EP0693259A2 - Sole structure for a shoe as well as an insole and filling material for this sole - Google Patents

Abstract

The filler material (13) fills a recess (14) in the surface (15) of the sole (11) and extends for part of its length. The recess can be at the ball of the foot, and formed in the surface of the sole towards the latter. The sole consists of one or more layers, and is integral with the shoe. Alternatively, the recess can be in a loose insole and the mating faces of the filler material and recess can be self-adhesive. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a sole arrangement for a shoe according to the preamble of claim 1, an insole for a sole arrangement in the form of a foot and a filling material for use in the sole arrangement.

A sole arrangement is to be understood to mean the entire part of a shoe which is located below the sole of the foot. Depending on the quality, intended use and material, these can be single-layer or multi-layer sole arrangements. Multi-layer sole arrangements are to be referred to those in which several partial soles are integrally formed, that is to say are fastened to one another. Also sole arrangements in which an additional, on single-layer or on multi-layer, integrated partial soles loose insole that can be removed from the shoe is referred to as a multi-layer sole arrangement. While single-layer sole arrangements naturally extend over the entire sole area, partial soles can be designed in such a way that they cover only one area of the sole, for example the heel area or the ball area. The term 'shoe' should not only include shoes in the strict sense, but also boots, sandals, zoccoli and other footwear of a similar type.

It has been proven that human feet act as temperature sensors to a certain extent. This can be seen, for example, in the fact that you sweat quickly on your feet at high temperatures. As is known, the human foot has a high density of sweat glands, especially in the area of the sole of the foot and even more so in the area of the foot. The fact that the foot often remains trapped in a shoe for hours, which is also used to protect the foot from the rain when it rains, and which therefore hardly lets moisture through, means that the sweat that is separated remains inside the shoe and, to a certain extent, impregnates it. Not only the decomposing sweat but also the material absorbing this sweat develops an extremely unpleasant smell, which in turn is transferred to the socks or stockings and also to the foot itself. Although all of this also happens in everyday life with street shoes, it increasingly occurs with sports shoes or rubber boots.

If the resulting smell is unpleasant, the release of foot sweat has far worse consequences. During long marches or races, blisters form much more often in damp shoes than in dry shoes, and small injuries heal very poorly in a damp atmosphere, as they often become infected. It is also particularly unpleasant that athlete's foot grows rapidly in damp heat.

To avoid the unpleasant consequences of foot sweat, various measures taken. So you can try to reduce the sweating and to neutralize the unpleasant smell by powder or special means, which are applied to the feet or in the shoes. Insoles are also used, for example made of leather or cork, which can be replaced by new ones after a certain time, but this is relatively expensive. There are also foam insoles available that are washable and therefore longer-lasting, but which unfortunately do not prove to be very dimensionally stable during washing. After all, there have been sneakers for a long time that can be washed in washing machines; however, since one generally does not want to wash the sneakers together with other laundry and rarely several pairs of shoes are required for cleaning at the same time, a disproportionate amount of water, electricity and detergent are used to wash a single pair of shoes. Such a washing method is not an option for leather shoes.

Insoles are known from orthopedic technology, which consist of two approximately congruent partial soles that are partially connected along the edge, between which a filling material is accommodated, stiff, orthopedically shaped parts made of metal or plastic being used as the filling material, while the partial soles serve to increase walking comfort serve and possibly also absorb foot sweat. The task which these insoles, which are also referred to as insoles, have to fulfill is an orthopedic and not a hygienic one.

In the description above, only foot sweat problems, which generally occur with heat, are mentioned. The already mentioned temperature sensor properties of the feet naturally have an effect not only at high but also at low temperatures, so that cold feet suffer particularly quickly in the cold. To prevent this, especially warm socks, possibly several at the same time, as well as lined shoes are worn. Such clothing of the feet is limited, however, because the footwear is too voluminous rapid walking is very impaired.

