Self-Ventilating Footwear

Abstract

Disclosed is a self-ventilating shoe that is comprised of at least one tube running along an outer surface of a wall of the shoe. The tube contains an inlet opening outside the show and an outlet opening pointing into the cavity of the shoe. The up and down motions of a foot will cause a circulation of air as air is extruded into the cavity from the tubes during the downward motions and sucked back into the tubes through upward motions. Debris is excluded from the system through utilization of filters on one or all openings of the tubes.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to comfort footwear, or footwear that is pleasant to wear in wanner weather or when air circulation inside the shoe is desirable, such as on long walks or while running.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

If one considers every part of one's body, there is really no harder working limb than a foot. It is key to locomotion that must support enormous weight over long periods of time, and it is one of parts of the body that is in almost constant motion. Even when one is sitting, a foot gives one balance, leverage and support for the lower body. To protect the all-important feet, we enclose them in footwear, so that everything jagged, sharp, abrasive, slimy, wet, hot or cold doesn't come in contact with feet to potentially cause some really nasty injuries.

However, all that protection comes with a tradeoff, which is that the foot is most often the hottest part of the body. Heat leads to perspiration, which then turns into unpleasant odor. Besides the odiousness of bad odor, hot moist places are a hotbed for breading of bacteria and infections, making feet very susceptible to skin disorders, parasitic infestations, sensitive or irritated skin and sometimes, serious even life-threatening infections.

Over the years, there has been a plethora of solutions to combat the problem of hot sticky feet, such as providing perforations in the top portion of the shoe, providing openings through the sole of a shoe, or in both places. However, openings in the toe section of the shoe, no matter how small admit moisture. It is arguable that openings through the bottom of the sole, notably provided by the Xeox® shoe, provide at best a placebo benefit to the wearer. These openings must necessarily be small, otherwise the shoe will be susceptible to admitting moisture from the surrounding environment while battling moisture from perspiration. Too many openings weaken the surface area of materials, leading to a shorter life span of a shoe.

Ultimately, existing apertures in footwear are designed for passive exchange of air. There is no active vacuum and extrusion mechanism that will promote airflow. Therefore, all current prior art is of limited airflow success.

On the contrary, the disclosed device provides for an active cooling system, which is capable of supplying a substantial and noticeable flow of air into the foot cavity of the shoe while at the same time limiting the ability by which water and other moisture can enter the air ducts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a set of springing hollow tubes embedded within a sole of a shoe. To tubes contain at least one opening at the collar of the back panel. This is the intake and exhaust opening. Another exhaust or extrusion opening is on the opposite end of the tube. This extrusion opening opens into the cavity of the shoe, preferably within the toe area of the cavity.

When a person steps down with his/her foot, the step motion compresses the tubes and causes some of the air inside the tubes into the cavity, through the output openings within the shoe. Some of the air escapes through the intake openings of the shoe. Thus, after the stepdown, the tubes become devoid of air creating an internal vacuum as soon as the foot is lifted up. The raising of the foot causes air to rush back into the tube, only to be extruded into the cavity through the inner tube openings as soon as the foot is again placed on the ground. Thus, the process of extrusion of air and suction of air is repeated during normal walking, running, or shuffling feet, thus keeping the inner cavity supplied with dry air from the external environment.

The intake openings at the collar block out debris and moisture with a filter that is mounted at the opening. During cool months, when admitting cold surrounding air is not desirable, the top openings contain caps that securely, but removably, cover the openings when air flow is not desired.

It is an object of the disclosed device to create a self-cooling footwear. It is another object of the present invention to create footwear that contains an active airflow system that is enabled through normal locomotion of feet.

It is still another object of the present invention where active shoe cooling system is able to exclude moisture and other debris from entering the system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cutaway diagram demonstrating the present invention.

FIG. 1A demonstrating the intake opening of the air tubes with air filters.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D are sideways cutaway diagram of the present invention demonstrating the technology behind the air circulation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures are identified with the same reference numerals.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiment of the present invention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of the present invention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact, those of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate upon reading the present specification and viewing the present drawings that various modifications and variations can be made thereto.

