Patent Application
20240315396
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure relates to shoe device and more particularly pertains to a new shoe device for converting a shoe between a flat soled shoe or a high heeled shoe. The device includes a shoe with a flexible sole and a heel that is pivotally attached to the sole. The heel is positionable in a stored position having the heel being recessed into the sole for wearing the shoe in the convention of a flat soled shoe. The heel is positionable in a deployed position having the heel extending downwardly from the sole for wearing the shoe in the convention of a high heeled shoe. The device includes a support pivotally attached to the heel for supporting the heel in the deployed position.
The prior art relates to shoe devices including a shoe with a telescopically adjustable heel. The prior art discloses a variety of modular shoes that is each convertible between a flat and a pump. The prior art discloses a high heeled shoe that includes a heel with an adjustable height. The prior art discloses a shoe with a compressible heel. The prior art discloses a shoe that has a pivotable heel which includes a bayonet latch.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a shoe that is wearable on a user's foot. The shoe has a sole that is comprised of a flexible material thereby facilitating the sole to be oriented in a planar position to define a sole of a flat soled shoe or an angled position to define a sole of a high heeled shoe. A hinge is integrated into the sole of the shoe such that the sole bends along the hinge when the sole is moved between the planar position and the angled position. A heel is pivotally attached to the sole and the heel is positionable in a stored position or a deployed position having the heel extending downwardly from the sole.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A pivot 30 is coupled to the lower bounding surface 26 of the heel well 24 and the pivot 30 is located adjacent to the heel 20. The shoe 12 has a vamp 34 and a counter 36 that are styled in the convention of a closed toe pump. A hinge 38 is integrated into the sole 16 of the shoe 12 such that the sole 16 bends along the hinge 38 when the sole 16 is moved between the planar position and the angled position. The hinge 38 extends laterally across the sole 16 and the hinge 38 is positioned between the toe 18 of the sole 16 and the heel well 24 in the bottom surface 22 of the sole 16.
A door 25 is slidably integrated into the sole 16 and the door 25 is aligned with the heel well 24. The door 25 closes the heel well 24 when the door 25 is in a closed position and the door 25 exposes the heel well 24 when the door 25 is in an open position. The door 25 has a first lateral edge 27, a second lateral edge 29 and a lower surface 31 extending between the first lateral edge 27 and the second lateral edge 29. Each of the first lateral edge 27 and the second lateral edge 29 slidably engages the lateral bounding surface 28 of the heel well 24. Furthermore, the door 25 has a slot 33 that is integrated into the lower surface 31 to facilitate the door 25 to be gripped for urging the door 25 between the open position and the closed position.
A heel 40 is pivotally attached to the sole 16 and the heel 40 is positionable in a stored position when the sole 16 is in the planar position has the heel 40 is recessed within the sole 16. Conversely, the heel 40 is positionable in a deployed position when the sole 16 in the angled position has the heel 40 extending downwardly from the sole 16. The heel 40 has a first end 42 and a second end 44 and the heel 40 has a pivot point 46 located adjacent to the first end 42. The pivot point 46 pivotally engages the pivot 30 in the heel well 24 in the bottom surface 22 of the sole 16 for pivotally attaching the heel 40 to the sole 16. Additionally, the heel 40 is flared adjacent to the first end 42 such that the heel 40 defines a tapered heel. The heel 40 is biased into a locking position when the heel 40 is pivoted into the deployed position such that the pivot point 46 engages the pivot 30 thereby inhibiting the heel 40 from being displaced from the deployed position. The heel is urgeable downwardly to disengage the pivot 30 from the pivot point 46 thereby facilitating the heel 40 to be pivoted between the stored position and the deployed position. In an alternative embodiment 48 as is most clearly shown in
In use, the door 25 is urged into the open position and the heel 40 is pivoted into the deployed position and the sole 16 is bent along the hinge 38 into the angled position. Additionally, the pivot point 46 engages the pivot 30 to retain the heel 40 in the deployed position. In this way the shoe 12 can be worn in the convention of a high heeled shoe for a formal occasion. The heel 40 is pulled downwardly to disengage the pivot point 46 from the pivot 30 thereby facilitating the heel 40 to be positioned in the stored position and the sole 16 is positioned in the planar position. Additionally, the door 25 is urged into the closed position once the heel 40 is positioned in the stored position. In this way the shoe 12 can be worn in the convention of a flat soled shoe for casual occasions.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
