Three point footwear
Three point footwear articles having a sole itself having an integrally-molded toe protector with said toe protector affixed to the post point are disclosed.
1. An article of footwear for a wearer comprising a sole extending from a front end adjacent to the tip of the wearer's toes, under the wearer's arch and to a rear end adjacent to the wearer's heel and including an integrally-molded toe piece extending upwards from the front end and extending backwards over at least a portion of at least two of the wearer's toes, a post extending upwardly from the sole and positioned to fit between adjacent toes of the wearer, a first strap extending from the sole at a position medial to the wearer's arch and extending forward and connected to the post at a point above the wearer's toes, a second strap also extending from the sole but at a position proximal to the wearer's arch and extending forward and connected to the post at a point above the wearer's toes and with a connector coupling the post to the integrally-molded toe piece. claim 1 .
2. The article of footwear of claim 1 wherein the connector is an extension of the second strap.
3. The article of footwear of claim 1 wherein the first and second straps extend from between a midsole and an insole.
4. The article of footwear of claim 1 wherein the article is a sandal.
5. The article of footwear of claim 1 wherein the sole defines the shape of the article.
6. An article of footwear for a wearer comprising a sole itself comprising a ground-contacting molded outsole layer, a molded midsole layer and a wearer's-foot-supporting molded insole layer, the sole extending from a front end under the tip of the wearer's toes, under the wearer's arch and to a rear end under the wearer's heel, the midsole layer intermediate the outsole layer and the insole layer and bonded thereto, with a layer of the sole including an integrally-molded toe piece extending upwards from the front end and extending backwards over at least a portion of at least two of the wearer's toes, a post extending upwardly from the sole and positioned to fit between adjacent toes of the wearer, a first strap extending from between adjacent sole layers at a position medial to the wearer's arch and extending forward and connected to the post at a point above the wearer's toes, a second strap also extending from between adjacent sole layers but at a position proximal to the wearer's arch and extending forward and connected to the post at a point above the wearer's toes and with a connector coupling the post to the integrally-molded toe piece.
7. The article of footwear of claim 6 wherein the integrally-molded toe piece is integrally molded to the outsole layer.
8. The article of footwear of claim 6 wherein the integrally-molded toe piece is integrally molded to the midsole layer.
9. The article of footwear of claim 6 wherein the connector is an extension of the first strap.
10. The article of footwear of claim 6 wherein the connector is an extension of the second strap.
11. The article of footwear of claim 6 wherein the first and second straps extend from between the midsole and the insole.
12. The article of footwear of claim 6 . wherein the molded insole and the molded midsole each comprise molded polyethylene-vinyl acetate.
13. The article of footwear of claim 12 wherein the outsole comprises blown rubber.
14. The article of footwear of claim 6 wherein the article is a sandal.
15. The article of footwear of claim 6 wherein the midsole defines the shape of the article.
16. The article of footwear of claim 6 wherein the midsole and the insole together define the shape of the article.
17. The article of footwear of claim 6 wherein the post extends upward through the insole layer.