GB2479346A

GB2479346A - Footwear with interchangeable uppers

Info

Publication number: GB2479346A
Application number: GB1005339A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ben Flannaghan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-03-30
Filing date: 2010-03-30
Publication date: 2011-10-12
Also published as: GB201005339D0

Abstract

An article of footwear consists of a sole section and a permanently attached first upper part or vamp. A second upper part is removably attached to the sole by a releasable fastening means A. The fastening A may be in the form of a zip fastener. The second removable upper part assumes a non-planar form when attached to the sole, but when removed from the footwear it is essentially planar. The upper has two sets of lace or like apertures which are brought into opposition on folding the upper from the planar form to a generally U-shaped form in the article of footwear.

Description

INTELLECTUAL

. .... PROPERTY OFFICE Application No. GB 1005339.5 RTM Date:27 April 2010 The following terms are registered trademarks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Velcro Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.ipo.gov.uk

FOOTWEAR WITH INTERCHANGEABLE PART

This invention relates to footwear and in one example to the design of a shoe which has an interchangeable upper section.

The shoes a person chooses to wear are a representation of their character. A pair of unusual shoes can be a way of expressing mood or feeling as well as adding individuality to a person's dress. To create shoes able to be adapted quickly and with low cost to match a person's dress is one subject of this invention.

In one aspect, the present invention provides an article of footwear comprising a sole; a first upper part which is permanently attached to the sole and a second upper part which is interchangeable. The first upper part will typically be the vamp and the second upper part may be removably attached to the sole by a strong and durable attachment device, such as a zip fastener of appropriate grade.

In another aspect, the present invention provides an article of footwear comprising a sole; a vamp and a removable upper which takes a non-planar form in the article of footwear and which is essentially planar when removed from the article of footwear.

Preferably, the upper has a fastener element which has a straight configuration in the planar form and which engages with a complementary fastener element which conforms in part to the perimeter of the sole. Suitably, the upper has two sets of lace or like apertures which are brought into opposition on folding the upper from the planar form to a generally U-shaped form in the article of footwear.

Additionally each part can be constructed from a number of sub-parts (which may also be interchangeable).

Further reasons for removing or changing the upper / sole combination could be; style and fashion changes; matching other aspects of dress; cleaning or recycling. Specifically a changed part may have a different appearance, colour, material, texture, surface graphic change, branding, etc. It is a feature of this certain examples of this invention differs that the vamp is not connected to the interchangeable upper. Advantageously, this allows the upper to be predominantly planar or flat. Immediate benefits of this include, but are not limited to; simpler construction, one-piece construction, lower cost materials, greater choice of materials, fully automated manufacturing options, simpler storage, reduced packaging, automated handling, reduced carbon emissions.

Consequentially this gives reduced manufacturing time and cost, and more flexibility in materials/style/textures used.

A further significant benefit of an essentially flat upper is that low cost ink-jet or screen printing may be used pre-or post-manufacture for promotional activities or user customisation (much like T-shirt printing).

A further advantage of an essentially flat upper is that it offers new and novel packaging and retail display options.

Whilst the uppers are mostly flat when unlaced or unfastened, there may be a small raised section around the heel, or any other part of the upper as long as the overall form in predominantly flat.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a shoe according to an embodiment of the invention having a sole and a permanently attached vamp: Figure 2 is a plan view of the sole shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of an interchangeable upper; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the assembled and laced shoe The described example consists of a sole section that has a permanently attached vamp as shown in Figure 1. The sole section also has an attaching device that is functional at any point on the sole excluding where the vamp is -as shown by the darkened line marked A' in Figure 2. A specified solution in the drawings is for the attaching device to be placed near to, around, on, or indented from the edge of the sole.

The attaching device creates a rough U shape or open circle. This attaching device can be anything that is suitable, and for example could be any of, but not limited to: zip, Velcro', toggles, poppers, lacing, non-fast adhesive, spring clips.

Figure 3 shows the detached upper, unlaced and laid flat. This clearly illustrates the simple construction and the ease with which this may be printed or in other ways customised. The detached upper may be rolled, folded or flat-packaged.

A final complete example of this invention is shown in Figure 4, with the attaching device marked A'.

The invention allows multiple uppers to be fabricated easily which would create a diverse range of shoes using one sole. The uppers may be diverse in many areas, including; aesthetically, materials used, style, shape, colour, pattern, graphical layout, logo, branding.

