Abstract:
An expandable shoe includes an outer shell and an adjustable inner assembly disposed within the outer shell. The inner assembly has a control to adjust a dimension of the inner assembly and thereby a corresponding dimension of the shoe. The inner assembly includes a first sole portion, a second sole portion, and a manually urgable member. The manually urgable member has at least a portion of the member accessible from the outer shell, and in engageable and releasable communication with an engagement member, fixed to one of the first and second sole portions. When the urgable member is released from the fixed engagement member the first and second sole portions may be moved to adjust the dimension of the shoe and when the urgable member is in engagement with the fixed engagement member the first and second portions resist slidable movement relative to one another.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation of now pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/191,682 filed on Jul. 9, 2002, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/438,935 filed on Nov. 12, 1999, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,872 on Aug. 27, 2002. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Technical Field  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to expandable shoes that may be adjusted longitudinally.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of Related Art  
         [0005]     Some attempts have been made to provide expandable shoes, which can purportedly withstand day-to-day use. U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,481, for example, discloses a shoe in which a two plate assembly is disposed between an inner and a disjointed outer sole, having overlapping front and back portions. One of the plates includes a spring tongue, and the other plate includes two apertures to receive the spring tongue, each aperture corresponding to a shoe size. To adjust the shoe size, a screw which extends through the heel and into the disjointed soles is removed. The shoe may then be pulled apart allowing the disjointed sole to separate until the spring tongue engages the next aperture. Thus the shoe size may be lengthened by one size, but apparently the size cannot be controlled finely or reduced. The shoe includes two crinkled leather portions  34 , one on each side of the shoe, to facilitate expansion of the shoe.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]     Under one aspect of the present invention, a shoe includes a front outer assembly and a rear outer assembly. A flexible, expandable segment is attached to the front and rear outer assemblies to define a shoe outer shell. The flexible segment extends at least partially along each side of the outer shell and transversely across the bottom of the outer shell. Within the outer shell an adjustable inner assembly is disposed and attached to the front and rear outer assembly. The inner assembly has a control to adjust a dimension of the inner assembly and thereby a corresponding dimension of the shoe.  
         [0007]     Under another aspect of the invention related to the above aspect, the inner assembly may be in the form of a last board, or as a combination of a last board and other portions of the shoe, for example, a portion of a midsole.  
         [0008]     Under one aspect of the invention, a visualization window provides a view port to the inner assembly. The inner assembly may include size markings or other indicia representative of a shoe adjustment, and these markings may be placed on the inner assembly to allow them to be visible through the view port.  
         [0009]     Under another aspect of the invention, the inner assembly includes a first sole portion, a second sole portion, and a screw drive. The screw drive has an externally accessible screw passing through a screw insert mounted to one of the first and second sole portions and a screw-receiving portion attached to the other of the first and second sole portions. In this fashion, turning the screw causes the first and second portions to move relative to one another, thereby adjusting a dimension of the shoe.  
         [0010]     Under still another aspect of the invention, the inner assembly includes a first sole portion and a second sole portion. The first portion is shaped for relative slidable engagement with the second portion. A manually urgable member is accessible from the outer shell, and it is in engageable and releasable communication with an engagement member, fixed to one of the first and second sole portions. When the urgable member is released from the engagement member, the first and second sole portions may be moved to adjust a dimension of the shoe and when the urgable member is in engagement with the engagement member the first and second portions resist slidable movement relative to one another.  
         [0011]     Under another aspect of the invention related to the above, the urgable member includes a deformable biasing segment, which biases a toothed member attached to the urgable member into engagement with the engagement member, which has teeth facing the toothed member. When the urgable member is released, the toothed member and the teeth of the engagement member interlock causing the shoe portions to attain a locked state. When the urgable member is urged against the biasing forces of the biasing segment, the teeth release with respect to one another and the shoe portions attain an unlocked state allowing slidable movement and thereby adjustment of a shoe dimension.  
         [0012]     The principles of the invention may be realized in hiking shoes, dress shoes, sandals, biking shoes, Nordic and cross-country ski-boots and the like.  
