Patent Application
20220160072
The present invention relates to an insole-type electronic device and a method for manufacturing the insole-type electronic device.
In recent years, it has become popular to wear an electronic device and acquire biometric information, location information, and the like. One of methods for wearing an electronic device is to incorporate the electronic device into a shoe. This method requires not disturbing an action of a user and not causing discomfort due to wearing.
A technique for meeting this requirement is disclosed, for example, in PTL 1. In the technique, a housing (cavity) is provided under a top surface of a midsole in a shoe or on an insole surface facing the midsole, and an electronic module is housed inside the housing. This configuration prevents discomfort due to wearing. Further, a method of filling a gap between the electronic module and the housing with a shock-absorbing material and thus further preventing discomfort is also disclosed.
Further, PTL 2 discloses a method of configuring a portable device for location search by providing a chamber in a heel (heel portion of an outsole) of a shoe and housing a global positioning system (GPS) receiver or a communication device in the chamber. By housing the electronic device in the heel of the shoe, location information of a user can be acquired without disturbing an action of the user.
[PTL 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-033643
[PTL 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-028698
However, in the technique of PTL 1, there is a problem that an electronic module is mounted at a position sandwiched between a foot sole and a shoe sole, and hence is damaged by impact caused during walking or running, thereby raising concern about reliability. A method of lessening impact by filling a housing with a shock-absorbing material is also described in PTL 1, however that is not sufficient because impact cannot be completely absorbed. Further, there is a problem that a load is applied even though impact can be reduced.
PTL 2 also has a similar problem. In particular, a heel portion of a shoe is a place where the largest load is applied on a foot sole, and thus damage to an electronic device is also large.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an insole-type electronic device in which an electronic module is less susceptible to impact and a load due to walking or running.
In order to solve the above-described problems, an insole-type electronic device according to the present invention is an electronic device in which an electronic module is incorporated in an insole that is placed on a midsole of a shoe and comes into contact with a foot sole. The insole-type electronic device includes an insole body having a shape of an ordinary insole. The insole body includes a heel-protecting portion extending upward from a rear end of a heel portion of the insole body along a perimeter of the rear end of the heel portion. In addition, the insole-type electronic device includes the electronic module being stored in the heel-protecting portion.
An advantageous effect of the present invention is to provide an insole-type electronic device in which the electronic module is less susceptible to impact and a load due to walking or running.
In the following, example embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the drawings. The below-described example embodiments include a technically preferred limitation in order to implement the present invention, however, the scope of the invention is not limited to the following. A similar component in each drawing is assigned with a same number, and thereby the description thereof may be omitted.
According to the present example embodiment, the above configuration is able to provide an insole-type electronic device being less susceptible to impact and a load due to walking or running.
The insole body 10 includes a heel-protecting portion l0a extending upward in such a way as to surround a rear end of a heel portion. The heel-protecting portion l0a is formed in a heel low-load region 11. The heel module 20 is housed in the heel-protecting portion 10a, in other words, the heel module 20 is placed in the heel low-load region 11 of the insole body 10. The plantar arch module 21 is placed in a plantar arch low-load region 12 of the insole body 10. The tiptoe module 22 is placed in a tiptoe low-load region 13 of the insole body 10. Note that, the heel-protecting portion is also referred to as a heel cup portion.
Herein, a low-load region is described.
In the insole-type electronic device 1000 according to the present example embodiment, the heel module 20, the plantar arch module 21, and the tiptoe module 22 are placed in the above-described heel low-load region 11, the plantar arch low-load region 12, and the tiptoe low-load region 13, respectively. Therefore, when a person walks or runs, impact and a load to be applied to the modules are small. The impact and the load are small, and thereby placement of the modules in the low-load regions can avoid worsening a feeling of wearing shoes.
As described above, the present example embodiment is able to provide the insole-type electronic device in which the electronic modules are less susceptible to impact and a load due to walking or running.
The insole body 100 includes a heel-protecting portion 110 extending upward in such a way as to surround a rear end of a heel portion.
As a piece of material of the insole body 100, for example, a flexible material such as polyethylene foam, urethane foam, and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) can be used. These materials are processed into a sheet shape and then formed into an insole shape by presswork, for example. Note that, with respect to a sheet being a base of the insole body, a conductive layer may be formed on a surface that is a back surface of the insole and comes into contact with a shoe. It is possible to use such a conductive layer and provide a ground (GND) on a surface of the insole body 100 that comes into contact with a midsole, although not illustrated in the figure. Such a GND can be formed on the back surface of a resin forming the insole body 100 by laminating a sheet on which the conductive layer is formed and performing laminate pressing, for example. Further, the gap portions for storing the above-described components can be formed by using, for example, a die at the time of pressing.
Note that, after storing the control unit 200 in the control unit storage gap 111, the power supply unit 210 in the power supply unit storage gap 101, and the positioning information reception unit 220 in the positioning information reception unit storage gap 102, each gap may be covered with, for example, a waterproof/moisture-proof resin having flexibility (not illustrated). A purpose of this is to separate each component (module) from the outside in such a way as to withstand a high-temperature and a high-humidity environment inside a shoe. As such a resin, for example, urethane-based, polymer-based, silicone-based, rubber-based, or acrylic-based fillers can be used.
