Shoe with interchangeable upper

Abstract

 Shoe with interchangeable upper (2), comprising a sole (1) with a shaped element (3) in relief with respect to a groove (6) made in its lower part, wherein an aperture (4) is made on the upper (2) in such a way that it can be selectively coupled with the shaped element (3).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention concerns a shoe with an interchangeable upper.

[0002] In the field of clothing, and also, to be more exact, in the field of footwear, fashion and public tastes are changing at an ever increasing speed.

[0003] Accessories are especially needed in large quantities so that they always match the clothes worn.

[0004] However, accessories can be very expensive too, and to acquire a vast assortment of, for example, shoes and bags or bags can cost a fortune.

[0005] For at the moment there are no items of clothing which can be modified in their appearance by replacing one or more or their constituent parts in order to allow them to be combined with clothes of different styles and colours.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The purpose of this invention therefore is to eliminate the disadvantages mentioned above. The invention, as characterised by the claims, solves the problem of associating parts of a shoe in a removable manner.

[0007] One of the advantages obtained by means of this invention is that essentially it is possible to use a single bottom or sole for footwear to be combined with different uppers in such a manner as to obtain a huge saving in space and money.

[0008] Moreover, assembling and dis-assembling the uppers is extremely simple and involves no difficulty of any kind.

[0009] Finally, the shoe is very strong and comfortable when assembled, and cannot be considered inferior to traditional shoes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0010] The invention is described in greater detail hereinafter, with the help of drawings which show one embodiment of the invention as follows:

Fig. 1 shows the invention in a plane view from above;

Fig. 2 shows the invention in a prospective view from below;

Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0011] As can be seen from the Figures, the invention concerns a shoe with an interchangeable upper.

[0012] It comprises a bottom or sole (1) and an upper (2) provided with means (3,4) of reciprocal constraint, which can be associated in a removable manner in such a way that the upper (2) can be replaced manually. In this way, a single bottom (1) may be combined with numerous uppers (2) of different shapes and colours, each time creating an aesthetically new shoe.

[0013] The reciprocal constraint means used can also be of various types: in a preferential embodiment, as shown in the Figures, they comprise at least a shaped element (3) in relief with respect to a groove or cavity (6) made in the lower part of the bottom (1) and the same number of corresponding apertures (4) made on the surface of the upper (2). Obviously, the relief element (3) must be contained in the thickness of the bottom (1) without protruding underneath; its size and positioning must also allow the foot to rest in exactly the same way as if the bottom (1) were solid. For this reason, although it is theoretically possible to have a solution with several shaped elements (3) of small dimensions and as many apertures (4) on the surface of the upper (2), which would also come within the scope of the inventive idea protected by this patent, we have preferred to present the solution wherein the bottom (1) has a single, rather large shaped element (3) and the upper (2) has only one aperture (4).

[0014] In proximity with the lateral edges, the bottom (1) includes two through slits or apertures (5) suitable to allow the upper (2) to pass from the lower part to the upper part of the bottom (1) and vice versa.

[0015] It is extremely simple to assemble the shoe; with reference to the example shown in the Figures, it is sufficient to bring the aperture (4) of the upper (2) into contact with the shaped element (3) of the bottom (1) and push the upper (2) until it comes into contact with the base of the cavity (6); the ends of the upper (2) are made to pass through the lateral slits (5) on the bottom (1) and closed thereabove, for example by means of elements (7) made of Velcro, or by buckles which are not shown here, or in any other completely arbitrary fashion, irrelevant for the purposes of the embodiment of this invention.

[0016] The invention thus conceived is susceptible to numerous modifications and variants, all of which come within the field of the inventive idea. Moreover, all the details may be replaced by technically equivalent elements.

[0017] In practice, there are obviously modifications and improvements which can be made but these in any case come within the field of the following claims.

Claims

1. Shoe comprising a sole (1) and an upper (2), the shoe being characterised in that the sole (1) and the upper (2) are provided with means (3, 4) of reciprocal constraint, which can be associated in a removable manner so that the upper (2) can be replaced manually.

2. Shoe as in Claim 1, wherein the means of reciprocal constraint comprise at least an element (3) protruding with respect to a groove (6) made in the lower part of the sole (1) and a corresponding aperture (4) made on the upper (2), the element (3) and the aperture (4) being suitable to cooperate with each other.

3. Shoe as in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the sole (1) comprises two lateral slits (5), suitable to allow the upper (2) to pass from one side of the sole (1) to the other.

4. Shoe as in Claim 2, wherein the upper (2) comprises a strip with a substantially rectangular form and wherein the aperture (4) is made in a substantially median zone of the strip.

5. Shoe as in Claims 3 and 4, wherein the ends of the strip are suitable to couple with each other in a removable manner after having been inserted into the slits (5) from the bottom towards the top with respect to the sole (1).

6. Shoe as in Claim 5, wherein the ends are provided with adhesive elements (7) suitable to be coupled together so as to close the upper (2).

Drawing