Expandable shoe system
View Patent ↗An adjustable modular shoe system includes interchangeable structural sole portions and an expandable expanding portion for enabling incremental resizing across both width and length vectors. Rigid sole portions in an array of sizes feature attachment points for securing locking mechanisms that couple to opposing plates arrayed along the bottom of an inherently stretchable expanding portion. Selectively positioning customized locking mechanisms having adjustable fixtures influences expansion forces applied to the coupled upper plates. This allows actively and continuously modulating expanding portion fit even after securing a given sole size. Different locking mechanism number, location, and bridging configurations transmit vectors parsed across zones needing more growth allowance compared to areas better retaining proportional shape. Incrementally tuning shoe sizing avoids one-size-fits-all industry increments dictated independent of anatomy.
1 . An expandable shoe system comprising:
an expanding portion comprising an upper portion having at least one of a tongue, eyelets, laces, and hook and loop fasteners, and a midsole plate securedly, permanently coupled to the upper portion;
a plurality of sole portions, wherein at least one sole portion of the plurality of sole portions is a different size than a second sole portion of the plurality of sole portions; and
a plurality of locking mechanisms, wherein at least two of the plurality of locking mechanisms are securedly, permanently coupled to each sole portion of the plurality of sole portions, wherein the plurality of locking mechanisms comprises a plurality of studs, and wherein at least two studs of the plurality of studs protrude upwards from an upper surface of a sole portion of the plurality of sole portions;
wherein each of the plurality of studs is selectively attachable to the expanding portion to securely join a sole portion of the plurality of sole portions to the expanding portion at a desired shoe size, wherein the midsole plate is selectively, releasably attachable to a sole portion of the plurality of sole portions, wherein at least one sole attachment bore is defined in a lower surface of the midsole plate, wherein the sole attachment bore is configured to receive a portion of a stud of the plurality of studs therein to couple the midsole plate to the stud, wherein the at least one sole attachment bore comprises a plurality of sole attachment bores such that engagement between at least two sole attachment bores of the plurality of sole attachment bores and the at least two of the plurality of studs expands the midsole plate and the upper portion to a desired size, wherein engagement between the at least two sole attachment bores and the at least two of the plurality of studs selectively, releasably attaches the midsole plate to a sole portion of the plurality of sole portions.
2 . The expandable shoe system of claim 1 , wherein at least two sole attachment bores of the plurality of sole attachment bores are mapped to the studs extending above the upper surface of the sole portion.
3 . The expandable shoe system of claim 2 , wherein the at least two sole attachment bores are spaced apart at varying distances to enable different amounts of expanding portion expansion.
4 . The expandable shoe system of claim 3 , wherein at least one sole portion of the plurality of sole portions comprises a different tread pattern than a second sole portion of the plurality of sole portions.
5 . An expandable shoe system comprising:
an expanding portion comprising an upper portion and a midsole plate securedly, permanently coupled to the upper portion;
a plurality of sole portions, wherein at least one sole portion of the plurality of sole portions is a different size than a second sole portion of the plurality of sole portions, and wherein the midsole plate is selectively, releasably attachable to a sole portion of the plurality of sole portions; and
a plurality of locking mechanisms, wherein at least two of the plurality of locking mechanisms are securedly, permanently coupled to each sole portion of the plurality of sole portions, wherein the plurality of locking mechanisms comprises a plurality of studs protruding upwards from an upper surface of a sole portion of the plurality of sole portions,
wherein each of the plurality of studs is selectively attachable to the expanding portion to securely join a sole portion of the plurality of sole portions to the expanding portion at a desired shoe size.
6 . The expandable shoe system of claim 5 , wherein the upper portion comprises at least one of a tongue, eyelets, laces, and hook and loop fasteners.
7 . The expandable shoe system of claim 5 , wherein the midsole plate is selectively, releasably attachable to a sole portion of the plurality of sole portions.
8 . The expandable shoe system of claim 5 , wherein at least one sole attachment bore is defined in a lower surface of the midsole plate, and wherein the sole attachment bore is configured to receive a portion of a stud of the plurality of studs therein to couple the midsole plate to the stud.
9 . The expandable shoe system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one sole attachment bore comprises a plurality of sole attachment bores such that engagement between at least two sole attachment bores of the plurality of sole attachment bores and the at least two of the plurality of studs expands the midsole plate and the upper portion to a desired size.
10 . The expandable shoe system of claim 9 , wherein engagement between the at least two sole attachment bores and the at least two of the studs selectively, releasably attaches the midsole plate to a sole portion of the plurality of sole portions.
11 . The expandable shoe system of claim 9 , wherein at least two sole attachment bores of the plurality of sole attachment bores are mapped to the plurality of studs extending above the upper surface of the sole portion.
12 . The expandable shoe system of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of sole attachment bores are spaced apart at varying distances to enable different amounts of expanding portion expansion.
13 . The expandable shoe system of claim 5 , wherein at least one sole portion of the plurality of sole portions comprises a different tread pattern than a second sole portion of the plurality of sole portions.