Patent Publication Number: US-6712395-B1

Title: Footwear capable of being used interchangeably as a jumpshoe or roller skate

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not applicable. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to sports footwear, and more particularly to a dual-purpose footwear which is used interchangeably as a jumpshoe or a roller skate. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional sports shoes, such as roller skates, ice skates, and jumpshoes, are basically similar in construction in that they all have a boot and a sole; nevertheless they cannot be used interchangeably due to the fact that their soles are provided with different runners fastened thereunder. From the standpoint of consumer, a dual-purpose sports shoe is not only useful but also economical. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a dual-purpose sports footwear which can be used interchangeably as jumpshoe and roller skate. 
     In keeping with the principle of the present invention, the foregoing objective of the present invention is attained by a footwear comprising a boot, an elastic plate, an arcuate outer plate, and a wheel mount plate. The boot has a sole to which an arcuate inner plate is fastened. The arcuate inner plate can be joined with the elastic plate and the arcuate outer plate or wheel mount plate. As a result, the footwear of the present invention can be used interchangeably as jumpshoe and roller skate. 
    
    
     The features and the advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a jumpshoe of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a partial exploded view of the present invention as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 shows a side schematic view of the wheel seat plate of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 shows a top plan view of the present invention as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 shows a side schematic view of the present invention being used as a roller skate. 
     FIG. 6 shows a sectional schematic view of the wheel seatplate of the present invention as shown in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 7 shows bottom and side schematic views of another preferred embodiment of the present invention in action. 
     FIG. 8 shows more bottom and side schematic views of the preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 9 shows a side schematic view of the boot of the present invention as shown in FIG.  7 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-6, a dual-purpose footwear embodied in the present invention is formed of a boot  10 , an elastic plate  20 , an arcuate outer plate  30 , and a wheel mount plate  40 . 
     The boot  10  is provided in the underside of the sole thereof with an arcuate inner plate  12  fastened therewith by a plurality of fastening bolts  11 . The arcuate inner plate  12  is provided at two longitudinal ends with two retaining projections  13 . 
     The elastic plate  20  is provided in the upper side of two longitudinal ends thereof with two upper retaining slots  21  corresponding in location to the two retaining projections  13  of the arcuate inner plate  12  of the boot  10 . The elastic plate  20  is joined with the arcuate inner plate  12  such that the retaining projections  13  of the arcuate inner plate  12  are removably fitted into the upper retaining slots  21  of the elastic plate  20 . Located between the two upper retaining slots  21  is a stop portion  23  for prevention the elastic plate  20  from swaying. The elastic plate  20  is further provided in the underside of two longitudinal ends thereof with two lower retaining slots  22  opposite in location to the upper retaining slots  21 . 
     The arcuate outer plate  30  is corresponding in shape and radian to the arcuate inner plate  12  and is fastened to the underside of the elastic plate  20 . The arcuate outer plate  30  is provided at two longitudinal ends with two retaining portions  31 , which are removably fitted into the lower retaining slots  22  of the elastic plate  20 . The arcuate outer plate  30  is provided in the underside with a skidproof pad  32 . 
     The wheel mount plate  40  is provided at two longitudinal ends with two retaining slots  41  and is joined with the arcuate inner plate  12  of the boot  10  such that the retaining projections  13  of the arcuate inner plate  12  are removably fitted into the retaining slots  41  of the wheel mount plate  40 . 
     The footwear of the present invention is used as a jumpshoe when the arcuate inner plate  12  of the boot  10  is joined with the elastic plate  20 , which is in turn joined with the arcuate outer plate  30 , as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The footwear of the present invention is used as a roller skate when the arcuate inner plate  12  of the boot  10  is joined with the wheel mount plate  40 , as shown in FIG.  5 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 3,  4 , and  6 , the wheel mount plate  40  is formed of an elastic wheel plate  42 , a front wheel frame  43  fastened to the underside of the front end of the elastic wheel plate  42 , and a rear wheel frame  44  fastened to the underside of the rear end of the elastic wheel plate  40 . The front wheel frame  43  and the rear wheel frame  44  are connected by a connection plate  45 , which is fastened securely at the front end with the front wheel frame  43  and is pivotally fastened at the rear end with a slide frame  46  of the rear wheel frame  44 . The connection plate  45  serves to give an added strength to the elastic wheel plate  42 . The front wheel frame  43  and the rear wheel frame  44  are fastened with the elastic wheel plate  42  by a plurality of screws  48 . The wheel frames  43  and  44  are used to mount pivotally a wheel set  47 , which is formed of a center wheel  471 , and two side wheels  472  of a semicircular construction. The center wheel  471  is located between the two side wheels  472 , as shown in FIG.  4 . The two side wheels  472  are intended to facilitate the negotiating of a curve by a roller skater, especially by a beginner. 
     As shown in FIGS. 7,  8 , and  9 , the boot  10  of the footwear of the present invention is formed of a toe boot  14  and a heel boot  15 , which are respectively provided in the sole thereof with a slide slot  140 ,  150  for disposing a guide slide plate  16 . Located at the juncture of the soles of the toe boot  14  and the heel boot  15  is a reinforcing plate  17 . The guide slide plate  16  and the reinforcing plate  17  are fastened with the arcuate inner plate  12  by a plurality of fastening bolts  18 . The toe boot  14  and the heel boot  15  are provided with a plurality of adjustment holes  19  and  191  for adjusting the positions of the toe boot  14  and the heel boot  15  in conjunction with bolts  192  and nuts  193 . 
     The elastic plate  20  is provided with a plurality of elastic strips  24  extending between the two longitudinal ends of the elastic plate  20 . 
     The present invention described above is to be regarded in all respects as being merely illustrative. Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without deviating from the spirit thereof. For example, the wheel set  47  of the wheel mount plate  40  of the present invention may be formed of only the center wheel  471 . The present invention is therefore to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.