Field of the invention

The present invention belongs to the field of general human needs, more precisely to the field of footwear, especially wooden footwear.

The technical problem

The technical problem, which is solved by the present invention, is how to construct basic elements of wooden footwear and their connection into an elastic structure, which would eliminate problems during wear due to rigidity of the material for manufacture. The structure of the footwear sole shall be flexible in order to enable comfort wear, wherein at the same time creaking of the parts shall be minimal. The structure of the connecting parts of all parts of the footwear shall enable simple assembly into a whole as well as simple tightening of connecting strings. The structure shall be durable during wear and easy to manufacture.

State of the art

Known wooden footwear, mostly known as clogs, is usually made from one single part, making them very cumbersome. Also known are wooden shoes, composed of several parts, which are usually connected with rubber, thereby the shoe losing the appearance of a wooden clog.

Slovenian patent document no. 8610391 discloses the invention »Special sole for wooden shoes with elastic element, process and apparatus for making it «. The sole has two wooden parts separately designed at the connection, wherein the arches are connected with a connecting element made from polyurethane mass, which also appears on the walking surface of the sole.

Patent US4177582 describes a solution for a sole, which consists of two outer parts, connected by a middle part made of polyurethane. An upper part of the shoe is attached to the sole with a series of connecting elements.

Patent US4543222 describes a solution for a sole, which is composed of two outer wooden parts, which have two sides which are mirror images of themselves, and which form in the middle a smaller half-circle, from which the sides are rounded into a bottom part of the sole. The wooden parts are connected with a flexible part made of polyurethane.

Patent US 4 290 212 describes a solution of a wooden footwear, which has a sole made from two parts that are connected with a joint made from a rubber or plastic material. The joint is mounted in a slot between the first and the second part of the sole. At the upper part of the sole, where both parts are joined, a substantially triangular part made from foam rubber or plastic is mounted. This solution is similar to the present invention only in that the first and the second part of the sole are joined at an angle. The present invention, however, does not have a connecting joint and a part made from foam rubber or plastic on the upper part of the sole.

French patent FR755712 discloses a flexible sole, which is connected with a system of strings. Patent US8776401 B2 discloses a solution for a flexible sole, which has in its bottom part a series of transverse grooves and it connected with a system of strings and a finishing winder of the strings. Both solutions differ from the present invention as it is a two part wooden sole, which has a winder of connecting strings in the heel.

Several other solutions of a flexible heel in a wooden shoe are known, but they mostly include a connecting part made from a different material, usually polyurethane. All known solutions differ from the present invention in that the present invention has a wooden sole from two completely separate parts, connected by a recess and a bulge, and a system of links, which connects all elements of the footwear into a whole. Description of the invention

The essence of the flexible wooden footwear with a winder according to the invention is in that a two-part sole and a multi-part upper part is assembled into a whole with a net of strings, which connects all parts with interweaving of the strings and with a winder, which is mounted in a cavity in the heel. The two-part sole is flexibly composed so that the first part has a bulge, which is mounted into a recess in the second part. Both parts of the sole are connected with strings, which are fixed with the winder in the heel cavity. A plurality of smaller wooden parts is designed and composed so that it forms the upper part of the wooden footwear.

The flexible wooden footwear with a winder will be further described on the basis of several embodiments and figures, which show:

Figure 1 Footwear according to the invention

Figure 2a Front view of the footwear

Figure 2b Plan view of the footwear

Figure 2c Side view of the footwear

Figure 3a Side view of the sole

Figure 3b Side view of the sole

Figure 3c Side view of the sole

Figure 4 Structure of upper parts, sole and connecting strings

Figure 5 Structure of upper parts

Figure 6 Structure of upper parts and connecting strings according to embodiment I

Figure 7 Assembly of the footwear sole with strings and the winder

Figure 8 Heel 23 with the winder 5

Figure 9a, 9b, 9c The winder 5

Figure 9d The winder 5

Figure 10 The winder 5 with strings Figures 11a, 11 b and 11c The winder according to embodiment I

