Dance footwear
AssigneePointe Noir Pty Ltd.
InventorsDavid Wilkenfeld, Felicia Leoncelli
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An item of footwear (10), which exposes a substantial portion of a wearer's foot, is disclosed. The footwear includes a plurality of foot enclosures (110, 112) operably connected to each other via a connector (114), such as a plurality of elastic straps (200, 202). Protective pads (180, 182) may be attached to the footwear, such as leather pads on the plantar surface of the footwear. One advantage offered by this footwear is that the wearer's foot—and particularly the arch and middle of the foot—is substantially exposed to view, achieving a new aesthetic for ballet and dance footwear.
Claims32
A shoe, comprising a forefoot enclosure and a rearfoot enclosure, the enclosures in combination on a wearer's foot leaving a mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot visibly exposed, the enclosures being connected and secured on the foot by a connector that is adapted to avoid or minimize coverage over the mid-foot region so as to create a partially barefoot aesthetic;
- wherein the connector comprises a plurality of elongate elastic straps;
- wherein the connector comprises a pair of upper straps that slideably contact each other at a first intersection and a pair of lower straps that slideably contact each other at a second intersection.
A footwear item for a wearer's foot and suitable for dance or dance exercises, comprising:
- a first foot enclosure;
- a second foot enclosure separate from the first foot enclosure;
- and
- a connector that operably connects the first foot enclosure to the second foot enclosure, wherein the connector comprises a plurality of elongate elastic elements configured to expose a substantial area of the mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot between the first foot enclosure and the second foot enclosure;
- wherein the connector comprises a first upper strap, a second upper strap, a first lower strap, and a second lower strap;
- and
- wherein each upper strap provides a tension force along a longitudinal axis of the strap and the direction of the tension force is intermediate among a longitudinal, width, and height axis of a footwear item;
- and
- wherein the straps are arranged so that the directions of the tension forces of the two upper strains intersect between a lateral side and a medial side of the footwear item at a location that corresponds to a dorsal surface of a wearer's foot.
A footwear item for a wearer's foot and suitable for dance or dance exercises, comprising:
- a first foot enclosure;
- a second foot enclosure separate from the first foot enclosure;
- and
- a connector that operably connects the first foot enclosure to the second foot enclosure, wherein the connector comprises a plurality of elongate elastic elements configured to expose a substantial area of the mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot between the first foot enclosure and the second foot enclosure;
- wherein the connector comprises a first upper strap, a second upper strap, a first lower strap, and a second lower strap;
- and
- wherein the first upper strap crosses over the second upper strap forming an intersection of the upper straps.
A footwear item for a wearer's foot and suitable for dance or dance exercises, comprising:
- a first foot enclosure;
- a second foot enclosure separate from the first foot enclosure;
- and
- a connector that operably connects the first foot enclosure to the second foot enclosure, wherein the connector comprises a plurality of elongate elastic elements configured to expose a substantial area of the mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot between the first foot enclosure and the second foot enclosure;
- wherein the connector comprises a first upper strap, a second upper strap, a first lower strap, and a second lower strap;
- and
- wherein:
- each strap has a first end and a second end;
- the first end of the first upper strap is attached to the upper posterior lateral portion of the first foot enclosure, and the second end of the first upper strap is attached to upper anterior medial portion of the second foot enclosure;
- the first end of the second upper strap is attached to the upper anterior lateral portion of the second foot enclosure, and the second end of the second upper strap is attached to the upper posterior medial portion of the first foot enclosure;
- the first end of the first lower strap is attached to the lower posterior lateral portion of the first foot enclosure and the second end of first lower strap is attached to the lower anterior medial portion of the second foot enclosure;
- and
- the first end of the second lower strap is attached to the lower posterior medial portion of the first foot enclosure and the second end of the second lower strap is attached to the lower anterior lateral portion of the second foot enclosure.
A footwear item for a wearer's foot and suitable for dance or dance exercises, comprising:
- a first foot enclosure;
- a second foot enclosure separate from the first foot enclosure;
- and
- a connector that operably connects the first foot enclosure to the second foot enclosure, wherein the connector comprises a plurality of elongate elastic elements configured to expose a substantial area of the mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot between the first foot enclosure and the second foot enclosure;
- wherein the connector comprises a first upper strap, a second upper strap, a first lower strap, and a second lower strap;
- and
- wherein the upper straps slideably contact each other forming an intersection, and this intersection is located at, or adjacent to, the proximal dorsal portion of the wearer's foot.
