This invention is in the field of footwear and more particularly an apparatus and method of attaching a strap to footwear using one-piece connectors.
Various types of footwear are held on a foot of a wearer using a strap that wraps around a heel of the user. This strap, in many cases, is connected to a main or upper portion of the footwear with a pair of two-piece rivets; one of two-piece rivets attaching each end of the strap to the main or upper portion of the footwear piece.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,858 teaches the use of a two-piece rivet with a male and female portion, in order to attach a strap to the rest of a piece of footwear. This document teaches the construction of a molded piece of footwear. First, the shoe and strap section are molded and perforations are made in the shoe and strap. Next, a pair of two-piece rivets are then inserted through the apertures to attach the strap to the shoe. A male part of the two-piece rivet is inserted through a perforation in the shoe and a perforation in the strap and then a female part of the two piece rivet is snapped into place to attach the strap to the shoe.
The problem with using a two-piece rivet is that there is a weakness in the two-piece rivet at the point were the two pieces snap together, i.e. what is snapped together can be unsnapped. Although U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,858 teaches that the two-piece rivet can be made of plastic or made from some other material such as metal or rubber, whatever material these two-piece rivets are made out of, the material cannot be so rigid that the two-piece rivet will not snap together. Because of this limitation that the material used must be elastic enough to allow the two-piece rivet snap together, the rivet can be snapped apart causing the strap to detach from the shoe. Additionally, the snap mechanism that allows the two-pieces of the rivet to snap together, is by necessity weaker than a solid shaft would be, allowing the two-piece rivet to break more easily. If the two-piece rivet is made of a material that is too strong and rigid to try to prevent the two-piece rivet snapping apart or breaking, the two-piece rivet will not snap together.
Because, the strength and rigidity of the material that the two-piece rivet is made out of is limited by the amount of force necessary to snap the two-pieces together, there is always a limitation in the material used for the two-piece rivet and there is a trade-off between the strength of the material being used to make the two-piece rivet and the ability to snap the two-pieces together. Additionally, there is an inherent weakness in the two-piece rivet as a result of the snap mechanism having to be used. Because the two-piece rivet is used to secure a foot of a person in the footwear, substantial forces and stress are placed on the two-piece rivet and it is common for these two-piece rivets to unsnap or break.
The present disclosure is directed to a piece of footwear and method of manufacturing the piece of footwear using a single piece that overcomes problems in the prior art.
In a first aspect, a footwear piece is provided. The footwear piece has a sole; an upper portion extending from the sole and having a rear opening operative to receive a foot of a user and a footwear aperture defined in a back part of the upper portion, wherein a first material defining the footwear aperture has a first thickness and is elastic such that a diameter of the footwear aperture can be increased by stretching; a strap having a first end, a second end and a strap aperture defined in the first end of the strap, wherein a second material defining the strap aperture has a second thickness and is elastic such that a diameter of the strap aperture can be increased by stretching; and a connector having a shaft with a length substantially equal to a total of the first thickness plus the second thickness, an inner head fixedly connected to a first end of the shaft and an outer head fixedly connected to a second end of the shaft. The connector secures the first end of the strap to the upper portion by the shaft extending through the footwear aperture and the strap aperture.
In as second aspect, a method of attaching a strap to a footwear piece using a connector is provided. The method comprises: providing a connector having a shaft, an inner head fixedly connected to a first end of the shaft and an outer head fixedly connected to a second end of the shaft; aligning a footwear aperture defined in a back part of an upper portion of the footwear piece with a strap aperture defined at an end of the strap; stretching the strap aperture and the footwear aperture to allow the inner head of the connector to pass through the footwear aperture and strap aperture; passing the inner head of the connector through the footwear aperture and strap aperture; and once the inner head of the connector has passed through the footwear aperture and the strap aperture, allowing a diameter of the footwear aperture and a diameter of the strap aperture to contract to a size less than a diameter of the inner head of the connector.
In one aspect, a piece of footwear comprising a main and a strap is provided. The main portion comprises a sole and an upper. The sole cushions a bottom of a foot of a wearer and the upper portion keeps the foot of the wearer positioned against the sole. The strap is pivotally connected to the upper portion of the footwear piece and when worn across a back of a foot of the wearer, holds the foot of the wearer in the upper portion of the piece of footwear.
