The present invention relates to a shoe, more specifically, a ventilated shoe that promotes air flow to the feet for ventilation.
Shoes or Footwear has traditionally been designed to protect the wearer's feet from heat, cold, and trauma. The modern consumer expects to take long walks without suffering foot fatigue or irritation. Another important function of modern shoes is to provide cushion support so that the wearer can walk, run, and jump with minimal impact upon joints and vertebrae. However, despite having all these needs met, the modern consumer is still unsatisfied with the lack of ventilation to the feet that is prevalent in modern shoes.
The skin of the human foot exudes perspiration, as well as odors, in varying degrees, depending upon such factors as temperature of the ambient, the amount of physical activity being performed, and the natural propensity of the particular person to perspire. The comfort and health of the human foot is greatly influenced by the rate of evaporation of the perspiration generated as a result of movement and/or physical exercise. Thus, the restrictive nature of the modern shoes promotes offensive foot odor due to lack of ventilation. This problem has been acknowledged by shoe designers and has been addressed with varying degrees of failure in many different ways over the past decades.
One way of providing more ventilation to the feet is with soles and footpads that employ various interconnected pumping chambers, bladders, valves, jets, tubes, orifices, and the like. Patents exemplifying this approach include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,180,039; 3,225,463; 4,215,492; 4,499,672; 4,654,982; 4,760,651; 4,776,109; 4,860,463; 5,010,661; 5,224,277; 5,282,324; 5,341,581; 5,606,806; 5,787,609; 5,809,665; 5,815,949; 5,813,141; and 5,826,349. These patents, for the most part, teach products that use the motion of the feet while walking to agitate or exchange air surrounding the foot.
Another approach attempted several times is to use compressible supporting structures situated in a space defined between the upper and lower layers of a footpad or insole. Patents teaching this approach include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,716,930; 4,223,455; 4,364,186; 4,590,689; 4,674,203; 4,910,882; 5,035,068; 5,619,809; 5,669,161; 5,675,914; and 5,845,418.
A third approach involves the use of ribs, beads, liquid cells, knobs, or nipples to ventilate. Patents that teach this approach include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,685,224; 4,831,749; 5,167,999; 5,607,749; and 5,694,705.
Despite the vast number of approaches, the need persists for improved ventilated shoes which deliver proper ventilation to the feet while providing support for walking, shock absorption, and comfortable static support. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned disadvantages occurring in the prior art. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a ventilated shoe which can maximize air flow to the feet of the wearer. The present invention also aims to provide a ventilated show which can adjust and control the amount of the air flow.
According to one aspect of the invention, the shoe includes a bottom pad with a peripheral wall that has a front part, a rear part opposite to the front part, a right side part and a left side part opposite to the right side part. A plurality of right side holes are formed in the right side part of the peripheral wall, and a plurality of left side holes are formed in the left side part of the peripheral wall.
The shoe of the present invention further includes a ventilation pad is disposed on the bottom pad to be surrounded by the peripheral wall. The ventilation pad forms a wave-like layer with alternate crests and troughs while the ventilation pad extends from the front part to the rear part without discontinuity. The troughs or lower portions of the wave-like layer are fixed to an upper surface of the bottom pad. Further, the wave-like layer forms a plurality of tunnels each of which extends from the right side part to the left side part, each tunnel having a plurality of slits.
The shoe of the present invention further includes a right belt disposed on the right side part of the peripheral wall. The right belt has right belt holes and is slidable between a first position where the right belt holes are aligned with the right side holes and are open to an outside of the shoe and a second position where the right belt holes are not aligned with the right side holes. The shoe of the present invention further includes a left belt which may be configured similar to the right belt.
The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying figures. It should be kept in mind that the following described embodiments are only presented by way of example and should not be construed as limiting the inventive concept to any particular physical configuration.
Further, if used and unless otherwise stated, the terms “right”, “left”, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “back”, “over”, “under”, and similar such terms are not to be construed as limiting the invention to a particular orientation. Instead, these terms are used only on a relative basis.
The peripheral wall 11 includes a front part 12 which is disposed adjacent to a toe cap of the shoe 1 and a rear part 13 opposite to the front part 12. The peripheral wall 11 further includes a right side part 14 and a left side part 15 opposite to the right side part 14. The front part 12, the right side part 14, the rear part 13 and the left side part 15 are connected to each other in this order and collectively form a closed loop shape.
A plurality of right side holes 142 are formed in the right side part 14 of the peripheral wall 11, and a plurality of left side holes 152 are formed in the left side part 15 of the peripheral wall 11. Preferably, the right side part 14 may be configured to have a first depressed region 141 in which the right side holes 142 are formed. The first depressed region 141 functions as a belt guide which guides the right belt 30 to be coupled to the peripheral wall 11 and to slide on the right side part 14. Likewise, the left side part 15 may be configured to have a second depressed region 151 functioning as a belt guide (
A plurality of right side O-rings 143 may be formed along the circumference of each of the right side holes 142, as shown in
The shoe 1 may further include a pad cover 50 and a welt 60, which will be explained in more detail later.
