Convertible Shoe

Abstract

A convertible shoe enables people to easily modify a single shoe to form a total of at least three different shoe types. This reduces the bulkiness/amount of a traveler's luggage and reduces the burden of traveling without limiting a traveler's options of available shoe types. The convertible shoe can include a front removable shoe upper to convert between an open-toe and a closed-toe shoe. The convertible shoe can further include a rear removable shoe upper to convert the shoe between closed-back shoe and a sandal-type shoe. The sandal-type shoe can include a removable strap to convert between a strapped and a strapless sandal-type shoe.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

[0001] One or more embodiments of the invention relates generally to convertible shoes. More particularly, the invention relates to a convertible shoe that can be converted by the wearer/owner into a total of at least three different shoe types.

2. Description of Prior Art and Related Information

[0002] The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.

[0003] When people travel, they often need/desire to have more than one pair/type of shoe. This requires them to pack multiple shoes in their luggage, which increases the amount of luggage they must travel with and thus, increases the difficulty of traveling.

[0004] Current shoes do not allow the wearer/owner to easily and predictably convert their individual shoes into several different types of shoes.

[0005] As can be seen, there is a need for a convertible shoe that can be easily changed between different types of shoes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Embodiments of the present invention provide a convertible shoe comprising a sole-base; at least one front magnetically attractive material disposed about a front edge of the sole-base; at least one rear magnetically attractive material disposed about a rear edge of the sole-base; a non-removable sandal-type shoe upper attached to the sole-base; a front removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the front magnetically attractive material; and a rear removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the rear magnetically attractive material.

[0007] In some embodiments, the magnetically attractive material may be a metal that is attracted by a magnet. In other embodiments, the magnetically attractive material may be a magnet attracted by another magnet or by a metal.

[0008] In some embodiments, a magnet may be disposed in one of the sole-base or the uppers and a metal, attracted to the magnet, may be disposed in the other of the sole-base or the uppers. In other embodiments, magnets may be disposed in both of the sole-base and the uppers, where opposing poles may align when the uppers are aligned and disposed on the sole-base.

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention further provide a convertible shoe comprising a sole-base; at least one front magnetically attractive material disposed in at least one front cavity hole formed in a front edge of the sole-base; at least one magnet disposed in the front removable shoe upper; at least one rear magnetically attractive material disposed in at least one rear cavity hole formed in a rear edge of the sole-base; at least one magnet disposed in the rear removable shoe upper; a non-removable sandal-type shoe upper attached to the sole-base; a front removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the front magnetically attractive material; and a rear removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the rear magnetically attractive material.

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention also provide a convertible shoe comprising a sole-base; at least one front magnetically attractive material disposed in at least one front cavity hole formed in a front edge of the sole-base; at least one magnet disposed within the front removable shoe upper; at least one rear magnetically attractive material disposed in at least one rear cavity hole formed in a rear edge of the sole-base; at least one magnet disposed within the rear removable shoe upper; a non-removable sandal-type shoe upper attached to the sole-base; a front removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the front magnetically attractive material; a rear removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the rear magnetically attractive material; attachment points disposed on opposite sides of the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper; and a detachable adjustable sandal strap operable to connect to the attachment points and span about a rear of a user's foot when wearing the convertible shoe.

[0011] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Some embodiments of the present invention are illustrated as an example and are not limited by the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references may indicate similar elements.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a convertible shoe according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the convertible shoe of FIG. 1 showing lines dividing various convertible sections of the shoe;

[0015] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the convertible shoe of FIG. 1 showing various interconnections thereof;

[0016] FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the convertible shoe of FIG. 1 converted into an open-toe sandal type shoe;

[0017] FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of the open-toe sandal type shoe of FIG. 4 shown with an optional heel strap;

[0018] FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of the convertible shoe of FIG. 1 converted into a closed-toe sandal type shoe; and

[0019] FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of the closed-toe sandal type shoe of FIG. 6 shown with an optional heel strap.

[0020] Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0021] The invention and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description wherein illustrated embodiments are described. It is to be expressly understood that the illustrated embodiments are set forth as examples and not by way of limitations on the invention as ultimately defined in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS AND BEST MODE OF INVENTION

[0022] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[0023] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical terms, scientific terms and terms of art) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0024] In describing the invention, it will be understood that a number of techniques and steps are disclosed. Each of these has individual benefit and each can also be used in conjunction with one or more, or in some cases all, of the other disclosed techniques. Accordingly, for the sake of clarity, this description will refrain from repeating every possible combination of the individual steps in an unnecessary fashion. Nevertheless, the specification and claims should be read with the understanding that such combinations are entirely within the scope of the invention and the claims.

[0025] In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.

[0026] The present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated by the figures or description below.

[0027] As is well known to those skilled in the art, many careful considerations and compromises typically must be made when designing for the optimal configuration of a commercial implementation of any article, and in particular, the embodiments of the present invention. A commercial implementation in accordance with the spirit and teachings of the present invention may be configured according to the needs of the particular application, whereby any aspect(s), feature(s), function(s), result(s), component(s), approach(es), or step(s) of the teachings related to any described embodiment of the present invention may be suitably omitted, included, adapted, mixed and matched, or improved and/or optimized by those skilled in the art, using their average skills and known techniques, to achieve the desired implementation that addresses the needs of the particular application.

