Patent Application
20250072557
The present disclosure relates to functional shoes that are capable of helping alleviation of plantar fasciitis with a windlass mechanism and reducing an impact to the spine and knee joints.
In general, the plantar fasciitis (plantar aponeurosis) extending from the heel bone toward the toes into five branches and attached to the base of the toes is formed on the sole of the foot.
The plantar fasciitis plays an important role in walking by maintaining the arch of the foot through the truss and windlass mechanism, as well as absorbing an impact and helping to lift the foot when weight is placed on the planar fasciitis.
The plantar fasciitis may occur in the feet. The plantar fasciitis starts near the heel bone and moves to the front of the sole.
More specifically, the plantar fasciitis is a term used to express pain in the arch and heel of the foot and refers to the repeated microscopic injuries to the plantar fasciitis, which supports the longitudinal arch of the foot, caused by various causes to lead to degeneration of the collagen, which constitutes the fascia, and inflammation.
The pain caused by the plantar fasciitis starts at the heel and spreads toward the forefoot as increasing in symptom. If it becomes chronic, it may cause limitations such as imbalances in the body shape due to continuous incorrect walking patterns, as well as significant effects on the knee joints and spine.
To solve these limitations, functional shoes that support the arch of the foot have been developed in the related art, but conventional functional shoes support the arch of the foot only when there is no movement of the foot, and do not completely adhere to the foot when walking, and thus, the effect of reducing pain and fatigue caused by the plantar fasciitis is very minimal.
In addition, since the conventional functional shoes do not bend to conform to the shape of the wearer's foot when walking, the wearer does not completely bend the foot when walking, and as a result, the natural arch of the foot is not maintained to worsen the plantar fasciitis or have a negative effect on the knee joint or spine.
(Patent Document 1) Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2226475
The present disclosure provides functional shoes that are capable of helping alleviation of plantar fascilitis and reducing an impact to the spine and knee joints by using a windlass mechanism that is capable of inducing a wearer's foot into a natural arch shape while changing to correspond to movement of the wearer's foot when the wearer walks.
The object of the present invention is not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a functional shoe that is capable of allowing an instep of a wearer to be bent when walking, helping alleviation of plantar fasciitis with a windlass mechanism, and reducing an impact to spine and knee joints includes: an outsole configured to support a sole of a foot and to support an arch of the foot by being bent in response to the bending of the foot when the wearer walks; and an upper coupled to the outsole to support the instep, wherein the outsole includes: an arch support protruding from a top surface of the outsole to support the arch of the wearer's foot; first bending induction grooves defined in plurality in a bottom surface of the outsole along a longitudinal direction of the outsole and configured to induce the bending of the outsole when the wearer walks; and second bending induction grooves defined in a side surface of the outsole along the longitudinal direction of the outsole and connected to the first bending induction grooves and configured to induce the bending of the outsole when the wearer walks, wherein each of the bending induction grooves and the second bending induction grooves is provided in a dome structure of which a width gradually decreases along a direction in which each bending induction groove is recessed from an outer surface of the outsole.
The outsole may further include a buffer groove recessed in a bottom surface of the outsole and configured to support and disperse a load transmitted through the foot, wherein the buffer groove may be recessed to a depth greater than that of each of the first bending induction grooves and the second bending induction grooves and is provided in a dome structure of which a width gradually decreases along a direction in which the buffer groove is recessed from the outer surface of the outsole.
The buffer groove may include: a first buffer groove configured to support and disperse a load applied to a heel; and a second buffer groove extending from the first buffer groove in the longitudinal direction of the outsole to support and disperse a load applied to the arch of the foot, wherein the first buffer groove may have a width greater than that of the second buffer groove, and the second buffer groove may have a length greater than that of the first buffer groove.
The outsole may further include water film prevention water film prevention grooves defined by being recessed into the bottom surface of the outsole 1 to a depth less than that of each of the first bending induction groove and the second bending induction groove, wherein the water film prevention grooves may be disposed to intersect the first bending induction grooves.
