Article of footwear

An article of footwear being in the form of a sandle includes a platform, two straps anchored to the platform to secure the platform to a wearer's foot, and an expedient, such as a velcro strip, mounted to the edge of the platform for removably fastening an upper foot covering to the platform to convert the sandal to a shoe and vice versa. The sandal includes a sole, a heel provided on the sole, an arch-engaging loop, an ankle-encircling loop, and one or more toe-receiving loops. The sole, an arch, a wedged heel, and a plurality of channels for movably receiving the straps are formed in a single molded platform to reduce the number of fabrication steps and make the sandle lighter. Each of the loops is anchored to the sole for adjustably securing the sole to a wearer's foot and for adjustably engaging the toe or toes of the wearer's foot. The arch-engaging loop and the toe-receiving loops are formed by a first strap and the ankle-encircling loop is formed by a second strap. A buckle is carried by the first strap and cooperates with the second strap to adjustably connect the first strap to the second strap to secure the sole to the wearer's foot and to apply a corrective force to the toe or toes of the wearer's foot. The length of the first strap is variable to accommodate various sizes and shapes of wearer's feet by adjusting the position of the buckle.

In general, the present invention relates to articles of footwear, and more 
particularly to orthopedic footwear for treatment and convalescense of 
foot-related problems such as hallux valgus, splay foot, and hammer toe. 
Further, the article of footwear includes a removable upper foot covering 
to provide both cosmetic appearance and weather protection for the foot 
during treatment or convalescence. 
In my U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,678, issued Dec. 4, 1962, I have disclosed an 
orthopedic sandal including a single toe-receiving loop for the treatment 
of hallux valgus. However, it has been discovered that the sandal 
disclosed in my prior patent is stiff, heavy, uncomfortable, and lacks 
versatility. While the sandal was useful for the treatment of hallux 
valgus, many other foot-related problems were incapable of being treated 
by the sandal because of the problems noted above. 
Futhermore, after surgery, the foot has typically been placed in a plaster 
cast for convalescence, which greatly restricts the mobility of the 
patient. The article of footwear of the present invention can be used for 
convalescence and allows the patient to walk within a very short period of 
time after surgery. 
In a broad concept of the present invention, there is provided an article 
of footwear which includes a platform, an upper foot covering, and means 
for removably fastening the upper foot covering to the platform to allow 
interchangeability of the foot covering. 
An object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear 
having the capability of being converted from a sandal to a shoe and vice 
versa and which also allows an upper foot covering to be interchanged for 
color and/or style or to be discarded and replaced with a new foot 
covering. 
It is another object to provide an orthopedic sandal which includes a 
removable upper foot covering for cosmetic appearance and for protection 
of the foot against inclement weather during treatment and/or 
convalescence. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article of 
footwear being in the form of a sandal for the treatment and/or 
convalescence of foot-related problems including hallux valgus, splay 
foot, and hammer toe, which includes a sole, a heel, and two straps 
anchored to the sole forming one or more toe-receiving loops, an 
arch-engaging loop, and an ankle-encircling loop. The length of the strap 
forming the toe-receiving loops and the arch-engaging loop is variable to 
adapt the sandal to various sizes and shapes of wearer's feet. A buckle is 
carried by one of the straps and cooperates with the other strap to adjust 
the sizes of the various loops for securing the wearer's foot to the sole 
and for applying corrective forces to one or more of the toes, the arch, 
and the ankle of the wearer's foot. 
Other features of the present invention include a single molded platform 
comprising a sole, an arch, a wedged and flared heel, and a plurality of 
channels for receiving straps for securing the sandal to the wearer's 
foot. A heel cup is formed in a rear-foot portion of the platform and 
includes sides for holding the wearer's heel in place when corrective 
forces are applied to the toes of the foot. 
The formation of the sole, arch, and heel in a single platform eliminates 
the need for steel shanks, arch cookies, and separate heels, and makes the 
sandal lighter in weight, more flexible, and simpler in construction. 
Two layers of foam cushioning made of thermoplastic materials are attached 
to the sole of the sandal and may be softened and molded to perfectly 
accommodate any deformity associated with a particular wearer's foot.