         [0013]     Under another aspect of the invention, an expandable hooked eyelet assembly includes two relatively movable pieces. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0014]     In the Drawing,  
         [0015]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 1B  is an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of an adjustable inner sole assembly of an exemplary embodiment of the invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention;  
         [0019]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  show an expandable eyelet assembly according to an exemplary embodiment;  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of an adjustable inner sole assembly according to another embodiment of the invention;  
         [0021]     FIGS.  6 A-C, show a plan and cross-sectional views of a first portion of an inner sole assembly according to another embodiment of the invention;  
         [0022]     FIGS.  7 A-C, show a plan and cross-sectional views of a second portion of an inner sole assembly according to another embodiment of the invention;  
         [0023]     FIGS.  8 A-B, show a plan and cross-sectional view of a control feature of an inner sole assembly according to another embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0024]     FIGS.  9 A-B show exemplary embodiments of the invention in which a view port may be used to show indicia of a shoe adjustment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0025]     FIGS.  1 A-B show an exemplary embodiment in perspective and exploded views. Shoe  10  includes a front outer sole  12  and a front upper  18  to form a front outer assembly  13 , and a rear outer sole  16  and a rear upper  20  to form a rear outer assembly  17 . The front outer assembly  13  is attached to one edge  15 B of a bellows segment  14 , and the rear outer assembly  17  is attached to a second edge  15 A, in each case using conventional techniques, such as by using stitching to the uppers  18 ,  20  and glue along the outer soles  12 ,  16 . The combination of front outer assembly  13 , rear outer assembly  17 , and bellows segment  14  forms an outer shell  21 .  
         [0026]     An adjustable inner sole assembly  22  is placed within outer shell  21  so that a screw  26  extends through a screw port opening  31  of the rear outer sole  16 . The inner assembly  22  is firmly attached to the front and rear outer assemblies  13 , 17  but not to bellows  14 . In this fashion, once the shoe is assembled and in use, a wrench  28  (e.g., with an allen-head design) may be used to turn a screw  26  to adjust the length of the inner sole assembly  22  (and correspondingly the entire shoe  10 ) in the direction A. A control feature  24  (more below) is positioned within guide slot  27  to facilitate the directional control of the shoe  10  as it is caused to expand or contract. Screw port plug  30  may be used to fit within screw port opening  31  to cover the screw  26  when the shoe is not being adjusted. To adjust the size of this embodiment, only the screw  26  needs to be turned. The size may be lengthened or shortened in fine increments corresponding to the pitch of the screw  26 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 1C  shows a transverse cross section of an assembled shoe. Not shown in FIGS.  1 A-B, but shown here, are the inclusion of a midsole  21  and an inner sole  23 . At area  25  the upper  18  is joined to the inner assembly  22  by glue or stitching. Analogous joinery may be used at a rear portion of the shoe. The inner sole  23  is conventional and the midsole may be conventional in embodiments using a last board or may be modified to form all or a portion of the inner assembly  22 . This figure will illustrate to those skilled in the art, the simplicity of integrating the features of inner assembly  22  into the midsole or leaving it as a last board left in the shoe. Such integration is largely dictated by the type of shoe into which the principles of the invention will be realized, e.g., hiking shoes, dress shoes, biking shoes, ski boots, sandals and the like. Likewise, the stiffness of the last board and/or the midsole is dictated by the shoe type.  
         [0028]     The front and rear outer soles  12 ,  16  may be made with conventional techniques and material to obtain popular shoe constructions. The front sole  12  may be made so that it is roughly only a front half of a shoe sole, and the rear outer sole  16  may be made so that it is only approximately a rear half of a sole. The rear outer sole, unlike conventional soles, is also made to define a screw port opening  31  and a generally rectangular recess  33  (see  FIG. 1B ) in the heel portion  34 . (As will be described below, the recess  33  receives a portion of the inner sole assembly  22 .) Analogously, the front and rear uppers  18 ,  20  may be made using conventional techniques and materials to obtain popular shoe appearances.  
         [0029]     Bellows segment  14  is made of a stretchable material, e.g., rubbers, press coated fabrics, etc., and fashioned (e.g., molded or extruded) as a bellows in a generally rectangular segment, which is then shaped into the U-shape, extending along the sides and bottom of the shoe  10  as shown in  FIG. 1B . The bellows segment  14  includes flat edges  15 A, B opposite each other which is used in attaching the bellows  14  to the uppers  18 , 20  and outer soles  12 ,  16 . In the illustrated embodiment, edge  15 C and a corresponding unshown edge opposite  15 C are attached to expandable eyelet assemblies  35 , described below.  
