DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention

The invention which is the subject of the present patent application is applicable in the field of the production of footwear, in particular of safety footwear.

In particular, the invention which is the subject of the present patent application refers to improved safety footwear which may be used in an associated configuration or in an unassociated configuration, according to the user's needs and to the context in which is used.

In particular, the invention which is the subject of the present patent application relates to improved safety footwear, in particular safety footwear equipped with a removable inner shoe.

Prior art

As it is known, safety footwear is a personal protective equipment suitable for protecting the foot from external potentially traumatic agents and are made up of:

An upper part of the footwear, known as the upper, generally suitable for guaranteeing that the foot remains inside the footwear and made of various materials according to the needs or the conditions of use; a protective toecap made of steel or of composite material placed in the front; a stiff counter placed rearward; a midsole, that is the part interposed between upper and tread tread, which usually constitutes a single body together with the midsole, made of various materials so as to obtain specific resistances.

Given the specific use for which safety footwear is intended, safety requirements according to the current regulations must be met, in order to guarantee its use in all conditions of risk to which the worker is subjected.

It is known that safety footwear uses a mounting insole made up of anti-perforation fabric with one or more layers or a mounting insole with integrated stainless-steel sheet.

The mounting insole made of anti-perforation fabric with one or more layers or the mounting insole with integrated stainless-steel sheet must pass perforation resistance tests required by the compulsory regulations in order to guarantee the protection of the whole sole of the foot from external bodies and sharp objects, such as nails and/or similar objects.

1

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) Safety footwear as manufactured and described does not take into consideration the need for workers who carry out strenuous work to walk inside premises. In particular, these workers will possibly have to change their footwear in order to be able to access closed premises, as footwear tends to get dirty in their workplace.

As known, safety footwear tends to get dirty in the workplace due to the strenuous work of those who wear it. The main disadvantage for workers is that they cannot access inside premises unless they change their footwear and this involves a waste of time for those workers who will have to constantly put on and take off their footwear in order to enter and exit various places. Furthermore, in case of personnel tasked with driving vehicles such as, by way of example, motor trucks or excavators, using safety footwear, there is no possibility forthem to have moments of relief fortheir feet during their rest periods except by taking off the footwear.

At the state of the art there are also systems of the footwear type, said systems being equipped with a removable inner shoe.

For example, document US2019116916 describes an outer piece of footwear provided with a removable inner piece of footwear, said outer piece of footwear and said removable piece of footwear being both suitable for use also as separate footwear.

Particularly, the invention described in document US2019116916 refers to a system for joining together an inner shoe and a so-called "civil" piece of footwear, that is a footwear for everyday use. According to what disclosed in the above-mentioned document, the inner piece of footwear can be removed from the outer piece of footwear, said inner and outer piece of footwear being provided with mutual blocking means in order to keep them joined together during activities, allowing however a user to unlock the footwear components when necessary and to independently use them.

According to what disclosed in document US2019116916, both the outer piece of footwear and the inner piece of footwear are made in such a way as to be both used in an independent way.

Therefore, according to what set out above, the outer piece of footwear includes a sole (externally equipped with a tread and internally equipped with a sole or a midsole and/or an insole.

According to what disclosed in the above-mentioned document, the sole internally has a cavity.

The side walls of the cavity with which the sole is equipped have a series of optional features described in document US2019116916, which substantially represent a cooperation condition between inner surface of the outer piece of footwear and outer surface of the inner piece of footwear. Thus, according to what described in the above-mentioned document, the inner wall of

2

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) the piece of footwear is shaped in such a way that it engages with and fixes to and /or interlocks with the corresponding wall of the inner piece of footwear. The outer piece of footwear according to document US2019116916 has therefore inherent features of footwear which can be normally used, with particular reference to the shape and the presence of a heel support, said outer piece of footwear having suitable inner modifications so as to allow the integral engagement with the outer surface of the inner piece of footwear, which has also been suitably modified.

The invention described in document US2019116916 requires therefore the creation of an outer piece of footwear according to the known art in order to allow it to be individually used, but also the improvement of the inner surface in order to be able to integrally house the inner piece of footwear. However, the footwear according to document US2019116916 cannot be used as a safety device because it does not meet the characteristics required by the compulsory regulations, nor could it be modified for said purpose without involving an important execution complexity.

Aim of the invention, which is the subject of the present patent application is to provide suitably improved safety footwear that allows the user to access inside premises without wearing a different pair of shoes.

A further aim of the invention, which is the subject of the present patent application, is to provide safety footwear that allows it to be taken off while keeping the user's foot inside a second shoe, which is perfectly suitable for walking.

This and further aims are reached by the invention, which is the subject of the present patent application, in particular thanks to the production of finished footwear that consists of an outer piece of footwear inside which a shoe is reversibly associated, said shoe having the characteristics to be used as a shoe, once removed from the first outer shoe. In particular, the footwear according to the invention, which is the subject of the present patent application, as it is, complies with the current regulations on safety footwear and can be used during the working hours, whereas by taking off the outer piece of footwear and wearing the inner shoe only, it is possible to access inside closed premises or to use the shoe in contexts wherein safety footwear is not required.