[0028] Broadly, embodiments of the present invention provide a convertible shoe that enables people to easily modify a single shoe to form a total of at least three different shoe types. This reduces the bulkiness/amount of a traveler's luggage and reduces the burden of traveling without limiting a traveler's options of available shoe types. The convertible shoe can include a front removable shoe upper to convert between an open-toe and a closed-toe shoe. The convertible shoe can further include a rear removable shoe upper to convert the shoe between closed-back shoe and a sandal-type shoe. The sandal-type shoe can include a removable strap to convert between a strapped and a strapless sandal-type shoe.

[0029] Referring now to the FIGS. 1 through 7, a convertible shoe 1 is a shoe made from a basic open-toe sandal-type shoe 2 to which can be reversibly attached and detached a front removable shoe upper 8 and a rear removable shoe upper 9. The basic open-toe sandal-type shoe 2 can be formed from a sole-base 6 with a permanently attached non-removable sandal-type upper 7.

[0030] The sole-base 6 can include a plurality of toe area steel discs 10 along a toe area of the sole-base. A plurality of heel area steel discs 11 can be disposed along the heel area of the sole-base 6. While discreet discs are shown, in some embodiments, a steel plate may be disposed through the toe and heel area. While steel is described, the material of the discs 10, 11 may be any magnetically attractive material. The discs 10, 11 are typically disposed in the sole-base 6 so that the discs 10, 11 are flush with an exterior bottom surface of the shoe-base. In some embodiments, the discs 10, 11 may be covered with an outer layer (not shown) to visually hide the presence of the discs 10, 11 in the shoe-base.

[0031] The front removable shoe upper 8 can include a plurality of cylindrical shaped magnets 12 disposed in a pattern along the front removable shoe upper 8 such that the magnets 12 align with the discs 10 on the sole-base 6. Similarly, the rear removable shoe upper 9 can include a plurality of cylindrical shaped magnets 13 disposed in a pattern along the rear removable shoe upper 9 such that the magnets 13 align with the discs 11 on the sole-base 6. While cylindrical shaped magnets 12, 13 are described, the magnets may be formed in various shapes and sizes. Typically, the magnets 12, 13 are disposed in the uppers 8, 9 so that the magnets 12, 13 are flush with an exterior bottom surface of the uppers 8, 9.

[0032] While the above describes the discs 10, 11 in the sole-base 6 and the magnets 12, 13 in the uppers 8, 9, this configuration may be reversed with the same effect. In other words, the magnets 12, 13 may be disposed in the sole-base 6 and the discs 10, 11 may be disposed in the uppers 8, 9. Similarly the arrangement may be altered such that there are magnets in both the uppers 8, 9 and the sole-base 6 instead of steel discs in one or the other, resulting in the same effect.

[0033] The front removable upper 8 can attach to the basic open-toe sandal-type shoe 2 by magnetic attraction between the front removable upper 8 and the sole-base 6. An attachment-zone 14 of the front removable upper 8 may be attached to an attachment-zone 15 of the non-removable sandal-type upper 7 of the basic open-toe sandal-type shoe 2. The rear removable upper 9 can attach to the basic open-toe sandal-type shoe 2 by magnetic attraction between the rear removable upper 9 and the sole-base 6. An attachment-zone 16 of the rear removable upper 9 may be attached to an attachment-zone 17 of the non-removable sandal-type upper 7 of the basic open-toe sandal-type shoe 2.

[0034] The attachment zones 14, 15 and the attachment zones 16, 17 may interconnect in various manners. Hook and loop fastener, snaps, press-lock connectors, slide-lock connectors or the like may be used to make this connection. In some embodiments, a magnet may be disposed on one of the attachment zones, while wire threads, or the like, may be disposed on a mating attachment zone, resulting in magnetic attraction to interconnect the mating attachment zones.

[0035] The sole-base 6 will typically be made of rubber but may be made of any other material suitable as a shoe bottom. The uppers 7, 8, 9 can be made of leather or any other material that is typically used for, or that is suitable for, use as a shoe upper.

[0036] A user may wear the basic open-toe sandal-type shoe 2 with both the front 8 and rear 9 removable uppers attached forming the convertible shoe 1, either only the front removable upper 8 attached forming the closed-toe sandal-type shoe 4, or with neither the front 8 nor rear 9 removable uppers attached forming the basic open-toe sandal-type shoe 2. In addition, both the basic open-toe sandal-type shoe 2 and the closed-toe sandal-type shoe 4 may have a detachable adjustable sandal strap 18 attached, via an attachment mechanism 20 of the detachable adjustable sandal strap 18, to a mating attachment mechanism 19 of the non-removable sandal-type upper 7, or detached therefrom. The attachment mechanisms 19, 20 may be a snap, a hook and loop fastener, a magnetic connection, a button, or any other like connection known in the art.

