Shoe with removable ankle support
AssigneeConverse Inc.
InventorRui Parracho
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A shoe includes a removable structure, having lateral and medial sheet springs. Each spring has a Y shape and is removably attached, with a rotary-keyed fastener, to the side of the shoe below the ankle. The springs are fastened under tension to each other around the ankle so as to inhibit displacement of the ankle.
Claims7
An improved athletic shoe of the type having an outsole, a midsole and an upper, wherein the upper is formed with a lateral side sheet portion and a medical side sheet portion, each side sheet portion having a bottom edge and a top edge, each side sheet portion being attached along its bottom edge to the outsole, and fastening means for fastening the top edge of the lateral side sheet portion to the top edge of the medial side sheet portion, wherein the improvement comprises:
- a removable structure, having a lateral sheet spring and a medial sheet spring, each spring made of a material which is resistant to both bending and twisting out of its plane and is relatively unstretchable and incompressible in such plane, each spring having a bottom portion and a top portion, the lateral spring having an inner side facing the lateral side sheet portion, the medial spring having an inner side facing the medial side sheet portion, and having forward attachment means for fastening under tension a point on the top portion of the lateral spring to a point on the top portion of the medial spring;
- lateral attachment means having a first part and a second part, the first part associated with the inner side of the bottom portion of the lateral spring, the second part associated with the lateral side sheet portion, for removably attaching the lateral spring directly to the lateral sheet portion below the region of the ankle and above the region of the sole;
- and
- medial attachment means having a first part and a second part, the first part associated with the inner side of the bottom portion of the medial spring, the second part associated with the medial side sheet portion, for removably attaching the medial spring directly to the medial sheet portion below the region of the ankle and above the region of the sole;
- wherein the first part of the lateral attachment means includes a lateral retaining bar mounted on a lateral centering post, the lateral centering post being fixedly attached to the inner side of the lateral spring, and the first part of the medial attachment means includes a medial retaining bar mounted on a medial centering post, the medial centering post being fixedly attached to the inner side of the medial spring;
- wherein the second part of the lateral attachment means includes a lateral side sheet portion having a slot, such slot hereinafter referred to as a "lateral slot", sized to accept the lateral retaining bar, and the second part of the medial attachment means includes a medial side sheet portion having a slot, such slot hereinafter referred to as a "medial slot", sized to accept the medial retaining bar;
- whereby the structure, when attached to the shoe, may inhibit displacement of the ankle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.