Shoe with a transparent toe cap

United States Patent Application 20020083617

Kind Code:

A1

A shoe has a sole, a vamp and a transparent toe cap. The toe cap is secured to the vamp at the position corresponding to the toe of the wearer. With such an arrangement, any person can see through the toe cap and directly determine whether the shoe fits or not. To buy a shoe that does not fit is avoided. In addition, a shoe will have a different appearance when a vamp with a different toe cap is used. The appearance of the shoe is variable, and the cost for manufacturing shoes with different appearances is reduced.

Inventors:

Tsou, Jen-chieh (Taichung, TW)
Wu, Yu-te (Taichug, TW)

Application Number:

09/750594

Publication Date:

07/04/2002

Filing Date:

12/28/2000

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Export Citation:

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Primary Class:

36/112

Other Classes:

36/8.400, 36/77R

International Classes:

(IPC1-7): A43B001/00

Attorney, Agent or Firm:

Attn: Thomas E. Sisson, Jackson Walker L.L.P. (Suite 2100, San Antonio, TX, 78205, US)

Claims:

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe comprising: a sole; a vamp secured to the sole for enclosing a foot of a wearer who wears the shoe; and a transparent toe cap secured to the vamp at a position corresponding to the toe of the wearer.

2. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein a recess is defined in the vamp to securely connect the toe cap.

3. The shoe as claimed in claim 2, wherein the toe cap has an inverse L-shaped section.

4. The shoe as claimed in claim 3, wherein a flange extends from a top end of the toe cap to connect to the vamp.

5. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein multiple vents are defined in the toe cap.

Description:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a shoe, and more particularly to a shoe with a transparent toe cap, such that any one can clearly determine whether the shoe fits the foot of a wearer or not through the transparent toe cap.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] The purpose of wearing shoes is to protect the feet of the user or to provide a decorative effect to the user. The conventional shoe comprises a sole and a vamp. The vamp is mounted on the sole to enclose the user's foot so as to provide a protection and a decorative effect to the user. In general, when a user wants to buy a pair of shoes, he or she always tries the shoes on first to check whether the shoes fit his or her feet or not. However, because the conventional vamp is made of an opaque material, no one can see through the vamp. Thus, to determine whether the shoes fit his or her feet only depends on the user's feeling. Many shoe sales people and virtually all untrained people cannot determine the proper fit for a wearer. Often people buy shoes that do not fit especially people who cannot fully express themselves like a child or a person with diminished mental capacity.

[0005] In addition, the aesthetic appearance of the conventional shoe always depends to a large extent on the vamp. In other word, the appearance of a shoe will vary when a different vamp is mounted on the sole. However, a specific last is required to form a vamp with a different appearance. The manufacturer must prepare many different vamps and lasts to manufacture shoes with different appearances. The cost of manufacturing the shoes increases, and the variations of the appearances of the shoes are limited.

[0006] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention intends to provide an improved shoe with a transparent toe cap to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The main objective of the invention is to provide an improved shoe with a transparent toe cap for a person to be able to see through the toe cap. The shoe has a sole, a vamp and a transparent toe cap. The toe cap is secured to the vamp at a position corresponding to the toe of the wearer. Accordingly, any person can see through the toe cap and directly determine whether the shoe fits or not. To buy a shoe that does not fit is avoided.

[0008] The other objective of the invention is to provide an improved shoe with a transparent toe cap, such that a shoe will have different appearance when a vamp with a different toe cap is mounted on the sole. The appearance of the shoe is variable, and the cost for manufacturing shoes with different appearances is reduced.

[0009] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe with a transparent toe cap in accordance with the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the shoe in FIG. 1 ; and

[0012] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the shoe in FIG. 1 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0013] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a shoe ( 10 ) in accordance with the present invention comprises a sole, a vamp ( 12 ) and a transparent toe cap ( 14 ). The vamp ( 12 ) is secured to the sole to enclose a foot of a wearer. The transparent toe cap ( 14 ) is secured to the vamp ( 12 ) at a position corresponding to the toe of the wearer. In practice, a recess is defined in the vamp ( 12 ) to securely connect the toe cap ( 14 ). The toe cap ( 14 ) has an inverse L-shaped section. A flange ( 142 ) extends from the top end of the toe cap ( 14 ) to securely connect to the vamp ( 12 ) by sewing or adhesive bonding. Multiple vents ( 144 ) are defined in the toe cap ( 14 ) to ventilation to the shoe ( 10 ).

[0014] With such a shoe ( 10 ), any person can see through the transparent toe cap ( 14 ). When a wearer tries on new shoes ( 10 ), the wearer or another people can directly determine whether the shoes ( 10 ) fits the wearer or not through the transparent toe cap ( 14 ). The parents or another person can help a child or a person with diminished mental capacity to determine whether the shoes ( 10 ) fit or not. To buy a shoe ( 10 ) that does not fit is avoided. In addition, the parents can determine early when their children have outgrown their shoes ( 10 ). Consequently, excessively tight shoes ( 10 ) can be discarded so that they do not adversely affect the growth of the feet of a teenage.

[0015] The toe cap ( 14 ) is made of plastic or rubber material with an injection molding process, and the toe cap ( 14 ) is easily made to have different colors. The aesthetic appearance of a shoe ( 10 ) will vary when a toe cap ( 10 ) with a different shape or color is secured to the same vamp ( 12 ). The process for manufacturing shoes ( 10 ) with many different appearances is simplified, and the cost for it is reduced.

[0016] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.