Abstract:
A convertible shoe for skating device includes: a shallow shell, a pair of flexible reinforcing members respectively secured to the shallow shell, and a pair of convertible upper members each detachably fastened to each flexible reinforcing member for forming a skate shoe; whereby upon detachment of one pair of old upper members, another pair of new upper members of different decorative features or designs may be provided to substitute the old upper members for diversified selectivity and comfortable wearing of the skate shoes.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    A conventional shoe for roller skate as shown in FIGS. 12, 13 is formed with a rigid plastic shell P which is then fastened with buckles B, cuff C and lined with padding Pa for skating use. However, it has the following drawbacks:  
           [0002]    1. The shoe upper is majorly formed with rigid plastic shell P with high side walls, lacking of flexibility to thereby easily cause poor maneuverability or even cause injury to the skate player.  
           [0003]    2. Each shell integrally forms a “shoe upper” which is not convertible to change decorative features on the shell, thereby lacking of ornamental versatility and vividness for the player&#39;s interest.  
           [0004]    3. The surface of the plastic shell gives a poor touch feeling, easily deteriorating the product quality or influencing the product quality grades.  
           [0005]    The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the conventional roller-skate shoe and invented the present convertible shoe for skates.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The object of the present invention is to provide a convertible shoe for skating device including: a shallow shell, a pair of flexible reinforcing members respectively secured to the shallow shell, and a pair of convertible upper members each detachably fastened to each flexible reinforcing member for forming a skate shoe; whereby upon detachment of one pair of old upper members, another pair of new upper members of different decorative features or designs may be provided to substitute the old upper members for diversified selectivity and comfortable wearing of the skate shoes. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is an illustration of the shoes of the present invention when formed as an in-line skate.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a side view of the present invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is an illustration showing the shell secured with the reinforcing members thereon.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a cross sectional drawing as viewed from FIG. 3.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 shows another securing method of the present invention as modified from FIG. 4.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 is a side view of the shell having the reinforcing member secured thereon.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 7 shows a convertible upper member adapted to be fastened to the reinforcing member as shown in FIG. 6 by a zip fastener.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 8 shows another shell secured with a reinforcing member provided with a Velcro tape fastener thereon.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 9 shows another upper member adapted to be fastened to the reinforcing member by Velcro tape fastener of FIG. 8.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 10 shows still another shell having button fastener provided on the reinforcing member secured on the shell.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 11 shows still another upper member adapted to be fastened to the reinforcing member by the button fastener.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 12 shows a rigid shell of a conventional skate shoe.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 13 shows a conventional shoe as made from the shell as shown in FIG. 12. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0020]    As shown in FIGS.  1 ˜ 7 , the present invention comprises: a shallow shell  1  made of plastic materials, a pair of flexible reinforcing members  2  respectively secured to a right and a left side portion of the shell  1 , and a pair of convertible upper members  3  each fastened to each reinforcing member  2  by a fastener  4 .  
         [0021]    The shallow shell  1  includes: a sole portion  11  adapted to be mounted or secured on a frame F of an in-line skate as shown in FIG. 1 (or any other skating devices including roller skate, ice skate, etc.); a toe enclosing portion  12  formed on a front end of the shell  1  for enclosing a wearer&#39;s toe portion, a pair of shallow side walls  13  formed on a right and left side of the sole portion  11  having a low height of each side wall  13 , and an ankle enclosing portion  14  formed on a rear end of the shell for protecting the wearer&#39;s ankle portion.  
         [0022]    The shallow shell  1  is so designated because a shallow or low-height side wall  13  may not form a very hard or rigid side wall for the skate shoe. The too rigid shell will influence the maneuverability of the skating skill and may make the skate player uncomfortable. So, the present invention discloses a low-height or shallow shell  1  for a comfortable wearing and a maneuverable skating.  
         [0023]    Each flexible reinforcing member  2  is made of flexible sheet or plate member including: plastic, rubber, elastomers, or any other materials having proper flexibility, elasticity and strength.  
         [0024]    Each reinforcing member  2  may be sewn to the shell  1  by stitching threads S as shown in FIGS. 3, 4; or each reinforcing member  1  be secured to the shell  1  by riveting R as shown in FIG. 5. Each reinforcing member  2  has its bottom edge portion  22  further riveted to the sole portion  11  of the shell  1 .  
         [0025]    The reinforcing member  2  may be formed with a plurality of ventilation holes  21  through the reinforcing member  2  for better ventilation for the wearer&#39;s foot when a fabric upper  3  is disposed on the reinforcing member  2 .  