Hallux valgus is a deformity of the foot in which the great toe is turned 
abnormally outward. Many times a painful bunion will accompany hallus 
valgus, but not necessarily. Furthermore, hallux valgus is most frequently 
caused by improper footwear. However, it may result from an injury or a 
disease such as gout or rheumatoid arthritis. Hammer toe is a deformity of 
one of the toes (such as the second toe) resulting from permanent annular 
flexion of the toe. Typically, the toe has retracted to a curled position. 
Splay foot describes a foot abnormality wherein the foot is flattened or 
spread out and the metatarsal shaft bones of the foot are separated. 
A sandal constructed in accordance with the present invention includes 
improvements for treating a wearer's foot having one or more of these 
conditions. The sandal may also be used as a splint for convalescence of 
the foot after surgery to correct one or more of the conditions described 
above. An improved strapping arrangement allows unlimited adjustment to 
accommodate swelling, bandages, or various sizes and shapes of the 
wearer's feet. 
Referring in general to FIGS. 1-5, various fabrication stages of an 
orthopedic sandal 2 (see FIG. 5) constructed in accordance with the 
present invention are illustrated in there various Figs. Referring 
particularly to FIG. 1, a first stage in the fabrication of the sandal 2 
illustrated in FIG. 5 is the formation of a platform or body block 10. In 
one embodiment, this platform 10 is molded from a lightweight cork 
material to give it flexibility and minimal weight. However, it will be 
understood that the platform 10 may be molded of other lightweight 
material without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
Formed as an integral part of the platform 10 is a sole 12 having a rear 
foot portion 14 which includes a heel cup 16 of sufficient depth to 
provide sides 18 for holding the heel of a wearer's foot in place when 
corrective forces are applied to the toes in a manner to be described 
later. One of the major problems presently associated with applying 
corrective forces to the toe of a wearer's foot is the tendency of the 
wearer's heel to slide over the edge of the rear foot portion 14 of the 
sole 12. By forming a deep heel cup 16 in the rear foot portion 14 of the 
sole 12 having sides 18, more heel control is provided by the sandal 2. 
The rear foot portion 14 further includes a wedged heel 20 which is flared 
slightly to the medial and lateral borders of the rear foot portion 14. 
The wedged heel 20 provides a natural arch shape to the sole 12 and the 
flaring of the heel 20 gives the sandal positive rear support to prevent 
the condition commonly known as running over or breaking down in the arch. 
As best illustrated in FIG. 2, a plurality of holes 22 are formed in the 
heel 20 to decrease the density and weight of the sandal 2. 
The sole 12 also includes an arch 30 formed as an integral part of the 
platform 10 and having a natural arch shape produced by the wedged heel 
20. 
As can be appreciated, the formation of the sole 12, the wedged heel 20, 
and the arch 30 in a single molded platform 10 eliminates the need for a 
separate steel shank, arch cookie, or heel typically used in the 
conventional fabrication process of an article of footwear. 
The sole 12 further includes a fore-foot portion 34 including a slot 36 
formed in the platform 10 for anchoring a strap to the platform 10 to 
secure the wearer's foot to the platform 10. Referring specifically to 
FIG. 2, an anchoring pin 38 is attached to the fore-foot portion 34 to 
anchor the strap and form toe-receiving loops in a manner to be described 
later. 
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, two channels 40 are formed in the platform 10 
for receiving straps to be anchored to the platform 10. Two other channels 
42 are also formed in the platform 10 for movably receiving the straps 
once they have been anchored by the anchoring pin 38 in the channels 40. 
A second fabrication stage of the sandal 2 shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated 
in FIG. 3 wherein channel shields 44 are attached to the platform 10 to 
cover the two channels 42 for movably receiving the straps and provide a 
buffer between the straps and an outsole which may be attached to the 
platform 10. Preferably, these shields 44 will be constructed of a 
material which allows free movement of the straps within the channels 42, 
e.g., such as a MYLAR material. A bottom layer of foam cushioning 50 
constructed of a thermoplastic material and having a shape generally 
equivalent to the shape of the platform 10 is attached to the platform 10. 
The material should have a density sufficient to maintain cushioning under 
the body weight of the wearer of the sandal 2. Attached to the bottom 
layer of foam cushioning 50 is a top layer of foam cushioning 52 also 
constructed of a thermoplastic material and having a shape generally 
equivalent to the shape of the platform 10. The top layer 52 should be 
sufficiently soft so that it conforms readily to the contours of the 
plantar surface of the wearer's foot. These two layers of foam cushioning 
50, 52 give an even weight distribution to the sandal 2 with no particular 
pressure points. By using thermoplastic materials for the construction of 
the layers 50, 52, the insole can be heated, softened, and molded to 
perfectly accommodate the most extreme deformities of the wearer's foot. 