         [0030]      FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of adjustable inner assembly  22 . The inner assembly  22  includes a front section  40  and a rear section  50 . The top surface of each section is generally flat but may be shaped with slight curvature found in conventional designs. Viewing the sections  40 ,  50  from above, each section is cut according to a conventional inner sole pattern, except that each section respectively corresponds to approximately a front or rear half of an inner sole. Conventional materials may be used in fabricating the sections  40 , 50 , for example, through injection molding or analogous techniques.  
         [0031]     A front adjustment member  42  may be attached to or integrated with front section  40 . Front adjustment member  42  includes a generally flat section  43  and includes an elongated section  44  having a generally rectangularly shaped top portion  45  with wing-like extensions  46 A and B. As will be explained below, wing-like extensions  46  A and B are shaped to fit corresponding grooves  47 A and B, within rear section  50 . On the underside of elongated section  44  is a threaded screw-receiving section  48  that extends parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the front section  40 , but which is offset from the top surface of front section  40 . On the top side of the elongated section  44  is a control guide  24  protruding slightly upward and substantially on the longitudinal centerline of the front section  40 . This guide  24  may be made in numerous ways, including for example, using rivets or integrating the shape into the design of member  42 .  
         [0032]     The rear section  50  is shaped on its underside to have a first hollowed segment  52  and a second hollow segment  54 , more rearward than the first. The first segment  52  mates with flat section  43  of the front section  40 , and the second segment  54  is 
        shaped to receive the top portion  45  of the front section  40 . Second hollow segment  54  includes longitudinal grooves  47  A,B shaped to receive wing-like extensions  46 A,B of front section  40 . The rear section  50  also includes a screw section insert  56  for receiving and guiding screw  26  into alignment with screw-receiving section  48 . The rear section  50  includes guide slot  27  along the longitudinal centerline of rear section  50  and through which the guide  24  is positioned once the inner assembly  22  is configured. As is readily apparent, for right-handed screws, once the screw  26  engages threads in hole  48 , rotating screw  26  clockwise B will draw front section  40  closer to rear section  50 , and vice-versa.        
 
         [0034]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional, longitudinal view of shoe  10 . For clarity of illustration, portions of the front section  40  and rear section  50  are not shown. As shown in  FIG. 3 , screw-receiving section  48  is positioned to fit within recess  33  of heel  34  of rear outer sole  16 . The recess  33  has a longitudinal length sufficient to allow section  48  to be moved longitudinally therein, thus allowing for adjustment of the shoe. When the distal edge  60  of section  48  abuts insert  56 , the shoe is at the smallest adjustment size. When the front edge  62  of section  48  abuts the front edge  64  of recess  33 , the shoe is at its largest size. The size adjustments between smallest and largest are controlled by turning screw  26  and the granularity of the adjustment is only limited by the pitch of the screw  26 . A clip  66  prevents screw  26  from becoming disengaged with section  48  and becoming dislodged from the shoe  10 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 3  also shows that the design of the soles  12 ,  16  may be made to provide a raised arch area  37  where the bellows segment  14  resides. The arch area is sufficiently raised from the wear surface  38  so that the exterior surface of the bellows segment  14  should not contact the ground. By having a raised area  37 , the bellows  14  may be one continuous piece extending along the sides and bottom of the show, facilitating good sealing at the expandable portion of the outer shell  21 .  
         [0036]     FIGS.  4 A-B show an expandable eyelet assembly  35  in a closed state ( FIG. 4A ) and an open state ( FIG. 4B ). The eyelet assembly may be made using conventional polymeric materials and using conventional techniques. The assembly includes a first piece  70  and second piece  72 . The first piece  70  includes an integrated flap  74  having a series of grooves  76   a - n . The flap  74  may open and close due to the flexibility of the materials and to the integrated hinge-like members  78 . The first piece has shaped therein a rectangular recess (not shown) to at least partially receive the second piece  72 . It also includes a raised hooked eyelet  81  that is in alignment with groove  76   a  of flap  74 . The second piece  72  is generally rectangularly shaped to fit into the corresponding recess of first piece  70  and it includes raised hooked eyelets  80  and raised alignment members  82 . When in the open state, the first and second pieces  70 , 72  may be moved longitudinally relative to one another to adjust the eyelets&#39;  80  alignment with the grooves  76   a - n . Once aligned as desired, flap  74  is closed and locked with protruding detente  85  engaging corresponding slots  86  in first piece  70 . First piece  70  may be sewn to front outer assembly  13 , and second piece  72  may be sewn to rear outer assembly  17 . Both pieces  70 , 72  may also be attached to bellows  14  directly or attached to another segment such as a nylon segment which in turn is attached to bellows  14 .  
