Patent ID: 9655401
Date: 2017-05-23
CPC Classifications: A43B,A43C

Claim:
1. An elastomeric shoe having a substantially open top portion, the shoe comprising: a sole defining an upwardly directed longitudinal arc; and a stretchable upper portion fixed to said sole comprising an elastic top line configured to be free of wrinkles in an unworn state; wherein: at least said upper portion is made of an elastomeric material and is configured to stretch, during use, to conform to a foot of a wearer and, upon removal, to return to its original dimensions; and said elastic top line is configured to stretch substantially in tension, allowing said sole to achieve a substantially planar orientation when placed upon the wearer's foot, and conform to a top portion of the wearer's foot, thereby securely holding said shoe to said foot; wherein said elastic topline is configured as a compound arc; said topline arch comprises a first topline arc and a second topline arc; wherein said first topline arc defines an angle of between 32° and 38°, said angle being measured from a center of a first topline circle, having its center located on a topline reference axis, which is normal to a plane tangential to a topline curve transition point between said first topline arc and said second topline arc, said reference axis positioned at the same longitudinal position as said topline curve transition point and substantially laterally centered within said shoe, to a point of intersection between a circumference of said first topline circle and a front-most portion of said first topline arc; wherein said second topline arc defines an angle of between 6° and 12°, said angle being measured from a center of a second topline circle, having its center located on the topline reference axis, to a point of intersection between a circumference of said second topline circle and a rear-most portion of said second topline arc; and wherein the angles of said first topline arc and said second topline arc, with respect to said reference axis, are kept constant across various shoe sizes, but the radii of the circles from which said arcs are taken are adjusted substantially in accordance with the following equations, where “x” indicates women's US shoe size: