Patent Application
20050076540
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a counter assembly, and more particularly to a pivotal counter assembly for a shoe.
2. Description of Related Art
A shoe has a counter portion to enclose the heel of a user who wears the shoe. In general, the counter portion is integrally formed on an upper of the shoe to make a continuous upper, which substantially includes a toe cup, a vamp and a counter portion. However, to put on or take off the shoe having a continuous upper with an integral counter portion is inconvenient. Therefore, a pivotal counter assembly is provided to enable the counter portion to be pivotally rotated, and the user can put on or take off the shoe conveniently.
A conventional pivotal counter assembly in accordance with the prior art substantially comprises a base, a counter plate and a positioning device. The base is embedded in a hole defined in the sole of the shoe. The counter plate is curved and is pivotally mounted on the base to serve as a counter portion of the upper of the shoe. The positioning device is mounted between the base and the counter plate to hold the counter plate in position. When the positioning device is released, the counter plate can be pivoted relative to the base. Accordingly, the user can put on or take off the shoe with the pivotal counter assembly.
However, at least one hand of a user is needed for releasing the positioning device of the conventional counter assembly, so the use of the conventional pivotal counter assembly is inconvenient.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a pivotal counter assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the invention is to provide a pivotal counter assembly for a shoe and one that is convenient in use. The pivotal counter assembly has a base, a pivot, a counter plate, a torsion spring, a push button, an engaging device and a biasing member. The base has a top, a bottom, a rear, a cavity defined in the rear and multiple threaded holes defined in the bottom. The pivot is pivotally mounted in the cavity in the base with a pivot pin and has a top, an outer surface and a pivotal hole with an inner surface axially defined in the pivot. The counter plate has a curved cross section and extends upward from the top of the pivot. The torsion spring is mounted around the pivot pin and is received in the pivotal hole in the pivot. The torsion spring has two ends connected respectively to the base and the pivot to provide a recoil force to the pivot. The push button is slidably mounted in the cavity in the base. The push button has a proximal end extending into the cavity and corresponding to the pivot and a distal end extending out from the cavity. The engaging device is mounted between the proximal end of the push button and the outer surface of the pivot to keep the pivot from rotating relative to the base and to hold the counter plate at a desired position. The biasing member is mounted between the push button and the base to provide a restitution force to the push button. When the push button is pushed, the engaging device will be disengaged and the pivot with the counter plate can be pivoted relative to the base so as to open the counter assembly. Accordingly, it is not necessary for a user to manually push the push button, and the use of the counter assembly is easy and convenient.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
The pivot (20) is pivotally mounted in the cavity (14) in the base (10) with a pivot pin (30). The pivot (20) has a top, an outer surface and a pivotal hole (22) with an inner surface axially defined in the pivot (20). In a specific embodiment, the pivot pin (30) is a screw extending into one side of the base (10) and through the pivot hole (22) in the pivot (20) and screwing into the other side of the base (10). In an alternative embodiment, the pivot pin is a rivet extending through the base (10) and the pivot hole (22) in the pivot (20) to pivotally mount the pivot (20) in the cavity (14) in the base (10).
The counter plate (26) has a curved cross section and extends upward from the top of the pivot (20) to serve as a counter portion on the shoe. In a specific embodiment, an outer layer (not shown) made of resilient material is coated on the counter plate (26) to improve the comfort of wearing the shoe.
The torsion spring (32) is mounted around the pivot pin (30) and is received in the pivotal hole (22) in the pivot (20). The torsion spring (32) has two ends connected respectively to the base (10) and the pivot (20) to provide a recoil force to the pivot (20). In a specific embodiment, the torsion spring (32) has two legs (322,324) extending respectively from the two ends. The pivot (20) has a groove (23) longitudinally defined in the inner surface defining the pivotal hole (22), and the base (10) has two tabs (17) separate to each other to define a gap (18) between the tabs (17). The legs (322,324) on the torsion spring (32) are received respectively in the groove (23) in the pivot (20) and the gap (18) in the base (10). Accordingly, when then counter plate (26) is rotated relative to the base (10), the torsion spring (32) will be twisted to store a recoil force.
With further reference to
The engaging device is mounted between the proximal end of the push button (40) and the outer surface of the pivot (20) to keep the pivot (20) from rotation relative to the base (10) and to hold the counter plate (26) at a desired position. In a specific embodiment, the engaging device comprises two engaging recesses (24) and an engaging tooth (42). The engaging recesses (24) are longitudinally defined in the outer surface of the pivot (20). The engaging tooth (42) is formed on the proximal end of the push button (40) and selectively engages with the one of the engaging recesses (24) in the pivot (20). With the engagement between the engaging tooth (42) and the corresponding engaging recess (24) in the pivot (20), the pivot (20) will be kept from rotation and held in place relative to the base (10). In an alternative embodiment, the engaging device comprises two engaging teeth formed on the outer periphery of the pivot (20) and an engaging recess defined in the proximal end of the push button (40) to selectively engage with one of the engaging teeth on the pivot.
The biasing member (48) is mounted between the push button (40) and the base (10) to provide a restitution force to the push button (40). In a specific embodiment, the push button (40) has a hole (46) defined in the proximal end for receiving one end of the biasing member (48).
With reference to
When the pushed plate (44) is pressed and the engaging device is released again, the counter plate (26) will automatically rotate back to a vertical condition as shown in
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