In summary, it can be said that no shoes with practical and inexpensive sole arrangements are known, which are sweat-absorbing in heat, hygienic and odor-neutralizing or warming in the cold, and which in any case are comfortable, healthy and pleasant both for the wearer and for the environment are.

The object of the invention is therefore seen in creating a sole arrangement of the type mentioned at the outset which offers a high level of comfort when hot or cold, and to propose an insole for use in such a sole arrangement and finally a corresponding filling material.

According to the invention, these objects are achieved by the features of the characterizing parts of claims 1 , 12 and 14 .

Advantageous developments of the objects according to the invention are described by the features of the characterizing parts of the dependent claims.

According to the invention, a surface of a sole arrangement - which of course is not the tread - has a recess which is filled by an exchangeable, flexible filling material. The dimensions of the filler material are determined in accordance with the recess so that the filler material fits exactly into the recess; no step due to a filler material that is too thin or too thick may occur on the corresponding surface of the sole arrangement, and neither a bead due to a filler material that is too large nor a gap due to a filler material that is too small may occur at the edge of the recess.

The recess and thus also the filling material can extend over any part of the sole arrangement. However, due to the concentration of the sweat glands on the foot pad, it is special Useful when the filler material is in this area, especially if a filler material is used to combat sweaty feet. It is also possible to provide a plurality of recesses and filling materials lying next to one another.

The surface of the sole arrangement in which the recess is arranged can be the inner surface of a single-layer sole arrangement facing the foot. Inexpensive shoes, especially women's shoes, often have single-layer sole arrangements made of a plastic and cause the wearer to sweat heavily and generate strong odors, so that the attachment of an odor-neutralizing insert is particularly recommended.

The recess can also be provided on the inner surface of a multi-layer integrated sole arrangement intended for contact with the foot. This is particularly recommended for sports and hiking shoes where an insole can slip easily, which of course increases the risk of blistering and is therefore undesirable.

Furthermore, the recess can also be provided on a loose insole which forms part of the entire sole arrangement; In this way, shoes in which the attachment of the filler material was not originally intended can be retrofitted to a certain extent. The recess and the filling material can be arranged both on the surface facing the foot or on the surface facing away from the foot. When attaching the recess and the filling material to the surface of the insole facing away from the foot, the contact surface remains unimpaired and completely smooth, so that there is no risk of blistering even if the filling material does not fit perfectly into the recess.

Finally, the recess can also be delimited by two adjacent partial soles of an insole, the edge regions of which are partially attached to one another and between which the Filling material is inserted. A combination of two partial soles is particularly favorable, one of which is made of a foam and the other of a fleece such as felt. Both partial soles can have openings.

The use of insoles also makes it possible to provide two recesses on opposite surfaces of the insole, which can be filled with different types of filling materials, as will be described below.

In order to fasten the filling material in the recess, it is possible to design one or both of the abutting surfaces to be completely or partially self-adhesive, for example with an adhesive or with an adhesive or Velcro tape known under the name Velcro. A surface pretreated with adhesive must be provided with a removable protective film before use.

Another possibility for fastening the filling material in the recess is to provide the filling material on its outer surface with a porous, one-sided adhesive film or fabric section which projects beyond the edge of the filling material, the mode of operation of this arrangement being that of the known rapid wound dressings. or patches. Such a film or fabric section can of course also be used separately from the filling material. In particular, a perforated foil made of copper or with a copper surface could be used, since copper is valued as a shoe insert material for various reasons. In this case, the adhesive side of the film or fabric section must of course also be provided with a removable protective film before use. It would also be possible to use the film or. Manufacture fabric sections separately in larger dimensions and only cut to size when in use.

Used to absorb foot sweat, especially in a warm environment a filling material made of a hygroscopic material such as paper, cardboard, tissue, porous plastic or fleece, the latter being particularly advantageous.

A particularly preferred filling material is a combination of felt and paper in the form of a felt-reinforced paper.