Figure 11 d The winder according to embodiment I

Figure 12 The winder according to embodiment I with strings

Figures 13a and 13b Footwear according to embodiment II

Figure 14 Sole according to the embodiment I

The wooden footwear has a flexible sole, which is composed of a toe part 1 and a heel part 2. The toe part 1 has in its beginning an approximately oval shape, which ends with a wedge-shaped part 11. The wedge-shaped part 11 has an upper side 112 and a lower side 11 , with which it abuts to an inclined side 221 of a recess 22 in the heel part 2 of the sole. The recess 22 in the shape of a letter V has an upper side 222, which lies at a 90° agree to the inclined side 221. The heel part 2 ends with a heel 23 having a lateral opening 231. Along the toe part 1 are two first channels 12, while along the heel part 2 two second channels 21 are provided for installation of connecting strings. The second channels 21 end in a cavity 231 of the heel 23. The bottom part of the footwear two protective layers 3A and 3B are glued. The two-part sole is flexibly assembled so that the toe part 1 with the special wedge-shaped part 11 is mounted into the recess 22 of the heel part 2. Both parts of the sole are connected and fixed with strings, which are fixed in the winder 5 installed in a cavity 231 of the heel 23.

The upper part includes a series of smaller wooden parts with inner holes for installation of connecting strings, which are together with strings installed in grooves in the sole joined in the winder 5. As shown in figures 4 and 5 the upper part 4 of the footwear comprises a plurality of smaller parts, which are designed in such a way that they cover the upper part of the instep and toes.

As shown in figures 3a, 3b and 3c the straight part of the upper side 1 2 of the wedge-shaped part 11 rests against the upper side 222 of the recess 22. A rounded part 222' of the upper side 222 rests against a rounded part 112' of the upper side 112. The lower side 111 is in this case removed from the inclined side 221 at an angle a, which may be between 20° and 50°, preferably 33°. This is a situation during walking, when the toe part 1 is on the ground, while the heel part 2 is at an angle. When the toe part 1 and the heel part 2 are on the ground, the lower side 111 of the wedge-shaped part 11 rests against the inclined side 221 of the recess, wherein the upper side 112 of the wedge-shaped part 1 and the upper side 222 of the recess 22 are removed from each other.

