Shoe and a flipper set-up

The present invention relates to a shoe, in particular a beach shoe, and a flipper set-up, which shoe has a lower portion, and which flipper set-up comprises a fin part and a fixing part, said lower portion comprising first connecting members and said fixing part comprising second connecting members, said first and second connecting members together forming a releasable connecting mechanism permitting said flipper set-up to be releasable secured to said shoe.

Beach shoes are typically worn by people spending their holiday on the coast. They allow those people to comfortably walk on hot and sandy or rocky beaches while they prevent them from hurting their feet. Therefore these shoes have a lower portion and an upper portion and are made from a water-resistant material.

Flippers are typically worn by swimmers and those engaged in snorkeling and scuba diving in order to provide means to increase their rate of propulsion through the water. Most commonly flippers comprise a blade or web portion, which is the fin part, that is either fixed to a boot that may worn by the swimmer or that is otherwise attachable to a swimmer\'s foot. The blade of the flipper increases the amount of water displaced during a kicking movement and thereby increases the acceleration and propulsion of the swimmer through the water.

Flippers are uneasy and difficult to manipulate when walking on land. Previous attempts to design a flipper that allows a swimmer to more easily walk on land have met with only limited success. These attempts have focused upon the disadvantages of the fin part of the flipper, and therefore have focused on the mechanical structures for releasably connecting a fin part and a shoe part. This results in a flipper which is a full-fledged flipper and wherein the fin part is releasably connectable to the shoe part. However when the fin part is detached from the shoe part, that shoe part is no full-fledged shoe as it comprises connecting members which affect the use of the shoe part as a beach shoe. Therefore the shoe part is uncomfortable to wear as a beach shoe. An example of such an attempt is known from UK patent application GB 2 128 096, where a platform is to be connected to a shoe.

US 2006/0234570 describes a swim fin comprising a foot engaging portion and a blade portion. However the foot engaging portion is described as a boot, which is not a beach shoe. Moreover the connecting members are latching members which engage by clicking the foot engaging portion into the blade portion in a vertical direction. Applying a force in this vertical direction is uneasy especially on sandy beaches. By applying a vertical force on the flipper on a sandy beach, the flipper sinks into the sand, which then has the consequence that the latching members get stuck with sand. The latching members don\'t have a constant thickness along the length of the shoe which affects the rigidity of the shoe in a non-constant way. This results in a shoe which is uncomfortable to wear.

It is an object of the present invention to realize a shoe, in particular a beach shoe, and a flipper set-up, which shoe and flipper set-up have connecting members, which allow to easily connect one to another on a sandy beach and which shoe is still a comfortable beach shoe when used as a shoe.

For this purpose, a shoe according to the invention is characterized in that said lower portion has two side portions, said first connecting members being formed by first rails, which first rails extend along said two side portions, said fixing part comprises a pair of arm members forming a bay, said second connecting member being formed by second rails, which second rails extend along said bay, said first and second rails being slidably engageable with each other so as to enable the shoe to slide into the flipper set-up. The first and second rail allow to easily connect the shoe to the flipper set-up by a sliding movement, which requires a horizontal force instead of a vertical one. Because of the fixing part comprising a pair of arm members forming a bay in between which the shoe slides into, there are no areas between the shoe and the flipper set-up which can get clogged up with sand. The first rails extend along the two side portions of the shoe, and therefore the bottom of the shoe isn\'t affected by the presence of the rails. Another advantage of the rails is that, contrary to a clicking mechanism, they have a constant thickness and shape over their length and so the rigidity of the shoe is affected uniformly. This results in a shoe which is still comfortable when used as a shoe.

In a first preferred embodiment of the shoe and the flipper set-up according to the invention, said bay has an entrance, said flipper set-up comprises a strap bridging said entrance and provided for encircling at least a heel of said shoe when said shoe and said flipper set-up are engaged with each other. This strap allows a user to prevent the shoe and flipper set-up to release each other in an uncontrolled manner.

In the drawings a same reference number has been allocated to a same or analogous element.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a beach shoe 1 according to the invention. The shoe comprises an upper portion 3 and a lower portion 2, which has two side portions. The shoe 1 has a length which is the distance between the tip 15 and the heel 14 of the shoe 1. The lower portion 2 comprises first rails 4. These first rails 4 are positioned lengthwise on the two side portions of the lower portion 2, in such a manner as to have a distance d between the first rails 4 and the bottom of the shoe 1. This distance d has for consequence that the rails 4 do not adversely affect the bottom of the shoe 1 when walking. Preferably the rails 4 extend further than the side portions along the front portion of the lower portion 2 so as to obtain a stronger connection between the shoe 1 and the flipper set-up 7 when they are engaged. The lower portion 2 also preferably comprises at the heel portion a recess 14 provided for receiving a strap 13. When the shoe 1 and the flipper set-up 7 are engaged, the strap 13 enables to maintain the shoe 1 engaged in the flipper set-up 7.

The bottom of the shoe 1 is preferably provided with an anti-slip layer 5. Furthermore, the lower portion 2 is more rigid then the upper portion 3 in order to allow a user to easily put the shoes on. The upper portion 3 is provided with holes 6 to allow water to enter and exit the shoe so as to make the shoe 1 water-permeable. Preferably, the shoe 1 is provided with at least one pull strap 17 so as to facilitate putting the shoe 1 on. The pull strap 17 is located on the upper portion 3 and more specific on the entrance of the shoe. In entering a foot into the shoe 1, the user can pull the pull strap 17 thereby pulling the shoe 1 onto the foot.