EP1945052A1

EP1945052A1 - Internally aerated shoe

Info

Publication number: EP1945052A1
Application number: EP06745271A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tiziano Buizza
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-11-07
Filing date: 2006-04-10
Publication date: 2008-07-23
Also published as: ITBS20050132A1; WO2007052318A1

Abstract

The invention concerns an internally aerated shoe, with a sole equipped with an air collection chamber (17) in the heel part of the sole and in communication with the exterior through an intake duct (18) of least one longitudinal duct (19) that extends in the intermediate part of the sole starting from said collection chamber (17) almost up to the toe of the shoe, of branch ducts (20) in communication with said longitudinal channel and retroflexed to the sides of the latter, of small additional chambers (21 ) in line with the toe part of the sole and in communication with the branch ducts, and through aeration holes (22) inline with the branch ducts and additional chambers and open above the sole towards the inside of the shoe.

Description

"INTERNALLY AERATED SHOE"

Field of Invention

This invention concerns the footwear field in general and in particular an internally aerated shoe. State of the Technique A shoe, in particular with a rubber or similar sole but not exclusively, must, in order to be sensible and comfortable, ensure a correct exchange of heat and vapour between the internal and external areas without in any way compromising its impermeable nature.

In other words, they say that a shoe must allow the foot to breathe, at the same time maintaining the best possible aerated and thermal modes.

To meet this objective, transpiring shoes of various types, from those with perforated soles protected by a waterproof and vapour permeable membranes to those with ducts in the sole and a system to discharge the air inside towards the outside by means of a one-way valve have already been produced and are available on the market.

These construction solutions are however not without drawbacks and with limited efficiency, sometimes self-defeating. In fact, the first type of footwear the perforations, besides occupying a limited zone of the sole, must have a small diameter to avoid foreign bodies entering. In the other type of footwear, the forced flow of the air from inside to the outside can cause a circulation of atmospheric air which in cold weather can be uncomfortable, causing rapid cooling of the feet. Object and Summary of the Invention The main objective of this invention is to avoid the known technical drawbacks with a shoe having a sole, which is impermeable towards the outside and equipped with a system for forced ventilation of the foot in reaction to the walking movement to ensure the best possible micro-climate inside the footwear. This objective and implicit advantages are achieved in a shoe according to claim 1 and with a method of aerating the interior of a shoe which envisages the following phases: preparation and use of a shoe with a sole which has an air collection chamber in line with the heel which is in communication with the exterior and with longitudinal ducts which extend from said chamber towards the point of the foot and which are in communication with the interior of the shoe through ventilation holes, intake of air from the exterior into said collection chamber in reaction to the lifting of the heal during each walking step (back foot), compression of the air in said collection chamber in reaction to placing of the heal on the ground at each step (front foot), corresponding movement of the compressed air from said collection chamber in said longitudinal ducts, forced flow of the air on the foot inside the shoe through the ventilation holes, return to the initial exterior air intake mode in reaction to the lifting of the heel during a successive step. Brief Description of Drawings

The invention will however be described more in detail with reference to the enclosed indicative and not limiting drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a sole according to the invention with a separated sock-lining; Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the base component of the sole in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 shows a cross section of the shoe with the internal foot in the air intake mode; and

Fig. 4 shows a similar cross section of the shoe in the aerated mode of the foot. Detailed Description of the Invention

These drawings show a shoe 11 with a sole 12 to which an upper 13 is attached.

The sole can be made of rubber or a plastic material and the upper is attached to it in any one of the known ways. In particular, the sole 12 can be a single piece or, as shown in the drawings, it can be made up of two superimposed elements, one base element 12 resting on the sole and an internal element 15 where the foot rests with the interposition least of the usual sock-lining 16, at least an internal element 15 having its own degree of flexibility/elasticity. In any case, in the heel part of the sole 12, between the superimposed base and internal elements 14, 15, an air collection chamber 17 is formed in communication with the exterior through a duct 18 that extends up to a certain point in the part lying behind the upper. A longitudinal duct 19 is also provided between the two elements 14, 15 of the sole that extends in the intermediate part of the sole starting from the collection chamber 17 as far as the toe of the shoe, where it communicates with the retroflexed branch ducts 20 at the sides of the longitudinal duct 19, and through these, with some small additional chambers 21 in line with the toes. The additional chambers 21 communicate with the ducts 20 through narrow necks 21'; furthermore the branch ducts 20 and the additional chambers communicate with the interior of the shoe through the though ventilation holes 22 provided in the top element 15 and sock-lining 16.

