Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of shoes and, particularly, it relates to a shoe equipped with quick-fastening means, i.e. fastening means which are easy to be opened and closed.

State of the Art of the Invention

For some time now, laced-up shoes, especially sports shoes such as the so-called sneakers and similar shoe designs, are worn according to the fashions which are prevalent among young users, i.e. without lacing the strings, which therefore represent a mere ornament. Accordingly, in certain cases, a need has arisen to devise an alternative way to secure the shoe to the foot, possibly in a quick and easily adjustable manner compared to string lacing. Therefore, it was proposed to complement the traditional eyelet-and-string fastening system with additional fastening systems, such as Velcro® tapes cooperating with appropriate surfaces integral to the upper of the shoe. However, these systems dramatically affect the aesthetics of the product and influence the design thereof, thereby limiting the possibilities of design in a field, especially that of sports shoes, which is already restricted to a certain number of choices.

Therefore, the aim of the present invention is to provide a shoe equipped with quick-fastening means which are easy and quick to be replaced, thus enabling a wide range of solutions in terms of design of the shoe, especially for aesthetic purposes, without compromising its functional characteristics.

Object of the Invention Accordingly, the object of the present invention is a shoe comprising a sole supporting an upper having a wearing opening which can be adjusted by replaceable fastening means at least partially surrounding both the wearing opening and the side-back portion of the shoe, wherein said replaceable fastening means comprise a laminar shaped body having at least one pair of fastening flaps whose free ends carry respective mutually complementary tightening means and further having one or more anchoring flaps whose lower free ends carry respective first quick-anchoring means intended to be coupled with respective second quick-anchoring means arranged on the shoe in such a way that the fastening means can be easily removed from the shoe.

Advantageously, said replaceable fastening means comprise one anchoring flap arranged on the rear portion of said shoe, or alternatively, said replaceable fastening means comprise two anchoring flaps respectively arranged on the two sides of the shoe, said second quick-anchoring means being preferably arranged at the junction between said sole and said upper of said shoe.

In a preferred embodiment, each of said first quick-anchoring means cooperates with the respective one of said second quick- anchoring means to form a coupling system selected from the group consisting of a zipper, a snap-fastener coupling system, and a hook- and-loop coupling system.

Preferably, said tightening means carried by said fastening flaps of said replaceable fastening means are quick-tightening means and, particularly, they comprise mutually complementary patches of Velcro®.

In a variant embodiment, said shoe further comprises an additional tightening system to adjust the wearing opening of the shoe, for example a traditional eyelet-and-string system. Brief Description of the Drawings

These and other features of the invention, and the advantages derived therefrom, will become apparent from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments thereof which are provided by way of an exemplary, non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe having fastening means applied thereto according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front plan view of a first embodiment of the fastening means for use in association with the shoe according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a front plan view of a second embodiment of the fastening means for use in association with the shoe according to the present invention; and Figure 4 is a front plan view of a third embodiment of the fastening means for use in association with the shoe according to the present invention.

Description of Certain Embodiments of the Invention

Now, referring initially to Figure 1 , there is shown a shoe 1 comprising a sole 2 which supports an upper 3 having a wearing opening 4 which allows a user to wear the shoe and which can be adjusted by means of a tightening system 5 which is illustrated herein as a traditional eyelet-and-string system. According to the present invention, the shoe is also equipped with replaceable fastening means 6 partially surrounding the wearing opening 4 and the side-back portion of the shoe 1 so as to allow the shoe to be adjustably fastened around the user's foot when the shoe 1 is worn. Particularly, and referring also to Figure 2 which illustrates a first embodiment of the replaceable fastening means 6 associated with the shoe 1 according to the present invention, said fastening means 6 comprise a laminar shaped body 61 having at the top a pair of overlapping fastening flaps 62, 63 whose free ends carry respective quick-tightening means 64, 65 which are complementary to each other. At the bottom of the body 61 , the body 61 further comprises a pair of anchoring flaps 66, 67 whose lower free ends carry respective first quick-anchoring means 68, 69 intended for engagement with respective second quick-anchoring means 11 , 12 which are formed on the shoe 1. In this case, the second quick-anchoring means 11 , 12 are formed on the two sides of the shoe 1 at the junction between the sole 2 and the upper 3, in such a way that the two anchoring flaps 66, 67 of the replaceable fastening means 6 will be opposite to each other with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shoe 1.