This can easily be performed by either the wearer or a physician attending 
the wearer by utilizing a heat gun or hot-air blower to soften the 
thermoplastic material. 
Referring now to FIG. 4, a first strap 60 is positioned within the slot 36 
formed in the fore-foot portion 34 of the sole 12 and anchored to the 
platform 10 by the anchoring pin 38 to form an arch-engaging loop 62 and 
one or more toe-receiving loops 64. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the 
anchoring pin 38 also provides a guide for forming two toe-engaging loops 
64, one for applying a corrective force to the great toe and the other for 
applying a corrective force to the second toe. It will be understood that 
three additional toe-receiving loops 64 may be formed from strap 60 by 
attaching three additional anchoring pins 38 to the fore-foot portion 34 
of the sole 12 to receive all five toes of a wearer's foot and allow 
corrective forces to be applied to each toe. The strap 60 is positioned in 
the channels 42 to form the arch-engaging loop 62 and a terminal portion 
68 carried on one side of the platform 10. The entire length of the strap 
60 includes perforations 66 for varying the length of the strap 60 to 
accommodate various sizes and shapes of feet. A buckle 70 is adjustably 
carried by the terminal portion 68 of the strap 60 by forming a 
buckle-retaining loop 76 and utilizing the perforations 66 to receive a 
male portion 72 and female portion 74 of a Chicago screw or soft-split 
rivet to hold the buckle in position. Importantly, the strap 60 can be cut 
and the buckle repositioned by simply removing the screw or rivet and 
reforming the buckle-retaining loop 76 to carry the buckle 70. 
Accordingly, the perforations 66, the buckle-retaining loop, and the screw 
or rivet allow unlimited adjustment of the toe-receiving loops 64 and the 
arch-engaging loops 62 to accommodate feet of various sizes and shapes. 
A second strap 80 is also anchored to the platform in a channel 40 
utilizing any conventional means for anchoring straps to shoe soles. As 
best illustrated in FIG. 4, the strap 80 is brought across the top of the 
wearer's foot to form an ankle-encircling loop 82. The second strap 80 
also includes perforations 84 along its entire length and a terminal 
portion 86 which, in cooperation with the buckle 70 carried by the first 
strap 60, provides means for connecting the first strap to the second 
strap to secure the platform 10 to the wearer's foot. Importantly, it 
should be noted that the second strap initially crosses the upper portion 
of the foot, encircles the heel, and again crosses the upper portion of 
the foot at point 88 to provide positive support to the heel and secure 
the heel in position. 
When the sandal 2 is fabricated, the straps 60 and 80 should be left extra 
long to allow fitting for different sizes and shapes of feet; however, 
once the foot has been positioned in the sandal 2 and various adjustments 
made to fit the sandal 2 to the foot, the unneeded portions of the straps 
may be cut off. These features give the orthopedic sandal 2 of the present 
invention considerable versatility with respect to its adaptation to 
treatment and convalescence of various sizes, shapes, and deformities of a 
wearer's foot. 
The completely fabricated orthopedic sandal 2 is illustrated in FIG. 5, and 
further includes four short straps 90 attached to the rear foot portion 14 
of the sole 12, two on either side 18 of the heel cup 16. These straps 90 
are terminated in upper eyes 92 for receiving intermediate portions of the 
ankle-encircling loop 82 to restrict upward movement of the loop 82. This 
improved construction gives positive support to the heel and ankle of the 
wearer's foot. 
As further illustrated, the platform 10 is provided with a decorative 
covering 94 and the construction of the molded platform 10 allows a 
variety of outsoles 98 to be easily attached to the platform 10 by either 
cementing or a vulcanizing process. In one embodiment of the sandal 2, a 
soft rubber threaded non-slip outsole is attached to the platform 10. 
