Shoe with breathable shell

Abstract

A shoe has a shell including a front part, a rear part, and two opposite intermediate parts extending between the front and rear parts. The shell has a flexible corrugated portion which includes a plurality of crests and valleys that extend along a direction transverse to a line parallel to a front-to-rear direction of the shell, and a plurality of vent holes formed in the corrugated portion. The corrugated portion is extendable and compressible.

1 . A shoe comprising: 
 a shell including a front part, a rear part, and two opposite intermediate parts extending between said front and rear parts, said shell having a flexible corrugated portion which includes a plurality of crests and valleys that extend along a direction transverse to a line parallel to a front-to-rear direction of said shell, and a plurality of vent holes formed in said corrugated portion, said corrugated portion being extendable and compressible.    
   
   
       2 . The shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said corrugated portion is a molded body which is formed by a molding process.  
   
   
       3 . The shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said corrugated portion is composed of a plurality of separate pieces.  
   
   
       4 . The shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said shell further has a cutout part and a bounding edge confining said cutout part, said flexible corrugated portion having a peripheral end connected to said bounding edge.  
   
   
       5 . The shoe as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein said bounding edge includes a front edge extending forwardly of said corrugated portion and a rear edge extending rearwardly of said corrugated portion, said front and rear edges being movable toward and away from each other when said front part is flexed and moved relative said rear part.  
   
   
       6 . The shoe as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein said vent holes are formed at said peripheral end of said corrugated portion at a junction of said peripheral end and said bounding edge.  
   
   
       7 . The shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said corrugated portion is provided in said front part of said shell corresponding in position to an instep of a wearer.  
   
   
       8 . The shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said corrugated portion is provided in said rear part of said shell.  
   
   
       9 . The shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said corrugated portion is made of a material selected from the group consisting of a thermoplastic material, natural leather, synthetic leather, and a fabric material.  
   
   
       10 . The shoe as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said shell further includes a tongue in said front part, said corrugated portion being provided in said tongue.