Patent Application
20240298746
The present invention relates to an air cushion insole, and more particularly, to an air cushion insole installed inside a shoe to absorb shock generated when a shoe wearer walks or runs.
When people walk or run, they wear shoes to absorb shock transmitted from the ground and protect their feet from dangerous objects.
These shoes are usually composed of an upper and an outsole. The upper is shaped to wrap the wearer's foot, and the outsole protects the wearer's foot by preventing the foot from coming into direct contact with the ground.
In addition, an insole is additionally interposed on the outsole to absorb an impact force transmitted from the ground so that a wearer can have a cushion feeling and a stabilized foot fit feeling when wearing the shoes.
As a recent trend, an insole having remarkably improved functionality by better absorbing the shock transmitted from the ground has been proposed.
As a representative example, an insole with improved elasticity has been proposed by filling air inside a pocket made of an elastic material such as silicon. In such an insole, when pressure is applied, the air filled inside easily leaks out of the pocket and is pressed flat, thereby losing the cushioning effect disadvantageously.
The present invention has been made to address the aforementioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air cushion insole capable of maintaining a cushioning effect by preventing loss of the cushioning function caused when it is excessively distorted in response to an external force.
To address the aforementioned problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air cushion insole comprising: a base; a cushion cover bonded to an upper surface of the base and provided with a cushioning portion convexly shaped to form an internal sealed air space; and a cushion retaining portion formed inside the cushioning portion and provided with a shaping portion shaped to match the cushioning portion and a rib structure extending by a predetermined length from the inside of the shaping portion toward the base side to maintain a cushioning space while preventing excessive distortion of the cushioning portion.
Preferably, the cushioning portion may have an arch cushioning portion formed in a plantar arch part of a wearer's foot and a heel cushioning portion formed in a heel part of the wearer's foot.
Preferably, the cushion retaining portion may have an arch cushion retaining portion provided inside the arch cushioning portion and a heel cushion retaining portion provided inside the heel cushioning portion.
Preferably, the rib structure may be formed in a grid shape or have at least a rib having a hollowed column shape.
Meanwhile, lower ends of the rib structure of the arch cushion retaining portion and the rib structure of the heel cushion retaining portion may be spaced apart from the upper surface of the base by a predetermined distance.
In this case, an arch airbag may be provided between the base and the rib structure of the arch cushion retaining portion, and a heel airbag may be provided between the base and the rib structure of the heel cushion retaining portion.
Preferably, a plantar air cushioning portion may be formed around the arch cushioning portion. The plantar air cushioning portion may protrude upward and be filled with air inside to support a plantar part of the wear's foot.
Preferably, the heel cushioning portion of the cushion cover may be recessed downward at the center so as to abut on the base.
Preferably, the air cushion insole may further comprise a lower cap formed on an upper surface of the base and provided with multi-layered base ribs formed on an upper surface of a bottom plate in a closed curve shape, silicon gel being filled between the outermost one and its neighboring inner one of a plurality of the base ribs of the lower cap, and the cushion retaining portion may have at least a rib formed on its lower surface in a closed curve shape and inserted between the base ribs where the silicon gel is filled.
Preferably, the air cushion insole may further comprise a first lower cap formed on an upper surface of the base and provided with first multi-layered base ribs formed on an upper surface of a first bottom plate in a closed curve shape, silicon gel being filled between the outermost one and its neighboring inner one of a plurality of the first base ribs of the first lower cap; and at least a first lower rib provided on a lower surface of the heel cushion retaining portion in a closed curve shape, wherein an edge of the heel cushion retaining portion and its neighboring inner first lower rib are inserted between the first base ribs where the silicon gel is filled.
Preferably, the air cushion insole may further comprise: a second lower cap formed beside the first lower cap and provided with multi-layered second base ribs formed on an upper surface of a second bottom plate in a closed curve shape, silicon gel being filled between the outermost one and its neighboring inner one of a plurality of the second base ribs of the second lower cap; and at least a second lower rib formed on a lower surface of the arch cushion retaining portion in a closed curve shape, wherein an edge of the arch cushion retaining portion and its neighboring inner second lower rib are inserted between the second base ribs where the silicon gel is filled.
Preferably, the first lower rib may be formed over the first base rib in height, and the second lower rib may be formed over the second base rib in height.
