Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B13/00—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units
  • A43B13/14—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the constructive form
  • A43B13/18—Resilient soles
  • A43B13/181—Resiliency achieved by the structure of the sole
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B13/00—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units
  • A43B13/14—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the constructive form
  • A43B13/18—Resilient soles
  • A43B13/187—Resiliency achieved by the features of the material, e.g. foam, non liquid materials
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B3/00—Footwear characterised by the shape or the use
  • A43B3/0036—Footwear characterised by the shape or the use characterised by a special shape or design

Definitions

• Shoe structure made of flexible synthetic material and intended to be disposed between an outsole and the upper of the shoe
• the invention relates to a shoe structure and a corresponding shoe.
• It relates more particularly to the field of sports shoes.
• the shoe In order to adapt the shoe to the natural movements of the foot during the race and to better protect the runner from trauma, the shoe must have certain qualities which will be detailed below.
• the mechanism of the stride may vary according to the riders and is generally classified into three distinct categories, namely the pronation stride, universal or supine.
• the universal stride is the most widespread, it concerns about 50% of runners.
• a universal strider starts the movement of unwound by the outside of the heel.
• the foot Before reaching the ground, the foot is inclined outwards. When the contact occurs, the toe is still directed outwards, the toes being raised. Quickly, the support progresses towards the front and inside of the foot. At this moment, the tension of the arch increases.
• the unwinding of the foot is a complex compound movement, combining flexion, torsion and rotation of the foot, this regardless of the type of stride of the runner.
• the shoe must therefore be able to respect the anatomical movement of the foot during the race.
• the shoe must have additional qualities listed below. First of all the shoe must be comfortable. It must also have good damping properties, allowing protect from shocks caused by each impact of the foot on the ground. In addition, the shoe must allow the maintenance of the foot, to ensure the holding thereof and to control the pronation or supine stride. In addition, it must provide stability, generally at the longitudinal center zone of the foot. This property is particularly important in case of race or hike in rough terrain. Finally, the shoe must have increased dynamic properties, namely a good return of energy absorbed so as to restart the stride.
• Some shoes aim to improve these properties. They integrate for this purpose several distinct devices, each device being dedicated to one or two properties only of the desired properties of the shoe.
• the object of the present invention is to overcome these disadvantages, by proposing a shoe structure with little complex to effectively improve all the properties of the latter, namely including damping, maintenance, stability and dynamism , while respecting the anatomical roll of the foot.
• the invention relates to a shoe structure, made of flexible synthetic material and intended to be disposed between an outer sole and the upper of the shoe, characterized in that it comprises at least two substantially parallel longitudinal elements arranged at close to the edges of the structure, connected by at least two cross members extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal elements, the cross members having at least partly a tubular section of longitudinal axis and generally oval, defining a hollow zone.
• the longitudinal elements while allowing the bending of the structure to follow the flexion of the foot, promotes the maintenance and stability.
• the tubular form of the sleepers makes it possible to achieve a damping of the foot.
• the sleepers thanks to their oval shape and the flexibility of the longitudinal elements that bind the whole, allow by their elasticity to restore the energy of the impact to transform it into dynamic energy.
• At least one of the crosspieces is made of thermoplastic polyurethane.
• At least one of the longitudinal elements is made of low density thermoplastic polyurethane.
• at least one of the crosspieces has substantially parallel lower and upper walls, orifices being formed in the upper wall and / or in the lower wall.
• the orifices are used to promote the deformation of the tubular sleepers so as to withstand shocks during the impact of the shoe.
• at least one of the sleepers comprises studs made of synthetic material and arranged in its hollow zone.
• the pads may have damping properties or energy restoration.
• the studs extend from the bottom wall of the cross member, in the direction of the upper wall.
• the pads are molded with a plate attached to the upper wall or the bottom wall of the corresponding crossbar.
• the hollow zone of at least one cross member is filled, at least partially, by a shock absorbing element of flexible material, preferably of polyurethane foam or silicone.
• a cross member can be equipped with both a shock absorbing element and pads, the shock absorbing element then having recesses for the engagement of the pads.
• the structure comprises a median crossbar which, located at the level of the median zone of the structure along the longitudinal axis, has a solid central section on either side of which extend two tubular sections opening towards the outside, respectively forward and backward.
• the median crossbar provides sufficient rigidity to the structure in the area corresponding to the middle of the foot.
• the longitudinal elements are arranged laterally with respect to the crosspieces, at a distance of between 5 and 20 mm from the corresponding lateral edge thereof.
• the distance between the elements and the corresponding edge can be modified so as to adjust the deformation capacity of the structure to torsion.
• the cross members are spaced longitudinally relative to each other by a distance greater than or equal to 8 mm.
• This minimum distance ensures a sufficient articulation or flexion of the structure.
• each longitudinal element is formed by a plurality of tongues extending longitudinally and connecting at least two crosspieces.
• the longitudinal elements each come in one-piece molding.
• the longitudinal elements are assembled by overmoulding on the crosspieces at their upper wall and / or their bottom wall.
• At least one of the crosspieces has recesses at its upper and / or lower wall, extending substantially along the axis of the structure and whose height is substantially equal to the thickness of the longitudinal elements in their zone of fastening to the crossbar.
• the longitudinal elements are embedded in the recesses during assembly on the sleepers.
