Footwear Having Adjustable-Height Heel and Method Therefor

Abstract

An article of footwear has a height adjustable heel. A heel assembly is coupled to a toe assembly. A sole assembly is disposed over the heel assembly. A hinge assembly joins the sole assembly and heel assembly at a junction with the toe assembly. The hinge assembly has a locking mechanism, which allows the sole assembly to pivot with respect to the heel assembly to adjust a height of the sole assembly over the heel assembly when the locking mechanism is disengaged. The height of the sole assembly over the heel assembly is fixed when the locking mechanism is engaged. The heel assembly has a first inner support and the sole assembly has a second inner support. A pin coupled to a sprocket engages and disengages the first inner support and the second inner support to adjust a height of the sole assembly with respect to the heel assembly.

1 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 a toe assembly;   a heel assembly coupled to the toe assembly;   a sole assembly disposed over the heel assembly; and   a hinge assembly joining the sole assembly and heel assembly at a junction with the toe assembly, the hinge assembly including a locking mechanism allowing the sole assembly to pivot with respect to the heel assembly to adjust a height of the sole assembly over the heel assembly when the locking mechanism is disengaged, the height of the sole assembly over the heel assembly being fixed when the locking mechanism is engaged.   
   
   
       2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the toe assembly includes:
 an inner support;   an upper toe layer disposed over the inner support; and   a lower toe layer disposed under the inner support.   
   
   
       3 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the heel assembly includes:
 a body; and   a first inner support disposed within the body.   
   
   
       4 . The article of footwear of  claim 3 , wherein the sole assembly includes:
 a second inner support having a hinge end pivotally coupled to a hinge end of the first inner support by the locking mechanism;   an upper sole disposed over the second inner support; and   a lower sole disposed under the second inner support.   
   
   
       5 . The article of footwear of  claim 4 , wherein the locking mechanism includes:
 a pin disposed in a first cavity of the hinge assembly, the pin passing through an opening in the hinge end of the first inner support and passing through an opening in the hinge end of the second inner support;   a push button coupled to a first end of the pin and exposed from an exterior surface of the footwear; and   a sprocket coupled to a second end of the pin, the sprocket having a plurality of teeth meshing with teeth formed in the opening of the hinge end of the first inner support and further meshing with teeth formed in the opening of the hinge end of the second inner support when the locking mechanism is engaged, the teeth of the sprocket being extracted from the teeth of the hinge end of the first inner support when the locking mechanism is disengaged.   
   
   
       6 . The article of footwear of  claim 5 , wherein the push button is pressed into a second cavity of the hinge assembly to move the pin and sprocket and extract the teeth of the sprocket from the teeth of the hinge end of the first inner support permitting the sole assembly to pivot with respect to the heel assembly. 
   
   
       7 . The article of footwear of  claim 5 , further including a spring coiled around the pin to bias the teeth of the sprocket against the teeth of the hinge end of the first inner support and teeth of the hinge end of the second inner support. 
   
   
       8 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the locking mechanism includes:
 a first female spline disposed within the heel assembly;   a second female spline disposed within the sole assembly; and   a male spline inserted into the first and second female splines when the locking mechanism is engaged and extracted from the first female spline when the locking mechanism is disengaged.   
   
   
       9 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 a toe assembly;   a heel assembly coupled to the toe assembly;   a sole assembly disposed over the heel assembly; and   a lockable hinge assembly joining the sole assembly and heel assembly, the lockable hinge assembly providing pivotal movement and height adjustment of the sole assembly with respect to the heel assembly when the lockable hinge assembly is disengaged and fixing the height of the sole assembly over the heel assembly when the lockable hinge assembly is engaged.   
   
   
       10 . The article of footwear of  claim 8 , wherein the heel assembly includes:
 a body; and   a first inner support disposed within the body of the heel assembly.   
   
   
       11 . The article of footwear of  claim 10 , wherein the sole assembly includes a second inner support having a hinge end pivotally coupled to a hinge end of the first inner support by the lockable hinge assembly. 
   
   
       12 . The article of footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the lockable hinge assembly includes:
 a pin disposed in a first cavity of the lockable hinge assembly, the pin passing through an opening in the hinge end of the first inner support and through an opening in the hinge end of the second inner support;   a push button coupled to a first end of the pin and exposed from an exterior surface of the footwear; and   a sprocket coupled to a second end of the pin, the sprocket having a plurality of teeth meshing with teeth formed in the opening of the hinge end of the first inner support and further meshing with teeth formed in the opening of the hinge end of the second inner support when the lockable hinge mechanism is engaged, the teeth of the sprocket being extracted from the teeth of the hinge end of the first inner support when the lockable hinge mechanism is disengaged.   
   
   
       13 . The article of footwear of  claim 12 , wherein the push button is pressed into a second cavity of the lockable hinge assembly to move the pin and sprocket and extract the teeth of the sprocket from the teeth of the hinge end of the first inner support permitting the sole assembly to pivot with respect to the heel assembly. 
   
   
       14 . The article of footwear of  claim 12 , further including a spring coiled around the pin to bias the teeth of the sprocket against the teeth of the hinge end of the first inner support and teeth of the hinge end of the second inner support. 
   
   
       15 . The article of footwear of  claim 9 , wherein the locking mechanism includes:
 a first female spline disposed within the heel assembly;   a second female spline disposed within the sole assembly; and   a male spline inserted into the first and second female splines when the locking mechanism is engaged and extracted from the first female spline when the locking mechanism is disengaged.   
   
   
       16 . A method of manufacturing an article of footwear, comprising:
 providing a heel assembly coupled to a toe assembly;   disposing a sole assembly over the heel assembly; and   joining the sole assembly and heel assembly with a lockable hinge assembly, the lockable hinge assembly providing pivotal movement and height adjustment of the sole assembly with respect to the heel assembly when the lockable hinge assembly is disengaged and fixing the height of the sole assembly over the heel assembly when the lockable hinge assembly is engaged.   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein providing the sole assembly includes:
 providing a body; and   disposing a first inner support within the body.   
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the heel assembly includes a second inner support having a hinge end pivotally coupled to a hinge end of the first inner support by the lockable hinge assembly. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , further including:
 passing a pin through an opening in the hinge end of the first inner support and through an opening in the hinge end of the second inner support;   coupling a push button to a first end of the pin and exposed from an exterior surface of the footwear; and   coupling a sprocket to a second end of the pin, the sprocket having a plurality of teeth meshing with teeth formed in the opening of the hinge end of the first inner support and further meshing with teeth formed in the opening of the hinge end of the second inner support when the lockable hinge mechanism is engaged, the teeth of the sprocket being extracted from the teeth of the hinge end of the second inner support when the lockable hinge mechanism is disengaged.   
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16 , further including:
 disposing a first female spline within the heel assembly;   disposing a second female spline within the sole assembly;   inserting a male spline into the first and second female splines when the locking mechanism is engaged; and   extracting the male spline from the first female spline when the locking mechanism is disengaged.