Shoe with split sole and mid-section reinforcement
AssigneeBallet Makers, Inc.
InventorJohn Terlizzi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shoe, e.g. for dance or athletics, having a split sole, with a front portion at the front of the foot, a rear portion beneath the rear of the foot and no sole beneath the mid-section of the shoe upper at the mid-section of the foot, beneath the arch. To help support the foot and prevent sag of the mid-section of the shoe upper, a band of flexible, but non-stretchable, fabric is stitched inside the shoe upper to extend from the bottom of the shoe upper, up the sides of the shoe upper, to the top of the shoe upper. The stitched in material supports the mid-section of the bottom of the shoe upper against sagging, while permitting the foot to be flexed. If the shoe has a split top side of the upper and is closed or laced, the closing of the top of the shoe upper pulls up on the band.
Claims16
A shoe comprising:
- a shoe upper including a bottom beneath, sides passing up past the sides of, and a top above a wearer's foot;
- the shoe upper including a front portion, a heel portion and a foot opening at the heel portion;
- the shoe upper being comprised of a flexible material at least at the mid-section of the shoe upper;
- a split sole beneath the bottom of the shoe upper including a front sole portion under the front portion of the shoe upper, a rear sole portion under the heel portion of the shoe upper, a mid-section of the bottom of the shoe upper between the front and the rear sole portions and which is without the sole beneath it;
- a band of flexible, non-stretchable material attached to the shoe upper so as to overlap the shoe upper at the mid-section of the shoe upper, the band extending across the bottom of the shoe upper, up past both sides of the shoe upper and extending to and attached in an overlapping arrangement to both sides of the shoe upper toward the top of the shoe upper for substantially reducing an amount of sagging of the bottom of the shoe upper due to application of force to the bottom of the shoe upper by the wearer's foot and due to stretching of the shoe upper material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.