To combat athlete's foot and to prevent infections of small wounds, such a filling material can be impregnated with a fungicidal or bacteriostatic substance.

The neutralization of unpleasant smells is possible by providing the filling material with a long-acting fragrance. In a particularly advantageous manner, the fragrance can be brought into a cotton-like nonwoven base material, which is then pressed together to form the nonwoven, the fragrance being pressed into the nonwoven. The already mentioned filling material made of felt-reinforced paper is very cheap as a long-term fragrance carrier. Different scent notes are conceivable, but it is advisable to use only one scent note in each shoe.

A kind of passive foot massage to improve circulation can be achieved if the surface of the insert touching the foot is structured, for example ribbed or nubbed.

In order to obtain a pleasantly warm shoe in a cold environment, a filling material is used, which is designed as a flat bag, in which there are substances that react exothermically with mutual movement or under pressure. Such bags, but in larger dimensions, have been used to warm hands in gloves or pockets of outer clothing.

Since foot sweat is occasionally secreted even if you suffer from cold feet, as already mentioned, a sole arrangement with an insole can be used, which has recesses on opposite sides, a fleece-like, sweat-absorbing and / or fragrance-containing filling material being provided on the surface facing the foot and a filling material in the form of a heat-emitting bag being provided on the surface facing away from the foot. The two differently acting filling materials can also be used side by side, so that the desired double effect can be achieved even with shoes without an insole.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the insole according to the invention has a recess into which a fleece-like filling material is interchangeably glued. This filler contains a fragrance. The insole, the recess and the filling material are in the area of soccer; it is multi-layered and the filling material is between two layers. This insole can be produced in the usual shoe sizes and can have a cut-resistant edge area, so that by trimming the edge area, the user can adjust it to shoes of any shape without damaging the insole.

According to the invention, the interchangeable filler material is offered ready for use in packs with at least two assembled pieces. The individual pieces themselves or protruding edges of the removable protective films of their adhesive surfaces can be bound together in a stitched or block-like manner.

Fig. 1

einen ersten Schuh mit einer integralen Sohlenanordnung in einem Schaubild;

Fig. 2

einen zweiten Schuh mit einer Sohlenanordnung mit einer losen Einlegesohle, in einem Schaubild;

Fig. 3

eine einlagige Sohlenanordnung, in einem Vertikalschnitt im Bereich des Fussballens;

Fig. 4

eine mehrlagige integrierte Sohlenanordnung, in einem Vertikalschnitt im Bereich des Fussballens;

Fig. 5

eine Einlegesohle, in einem Vertikalschnitt im Bereich des Fussballens;

Fig. 6

eine weitere Einlegesohle mit zwei Füllmaterialien, in einem Vertikalschnitt im Bereich des Fussballens;

Fig. 7

ein vliesartiges Füllmaterial, mit einem Duftstoff, in einem Schaubild;

Fig. 8

ein Füllmaterial in Form eines Beutels, von dem eine Eckpartie weggelassen ist, der Stoffe enthält, die bei Bewegung bzw. Druck exotherm reagieren, in einem Schaubild;

Fig. 9

mehrere miteinander verbundene Füllmaterialien, in einem Schaubild; und

Fig.10

eine sich nur über den Fussballen erstreckende Einlegesohle, deren Ausnehmung durch zwei kongruente Teilsohlen begrenzt ist, in einem Schaubild.

The invention is described in detail below using exemplary embodiments and with reference to the drawing. It shows:

Fig. 1

a first shoe with an integral sole arrangement in a diagram;

Fig. 2

a second shoe with a sole arrangement with a loose insole, in a diagram;

Fig. 3

a single-layer sole arrangement, in a vertical section in the area of soccer;

Fig. 4

a multi-layer integrated sole arrangement, in a vertical section in the area of soccer;

Fig. 5

an insole, in a vertical section in the field of soccer;

Fig. 6

another insole with two filling materials, in a vertical section in the area of soccer;

Fig. 7

a fleece-like filling material, with a fragrance, in a diagram;

Fig. 8

a filling material in the form of a bag, from which a corner part is omitted, which contains substances which react exothermically when moving or pressing, in a diagram;

Fig. 9

several interconnected filling materials, in one diagram; and

Fig. 10

an insole that only extends over the ball of the foot, the recess of which is delimited by two congruent partial soles, in a diagram.

