ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR

摘要

1. ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR An article of footwear presenting a plurality of suction cups depending from the sole for the purpose of obtaining greater non-slip traction is improved by providing a sole comprising a sheet of flexible elastic material, a plurality of flexible resilient suction cups secured to said sheet with said cups depending from the undersurface of said sheet, each of said cups comprising a neck that extends through said sheet so as to protrude substantially above the upper surface of said sheet and that has a hollow passage extending therethrough, the upper extremity of each of said necks presenting a surface adapted to provide a seal for said hollow passage with a surface pressed thereagainst, and a plurality of spacer bodies upstanding from the upper surface of said sheet in secured relation therewith that are laterally substantially spaced with respect to the upper extremities of said necks and the upper surfaces of which are spaced with respect to the upper surface of said sheet to an extent substantially greater than the spacing of the upper extremities 2. of said necks from the upper surface of said sheet whereby a body presenting a surface that bridges said spacer bodies under pressure may become depressed into said sealing relation with said upper extremities of said necks and whereby upon relief of said pressure, said spacer bodies tend to cause said surface to become separated from the upper extremities of said necks so as to rupture said sealing relation of said surface with the upper extremities of said necks. The aforesaid sheet comprising said suction cups and spacer bodies may be used per se as the sole of an article of footwear or in combination with an overlying flexible resilient sheet that also is comprised in the sole of the footwear.