Abstract:
Novel footwear is disclosed. The footwear includes two deployable sidewalls, a deployable tongue and heel section. In the preferred embodiment, these all are equipped with telescoping rails and when in the deployed position allow the user to put on the shoe without laces. When in use, the deployable sections are fastened with an electromagnetic seal. On the tongue is a display, made up of LED or OLED elements, which may also include solar cells to power the internally stowed rechargeable battery. The upper section of the shoe is preferably made from a composite carbon fiber, or of aluminum, and contains a plurality of through apertures for ventilation and breathability.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to footwear and, more specifically, to footwear substantially comprised primarily of carbon fiber and aluminum, preferably recycled aluminum, forming the body of the shoe that incorporates a power source, electronic circuits and a plurality of selectively illuminable lighting and/or display elements. 
     The body of the shoe has an outsole and an upper, the upper primarily made of the aforementioned carbon fiber and recycled aluminum and includes a plurality of deployable shoe-body sections that are movable from a seated (wearing) position to an open position that enables the user to place their foot within the shoe and wherethen the sections are slotted back to their seated or closed positions. 
     The deployable sections include left and right quarter sections, a heel quarter section and a vamp section, each of which having at least one rail extending from its respective section into the body of the shoe to allow each section to be controllably moved back and forth from the seated to the open position and back again. Preferably each deployable section has a pair of these rails spaced apart on opposing sides of each of the sections. Each rail has a catch on its distal end that mates with a pair of corresponding receptacles in both the seated and the deployed positions. These catches could be of many types, such as a mating nub and dimple that will securely hold the individual deployable section in its closed seated position and serve as a stop in its open position. 
     Furthermore, the footwear of the present invention provides for an additional latching mechanism comprising an electromagnetic lock between the footwear body and each of the deployable sections with an actuator for selectively engaging and disengaging each or all of them. 
     Positioned peripherally and located approximately between the upper and the outsole are a plurality of illuminable lighting elements, such as LEDs or OLEDs that are in communication with an electronic circuit so that users can either enable or disable this illumination and, optionally, vary the display color. The heel area also provides for illuminable elements that may activate either through pressure transmitted to the heel while walking or be powered continuously through a switch. The vamp also may provide an OLED display in communication with electronic circuits, this display would preferably incorporate microprocessors and components that would enable WIFI and Bluetooth communication, or the like, for displaying messages, information, entertainment, etc. on the display transmitted from or through a mobile device, such as a cell or “smart” phone. 
     Power to the display, electromagnetic locks, and various illuminable elements is provided through a rechargeable battery, preferably located in the heel area of the footwear and could be either superseded or supplemented by solar cells positioned beneath the OLED display or on the upper sections of the shoe body. 
     Circuit leads run through an aluminum tubing framework extending between the vamp OLED display, the various illuminable elements and power supply. The aluminum framework for the circuit leads is positioned between the outsole and insole, and may be incorporated in the lining of the shoe. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There are other shoes and types of footwear designed with various displays, ornamentation, and fastening mechanisms. While these articles of footwear may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear having an outsole and upper section with the upper manufactured primarily from recycled aluminum and/or carbon fiber with deployable sections that are extendable and retractable enabling the user to put the shoes on and take them off. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear wherein the deployable sections include a left and right quarter section, a heel quarter section, and a vamp section. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear wherein each of the deployable sections has at least one rail whereby the respective deployable section can be selectively moved from a closed state to an open state and then back to a closed state. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear wherein each of the rails extends from a respective deployable section into the body of the shoe either between the lining and vamp or between the insole and outsole. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear wherein each of said rails has a latching mechanism comprising a catch on its distal end that mates with a corresponding deployed catch receptacle and seated catch receptacle within the body of the footwear that securely holds the respective deployable section in its closed seated position and in its open position when deployed. 
