Sole

Abstract

A sole (100, 300) for use on an item of footwear (200) wherein the sole (100,300) provides a housing for a growth medium (40) capable of growing and maintaining grass (45). The sole (100, 300) is arranged to be fitted to a lower face of an item of footwear (200), the sole is adapted to retain a growth medium (40) suitable for growing grass (45), so that when fitted to the item of footwear (200), blades of grass project distally from the sole through a mesh (30). The user therefore has the sensation of walking on grass even if not on a grassy surface.

Claims

1. A sole, comprising: a growth medium layer comprising an impregnated growth medium impregnated with growing live grass; and a mesh adapted to retain the impregnated growth medium, and to be fitted to a lower face of an item of footwear, wherein the mesh forms a cavity between the mesh and the lower face of the item of footwear for housing the impregnated growth medium and preventing escape of the impregnated growth medium from the growth medium layer; and wherein when the mesh is fitted to the lower face of the item of footwear, roots of the growing live grass are held impregnated within the growth medium and blades of the growing live grass project from the growth medium layer through apertures in the mesh.

2. The sole according to claim 1, further comprising: attachment means for attaching the mesh to the item of footwear.

3. The sole according to claim 2, wherein the attachment means comprises: a toe clip on a front end of the mesh.

4. The sole according to claim 2, wherein the attachment means comprises: a heel clip on a rear end of the mesh.

5. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the mesh includes a continuous wall about an outer edge of the mesh so as to define the cavity for receiving the impregnated growth medium.

6. The sole according to claim 5, wherein the mesh further comprises: a base for attaching to the lower face of the footwear, the continuous wall extending distally from the base to define the cavity for retaining the impregnated growth medium layer.

7. The sole according to claim 6, wherein the base and the continuous wall are integrated.

8. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the mesh is detachable to enable access to the cavity for addition and removal of growth medium or grass seeds to the growth medium layer.

9. A sole according to claim 1, wherein the sole is formed of a resiliently deformable material so as to allow the sole to flex when the sole is fitted to the item of footwear and worn.

10. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the item of footwear is a shoe, and the sole is integrated with the shoe.

11. The sole according to claim 1, wherein grass impregnated in the impregnated growth medium is selected from the group comprising: Rye, Meadow and Fescue.

12. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the item of footwear is a shoe, and the sole is removably attachable to the shoe and is adapted to be retrofit to the shoe.

13. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the blades of grass extend through the mesh so as to act as a shock absorber for reducing impact to a wearer's joints.

14. A shoe including a sole according to claim 1.

15. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the impregnated growth medium comprises: a plurality of sections adapted to be added and removed separately from the cavity formed by the mesh, without having to change all of the plurality of sections at once.

16. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the mesh includes resiliently deformable projections in a generally downward orientation in use so as to provide improved support to the blades of the growing live grass.

17. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the cavity has a depth that varies width wise across the sole to thereby contain differing depths of the impregnated growth medium impregnated with growing live grass, to aid in correction of pronation.

18. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the sole includes transparent or translucent sections to enable light to reach the growing live grass.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of a first embodiment of the sole;

(2) FIG. 2 shows a side view of the sole of FIG. 1 fitted to a training shoe;

(3) FIG. 3 shows a front view of the sole shown in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 4 shows a top view of the sole shown in FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 5 shows a layer of grass arranged on a lower face of an item of footwear with the sole is positioned for fitting to the footwear;

(6) FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of a second embodiment of a training shoe and sole;

(7) FIG. 7 shows an isometric view of the sole arranged on a shoe with the mesh partially displaced;

(8) FIG. 8 shows a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6;

(9) FIG. 9 shows an overall view of a training shoe with the sole of the present invention attached as shown in FIG. 6;

(10) FIG. 10 shows a view rear view of a training shoe including the sole of the present invention as shown in FIG. 6;

(11) FIG. 11 shows an underside view of the sole shown in FIG. 6;

(12) FIG. 12 shows grass seed being added to growth medium arranged in a cavity of the sole; and

(13) FIG. 13 shows the mesh being closed over growth medium impregnated with grass seed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

(14) Referring to the Figures generally, FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the sole wherein the sole can be retrofitted to any item of footwear.

