Shoe convertible from a conventional shoe into a safety shoe with a casing
View Patent ↗A system for protecting the toes comprises a pair of shoes with certain adaptations so that a removable portable element with a casing can be fitted thereto and removed therefrom easily and quickly, by means of three lower tabs—two side tabs and one front tab—which fit to the sole of the shoe, and two straps—an inner strap and an outer strap—which fasten to the shoe. The characteristics the shoe and removable element mean that when the removable element is fitted, it does not extend beyond the limits of the footprint, and therefore comfort and aesthetics are not compromised when the shoes are worn. The system also has the flexibility of being able to have a wide range of standardized designs per model and size, which can then be interchanged with each other in order to increase the design options for the user.
1. A convertible shoe apparatus comprising a shoe and a removable element, wherein said shoe comprises a sole and a front part of the removable element is installed, or configured for installment, on the sole; said sole comprises at least one recess at a bottom of said sole at a periphery thereof; said sole comprises an upper peripheral area that protrudes beyond a remainder of the shoe that covers at least one section of said sole; the removable element is characterized in that it has three tabs thereon at a lower part thereof, including a medial side tab at a medial side of said lower part, a lateral side tab at a lateral side of said lower part, and a front tab at a front of said lower part; the side tabs and the front tabs each have an inwardly-reaching bend engaged in, or configured for engagement in, said at least one recess of the sole; said removable element comprises a lower outer edge, at least one section of which contacts, or is configured to contact, the upper peripheral area of the sole, such that the removable element is contained within a footprint of the shoe; the side tabs, the front tab and the lower outer edge are configured to serve as attachment between the removable element and the sole, since once installed and in position on the sole, the removable element, through engagement of the side and front tabs with the at least one recess and contact of the lower outer edge with the upper peripheral area of the sole, prevents the movement of the removable element backwards, upwards and downwards relative to the sole; the removable element has two slots, one in a medial part of said removable element and another in a lateral part thereof; a respective strap passes through each slot in a U-shaped loop and is sewn onto itself, and is provided with one of two counterparts of a snap, the other of said two counterparts being installed on another respective strap sewn to the shoe, such that when the two counterparts are fastened together, the removable element is secured from being able to move forward relative to the shoe, thereby completing installation of the removable element to the shoe, and preventing movement of the removable element in any direction relative to the shoe.
2. The convertible shoe apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the removable element comprises a protection part configured for protection of a wearer's toes, whereby when the removable element is installed on the shoe, the removable element and the shoe cooperatively function as a safety shoe, and when said removable element is uninstalled from the shoe, the shoe functions as a conventional shoe.