• the structure comprises a third longitudinal element connected to the front cross member and to the adjacent rear cross member disposed between the longitudinal longitudinal elements, substantially along the median longitudinal axis of the structure.
• the third longitudinal element imparts increased rigidity of the structure to the forefoot.
• the thickness of the structure is less than 2 mm at the front and less than 30 mm at the rear.
• the structure comprises at least five sleepers.
• the invention further relates to a shoe comprising a upper, a midsole and an outsole, characterized in that it comprises a structure according to the invention, disposed between the upper and the midsole.
• Figure 1 is an exploded view of a shoe according to the invention
• Figure 2 is a top view of the structure
• Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line A-A;
• Figure 4 is a side view
• Figure 5 is a view from below;
• Figure 6 is a perspective view, from above, of an alternative embodiment of the structure;
• Figure 7 is a view in median section
• Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of a cross
• Figure 9 shows the attachment of the longitudinal elements on the sleepers.
• FIG. 1 represents a shoe 1 according to the invention, comprising, from top to bottom, a shank 2, an insole also known as sockliner (not shown), an intermediate structure 3, a midsole 4 made of ethylene-acetate, vinyl (EVA) and a rubber outsole 5.
• a shank 2 an insole also known as sockliner (not shown)
• an intermediate structure 3 a midsole 4 made of ethylene-acetate, vinyl (EVA) and a rubber outsole 5.
• EVA ethylene-acetate, vinyl
• the invention relates more particularly to the intermediate structure.
• the structure comprises two pairs of longitudinal elements 6, 8; 7, 9 substantially parallel, made of low density thermoplastic polyurethane and arranged near the edges of the structure 3.
• other flexible materials could be used, for example silicone or an elastomer.
• the structure comprises 6 crosspieces 10 to 15, referenced hereinafter from the front to the back of the foot and made of polyurethane thermoplastic (TPU).
• TPU polyurethane thermoplastic
• the front portions 6, 7 of the longitudinal elements connect the cross members 10 to 13, the first 10 located at the front of the foot, the fourth 13 located at the central zone of the foot.
• the rear portions 8, 9 of the longitudinal elements connect the cross members 13 to 15, the fourth 13 to the sixth cross 15 at the rear of the foot.
• An additional longitudinal element 16, connecting the first cross member 10 to the second 11, is disposed between the lateral longitudinal elements 6, 7, substantially along the median longitudinal axis of the structure 3.
• the longitudinal elements 6 to 9 comprise, between two crosspieces, an elastic zone 17 in the shape of an arc of a circle, visible more particularly in FIG. 9 and allowing a better bending or articulation of the structure.
• These elements 6 to 9 further comprise zones of smaller width 18, located in the respective assembly areas with the crosspieces 11, 12, 14.
• the sleepers except the cross member 13 located in the middle zone of the foot in the longitudinal direction, have a tubular section, generally oval in shape, and delimiting a hollow zone extending longitudinally.
• the cross member 13 located in the middle zone of the foot has a solid central portion 19, on either side of which extend two tubular sections 20, 21 opening outwards, respectively forward and rearward. According to a possibility of the invention not shown here, the median crosspiece 13 does not have a tubular section and is completely full.
• the median crosspiece 13 is obtained from a tubular element whose lower and upper walls are welded together by means of weld lines 22.
• the first 10 and sixth crosspieces are closed at their end respectively before and back.
• the crosspieces have flat and slightly domed lower and upper walls 24, having apertures 25 opening at the hollow zone.
• the openings 25 are of various shape and function of the desired application and the position of the cross. They are for example round, oval, square or generally cross or propeller.
• the sleepers comprise studs not shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 and extending inside the hollow zone, from the bottom wall 23 of the cross member towards the upper wall 24.
• the crosspieces furthermore comprise lateral tabs 26 positioning and retaining molded with the cross. These lugs 26 extend upwardly from the upper wall 24 of the sleepers and are intended to cooperate with the lateral zones of the upper 2 of the boot.
• the sleepers are equipped with similar tabs 27 extending downwards from the bottom wall 23, intended to cooperate with the lateral zones of the midsole 4.
• the hollow zones of the crosspieces are filled by a shock absorbing element 28 made of flexible material, preferably made of polyurethane foam or silicone.
• the studs 29 are molded with a support plate 30 fastened to the bottom wall 23 of the corresponding cross member 11, 12, 14, inside the hollow zone. .
• the shock absorbing element 28 then has recesses 31 for housing the studs 29.
• the upper walls 24 of the crosspieces are equipped with recesses 32 of width and height equal to that of the longitudinal elements 6 to 9, as can be seen in FIG. 8.
• the longitudinal elements 6 to 9 are arranged in the recesses 32 and are assembled to the crosspieces by thermo-welding, more particularly by overmolding or over-injection.
• the position of the longitudinal members 6 to 9 on the crosspieces as well as the position of the crosspieces between them is made in such a way that two adjacent crosspieces are spaced apart by at least 8 mm and that the elements 6 to 9 are arranged at a distance of between 5 and 20 mm from the corresponding lateral edge thereof.
• the thickness of the structure 2 is less than 2 mm at the front of the foot and less than 30 mm at the back of the foot.
• the shape of the crosspieces and the articulation thereof through the longitudinal elements ensure good damping properties, maintenance, stability and restitution of energy through a single structure .
• the invention is not limited to the embodiments of this system, described above as examples, but it encompasses all variants. It is thus in particular that the longitudinal elements could come from molding in one piece, that the shoe could have no midsole or insole or that the structure extends only under a part of the foot, for example to the front or the back.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=38169234

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (1)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2006
  • 2006-11-17 FR FR0610069A patent/FR2908607B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2007
  • 2007-11-12 EP EP07870271A patent/EP2083648A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2007-11-12 WO PCT/FR2007/001859 patent/WO2008062113A1/fr active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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