Footwear Kit with Adjustable Foreparts

Abstract

A footwear kit suitable for producing a pair of customized bowling shoes with appropriate sliding sole and a traction sole for right and left handed bowlers and optimizable for a variety of lane conditions is provided. A distal margin on the shoe matches a margin on a removable forepart to provide rapid alignment and orientation of the ground contact surface area of the forepart to the shoe. Foreparts provided are adjustable for use on either a left or right shoe.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A footwear kit comprising a forepart having a length and width substantially larger than a length and width of a forepart receiving area of each of a left shoe and right shoe of a pair of shoes such that the forepart will cover the entire forepart receiving area of each of the left and right shoe, each said forepart receiving area extending forward from an arch portion of the shoe to a toe edge of the shoe including the entire periphery of the sole forward of the arch portion of the shoe, each forepart receiving area further comprising a distal margin extending laterally across the shoe at the rear of the forepart receiving area of the shoe; wherein said forepart has a periphery comprising at least one margin matching the shape of the distal margin of the forepart receiving area of each of the left and right shoe. 
     
     
         2 . The footwear kit of  claim 1  wherein the forepart further comprises a ground contact surface having a plurality of traction characteristics. 
     
     
         3 . The footwear kit of  claim 1  wherein the forepart further comprises a ground contact surface having a traction characteristic that differs with a direction of force applied, such that the forepart exhibits a first traction characteristic in response to a force applied from a first direction parallel to the ground contact surface that is different from a second traction characteristic in response to a force applied from a second direction parallel to the ground contact surface, and wherein alignment of the margin of the forepart to the distal margin of the forepart receiving area establishes an orientation of the traction characteristics of the forepart with respect to the shoe. 
     
     
         4 . The footwear kit of  claim 1  wherein the forepart further comprises a ground contact surface having a geometry of traction characteristics wherein a first portion of the ground contact surface has a first traction characteristic and a second portion of the ground contact surface has a second traction characteristic that is different from the first traction characteristic, and wherein alignment of the margin of the forepart to the distal margin of the forepart receiving area establishes the geometry of traction characteristics with respect to the shoe. 
     
     
         5 . The footwear kit of  claim 3  wherein the forepart further comprises at least two margins matching the shape of a distal margin of the forepart receiving area of the shoe, wherein aligning a first margin of the forepart with the distal margin of the forepart receiving area results in a first orientation of traction characteristics with respect to the shoe, and aligning a second margin of the forepart with the distal margin of the forepart receiving area results in a second orientation of traction characteristics with respect to the shoe differing from the first orientation. 
     
     
         6 . The footwear kit of  claim 4  wherein the forepart further comprises at least two margins matching the shape of a distal margin of the forepart receiving area of the shoe, wherein aligning a first matching margin with the distal margin results in a first geometry of traction characteristics with respect to the shoe, and aligning a second matching margin with the distal margin results in a second geometry of traction characteristics with respect to the shoe, said second geometry differing from said first geometry. 
     
     
         7 . The footwear kit of  claim 1  wherein the forepart further comprises a plurality of size guides whereby removal of the forepart material outside the size guide corresponding to a size and handedness of a shoe results in a forepart having the same size and shape as the forepart receiving area of the shoe. 
     
     
         8 . The footwear kit of  claim 7  wherein the size guides are selected from the group consisting of: markings on a forepart surface; grooves on a forepart surface; perforations through the forepart; and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The footwear kit of  claim 1  wherein the forepart further comprises a ground contact surface and a fastener surface, wherein sizing the forepart to fit the forepart receiving area of the left shoe when properly attached produces a forepart with a forepart periphery that differs from the periphery of the forepart receiving area of the right shoe. 
     
     
         10 . A footwear kit comprising:
 a shoe having a sole with a forepart receiving area extending longitudinally from a toe end of the shoe distally to an arch portion of the shoe and extending laterally across an entire width of the sole, the forepart receiving area further comprising a distal margin;   a forepart having at least one margin matching the distal margin of the forepart receiving area, a length exceeding the longitudinal length of the forepart receiving area, and a width exceeding the lateral width of the forepart receiving area; and   a fastener for removably attaching the forepart to the forepart receiving area.   
     
     
         11 . The footwear kit of  claim 10 , wherein the fastener is an interlocking hook and pile two-part fastener system and the forepart receiving area is defined by an area of the sole covered by one part of the two-part fastener system. 
     
     
         12 . The footwear kit of  claim 10 , wherein the distal margin is a protrusion from the sole. 
     
     
         13 . The footwear kit of  claim 10 , wherein the forepart receiving area is recessed into the sole and the distal margin is defined by an edge of the recess. 
     
     
         14 . A footwear kit comprising:
 a left shoe and a right shoe, each shoe having a sole comprising a forepart receiving area extending longitudinally from a toe end of the shoe rearward to an arch portion of the shoe and extending laterally across an entire width of the sole, the forepart receiving area further comprising a distal margin;   a forepart having a length greater than a longitudinal length of the forepart receiving area of both the left shoe and right shoe and a width greater than the lateral width of the forepart receiving area of both the left shoe and right shoe, such that the forepart when attached to the left shoe or the right shoe covers the entire forepart receiving area of the shoe and extends beyond the sole; said forepart further comprising at least one margin shaped to fit the distal margin of each of the left shoe and the right shoe;   each forepart receiving area further comprising a fastener for removably securing the forepart to the shoe.   
     
     
         15 . The footwear kit of  claim 14  comprising a first forepart and a second forepart, wherein the first forepart has a traction characteristic different from a traction characteristic of the second forepart. 
     
     
         16 . The footwear kit of  claim 14  wherein the forepart comprises at least two margins shaped to fit the distal margin of both the left shoe and the right shoe individually, such that either of the two forepart margins can be fitted to the distal margin of either the left shoe or the right shoe. 
     
     
         17 . The footwear kit of  claim 14 , wherein the forepart receiving area of the left shoe differs from the forepart receiving area of the right shoe in handedness, such that a forepart cut to the size and shape of the forepart receiving area of the left shoe differs in size and shape from a forepart cut to the size and shape of the forepart receiving area of the right shoe. 
     
     
         18 . The footwear kit of  claim 14 , wherein the forepart further comprises a plurality of size guides for removing material to match the forepart size and shape to the shoe size and handedness of the left or right shoe. 
     
     
         19 . The footwear kit of  claim 18  where the size guides are selected from the group consisting of markings on the forepart, indentations in the forepart surface, grooves in the forepart surface, perforations through the forepart, and combinations thereof.