A footwear item for a wearer's foot and suitable for dance or dance exercises, comprising:
- a first foot enclosure;
- a second foot enclosure separate from the first foot enclosure;
- and
- a connector that operably connects the first foot enclosure to the second foot enclosure, wherein the connector comprises a plurality of elongate elastic elements configured to expose a substantial area of the mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot between the first foot enclosure and the second foot enclosure;
- wherein the connector comprises a first upper strap, a second upper strap, a first lower strap, and a second lower strap;
- and
- wherein the lower straps slideably contact each other forming an intersection, and this intersection is located at, or adjacent to, the midline of the plantar surface of the wearer's foot.
A footwear item for a wearer's foot and suitable for dance or dance exercises, comprising:
- a first foot enclosure;
- a second foot enclosure separate from the first foot enclosure;
- a connector that operably connects the first foot enclosure to the second foot enclosure, wherein the connector comprises a plurality of elongate elastic elements configured to expose a substantial area of the mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot between the first foot enclosure and the second foot enclosure;
- wherein the connector comprises a unitary elastic strap having a plurality of strap ends, and wherein the connector supplies a tension force with vector components substantially in three dimensions;
- and
- wherein the connector comprises an X-shaped elastic strap having four strap ends, wherein
- the first strap end is attached to the upper posterior lateral portion of the first foot enclosure;
- the second strap end is attached to upper posterior medial portion of the first foot enclosure;
- the third strap end is attached to the upper anterior lateral portion of the second foot enclosure;
- and
- the fourth strap end is attached to the upper anterior medial portion of the second foot enclosure.
A shoe, comprising a forefoot enclosure and a rearfoot enclosure, the enclosures in combination on a wearer's foot leaving a predetermined mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot visibly exposed, the enclosures being connected and secured on the foot by a connector,
- wherein a portion of the connector is routed over a portion of the dorsal surface of the wearer's foot when the shoe is worn;
- wherein the at least one element has a first end, a second end, and a middle portion;
- and wherein the first end is attached at, or adjacent to, the sole of the shoe;
- the second end is attached at, or adjacent to, the sole of the shoe distant from the first end;
- and the middle portion is routed over a portion of the dorsal surface of the wearer's foot when the shoe is worn;
- and wherein the first end of the at least one element is attached at, or adjacent to, the medial side of the shoe;
- the second end is attached at, or adjacent to, the lateral side of the shoe;
- and the longitudinal axis of the at least one element lies intermediate between the longitudinal axis and the width axis of the shoe.
A shoe, comprising a forefoot enclosure and a rearfoot enclosure, the enclosures in combination on a wearer's foot leaving a predetermined mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot visibly exposed, the enclosures being connected and secured on the foot by a connector,
- wherein a portion of the connector is routed over a portion of the dorsal surface of the wearer's foot when the shoe is worn;
- and wherein the connector is a pi-shaped connector.
A process of manufacturing footwear, comprising:
- obtaining or providing a forefoot enclosure;
- obtaining or providing a rearfoot enclosure;
- obtaining or providing a connector;
- and
- attaching the forefoot enclosure to the rearfoot enclosure via the connector,
- wherein the enclosures in combination on a wearer's foot leave a predetermined mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot visibly exposed,
- wherein the connector comprises a plurality of elongate elastic elements, and
- wherein a portion of at least one element is routed over a portion of the dorsal surface of the wearer's foot when the shoe is worn;
- and
- wherein the connector comprises a pi-shaped connector or an x-shaped connector.
A shoe leaving a mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot visibly exposed so as to create a partially barefoot aesthetic, comprising:
- a forefoot enclosure;
- a rearfoot enclosure;
- and
- a connector coupled to both the forefoot enclosure and rearfoot enclosure that connects and secures the shoe to the wearer's foot, wherein the connector is adapted to avoid or minimize coverage over the mid-foot region, and wherein the connector comprises a front ankle strap, first transverse strap, and second transverse strap.
A shoe, comprising a forefoot enclosure and a rearfoot enclosure, the enclosures in combination on a wearer's foot leaving a predetermined mid-foot portion of the wearer's foot visibly exposed, the enclosures being connected and secured on the foot by a connector that is adapted to avoid or minimize excess coverage over the mid-foot region so as to create a partially barefoot aesthetic,
- wherein a connector comprises an elastic portion shaped to follow a path across the bottom of the foot from a lateral side of the rear foot enclosure to a medial side of the forefoot enclosure, and another elastic portion shaped to follow a path from a medial side of the rear foot enclosure to a lateral side of the forefoot enclosure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.