DETACHABLE SOLE FOR ATHLETIC SHOE
A functional athletic shoe cover that allows for optimizing the shoe for a specific athletic, sport, or daily routine use. The shoe cover covers the mid and lower portions of the shoe, and holds devices such as cleats, studs, spikes or tread patterns in place. The cover is arranged such that the devices are removable and interchangeable, thus avoiding the expense of owning separate shoes for various sports or for different field conditions.
Many people will participate in sports at sometime during their lives. Many of these sports require specially designed and expensive shoes. A family may not be able to afford such the expense of dedicated sporting shoes, and can only afford a pair of all-purpose footwear. But using everyday shoes to play sports presents a number of problems. Everyday shoes are of course not meant to be worn for sporting events and will easily wear and tear from usage. In addition, playing sports in such shoes heightens the possibility of injury to the player.
Shoes are generally designed for one specific activity, and are suboptimal for use outside of their intended usage design. In addition, existing shoes cannot be easily converted for use in multiple types of sports and activities. There is no known product which easily converts an everyday shoe or athletic shoe into a functional athletic shoe that is customized for use in multiple particular sports and activities.
Thus what is needed is an economical under-shoe attachment that converts an everyday shoe into an instant functional athletic shoe for the specific sport needed at the time. In particular, an attachment is needed which allows for the interchangeability of traction features. The needed shoe attachment also protects the sole and lower portions of the shoe from wear and tear encountered during the sporting activity. This attachment would not only be functional, but could also be designed as an ornamental under-shoe protector to protect normal everyday shoes from wear.
The present invention addresses the needs of the prior art. A flexible and resilient shoe cover is disposed to be worn over the lower parts of an athletic shoe, covering and protecting essentially the entirety of the sole and mid-lower portions of the shoe. The shoe cover also incorporates traction elements which extend from the bottom external surface of the shoe cover. In a preferred embodiment, the shoe cover includes at least one inner sole to which the traction elements are affixed. The inner sole is held in place to the sole of the athletic shoe by a flexible and resilient outer sole that is stretched over the shoe. The shoe cover thereby converts the shoe for a specific athletic use.
In accordance with the objectives of the present invention, an athletic shoe cover 100 for covering the sole of an athletic shoe is described. The shoe cover has a customizable sole comprising an inner sole plate 120 disposed to reside in contact with the sole of the athletic shoe, at least one fraction element 130 disposed on and extending from a surface of the inner sole plate opposite the sole of the athletic shoe, and a flexible resilient outer sole 140 having an internal surface 142 and an external surface 144. At least one aperture 150 extends through the outer sole. The outer sole is disposed to retain the inner sole plate securely in contact with the sole of the athletic shoe, wherein each traction element extends through a corresponding aperture and away from the outer surface of the outer sole. The traction elements may be mechanically replaceable on corresponding attachment points at the inner sole, or may be permanently affixed such that the inner sole itself may be replaced to customize the athletic shoe.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, an athletic shoe cover is described for covering the sole of an athletic shoe. The shoe cover comprises a sole toe portion constructed of a relatively stiff polymeric material, a sole heel portion constructed of the relatively stiff polymeric material, and an upper sleeve portion constructed of a resilient and flexible polymeric material operable to stretch around the lower portions of the athletic shoe to hold the sole toe portion and sole heel portion to corresponding sole portions of the athletic shoe. A plurality of traction elements is attached to the sole heel portion and the sole toe portion. The traction elements may be removable or permanently affixed to the heel and toe portions.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for customizing an athletic shoe having a sole, a toe, and a heel for a particular sport is described, comprising the steps of selecting one of a plurality of types of traction elements, attaching each selected traction element to an inner sole plate, placing the inner sole plate against an inner surface of a flexible resilient outer sleeve, and stretching the outer sleeve around a lower periphery of an athletic shoe such that each traction element is held securely against and extending away from the sole of the athletic shoe. The traction elements may optionally be attached after the placing and stretching steps.
The inventions as described fulfill the objective of conveniently converting everyday shoes to be used for multiple uses. The user thus avoids unnecessary expense while optimizing the footwear to the intended purpose. The invention also may include features that allow the shoe to be easily identified by the owner, such as distinctive colors or styles. The outer sole may also include areas to which ornamental features are applied.
Now turning to the Figures,
Also shown in
In this embodiment, traction elements 130 are attached to plates 122, 124 prior to insertion into outer sole 140. Traction elements may be cleats, studs, or spikes. The fraction elements may be permanently affixed to the plates, or may be removable or replaceable by the use of mechanical attachment points.
A method for customizing athletic shoe 110 with athletic shoe cover 100 is readily seen by way of the
In an alternate construction of athletic shoe cover 100, the assembly is completed during manufacturing. The sole plates 120, 128 are assembled and inserted into the empty outer sole 140 during manufacturing. If traction elements 130 are installed then, they are fitted through the outer sole 140 through apertures 150. A high strength adhesive preferably bonds the entire assembly together. In this embodiment, it is envisioned that the traction elements 130 may optionally be configured to be replaceable through the apertures 150 if mechanical attachment points are included in the sole plates.
Also shown in
Mid foot region 14 is preferably constructed of a relatively flexible and durable rubber material, possible thicker in areas that experience additional wear and tear. Region 13 is also the area where ornamental features such as the company logo may reside.
