. The tongue is removably attached to the upper. The tongue may be removed to convert the shoe from a street shoe configuration to a dance shoe configuration. The tongue may also be secured via a lace strung through an apertures formed in the tongue. This configuration provides for easier conversion from street shoe to dance shoe.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a shoe according to aspects of the arrangement of the convertible dance shoe;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the shoe of FIG. 1A, but with the foot of the user inserted into the shoe;

FIG. 2 is an alternate configuration of the shoe of FIG. 1B;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the shoe of FIG. 1A, which illustrates a removable tongue aspect of shoe of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the removable tongue portion of the shoe of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the outsole of the shoe of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another arrangement of a shoe according to aspects of the convertible dance shoe;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the shoe of FIG. 6 shown with the removable tongue portion removed;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the removable tongue of the shoe of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another configuration of the shoe of FIG. 6 including a floating tongue portion.

Claims

1. A convertible dance shoe, comprising: a sole, including a midsole and an outsole, and having flexible regions and a spin pad; andan upper including a tongue and a lacing system having loops at a top portion of the upper, the tongue being removably attachable to and detachable from the upper via an attachment feature to allow for conversion between a street shoe configuration and a dance shoe configuration.

2. The convertible dance shoe of claim 1, wherein the spin pad is located near the ball of the foot.

3. The convertible dance shoe of claim 2, wherein the attachment feature is a hook and loop type fastener.

4. The convertible dance shoe of claim 1, wherein the flexible regions include a flex groove.

5. The convertible dance shoe of claim 4, wherein the flex groove is across a toe portion of the outsole.

6. The convertible dance shoe of claim 1, further comprising an elastic heel support around the ankle of the wearer.

7. The convertible dance shoe of claim 1, further including a loop at a heel portion of the upper, through which a lace may extend.

8. The convertible dance shoe of claim 7, wherein the lace is a dance ribbon.

9. The convertible dance shoe of claim 1, wherein the tongue may be detached from the upper and secured by a lace.

10. The convertible dance shoe of claim 9, wherein the tongue is free floating to allow movement in a lateral and longitudinal direction.

11. A method of converting a street shoe to a dance shoe, comprising: removing a lace from a series of loops in a lacing system on the street shoe;detaching a tongue from the street shoe; andextending a dance ribbon through the loops of the lacing system, including extending the ribbon through a loop at the top of a heel portion of the shoe.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the tongue is removably attached at an attachment feature and the step of detaching the tongue includes disengaging the attachment feature.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the attachment feature is a hook and loop type fastener and the step of detaching the tongue includes disconnecting a hook portion of the fastener from a loop portion.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the lacing system includes apertures formed on the tongue of the article of footwear and the step of detaching the tongue includes removing a lace from the apertures formed on the tongue.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising removing the tongue from the street shoe.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising wrapping the dance ribbon around the ankle of the wearer before securing the ribbon.

17. A kit for converting a street shoe to a dance shoe, the kit comprising: a shoe, including a sole and an upper, the upper including a lacing system having loops at a top portion of the upper;a tongue, the tongue being removably attached to the upper;a lace to secure the shoe to a user's foot when the shoe is configured as a street shoe; anda dance ribbon for securing the shoe to the user's foot when the shoe is configured as a dance shoe.

18. The kit of claim 17, wherein the sole further comprises a spin pad formed in the sole.

19. The kit of claim 17, wherein the sole further comprises at least one flex groove formed within the sole of the shoe.

20. A free floating tongue for an article of footwear, comprising: a tongue, the tongue including a lace and a lace attachment feature to maintain the longitudinal position of the tongue, andthe tongue being disconnected from the article of footwear;wherein the tongue can freely move in a lateral direction along the lace.