Patent Publication Number: US-2005115115-A1

Title: Shoe

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The invention relates to a shoe, in particular to an athletic shoe, with a sole and a shoe upper which is connected to the sole, the upper surrounding the front part of the foot, the ankle area and the heel area of the foot.  
      2. Description of Related Art  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,583 discloses a shoe of the initially mentioned type which is designed so that it can be folded relatively flat. This is advantageous above all when the shoe is to be taken on trips. For this, the shoe upper exhibits a number of incisions which are located in side areas and allow the shoe upper to be folded.  
      Although these incisions make it possible to fold the shoe up into a small size, which is advantageous when fitting the shoe in a case, a carrying bag or the like, it has proved to be disadvantageous that the strength of the shoe is impaired by these measures, particularly during sporting activities.  
      Published German Patent Application DE 43 29 594 A1 discloses an orthopaedic athletic shoe with a heal cap which exhibits a circular cutout which is located in the area of attachment of the Achilles tendon to the heel bone and is arranged approximately symmetrical to the longitudinal axis of the lower leg in the horizontal direction. The cutout is closed by flexible material. However, this orthopaedic sports shoe cannot be folded up.  
      German Patent Application DE 26 37 277 A1 shows an athletic shoe with an integral heel stiffener. This shoe has an essentially rigid heel shell which is designed to fit around the heel and is matched to the contour of the heel. Furthermore, its rearward upper part exhibits a slit-like opening running from above to below the upper heel protrusion. This athletic shoe also cannot be folded flat to be accommodated in a space-saving manner in a case, for example.  
      A shoe is known from International Patent Application Publication WO 01/47385 A1 in which it is possible to design a part of the shoe upper in the heel area so that it can be removed or folded over in order to convert the shoe from a half shoe into a shoe without a heel cap and back.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,170 discloses an athletic shoe which is designed so that it can be folded up. For this, an articulation mechanism is arranged in the heel area with which the heel cap can be folded inwards in the direction of the shoe sole when necessary or immobilised for wearing.  
      From published German Patent Application DE 24 61 701 A, it is known for a child&#39;s shoe to be designed so that the heel area can be folded by means of a hook and loop fastening and a press stud fastening in order to make it easier to put the shoe on.  
      Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,651 discloses a shoe which is designed so that a part of the shoe upper can be removed in its heel area. The removable part can be fixed detachably to the shoe upper by means of a buckle fastening or by means of a press stud fastening.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Therefore, the underlying object of the invention is to develop a shoe, in particular an athletic shoe, of the initially mentioned type such that, firstly, it should remain possible to fold up the shoe into a low height, and secondly, the ability of the shoe to hold the foot of the wearer in optimum fashion—in particular in the heel area—is not effected adversely.  
      The achievement of this objective by the invention is characterised in that, in the heel area, preferably in the central heel area, the shoe upper exhibits a single incision which runs at least approximately in the vertical direction to the sole, with the parts of the shoe upper in the heel area lying on both sides of the incision being embodied so that they can be folded inwards in the direction of the sole for folding up into a shallow form for transport of the shoe. Preferably, provision is made for the incision to extend at least over half, preferably at least over two thirds of the height of the shoe upper.  
      With the design according to the invention, the shoe upper remains relatively strong and allows sufficiently firm support of the area of the heel of the wearer. In spite of this, it is possible to fold up the shoe into a relatively shallow form so as to be able to transport it in a manner taking up minimal space.  
      In a development of the invention, provision is made for means to be arranged on the shoe upper in the heel area, with which the parts of the shoe upper lying on both sides of the incision can be prevented from gaping outwards. These means can be at least one band arranged in the upper edge area of the shoe upper. Here, it is advantageous if the band or plurality of bands extend around the parts of the shoe upper on the outside and embrace them. Simple fixture of the band or bands can be achieved by means of a hook and loop fastening or plurality of hook and loop fastenings, the effective length of which can be fixed. The hook and loop fastening or fastenings can be immobilised in the side area of one of the parts of the shoe upper.  
      Alternatively, the means can be hinge-like means of articulation which are provided with a lock which prevents the parts of the shoe upper located on both sides of the incision from gaping outwards beyond a predetermined angle, in particular beyond the vertical.  
      The shoe upper preferably is made essentially of a textile material. It can be reinforced with leather or plastic parts in highly stressed areas, in particular in the area of the toe and/or in the area of the shoe fastening.  
      An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawing and is described in greater detail below. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a side view an athletic shoe in accordance with the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a plan view of the shoe shown in  FIG. 1 , and  
       FIG. 3  is a rear view of the shoe shown in  FIG. 1 .  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The shoe  1 , in particular the athletic shoe, exhibits a sole  2  and a shoe upper  3  which is connected to the latter. In the heel area  4  of the shoe  1 , the shoe upper  3  surrounds the heel of the wearer of the shoe  1 . To be able to fold up the shoe  1  for transport, the shoe upper  3  has an incision  5  in the heel area  4 . This incision  5  is aligned in the vertical direction V, preferably in the central heel area  4   a . The incision  5  divides the shoe upper  3  in the heel area  4  in to two parts  6   a  and  6   b , as can be seen best in  FIG. 3 . These parts  6   a ,  6   b  can be folded in the direction of the inside of the sole  2  to fold up the shoe  1  so that the shoe upper  3  rests on the sole  2  in this area. Above all when the shoe upper  3  is made of textile material, this makes it possible to fold up the shoe  1  so that it only takes up a very small volume.  
      A band  7  or a plurality of bands are arranged in the upper edge area  8  of the shoe upper  3  so that, when in use, the shoe  1  gives the foot, and in particular the heel area  4  of the wearer, stable support and the parts  6   a  and  6   b  of the shoe upper  3  do not gape outwards. This band or these bands extend around the outer area of the parts  6   a  and  6   b . In the embodiment shown, the band or bands are fixed to the desired length by a hook and loop fastening  9  or a plurality of hook and loop fastenings.  
      As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , the incision  5  extends over a height h E  which, in the embodiment shown, corresponds to roughly 80% to 90% of the height h of the shoe upper  3  at the location of the incision  5 .