The present invention relates to a shoe construction and, more particularly, to a three layered shoe construction with an outsole having a unique exterior face to enhance flexibility and comfort, a dual density midsole, and an insole having a raised pattern for increased breathability and comfort coupled with a raised arch area for providing additional support to the arch of the foot.
Numerous shoes, covering a broad range of different designs and styles have been manufactured and sold in the marketplace. While shoes are worn to provide protection to one's feet, to reduce the impact felt when walking on hard surfaces, to provide support for the feet, and to prevent pronation, shoe designers must still seek to provide optimum levels of stability and comfort. In order to accomplish all of these objectives, shoe designers have used a wide variety of different tools and methods including heel plugs, shanks, contoured soles, deformable pillars or columns, spring-like structures, different traction designs, cushioning members, different shank designs, different ventilation structures, rocker elements, pads, gels and sole constructions having a plurality of different layers. Although these methods can be effective, the large number of components can result in increased manufacturing costs and complexity. It is therefore desirable to improve cushioning, flexibility, support and stability without increasing the number of components to achieve the same level of comfort for the user.
The present invention is directed to a three layer shoe construction which includes an outsole, midsole, and insole. The three layers have a mating relationship which will be later described in detail. The three components of the present shoe are preferably secured together through conventional means such as through cementing and/or adhesives thereby preventing relative movement between the layers during assembly and use of the present shoe. Each of the three layers of the present shoe are generally in the shape of a human foot and can be divided into different sections according to the three different regions of the human foot—the forefoot, the midfoot, and the hind foot. The forefoot is generally adjacent to and includes the toe area;, the hind foot is generally adjacent to and also includes the heel area; and the midfoot is located adjacent to both the forefoot and the hind foot. The ball of the foot is generally the area of the foot at the juncture between the metatarsal bones and the phalange bones. The two primary regions of the foot for load bearing when walking or standing normally are the ball area and the heel area, and the major bending of the shoe during normal use is typically in the ball area. The arch or instep is positioned between the heel and ball areas, and flexes very little when walking normally.
The present outsole is made out of a super lightweight thermoplastic rubber (TPR) and includes an exterior and interior face. The exterior face of the present outsole engages the ground or other walking surfaces, while the interior face is located opposite the exterior face and has a mating relationship with the midsole as will be hereinafter further described in more detail.
The exterior face of the present outsole includes a first section and a second section with generally horizontal specific ribbing located and positioned at the forefoot and hind foot areas of the outsole respectively. More specifically, the ribbing includes a plurality of angled and/or slightly arcuate projections that form a traction pattern on the exterior face of the outsole. The first section and second section each further includes a plurality of grooves which intersect with the specific ribbing only on opposite portions of each section. In other words, the plurality of grooves on the first section is located on the proximal half of the forefoot, while the plurality of grooves on the second section is located on the distal half of the hind foot. The specific ribbing and plurality of grooves on each of the first and second sections creates a first flexible area and a second flexible area on each such section wherein the second flexible area is greater than the first flexible area. Each of the second flexible areas has a plurality of grooves which intersect with the specific ribbing, while each of the first flexible areas do not include the intersecting grooves. Those portions of the first and second sections of the outsole which include the second flexible area are necessary because when stepping naturally, a person's foot should land softly on the heel, roll immediately through the outside edge of the foot, across the ball of the foot, and push off from the toe area thereby giving a person a powerful push forward and allowing a person to stride smoothly into the next step. The specific ribbing and plurality of grooves in each section of the exterior face of the outsole enhances traction while still providing for additional flexibility needed to allow the foot to roll through each step and push off normally while walking or running.
The interior face of the present outsole has a cavity located therewithin substantially in the same shape as the outsole. The cavity on the interior face of the outsole has a plurality of horizontal wave-like protrusions associated with the forefoot area and part of the midfoot area, while the remaining part of the midfoot area and the hind foot area include a plurality of straight protrusions. The plurality of wave-like and straight protrusions allow for additional flexibility and shock absorption in the outsole. The plurality of wave-like protrusions also diffuse weight across the ball of the foot.
The present midsole is made of a dual density blown ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) with an intrinsic molded arch support which supports the arch of the foot. The EVA creates a lightweight and resilient midsole which helps dissipate shock when walking or running. In addition to the material itself, the dual density of the midsole allows for greater flexibility and cushioning in the forefoot area due to its lighter density, and provides greater support and stability in the hind foot area due to its heavier density. The sidewall of the midsole has a raised projection extending around its circumference, which projection rises into a bell-shaped curve approximately between the midfoot and hind foot areas on both the distal and proximal sides of the midsole. This raised projection also helps to dissipate shock. Additionally, there are two types of scored patterns associated with the outer circumference of the present midsole, one pattern being located on one side of the raised projection and the other pattern being located on the opposite side of the raised projection. The first scored pattern is diamond-shaped and is located above the raised projection on the midsole while the second scored pattern is a series of horizontal raised lines and is located below the raised projection on the midsole. Both of these scored patterns also help absorb and dissipate shock.
The midsole has a proximal and distal face. Both the proximal and distal faces have a lip around the entire circumference of the midsole thereby creating a first cavity on the distal face which is substantially in the shape of the outsole and creating a second cavity on the proximal face which is substantially in the shape of the insole. The outsole has a mating relationship with the midsole wherein the outsole mates with and is received by the first cavity created by the lip on the distal face of the midsole. Similarly, the insole also has a mating relationship to the midsole wherein the insole mates with and is received by the second cavity created by the lip on the proximal face of the midsole. The three layers are preferably secured together in a conventional manner to prevent movement when worn.