Fig. 1 shows a shoe 10 with a sole assembly 11 and an upper 12 , part of which is omitted. A filling material 13 , which is applied in a recess 14 of the surface 15 of the sole arrangement 11 facing the foot, not shown, is partially visible.

2 shows a further shoe 20 , in which the sole arrangement 21 comprises not only a fixed part 23 connected to the upper 22 but also a loose insole 24 .

The insole 24 has on its surface 25 facing the foot in the region of the heel or heel and in the region of the ball of the foot provided with filling materials 26 , 27 recess 28 , 29 .

The shoe 30 shown in FIG. 3 has a single-layer sole arrangement 31 in the form of a foot, in which a recess 32 has been made, which is provided with a filling material 33 . The filling material 33 is provided on its surface 34 facing away from the foot completely in strips or at points with an adhesive 35 , so that on the one hand it adheres firmly in the recess 32 during use and on the other hand - as soon as it has become ineffective - easily from the recess 32 is removable. The dimensions of the filling material 33 fit precisely into the recess 32 , so that neither beads nor gaps occur on its edge 36 .

However, a filling material that is too large can easily be trimmed using scissors or a knife so that it has the right size. The thickness t of the filling material 34 corresponds exactly to the depth of the recess 32 so that the surface of the sole arrangement 31 intended for contact with the foot, not shown, is completely flat and seamless.

4 shows a shoe 40 with a multi-layer integrated sole arrangement 41 , wherein a plurality of partial soles 41a , 41b , 41c are fastened to one another. The uppermost partial sole 41a is provided with a recess 42 in which a filling material 43 is located. The filling material 43 fitting into the recess has on its upper surface 44 a porous film section 45 which projects beyond the edge 46 of the filling material 43 and on the underside thereof contains a releasable adhesive 47 with which it adheres to the partial sole 41a .

As described with reference to FIG. 3 , the filling material 43 can be glued to the sole arrangement 41 by means of the film section 45 and removed again after use. The slide section 45 is so thin that it does not affect walking comfort. Instead of the film section, it is also possible to use a thin, one-sided adhesive tissue section, which is provided at the bottom with the filler material 43 , whereby a structure similar to a rapid wound dressing is created.

FIG. 5 shows an insole 50 whose surface 51 facing away from the foot has a recess 52 with a filling material 53 . The insole 50 consists of several layers 50a , 50b , 50c , from which the lowermost layer 50c is partially removed to form the recess 52 . With this configuration, the exact fit of the filling material 53 into the recess 52 is of less importance since the filling material 53 does not touch the sole of the foot. The filling material is fastened in the insole 50 either as in the arrangement according to FIG. 3 or as in the arrangement according to FIG. 4 . The insole 50 makes it possible to use filling materials in any type of closed shoes, even if they were not originally equipped for this.

A similar insole 60 is shown in FIG. 6 . It has recesses 63 and 64 on its opposite surfaces 61 and 62 , which are provided with filling materials 65 and 66 .

