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US 7,637,035 B1Granted
Collapsible shoe
AssigneeReebok International Ltd.
InventorAndrew Gillespie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article of footwear including an upper formed of a flexible upper material and a sole formed of a flexible sole material, wherein the sole is rolled, folded, or collapsed onto itself to reduce the volume of the article of footwear. The article of footwear in a collapsed state can then be packaged in a container. This container can be dispensed by a vending machine in a convenient urban area.
Claims27
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper;
- and
- a flexible unitary sole fixed to said upper and having a forefoot area, a heel area and an arch area, and further having a length and a width, wherein said sole includes:
- a first flexure line that extends through at least a portion of the length of said sole and divides said sole at said arch area into first and second sole plates, the first sole plate extending from a lateral side of said sole to said flexure line and the second sole plate extending from said flexure line to a medial side of said sole, wherein a widest portion of the second sole plate is wider than a widest portion of the first sole plate, and wherein the first and second sole plates have a ground contacting surface, and a second flexure line that extends through at least a portion of the length of said sole along at least a portion of said forefoot area, wherein said first flexure line extends longitudinally through at least a portion of said forefoot area, said second flexure line being disposed between said first flexure line and the medial side of said sole,
- wherein said first and second flexure lines divide said sole at the portion of said forefoot area into third, fourth and fifth sole plates that extend the width of said sole, each of the third, fourth and fifth sole plates being undivided by a flexure line,
- wherein the third sole plate extends from the lateral side to said first flexure line,
- wherein the fourth sole plate extends from said first flexure line to said second flexure line, and
- wherein the fifth sole plate extends from said second flexure line to the medial side of said sole.
5 more elements
An article of footwear comprising:
- an upper;
- and
- a flexible unitary sole fixed to said upper and having a forefoot area, a heel area and an arch area, and further having a length and a width, wherein said sole includes:
- a first and second flexure line that each extends through at least a portion of the length of said sole along at least a portion of said forefoot area, wherein said first flexure line extends longitudinally through at least a portion of said forefoot area, said second flexure line being disposed between said first flexure line and the medial side of said sole,
- wherein said first and second flexure lines divide said sole at the portion of said forefoot area into first, second and third sole plates, each of the first, second and third sole plates being undivided by a flexure line,
- wherein the first sole plate extends from the lateral side to said first flexure line,
- wherein the second sole plate extends from said first flexure line to said second flexure line, and
- wherein the third sole plate extends from said second flexure line to the medial side of said sole, and
- wherein said sole includes at least one sole plate at said arch area, wherein the at least one sole plate has a ground contacting surface.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.