(15) FIGS. 1 to 4 show the sole 100 comprises a mesh 30 for fitting to a lower face of an item of footwear wherein the mesh 30 has a continuous wall 20 arranged around an edge of the mesh 30 so as to define a cavity for retaining the growth medium 40 and grass 45 on the footwear.

(16) The sole 100 is shaped to the item of footwear 200 in order to cup the distal face of the footwear 200 where the growth medium and grass (not shown in FIGS. 1 to 4) are retained.

(17) FIG. 1 shows a layer of growth medium 40 and grass 45 arranged over a distal face of the training shoe 200. The sole 100 is sized to correspond to the distal face of the shoe 200 so that it can retain the layer of growth medium 40 and grass 45 tightly to the shoe 200.

(18) The sole 100 has a mesh 30 with large apertures 90 for receiving tufts of grass 40. The apertures 90 are sized so as to allow the grass to easily pass through the mesh 30.

(19) The sole 100 has a plurality of attachment means 50. The attachment means comprise; two toe clips 50A, 50C and one heel clip 50B. 50C and 50B comprise bands which are passed over the user's toe region and around the user's heel region in order to secure the sole 100 to the shoe 200 and therefore retain the grass 45.

(20) The bands 50 are elasticated so as to be stretched and held tightly over/about the footwear. The grass 45 may be grown in the sole 100.

(21) Referring now to FIGS. 6 to 13, which show a second embodiment of the sole wherein the sole is integrated with a shoe. FIGS. 6 to 8 show a sole having a base 10 having a wall 20 arranged on the training shoe 200. The base 10 and wall 20 are formed as one part wherein a top surface of the base is attached to a distal face of the training shoe 200. The base 10 and wall 20 remain permanently fixed to the shoe being an integral part.

(22) The wall 20 is arranged around an edge of the base 10 so as to define a cavity 80 in which the growth medium and grass 40 is received and retained in use. Grass is not shown in FIGS. 6 to 13.

(23) The wall 20 is curved outwards so as to have a concave inner wall which defines the cavity sides.

(24) The growth medium 40 is provided in three sections, a toe section 40A an instep section 40B and a heel section. The sections each correspond to parts of the cavity 80. The parts of the cavity 80 are divided by internal walls (not shown). Advantageously the sections 40A, 40B and 40C can be added and removed separately, therefore allowing each section to be exchanged when worn, without necessarily having to change all sections at once.

(25) The mesh 30 has a toe clip 50A and a heel clip 50B for securing the mesh in position. The mesh 30 covers the cavity opening prevent escape of the growth medium 40 and grass 45 in use.

(26) The mesh 30 is formed from a resiliently deformable material so as to enable movement when fixed to the shoe. The mesh 30 has a plurality of apertures 90 through which the grass 45 can project through so that it is the grass 45 that interfaces the ground in use. As the grass 45 becomes worn away during use the mesh 30 will be revealed and will become the surface interfacing the ground.

(27) The toe clip 50A and heel clip 50B serve to attach the mesh to the base 10 within the confines of the wall 20.

(28) The toe clip 50A is clipped to a toe region of the shoe so as to engage the mesh with the base. The mesh 30 can be pivoted from this point so as to displace the mesh 30 from the base 10 to gain access to the cavity(s) 80 without detaching the mesh from the base (as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8).

(29) The training shoe 200 includes a tab 60 for receiving the heel clip 50B. The heel clip 50B has a hole for fitting about the tab in order to engage the heel clip 50B with the training shoe 200.

(30) FIG. 9 shows a training shoe 200 with the sole 300 fitted. No grass is shown.

(31) FIG. 10 shows a rear view of the training shoe 200 with the heel clip 50B fixed to the tab 60 and thereby securing the sole to the shoe 200.

(32) FIG. 11 shows an underside view of the sole 300 with the mesh 30 arranged to fit within the wall 20 thereby sealing the growth medium 40 and grass 45 within the cavity 80.

(33) FIG. 12 shows grass seeds 48 being added to the growth medium arranged in the cavity 80. FIG. 13 shows the mesh 30 being closed over the impregnated growth medium 40 so that grass 45 is forced to grow through the mesh 30.

(34) The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of invention.

(35) With respect to the above description then, it is to be realised that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

(36) Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.