Padded shoe

Abstract

A padded shoe includes a shoe upper which is adjoined to a sole. The shoe upper and the sole can have padding material disposed therein. The shoe upper includes a padded tongue, which can have an inner tongue portion and an outer tongue portion. A fastening structure, which can be tightenable to maintain the shoe on the foot of the wearer, can be disposed between the inner and outer tongue portions. Alternatively, a resilient portion can be connected to the shoe upper, whereby a portion of the shoe upper can be outwardly distended to allow insertion of the foot of the wearer. The shoe can include an engagement structure to secure the outer tongue portion to at least one of the inner tongue portion and the shoe upper.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A padded shoe, comprising: 
 a shoe upper adjoined to a sole;    securement structure connected to said shoe upper, said securement structure being securable to maintain said shoe on a foot of a wearer of said shoe; and    padding material in the shoe upper, wherein said padding material is positioned within said shoe upper to generally correspond to at least one location on the foot of the wearer, said locations including at least one of the group consisting of the forward dorsal region, and the left and right forward lateral aspects of the foot.    
     
     
         2 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe upper is completely padded.  
     
     
         3 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein said padding material comprises closed-cell foam padding.  
     
     
         4 . The shoe of  claim 1 , further comprising a padded tongue.  
     
     
         5 . The shoe of  claim 4 , wherein said padded tongue comprises a lower padded tongue portion and an upper tongue portion.  
     
     
         6 . The shoe of  claim 4 , wherein said padding material comprises closed-cell foam padding.  
     
     
         7 . A padded shoe comprising: 
 a sole;    a padded shoe upper attached to the sole;    a padded tongue having an inner padded tongue portion and an outer tongue portion;    fastening structure located between said inner and outer tongue portions,    wherein said outer tongue portion covers the fastening structure.    
     
     
         8 . The padded shoe of  claim 7 , wherein the shoe upper is evenly padded all over.  
     
     
         9 . The padded shoe of  claim 7 , wherein the padding material is closed cell foam.  
     
     
         10 . The padded shoe of  claim 7 , wherein the outer tongue portion is padded.  
     
     
         11 . The padded shoe of  claim 7 , wherein the outer tongue portion is attached at one side thereof to the shoe upper.  
     
     
         12 . The padded shoe of  claim 7 , wherein the outer tongue portion is attached to the shoe upper along a side of the tongue.  
     
     
         13 . A padded shoe comprising: 
 a sole;    a shoe upper attached to the sole;    securement structure attachable to the shoe upper to maintain the shoe on the foot of a wearer; and    a padded tongue, having an inner padded tongue portion and an outer padded tongue portion, the outer padded tongue portion being securable over the securement structure to thereby cover the securement structure.    
     
     
         14 . The padded shoe of  claim 13 , wherein the outer tongue portion is attached at one side thereof to the shoe upper.  
     
     
         15 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said outer tongue portion is attached to the shoe upper along an end of the tongue.  
     
     
         16 . The padded shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said padding material comprises closed-cell foam padding.  
     
     
         17 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said padding material is positioned within said shoe upper to generally correspond to at least one location on the foot of the wearer, said location including at least one of the group consisting of the forward dorsal region, the instep, the posterior aspect of the heel, the left and right forward lateral aspects of the foot, and the ankle portion.  
     
     
         18 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said sole has a smooth lower surface.  
     
     
         19 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said sole has a textured lower surface.  
     
     
         20 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said sole has a plurality of gripping protrusions.  
     
     
         21 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein at least a portion of the perimeter of the sole is chamfered.  
     
     
         22 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said chamfering provides a smooth arcuate edge to said sole.  
     
     
         23 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said sole is formed at least partially from crepe rubber.  
     
     
         24 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said sole is formed at least partially from EVA rubber.  
     
     
         25 . The shoe of  claim 13 , wherein said fastening structure comprises a lace threaded through eyelets disposed on said shoe upper.  
     
     
         26 . The shoe of  claim 13 , further comprising engagement structure for securing said outer padded tongue portion over the securement structure.  
     
     
         27 . The shoe of  claim 26 , wherein said engagement structure comprises mated portions of fastening material.  
     
     
         28 . The shoe of  claim 26 , wherein said engagement structure comprises mated snaps.