Along the duct 18 that places the collection chamber 17 in communication with the exterior can be provided with or be without a one-way valve 18' so as to allow air to flow from the exterior to the interior of the chamber and not otherwise.

When the shoe is worn by a person walking, it is the movement of the foot which provokes internal aeration of the shoe and consequently of the foot. During the walking movement the back foot, which is about to be raised off the ground, is placed and presses the toe down, whereas the front foot is placed and presses against the ground using the heel.

In other words each foot is placed alternately on the toe and raised heel. Thus, when it is the toe that is placed on the ground as shown in Fig. 3, the internal element 15 of the sole does not have the heel under pressure so that due to its elasticity it tends to lift up, enlarging the collection chamber 17 and taking air in from the exterior through duct 18.

When, with the following step the foot is moved forward, the heel presses on the internal element 15 of the sole, causing the air in the collection chamber 17 to become compressed, forcing it along the longitudinal duct 19 towards the additional chambers 21 and the branch ducts 20.

The air, in this way, will exit from the holes 22 towards the foot, and aerate it.. The flow of air towards the inside of the shoe will also be facilitated as soon as the next step is started with the point of the foot resting on the internal element of the sole in line with the additional chambers 21 as shown in Fig. 4.

At the same time, with the heel that has been raised, new air is taken in from outside into the collection chamber, with a pumping action that helps to continually ventilate the foot.

It should be noted that the retroflexed branch ducts 20, besides contributing to the diffusion of the air inside the shoe through the aeration holes 22, act as air lungs under the arch of the foot and by closing the intake duct with a valve, if provided, or by some other means, the entrance of air from outside can be excluded so as not to cool the foot in particularly cold weather.

Even though particular reference has been made to a rubber sole, this does not mean that the same aeration system cannot be adopted with shoes with leather soles.

Claims

"INTERNALLY AERATED SHOE"* * *C L A I M S

1. An internally aerated shoe, comprising an upper attached to the sole covered by a sock-lining and having a part of the heel, one intermediate part and a part of the toe, characterised by: an air collection chamber (17) provided in the heel part of the sole and in communication with the exterior through an intake duct (18) which extends up to a certain level in the part behind the upper, at least one longitudinal duct (19) that extends in the intermediate part of the sole starting from said collection chamber (17) almost up to the toe of the shoe, branch ducts (20) in communication with said longitudinal channel and retroflexed to the sides of the latter, small additional chambers (21 ) in line with the toe part of the sole and in communication with said branch ducts, and through aeration holes (22) inline with the branch ducts and additional chambers and open above the sole towards the inside of the shoe.

2. The shoe according to claim 1 , wherein the sole has an internal flexible/elastic part at least in line with the collection chamber and additional chambers.

3. The shoe according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the sole is made up of one piece and the collection chamber, the longitudinal duct, the branch ducts, the additional chambers and the aeration holes are provided in said piece, said holes being open only towards the inside of the shoe.

4. The shoe according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the sole is made up of a superimposed base element and an internal element (14, 15) attached together, and in which the collection chamber, the longitudinal duct, the branch ducts and the additional chambers are provided between said two elements and the aeration holes are formed in the internal element.

5. The shoe according to any of the previous claims, wherein the branch ducts communicate with the additional chambers though narrow necks (21¹).

6. The shoe according to any of the previous claims, wherein along the intake duct is provided at least one one-way air entrance flow valve from the exterior to the collection chamber.

7. The shoe according to any of the previous claims, wherein the intake duct is provided with a closing system.

8. A method for internal aeration of a shoe comprising the phases for: providing and using a shoe with a sole which in line with the heel has an air collection chamber in communication with the exterior and some longitudinal ducts that extend from said chamber towards the toe and which are in communication with the inside of the shoe through ventilation holes, an air intake from the exterior of said collection chamber in reaction to lifting of the heel during each walking step (back foot), compression of the air in said collection chamber in reaction to the placing of the heel on the ground at each step (front foot), a corresponding flow of compressed air from said collection chamber to said longitudinal ducts, a forced flow of air on the foot inside the shoe through the ventilation holes, a return to the initial exterior air intake mode in reaction to the lifting of the heal during a successive step.