Claims
- 1. An expandable shoe, comprising:
a front outer assembly; a rear outer assembly; an expandable segment attached to the front and rear outer assemblies to define a shoe outer shell wherein the expandable segment extends at least partially along each side of the outer shell and transversely across the bottom of the outer shell; and an adjustable inner assembly, disposed within the outer shell, the inner assembly having a first board portion and a second board portion in overlapping engagement with each other and a control to adjust the position of the first board portion relative to the second board portion and to thereby adjust a dimension of the inner assembly and thereby a corresponding dimension of the shoe, wherein the control includes
a locking mechanism shaped to engage and hold at least one of the first and second board portions; a biasing mechanism to bias the locking mechanism into engagement with the at least one of the first and second board portions; and an urging member positioned and movable transversely to a longitudinal direction of the shoe and in transverse alignment with the locking mechanism so that the urging member may be moved transversely to contact and move the locking mechanism out of engagement with the at least one of the first and second board portions.
- 2. The expandable shoe of claim 1 wherein the expandable segment extends across the bottom, top and sides of the outer shell.
- 3. The expandable shoe of claim 2 wherein the expandable segment is a unitary structure.
- 4. The expandable shoe of claim 1 wherein the outer shell includes an eyelet segment having at least one eyelet and the expandable segment extends partially along each side of the outer shell and contacts the eyelet segment at each end.
- 5. The expandable shoe of claim 1 wherein the expandable segment is a bellows.
- 6. The shoe of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first and second board portions includes transversely extending rectangular-shaped teeth, and wherein the locking mechanism includes transversely extending rectangular-shaped teeth.
- 7. The shoe of claim 6 wherein the spacing of the teeth corresponds to a relative shoe size.
- 8. The shoe of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first and second board portions includes transversely extending teeth integral to the at least one first and second board portions, and wherein the locking mechanism includes transversely extending teeth.
- 9. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the urging member includes a segment having at least a first segment portion and a second segment portion, with the cross section of the first segment portion smaller than the cross section of the second segment portion and wherein the locking mechanism includes an aperture in alignment with the segment and wherein the cross section of the aperture is larger than the cross section of the first segment portion but smaller than the cross section of the second segment portion so that when the urging member is moved the segment contacts and moves the locking mechanism with the second segment portion.
- 10. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the urging member includes a segment and wherein the locking mechanism includes an aperture in alignment with the segment so that when the urging member is moved the segment causes the locking mechanism to move.
- 11. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the urging mechanism includes a proximal portion external of the outer shoe and an end cap opposite to the proximal portion, the end cap having an aperture adapted to receive a distal end of the segment to encapsulate the control.
- 12. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the biasing mechanism includes a spring and a support structure for the spring, the support structure having an aperture in alignment with the interior of the spring and with the segment of the urging member, the cross section of the aperture of the support structure being larger than the cross section of the first segment.
- 13. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the urging member includes a single rod and wherein the locking mechanism includes an aperture in alignment with the rod so that when the urging member is moved, the rod causes the locking mechanism to move.
- 14. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the adjustable inner assembly constrains longitudinal movement of the first and second board.
- 15. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the biasing mechanism includes a single spring.
- 16. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the biasing mechanism includes a coil spring.
- 17. The shoe of claim 1 wherein one of the first and second board portions includes a cavity containing the control, the opening to the cavity facing downward and further comprising a plate covering the opening to the cavity.
- 18. The shoe of claim 17 wherein the plate includes shoe size indicia.
- 19. The shoe of claim 1 wherein one of the first and second board portions includes at least two parallel grooves extending longitudinally and wherein the other of the first and second board portions includes at least two corresponding rails in alignment with the parallel grooves and that are positioned within the grooves as the first and second board portions overlap.
- 20. An expandable shoe, comprising:
an outer shell and an adjustable inner assembly, disposed within the outer shell, the inner assembly having a first board portion and a second board portion and a control to adjust the position of the first board portion relative to the second board portion and to thereby adjust a dimension of the inner assembly and thereby a corresponding dimension of the shoe, wherein the control includes
a locking mechanism shaped to engage and hold at least one of the first and second board portions; a biasing mechanism including a single spring to bias the locking mechanism into engagement with the at least one of the first and second board portions; and an urging member positioned and movable transversely to a longitudinal direction of the shoe and in transverse alignment with the locking mechanism so that the urging member may be moved transversely to contact and move the locking mechanism out of engagement with the at least one of the first and second board portions.
- 21. The shoe of claim 20 wherein the outer shell includes a front outer assembly, a rear outer assembly and an expandable segment attached to the front and rear outer assemblies wherein the expandable segment extends at least partially along each side of the outer shell and transversely across the bottom of the outer shell.
- 22. The shoe of claim 20 wherein the first board portion and the second board portion are in overlapping engagement with each other.
- 23. An expandable shoe, comprising:
an outer shell and an adjustable inner assembly, disposed within the outer shell, the inner assembly having a first board portion and a second board portion and a control encapsulated within the inner assembly to adjust the position of the first board portion relative to the second board portion and to thereby adjust a dimension of the inner assembly and thereby a corresponding dimension of the shoe, wherein the control includes
a locking mechanism shaped to engage and hold at least one of the first and second board portions; a biasing mechanism including a single spring to bias the locking mechanism into engagement with the at least one of the first and second board portions; and an urging member positioned and movable transversely to a longitudinal direction of the shoe and in transverse alignment with the locking mechanism so that the urging member may be moved transversely to contact and move the locking mechanism out of engagement with the at least one of the first and second board portions.
- 24. The shoe of claim 23 wherein the outer shell includes a front outer assembly, a rear outer assembly and an expandable segment attached to the front and rear outer assemblies wherein the expandable segment extends at least partially along each side of the outer shell and transversely across the bottom of the outer shell.
- 25. The shoe of claim 23 wherein the first board portion and the second board portion are in overlapping engagement with each other.
- 26. An expandable shoe, comprising:
a front outer assembly; a rear outer assembly; an expandable segment attached to the front and rear outer assemblies to define a shoe outer shell wherein the expandable segment extends along the bottom, top and each side of the outer shell; and an adjustable inner assembly, disposed within the outer shell, the inner assembly having a first board portion and a second board portion in overlapping engagement with each other and a control to adjust the position of the first board portion relative to the second board portion and to thereby adjust a dimension of the inner assembly and thereby a corresponding dimension of the shoe, wherein the control includes
a locking mechanism shaped to engage and hold at least one of the first and second board portions; a biasing mechanism to bias the locking mechanism into engagement with the at least one of the first and second board portions; and an urging member positioned and movable transversely to a longitudinal direction of the shoe and in transverse alignment with the locking mechanism so that the urging member may be moved transversely to contact and move the locking mechanism out of engagement with the at least one of the first and second board portions.
- 27. The shoe of claim 26 wherein the first board portion and the second board portion are in overlapping engagement with each other
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of now U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/950,109, filed Sep. 10, 2001 (which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety), which is a continuation in part of related U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/438,935, filed Nov. 12, 1999, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,872 on Aug. 27, 2002.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09950109 |
Sep 2001 |
US |
Child |
10439656 |
May 2003 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09438935 |
Nov 1999 |
US |
Child |
09950109 |
Sep 2001 |
US |