Water drainable sole for footwear

Abstract

A slipper includes a sole body having a plurality of apertures defined through the sole body and a plurality of protrusions extend from a top surface of the sole body. A skirt flange extends from a periphery of the bottom of the sole body and a plurality of notches are defined in a lower edge of the skirt flange. A plurality of cylindrical rods extend from the bottom of the sole body and share a common axis with the protrusions on the top surface of the sole body.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The application is a Continuation-In-Part application for applicant's former application with application No. 09/756,726, filed on Jan. 10, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Conventional shoes do not have well ventilation feature so that the feet sweat which causes bad smell. In Asia, there is a drain hole in the floor outside of the bathtub so that people take shower or clean the floor will wet the floor and water will drain from the drain hole. In order not to wet the second user's feet, a pair of slippers will be prepared in the bathroom so that the feet of the wearers will not get soaked. Nevertheless, water could be trapped in the slippers so that the user's feet still get wet.

[0003] The present invention intends to provide a slipper that has a plurality of protrusions extend from the top surface of the slipper and a plurality of apertures are defined through the sole of the slipper so that water is drained via the apertures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slipper which comprises a sole body having a top surface and a bottom. A vamp is connected across two sides of the sole. A plurality of apertures are defined through the sole body and a plurality of protrusions extend from the top surface of the sole body. A skirt flange extends from a periphery of the bottom of the sole body and a plurality of notches defined through a lower edge of the skirt flange. At least one block extends from the bottom of the sole body and a distal surface of the at least one block is in flush with the lower edge of the skirt flange.

[0005] The primary object of the present invention is to provide a slipper that has apertures defined through the sole body and a plurality of rounded protrusions on the top surface of the sole body so that the wearer's foot is supported on the protrusions and is not wet.

[0006] These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view to show a slipper of the present invention;

[0008] FIG. 2 is a top plan view to show the sole body of the slipper of the present invention;

[0009] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view to show the sole body of the slipper of the present invention;

[0010] FIG. 4 is a perspective view to show another embodiment of the slipper of the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view to show the sole body includes apertures defined therethrough;

[0012] FIGS. 6 to 8 show various types of blocks extending from the bottom of the sole body of the slipper of the present invention, and

[0013] FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken from the cutting line 9-9 in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the slipper of the present invention comprises a sole body 10 having a top surface, a bottom and a vamp 102 which is connected across the two sides of the sole body 10. The sole body 10 is preferably made of plastic or any water proof material. A plurality of protrusions 11 extend from the top surface of the sole body 10 and each of the protrusions 11 has a rounded top end so that the foot of the Wearer is supported by the protrusions 11 and the protrusions 11 are made of soft and flexible material so as to massage the foot of the wearer. Water will not stay on the top of the protrusions 11. A plurality of apertures 12 are defined through the sole body 10 and located between the protrusions 11 so that water drain from the apertures 12. Referring to FIG. 4, the protrusions can also be replaced by arcuate plates 13 and/or straight plates 130.

[0015] A skirt flange 100 extends from a periphery of the bottom of the sole body 10 so as to form a recessed area enclosed by the skirt flange 100. A lower edge of the skirt flange 100 is flat so that it can rested on the floor and a plurality of notches 101 are defined through the lower edge of the skirt flange 100.

[0016] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, a plurality of blocks 30 extends from the bottom of the sole body 10 and located in the recessed area. The distal surface of the blocks 30 is in flush with the lower edge of the skirt flange 100 so that when the wearer stands on the sole body 10, the lower edge of the skirt flange 100 and the blocks 30 touch the floor and support the weight of the wearer.

[0017] Referring to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, the blocks can be straight plates 20 and/or cylindrical rods 21. The distal surface of the straight plates 20 and cylindrical rods 21 is in flush with the lower edge of the skirt flange 100. The cylindrical rods 21 and the protrusions 11 are such located so that they share a common axis. By this arrangement, the load from the wearer can be supported by the co-axial protrusions 11 and the cylindrical rods 21.

[0018] Water can flow through the apertures 12 through the sole body 10 and the notches 101 in the skirt flange 100 so that the foot wearer is not going to be soaked.

[0019] While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A slipper comprising:

a sole body and a vamp connected across the sole body and fixed to two sides of the sole body, the sole body having a top surface and a bottom, a plurality of protrusions extending from the top surface of the sole body and a plurality of apertures defined through the sole body and located between the protrusions, each of the protrusions having a rounded top end, a skirt flange extending from a periphery of the bottom of the sole body and a plurality of notches defined through a lower edge of the skirt flange, the lower edge of the skirt flange being a flat surface, and

a plurality of blocks extending from the bottom of the sole body and a distal surface of each of the blocks being in flush with the lower edge of the skirt flanges.

2. The slipper as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blocks are cylindrical rods which share a common axis with the protrusions.

3. A slipper comprising:

a sole body and a vamp connected across the sole body and fixed to two sides of the sole body, the sole body having a top surface and a bottom, a plurality of plates extending from the top surface of the sole body and a plurality of apertures defined through the sole body and located between the arcuate plates, a skirt flange extending from a periphery of the sole body and a plurality of notches defined through a lower edge of the skirt flange, the lower edge of the skirt flange being a flat surface, a plurality of blocks extending from the bottom of the sole body and enclosed by the skirt flange.

4. The slipper as claimed in claim 3, wherein the blocks are cylindrical rods which share a common axis with the protrusions.

5. The slipper as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plates are arcuate plates.

6. The slipper as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plates are straight plates.