Multi-purpose water footwear

Abstract

Multi-purpose footwear includes a show sole, a shoe tongue and a shoe vamp provided as a portion of a shoe upper and a paddle mounted to be displaceable to a plurality of alternative and predetermined positions with respect to the footwear.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . Multi-purpose footwear comprising:
 a shoe sole;   a shoe tongue; and   a shoe vamp provided as a portion of a shoe upper and a paddle,   wherein said paddle is mounted to be displaceable to a plurality of alternative and predetermined positions with respect to said footwear.   
     
     
         2 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said one or more alternative and predetermined positions comprise a closed position, in which said paddle fully or partially adheres to a surface portion located at a top of said shoe upper. 
     
     
         3 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said paddle fully or partially adheres to one or both of the shoe vamp or shoe tongue. 
     
     
         4 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said paddle is made as one piece with said shoe sole and extend in a sagittal direction of a user in upright position wearing said footwear. 
     
     
         5 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said paddle and said shoe sole are made in one piece with said footwear. 
     
     
         6 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one or more stiffening members having elastic and plastic properties sufficient to cause said paddle to keep one or more known positions with respect to said footwear. 
     
     
         7 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 6 , wherein said one or more stiffening members comprise one or more structures at least partially made in one piece or co-molded with one or more of said shoe, said paddle, or said shoe sole, said one or more structures operating as a rib along at least part of a longitudinal axis of said footwear. 
     
     
         8 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 6 , wherein said one or more stiffening members comprise one or more plate-shaped structures partially inserted into a cavity obtained in said shoe sole, said one or more plate-shaped structures operating as a rib along at least part of a longitudinal axis of said footwear. 
     
     
         9 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 6 , wherein said one or more stiffening members are made of a metal or polymeric material. 
     
     
         10 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , further comprising fasteners that cooperate in fastening said paddle to said top surface of the shoe upper when said paddle is in a closed position. 
     
     
         11 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said fasteners comprise a plurality of openings provided near a free peripheral edge, or a part of said free peripheral edge, of said paddle and adapted, by being elastically forced, to hook or engage respective protruding elements on a shell surface of the shoe upper. 
     
     
         12 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 11 , wherein said protruding elements are hook-shaped. 
     
     
         13 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said paddle is longitudinally symmetrical and has a footprint comprising an inwardly concave conformation near an intersection between a longitudinal axis and an end of the paddle, the inwardly concave conformation being substantially shaped as a plane development of at least part of said shoe tongue. 
     
     
         14 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the shoe sole or the paddle are made to have an average thickness between  2  and  10  mm. 
     
     
         15 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said footwear has at least one opening in a front part of the show upper. 
     
     
         16 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said footwear has at least one opening in a rear part of the shoe upper, near a first end opposite to a second end facing the paddle. 
     
     
         17 . The multi-purpose footwear according to  claim 16 , wherein the multi-purpose footwear comprises retainers that retain the paddle at a user's foot.