         [0026]    Each convertible upper member  3  has its lower edge portion  31  fastened to each flexible reinforcing member  2  by a fastener  4  as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and  2 , and a flap  32  formed on an upper edge of the upper member  3  having a plurality of eyelets  33  formed in each flap  32  so that the pair of flaps  32  may be tied together by a shoelace L and further fastened by a buckle B and power strap Ps as shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0027]    The upper member  3  is made of fabric, leather or other upper materials suitable for making a shoe upper having good touch feeling, flexibility and capable of being formed with decorative features thereon.  
         [0028]    The fastener  4  as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 is a zip fastener and includes a first-row teeth  41  longitudinally formed on the flexible reinforcing member  2  which is secured to the shell  1 ; a second-row teeth  42  longitudinally formed on a lower edge portion  31  of the convertible upper member  3 ; and a sliding tab  43  slidably coupling the first-row teeth  41  with the second-row teeth  42  for detachably fastening the convertible upper member  3  to the flexible reinforcing member  2  as shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0029]    Two (right and left) upper members  3  are respectively fastened to the two reinforcing members  2  by two zip fasteners  4  in order to complete a shoe to be mounted on an in-line roller skate as shown in FIG. 1, or any other skating devices (not shown).  
         [0030]    The fastener may be modified to be a Velcro tape fastener  4   a  as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, which includes: a first strip  41   a  having tiny hooked threads formed on the first strip and secured to the reinforcing member  2  secured to the shell  1  (FIG. 8); and a second strip  42   a  having a coarse surface formed on the second strip and formed on an inside surface of the upper member  3  (FIG. 9); whereby upon pressing of the second strip  42   a  and the first strip  41   a  of the Velcro tape fastener  4   a , the upper member  3  will be detachably fastened to the reinforcing member  2 .  
         [0031]    As shown in FIGS. 10, 11, the fastener may be modified to be a button fastener  4   b , which includes: a plurality of buttons (or male buttons)  41   b  longitudinally formed on the reinforcing member  2  (FIG. 10); and a plurality of button holes (or female buttons)  42   b  longitudinally formed on the upper member  3  (FIG. 11); whereby upon fastening of the buttons  41   b  with the button holes  42   b , the upper member  3  will be detachably fastened to the reinforcing member  2 .  
         [0032]    Since the upper member  3  may be detachably fastened to the reinforcing member  2  as secured on the shell  1 , different upper members with different decorative features or designs on the upper members  3  may be optionally selected to be fastened on the shell  1 , thereby providing diversified decorative features for vividly satisfying the player&#39;s interest.  
         [0033]    If the player has no interest to always change his or her skate decorative features, the upper member  3  may be directly sewed to the reinforcing member  2  on the shell  1  for simplifying the shoe production by eliminating the installation of the fasteners  4 .  
         [0034]    The present invention is superior to any conventional skate shoes with the following advantages:  
         [0035]    1. The upper member  3  is convertible for diversifying the decorative features or designs for player&#39;s interesting selections.  
         [0036]    2. The shell  1  is formed as a “shallow” shell, substantially decreasing the height of the side walls of the shell and thereby increasing the flexibility of the upper member  3  for a comfortable wearing and a controllable maneuverability when skating.  
         [0037]    3. The conventional plastic shell  1  is changed to be an upper member  3  which is made of fabric for a better touch feeling and an enhanced product quality level; and also for a better operational maneuverability.  
         [0038]    4. The reinforcing member  2  is formed with a plurality of ventilation holes  21  for better ventilation when wearing the shoe.  
         [0039]    5. Production cost (such as mold cost for preparing the molds for making plural diversified conventional shells) can be greatly saved by merely preparing few molds for making the shallow shells  1 . The different uppers can be easily obtained with lower cost since the fabric uppers  3  of the present invention may be easily made such as by cutting a cloth, without requiring each mold for making each conventional plastic shell.  
         [0040]    The convertible shoe as shown in FIG. 1, even being tied with laces L and fastened by buckle B, is further fastened by a power strap Ps for ensuring a firm wearing of the shoe and for preventing from loosening of the relevant elements forming the shoe.  
         [0041]    The pair of upper members  3  may also be modified to be an unique upper member (not shown) having a fastener circumferentially formed on a lower periphery of the upper member  3  in order to be fastened to the reinforcing member (or members) secured on the shell  1 .  
         [0042]    The present invention may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.