CONVERTIBLE TRACTION SHOES

• US 20100024250A1
• Filed: 08/03/2009
• Published: 02/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Select Sole, LLC
• Original Assignee: Select Sole, LLC
• Inventors: Fogarty, Stacy Renee, O'Brien, John Michael, O'Brien, Patrick Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,913,425 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 36/100
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/223 Profiled soles
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/14 with outwardly-movable spikes
• CPC Class Codes: A43C 15/168 with resilient means, e.g. shock absorbing means

Abstract

A convertible shoe having a shoe body and a shoe sole. An air channel formed in said shoe sole including pressurized air inlet and air exhaust. An elongated pocket or multiple individual pockets in the bottom of the shoe sole and along said air channel. A flexible wall portion between said air channel and pocket that expands into the pocket(s) upon pressurization of said air channel. A protrusion affixed to said flexible wall portion and which extends out of said pocket and into engagement with a support surface when said air channel is pressurized.

Claims

1. A convertible footwear comprising:

a footwear body and a footwear sole, the sole having a bottom surface adapted to engage a support surface;

a fluid directing channel disposed in said sole;

a pocket underlying said fluid directing channel;

a flexible wall portion disposed between said fluid directing channel and said pocket;

a protrusion coupled to and extended from said flexible wall portion and residing at least partially in said pocket;

a fluid source connected to said fluid directing channel to increase and decrease a parameter of the fluid in the fluid directing channel, wherein said flexible wall portion is responsive to said increase of the parameter to extend the flexible wall portion into said pocket and extend said protrusion out of said pocket into engagement with said support surface, and wherein said decrease of said parameter and resiliency of the flexible wall portion urge retraction of said protrusion relative to the pocket.

2. A convertible shoe as defined in claim 1, wherein said fluid is air.

3. The convertible footwear of claim 1, wherein the parameter is volume and/or pressure.

4. A convertible footwear method, comprising:

providing footwear having a sole containing one or more retractable members disposed in one or more pockets and coupled to a flexible wall portion;

disposing a fluid directing channel in said sole; and

altering a parameter of the fluid to cause the flexible wall member to move relative to the pocket.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein altering the parameter includes moving fluid into and out of said channel to increase and decrease the volume of fluid in the fluid direction channel.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein altering the parameter includes moving fluid into and out of said channel to increase and decrease the pressure of fluid in the fluid directing channel.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

increasing the parameter of said fluid to cause the flexible wall portion to move from a first position to a second position and cause extension of said one or more retractable members from said one or more pockets; and

decreasing the parameter of said fluid to cause retraction of said one or more retractable members into said one or more pockets by urging the membrane to move from the second position to the first position.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the decreasing the parameter of said fluid includes working in conjunction with a resiliency of the flexible wall portion to cause retraction of said one or more retractable members.