The present invention relates to a shoe with a flexible upper and, more particularly, to a shoe having a flexible upper formed of a four-way stretch fabric.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,576 disclosed a bicycle shoe, which generally includes a sole portion, a harness, a rigid insole, a cushioned insole, and an envelope, wherein the envelope is made of a mesh fabric. U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,535 disclosed an article of footwear, which generally includes an innerboot, a harness, and an adjustable strap, wherein the innerboot is made of a mesh fabric. Although persons wear shoes of the same size, the thicknesses and widths of their feet may be different, and thus they may have different comfort while wearing the shoes. Due to the insufficient elasticity of mesh fabrics, shoes made of mesh fabrics cannot be deformed properly according to one foot of a user, so that the user may feel uncomfortable while wearing the shoes.
Thus, an objective of the present invention is to provide a shoe that can solve the unfit problem of conventional shoes due to the insufficient elasticity of the mesh fabrics making the uppers of the shoes.
To achieve this and other objectives, a shoe with a flexible upper of the present invention includes an outsole, a main body, and at least one first elastic lace. The outsole has a bottom surface and a top surface and defines a first groove extending across the top surface in a transverse direction to reach two opposite lateral sides of the outsole. The main body is attached to the top surface of the outsole and includes an insole and a flexible upper. The insole has a shape corresponding to the top surface of the outsole and is attached to the outsole. The flexible upper is formed of a four-way stretch fabric and attached to a peripheral edge of the insole. The insole and the flexible upper define a receiving space. A top opening is defined by the flexible upper and communicates with the receiving space to allow one foot of a user to be accommodated in the receiving space. The flexible upper is deformable to some extent to conform with the shape of the foot. The first elastic lace is routed through the first groove to loop around the main body to limit the extent of deformation of the flexible upper.
In an embodiment, the top surface of the outsole has a rear section, a middle section, and a front section. The flexible upper has a rear portion corresponding to the rear section, a middle portion corresponding to the middle section, and a front portion corresponding to the front section. The first groove is defined in the middle section of the top surface of the outsole. The first elastic lace is routed to loop around the middle portion of the flexible upper.
In an embodiment, the first groove has first and second ends respectively at the two opposite lateral sides of the outsole. The top surface of the outsole defines a second groove which is not intersected with the first groove and has first and second ends at the two opposite lateral sides of the outsole respectively. The first ends of the first and second grooves are at the same side of the outsole, and the second ends of the first and second grooves are at the same side of the outsole. The first elastic lace is routed such that two opposite ends thereof respectively extends out of the first and second ends of the first groove to be intercrossed at a top of the middle portion of the flexible upper and respectively fixed at the first and second ends of the second groove. The main body is provided at the top of the middle portion of the flexible upper with a retaining strip which extends downwardly from the top opening of the flexible upper and defines at least one hole for allowing the first elastic lace to be intercrossed therein.
In an embodiment, the shoe is provided with at least one second elastic lace, and the first and second elastic laces are routed to loop around the flexible upper to limit the extent of the deformation of the flexible upper. Two opposite ends of the first elastic lace are respectively fixed at the second end of the first groove and the first end of the second groove, and two opposite ends of the second elastic lace are respectively fixed at the first end of the first groove and the second end of the second groove. The first elastic lace and the second elastic lace are intercrossed at a top of the middle portion of the flexible upper. Furthermore, the main body is provided at the top of the middle portion of the flexible upper with a retaining strip which extends downwardly from the top opening of the flexible upper and defines at least one hole for allowing the first and second elastic laces to be intercrossed therein.
In an embodiment, the shoe is provided with at least one bridging ring. The first elastic lace is routed such that two opposite ends thereof extends out of the first and second ends of the first groove to be inserted through the bridging ring and respectively fixed at the first and second ends of the second groove.
In an embodiment, the first elastic lace and the second elastic lace are inserted through the bridging ring and fastened together by the bridging ring at the top of middle portion of the outsole. The bridging ring is positioned in the hole of the retaining strip.
The present invention has the following advantages over the prior art:
The flexible upper of the shoe, which is formed of a four-way stretch fabric, can be deformed in response to the shape differences of users' feet, and furthermore, one or more elastic laces can limit the deformation of the flexible upper to allow the shoe to be firmly worn by a user, and these features can solve the unfit problem of conventional shoes due to the insufficient elasticity of the mesh fabrics making the uppers of the shoes.
The present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of this invention described in connection with the drawings.
The illustrative embodiments may best be described by reference to the accompanying drawings where:
A shoe with a flexible upper according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in
In use, one foot of a user can be inserted through the top opening 24 to enter the receiving space 23. The flexible upper 22 can be deformed to some extent by the foot and can be in contact with the outer surface of the foot. The first elastic lace 3 can limit the extent of the deformation of the flexible upper 22 and can be snugly fitted around the user's foot. As such, the shoe can be comfortably worn by the user, and thus can solve the unfit problems of conventional shoes due to insufficient elasticity of the mesh fabrics making the uppers of the shoes.
More specifically, as shown in
The second groove 14 is not intersected with the first groove 13 and has a first end 141 and a second end 142 at the two opposite lateral sides of the outsole 1 respectively. The first ends 131 and 141 of the first and second grooves 13 and 14 are at the same side of the outsole 1, and the second ends 132 and 142 of the first and second grooves 13 and 14 are at the same side of the outsole 1. The first elastic lace 3 is routed such that two opposite ends thereof extend out of the first and second ends 131, 132 of the first groove 13 to be intercrossed or interlaced at a top of the middle portion 222 of the flexible upper 22, and then the two opposite ends of the first elastic lace 3 can be respectively fixed at the first and second ends 141, 142 of the second groove 14 by glue or sewing, as shown in
In one embodiment, the shoe can be further provided with at least one second elastic lace 4 to work with the first elastic lace 3 to allow the shoe to be firmly fitted to a user's foot. Referring to
The scope of the invention is to be indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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105122979 | Jul 2016 | TW | national |