Preferably, a filling height of the silicon gel may be set to ⅔ of the height of the first and second base ribs.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air cushion insole comprising: a base; a cushion cover abutting on an upper surface of the base and having an arch cushioning portion and a heel cushioning portion convexly formed; an arch cushion retaining portion inserted into the arch cushioning portion of the cushion cover; a heel cushion retaining portion inserted into the heel cushioning portion of the cushion cover; an arch airbag inserted into the arch cushion retaining portion to form an air layer in combination with the arch cushion retaining portion; and a heel airbag inserted into the heel cushion retaining portion to form an air layer in combination with the heel cushion retaining portion.
Preferably, the arch airbag may have an air density greater than that of the air layer between the arch cushion retaining portion and the arch airbag, and the heel airbag may have an air density greater than that of the air layer between the heel cushion retaining portion and the heel airbag.
The air cushion insole according to the present invention configured as described above is advantageous in preventing the cushion retaining portion from being excessively distorted while the ribs of the cushion retaining portion resist the pressure (primary cushioning function) so as not to lose the cushioning effect. In addition, the air layer filled between the ribs also serves as a cushion, so that the insole according to the present invention can help maintaining the cushioning function advantageously.
In addition, the ribs of the cushion retaining portion resist the pressure to prevent the cushion retaining portion from being excessively distorted (primary cushioning function), and the airbag also serves as a cushion, which is more advantageous in maintaining the cushioning function.
In addition, the air layer formed in the cushion retaining portion serves as a primary cushion, and the airbag serves as a secondary cushion, so that it is possible to further improve the cushioning effect.
In addition, the first base rib, the second base rib, the first lower rib, and the second lower rib are formed on the first lower cap, the second lower cap, the heel cushion retaining portion, and the arch cushion retaining portion, respectively, so that it is possible to prevent the balance of the foot from collapsing due to irregular air movement caused when the shoe wearer steps on the insole.
In addition, as the silicon gel is cured, the first lower cap and the heel cushion retaining portion are integrated, and the second lower cap and the arch cushion retaining portion are integrated with each other. Therefore, it is possible to increase the bonding force between the first lower cap and the heel cushion retaining portion and the bonding force between the second lower cap and the arch cushion retaining portion.
In addition, further advantageously, it is possible to implement a dual shock absorption function through the cushioning effect of the cured silicon gel itself and the cushioning effect of the air layer formed over the silicon gel.
The foregoing and additional features and characteristics of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention provides an air cushion insole comprising: a base; a cushion cover bonded to an upper surface of the base and provided with a cushioning portion convexly shaped to form an internal sealed air space; and a cushion retaining portion formed inside the cushioning portion and provided with a shaping portion shaped to match the cushioning portion and a rib structure extending by a predetermined length from the inside of the shaping portion toward the base side to maintain a cushioning space while preventing excessive distortion of the cushioning portion.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the air cushion insole according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In addition,
The air cushion insole according to the present invention includes a base 10, a cushion cover 20 abutting on an upper surface of the base 10, an arch cushion retaining portion 30 provided between the base 10 and the cushion cover 20, and a heel cushion retaining portion 40 provided between the base 10 and the cushion cover 20.
The base 10 corresponds to the lowermost part of the air cushion insole of the present invention and comes into contact with an outsole of the shoe when inserted into the shoe.
The cushion cover 20 is a part coming into contact with a plantar part of the shoe wearer, and may be integrated with the base 10 by thermal fusion or the like. The cushion cover 20 has an arch cushioning portion 21, a heel cushioning portion 22, and a plantar air cushioning portion 23 protruding upward.
The arch cushioning portion 21 is formed to protrude upward and comes into contact with the plantar fascia (or arch) part of the shoe wearer's foot.
The heel cushioning portion 22 protrudes upward at the rear of the arch cushioning portion 21 and comes into contact with the heel of the shoe wearer's foot. The heel cushioning portion 22 abuts on the base 10 as its center part is depressed downward. Therefore, the overall shape of the heel cushioning portion 22 is substantially trapezoidal (or square).
The plantar air cushioning portion 23 protrudes upward around the arch cushioning portion 21, and is filled with air to support the plantar part of the wearer's foot.
That is, the plantar air cushioning portion 23 is formed in front of the heel cushioning portion 22, and supports the midfoot part of the shoe wearer with an air cushion.
The arch cushion retaining portion 30 is formed of an elastic material such as silicon in an arched dome-like shape. The arch cushion retaining portion 30 has a shaping portion 32 inserted into the arch cushioning portion 21 of the cushion cover 20 to form the arched dome-like shape and a rib structure 31 extending by a certain length from the lower surface of the shaping portion 32 to the base 10 in a grid shape where the ribs intersect each other.
