Wheeled shoe accessories

Abstract

A wheeled shoe accessory specifically adapted for rolling in a direction other than a direction in which the user's shoes are oriented. The wheeled shoe accessory includes a rigid board having a length sufficient to span a width of a shoe placed sideways across the board, with the board supporting an arch region of the shoe. At least one axle assembly is secured to a lower surface of the board. The axle assembly includes an axle and at least one roller rotatably mounted on the axle. At least one releasable fastener is joined to the board and configured to secure the board to the shoe sole. The user experience is similar to that of a skateboard, but with decoupled feet for individual maneuverability of each wheeled shoe accessory.

1 . A wheeled shoe accessory comprising: 
 a rigid board having upper and lower surfaces and defining a longitudinal axis configured to be oriented along a rolling direction of the wheeled shoe accessory, the upper surface of the board having a length along the longitudinal axis sufficient to span a width of a piece of footwear placed sideways across the board, with the board supporting an arch region of the piece of footwear;    at least one axle assembly secured to the lower surface of the board and comprising an axle and at least one roller rotatably mounted on the axle for rolling in the rolling direction; and    at least one releasable fastener configured to secure the board to an underside of the piece of footwear to retain the wheeled shoe accessory to the piece of footwear during use.    
     
     
         2 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 1  wherein the releasable fastener comprises a projection extending upwardly from the upper surface of the board, the projection configured to be received by a receptacle defined by a sole of the piece of footwear.  
     
     
         3 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 2  wherein the projection is of a shape selected to prevent rotation of the board about an axis normal to the board with the projection received in the piece of footwear.  
     
     
         4 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 2  wherein the projection is elongated with its length extending along the longitudinal axis of the board.  
     
     
         5 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 1  wherein the releasable fastener is configured to permit the piece of footwear to be selectively positionable on the board in either of two positions, each with the piece of footwear angled with respect to the rolling direction.  
     
     
         6 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 1  wherein the board is sized to fit entirely under the piece of footwear.  
     
     
         7 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 1  wherein the releasable fastener is securable to the board in either of at least two angular orientations.  
     
     
         8 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 1  wherein the board is of a length, measured along the longitudinal axis, of between about 8 and 14 inches, and is of a width, perpendicular to its longitudinal axis, of between about 2½ and 4 inches.  
     
     
         9 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 1  wherein the axle assembly further comprises a compliant mount resiliently deformable and secured to the lower surface of the board, the compliant mount defining a canted kingpin axis, the axle secured to the compliant mount and rotatable about the canted kingpin axis for inducing yaw with respect to the rolling direction.  
     
     
         10 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 9  further comprising first and second axle assemblies, the compliant mounts secured to the lower surface of the board such that their canted kingpin axes are in opposing directions to one another.  
     
     
         11 . The wheeled shoe accessory of  claim 1  in combination with the piece of footwear.  
     
     
         12 . A board assembly for a wheeled shoe accessory, the board assembly comprising: 
 a rigid board having upper and lower surfaces and defining a longitudinal axis configured to be oriented along a rolling direction of the wheeled shoe accessory, the upper surface of the board having a length along the longitudinal axis sufficient to span a width of a piece of footwear placed sideways across the board, with the board supporting an arch region of the piece of footwear, the board defining mounting holes arranged to mount at least one axle assembly on the lower surface of the board; and    a releasable fastener defining a center axis and extending upwardly from the upper surface of the board, the fastener defining opposing undercuts on either side of the center axis for receiving an attachment mechanism embedded in an underside of the piece of footwear.    
     
     
         13 . The board assembly of  claim 12  wherein the releasable fastener comprises a substantially rectangular mounting boss having a height of about ¾ inch, a length of about 1⅛ inch, and a width of about ¾ inch.  
     
     
         14 . The board assembly of  claim 12  wherein the undercuts defined by the releasable fastener are of an elongated shape spanning the width of the releasable fastener and having a height of about ⅛ inch and a depth of about 3/16 inch.  
     
     
         15 . The board assembly of  claim 12  further comprising an orientation plate secured to the upper surface of the board and configured to receive the releasable fastener, the orientation plate defining a protrusion along its upper surface to align the received releasable fastener in a particular orientation with respect to the board's longitudinal axis.  
     
     
         16 . An article of footwear comprising: 
 a sole;    an upper portion joined to the sole; and    an attachment mechanism embedded in the sole for securing a wheeled shoe accessory to the sole, the attachment mechanism comprising: 
 a body defining an elongated receptacle and a longitudinal axis, the receptacle defining a center axis and configured to receive a mounting boss of a wheeled shoe accessory, the body embedded in the sole; and  
 at least one manually operable lock control device configured to engage and retain the received mounting boss within the receptacle.  
   
     
     
         17 . The article of footwear of  claim 16  wherein the receptacle defines a substantially rectangular opening.  
     
     
         18 . The article of footwear of  claim 16  wherein the lock control device comprises: 
 a button actuator disposed in the body along the longitudinal axis of the body and accessible from the side of the sole;    a retainer arm disposed in the body and joined to the button actuator, the retainer arm configured to engage and retain the received mounting boss in the receptacle with the retainer am in an engagement position; and    a spring disposed in the body and biasing the retainer arm toward its engagement position.    
     
     
         19 . The article of footwear of  claim 18  wherein the lock control device further comprises two oppositely directed buttons joined to respective retainer arms configured to engage the mounting boss from opposite directions.  
     
     
         20 . A rigid board for a wheeled shoe accessory, the board having upper and lower surfaces and defining a longitudinal axis configured to extend along a rolling direction of the wheeled shoe accessory, the upper surface of the board having a length along the longitudinal axis sufficient to span a width of a piece of footwear placed sideways across the board, with the board supporting an arch region of the piece of footwear, the board defining mounting holes arranged to mount at least one axle assembly on the lower surface of the board, the board also comprising a projection extending from its upper surface and configured to selectively secure a releasable fastener in either of two selectable orientations with respect to the longitudinal axis of the board.  
     
     
         21 . The rigid board of  claim 20  wherein the projection comprises two elongated ribs oriented at different angles with respect to the longitudinal axis of the board, and a central post defining a threaded hole therein for receiving a threaded fastener to secure the releasable fastener to the board.  
     
     
         22 . A board for a wheeled shoe accessory, the board having upper and lower surfaces and defining a longitudinal axis configured to extend along a rolling direction of the wheeled shoe accessory, the upper surface of the board having a length along the longitudinal axis sufficient to span a width of a piece of footwear placed sideways across the board, with the board supporting an arch region of the piece of footwear, the board defining mounting holes arranged to mount at least one axle assembly on the lower surface of the board, 
 wherein the board defines a generally square recess in the upper surface along the longitudinal axis for receiving an orientation plate for selectively positioning a releasable fastener secured to the upper surface of the board in a particular orientation with respect to the board's longitudinal axis;    the recess having a side length of about 1¼ inches and a depth of about 0.2 inch;    the board further defining a hole therethrough at a center of the recess of about ¼ inch in diameter.