Turning now descriptively to the figures, shown in FIG. 1 is a shoe 2, having the upper part 6, the cavity 4 the sole 8, the shank 9, the tubes 10, exhaust section 12, and outtake openings 14. Air from the environment enters into openings 16 of the tubes 10 and flows down to the exhaust section of the tubes 12. Through the natural usage of a shoe during walking or running, the outtake openings 14 are constantly extruding air present within the tubes 12 into the cavity of the shoe 4 and sucking air back into the tubes 10 through the openings 16.

FIG. 1A shows the opening 16 of the tubes 10. To exclude particular matter and other debris from entering the tubes 10, the openings 16 preferably contain a filter insert 18, which may be a wire mesh or a semi-permeable fabric. To further block air from entering through openings 16, the openings 16 may contain removable caps 17 (FIG. 2D). The diameter of each tube is approximately between 1/16 and ¼ of an inch, or an equivalent metric value. The materials comprising the tubes 10 may be comprised of rubber, plastic, silicone or other springing material.

FIGS. 2A-2D demonstrate the preferred operation of the present invention. The tubes 10 are mounted along the center of the rear wall 11 of a shoe 2. The tubes 10 are preferably encased in an outer shell (not shown) or simply embedded in the padding of the inner sole 22. To prevent sores and general discomfort, the tubes 10 are affixed to the outside of the rear panel 11 in a substantially vertical orientation. The exterior sheathing is preferably integrated in the overall profile of the rear panel 11, so as not to excessively protrude. While two and three tubes 10 are shown in the figures, there may be between one and ten tubes. An individual tube 10 may be spliced into several tubes 10 channeled through the inner sole 22. The tubes may be independent of each other or be interconnected for better air flow or airflow distribution.

The tubes 10 are first directed along the rear panel 11. At intersection with the sole 8, the tubes 10 are channeled through the shank 9 beneath the surface of the inner lining 22. The tubes terminate in extruding outlet openings 14 that are preferably in the forward section of the shoe cavity 4. However, additional openings may be present in other portions of the shoe cavity 4. An additional top tube 30 may run across the top of shoe 30. The top tube 30 begins at the intake opening 32 that is located within the collar 35 and proceeds to at least one opening 34 which is open into the cavity 4.

The tubes 10 channel fresh air from outside the shoe using the suction and vacuum operations. As shown in FIG. 2B the downward pressure 24 naturally exerted by the foot 20 during a stomp portion of locomotion, this motion causes air 25 within tubes 10 to be expelled through the outlet openings 14. The compressing force of the foot constricts the tubes 12 fostering vacuum-like conditions. The expelled air enters the internal cavity 4, introducing airflow into the cavity 4.

As shown in FIG. 2C, as the wearer lifts a foot 20 to take the next step, the vacuum caused by the compressing force of the foot 20 forced air to rush in through inlet openings 16. Once the step is taken a foot 20 is once again compressing the tubes 12, this new air is again expelled through the outlet openings 14. This cycle repeats itself as long as the wearer walks around and generally continues with his/her daily routine.

FIG. 2D shows the back panel 11 of the shoe 2, with tubes 10 encased within sheath 19. At times it may be preferable to avoid introducing air into the inner cavity 4. One example of this is during cold temperatures, where induction of the cold air would cause the foot 20 to be perpetually cold and may lead to frostbite or dropping of core body temperatures, both dangerous conditions. By closing the inlet openings 16 with caps 17, the wearer will insure that circulation of air will be accomplished by using the air within the cavity 4 that has been warmed by the foot 20, which will now get sucked in and extruded through the outlet openings 14 since inlet openings 16 would be safely closed. The outlet openings 14 may contain filters or a screen to prevent buildup of lint or grime from perspiration.

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A self-ventilating footwear comprising, at least one tube, said tube disposed along an outer wall of a shoe, wherein said tube is directed to a sole of said shoe where said at least one tube forms at least one channel; a plurality of outlet openings, said outlet openings being terminating points for said at least one channel; and wherein up and down motion of a foot inserted into a cavity of said shoe cause air within said at least one tube and said at least one channel to be extruded into said cavity or sucked into said plurality of said tubes and channels.