The scope of the above-described inventions also encompasses configurations of the athletic shoe cover which replaces cleats altogether with sole grip patterns for use on basketball courts and the like. The detachable sole could thus be manufactured for use on wood surfaces and street surfaces. In addition to being formed with a customized sole grip pattern, the composition of the material used for the sole itself could be optimized, such as by being formed of durable rubber, depending on the intended playing surface. The shoe cover would not only be functional for that specific sport, but could also incorporate decorative patterns, logos or colors that are customized to a team's colors or styles.
Claims
1. An athletic shoe cover (100) for covering the sole of an athletic shoe, the shoe cover having a customizable sole, comprising:
- an inner sole plate (120) disposed to reside in contact with the sole of the athletic shoe;
- at least one traction element (130) disposed on and extending from a surface of the inner sole plate opposite the sole of the athletic shoe; and
- a flexible resilient outer sole (140) having an internal surface (142), an external surface (144), and at least one aperture (150), wherein the outer sole is disposed to retain the inner sole plate securely in contact with the sole of the athletic shoe,
- wherein each traction element extends through a corresponding aperture and away from the outer surface of the outer sole.
2. The athletic shoe cover of claim 1, wherein the outer sole further comprises:
- a toe cap (152) disposed to stretch around and over the shoe; and
- an outer sole heel (154) disposed to cover a heel area of the shoe,
- wherein the toe cap and outer sole heel are operable to retain the shoe cover and inner sole plate in contact with the sole of the athletic shoe.
3. The athletic shoe cover of claim 2, further comprising left and right side portions (156, 156′) extending from the toe cap to the outer sole heel and disposed to cover the entirety of left and right lower side portions of the athletic shoe.
4. The athletic shoe cover of claim 2, further comprising a heel grip tab disposed on the outer sole heel.
5. The athletic shoe cover of claim 1, further comprising a second inner sole plate (128) and at least one second traction element (136) disposed on and extending from a surface of the second inner sole plate opposite the sole of the athletic shoe, wherein the inner sole plate is adapted to overlie only a ball sole portion of the athletic shoe and the second inner sole plate is adapted to overlie only a heel sole portion of the athletic shoe, and further wherein the inner sole plate and second inner sole plates are constructed of a relatively stiff and durable material.
6. The athletic shoe cover of claim 1, wherein the traction element is removably attached to the inner sole plate.
7. The athletic shoe cover of claim 1, where the traction element is a type selected from the group comprising a cleat, a stud, and a spike.
8. The athletic shoe cover of claim 1, wherein the inner sole plate is constructed of a relatively stiff and durable material that is adhesively bonded to the internal surface of the flexible resilient outer sole.
9. An athletic shoe cover for covering the sole of a shoe, the shoe cover comprising:
- a sole toe portion constructed of a relatively stiff polymeric material;
- a sole heel portion constructed of the relatively stiff polymeric material;
- an upper sleeve portion constructed of a resilient and flexible polymeric material operable to stretch around the lower portions of the shoe to hold the sole toe portion and sole heel portion to corresponding sole portions of the shoe; and
- a plurality of fraction elements attached to the sole heel portion and the sole toe portion.
10. The shoe cover of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of mechanical attachments disposed on the sole toe portion and sole heel portion disposed to removable receive one of the plurality of traction elements.
11. The shoe cover of claim 9, wherein the traction elements are of a type selected from the group comprising a cleat, a stud, and a spike.
12. The shoe cover of claim 9, wherein the sole toe portion and sole heel portion are bonded to the upper sleeve portion.
13. The shoe cover of claim 9, wherein the plurality of traction elements are permanently attached to the sole heel portion and the sole toe portion.
14. The shoe cover of claim 9, further comprising a lower sleeve portion constructed of the resilient and flexible polymeric material which completely covers a portion of the shoe sole not covered by the sole toe portion and the sole heel portion.
15. The shoe cover of claim 9, wherein the upper sleeve portion further comprises:
- a toe cap (252) disposed to stretch around and over the shoe; and
- an outer sole heel (254) disposed to cover a heel area of the shoe,
- wherein the toe cap and outer sole heel are operable to retain the shoe cover and inner sole plate in contact with the sole of the shoe.
16. The shoe cover of claim 15, further comprising a heel grip tab disposed on the outer sole heel.
17. A method for customizing an athletic shoe having a sole, a toe, and a heel for a particular sport, comprising the steps of:
- selecting one of a plurality of types of traction elements;
- attaching each selected traction element to an inner sole plate;
- placing the inner sole plate against an inner surface of a flexible resilient outer sleeve; and
- stretching the outer sleeve around a lower periphery of an athletic shoe such that each fraction element is held securely against and extending away from the sole of the athletic shoe.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the stretching step further comprises hooking a toe cap of the flexible resilient outer sleeve over the toe of the athletic shoe and hooking a heel portion of the flexible resilient outer sleeve over the heel of the athletic shoe.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the hooking a heel portion further comprises gripping a heel grip disposed on the heel portion.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein the attaching step occurs after the placing step and the stretching step.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 18, 2013
Publication Date: Mar 20, 2014
Inventor: Juan Cartagena (Orlando, FL)
Application Number: 14/030,920
International Classification: A43B 3/24 (20060101); A43B 5/18 (20060101);