The compact nature and lower cost of the uppers allows a retailer to effectively hold a larger range of shoes, for a given stock value and warehousing. Another benefit would be that the uppers could be packaged in attractive packaging and displayed in novel ways to encourage impulse purchases. It could be envisaged that uppers with unusual or themed designs would be bought as gifts -not an option with traditional shoe retailing.

The compact nature and lower cost of the uppers allows consumers to hold larger collections than would be typical for one-part shoes.

Compactness and the idea that the uppers are mostly flat allows for easier cleaning than with a conventional shoe. Some materials may be machine-washable. This could extend the life of the upper (environmentally friendly). Another benefit with this invention is that a customer has the option to buy a new upper instead of a whole new shoe and thereby realise a significant cost saving Having the upper mostly flat and flexible allows for packaging options such as; hard clear moulded plastic, plastic film with or without rigid backing, rolled up and boxed, decorative gift packaging, etc. The sole section with the fixed vamp may also be purchased in a variation of colours, materials, shapes, patterns, surface graphics or themes. Further, the sole section may be designed for specific uses such as running, training, tennis, golf, casual wear, work wear (with hardened cap in the toe area of the vamp) , football.

Since the sole is separable from the uppers cleaning and freshening is easier and quicker.

Although the sole I vamp section is one part, it can be envisaged that these could be manufactured from interchangeable subsections allowing greater variation and customisation.

It may be envisaged that the sole to vamp proportions can alter for different shoe sizes to allow a single upper to fit more than one size of shoe. By this means the number of uppers of a single design a retailer is required to stock, is reduced.

A proposed business model is for the shoe upper to be predominantly designed by the end users. Some uppers will still be commissioned or designed in-house' but it is expected that the majority of the uppers will eventually be designed by the users. In effect this is an open source' fashion shoe. Users would have to summit their designs to the company via the website; if accepted the company would claim rights to the uppers' graphical design and arrange manufacture. The shoe would be sold through the company but the creator of the design would receive a percentage of the retail price for their work.

The company would run a website where creators of uppers could post further work (that may or may not related to the shoe), in effect a platform for exposure' -customers could find out more about the creator of the design they have purchased. Additionally, this site would also give exposure to companies, musicians, events and brands using custom designs of uppers to promote their goods and services. There would be a profile page of the creator' which is active either indefinitely or for a fixed period around the time their shoe upper is on the market. The latter option would encourage creators to submit new designs to maintain exposure.

The company expects that the retail life-time for the uppers will be around three months.

This would mean that a whole new collection of designs would be available four times a year, although they would not all change at once. This would ensure that fresh ideas continually enter the market.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An article of footwear comprising a sole; a first upper part which is permanently attached to the sole and a second upper part which is interchangeable.
2. An article of footwear as in claim 1, wherein the first upper part comprises the vamp.
3. An article of footwear as in claim I or claim 2, wherein the second upper part is removably attached to the sole.
4. An article of footwear as in claim 3, where the second upper part is essentially planar before being attached to the sole
5. An article of footwear as in any preceding claim, where the second upper part is removable attached to the sole through an elongate fastener extending around a portion of the sole periphery.
6. The assembly of an article of footwear as in any preceding claim, with at least one replacement second upper part interchangeable with said second upper part.
7. An article of footwear comprising a sole; a vamp and a removable upper which takes a non-planar form in the article of footwear and which is essentially planar when removed from the article of footwear.
8. An article of footwear as in claim 7, wherein the upper has a fastener element which has a straight configuration in the planar form and which engages with a complementary fastener element which conforms in part to the perimeter of the sole.
9. An article of footwear as in claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the upper has two sets of lace or like apertures which are brought into opposition on folding the upper from the planar form to a generally U-shaped form in the article of footwear.
10. A method of making articles of footwear in accordance with any one of claims 7 to 9, comprising the steps of producing a stock of footwear components, each comprising a sole and a vamp; making available via a digital network a planar template for a removable upper; receiving from respective third parties multiple upper designs in accordance with the template; manufacturing uppers in accordance with third part designs; and selling said uppers assembled with or for assembly with said stock footwear components.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein each third party receives a royalty in respect of uppers sold in accordance with their design.
12. A method according to claim 10 or 11 in which designs from third parties are received via a website.