[0037] To make the convertible shoe of the present invention, the shoe sole 6 can be created using standard shoe making techniques. Leather uppers can then be created using standard shoe-making techniques but with a redundancy of material such that there is an overlap of material at the points where the removable uppers 8, 9 would join the non-removable upper 7. This redundancy of material can, in fact, be lined with magnets and magnetic wires/threads, or lined with hook and loop fastener, or the like, to create attachment zones 14 and 15 as well as attachment zones 16 and 17.

[0038] All the features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying abstract and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

[0039] Claim elements and steps herein may have been numbered and/or lettered solely as an aid in readability and understanding. Any such numbering and lettering in itself is not intended to and should not be taken to indicate the ordering of elements and/or steps in the claims.

[0040] Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiments have been set forth only for the purposes of examples and that they should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expressly understood that the invention includes other combinations of fewer, more or different ones of the disclosed elements.

[0041] The words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification the generic structure, material or acts of which they represent a single species.

[0042] The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims are, therefore, defined in this specification to not only include the combination of elements which are literally set forth. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

[0043] Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted and also what incorporates the essential idea of the invention.

Claims

1. A convertible shoe comprising: a sole-base; at least one front magnetically attractive material disposed about a front edge of the sole-base; at least one rear magnetically attractive material disposed about a rear edge of the sole-base; a non-removable sandal-type shoe upper attached to the sole-base; a front removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the front magnetically attractive material; and a rear removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the rear magnetically attractive material.

2. The convertible shoe of claim 1, further comprising: at least one magnet disposed in the front removable shoe upper; and at least one magnet disposed in the rear removable shoe upper.

3. The convertible shoe of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of front cavity holes disposed in the front edge of the sole-base, the plurality of front cavity holes containing the at least one front magnetically attractive material; and a plurality of rear cavity holes disposed in the rear edge of the sole-base, the plurality of rear cavity holes containing the at least one rear magnetically attractive material.

4. The convertible shoe of claim 3, further comprising: a plurality of holes formed in the front removable shoe upper, the plurality of holes containing magnets; and a plurality of holes formed in the rear removable shoe upper, the plurality of holes containing magnets.

5. The convertible shoe of claim 1, wherein at least one of the front magnetically attractive material and the rear magnetically attractive material are magnets.

6. The convertible shoe of claim 1, further comprising: at least one magnetically attractive metal disc disposed in the front removable shoe upper; and at least one magnetically attractive metal disc disposed in the rear removable shoe upper.

7. The convertible shoe of claim 1, wherein the front and rear removable shoe uppers are securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper with a hook and loop fastener.

8. The convertible shoe of claim 1, wherein the front and rear removable shoe uppers are securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper with magnetic attraction.

9. The convertible shoe of claim 1, further comprising attachment points disposed on opposite sides of the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper.

10. The convertible shoe of claim 9, further comprising a detachable adjustable sandal strap operable to connect to the attachment points and span about a rear of a user's foot when wearing the convertible shoe.

11. A convertible shoe comprising: a sole-base; at least one front magnetically attractive material disposed in at least one front cavity hole formed in a front edge of the sole-base; at least one magnet disposed in the front removable shoe upper; at least one rear magnetically attractive material disposed in at least one rear cavity hole formed in a rear edge of the sole-base; at least one magnet disposed in the rear removable shoe upper; a non-removable sandal-type shoe upper attached to the sole-base; a front removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the front magnetically attractive material; and a rear removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the rear magnetically attractive material.

12. The convertible shoe of claim 11, further comprising: a plurality of holes formed in the front removable shoe upper, the plurality of holes containing the magnets; and a plurality of holes formed in the rear removable shoe upper, the plurality of holes containing the magnets.

13. The convertible shoe of claim 11, wherein the front and rear removable shoe uppers are securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper with a hook and loop fastener.

14. The convertible shoe of claim 11, wherein the front and rear removable shoe uppers are securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper with magnetic attraction.

15. The convertible shoe of claim 11, further comprising attachment points disposed on opposite sides of the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper.

16. The convertible shoe of claim 15, further comprising a detachable adjustable sandal strap operable to connect to the attachment points and span about a rear of a user's foot when wearing the convertible shoe.

17. A convertible shoe comprising: a sole-base; at least one front magnetically attractive material disposed in at least one front cavity hole formed in a front edge of the sole-base; at least one magnet disposed within the front removable shoe upper; at least one rear magnetically attractive material disposed in at least one rear cavity hole formed in a rear edge of the sole-base; at least one magnet disposed within the rear removable shoe upper; a non-removable sandal-type shoe upper attached to the sole-base; a front removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the front magnetically attractive material; a rear removable shoe upper securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper and to the rear magnetically attractive material; attachment points disposed on opposite sides of the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper; and a detachable adjustable sandal strap operable to connect to the attachment points and span about a rear of a user's foot when wearing the convertible shoe.

18. The convertible shoe of claim 17, wherein the at least one front and rear magnetically attractive material is flush with the sole-base.

19. The convertible shoe of claim 17, wherein the front and rear removable shoe uppers are securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper with a hook and loop fastener.

20. The convertible shoe of claim 17, wherein the front and rear removable shoe uppers are securable to the non-removable sandal-type shoe upper with magnetic attraction.