A first pair of apertures is positioned near a back of the upper portion. This first pair of apertures corresponds to a second pair of apertures located near ends of the strap. The material surrounding the first and second pair of apertures is sufficiently elastic so that the apertures can be temporarily stretched, increasing the size of the apertures. A pair of single-piece connectors are used to attach the strap to the upper portion of the piece of footwear, with each connector passing through one of the apertures on an end of the strap section and one of the apertures on the upper of the footwear so that the pair of one-piece connectors pivotally attach the strap to the main portion of the piece of footwear.
The connectors are formed as a single piece. They are not made of a number of pieces meant to be snapped together to form the connector or unsnapped. Rather than needing to be snapped together in order to attach the strap to the upper portion of the piece of footwear, the material around the apertures is stretched to increase the size of the apertures so that a head of the connector will pass through the aperture and then the aperture is allowed to return to its original size, with the connector attaching the strap to the upper portion of the piece of footwear.
While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred embodiments are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood in conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the several diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:
Upper portion 24 is constructed to receive the front of a foot of a person and can be open at the toes or closed at the toes. Upper portion 24 can also have perforations for decoration or utility and in some embodiments upper portion 24 is made up of a number of straps, such as a sandal.
Rear opening 18 is sized to allow a foot of a user to pass through the rear opening 18 and into the upper portion 24.
Positioned near a back part of the upper portion 24 of the footwear piece 10 near the rear opening 18 are a first footwear aperture 26 and a second footwear aperture 28. The material surrounding the first footwear aperture 26 and second footwear aperture 28 is elastic so that the first footwear aperture 26 and second footwear aperture 28 can be temporarily stretched larger to increase the size of the first footwear aperture 26 and second footwear aperture 28.
In this manner, a user can select a decorative object 72 of his or her choice and connect it to the connector 66, allowing a user to alter the appearance of the connector 66, without having to replace the connector 66. When a user wishes to switch the look of the connector 66, he or she can choose a different decorative object 72 and attach it to the connector 66.
The construction of the footwear begins with the construction of the main portion 110. If the main portion is molded in one piece, the main portion is integrally molded at this step. Alternatively, if the main portion 110 is made of a number of different pieces, the different pieces can be molded separately or constructed separately at this point and attached together to form the main portion. The main portion is constructed such that material surrounding an area where perforations will be made in step 114 is sufficiently elastic to allow the eventual apertures to be temporarily stretched larger.
The strap is constructed at step 112. If the strap portion is formed of molded material, the strap is molded at step 112. Alternatively, if the strap is made of several pieces, the pieces can be assembled at this point. The strap is constructed such that the material used around the ends is sufficiently elastic so that apertures made in this material at step 116 can be stretched to make the apertures temporarily larger.
At step 114, a pair of perforations are made in the main portion to form an aperture on either side of the main portion where the strap potion will be attached to the main portion and at step 116 a pair of perforations are made in the strap, with a perforation located near each end of the strap which form a strap aperture at each end of the strap.
To connect the strap to the footwear piece steps 118, 120, 122 and 125 are followed. The strap can be connected at any time after the strap and main portion are constructed. At step 118, the footwear apertures in the main portion are aligned with the strap apertures in the strap and these footwear and strap apertures are stretched at step 120. With the apertures stretched from step 120, one-piece connectors are inserted through the stretched apertures, at step 122, with the stretched apertures clearing an inner head of the connectors.
After the one-piece connectors have been inserted through the stretched apertures at step 122, the apertures are allowed to return to their unstretched shape, at step 124, causing the one-piece connectors to be held in place in the footwear and strap apertures.
In this manner, a strap can be attached to a footwear piece using one-piece connectors to pivotally attach a strap to a main portion of the footwear piece. By using one-piece connectors the one-piece connectors can be constructed of a fairly rigid and strong material increasing their durability.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or modifications in structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/786,192, filed Mar. 27, 2006.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60786192 | Mar 2006 | US |