         [0037]     FIGS.  4 C-D show another embodiment in which belt sections  90 , 91  are connected with buckle  92 . Buckle  92  includes a curved portion  93  which may act as an eyelet. Another embodiment (for which a figure is not necessary) does not use eyelet assembly  35  and instead simply uses ringed eyelets within bellows  14  or within a stretchable material attached to bellows  14 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 5  shows a plan, underside view of an alternative inner assembly  122 , which may be substituted for assembly  22 . In this embodiment, inner sole assembly  122  includes a front section  140 , a rear section  150 , and a control mechanism  126 . As will be explained more fully below, control mechanism  126  is in a locked state in its natural state. By urging pins  128 A,B inward, the control mechanism unlocks and the front section  140  and rear section  150  may be moved relative to each other along line A, thereby allowing adjustment of a dimension of the shoe.  
         [0039]     Referring to FIGS.  6 A-C, the front section  140  is shown in more detail with an underside view. Front section  140  defines a front portion of a conventionally-shaped sole, extending from a toe portion  148  to arcuate portions  143  and then to heel section  144 . The front section  140  is generally planar, except that a first heel section  144  is offset below top surface  141  by vertical members  147  and in substantially parallel relation to top surface  141 . Section  144  includes raised, wing-like members  146  A,B extending transversely along the edges of section  144  and defines a chamber  149  with toothed longitudinal walls  142 . Slot  127  is defined in each wall  142  and, as will be explained below, allows a portion of control mechanism  126  (see  FIG. 5 ) to pass therethrough. At an end opposite toe portion  148  is a heel portion  145  which is generally planar with top surface  141 .  
         [0040]     FIGS.  7 A-C show a bottom, plan view of the rear section  150  in more detail. Rear section  150  defines a rear portion of a conventionally-shaped inner sole, extending from a heel portion  158  to edge  133 . Rear section  150  defines a cavity  152  which receives rectangular portion  144  so that grooves  156  A,B receive wing-like edges  146  A,B, and so that curved ridge section  158  receives heel portion  145  of front section  140 . When the front section  140  is fully received in rear section  150 , a top portion  151  of rear section  150  will lay on top of the received portion of the front section  140 , and the arcuate sections  153  of the rear section  150  will mate with the arcuate sections  143  of the front section  140 . The underside surface  136  of the top portion  151  is shaped to also mate with the upper surface  135  of the front section  140  (see  FIG. 6C ). Openings  154  are defined in a downwardly extending insert member  155  shaped to fit in recess  33  of the shoe (see  FIG. 3 ). The openings  154  allow a portion of control mechanism  126  (see  FIG. 5 ) to pass therethrough. Semi-circular recesses  154 A facilitate such passage in the otherwise planar surface  159  on an underside surface of rear section  150 .  
         [0041]     FIGS.  8 A-B show the control mechanism  126  in more detail. The mechanism includes two pin portions  128 A,B. At a proximal end of each is a crescent-shaped section  129 A,B with outward facing teeth. A rectangular recess (shown by dashed lines  137 ) is defined into a proximal end of the pin, crescent combination. The recess  137  is shaped to receive a corner of rhombus-shaped biasing member  130 . The rhombus shape and the orientation of biasing member  130  along with its reduced thickness walls  131  and polymeric construction allow the member  130  to be deformed and compress when rod members  128 A, B are urged inward toward one another. In a preferred embodiment, a pin, e.g.,  128 A, and a toothed-crescent, e.g.,  129 A, are one piece of molded polymeric material, and biasing member  130  is a separate piece. This facilitates the placement and assembly of the control mechanism  126  within chamber  149  of front section  140  with the pins extending through grooves  127  and openings  154 . Once so placed, extension caps  128 C,D are placed over rods  128 A,B to facilitate usage thereof.  