The outsole may further include a sole accommodation groove recessed to a predetermined depth in the top surface of the outsole to accommodate a portion of the sole, and an edge support configured to support an edge of the heel accommodated in the sole accommodation groove.
The functional shoe may further include: a support frame accommodated inside the outsole to support the arch support and the edge support; a first buffer cushion accommodated inside the above outsole and supported by a portion of the support frame to support and disperse a load applied from the heel; and a second buffer cushion accommodated inside the outsole and supported by another portion of the support frame to support and disperse a load applied from the arch of the foot, wherein each of the first buffer cushion and the second buffer cushion may include: an air pouch supported on the support frame and filled with air therein; spherical buffer cells accommodated inside the air pouch and made of an elastic material; and a valve unit coupled to the air pouch and configured to inject and discharge air into and from the air pouch.
The functional shoe may further include a buffer pad accommodated inside the outsole and made of a silicone material to support and disperse a load transmitted through a big toe when the walking.
The upper may be detachably coupled to the outsole, wherein the outsole may further include: a press-fit groove into which an end of the upper is press-fitted; a nut member accommodated inside the outsole; and an upper fixing bolt that passes through the outsole and a portion of the upper press-fitted into the press-fit groove and is coupled to the nut member.
The functional shoe may further include a gap adjusting cushion accommodated inside the upper and configured to adjust a gap between an inner surface of the upper and the instep while being expanded or contracted so that the upper is in close contact with the instep, wherein the gas adjusting cushion may include: a gap adjusting pouch having a first air cell and a second air cell separated from the first air cell and disposed above the first air cell, a first gap adjusting valve unit coupled to the gap adjusting pouch and configured to inject and discharge air into and from the first air cell; and a second gap adjusting valve unit coupled to the gap adjusting pouch and configured to inject and discharge air into and from the second air cell.
The functional shoe may further include anti-slip caps detachably coupled to the bottom surface of the outsole, wherein each of the anti-slip caps may include: hooks provided in a bent shape and detachably coupled to cut grooves defined in the bottom surface of the outsole; a support plate disposed between the hooks and supported on the bottom surface of the outsole; hook protrusions protruding from an inner surface of the support plate and inserted into the bottom surface of the outsole; and an anti-slip pad detachably coupled to the support plate and supported on an outer surface of the support plate.
Exemplary embodiments can be understood in more detail from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, various changes may be made to the embodiments, so the scope of rights of the patent application is not restricted or limited by these embodiments. It should be understood that all changes, equivalents, or substitutes for the embodiments are included in the scope of rights.
Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments are disclosed for illustrative purposes only and may be modified and implemented in various forms. Thus, the embodiments are not limited to the specific disclosed form, and the scope of the present specification includes changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the technical spirit.
The terms such as first or second may be used to describe various components, but these terms should be interpreted only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. For example, a first component may be named a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be named a first component.
It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being ‘connected to’ another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or intervening elements may also be present.
The terms used in the embodiments are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as limiting. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unless referred to the contrary. In this specification, it should be understood that the terms such as “comprise/include” or “have” are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but does not exclude in advance the possibility of the existence or addition of elements, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by a person of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the embodiments belong. Terms such as terms that are generally used and have been in dictionaries should be construed as having meanings matched with contextual meanings in the art. In this description, unless defined clearly, terms are not ideally, excessively construed as formal meanings.
In addition, when describing with reference to the accompanying drawings, identical components will be assigned the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted. In describing the embodiments, if it is determined that detailed descriptions related to known technologies may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the embodiments, the detailed descriptions are omitted.
Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and implementation methods thereof will be clarified through following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Further, the present invention is only defined by scopes of claims.
In the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, are the same as those commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with the meanings they have in the context of the relevant technology. In this description, unless defined clearly, terms are not ideally, excessively construed as formal meanings.
