FOOTWEAR

Abstract: A shoe comprising a sole, and an upper, the upper having left and right portions which each terminate in an upper edge, the two upper edges being opposite each other and defining a gap therebetween. A web overlies the gap, the web being connected to the sole or the upper by at least one elastic member. The web and the elastic member are arranged to provide a resilient bias tending to urge the two upper edges towards each other. The upper edges can be moved apart against the resilient bias to thereby allow the shoe to be fitted to or removed from a user's foot.

Description: 1 FOOTWEAR Field of the invention This invention relates to laceless footwear. Background of the invention Most shoes include laces which require tying and untying each time the shoe is worn. With sports footwear, the tying and untying of laces can be time consuming, and in at least some sports there is a need to be able to fit and remove shoes quickly. Laceless shoes are known. In some known laceless shoes, the upper surface of the shoe overlies the shoe sides. The shoe sides are interconnected by an elastic strip which is concealed by the upper surface of the shoe. In other known laceless shoes, a gusset of elastic material extends between the upper surface of the shoe and each of the shoe sides. The above described shoes are generally unsuitable for sporting applications as the degree with which the elastic material retains the shoe on the foot of the wearer if often insufficient to sustain rigorous sporting activities. The foot of the user is also completely encapsulated by the upper which is undesirable for sporting and active leisure activities. Summary of the invention According to the invention there is provided a shoe comprising: • a sole having an upper side, a lower side, and side edges; • an upper connected to the sole at or adjacent the side edges thereof, the upper having a left portion, a right portion and a heel portion, the left and right portions each terminating in an upper edge which is remote from the sole, the two upper edges being opposite each other; • a web situated upon and attached to said upper and at least partially covering said opposed upper edges and holding said upper edges in said opposed relationship; and • at least one elastic member connecting the web to said upper or said sole; 2 the arrangement being such that the upper edges of the left and right portions can be moved apart from each other against the influence of a resilient bias provided by said web and elastic member. Preferably opposite sides of the web are connected tot he left and right portions of the upper respectively, each side of the web being connected to its respective upper portion by an elastic member. Further there is provided for the heel and left and right portions of the upper to define between them a foot opening and for the web to have a rear edge which is adjacent to the front of the foot opening. Preferably said elastic member or members are generally aligned with said rear edge of the web so that the elastic member or members and web together form a resilient band or strap over the top of the shoe, adjacent to the foot opening. Optionally, the shoe sides are connected to each other by means of yet a further elastic member. Preferably, both of the bands are connected by a respective elastic member to respective shoe sides, or opposite side edges of the sole. Preferably, the web further includes a pair of bands attached to the shoe upper near the toe region of the shoe. The shoe may include a tongue situated beneath the upper edges of the shoe sides. Preferably, the web includes four radially extending bands with spaces defined between at least some of said bands. Brief description of the drawings A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: • Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe according to the invention; • Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the shoe of Fig. 1 in a closed configuration; • Fig.3 is a plan view of the shoe of Fig. 1 ; and • Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the shoe of Fig. 1 in a partially opened configuration to allow the insertion or removal of a foot thereto/therefrom. 3 Description of the preferred embodiment In the accompanying drawings a shoe 10 is shown which is typically a sports shoe such as a jogger or cross-trainer. However, the structure of the shoe is also applicable to casual or formal footwear. The shoe 10 includes a sole 11 which might be formed of a moulded synthetic plastics material, leather, rubber or the like. Affixed to the shoe side edges of the sole 11 by conventional means is a shoe upper 12. The upper 12 might be fabricated from a synthetic fabric material, leather, cotton or other materials known in the construction of shoes. The shoe 10 includes a foot opening 21 surrounded by a padded collar 22 in the heel portion 14. The shoe upper 12 includes a pair of laterally opposed shoe sides 23, each having upper edges 24. The edges 24 face each other and are spaced apart from each other to define a gap 25 which extends from the foot opening 21 towards toe 26 of the shoe. Attached to the shoe upper 12 is a tongue 13 which is typically situated below the edges 24 of the shoe sides 23. As an alternative, however, the tongue 13 might be situated above the edges 24 of the shoe sides 23. Affixed to the shoe is a web 15 substantially covering the gap 25 and the upper edges 24 of the shoe sides 23. The web 15 includes a central portion 27 having radiating therefrom four bands including fixed bands 16 stitched or otherwise permanently attached to the shoe upper 12 nearby the vicinity of the toe 26 of the shoe. Alternatively, the bands 16 might be affixed to the shoe upper 12 by press studs, hook-and-loop fastening strips or other semi-permanent fixing means. Adjacent the opening 21, the web 15 includes a pair of elastically connected bands 17. In the preferred embodiment, each elastically connected band 17 is connected to an anchoring area 19 of the shoe upper by means of an elastic member 18. However, it is not essential that both of the elastically connected bands 17 include an elastic member 18 as one of the bands 17 could be permanently affixed to one of the shoe sides 23 by stitching or other semi-permanent means such as hook-and-loop fastener strips, press-studs or the like. For example, to accommodate different sized feet, a line of press-studs might be provided to allow adjusting the tightness of the shoe fit. Another arrangement will be for the elastic members 18 to connect the web 15 to the edges of the sole, as indicated at numeral 20, rather than the upper. This allows the stress on the elastic 4 members 18 to be transferred to the sole of the shoe, rather than being carried by the upper. This will allow for the upper to be formed of a lighter material since the stress in the shoe will be carried in the web and the sole rather than the upper. Referring specifically to Figure 4, it should be noted that the web 15 may be lifted in the direction of arrow 31 to increase the diameter of the foot opening 21, and also to move the edges 24 apart from each other. In the present embodiment this has the effect of exposing the elastic members 18 at each side of the shoe. In addition, the width of the gap 25 is increased, thereby allowing the foot of the user to be easily inserted into or removed from the shoe. A further advantage of the shoe construction is that there is a relatively open air flow passage underneath the web into the gap 25. This allows air flow around the user's foot which is important in many sporting activities. With reference to Figs. 2 and 4, there is an elastic-free, material-free space 28 situated between bands 16 and 17. This space 28 can allow air flow into the gap 25. A further elastic member 29 can be situated beneath the web 15 across the gap 25 and interconnecting the upper edges 24 of the opposed sides 23. This elastic strip would typically be situated above the tongue 13. It will be noted that the elastic members 18 are aligned with the rear edge 30 of the web 15 so that in combination, the elastic members 18, the bands 17, and the web 15 form a containment elasticised strap over the top of the user's foot, just adjacent the foot opening. The elasticised strap will hold the shoe to the user's foot allowing relatively vigorous activities such as running, jumping, dancing and the like to take place. However, fitting and removing the shoe can be done relatively easily, and no fastening laces, buckles or straps need be connected or tied to secure the shoe to the foot. It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope of the present invention. For example, the elastic member 18 might include means for temporarily affixing the same to the web 15. For example, the elastic member 18 could have an end portion having hook fasteners or loop fasteners adapted to temporarily interengage with loop fasteners or hook fasteners provided on the under surface of elastically connected band 17. These components might be replaced by an array of press-studs to allow for adjustment of tightness of fit. 5 It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

