SOFT AND SECURELY HELD SHOE

• US 3,768,182 A
• Filed: 04/13/1972
• Issued: 10/30/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Al Powers
• Original Assignee: Al Powers
• Inventors: Powers, Al
• Primary Examiner(s): Lawson, Patrick D.
• Application Number:
  US05/243,780
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: 36/2.5R,2.5AM,54,68,71
• US Class Current: 36/114
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 23/227 fixed on the outside of the shoe
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/00 Footwear for sporting purposes non-skid devices, e.g. ice-spurs or studs for football shoes, A43C15/00

Abstract

An athletic shoe designed for wear without stockings, which avoids discontinuities where the shoe is tight against the foot, which permits considerable expansion to accommodate a range of widths and arch heights, but which firmly encircles the foot for a tight fit that is desired in athletic shoe wearing. The shoe has soft side walls and a reinforcing overlay on either side, with the bottom of the overlay extending between a point immediately behind the ball of the foot to a point immediately behind the arch, and with the top of the overlay extending forwardly from the bottom and to a locgtion above the soft side walls, the top of the overlay carrying lacing rings so that the tops of the overlays are laced together over the tongue. The rear of the shoe has a padding and liner extending with a forward directional component over the top of the stiff counter. The tongue of the shoe is very wide and long and is greatly skived at its edges.

Claims

1. In a shoe which includes side walls constructed of soft material for sockless wear of the shoe, the improvement comprising:

first and second overlays respectively lying at the inner side and outer side of said shoe over said soft side walls, each overlay having a lower portion joined to the sole of the shoe and an upper portion;

said first overlay having a lower portion extending rearwardly from approximately a location immediately behind the ball of the foot and the overlay extending forwardly and upwardly from its lower portion to its upper portion and said second overlay lying substantially opposite said first overlay;

each overlay having fastening means at its upper portion for tying to the upper portion of the other overlay.

2. The improvement described in claim 1 wherein:

each of said overlays is stiffer than the soft side walls under it.

3. The improvement a shoe described in claim 1 wherein:

said shoe has a plurality of eyelets along either side of its centerline at locations forward of the upper portions of said overlays, said eyelets extending through said side walls so that laces tying them together are pressed between the walls forming said eyelets and the forward tongue region underneath the walls forming the eyelets; and

said fastening means includes rings lying over said overlays so that laces tying them together are more free to slip thereon.

4. The improvement described in claim 1 wherein:

said fastening means comprises lace engaging means lying on top of said overlays, the upper portions of said overlays being thick enough and extending high enough that most of the lace portions tying said overlays together are spaced a distance above the tongue, whereby there is a minimum of pressing of the laces on the tongue.

5. The improvement described in claim 1 wherein:

said overlays and side walls are stitched together along a line spaced from the top of said side walls;

said fastening means includes lacing rings lying on said overlays, said lacing rings having grommet-like lower portions extending through holes in said overlays above said stitch lines and lying over said soft side walls.

6. In a shoe constructed of sOft material, the improvement comprising:

walls defining an ankle opening with a rear portion including a stiff counter which is at least partially rigid, a padding lying inside the counter, and a soft liner lying inside the padding;

said padding and liner extending above the top of the counter with a generally forward directional component at the inner surface of the shoe and said padding being thicker above the counter than below it.

7. The shoe described in claim 6 wherein:

said padding forms a thick collar along the upper rear portion of said ankle opening except at the extreme rear thereof to closely surround the Achilles tendon of the foot.

8. In a shoe constructed of soft material, the improvement comprising:

a tongue having top and bottom layers joined together around their peripheries with a layer of resilient padding between them along their middle, the tongue being soft and easily deformable both above and below the padding, the side edges of said layers being tapered in thickness, and the rear portion of the top layer being wider than the bottom layer between joined regions near opposite sides of the tongue to cause the sides of the tongue to naturally curl down.

9. In a shoe which includes side walls constructed of soft material, the improvement comprising:

first and second overlays respectively lying at the inner side and outer side of said shoe over said soft side walls, each overlay having lower and upper portions;

said first overlay having a lower portion extending rearwardly from approximately a location immediately behind the ball of the foot and the overlay extending forwardly and upwardly from its lower portion to its upper portion and said second overlay lying substantially opposite said first overlay;

each overlay having fastening means at its upper portion for tying to the upper portion of the other overlay.

10. The improvement described in claim 9 wherein:

said fastening means comprises lace engaging means lying on top of said overlays, the upper portions of said overlays being thick enough and extending high enough that most of the lace portions tying said overlays together are spaced a distance above the tongue, whereby there is a minimum of pressing of the laces on the tongue.