Since a shape, a ratio, an angle, a number, etc., which are shown in the accompanying drawings are exemplarily illustrated, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Moreover, detailed descriptions related to well-known functions or configurations will be ruled out in order not to unnecessarily obscure subject matters of the present disclosure. When ‘comprising’, ‘having’, ‘consisting of’, etc. are used, other components can be added unless ‘only’ is used. Even when a component is explained in singular number they may be interpreted as plural number.
In interpretation of the components, even though separate explicit expressions are not provided, they are to be interpreted as including general tolerance.
When positional relation of two portions is explained by ‘on’, ‘upper’, ‘lower’, ‘beside’, etc., one or more components may be positioned between two portions unless ‘just’ is not used. When portions are connected by ‘or’, the portions are interpreted as including ‘alone’ as well as ‘combination thereof’ but when portions are connected by ‘or’, ‘one of’, portions are interpreted as ‘alone’.
When an element or layer is referred to as “on” another element or layer, it includes instances where the element or layer is directly on top of or intervening with another element. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
The size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are shown for convenience of explanation, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to the size and thickness of the components shown.
Each feature of the various embodiments of the present invention can be partially or fully coupled or combined with each other, and as can be fully understood by those skilled in the art, various technical interconnections and operations are possible. Also, the embodiments may be independently performed with respect to each other or performed in combination of each other.
Referring to
The functional shoes 1000 are configured to naturally induce the arch of the foot when the walking.
This functional shoe 1000 includes an outsole 1 and an upper 2.
The outsole 1 is configured to support a sole of the foot and to support the arch of the foot by being bent in response to the bending of the foot when the wearer walks.
The outsole 1 may be made of an EVA material having flexibility and cushioning.
For example, the outsole 1 may be provided to a height of at least about 4 cm. However, the height of the outsole 1 is not necessarily limited thereto and may be changed to various heights.
The outsole 1 includes an arch support 11.
The arch support 11 protrudes from a top surface of the outsole 1 and is provided in a convex protruding structure to support the arch of the wearer's foot.
The arch support 11 may have a curved shape in each of a longitudinal direction and width direction of the outsole 1.
In addition, the outsole 1 further includes first bending induction grooves 12 and second bending induction grooves 13.
The first bending induction grooves 12 are provided in plurality in a bottom surface of the outsole 1 along the longitudinal direction of the outsole 1 and induce the bending of the outsole 1 when the wearer walks.
The second bending induction grooves 13 are defined in plurality in a side surface of the outsole 1 along the longitudinal direction of the outsole 1 and are connected to the first bending induction grooves 12 to induce the bending of the outsole 1 when the wearer walks.
Here, each of the first bending induction grooves 12 and the second bending induction grooves 13 are defined as a dome structure of which a width gradually decreases along a direction in which the induction groove is recessed from an outer surface of the outsole 1.
Here, the dome structure may have a cross-section having a shape of as an arch or a wedge.
The outsole 1 may further include a buffer groove 14.
The buffer groove 14 may be defined to be recessed in the bottom surface of the outsole 1 and may support and disperse a load transmitted through the foot.
Referring to
Here, the dome structure may have a cross-section having a shape of as an arch or a wedge.
Referring to
The first buffer home 141 may support and disperse a load applied from a heel.
The first buffer groove 141 may have a width greater than that of the second buffer groove 142, but a length less than that of the second buffer groove 142.
The second buffer groove 142 may extend in the longitudinal direction of the outsole 1 from the first buffer groove 141 and may support and disperse the load applied from the arch of the foot.
The second buffer groove 142 may have a length greater than that of the first buffer groove 141, but a width less than that of the first buffer groove 141.
Referring to
The water film prevention grooves 15 may be defined by being recessed into the bottom surface of the outsole 1 to a depth less than that of each of the first bending induction groove 12 and the second bending induction groove 13.
As a result, slipping of the outsole 1 due to a water film may be prevented.
