Adhering footwear

Abstract

Embodiments herein provide adhering “upperless” footwear. Such footwear is provided with adhesive or another surface element to secure the footwear to a wearer's foot during use. The adhesive may be formulated to allow the footwear to be secured to the wearer's foot in a removable and repeatable fashion.

1 . Footwear having a top surface and a bottom surface, the footwear comprising:
 a fore portion;   a heel portion;   an adhesive disposed on the top surface of the footwear; and   a transition zone coupling the fore portion to the heel portion and providing a region of increased flexibility by comparison to the fore portion or heel portion.   
     
     
         2 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is a modified acrylic compound. 
     
     
         3 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is configured to releasably and repeatably adhere to a foot of a wearer. 
     
     
         4 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the transition zone provides a region of reduced thickness, stiffness, and/or density by comparison to the fore portion or heel portion. 
     
     
         5 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the fore portion, heel portion, and transition zone are formed by a continuous base material. 
     
     
         6 . The footwear of  claim 5 , further including a tread portion coupled to a bottom surface of the base material, wherein the tread portion is of a higher hardness than the base material. 
     
     
         7 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive includes a dual-layer adhesive film having a first adhesive layer and a second adhesive layer, wherein the first adhesive layer is configured to semi-permanently adhere to the top surface of the footwear, and wherein the second adhesive layer is configured to releasably and repeatably adhere to a foot of a wearer. 
     
     
         8 . The footwear of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more tabs extending from the fore portion and/or the heel portion, wherein the tabs include the adhesive to secure the tabs to the side of the foot. 
     
     
         9 . The footwear of  claim 1 , further comprising a releasable liner disposed on the adhesive and configured to be removed when the footwear is coupled to a foot of a wearer. 
     
     
         10 . The footwear of  claim 1 , further comprising a case having a surface configured to be releasably and repeatably coupled with the top surface of the footwear. 
     
     
         11 . Footwear having a top surface and a bottom surface, the footwear comprising:
 a fore portion;   a heel portion;   a transition zone coupling the fore portion to the heel portion; and   an adhesive film disposed on the top surface of the footwear and including a first adhesive layer and a second adhesive layer, wherein the first adhesive layer is configured to semi-permanently adhere to the top surface of the footwear, and wherein the second adhesive layer is configured to releasably and repeatably adhere to a foot of a wearer.   
     
     
         12 . The footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the transition zone provides a region of increased flexibility by comparison to the fore portion or heel portion. 
     
     
         13 . The footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the adhesive film further includes an intermediate layer between the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer. 
     
     
         14 . The footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the first adhesive layer and second adhesive layer are formed of different compounds. 
     
     
         15 . The footwear of  claim 11 , wherein the adhesive film includes a first portion disposed on the fore portion of the footwear and a second portion disposed on the heel portion of the footwear, wherein the first portion is separate from the second portion. 
     
     
         16 . The footwear of  claim 11 , further comprising a releasable liner disposed on the second adhesive layer. 
     
     
         17 . Footwear having a top surface and a bottom surface, the footwear comprising:
 a fore portion;   a heel portion;   an array of foot-contacting surface elements disposed on the top surface of the footwear and configured to adhere to a foot of a wearer due to attractive forces; and   a transition zone coupling the fore portion to the heel portion and providing a region of increased flexibility by comparison to the fore portion or heel portion.   
     
     
         18 . The footwear of  claim 17 , wherein the transition zone provides a region of reduced thickness, stiffness, and/or density by comparison to the fore portion or heel portion. 
     
     
         19 . The footwear of  claim 17 , further comprising an adhesive disposed on the top surface of the footwear.