This invention pertains to the field of athletic shoes. In detail the invention relates to a rubber sole pertaining to an athletic shoe designed for exercising while walking, by the use of inserted circular weights. These weights being variable and of one shape.
Many shoe designs have been developed in the last twenty years using the integration of weights and shoes for the purpose of exercise. U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,924 issued to Jack M. Sabat incorporates various different shapes of weights and uses various buckles and fasteners to adjust the variable weights.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,613 issued to James H. Williams uses flat weights that have been embodied in an interchangeable shoe insole. There is also U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,776 issued to Wagner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,921 issued to Valuikas, U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,982 issued to Mcgowan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,109,245 issued to R. P. Glynn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,781 issued to Bury, U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,743 issued to Roehrig Jr., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,432 issued to Stempski. Respectively none of the above shoe designs accomplish a total, complete and independent variable weight or weight shoe function.
The prior art designs for the field of weighted shoes: the weights are placed on various locations of the upper portions of the shoe, are not * concentrated in one part of the shoe, do not cover the entire movement of the foot, heel to toe etc. Use an array of various shapes of weights and an array of buckles and fasteners, are not independent from the upper portion of the shoe and are weighted insoles that do not belong to the actual construction of the shoe. All of these limitations make it tedious and time consuming to the wearer of these shoes.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a shoe that focuses only on the rubber sole of the shoe for the use of variable weight exchange and attach ability. It is a further objective to provide a shoe that uses weights of one geometrical shape only. It is a further objective to provide a shoe that allows weights to be distributed and centralized throughout their entire foot and not just in the heel to middle section of the foot. It is still a further objective of the invention provide a weighted shoe that does not interfere with the upper portion or material of the shoe; upper forefoot, heel, foreword end, and after end, etc. It is yet a further objective to allow the wearer to adjust and remove variable weights by the use of tools (allen wrench) or manually by means of a turning knob.
The objectives in the present art are respectively limited in the prior art and none of the inventions found, studied or researched include all of the requirements identified.
The present invention eliminates all of the inconveniences of prior art weighted shoe inventions and delivers all the objectives *described in the background of the invention. A weight sporters walking shoe provides a flexible rubber sole. The sole is made of a hard durable rubber material. The upper part of the shoe has an upper, forefoot, enclosed section, a heel-enclosed section, and a first and second side to the heel-enclosed section. The rubber sole portion has a foreword and after end and bottom surface. The sole of the shoe has five drilled out holes of different circular circumferences, which run in a tube horizontal fashion, to allow circular weights of different sizes and weight to fit in and out of the holes. The circular weights are made of metal steel and can be placed inside the five holes that run along the entire side of the shoes sole. The weights are smooth and round, with a top and bottom circular fine cut. The weights are equipped with a machined thread of half an inch on one end to allow for smooth attachment into the horizontal holes of the shoe's rubber sole. The horizontal holes are also lined with a smooth hard plastic coating; in a circular circumference tube fashion, to also allow for smooth attachment of the circular weights.
In the outer side of the rubber sole, the holes are equipped with a nipple ring of individual diameter, manufactured and placed a half inch inside the entrance of each hole to allow the machined threaded side of the weight to secure and tighten into the horizontal holes in the shoes rubber sole. In a variation of the invention, the weights are equipped with a turning knob of half an inch to allow for manually securing and tightening the weights into the sole of the shoe. Directly on top of the turning knob, there is also an allen wrench insert to allow tightening and securing of the weights by means of an allen wrench tool. This allows the weights to be secured and tightened manually or by the means of tools.
In yet a further variation the circular weights are of different weight and are stamped with numbers on each side to indicate the amount of heaviness. They are also of different circular circumference, according to the heaviness of each weight. They are also individually shaped and formed to attach to the five individual horizontal holes that extend along the side of the shoes rubber sole. The weight's shape is not changed in the variation of heaviness; they remain circular to allow simplicity.
In yet another variation of the invention there is also a rubber ring of one sixteenth of an inch above the half inch machined thread of the weights to allow a tight pressure grip by the use of the rubber ring.
As illustrated in
In a variation of the invention, as illustrated in
In a variation of the invention the means 106 of holding nipple ring 98 in place further comprises a section of the rubber sole 18 that covers each nipple ring entirely as shown in
In operation the weights are attached and released by turning the turning knob 66.
The weight sporter athletic shoe 6 has been described with reference to particular embodiments. Other modifications and enhancements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims that follow.
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Number | Date | Country |
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346298 | Dec 1989 | EP |