The water film prevention grooves 15 may be disposed to intersect the first bending induction grooves 12.
Thus, the water film prevention grooves 15 may be evenly disposed over the entire bottom surface of the outsole 1.
Referring to
The upper 2 may be connected to the outsole 1 to support the instep.
The upper 2 may be made of the same material as the outsole 1.
However, the upper 2 may not be necessarily limited thereto and may be made of various materials.
In addition, the upper 2 may be provided in a form that wraps around a portion of the wearer's instep or a form that wraps around the wearer's entire foot.
In addition, ventilation holes may be defined in the upper 2 as necessary.
In addition, the upper 2 may be configured to support a rear surface of the wearer's ankle or the heel.
Here, a portion of the upper 2 that supports the rear surface of the wearer's ankle or the heel may be made of an elastic material or configured to be adjustable in length.
In addition, the upper 2 may further include a detachable inner skin.
However, the upper 2 may not be necessarily limited thereto and may be changed into various forms.
Hereinafter, a functional shoe 1000 (hereinafter, referred to as a “functional shoe 1000 according to another embodiment of the present invention”) that is capable of helping alleviation of plantar fasciitis and reduce an impact to spine and knee joints with a windlass mechanism according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
For reference, for each component for describing the functional shoe 1000 according to another embodiment of the present invention, for convenience of explanation, the same reference symbols used when describing the functional shoe 1000 will be used, and identical or duplicate explanations will be omitted.
Referring to
The support frame 3 may be accommodated inside an outsole 1 and may support an arch support 11 and an edge support 17.
The support frame 3 may include a cover part supporting the arch support 11 and a cup part supporting the edge support 17.
For example, the support frame 3 may be made of a plastic material having predetermined elasticity.
The first buffer cushion 4 may be accommodated inside the outsole 1 and supported by a portion of the support frame 3 and may support and disperse a load applied from a heel.
The second buffer cushion 5 may be accommodated inside the outsole 1 and supported by another portion of the support frame 3 and may support and disperse a load applied from an arch of a foot.
Referring to
Here, the buffer cells SC may be made of a material that is capable of being compressed when external force is applied and then restored to its original state by elastic force. In addition, the valve unit VU may be exposed to the outside through a bottom surface of the outsole 1. For example, the valve unit VU may be configured to open and close an internal passage to enable the air discharge and air pressure maintenance, but may be structured so that the air injection requires a use of a separate pump (not shown).
Referring to
The buffer pad 6 may be made of a silicone material and be accommodated inside the outsole 1 to support and disperse a load transmitted through a big toe when walking.
For example, a honeycomb structure may be provided on a bottom surface of the buffer pad 6.
Referring to
Thus, the user may optionally replace the upper 2 and the outsole 1.
Here, the outsole 1 may be configured to selectively fix the upper 2.
Particularly, the outsole 1 may further include a press-fit groove 18A into which an end of the upper 2 is press-fitted, a nut member 18B accommodated inside the outsole 1, and an upper fixing bolt 18C that passes through the outsole 1 and a portion of the upper 2 press-fitted into the press-fit groove 18A and then coupled to the nut member 18B. For example, each of the nut member 18B and the upper fixing bolt 18C may be made of a plastic material.
Referring to
The gap adjusting cushion 7 may be accommodated inside the upper 2 and may adjust a gap between an inner surface of the upper 2 and the instep while being expanded or contracted to allow the upper 2 to be in close contact with the instep.
In addition, the gap adjusting cushion 7 may gradually adjust the gap between the inner surface of the upper 2 and the instep.
Particularly, the gap adjusting cushion 7 may include a gap adjusting pouch 71 having a first air cell 711 and a second air cell 712 separated from the first air cell 711 and disposed above the first air cell 711, a first gap adjusting valve unit 72 coupled to the gap adjusting pouch 71 and configured to inject and discharge air into and from the first air cell 711, and a second gap adjusting valve unit 73 coupled to the gap adjusting pouch 71 and configured to inject and discharge air into and from the second air cell 712.
