Foldable flip flop with formed hinge
OwnerMary Kiser, Allen D. Hertzinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A foldable flip flop which incorporates a flexible hinge within a sole of the footwear. The flexible hinge consists of a molded flexible hinge section 40, a molded hinge aperture 38, a hinge top recess 34 and a hinge limitation contact section 42. The molded flexible hinge section 40 and molded hinge aperture 38 provides a flexible and reliable member allowing the sole to be folded. The sole can comprise a hinge section along a transverse orientation or a longitudinal orientation about the center of the sole. The hinge limitation contact section 42 ensures that a heel section of the sole remains in a wearable configuration during use.
Claims14
A foldable sandal, said foldable sandal comprising:
- a molded sole having a central sole thickness defined as a dimension between a foot contacting surface of the sole and a ground contact surface of the sole proximate a transverse center line of the sole provided having a transverse orientation of the sole;
- an upper strap member for securing one's foot to said foldable footwear, the upper strap member being in a form factor of a sandal having each end of said strap secured at each of a instep and an outstep side of the shoe and designed to be placed over a front portion of a wearer's foot;
- and
- a hinge molded into the molded sole, said hinge comprising:
- a flexible hinge aperture extending laterally across the midsection of the sole, extending upward from the ground contact surface of the sole into the sole a distance that is greater than ¼ and less than 9/10 of the central sole thickness, and
- a hinge top recess provided parallel to said flexible hinge, located along the foot contact surface,
- wherein said flexible hinge is provided allowing the user to fold the molded sole such to have a heel section of the foot contact surface become substantially parallel to and opposing a toe section of the foot contact surface.
A foldable sandal, said foldable sandal comprising:
- a molded sole having a central sole thickness defined as a dimension between a foot contacting surface of the sole and a ground contact surface of the sole proximate a transverse center line of the sole provided having a transverse orientation of the sole;
- an upper strap member for securing one's foot to said foldable footwear, the upper strap member being in a form factor of a sandal having each end of said strap secured at each of a instep and an outstep side of the shoe and designed to be placed over a front portion of a wearer's foot;
- and
- a hinge molded into the molded sole, said hinge comprising:
- a flexible hinge aperture extending laterally across the midsection of the sole, extending upward from the ground contact surface of the sole into the sole a distance that is greater than ¼ and less than 9/10 of the central sole thickness;
- a hinge limitation contact section located along the ground contact end of the flexible hinge aperture, wherein said hinge limitation contact section limits a heel section of said sole from rotating downward substantially below a planar configuration, and
- a hinge top recess provided parallel to said flexible hinge, located along the foot contact surface,
- wherein said flexible hinge is provided allowing the user to fold the molded sole such to have a heel section of the foot contact surface become substantially parallel to and opposing a toe section of the foot contact surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.