Claims: 6 Claims: 1 A shoe comprising: • a sole having an upper side, a lower side, and side edges; • an upper connected to the sole at or adjacent the side edges thereof, the upper having a left portion, a right portion and a heel portion, the left and right portions each terminating in an upper edge which is remote from the sole, the two upper edges being opposite each other; • a web situated upon and attached to said upper and at least partially covering said opposed upper edges and holding said upper edges in said opposed relationship; and • at least one elastic member connecting the web to said upper or said sole; the arrangement being such that the upper edges of the left and right portions can be moved apart from each other against the influence of a resilient bias provided by said web and elastic member. 2 A shoe according to claim 1 wherein opposite sides of the web are connected to the left and right portions of the upper respectively, each side of the web being connected to its respective upper portion by an elastic member. 3 A shoe according to either preceding claim wherein the left and right portions of the upper define between them a foot opening, the web having a rear edge which is adjacent the foot opening. 4 A shoe according to claim 3 wherein said elastic member or members are aligned generally with the rear edge of the web, the elastic member or members and web thereby forming a resilient strap over the top of the shoe, adjacent the foot opening. 5 A shoe according to any preceding claim wherein the shoe sides are connected to each other by means of a further elastic member which is under but is independent of said web. 6 A shoe according to any preceding claim wherein said web includes a central portion having radiating therefrom a pair of laterally opposed bands, each band being attached to a respective upper portion or the side edges of the sole and at least one of which includes 7 an elastic member connecting the same to one of the upper portions, or the side edges of the sole. A shoe according to claim 6 wherein air passages are defined between at least some of said bands into the space between said upper edges. A shoe according to any preceding claim wherein the shoe is a sports shoe.

Inventors: PRICE TULL HENRY, PRICE, TULL, HENRY
Applicants: PRICE TULL HENRY, ROYAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PRICE, TULL, HENRY, ROYAL MANAGEMENT PTY. LTD.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A43C11
IPC codes: A43C11