         [0042]     By placing the control assembly within the toothed-walled chamber of front section  140 , the natural state of the biasing member  130  causes the toothed crescents  129 A,B to be forced outwardly and to engage teeth of the toothed walls  142 . Then by pressing the pins  128 A,B inward, biasing member  130  deforms; the teeth on the crescents  129 A,B disengage the toothed-walls  142 ; and the front section  140  may be moved relative to the rear section  150 .  
         [0043]     The alternative inner assembly  122  may be used in shoes like those described above except the screw port  31  is unnecessary with this assembly  122  and instead ports are needed to allow pin extensions  128 C,D to be accessible for manual urging.  
         [0044]     Moreover, though the alternative inner assembly  122  is shown with two oppositely placed pins, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that this number may vary. For example, only one pin may be used with the deformable member  130  being placed against a rigid wall of the chamber. Alternatively, more pins may be used, e.g.,  3  or  4 .  
         [0045]     In a preferred embodiment indicia are marked on one of the sections of the inner assembly  22 ,  122 . For example, shoe size markings (absolute or relative) may be placed in areas  190  or  200  and viewed through plastic viewports placed in the sole of the shoe. The plastic may provide magnification if desirable.  
         [0046]      FIG. 9A  shows relevant portions of an exemplary embodiment having indicia in area  190  as well as showing an alternative embodiment of biasing member  130 ′ (in this case shaped like an oval). Indica  210  can be marked with absolute or relative markings indicative of the adjustment that may be made. In the illustrated embodiment, the numeral “2” is indicative of the adjustment corresponding to the displacement  205  between the illustrated portions of front section  140  and rear section  150 . The indicia are marked on the front section  140  (for example by marking a plastic wall or adding a marked label to chamber  149 ) and are caused to move relatively to the rear section of the shoe as the shoe is adjusted.  
         [0047]      FIG. 9B  shows an alternative embodiment for a screw-type embodiment. In this case, the markings  215  are placed in the rear section, and the hash mark  220  for example may be placed on control member  24  (see  FIG. 3 ).  
         [0048]     Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the indicia may be placed in various parts of the shoe, and that the movement may be indirect. For example, a marked tape connected to the front section  140  may be shown through a view port in a vertical portion of the heal of the shoe.  
         [0049]     In all of the embodiments described, the controls are easily accessible through the outer shell and not requiring access through the bottom portion of a sole. In some embodiments the adjustments may be made without any tools. All adjustments were relatively fine-grained, and size may be increased or decreased.  
         [0050]     Preferred embodiments of the invention are described with particular reference to a hiking shoe design. Other embodiments entail other shoe constructions, including running shoes, biking shoes, ski boots, dress shoes, snow boarding boots, sandals and the like. Depending on the shoe type, the inner assembly may be in the form of a last board, or a combination of a last board and a midsole. Likewise, depending on the shoe type, the materials used will be selected to provide a desired amount of flexibility or rigidity. Moreover, depending on the shoe design the outer shell may differ. In the case of a sandal, for example, one of the novel last boards may be used, but the outer shell would only have strapping. Other embodiments, such as a biking shoe, might have either netting, meshing, or no material where the bellows are shown, thus providing increased ventilation. In short, the outer shell design offers wide latitude though the bellows embodiments shown are believed novel and advantageous in some embodiments.  
         [0051]     In other embodiments, the screw ports and conduits for rod members may be positioned in many other areas. Likewise, though the embodiments included the control mechanisms, such as the screws, screw receiving sections, gears and deformable teeth in a rear portion of the shoe, these features may be positioned at other portions as well.  
         [0052]     Moreover, the above embodiments described a flexible segment made of a bellows-shaped material, but other embodiments may use other materials, e.g., stretchable nylon, netting or meshing, or it may be omitted. Likewise all of the control features described had external features to activate the control, but other embodiment (e.g., cost-reducing embodiments or embodiments where hiding the control is desirable) may place the control mechanisms on the interior of the outer shell.  
         [0053]     While the invention has been described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to those particular embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included in the appended claims. Some specific components, figures and types of materials are mentioned, but it is to be understood that such component values, dimensions and types of materials are, however, given as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of this invention in any manner.