Zippered shoe sole with one or more compartments

Abstract

The current invention is directed toward an item of footwear with upper and lower soles, which are removably attached to each other by a zipper, where the sole contains one or more compartments created by mating cavities formed into the mating faces of the upper and lower soles. Access to the compartment(s) is achieved through zippers and a flexible sole. A zipper is located along the fringe of the sole, separating the sole into an upper sole and a lower sole. A zipper encompassing the entire fringe of the sole allows for complete removal of the lower sole. A zipper encompassing part of the fringe combined with the flexible sole allows easy access to a compartment. The existence of a compartment is, optionally, hidden by making the zipper the same color as the sole, or by hiding the zipper under a protective sleeve.

1 . An item of footwear, comprising: a sole with an outer edge, where the sole comprises an upper sole portion and a lower sole portion, where the upper and lower sole portions are connected by a zipper, where the zipper extends all the way around the outer edge of the sole, where the upper sole portion and lower sole portion each contains one or more compartments or cavities where these compartments or cavities separate the sole of the footwear to create an upper and a lower sole, and where the one or more compartments or cavities in the upper sole portion and lower sole portion are located such that when the upper sole portion and lower sole portion are zipped together, each of the one or more compartments in the upper sole portion mates with each of the one or more compartments in the lower sole portion, and where the upper sole and lower sole are not one piece of material; an upper portion of the footwear that is attached to the upper sole, where the upper portion of footwear is a wearable portion of footwear. 
     
     
         2 . The sole of  claim 1  additionally comprising of a sleeve that hides the zipper from view. 
     
     
         3 . The sole of  claim 1 , where the zipper is of the same color as the outer edge of the sole, such that the zipper blends in with the outer edge of the sole and is substantially inconspicuous. 
     
     
         4 . The sole of  claim 1 , additionally comprising of a mechanism to lock the zipper and restrain its movement. 
     
     
         5 . The sole of  claim 1 , where there is one large compartment that exists from the arch of the sole to the heel of the sole. 
     
     
         6 . The sole of  claim 1 , additionally comprising of additional support members located inside the compartment(s) to support the upper sole. 
     
     
         7 . The sole of  claim 1  where there are two compartments with one located in the heel and one located near the front of the footwear. 
     
     
         8 . The sole of  claim 7 , additionally comprising of additional support members located inside each compartment to support the upper sole. 
     
     
         9 . An item of footwear, comprising: a sole with an outer edge, where the sole comprises an upper sole portion and a lower sole portion, where the upper and lower sole portions are connected by a zipper, where the zipper extends around the outer edge of the sole from the front of the shoe to the rear of the shoe, where the upper sole portion and lower sole portion each contains one or more compartments or cavities where these compartments or cavities separate the sole of the footwear to create an upper and a lower sole, and where the one or more compartments or cavities in the upper sole portion and lower sole portion are located such that when the upper sole portion and lower sole portion are zipped together, each of the one or more compartments in the upper sole portion mates with each of the one or more compartments in the lower sole portion, and where the upper sole and lower sole are one piece of material;
 an upper portion of the footwear that is attached to the upper sole, where the upper portion of footwear is a wearable portion of footwear.   
     
     
         10 . The sole of  claim 9 , additionally comprising of a sleeve that hides the zipper from view. 
     
     
         11 . The sole of  claim 9 , where the zipper is of the same color as the outer edge of the sole, such that the zipper blends in with the outer edge of the sole and is substantially inconspicuous. 
     
     
         12 . The sole of  claim 9 , additionally comprising of a mechanism to lock the zipper and restrain its movement. 
     
     
         13 . The sole of  claim 9  where there is one large compartment located in the sole. 
     
     
         14 . The sole of  claim 9 , additionally comprising of additional support members located inside the compartment(s) to support the upper sole. 
     
     
         15 . The sole of  claim 9  where there are two compartments with one located in the heel and one located near the front of the footwear. 
     
     
         16 . The sole of  claim 15 , additionally comprising of additional support members located inside each compartment to support the upper sole. 
     
     
         17 . An item of footwear, comprising: a sole with an outer edge, where the sole comprises an upper sole portion and a lower sole portion, where the upper and lower sole portions are connected by a zipper, where the zipper extends around outer edge of the sole from the midpoint of the footwear, around the rear of the footwear, and to the opposing midpoint of the footwear, where the upper sole portion and lower sole portion each contains one or more compartments or cavities where these compartments or cavities separate the sole of the footwear to create an upper and a lower sole, and where the one or more compartments or cavities in the upper sole portion and lower sole portion are located such that when the upper sole portion and lower sole portion are zipped together, each of the one or more compartments in the upper sole portion mates with each of the one or more compartments in the lower sole portion, and where the upper sole and lower sole are one piece of material; an upper portion of the footwear that is attached to the upper sole, where the upper portion of footwear is a wearable portion of footwear. 
     
     
         18 . The sole of  claim 17 , additionally comprising of a sleeve that hides the zipper from view. 
     
     
         19 . The sole of  claim 17 , where the zipper is of the same color as the outer edge of the sole, such that the-zipper blends in with the outer edge of the sole and is substantially inconspicuous. 
     
     
         20 . The sole of  claim 17 , additionally comprising of a mechanism to lock the zipper and restrain its movement. 
     
     
         21 . The sole of  claim 17  where there is one large compartment located in the sole. 
     
     
         22 . The sole of  claim 17 , additionally comprising of additional support members located inside the compartment(s) to support the upper sole. 
     
     
         23 . An item of footwear, consisting of:
 a sole with an outer edge, where the sole comprises an upper sole portion and a lower sole portion, where the upper and lower sole portions are connected by a zipper, where the zipper extends at least part of the way around the outer edge of the sole, where the zipper is of the same color as the outer edge of the sole, such that the zipper blends in with the outer edge of the sole and is substantially inconspicuous, where the upper sole portion and lower sole portion each contains one or more compartments or cavities where these compartments or cavities separate the sole of the footwear to create an upper and a lower sole, and where the one or more compartments or cavities in the upper sole portion and lower sole portion are located such that when the upper sole portion and lower sole portion are zipped together, each of the one or more compartments in the upper sole portion mates with each of the one or more compartments in the lower sole portion;   an upper portion of the footwear that is attached to the upper sole, where the upper portion of footwear is a wearable portion of footwear, additionally comprising one or more support members located inside the one or more compartments to support the upper sole.