Next, a reason for the placement of the control unit 200, the power supply unit 210, and the positioning information reception unit 220 is described. First, a reason for placing the control unit 200 along the side surface of the heel-protecting portion 110 is described. A foot bone 30 is composed of 28 bones for one foot including 14 phalanges 33 (finger phalanges, proximal phalanges, middle phalanges, distal phalanges), 5 metatarsal bones 32, 7 tarsal bones, and 2 sesamoid bones (see
Next, a reason for placing the positioning information acquisition unit 220 in a tiptoe portion is described. The positioning information reception unit 220 can be placed, for example, at a position between a first toe and a second toe of a standard human foot and near a tip of the insole body 100. Alternatively, the positioning information reception unit 220 may be placed at a position between other toes.
Positioning information to be acquired by the positioning information reception unit 220 includes information being received by a radio wave from a GPS, a wireless LAN, a base station, and the like, for example. Herein, a circular polarized planar antenna is widely used for a positioning system “GNSS” using satellites such as a GPS. Note that, the GNSS is an abbreviation for a global navigation satellite system. The circular polarized planar antenna includes, as a component, a dielectric substrate, a radiation element printed and wired on both surfaces of the dielectric substrate, and a ground conductor plate. Such an antenna is a planar antenna called a microstrip antenna. The microstrip antenna is directional and a back surface (adhesive surface) is not capable of receiving a radio wave. Meanwhile, it is desirable to capture as many GPS satellites as possible in order to improve positional accuracy to be acquired based on positioning information. Thus, when an antenna is placed in an insole, it is efficient to turn the positioning information reception unit 220 upward. This placement can be achieved in the tiptoe portion of the insole body 100.
Further, it is desirable that another object does not overlap in a receiving direction of the antenna in order to achieve high positioning accuracy. The tiptoe portion does not contain a foot, and thus the tiptoe portion also satisfies this condition.
In addition, the tiptoe portion is less affected by floor reaction force applied to a foot sole in a walking motion. Thus, it is less likely to cause discomfort due to walking or wearing and, at the same time, it is less likely to receive a load.
For the above reasons, malfunction is less likely to be caused and an acquisition characteristic of the positioning information can be improved by placing the positioning information reception unit 220 in the tiptoe portion of the insole body 100. Note that, in the tiptoe portion, the position between the first toe and the second toe and near the tip of the insole is particularly preferable.
Next, a reason for placing the wireless antenna 230 for transmitting data near a lateral side surface portion of the insole body 100 is described. When the insole-type electronic device is worn, in the lateral side surface portion of a foot, the wireless antenna 230 is placed along the lateral side surface portion of the insole in such a way as to be placed outward from a human body, and thus excellent output efficiency of a radio wave to be transmitted can be achieved. Moreover, it is easy to ensure a linear length in this portion and thus the length of the antenna can be optimally designed for a frequency band of a radio wave to be used. This portion is also less deformed during walking and thus high reliability can be ensured.
Next, a reason for placing the power supply unit 210 in a plantar arch portion of the insole body 100 is described. There is an arch-shaped portion on a foot sole called the plantar arch. The plantar arch is composed of a medial arch formed from a first metatarsal head to a calcaneal tuberosity, a lateral arch formed from a fifth metatarsal head to the calcaneal tuberosity, and an anterior arch formed from the first metatarsal head to the fifth metatarsal head. Therefore, when a foot sole touches the ground by standing or walking, the plantar arch is a portion where a load to be applied is relatively small. The plantar arch has a characteristic that an area of a relatively unloaded region is larger than an edge portion of the insole body 100. Volume of the power supply unit 210 including a battery and the like generally increases as capacity is increased for long-term operation. Thus, by placing the power supply unit 210 in the plantar arch portion, the volume of the power supply can be increased while a load from a foot and effect on wearability are suppressed.
Next, a reason for placing the GND 240 on the back surface of the insole body 100 is described. In a circuit that performs wireless communication, a circuit (front end) that processes a delicate analog signal such as an antenna, a low noise amplifier (LNA) that amplifies a weak and high frequency signal, and a BPF that extracts a carrier wave is incorporated. Herein, the BPF is an abbreviation for a band pass filter. The signal to be handled here is weak and hence it is desirable to suppress deterioration of a passage characteristic and prevent deterioration of a signal characteristic. By providing the GND 240 on the back surface of the insole body 100, a small-amplitude noise generated between the low-noise amplifier unit and an analog front end circuit unit can be eliminated and deterioration of a transmission characteristic can be prevented. Further, when a distance of the GND is short, capacitance increases and transmission loss increases. By providing the GND 240 on the back surface of the insole body 100, a distance between the positioning information reception unit 220 and the GND 240 can be enlarged. As a result, a noise to be generated by the proximity of these components can be prevented, and a passage characteristic between the antenna and the low noise amplifier (LNA) in a wireless communication circuit can be ensured.
Note that, in the configuration according to the present example embodiment, the following modification example may be adopted.
As described above, the present example embodiment is able to provide an insole-type electronic device in which an electronic module is less susceptible to impact and a load and a user can keep wearing the insole-type electronic device safely and comfortably. Then, when the insole-type electronic device is used as a watching device, it is possible to provide an insole-type watching device capable of continuing to function without breaking down while position detection accuracy and communication performance are ensured.
As illustrated in
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, the invention is not limited to these embodiments. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, the invention is not limited to these embodiments. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese patent application No. 2019-055971, filed on Mar. 25, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-055971 | Mar 2019 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2020/006571 | 2/19/2020 | WO | 00 |