The invention which is the subject of the present patent application is drawn in table 1 wherein: Figure 1: graphic example of the footwear equipped with inner shoe subject of the patent application;

Figure 2: graphic example of the outer piece of footwear;

Figure 3: graphic example of the constructional characteristics of the outer piece of footwear according to the invention which is the subject of the patent application;

3

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) Fig 3a: example of a preferred but not exclusive way of processing the mounting insole;

Figure 4: graphic example of the inner shoe according to the invention which is the subject of the patent application;

Figure 5: graphic example of the inner shoe inserted in the outer piece of footwear according to the invention which is the subject of the patent application.

Detailed description

According to the invention which is the subject of the present patent application, the improved safety footwear (1, Fig 1), subject of the present patent application, has a first outer piece of footwear structure (2) inside which a second footwear structure is inserted (3) hereinafter referred to as inner shoe.

With reference to Fig 2 and Fig 3, the outer piece of footwear (2) is substantially made up of an upper (2.1, Fig 2, Fig 3), a midsole (2.2) and a generic tread (2.4, Fig 2, Fig 3).

With reference to Fig 3, in particular the upper (2.1) is joined with a mounting insole (2.3) in the lower part and with a generic midsole (2.2) which is joined to the generic tread (2.4, Fig 3).

The lower surface (2.1.1, Fig 3) of the outer piece of footwear (2, Fig 3) can be divided in a rear end (2.1.1.1, Fig 3), corresponding to the heel position, a first front end (2.1.1.2, Fig 3), corresponding to the position of the metatarsal, and a second front end (2.1.1.3, Fig 3) corresponding to the position of the footwear toecap (2).

According to the invention which is the subject of the present patent application, in the section included between the rear end (2.1.1.1, Fig 3) and the first front end (2.1.1.2, Fig 3), the lower surface of the upper (2.1, Fig 3), the mounting insole (2.3) the midsole and the tread (2.4), are parallel with respect to the supporting plane (P, Fig 2, Fig 3) of the footwear (1).

According to the invention which is the subject of the present patent application, in the section included between the front end (2.1.1.2, Fig 3) corresponding to the position of the metatarsal and the front end (2.1.1.3, Fig 3) corresponding to the footwear toecap of the outer piece of footwear (2 Fig 3), the lower surface (2.1.1, Fig 3) of the upper (2.1, Fig 3), the mounting insole (2.3) the midsole (2.2) and the tread (2.4), have an increasing tilt with respect to the support plane (P) of the piece of footwear (1).

In a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment the front surface of the mounting insole (2.3, Fig 3) is pressed (Fig 3a) in such a way as to increase the flexibility of the lower surface (2.1.1) of the outer piece of footwear (2) and therefore of the footwear (1) subject of the present patent application.

4

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) In a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment the mounting insole (2.3) is provided with an antiperforation sheet.

In a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment the midsole (2.2, Fig 1, Fig 2) has at least one side and rear section (2.5.1,2.5. n, Fig 1, Fig 2) made of transparent material.

Furthermore, the outer piece of footwear (2, Fig 3) has a toecap (2.4, Fig 3); in a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment, the toecap (2.4, Fig 3) is made of aluminum or carbon fiber or any material complying with the current safety regulations regarding safety piece of footwear.

According to what previously described and regardless of the preferred realization methods described, the outer piece of footwear (2, Fig 2,3) has therefore a surface (2.1.1, Fig 3) without heel below.

According to the invention which is the subject of the present patent application, in the outer piece of footwear (2, Fig 1,2,3) an inner shoe (3, Fig 1,4,5) is reversibly inserted.

In particular, the inner shoe (3, Fig 4, Fig 5) consists of an upper (3,1) joined with a generic mounting insole and joined with a sole (3.2, Fig 4, Fig 5) having a rear support (3.2.1, Fig 4, Fig 5) acting as heel for the inner shoe (3, Fig 4,5).

In a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment the rear support (3, Fig 4, Fig 5) is made up of shape memory elastic material

In a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment the upper (3.1, Fig 4, Fig 5) of the inner shoe (3, Fig 4, Fig 5) is made up of elastic material so as to allow an easy foot insertion and not to require any further association means of the lace type or the like.

According to the invention which is the subject of the present patent application, the inner shoe (3), made up according to what previously described, is reversibly housed in the outer piece of footwear (2), which is made according to what previously described.

In a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment the rear portion of the inner shoe (3), inserted in the outer shoe (2), can be seen through the portions (2.5.1,2.5. n) of the midsole (2.2) of the outer piece of footwear (2).

According to the invention which is the subject of the present patent application, the user wearing the shoe (1) subject of the present patent application, will be able to enjoy safety footwear (1) which is suitably made according to the current regulations and comfortable for what concerns the fit and, if necessary, when pulling out the foot from the inner shoe (3) in which it is worn, using it as a common shoe equipped with rear support (3.2.1).

5

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26)