     A yet further object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear having an additional latching mechanism comprising at least one switchably powered electromagnet positioned between its respective deployable section and the body of the shoe. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear incorporating an actuator for engaging and disengaging said electromagnets. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear wherein at least one of said deployable sections has an LED or OLED display on the exterior section of the deployable section. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear wherein said power source is at least one rechargeable battery incorporated into the body of the shoe. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear wherein the power source may include a plurality of solar cells in electrical communication with the rechargeable battery. 
     A yet further object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear having a plurality of micro perforations that provide for venting and that increase the breathability of the shoe. 
     Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds. 
     The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing an article of footwear having an upper manufactured primarily from carbon fiber and aluminum with deployable section forming a unique means of pedial attachment where the deployable section are moveable between a closed position to an open position allowing the user to put their foot in the throat of the shoe wherethen the deployed sections are moved to their closed position thereby encompassing the user&#39;s foot. Also provided are illuminable elements arrayed around the footwear and a display for exhibiting graphics. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawing, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views. 
     The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an illustrative view of the footwear of the present invention in use. 
         FIG. 2 , shown is a side view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the footwear of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a partial sectional view of the deployable vamp section of the footwear of the present invention taken along the line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a chart of the present invention. The sk-7 will receive its content via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or a pre loaded micro-SD card. 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart of the components of the footwear of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCED NUMERALS 
     Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate the use of the present invention. With regard to the reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the various drawing figures.
       10  footwear     12  display     14  deployable tongue     16  first deployable sidewall     18  second deployable sidewall     20  aeration apertures     22  upper section     24  outsole     26  peripheral LED units     28  deployable heel section     30  solar cells     32  battery compartment     34  rechargeable battery     36  telescopic rails     40  carbon fiber/aluminum section     42  SD card/port     44  transceiver     46  D/A converter     48  speaker     50  electromagnetic switch     52  processor     54  memory     56  storage     58  rail receiving apertures   U user   T footwear throat   M electromagnets   

     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention. This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments, practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to appended claims. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , shown is an illustrative view of the footwear  10  of the present invention in use. Shown is the footwear  10  of the present invention having an outsole  24 , an upper section  22 , a first deployable sidewall  16  on the left side of the upper  22 , a second deployable sidewall  18  on the right side of the upper  22 , and a deployable tongue  14  with a display  12  attached thereto located on the top side of the upper  22 , as will be discussed further below. The footwear further provides micro ventilation aeration holes or apertures spread over and through the surface of the upper  22  and indicated at  20  for breathability, LED lighting, a microprocessor, a transceiver, an OLED display, solar cells, a battery power source and firmware for color display options. These will be discussed in detail further below. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , shown is a side view of the present invention. The footwear  10  of the present invention has an outsole  24  and an upper  22  and incorporates deployable sections (indicated at  14  and  18  in this Figure) that enable the user to place their foot in the footwear throat T and then close the same deployable sections thereby encompassing the foot. This will be illustrated more clearly in  FIG. 3 . Also shown are peripheral LEDs  26  (or other illumination devices) and the contemplated location of solar cells  30  that would supplement the rechargeable battery  38  located in the battery compartment  32 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , shown is a side view of the footwear  10  of the present invention. In this Figure, the deployable sections shown are second deployable sidewall  18  and deployable tongue  14 . Additionally shown in the deployed position is the heel section  28 . These sections deploy to the opened positions shown via telescopic rails  36  to allow the user U to place their foot in the shoe wherethen the deployable sections involved are moved to their seated position as seen in the previous Figures. The telescopic rails are received in rail receiving apertures  58  seen in the Figure. In the preferred embodiment seen herein, two sets of the receiving apertures are located in the lateral sides of the outsole  24  and another set in the heel section of the outsole  24  and the other sets in the upper section  22 . Note also the rechargeable battery  34  and the battery compartment cap  38 , which secures the battery  34  in compartment  32 . The footwear  10  further provides rail latching on the telescopic rails  36  that is preferably made up of a resilient mating nub and dimple disposed such that the deployable sections  14 ,  16 ,  18 , and  28  are latchingly engaged and held in both the seated and the open positions. Further provided are electromagnets M for each of the sections that will prevent inadvertent opening of the respective section until released by the user through an actuator. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , shown is a top view of the present invention. Shown is the foot apparel  10  of the present invention having a housing that includes telescopic rails  36  sliding out to deploy first and second sidewalls  16 ,  18  respectively, that, along with the deployable tongue  14  with its corresponding rails (seen in  FIG. 3 ) allows the user to insert their foot into the footwear  10  throat T and secure the improved footwear  10  to the feet without the use of shoelaces. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , shown is a partial sectional view of the deployable vamp section of the footwear of the present invention as taken along line  5 - 5  of FIG.  4 . In this partial view can be seen the contemplated carbon composite fiber section  40  of the invention which could, of course, be interspersed with various elastic materials for various degrees of flexibility, which would then form a rigid (or semi-rigid) structure to support the solar cells  30  and an OLED or other like display device  12  for exhibiting graphic images. Additional contemplated materials that could be used in the manufacture of the novel footwear  10  of the present invention are aluminum derived from recycling that would be mixed or otherwise disposed with elastic or semi-elastic material to form the shoe body. Aluminum, of course, comes to mind because of its light weight, easy availability, and its relatively low cost. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , shown is a chart of the present invention. The sk-7 display will receive its content via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi transmitted by mobile device or a pre loaded micro-SD card  42  (seen in  FIG. 7 ). This content could be any number of decorative motifs, or could be used to convey information to the user. For example, if the shoe was being worn by an athlete during a competition, the display could transmit instructions regarding the play or formation desired by the coach. It could provide a schematic of the field showing the location of the opposing team&#39;s players. In soccer (or football) for example, the player&#39;s attention is often located proximate their feet, so as to make it easy for them to see the display. 
     The peripheral LEDs could have a safety or decorative purpose. Various colors and patterns could be programmed into a small processor  50  contained within the shoe  10  as will be discussed regarding  FIG. 7 . Another potential use of the display could be to convey to the user some data regarding their bodily condition, such as pulse, respiration, or the like. This information could be displayed numerically or it could be conveyed otherwise, for example various colors in the display shading towards another as the user&#39;s pulse increased. Any number of other datum would occur to the practitioner: weather, GPS data, news updates, etc. These could also be conveyed through a speaker, as will be discussed below. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , shown is a flow chart of the components of the footwear of the present invention. Data is relayed to processor  52  through an SD card/port  42 , a transceiver  44 , or it could be stored in memory  54 . The processor then sends the required data to display  12  or to speaker  48 , in the latter case through D/A converter  46 . It should be noted at this point that the LED&#39;s seen in the previous Figs. are included in the description of display  12  regarding the discussion of this Figure. Additional, longer term storage of information, patterns, or the like may be held in storage as indicated at  56 . Also seen in  FIG. 7  is the switch or actuator  50  for the electromagnets M. 
     The use of the device, in summary, is that the electromagnet switch  50  is thrown, deactivating the magnets M and the first and second deployable sidewalls  16 ,  18 , the deployable tongue  14 , and the deployable heel section  28  are moved into the positions seen in  FIG. 3  (held in this position by a mating nub and dimple arrangement) thus allowing the user U to insert their foot into the throat T of the novel footwear  10 . The deployable sidewalls, tongue and heel section are then moved back into the foot securing position seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , being again held there by another mating nub and dimple arrangement as discussed above and switch  50  is activated, securing the deployable elements further through the relevant electromagnets M. The footwear  10  is powered by a rechargeable battery  34  that provides current to the transceiver  44  and, the display  12 , and the memory  54 . The battery  34  may be supplemented by solar cells  30  deployed, as is seen in the Figures, preferably upon the tongue  14 . All the components thus seen are connected through wires built into the footwear  10 . These connections through various moving parts of the footwear  10 , specifically the deployable sections of the invention may be achieved by having the wires run through the telescoping rails  36 , or through contacts brought into relationship with one another when the deployable elements are in the secure position ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ). 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above. 
     While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.