For example, each of the first gap adjusting valve unit 72 and the second gap adjusting valve unit 73 may be configured to open and close an internal passage to enable the air discharge and the air pressure maintenance, but may be structured so that the air injection requires the use of the separate pump (not shown).
Although not shown in the drawings, the functional shoe 1000 according to another embodiment of the present invention may further include anti-slip caps (not shown).
The anti-slip caps may be detachably coupled to the bottom surface of the outsole 1 and may be treated to prevent slipping on the surface.
Each of the anti-slip caps may include hooks, support plates, hook protrusions, and anti-slip pads.
The hooks may be provided in a bent shape and may be detachably coupled to cut grooves defined in the bottom surface of the outsole 1.
More particularly, the hooks may be inserted into the cut grooves defined in the bottom surface of the outsole 1 and supported by being hooked with the inside of the outsole 1.
Here, each of the cut grooves defined on the bottom surface of the outsole 1 may be provided in a shape corresponding to each of the hooks.
The hooks may be constituted by a vertical part extending vertically from the support plate and a horizontal part extending horizontally from the vertical part and being hooked and supported by the outsole 1.
In addition, each of the hooks may further include an auxiliary hook that inclinedly extends upward or downward from an end of the horizontal part and is supported by being hooked on the inner surface of the outsole 1 so as not to be separated from the outsole 1 during walking.
The support plate may be disposed between the hooks and supported on the bottom surface of the outsole 1.
Here, the hooks may be disposed at an edge of the support plate.
The hook protrusions may be provided to protrude from the inner surface of the support plate and may be inserted into the bottom surface of the outsole 1.
For example, each of the hook protrusions may include a support protrusion that protrudes in a straight shape on the inner surface of the support plate, and a hook protrusion that protrudes in a wedge-shaped structure at an end of the support protrusion. That is, the hook protrusion may be provided in a mushroom shape and may be inserted into the bottom surface of the outsole 1 and hooked and supported on the inner surface of the outsole 1.
The anti-slip pad may be detachably coupled to the support plate and may be supported on an outer surface of the support plate.
A material for preventing slipping may be applied on one surface of the anti-slip pad, or grooves for preventing slipping may be defined in one surface of the anti-slip pad. Alternatively, the anti-slip pad itself may be made of a material for preventing the slipping.
An adhesive may be applied to a rear surface of the anti-slip pad to adhere to the outer surface of the support plate, and a coupling hook that passes through the support plate and is coupled to the support plate may be further provided at each edge of the anti-slip pad.
According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the bending induction grooves are defined in the bottom surface of the outsole 1 and the side surface of the outsole 1, the wearer's food may be induced into the natural arch shape when the wearer walks to minimize the burden on the plantar fascilitis.
In addition, since the dome-shaped buffer groove 14 that disperses the vertical load applied from the wearer's heel and arch is defined in the bottom surface of the outsole 1, the pressure point may not be dispersed over the entire sole to minimize the impact applied to the ankle joints, knee joints, and spine.
According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the bending induction grooves are defined in the bottom surface of the outsole and the side surface of the outsole, the wearer's food may be induced into the natural arch shape when the wearer walks to minimize the burden on the plantar fascilitis.
In addition, since the dome-shaped buffer groove that disperses the vertical load applied from the wearer's heel and arch is defined in the bottom surface of the outsole, the pressure point may not be dispersed over the entire sole to minimize the impact applied to the ankle joints, knee joints, and spine.
The effects according to the present invention are not limited to the details exemplified above, and further various effects are included within the present invention.
Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments, and various modifications may be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Thus, the embodiment of the present invention is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiment. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is defined not by the detailed description of the invention but by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present disclosure.
Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents of the claims also fall within the scope of the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2023-0116830 | Sep 2023 | KR | national |