Use of the sandal 2 for treatment and/or convalescence can best be 
described by continuing to refer to FIG. 5. After the first strap 60 has 
been adjusted by positioning the buckle on the terminal portion 68 to 
accommodate for the particular size and shape of the wearer's foot, the 
wearer's foot will be placed through the ankle-encircling loop and the 
arch-engaging loop, and the toes within the toe-receiving loops 64. The 
terminal portion 86 of the second strap 80 is then positioned within the 
buckle 70, and the first strap is pulled tightly so that the toe-receiving 
loops 64 engage the toes and apply a corrective force to pull the great 
toe outward and straighten the second toe. The arch-engaging loop 62 
engages the arch of the wearer's foot to apply corrective force and pull 
together the metatarsal bones of the foot. The overlapping of the 
ankle-encircling loop 82 at point 88 provides a positive support to the 
ankle and heel of the wearer's foot. Accordingly, pulling the first strap 
62 and the second strap 82 and connecting the two straps utilizing the 
buckle 70 secures the wearer's foot to the platform 10 and applies 
corrective and supportive forces to the toes, arch, and angle of the 
wearer's foot. The four short straps 90 and the heel cup sides 18 (not 
shown in FIG. 5) hold the heel in a permanent position when the corrective 
forces are applied to the toes of the wearer's foot. 
Illustrated in FIG. 6 is a covered article of footwear 100 which includes 
the orthopedic sandal 2 described hereinabove and illustrated in FIGS. 
1-5. The covered article of footwear 100 includes an upper foot covering 
102 which is removable for converting the orthopedic sandal 2 to a covered 
shoe 100 and vice versa. As previously discussed, the upper foot covering 
102 gives the sandal 2 a cosmetic appearance and provides protection to 
the foot against inclement weather during treatment or convalescence. 
Mounted to the sandal 2 and the upper foot covering 102 are expedients for 
fastening the upper foot covering 102 to the sandal 2. In one embodiment, 
these expedients may include strips of velcro 104 edge-mounted to the 
sandal 2 and mounted to the bottom of the upper foot covering 102 in 
mating relationship for removably fastening the upper foot covering 102 to 
the sandal 2. One surface 108 of the upper foot covering 102 is slitted to 
form an opening 110 to facilitate the removal and fastening the covering 
102 to the sandal 2. Provided on either side of the slitted opening 110 of 
the covering 102 are two velcro strips 112, 113, again positioned in 
mating relationship to close the opening 110 after the covering 102 has 
been fastened to the sandal 2. In one embodiment of the upper foot 
covering 102, a lace 114 is threaded through eyelet holes 116 provided on 
opposing sides of the covering 102 to allow the covering to be drawn 
together and provide a snug fit to the wearer's foot. It will be 
understood that other means may be provided in the covering for drawing it 
around the wearer's foot. Furthermore, various other means may be employed 
for fastening the upper foot covering 102 to the sandal 2 without 
departing from the scope of the invention. For example, snapping fasteners 
may likewise be mounted to the edge of the sandal 2 and to the bottom 
portion of the upper covering 102 in mating relationship to fasten the 
covering 102 to the sandal 2. 
In another embodiment of the present invention, a versatile covered article 
of footwear 150 is illustrated in FIG. 7. The article of footwear 150 
includes a platform or body block 152 which may or may not include means 
for securing the platform to the wearer's foot. An upper foot covering 160 
which is interchangeable with other similarly constructed upper foot 
coverings 160 is removably fastened to the platform 152 in a manner 
similar to the fastening of the upper foot covering 102 to the sandal 2 as 
described hereinabove. The interchangeability of the upper foot coverings 
allows the wearer of the footwear to change the foot covering, for 
example, to change the coloring of the footwear. Again, velcro strips 162, 
164 are mounted to the platform 152 and to the bottom of the upper foot 
covering 160 in mating relationship to provide means for fastening the 
foot covering 160 to the platform 152, although other fastening means may 
be employed without departing from the scope of the invention. A surface 
166 of the covering 160 is slitted to provide an opening 168 for 
facilitating the removal and fastening of the covering 160 to the platform 
152. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the slit has been provided on the top of 
the wearer's foot in such a fashion that the velcro strips function in a 
manner similar to a zipper. Importantly, however, it should be noted that 
various designs of platforms 152 and upper foot coverings 160 may be 
employed in accordance with this invention to provide a versatile covered 
article of footwear 150 wherein the upper foot covering 160 is 
interchangeable in accordance with the desires of the wearer of the 
footwear.