Patent Application
20070169375
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe that has an exposed arch support region to reduce material costs and weight and to facilitate the provision of a ventilating structure therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
1. As the outsole 11, the midsole 12, and the shell 13, which together constitute a three-layer sole structure, extend along the entire length of the shoe 10, material costs are high. Besides, the shoe 10 is relatively heavy.
2. In order to keep the interior of the shoe 10 dry, various ventilating structures, such as ventilation holes, are generally provided in the sole structure to permit exchange of air. For instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,823,609, 6,681,500, and 6,655,048, ventilation or breath ability in the lower part of the shoe is achieved by providing a multi-layer outsole structure, in combination with the provision of passages in the layers and the use of functional materials. That is, for the two or multi-layer sole structure, when ventilation holes are formed in the outsole 11, corresponding ventilation holes have to be formed in the midsole 12 and the shell 13 as well, thereby resulting in a complicated design. Besides, the correspondence among the ventilation holes must be precise, thereby resulting in a laborious and time-consuming fabrication process.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a shoe with a shell including an exposed arch support region that can be conveniently formed with a ventilating structure.
Accordingly, a shoe of this invention includes: a shell including a bottom wall, and a peripheral wall which extends upward from a periphery of the bottom wall, the bottom wall including a front region, a rear region, and an arch support region between the front and rear regions; an upper connected to the peripheral wall; a front sole unit connected to the front region of the bottom wall; and a heel sole unit connected to the rear region of the bottom wall. At least one of the front and heel sole units includes a midsole component and an outsole component. The arch support region has no midsole component and no outsole component, and is provided with a ventilation hole.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, the preferred embodiment of a shoe 20 according to the present invention is shown to include a molded shell 21, an upper 24, and front and heel sole units 26, 27. The shell 21 includes a bottom wall 211, and a peripheral wall 212 which extends upward from a periphery of the bottom wall 211, and has an outer bottom face 2111 and an inner top face 2110. The bottom wall 211 includes a front region 201, a rear region 203, and an arch support region 202 between the front and rear regions 201, 203. The peripheral wall 212 is looped, and extends in full length of the periphery of the bottom wall 211. The shell 21 further includes a toe cap portion 213 formed on a front end of the peripheral wall 212 so as to protect the front end of the wearer's foot during walking movement of the wearer. The upper 24 is connected to the peripheral wall 212 by a known method, such as stitching or cementing.
The front and heel sole units 26, 27 are respectively connected to the front and rear regions 201, 203 of the bottom wall 211. Each of the front and heel sole units 26, 27 includes a midsole component 22 and an outsole component 23. The outsole component 23 is bonded adhesively to the midsole component 22, and the midsole component 22 is bonded adhesively to the bottom wall 211.
This invention is characterized in that, unlike the front and rear regions 201, 203 which are provided with the front and heel sole units 26, 27, respectively, the arch support region 202 has no midsole component and no outsole component. Therefore, the arch support region 202 is elevated between the front and heel sole units 26, 27, and is exposed to the outside at the outer bottom face 2111, thereby imparting a new look to the shoe 20. Besides, the exposed arch support region 202 can be conveniently provided with a ventilation unit 25. In this embodiment, the ventilation unit 25 includes a plurality of ventilation holes 251 that extend through the outer bottom face 2111 and the inner top face 2110, and a function layer 252 attached to the inner top face 2110 and spanning the ventilation holes 251. The function layer 252 may be formed from a waterproof and breathable layer, or a screen layer capable of blocking entry of sand particles. In this embodiment, the function layer 252 is a layer of waterproof breathable material (e.g., a fabric well known as Goretex®), as best shown in
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