Specifically, the arch cushion retaining portion 30 abuts on the inner surface of the arch cushioning portion 21 because the shaping portion 32 has a convex shape matching the arch cushioning portion 21 of the cushion cover 20. The arch cushion retaining portion 30 has an opened bottom and a hollowed inner space. In the inner space of the arch cushion retaining portion 30, a plurality of ribs 31 intersecting in the horizontal and vertical directions are formed in an integrated manner.
The heel cushion retaining portion 40 is made of an elastic material such as silicon and is inserted into the heel cushioning portion 22 of the cushion cover 20. The heel cushion retaining portion 40 has a rib structure 41 consisting of ribs intersecting in a grid shape.
Specifically, the heel cushion retaining portion 40 has a shaping portion 42 protruding in a shape matching the heel cushioning portion 22 of the cushion cover 20 and abutting on the inner surface of the heel cushion portion 20. The heel cushion retaining portion 40 has an opened bottom and a hollowed inner space. In the inner space of the heel cushion retaining portion 40, the rib structure 41 having a plurality of ribs intersecting in the horizontal and vertical directions is formed in an integrated manner.
Here, the rib structure 31 formed inside the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the rib structure 42 formed inside the heel cushion retaining portion 40 extend long downward so that the lower ends of the rib structures 31 and 41 can make contact with the upper surface of the base 10 when the arch cushion retaining portion 30 is inserted into the arch cushioning portion 21 of the cushion cover 20, and the heel cushion retaining portion 40 is inserted into the heel cushioning portion 22 of the cushion cover 20 as shown in
When pressure is applied to the insole in which the lower ends of the rib structures 31 and 41 make contact with the base 10, the cushion cover 20, the arch cushion retaining portion 30, and the heel cushion retaining portion 40 are pressed, and the rib structures 31 and 41 are distorted. However, since the rib structures 31 and 41 resist the pressure to a certain extent, the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the heel cushion retaining portion 40 are prevented from being excessively distorted to maintain the cushioning function. In addition, the air layers filled between ribs of the rib structures 31 and 41 perform an auxiliary (or secondary) cushioning function to assist the insole of the present invention not to lose its cushioning effect.
As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the rib structures 31 and 41 of the cushion retaining portions 30 and 40 have a grid shape. Alternatively, the rib structures 31 and 41 may have any shape without a limitation as long as they can maintain the cushioning space while preventing the cushioning portions 21 and 22 from being excessively distorted.
For example, as shown in
Alternatively, unlike the above description, the rib structure 31 formed inside the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the rib structure 41 formed inside the heel cushion retaining portion 40 according to the present invention may be spaced apart from the upper surface of the base 10 by a certain distance (as shown in
In this case, when pressure is applied to the insole, the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the heel cushion retaining portion 40 are pressed and distorted, and then, at a certain point, the lower ends of the rib structures 31 and 41 come into contact with the base 10. From this time, the rib structures 31 and 41 resist the pressure, so that it is possible to prevent the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the heel cushion retaining portion 40 from being excessively distorted.
However, the cushioning effect in this case is weaker than when the lower ends of the rib structures 31 and 41 make contact with the base 10. Therefore, when the lower ends of the rib structures 31 and 41 are spaced apart from the base 10 by a certain distance in this manner, an airbag made by filling the inside of silicon with air is preferably provided in the gap between the lower ends of the rib structures 31 and 41 and the base 10.
Specifically, an arch airbag 33 is provided between the rib structure 31 of the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the base 10, and a heel airbag 43 is provided between the rib structure 41 of the heel cushion retaining portion 40 and the base 10. The arch airbag 33 and the heel airbag 43 provided in this manner allow, when pressure is applied to the insole, the lower ends of the rib structures 31 and 41 to come into contact with the airbags and resist to the pressure, and the arch airbag 33 and the heel airbag 43 themselves also resist to the pressure not to be distorted. As a result, it is possible to allow the insole according to the present invention to maintain the cushioning effect.
While the description has been made with reference to
The air cushion insole shown in
That is, the air cushion insole shown in
More specifically, the internal space of the arch cushion retaining portion 30 is divided into the air layer A1 between the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the arch airbag 33 and the air layer inside the arch airbag 33 itself, and the internal space of the heel cushion retaining portion 40 is divided into the air layer A2 between the heel cushion retaining portion 40 and the heel airbag 43 and the air layer inside the heel airbag 43 itself.