The present insole is made of a lightweight, thermal molded EVA with an antimicrobial shield which provides protection against bacteria, fungus, and controls or eliminates odors, stains, and product deterioration. This can be accomplished by adding a powder or other antimicrobial agents during the manufacturing process. The insole has a top face and a bottom face, wherein the top face engages with the foot of a wearer and has a plurality of raised diamond shaped projections that provide both a cushioning effect and greater breathability when the present shoe is worn. In one embodiment, the raised diamond shaped projections cover the entire top face of the insole except for the arch portion. More particularly, the raised diamond shaped projections have a geometric pattern wherein the pattern starts in the vicinity of the midfoot area approximately adjacent to the arch and spirals outwardly towards both the heel and toe areas creating larger and larger diamond shaped projections as the pattern approaches the heel and toe areas. The arch, on the other hand, includes a series of U-shaped grooves whose center is located and positioned approximately adjacent to and opposite the starting point of the geometric pattern of raised diamond shaped projections. The series of U-shaped grooves are located and positioned closer to one another at their center, while the outer portions of the U-shaped grooves are located and positioned further apart thereby providing both comfort and additional support for the arch of the foot.
The present three layer shoe construction absorbs shock, enhances comfort, and creates a unique propulsion effect, without requiring a vast number of components.
For a better understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will hereinafter be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the disclosure of the present invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
The present invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the disclosure. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.
As illustrated in
Each of the three layers of the present shoe are generally in the shape of a human foot and can be divided into different sections according to three distinct regions of the human foot—the forefoot, midfoot, and hind foot. The forefoot area or region of the foot is approximately adjacent to and includes the toe area A, while the hind foot area or region of the foot is approximately adjacent to and includes the heel area B. The midfoot area or region is approximately adjacent to both the forefoot and hind foot region as illustrated in
The present outsole 4 is made out of a super lightweight thermoplastic rubber (TPR) and has an exterior face 6 and an interior face 8 as seen in
In one embodiment, the exterior face 6 of the outsole 4 has a first section 10, a second section 11, and a third section 12, divided approximately into the forefoot, midfoot, and hind foot areas respectively as best illustrated in
Referring again to
Turning to
As shown in
The sidewall 30 of the midsole 27 includes a raised projection 32 which extends completely around its circumference and rises into a bell-shaped curve approximately between the midfoot and hind foot areas on both the distal and proximal sides of the midsole 27 as best illustrated in
The midsole 27 has both a proximal face 38 and a distal face 40 as best seen in
As illustrated in
In one embodiment, the raised diamond shaped projections 56 cover the entire top face 52 of the insole 50 except for the arch portion D. The raised diamond shaped projections 56 have a geometric pattern wherein the pattern starts in the midfoot area or approximately adjacent to the arch D and spirals or fans outwardly towards both the heel area B and the toe area A creating larger and larger diamond-shaped projections 56 as the pattern approaches the heel and toe areas B and A. The arch area D, on the other hand, includes a series of U-shaped projections 60 and a series of U-shaped grooves 62 located therebetween. The series of U-shaped projections 60 and U-shaped grooves 62 have a center which is located and positioned approximately adjacent to and opposite the starting point P of the geometric pattern of raised diamond shaped projections 56 in the vicinity of the midfoot area and approximately in the center of the arch area D. The series of U-shaped grooves 62 are located and positioned closer to one another at their center, while the outer portions of the U-shaped grooves 62 are located and positioned further apart as best seen in
From the foregoing, it will be seen that the various embodiments of the present invention are well adapted to attain all the objectives and advantages hereinabove set forth together with still other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the present structures. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations of the present embodiments are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Since many possible embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, it is also to be understood that all disclosures herein set forth or illustrated in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. The various constructions described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the concepts, principles and scope of the present invention.
Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1568064 | Goldman | Jan 1926 | A |
2124986 | Pipes | Jul 1938 | A |
D278851 | Austin | May 1985 | S |
4641438 | Laird et al. | Feb 1987 | A |
4794707 | Franklin et al. | Jan 1989 | A |
4866861 | Noone | Sep 1989 | A |
4942679 | Brandon et al. | Jul 1990 | A |
5224277 | Sang Do | Jul 1993 | A |
5353526 | Foley et al. | Oct 1994 | A |
5400526 | Sessa | Mar 1995 | A |
D388948 | Sessa | Jan 1998 | S |
5862614 | Koh | Jan 1999 | A |
6038790 | Pyle | Mar 2000 | A |
6061929 | Ritter | May 2000 | A |
6161315 | Dalton | Dec 2000 | A |
6237249 | Aguerre | May 2001 | B1 |
6276073 | Curley, Jr. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
6705027 | Campbell | Mar 2004 | B1 |
6817117 | Campbell | Nov 2004 | B1 |
7610695 | Hay | Nov 2009 | B2 |
7637034 | Ailey et al. | Dec 2009 | B2 |
D626321 | Cagner | Nov 2010 | S |
8322049 | Dojan | Dec 2012 | B2 |
20020004999 | Caine et al. | Jan 2002 | A1 |
20020078598 | Bell | Jun 2002 | A1 |
20050217148 | Connolly | Oct 2005 | A1 |
20050257402 | Kobayashi | Nov 2005 | A1 |
20070277401 | Young-Chul | Dec 2007 | A1 |
20090090031 | Jung | Apr 2009 | A1 |
20090188131 | Doerer et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
20090307932 | Kirby et al. | Dec 2009 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20190029364 A1 | Jan 2019 | US |