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Interchangeable orthopedic footwear

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-08-30
THRELKELD TRINA ANN
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear which has a modular construction enabling the wearer to interchange various styles of outer soles and upper members.
[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear which has a modular construction enabling the wearer to simply and easily interchange the outer sole and the upper member.

Problems solved by technology

As is generally well known, customization of an outer sole of the footwear to receive an orthopedic appliance in order to correct particular foot and ankle conditions of a wearer is a time consuming effort which is performed by a licensed medical practitioner.
Therefore, the orthopedic footwear is associated with considerable expense due to such customization.
The wearer of such customized orthopedic footwear is disadvantaged due of such expense and often forgoes the aesthetic considerations for the sake of comfort by wearing the same orthopedic footwear in different conditions.
The presently available modular articles of orthopedic footwear fail to simply and easily alleviate the disadvantage experienced by the wearer of the orthopedic footwear.

Method used

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  • Interchangeable orthopedic footwear
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first embodiment

[0018] Reference is now made, to FIGS. 1-4, wherein there is shown an article of footwear, generally designated 10, according to the invention, which includes an outer sole 20 having a bottom walking surface 22 and an opposed top surface 24. The article of footwear 10 further includes an upper member 40 having a predetermined shape and which is at least engageable with a foot 4 of a wearer. A fastening means, generally designated 50, is engageable with the outer sole 20 and the upper member 40 for securing the upper member 40 to the outer sole 20 in a releasable manner.

[0019] In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, best shown in FIG. 3, such fastening means 50 is a zipper means having a first portion 54 peripherally attached to a predetermined portion of the outer sole 20 and a second portion 56 peripherally attached to a predetermined portion of the upper member 40. It is further preferred that the zipper means 50 is an interdigitating chain 60 and each of the first p...

second embodiment

[0026] According to the invention, best shown in FIG. 2, the top surface 24 of the outer sole 20 includes a cavity 26 forming an upstanding peripheral side wall 28 of the outer sole 20. Such cavity 26 is sized for receiving an orthopedic appliance 100 which can be replaced as desired. Preferably, a peripheral ledge member 29 is formed within an interior surface of the side wall 28 and extends towards a center of the cavity 26 for securing such replaceable orthopedic appliance 100 received within the cavity 26. It is further preferred that a material of the cavity 26 is a well known memory foam providing additional comfort to the wearer.

[0027] It will be appreciated that the orthopedic appliance 100 and the outer sole 20 adapted to accommodate such orthopedic appliance 100 are relatively expensive due a customized fit and, therefore, the present invention enables the wearer to simply and easily attach different styles of an upper member 40 to one type of the outer sole 20, thus decre...

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Abstract

An article of footwear includes an outer sole having a bottom walking surface and an opposed top surface, an upper member and a zipper member connected to the outer sole and to the upper member for releasably securing the upper member to the outer sole. An orthopedic appliance is received within a cavity that is disposed within the top surface of the outer sole.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates, in general, to footwear and, more particularly, this invention relates to footwear having interchangeable outer sole and upper members and, yet more particularly, the instant invention relates to orthopedic footwear having interchangeable outer sole and upper members and an orthopedic appliance received in such outer sole. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] As is generally well known, customization of an outer sole of the footwear to receive an orthopedic appliance in order to correct particular foot and ankle conditions of a wearer is a time consuming effort which is performed by a licensed medical practitioner. Therefore, the orthopedic footwear is associated with considerable expense due to such customization. The wearer of such customized orthopedic footwear is disadvantaged due of such expense and often forgoes the aesthetic considerations for the sake of comfort by wearing the same orthopedic footwear in different co...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): A43B3/24
CPCA43B3/244A43B3/24
Inventor THRELKELD, TRINA ANN
Owner THRELKELD TRINA ANN
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