Abstract:
A sports shoe comprising a semirigid shell divided into a heel unit and a separate toe unit, which are slidingly associated, the shell containing a soft innerboot that comprises a detachable interconnection for connection of an element for at least partial covering and/or fastening of the soft innerboot, the covering and/or fastening element being conveniently associated with the toe unit and protruding therefrom.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a sports shoe, such as for example a roller skate or ice skate.  
         [0002]     Adjustable-size skates are currently commercially available which are usually constituted by a shell divided into a heel unit and a separate toe unit, which are slidingly associated along an axis that lies longitudinally to the shoe.  
         [0003]     A supporting frame for an ice-skating blade or for a plurality of wheels is associated with the heel unit in a downward region.  
         [0004]     The user can insert his foot within a soft innerboot that is accommodated inside the shell and can then fasten his foot inside the sports shoe by activating closure means arranged transversely to the shell or transversely to the two flaps of the soft innerboot.  
         [0005]     Said soft innerboot further has means that are elastically deformable at least in a longitudinal direction in order to allow an elongation that is equal to the elongation of the shell.  
         [0006]     The main drawback of this known type of sports shoe is the fact that a selected elongation of the shell, obtained by sliding the toe unit forward with respect to the heel unit, is often not matched by an equally effective elongation of the soft innerboot.  
         [0007]     Accordingly, there is the drawback of having available a known type of sports shoe that can be used comfortably for only part of the size range and not all over the size range for which the shoe was designed.  
         [0008]     In particular, the elongation of the soft innerboot often must be achieved by inserting the foot in such innerboot, with consequent user discomfort.  
         [0009]     Another important drawback consists in that due to manufacturing requirements the shell often does not surround the soft innerboot completely but does so only partially at the toe and heel.  
         [0010]     Thereby, a further drawback is due to the fact that the exposed parts of the soft innerboot can be subjected to wear or damage.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     The aim of the present invention is therefore to solve the noted technical problems, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited known art, by providing a sports shoe of adjustable size that allows the user to have at his disposal all the sizes planned during design.  
         [0012]     Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a sports shoe that is comfortable to wear regardless of the preset size.  
         [0013]     Another important object of the present invention is to provide a sports shoe that allows to protect the soft innerboot against wear and any damage.  
         [0014]     Another object of the present invention is to provide a sports shoe that is structurally simple and has low manufacturing costs.  
         [0015]     This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a sports shoe, comprising a semirigid shell divided into a heel unit and a separate toe, unit, which are slidingly associated, and a soft innerboot that can be accommodated in said shell, characterized in that it comprises means for detachable interconnection between said soft innerboot and an element for at least partial covering and/or fastening of said soft innerboot, said element being associated with said toe unit and protruding therefrom. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description of an embodiment of the sports shoe according to the present invention, illustrated by way of nonlimiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the sports shoe according to the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIGS. 2 and 3  are two further partially exploded perspective views of the sports shoe shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     In the examples of embodiments that follow, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other examples of embodiment.  
         [0020]     With reference to the figures, the numeral  1  designates a sports shoe, such as for example a roller skate, with four wheels  2  arranged in line.  
         [0021]     Said wheels  2  are associated, by way of mechanical means  3  of a known type, with a supporting frame  4  whose transverse cross-section is arch-shaped, i.e. is like an inverted U.  
         [0022]     In particular, the wheels  2  are associated between the downward-pointing wings of the frame  4 .  
         [0023]     A box-like heel unit, designated by the reference numeral  5 , is associated above the rear portion of said frame  4  and is open at the front and top.  
         [0024]     At the front of the heel unit  5 , the frame  4  has, in an upward region, guides  6  for the longitudinal sliding of a toe unit  7 , from the lower surface of which, not shown, an edge  7   a  protrudes laterally and frontally and is designed to contain the foot of the user.  
         [0025]     The toe unit  7  and the heel unit  5  constitute a shell, generally designated by the reference numeral  8 , that is advantageously made of semirigid material and is adapted to contain a soft innerboot  9  for accommodating the foot of the user.  
         [0026]     The soft innerboot  9  can be associated with the heel unit  5  advantageously by further interlocking means.  
         [0027]     For example, such interlocking means are associated laterally with the soft innerboot  9 , approximately to the rear of the malleolar region, and comprise at least a pair of rigid cleats  10 , only one of which is shown in the figures.  
         [0028]     Said cleats  10  can be arranged within complementarily shaped openings  11  formed in the heel unit  5 , so as to ensure mutual locking once the foot has been inserted in the skate.  
         [0029]     The sports shoe  1  further comprises detachable interconnection means, designated by the reference numeral  12 , for interconnection between the soft innerboot  9  and an element for the at least partial covering and/or fastening of said soft innerboot  9 , such as for example a sheath or overshoe  13 .  
         [0030]     Said overshoe  13  is associated with the toe unit  7  at its front region and has two lateral flaps, respectively designated by the reference numerals  14   a  and  14   b , that protrude to the rear of said toe unit  7  toward the heel unit  5 .  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , said pair of flaps  14   a  and  14   b  affects or are adapted to enclose the soft innerboot  9  laterally, interposing itself partially between said innerboot and the sides of the heel unit  5 .  
         [0032]     The connection between the overshoe  13  and the soft innerboot  9  is achieved by way of said detachable interconnection means  12 : in this particular embodiment, shown merely by way of example, said means  12  are advantageously constituted by a tongue  15  that protrudes from the innerboot  9  approximately proximate to the toe region, can be arranged through a slot  16  formed transversely in the overshoe  13  and is provided with engagement means, designated by the reference numerals  17   a  and  17   b , for engagement with said soft innerboot  9 .  
         [0033]     In particular, the engagement means  17   a  and  17   b  can be constituted advantageously for example by a press-stud.  
         [0034]     The overshoe  13 , moreover, can comprise fastening means for fastening the shoe  1  around the user&#39;s foot, such as for example laces  18  guided between the flaps  14   a  and  14   b  of the overshoe  13 .  
         [0035]     Operation of the sports shoe is therefore as follows: with reference to the figures, when the toe unit is moved forward, the overshoe is forced to follow such movement, thus applying to the soft innerboot a traction with a point of application located at the detachable interconnection means.  
         [0036]     In this manner, the elongation of the soft innerboot occurs before foot insertion and is not due to the insertion of the user&#39;s foot.  
         [0037]     It has thus been found that the invention has achieved the intended aim and objects, a size-adjustable sports shoe having been provided which allows the user to have at his disposal all the sizes planned during design.  
         [0038]     The sports shoe according to the invention, moreover, is very comfortable regardless of the preset size, since the soft innerboot is deformed by the necessary extent before foot insertion.  
         [0039]     Moreover, the overshoe preserves the soft innerboot from wear and any damage, since it covers the lower part of said innerboot, i.e., the part that is particularly subjected to contacts with the ground or with other objects.  
         [0040]     The sports shoe, finally, is very simple from the structural standpoint and therefore has low manufacturing costs.  
         [0041]     The invention is of course susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.  
         [0042]     The materials used, as well as the dimensions that constitute the individual components of the invention, may be more pertinent according to specific requirements.  
         [0043]     Various means for performing functions as the ones required by the present invention and set forth in the illustrated preferred embodiment can be envisaged by those skilled in the art which are technically equivalent with those herein illustrated.  
         [0044]     The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. TV2002A000153 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.