Shoe having a replaceable sole

[0001] Under 35 U.S.C. 120, this application is a Continuation of, claiming the benefit of and priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/925,605, filed Aug. 24, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,123 the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein for all purposes.

[0002] This invention relates to a shoe having a sole that can be quickly and easily replaced with other soles having different types of traction surfaces.

[0003] Shoes having replaceable soles are well known in the prior art. One such shoe, which is particularly adapted for use by fishermen, is sold by Korkers Products, LLC. This shoe is disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 10/293,188, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,847. This shoe includes a cavity in its sole which receives a sole plate having a tread pattern on its lower surface. A tab located at the front of the sole plate fits into a slot formed in the cavity sidewall to hold the front end of the sole plate in place. A strap, which is attached to the rear of the sole plate, can be attached to an attachment device located at the back of the shoe to hold the rear end of the sole plate in place. A piece of interfitting releasable fastener material may be located on the sole plate and sole near the center of the sole plate to hold the center of the sole plate in place.

[0004] While this shoe works well for its intended purpose, it does have several shortcomings. First, the interfitting releasable fastener loses its holding ability with repeated use, particularly when exposed to sand. Second, sand can get in the slot at the front of the cavity and cause the front end of the sole plate to become offset downwardly with respect to the remainder of the sole. Finally, the attachment device at the rear of the shoe which receives the strap attached to the rear of the sole plate is cumbersome to use, particularly in the field.

[0005] The subject invention overcomes the foregoing shortcomings of the prior art shoes having replaceable sole plates by providing a sole having a thin cavity which releasably receives a sole plate which substantially fills the cavity. The sidewall of the cavity includes flaps which are contiguous with the bottom surface of the sidewall and have a thickness which is less than the thickness of the cavity. Depressions located in the outer surface of the sole plate are arranged to receive the flaps when the sole plate is pushed past the flaps into the cavity. The flaps then hold the sole plate in the cavity.

[0006] In another aspect of the invention, a slot is located in the sidewall of the cavity at the toe end of the shoe and the sole plate has a tab at its front end which fits into the slot. In this embodiment the sidewall includes a ledge which extends into the cavity below the slot and the sole plate has a recess which is located below the tab and receives the ledge. Thus, when the sole plate is placed in the cavity the ledge and recess interfit to prevent sand from getting under the tab.

[0007] The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0015] The subject invention is referred to as a shoe, however it could be a boot or sandal as well and the word shoe is meant to cover any type of footwear. Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a shoe 10 has a sole 12 with a thin cavity 14 located centrally in it. The cavity is surrounded by a sidewall 16 having a bottom surface 18, which is part of the shoe tread. The sidewall has a thickness a, which in the embodiment illustrated is approximately one-quarter inch. Located in the sidewall at the toe end of the cavity 14 is a thin slot 20, FIG. 5. The slot 20 preferably is at the top of the cavity 14. Located around the periphery of the cavity 14 are a plurality of flaps 22. The bottoms of the flaps are contiguous with the bottom surface 18 of the sidewall and they have a thickness b, FIG. 4, which is less than the thickness a. In the embodiment illustrated the flaps are located in pairs with one flap in each pair being on each side of the shoe. One pair of flaps 22 is located around where the ball of the user's foot would be, one pair is located around where the arch of the user's foot would be, and another pair is located around where the user's heel would be. The sidewall 18 includes a passageway 24 at its back edge which extends between the cavity 14 and the back of the shoe.

[0016] A sole plate 26 is sized to fit within and substantially fill the cavity 14. The sole plate has generally the same thickness as the thickness of the sidewall, however, due to the tread pattern located on the bottom surface 27 of the sole plate its thickness varies. In any event, the bottom surface of the sole plate is generally flush with the bottom surface 18 of the sidewall 16 in order to provide a stable bottom on the shoe. The sole plate is made from an elastomeric material and preferably has a flexibility that is similar to that of the sole 12. A thin tab 28 located at the toe end of the sole plate fits into the slot 20 when the sole plate is inserted into the cavity. In the embodiment illustrated the tab is an extension of a thin base layer 30 which forms the upper portion of the sole plate. The base layer is made from a plastic material, such as ABS, and is far less flexible than the remainder of the sole plate. In a preferred embodiment the base layer is glued to the remainder of the sole plate, but it could be joined by other means. Alternatively, there could be no base plate and the tab 28 could be integral with the rest of the sole plate.

[0017] Located at the heel end of the sole plate is a strap 32 which extends through the passageway 24 and up the back of the shoe. The strap is made from an elastically deformable material and has an opening 34 located near its end. A hook 36 located on the back of the shoe is configured to receive the opening. After the sole plate is placed in the cavity the strap is stretched to place the opening 34 over the hook 26 and when the strap is released its elasticity holds the rear end of the sole plate on the shoe.

[0018] Located around the periphery of the bottom surface of the sole plate are a plurality of depressions 38 which are arranged to receive the flaps 22 when the sole plate is inserted into the cavity. In the embodiment illustrated the depressions 38 extend to the more rigid base layer 30.

[0019] The flaps 22 are elastically deformable and are flexible enough to be deflected upwardly to allow the portions of the base layer located above the depressions 38 to be snapped in place above the flaps when the sole plate is inserted into the cavity. Accordingly, the flaps and depressions may be considered engageable elements, each forming a male-female pair that provides an interference fit that helps secure the sole plate to the sole. However, the flaps are sufficiently stiff to hold the sole plate in place once the base layer is pushed past the flaps. In the embodiment illustrated the bottom edges 56 of the flaps 22, and the top edges 58 of the portions of the base layer 30 located above the depressions 38 are rounded to facilitate pushing the base layer past the flaps. The flaps are somewhat harder than the remainder of the sidewall. Preferably, the flaps have a hardness of between 90 and 95 Shore A Durometer and the remainder of the sidewall has a hardness of between 80 and 85 Shore A Durometer.

[0020] A ledge 40 extends from the sidewall 18 into the cavity 14 below the slot 20. The sole plate 26 includes a recess 42 which is located below the tab 28 and is configured to receive the ledge 40 when the sole plate is placed in the cavity. Thus the tip 44 of the sole plate which is below the recess 42 overlaps the ledge 40 and prevents sand from working its way into the slot 20 and forcing the tab outwardly causing a discontinuity between the outer surface of the sole plate and the outer surface of the sidewall at the toe end of the shoe.

[0021] While the use of the interlocking tab 28 and slot 20 at the toe end, the strap 32 and hook 36 at the heel end and the flaps 22 in between all prevent the sole plate from being pulled out of the shoe perpendicular to the sole plate, if the sole plate is strongly urged rearwardly it might pull free. To prevent this from occurring the top surface 46 of the cavity has an indented portion and the sole plate 26 has a projecting portion which interacts with the indented portion to prevent movement of the sole plate relative to the sole longitudinally along the shoe without first lifting the sole plate perpendicularly out of the cavity. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-6 the indented portion is an inwardly facing curved surface 48 located in the arch portion of the bottom surface 46 of the cavity, as can best be seen in FIG. 6. The sole plate 26 has an upwardly facing curved surface 50 which interacts with the curved surface 48 in the top of the cavity when the sole plate is placed in the cavity.

[0022] In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 7, the indented portion is a rectangular recess 52 which is located in the bottom surface 46 of the cavity. In this embodiment the projecting portion is a raised block 54 which fits into the recess 52 when the sole plate is placed in the cavity. The recess and block can have any shape, and can be multiple elements, such as a sawtooth pattern.

[0023] The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.