Sandal

A sandal which is formed with a sole member and a thong member removably attached to the sole member for holding the sandal wearer's foot against the sole member. The thong member may be alternatively fitted over only the wearer's instep or a portion of the thong member may be withdrawn from the position of covering the wearer's instep and be positioned around the wearer's heel. SU The present invention relates to relatively simply constructed sandals for use mainly during recreational activities. PAC BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional sandals for use at the beach, poolside or related activities, generally slip on and off the wearer's feet quite easily but are somewhat securely held at the instep portion of the foot by a single split thong which fits over the instep. Though this is a convenient feature, there is the important drawback in that there is no practical way to keep the sandals on the wearer's feet while he is walking on rough surfaces, running or walking in water. The heel portion of the foot is too easily separated from the sandal. PAC SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In light of the above-mentioned drawback prevelant in conventional sandals, the present invention is designed to provide a sandal which overcomes this drawback, but which at the same time is as convenient to wear. The sandal of the present invention has the same style flexible thong fitted over the instep of the wearer, but this thong is divided into two parts, one of which is secured to the sole of the sandal and fitted over the wearer's instep and the other of which is fittable over the wearer's instep, but is also bendable away from the second thong to fit around the wearer's heel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sandal of the present invention has a sole 
member 6 with a thong member 1 attached thereto. Both the sole member and 
the thong may be made of any lightweight material such as rubber or vinyl 
chloride. In addition, the sole member may be produced by press stamping. 
The thong member 1 is made up of several parts 2, 3, 4 and 5. A piece 2 is 
formed to the forward portion of a foot strap 4 and has a base portion, 
opposite the end formed to the foot strap 4, which is fitted into a bore 7 
through the forward portion of said sole. In this manner, the forward 
portion of the thong member 1 is secured to the sole member 6. 
The rear portions 3,3 of the foot strap 4 also have base portions which are 
fitted into two holes 8,8 in the rear portion of the sole member 6. By 
inserting the base portions of the toe piece 2 and the rear portions 3,3 
into the holes 7,8,8 respectively, the thong member 1 is securely held to 
the sole member at three points. Separation of the sole member 6 and the 
thong member 1 at these three points 7,8,8 permits easy transportation and 
storage of each member separately. 
The foot strap 4 has integrally formed at the ends thereof near said rear 
portions 3,3 a heel strap 5. When the heel strap 5 is not drawn back and 
positioned around the heel of the wearer as shown in FIG. 2, it is folded 
forward and lies adjacent the foot strap 4 as shown in FIG. 1. In this 
forward position, the heel strap 5 simply helps to form a wider foot strap 
4 to fit across the wearer's instep. 
To wear the sandals of the present invention, the front piece 2 and the 
rear portions 3,3 of the thong member 1 are inserted into and held within 
the holes 7,8,8 respectively in the sole member 6. At the wearer's option, 
the heel strap 5 integrally formed with the foot strap 4 may be folded 
forward and the sandal will be held to the wearer's foot simply by the 
foot strap 4 and heel strap 5 fitting over the wearer's instep; the 
wearer's heel will be free to separate from the rear portion of the sole 
6. On the other hand, if it is desired to hold the wearer's heel snuggly 
against the rear portion of the sole, the heel strap 5 can be drawn back 
from its forward position adjacent the foot strap 4 and positioned around 
the wearer's heel. In this rearward position, the heel strap 5 completely 
prevents the sandal from slipping off the wearer's foot. 
It will be apparent that various modifications may be made to the above 
specifically described structural arrangements without departing from the 
scope of the invention.