In this case, preferably, the air density in the arch airbag 33 is higher than that of the air layer A1 between the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the arch airbag 33, and the air density in the heel airbag 43 is higher than that of the air layer A2 between the heel cushion retaining portion 40 and the heel airbag 43.
As a result, when pressure is applied to the insole, the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the heel cushion retaining portion 40 are pressed and distorted (primary cushion), and then, at a certain point, the arch airbag 33 and the heel airbag 43 start to resist to the pressure with a slightly greater force (secondary cushion). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the heel cushion retaining portion 40 from being completely pressed and crushed. Accordingly, the insole according to the present invention can robustly maintain the cushioning effect.
Alternatively, as shown in
For this purpose, according to the present invention, a lower cap having multi-layered base ribs formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate in a closed curve shape is provided on the upper surface of the base, and silicone gel is filled between the outermost one and its neighboring inner one of a plurality of the base ribs of the lower cap. In addition, at least a rib having a closed curve shape is formed on the lower surface of the cushion retaining portion, and this rib is cured together with the silicon gel, so that the cushion retaining portion and the lower cap can be bonded together. As a result, it is possible to fundamentally prevent air from escaping from the cushion retaining portion 30, and robustly maintain the cushioning effect of the cushion retaining portion 30. In addition, it is possible to use the cushioning effect of the silicon gel and the cushioning effect of the air layer formed over the silicon gel in combination.
More specifically, (without mentioning redundant parts in the following description), the air cushion insole shown in
The first lower cap 50 is provided on one side of the upper surface of the base 10, and multi-layered first base ribs 52 protrude on the upper surface of the first bottom plate 51 concentrically in a closed curve shape. Out of these multi-layered first base ribs 52, the liquid silicon gel 70 is filled between the outermost one and its neighboring inner one and is then cured.
The second lower cap 60 is provided on the other side of the upper surface of the base 10, that is, beside the first lower cap 50, and multi-layered second base ribs 62 protrude on the upper surface of the second bottom plate 61 concentrically in a closed curve shape. Out of the second multi-layered base ribs 62, the silicon gel 70 is filled between the outermost one and its neighboring inner one.
Here, when the silicon gel 70 is filled in the first base rib 52 and the second base rib 62, the filling height is set to ⅔ of the height of the first and second base ribs 52 and 62. Therefore, an air layer is formed over the silicon gel 70. As a result, when a shoe wearer steps on, the cushioning effect can be obtained not only by the silicon gel 70 but also by the air layer formed over the silicon gel 70.
One or more first lower ribs 44 are formed concentrically in a closed curve shape on the lower surface of the heel cushion retaining portion 40. The edge of the heel cushion retaining portion 40 and the first lower rib 44 immediately inward of the heel cushion retaining portion 40 are inserted between the first base ribs 52 filled with the silicon gel 70.
In this case, the first lower rib 44 is formed over the first base rib 52 in height. Therefore, when the heel cushion retaining portion 40 is placed over the first lower cap 50, the first lower rib 44 comes into contact with the upper surface of the first bottom plate 51 of the first lower cap 50. In this state, when the silicon gel 70 is cured, the first lower rib 44, the first bottom plate 51, and the first base rib 52 are integrated with each other, so that the heel cushion retaining portion 40 and the first lower cap 50 can be strongly bonded.
One or more second lower ribs 34 are formed concentrically in a closed curve shape on the lower surface of the arch cushion retaining portion 30. The edge of the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the second lower rib 34 immediately inward of the arch cushion retaining portion 30 are inserted between the second base ribs 62 filled with the silicon gel 70.
In this case, the second lower rib 34 is formed over the second base rib 62 in height. Therefore, when the arch cushion retaining portion 30 is placed over the second lower cap 60, the second lower rib 34 comes into contact with the upper surface of the first bottom plate 61 of the second lower cap 60. In this state, when the silicon gel 70 is cured, the second lower rib 34, the second bottom plate 61, and the second base rib 62 are integrated with each other, so that the arch cushion retaining portion 30 and the second lower cap can be strongly bonded.
Hereinbefore, the air cushion insole shown in
The present invention relates to an air cushion insole, and can be applied to footwear such as sneakers or shoes and foot health industries. In addition, the present invention can be applied to shoe business, shoemaking industries, and foot health-related industries.
Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that a number of changes, modifications, or alterations to the invention as described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit of the present invention. All such changes, modifications and alterations should therefore be seen as within the scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2021-0156567 | Nov 2021 | KR | national |
| 10-2022-0057597 | May 2022 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2022/017392 | 11/8/2022 | WO |