The filling material 70 shown in FIG. 7 is essentially formed by a fleece. Cardboard, stiff paper or a stiff tissue could also be used, it is only important that the filling material is hygroscopic. The fleece contains a fragrance which can be added to it while still having a cotton-like appearance and which is pressed into the latter when compressed to form the fleece. The effect of this fleece-like filling material 70 is multiple: firstly, the fleece absorbs sweat from the foot so that the foot remains drier, which serves for comfort and to prevent blistering; secondly, the fragrance neutralizes the unpleasant smells of sweat and sweat-soaked shoe material. The fleece is also covered with fungicidal or bacteriostatic Treated means, it also serves to prevent athlete's foot or the infection of small wounds in the sole of the foot. Filling materials with fragrances can be produced in different fragrance notes, although it is advisable to use only one fragrance note in one shoe. Depending on the fragrance note, the filling materials can be marked with different colors. It is possible to structure a side of the filling material touching the foot, ie to provide it with grooves or knobs; This measure gives you a passive foot massage, which can increase well-being or improve circulation.

The filling material 80 shown in FIG. 8 has an opposite effect, which has a bag 81 in which there are substances 82 which react exothermically as soon as they are moved against one another or come under pressure. The inside of a shoe can be heated with such a filling material 80 . The handling is otherwise the same as for the fleece-like filling materials.

In the insole acc. Fig. 6 can both a fleece-like filler gem. 7 as well as a warming filling material according to FIG. 8 are attached. This can be beneficial because some people exude sweat even when their feet are cold. In the case of sole arrangements which have only one recess, it is possible to alternate seasonally between fleece-like and warming filling materials.

The filling materials, especially the fleece-like, can according to. Fig. 9 are made, for example, in the form of a foot, so that they clearly differ from other, similar fragrance bodies, as are often sold for air freshening in rooms or vehicles. 9 further shows how a plurality of filling materials 90 can be packed together in a block-like manner. As mentioned earlier, the filling materials, which are provided with adhesive, similar to a wound quick dressing, must be used before use be provided with a removable protective film 91 . These protective films 91 can now be connected to one another in a booklet or block configuration, so that whenever a filler material 90 is required, one can be pulled off the protective film 91 and fixed in the recess freed from the used filler material. It is also possible to attach the fleece-like filling materials provided with protective foils themselves, possibly to an edge area that can be separated by pre-perforation before use.

A very particularly preferred embodiment of an object according to the invention is shown in FIG. 10 . The insole 100 shown there is designed to be worn in a shoe below the ball of the foot. The insole 100 is essentially formed by two congruent partial soles 101 , 102 , of which the first, 101 , one consists of a foam and the second, 102 , consists of a felted material. The partial sole 101 has a plurality of openings 103 , and the partial sole 102 is also provided with openings, not shown. The partial soles 101 , 102 are connected to one another along a large part of their edge regions, with the exception of portions 101a , 101 of the edge regions which are not connected to one another and thereby form an insertion opening of a recess 104 delimited by the partial soles 101 , 102 , in which a Filling material 105 is added. The filling material 105 consists of a combination of reinforcing felt and paper material and serves as a long-term fragrance carrier.

It should also be pointed out that the fleece-like filling material provided with fragrances or other active substances can not only be made up but also offered in larger surface units, from which the user cuts the required pieces himself.

Although the fleece-like filling material is in principle designed for single use, ie as a disposable article, it can also be washable, it being possible to provide it with fragrances or other active substances again during or after the washing process.

The fleece-like filling material is also packaged in plastic containers and produced with a particularly intense fragrance. This is for the purpose of being placed in shoes while not being worn. You can then open the plastic packaging, expose the fleece-like filling material more or less depending on the desired fragrance intensity and thus ensure that the shoe regenerates into a * fragrant * shoe when it is not worn. Before putting on the shoe, the plastic container is closed again and the fleece-like filling material can be used several times for this application.

The sole arrangement, the insole and the filling material according to the invention not only allow sweat-free, fragrant shoes to be obtained, but also increase wearing comfort through their sweat-absorbing effect or through their heating effect and improve hygiene when using fungicidal and bacteriostatic agents. The use of the filling materials is simple and both economical and ecological, since it considerably increases the lifespan of the shoes or the insoles.