The laminar shaped body 61 of the fastening means 6 comprising the fastening flaps 62, 63 and the anchoring flaps 66, 67 can be made of any suitable material which can be simple or composite, monolayer or multilayer, such as rubbers, flexible plastic materials and other polymeric materials, woven or non-woven fabrics which can be padded and/or quilted, and it may be subjected to appropriate surface treatments such as a waterproofing treatment or an anti-stain treatment.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the tightening means 64, 65 carried by the free ends of the respective fastening flaps 62, 63 are formed by complementary patches of Velcro®, while the first anchoring means 68 and the second anchoring means 11 on one side of the shoe 1 , as well as the first anchoring means 69 and the second anchoring means 12 on the other side of the shoe 1 , cooperate to form a respective zipper so as to allow the replaceable fastening means 6 to be quickly and easily replaced by the user himself/herself.

In Figure 3, in which elements identical to those already described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 are referred to by identical reference numerals, there is shown a second embodiment of the replaceable fastening means 6 associated to the shoe according to the present invention. In this case, the fastening means 6 are identical to those already illustrated in the first embodiment except that the first anchoring means 68 and the second anchoring means 11 on one side of the shoe 1 , as well as the first anchoring means 69 and the second anchoring means 12 on the other side of the shoe 1 , cooperate to form a respective snap-fastener coupling system.

In Figure 4, in which elements identical to those already described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 are referred to by identical reference numerals, there is shown a third embodiment of the replaceable fastening means 6 associated to the shoe according to the present invention, in which the fastening means 6 comprise a single anchoring flap 66' whose lower free end carries a first anchoring means 68' which is coupled with a second anchoring means 11' formed on the shoe. In this case, the first anchoring means 68' and the second anchoring means 11' cooperate to form a hook-and-loop coupling system.

For use, a user will introduce a foot into the shoe 1 equipped with the fastening means 6, then overlap the fastening flap 62 with the fastening flap 63 sufficiently to lock the neck of the shoe around the foot, and then engage the patch of Velcro® 64 with the patch of Velcro® 65 so as to fix the closure, thus obviating the need to tighten the string of the shoe which can be left loose. The entire operation can be carried out extremely quickly and easily, with the use of only one hand. Furthermore, if the fastening means 6 need to be replaced because they are worn or soiled, or if the user desires to replace them for mere aesthetic purposes, it will be sufficient to disengage the first anchoring means 68, 68', 69 from the respective second anchoring means 11, 11', 12, remove the fastening means 6 from the shoe 1 , and replace them with new fastening means 6, for example supplied in a kit which can be purchased separately. The new fastening means may be the same as the fastening means to be replaced or they can be different, for example in terms of material, colour, surface treatment, type of tightening means, etc.

Therefore, the present invention provides a new shoe equipped with quick-fastening means which obviate the need to tighten the string of the shoe and which can be easily replaced, thereby offering a wide range of choices to its user. Although the invention has been described with reference to its specific embodiments, it should be understood that it is not limited to such embodiments, as various changes and modifications can be made which fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, the tightening means 64, 65 of the fastening means

6 may be other than pieces of Velcro ® and, for example, they may be other quick-tightening means such as systems consisting of side-by- side arrays of hooks and eyelets, systems consisting of side-by-side arrays of snap-fasteners, or eyelet-and-string systems. Moreover, the fastening means 6 can be provided with multiple pairs of fastening flaps 62, 63 so as to ensure an improved grip of the shoe to the foot.