Shoe sole

Abstract

Disclosed is a shoe sole capable of horizontally maintaining an inner bottom section of footwear when the user walks. The shoe sole includes an outsole provided at front and rear portions thereof with a plurality of protrusions, a mid-sole stacked on the upper surface of the outsole and formed with a plurality of perforation holes, an insert provided at a bottom surface thereof with a plurality of protrusions, which are inserted into the outer wheels by passing through the perforation holes of the mid-sole, and a lasting board stacked on an upper surface of the insert coupled with the mid-sole. The inner bottom section of footwear is horizontally maintained. The shoe sole attenuates foot fatigue and provides comfortable wearing feeling when the user walks on an unpaved road or climbs a mountain.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a conventional shock-absorbing structure for a shoe sole;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating another conventional shock-absorbing structure for a shoe sole;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a shoe sole according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a shoe sole according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view illustrating a shoe sole according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a shoe sole according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view illustrating a shoe sole according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line A-A′ shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a shoe sole according to the present invention when the shoe sole makes contact with the ground.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and so repetition of the description on the same or similar components will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a shoe sole according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the shoe sole according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the shoe sole according to the present invention, FIG. 6 is a side view of the shoe sole according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of the shoe sole according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the shoe sole 100 according to the present invention includes an outsole 110 provided at a bottom surface thereof with a plurality of protrusions 111 and 112, in which an outer peripheral portion of an upper end of each protrusion is integrally connected with the bottom surface by means of outer wheels 113 having an inverted-U shaped section and forming closed loops;

a mid-sole 120 stacked on the upper surface of the outsole 110 and formed with perforation holes 121 aligned corresponding to the outer wheels 113;

an insert 130 stacked on an upper surface of the mid-sole 120 and provided at a bottom surface thereof with a plurality of protrusions 131, which are aligned corresponding to the perforation holes 121 of the mid-sole 120; and

a lasting board 140 stacked on an upper surface of the insert 130 coupled with the mid-sole 120.

When viewed in a bottom view, protrusions 111 having a circular shape are formed at the center portion of the bottom surface of the outsole 110 and protrusions 112 having an asymmetric rectangular shape are provided at outer peripheral portions of the bottom surface of the outsole 110. However, the shape and the position of the protrusions 111 and 112 can be changed according to applications thereof.

In addition, when viewed in a plan view, the outer wheels 113, which have the inverted-U shaped section and serve as connection members for connecting the protrusions 111 and 112 to the bottom surface of the outsole 110, may form the closed loops for surrounding the protrusions 111 and 112 and protrude upward from the upper surface of the outsole 110. When external impact is transferred to the protrusions 111 and 112 from the ground, the outer wheels 113 are elastically deformed so that the protrusions 111 and 112 can move independently from each other.

In addition, lower end portions of the protrusions 131, which protrude from the bottom surface of the insert 130, are inserted into the outer wheels 113 having the inverted-U shaped section. That is, the protrusions 131 of the insert 130 are inserted into the outer wheels 113, respectively, by passing through the perforation holes 121 of the mid-sole 120 stacked on the upper surface of the outsole 110.

Preferably, the insert 130 having the protrusions 131. protruding downward from the bottom surface of the insert 130 is made of polyurethane having high elasticity. In this case, the protrusions 131 are elastically deformed, respectively, when a local pressure is applied thereto from the protrusions 111 and 112 of the outsole 110, thereby absorbing the local pressure. When the local pressure being applied to the protrusions 131 has been released, the protrusions 131 may be restored to their original shapes due to the elastic restoring force of polyurethane.

Meanwhile, the mid-sole 120 stacked on the upper surface of the outsole 110 is fabricated by injection-molding EVA resin. Preferably, elasticity is imparted to the mid-sole 120, except for the perforation holes 121 of the mid-sole 120, into which the protrusions 131 of the insert 130 are inserted.

In addition, a plurality of perforation holes 121 are formed at front and rear portions of the mid-sole 120 corresponding to the protrusions 111 and 112 provided at front and rear portions of the outsole 110. Although the insert 130 can be fabricated as one piece (not shown), according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of inserts 130 are provided. In this case, one insert 130 has protrusions 131 aligned corresponding to the perforation holes formed at the front portion of the mid-sole 120 and the other insert 130 has protrusions 131 aligned corresponding to the perforation holes 121 formed at the rear portion of the mid-sole 120.