As shown in
The upper surface 16 of the bottom pad 10 may be configured to include a plurality of U shaped trenches 17 to facilitate the coupling of the ventilation pad 20 to the bottom pad 10. Specifically, as shown in
The inner surface of the right and left side parts 14 and 15 of the peripheral wall 11 may be configured to have a concave portion to form an air flow road.
The shoe 1 further includes a right belt cover 70 and a left belt cover 80, as shown in
The belts 30 and 40 are maintained to be attached to the peripheral wall 11 of the bottom pad 10 by the belt covers 70 and 80. The right and left belt covers 70 and 80 may be formed in a U shape with wings 72 and 82 as shown in
As shown in
The ventilation pad 20 is shown in more detail in
The pad cover 50 may be disposed on the ventilation pad 20, as shown in
The welt 60 may be disposed on top of the peripheral wall 11 along the periphery of the bottom pad 10 to surround the pad cover 50, as shown in
The right belt 30 and the left belt 40 are respectively disposed on the right side part 14 and the left side part 15 of the peripheral wall 11. The right belt 30 has a plurality of right belt holes 31 to correspond to the right side holes 142 of the bottom pad 20. The right belt 30 is slidably disposed on the peripheral wall 11 of the bottom pad 20, such that the right belt 30 is movable between a first position where the right belt holes 31 are aligned with the right side holes 142 and a second position where the right belt holes 31 are not aligned with the right side holes 142. At the first position, the right side holes 142 are open to an outside via the right belt holes 31 without being blocked or covered by the right belt 30. Air can be supplied into the shoe 1 through the right belt holes 31 and right side holes 142. The O-rings 143 in close contact with the right belt 31 may create a seal at the interface between the peripheral wall 11 and an inner surface of the right belt 30. At the first position, the O-rings 143 may prevent air from leaking at the interface. At the second position, the O-ring 143 may block water from entering the belt holes 31.
The right belt 30 may include a holder 32 which protrudes outward. By pushing or pulling the holder 32, the right belt 30 can move between the first and second positions. The O-rings 143 also facilitates the sliding of the right belt 30 between the first and second positions. Since the O-rings 143 protrude outward and lifts the right belt 30 from the right side part 14, it reduces the contact area or the friction between the right side part 14 and the right belt 30.
Likewise, the left belt 40 has a plurality of left belt holes 41. Preferably, the number of the left belt holes 41 of the left belt 40 is the same as the number of left side holes 152 of the bottom pad 20. The left belt 40 is slidably disposed on the peripheral wall 11 of the bottom pad 20, such that the left belt 40 is movable between a first position where the left belt holes 41 are aligned with the left side holes 152 and a second position where the left belt holes 41 are not aligned with the left side holes 152. At the first position, the left side holes 152 are open to an exterior of the shoe 100 via the left belt holes 41 without being blocked or covered by the left belt 40 or other outer layer, enabling to provide ventilation through the left belt holes 41 and the left side holes 152. The left belt 40 may include a holder 42 similar to the holder 32 of the right belt 30. The left belt 40 is an element separated from the right belt 30 and moves and slides separately from the right belt 30. Accordingly, the opening or closing of the left holes 152 can be made independently from the opening or closing of the right holes 142.
The right belt cover 70 may include a plurality of cover holes 71 which correspond to the plurality of right belt holes 31, and the left belt cover 80 may include a plurality of cover holes 81 which correspond to the plurality of left belt holes 41. At the first position, the right side holes 142 are open to an outside via the right belt holes 31 and the cover holes 71 without being blocked by the right belt 30 or the right belt cover 70.
Further, the right and left belt covers 70 and 80 may include, respectively, an opening 72 or 82 through which the holders 32 and 42 (
As shown in
The left belt cover 80 may include a plurality of protrusions 83 (
The peripheral wall 11 may be configured to better facilitate the movement of the belt. For example, as the right side part 14 of the peripheral wall 11 of the bottom pad 10 is more curved, the right belt 30 should be more bent to correspond to the curvature of the outline of the right side part 14 of the peripheral wall 11. The sliding movement of the right belt 30 to change between the first and second positions may not be easily performed. To avoid this problem, an outer face of the right side part 14 may be configured to have a curvature at an upper portion of the peripheral wall 11 smaller than a curvature at a lower portion of the peripheral wall 11.
It should be understood, however, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific arrangement and components shown and described above, but may be susceptible to numerous variations within the scope of the invention.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the manner of making and using the claimed invention has been adequately disclosed in the above-written description of the preferred embodiments taken together with the drawings. It will be understood that the above description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention are susceptible to various modifications, changes, and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20170127751 A1 | May 2017 | US |