Claims (17)

Sole arrangement for a shoe, in which a filling material is exchangeably received,
characterized,
that the flat, flexible filling material ( 13 ; 26 , 27 ; 33 ; 43 ; 53 ; 65 , 66 ; 70 ; 80 ; 90 ; 105 ) extends over a region of a surface ( 15 ; 25 ; 34 ; 44 ; 51 ; 61 , 62 ) of the sole arrangement ( 11 ; 21 ; 31 ; 41 ; 100 ) extending recess ( 14 ; 28 , 29 , 33 ; 42 ; 52 ; 63 , 64 , 104 ). Sole arrangement according to claim 1 ,
characterized,
that the recess ( 14 ; 29 ; 33 ; 42 ; 52 ; 63 , 64 ) is in the area of the soccer ball. ( Fig. 1 ). Sole arrangement according to claim 1 ,
characterized,
that the recess ( 14 ) is on the foot-facing surface ( 15 ) of the single-layer or multi-layer, integrated sole arrangement ( 11 ). ( Fig. 1 ). Sole arrangement according to claim 1 ,
characterized,
that the recess ( 28 , 29 ) is located on the surface of a loose insole ( 24 ) of the sole arrangement facing away from the foot. ( Fig. 2 ). Sole arrangement according to claim 1 ,
characterized,
that the recess ( 104 ) is delimited by two at least approximately congruent partial soles ( 101 , 102 ) of the sole arrangement which are fastened to one another along part of their edge regions and has an insertion opening for the filling material ( 105 ). ( Fig. 10 ). Sole arrangement according to claim 1 ,
characterized,
that the filling material ( 33 ) and possibly the recess ( 32 ) are designed to be self-adhesive on their contacting surfaces. ( Fig. 3 ) Sole arrangement according to claim 1 ,
characterized,
that the filling material ( 43 ) is held in the recess ( 42 ) by means of a self-adhesive porous film or fabric section ( 45 ) projecting beyond its edge ( 46 ). ( Fig. 4 ). Sole arrangement according to claim 1 ,
characterized,
that the filling material is formed by a hygroscopic fleece or fabric ( 70 ). Sole arrangement according to claim 8 ,
characterized,
that the fleece or fabric ( 70 ) contains an active ingredient that is bacteriostatic and / or fungicidal. Sole arrangement according to claim 8 ,
characterized,
that the fleece ( 70 ) contains a fragrance. Sole arrangement according to claim 1 ,
characterized,
that the filling material ( 80 ) is designed as a flat bag ( 81 ) in which there are substances ( 82 ) which react exothermically with one another when they move together. ( Fig. 8 ). Insole for a sole arrangement of a shoe, which is composed of several partial soles and has a filling material,
characterized,
that at least the lowermost partial sole ( 50c ) is removed in the area of the ball of the foot in order to form a recess ( 52 ) for the flexible, fleece-like, hygroscopic filling material ( 53 ) provided with a fragrance. ( Fig. 5 ). Insole according to claim 12 ,
characterized,
that it has two at least approximately congruent partial soles ( 101 , 102 ) which delimit the recess ( 104 ) for the filling material ( 105 ). Filling material for a sole arrangement of a shoe,
characterized,
that it is designed as a hygroscopic fleece ( 90 ) which can be fastened in a recess of the sole arrangement and which contains a fragrance and which has a self-adhesive surface which is covered by a removable protective film ( 90 ) before being fastened in the recess. Filling material according to claim 14 ,
characterized,
that it is designed in the form of a reduced foot to be fastened in a corresponding recess in the sole arrangement. ( Fig.7 ). Filling material according to claim 14 ,
characterized,
that it is formed by a preferably circular section ( 105 ) made of a reinforcing felt / paper material. ( Fig. 10 ). Filling material according to claim 14 ,
characterized,
that it is bonded together with at least one further filler material ( 90 ) at an edge area or a protruding area of the protective film ( 91 ) like a booklet or block. ( Fig. 9 ).

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