In addition, if the insert is fabricated as one piece with a size different from the size of the mid-sole, that is, if the size of the insert is smaller than that of the mid-sole or if a pair of inserts are provided, a stepped portion is formed when the insert is stacked on the upper surface of the mid-sole because the upper surface of the insert may protrude from the upper surface of the mid-sole. In this case, it is preferred to remove the stepped portion by planarizing the upper surface of the insert in line with the upper surface of the mid-sole through forming a recess on the upper surface of the mid-sole and accommodating the insert in the recess.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line A-A′ shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the shoe sole according to the present invention when the shoe sole makes contact with the ground.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the shoe sole 100 according to the present invention includes the outer wheels 113 having the inverted-U shape, which are provided at upper end portions of the protrusions 111 and 112 protruding downward from the outsole 110 so as to connect the protrusions 111 and 112 to the bottom surface of the outsole 110. In addition, the protrusions 131 of the insert 130 are inserted into the outer wheels 113 by passing through the perforation holes 121 of the mid-sole 120.

Therefore, if load is applied to the protrusions 111 and 112 of the outsole 110 because of the weight of the user while the protrusions 111 and 112 are making contact with the irregular ground E, the outer wheels 113 provided at the upper end portions of the protrusions 111 and 112 are deformed such that the protrusions can move independently. Thus, the protrusions 131 of the insert 130 made of polyurethane may be elastically deformed corresponding to the movement of the protrusions 111 and 112 caused by elastic deformation of the outer wheels 113. In addition, when the outsole 110 is separated from the ground, the load applied to the protrusions 111 and 112 of the outsole 110 because of the weight of the user may be removed so that the protrusions 111 and 112 of the outsole 110 and the protrusions 131 of the insert 130 restore their original shapes.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 9, when predetermined protrusions 111 and 112 of the outsole 110 are placed on a protruding part P of the ground while the outsole 110 is making contact with the ground, relatively greater pressure is applied to the protrusions 111 and 112 placed on the protruding part P, so the degree of elastic deformation for the protrusions 111 and 112 is greater than that of other protrusions. However, the protrusions 131, which elastically support the protrusions 111 and 112, can absorb the elastic deformation of the protrusions 111 and 112, so that the elastic deformation force may not be transferred to adjacent protrusions 131 or the mid-sole 120. As a result, the inner bottom section of the shoe sole 100 can be horizontally maintained.

Preferably, the outer wheel 113, which connects the bottom surface of the outsole 110 with the protrusions 111 and 112 protruding from the outsole 110, has a thickness in a range of about 1.1 to 1.3 mm. If the thickness of the outer wheel 113 is less than 1.1 mm, the outer wheel 113 cannot sufficiently support the protrusions 111 and 112 against the external pressure. In contrast, if the thickness of the outer wheel 113 exceeds 1.3 mm, the elastic deformation of the outer wheel 113 may not be easily achieved against the external pressure.

As described above, according to the shoe sole of the present invention, the protrusions of the insert coupled with the mid-sole while being stacked on the mid-sole are inserted into outer wheels corresponding to the protrusions of the outsole, and the protrusions of the outsole are moved independently from each other by means of the outer wheels having the inverted-U shaped section, so that external impact applied to the protrusions of the outsole can be effectively absorbed and the inner bottom section of the footwear can be horizontally maintained. Thus, the shoe sole according to the present invention can attenuate foot fatigue and provide comfortable wearing feeling even when the user walks on an unpaved road or climbs a mountain.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A shoe sole comprising: an outsole provided at a bottom surface thereof with a plurality of protrusions, in which an outer peripheral portion of an upper end of each protrusion is integrally connected with the bottom surface by means of outer wheels protruding upward from an upper surface of the outsole while forming closed loops;a mid-sole stacked on the upper surface of the outsole and formed with perforation holes aligned corresponding to the outer wheels;an insert stacked on an upper surface of the mid-sole and provided at a bottom surface thereof with a plurality of protrusions, which are inserted into the outer wheels by passing through the perforation holes of the mid-sole; anda lasting board stacked on an upper surface of the insert coupled with the mid-sole.

2. The shoe sole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protrusion of the outsole has a circular shape or an asymmetric rectangular shape.

3. The shoe sole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer wheel has an inverted-U shaped section.

4. The shoe sole as claimed in claim 3, wherein the outer wheel has a thickness of about 1.1 to 1.3 mm.

5. The shoe sole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insert is made of polyurethane having high elasticity.