A first row 41 of the instep part 4 comprises first inner side parts 411 , 412, 413, 414, a first middle part 415 and first outer side parts 414', 413', 412' and 411'. The first inner side part 411 , 412, 413 and 414 are a mirror image of the first outer side parts 411', 412', 413' and 414'. Because parts forming the first row 41 create an arc around the instep of a foot, all parts have an irregular shape with one shorter and one longer side. The first middle part 415 has an approximately rectangular shape and both sides have the same length as shorter sides of the side parts 414 and 414'. A second row 42 of the instep part 4 comprises second inner side parts 421 , 422, 423, 424, a second middle part 425 and second outer side parts 424', 423', 422' and 421'. Parts forming the second row 42 are similar to rectangles, which slightly decrease in size from the outer part towards the middle part, so that the shapes follow the shape of the foot. A third row 43 of the instep part 4 comprises third inner side parts 431 , 432 and third outer side parts 432' and 431 '. Parts forming the third row 43 are approximately rectangular in shape and are assembled so that longer sides form an arc around the foot. Between the third row 43 and a fifth row 45 is only an elongated part 44, which is surrounded by the fifth row 45, comprising a fifth inner side part 451 , a fifth middle part 452 and a fifth outer side part 451'. The fifth inner side part 451 is a mirror image of the fifth outer side part 451 ', while the fifth middle part 452 has its longer sides in the shape of an arc of the front toe part 1 of the sole. A last row 46 comprises a sixth inner side part 461 , a sixth middle part 462 and a sixth outer side part 461'. The sixth inner side part 461 is a mirror image of the sixth outer side part 461', while the sixth middle part 462 has its longer sides in a shape of an arc, similarly as side parts 451 and 451 '. Outer sides of the parts 46 , 462, 461' have such a length that they follow the shape of the front toe part 1 of the sole. All parts from the said rows 41 , 42, 43, 45 and 46 as well as the said elongated part 44 has a pair of cylindrical holes along their shorter sides and a pair of cylindrical holes along their longer sides, which are necessary for interweaving of strings with the aim of making a flexible connection of all parts into a whole. All parts of the upper instep part 4 are shaped accordingly to the anatomy of the instep and toes and can be arranged differently than shown in figure 5. One of the possible combinations when designing the upper part of the footwear according to the invention is shown in figure 6, where the structure of parts in rows 41 A and 42A is the same as structure of parts in rows 41 and 42 shown in figure 2b. The beginning of the upper instep part 4A in figure 6 comprises a group of smaller parts, wherein parts 431A, 431A', 44A, 452A and 462A are in the middle. Along the circumference of the instep part 4A parts 451A, 461A are arranged on one side and parts 451A', 461A' on the other side. The structure of connecting strings is shown in figures 6 and 7. Interweaving of the strings is optional and depends on the shape of parts forming the upper instep part 4 or 4A of the footwear. Connecting strings 71 , 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 are interweaved through parts forming the first three rows 41 , 42, in 43, while strings 77 and 78 connect parts of the footwear above the toes and are installed in the channels of the toe part 1 and the heel part 2 of the sole, as shown in figure 7. The system of strings ends in the winder 5, which is installed in the cavity 231 of the heel 23.

When the strings are interweaved so that all parts from rows 41 , 42, 43, 45 and 46 are connected with each other, the strings are fixed in the winder 5, which is installed in the cavity 231 of the heel 23. Strings, which connect the toe part 1 and the heel part 2 of the sole, are also fixed in the winder 5. The winder, which is shown in figures 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d, has an approximate shape of a short cylinder with a cylindrical hole 52 in the middle. In the end part of the winder two fixed wedges 54 are located, their location being lateral to the centric hole. The wedges 54 divide the strings into two groups (shown in figure 10) and consequently prevent their rotation.

Holes 53 for metal rods for tightening strings are provided around the outer circumference of the winder 5. The winder 5 is rotated around its axis and when all strings are tightened, a chock 51 is inserted, which prevents rotation of the winder 5.

The winder according to embodiment I is assembled from two symmetrical cylindrical parts 5a and 5b, which are connected with a middle part 5c, which has in its middle part a rectangularly shaped hole 5d, through which the strings are installed. The winder is shown in figures 1 1a, 11 b, 1 1c and 1 1d. The winder is suitable also for footwear having a lower heel.

The sole according to embodiment I has a recess 1 1 ' in a toe part V and a wedge- shaped bulge 22' in a heel part 2' of the sole, as shown in figure 14.

The flexible wooden footwear according to embodiment II has in its upper part only lines 41 and 42, as shown in figures 13a and 13b. In the heel 23 of the footwear a hole 231 ' is provided, which has at the outer side of the heel a shape of a horizontal number 8, wherein the outer part has a larger diameter than the inner. The winder according to embodiment I is installed into the bigger part of the hole 231 ', which is lateral to the heel 23.

The flexible wooden footwear according to embodiment III has only first three rows 41 , 42 and 43 in its upper part.

The flexible wooden footwear with a winder according to the invention is comfortable for wear, because all parts are adapted to the shape of the foot of a person wearing it. The footwear is made from wooden parts, strings for connection of parts and protective layers 3A and 3B, which may be made from a slip-resistant material. Through the wooden parts installed strings tie the footwear together into a flexible whole of anatomically designed wooden parts, wherein all joints and strings are hidden. The entire footwear is made from natural materials and is designed in the form of clogs.