EP4000440A1

EP4000440A1 - Shoe, particularly for hospital use

Info

Publication number: EP4000440A1
Application number: EP21167027.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Francesco Baldin
Original assignee: Thermoshoe Di Baldin Michele E Francesco SNC
Current assignee: Thermoshoe Di Baldin Michele E Francesco SNC
Priority date: 2020-11-24
Filing date: 2021-04-06
Publication date: 2022-05-25

Abstract

A shoe (1), particularly for hospital use, of the type comprising an upper (2) and a sole (3) made of impermeable plastic material.On the internal surface (9) of the sole (3) on which the sole of the foot rests there is a plurality of first holes (10).These first holes communicate, through first channels (12), with second channels (13) which have an orientation that is inclined toward the ground (4).The second channels (13) lead out at second holes (15) which are provided laterally to the sole (3) in a portion that is raised with respect to the surface that makes contact with the ground (4).

Description

The present invention relates to a shoe, of the type using, as materials, for example EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate or vinyl-acetate ethylene copolymer) or S.E.B.S. (Styrene Ethylene Butylene Styrene) and which is used particularly, but not exclusively, in hospitals and therefore for example for walking in wards.
Nowadays, in particular in the clinical and hospital field, clogs are in use which are constituted by a sole and by an upper, open at the rear, made in a single piece by molding a plastic material.
Such conventional clogs have the advantage of being easy to wash or sterilize, for example in an autoclave, but being made of polymeric material, which is impermeable by its nature, they still exhibit the drawback of retaining internally sweat or liquids, including biological liquids, which may enter the shoe during their use, constituting a biological/infectious hazard for the user.
Clogs are in fact known which have holes on the upper part of the upper.
Shoes for hospital use are also known which have, at the upper, lateral openings which are provided at the same height as the internal surface on which the foot rests.
These solutions also exhibit drawbacks: in fact although they allow sweat to drain away, simultaneously the ventilation achieved through linear holes that connect the inside with the outside not only allow air to circulate, but the holes also constitute potential access avenues for liquids, including biological liquids, which may enter the shoe, thus still constituting a biological/infectious hazard for the user.
Nowadays the biological risk is increasingly felt by safety managers in hospitals and similar structures, who would prefer shoes that are completely closed and watertight.
This choice however is in stark contrast with the choice of comfort for the user, who in a shoe without holes, and therefore without ventilation, ends up with a humid, hot and unventilated environment inside the shoe, which is fertile terrain for the proliferation of fungi, mildew and bacteria, with obvious skin problems in the foot and problems with the general comfort of the shoe.
Shoes are also known, which however are used for leisure and not in the hospital sector, in which first channels are provided which are perpendicular to the internal surface of the sole, on which an insole is arranged or on which the foot directly rests, and which are intercepted by other, second channels which in turn are provided perpendicular to the lateral surface of the sole, with the principal purpose of interconnecting the inside of the upper with the outside of the sole so as to make it possible to aerate the inside of the upper sewn to the sole.
Although they belong to a different sector, these solutions also have drawbacks: in fact the compression of the sole during walking tends to occlude the second channels perpendicular to the lateral surface of the sole, thus impeding the aeration function, or to push the region of interconnection between the first and the second channels toward the ground, thus giving the second channels an angle that tends to suck up any liquids present on the ground, which are then introduced into the shoe.
Furthermore the perpendicular arrangement of the channels does not allow the easy egress of the liquids from inside the shoe.
The aim of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, eliminating the drawbacks in the cited known art, by devising a shoe, particularly for hospital use, that makes it possible to allow a high degree of ventilation for the foot and at the same time makes it possible to protect the shoe from external contamination, solid or liquid, present on the ground.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to obtain a shoe that makes it possible to protect the interior thereof from infiltrations of liquids even as a consequence of dripping onto the shoe.
Another object of the invention is to make it possible to obtain a shoe that at the same time makes it possible to easily and rapidly drain out any liquids that should form inside it.
Another object is to make it possible to obtain a shoe that makes it possible to ensure stability and offers the highest guarantees against slipping.
Another object of the invention is to make it possible to obtain a shoe that has low production costs.
This aim and these and other objects which will become more apparent hereinafter are achieved by a shoe, particularly for hospital use, comprising an upper and a sole made of impermeable plastic material, characterized in that there is a plurality of first holes on the internal surface of said sole on which the sole of the foot rests, said first holes communicating, through first channels, with second channels which have an orientation inclined toward the ground and which lead out at second holes which are provided laterally to said sole in a portion that is raised with respect to the surface that makes contact with said ground.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of a particular but not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view from above of the shoe;
Figure 2 is a side view of the shoe;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of Figure 1.

In the exemplary embodiments that follow, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other, different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments.
With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 designates a shoe, particularly for hospital use, which is produced through the use of plastic material called EVA.
On such shoe 1, made in a single body, an upper 2 is defined which envelops the foot of the user, and a sole 3 is defined for resting on the ground 4, both made of impermeable plastic material.
Advantageously the upper 2 has, proximate to the toe region 5 and to the heel region 6, respectively, a first opening 7 and a second opening 8 for an optimal aeration of the foot and for an easy insertion thereof into the upper.
On the internal surface 9 of the sole 3, on which the sole of the foot of the user rests, there is a plurality of first holes 10, polygonal in cross-section, preferably but not exclusively circular.
Such first holes 10 are arranged preferably proximate to the region 11 for connection between the upper 2 and the sole 3 and therefore substantially at the perimetric edge of the foot of the user, positioned above it.
The number of first holes 10, and also their shape and diameter, are a function both of the chosen degree of draining of the liquids that accumulate inside the shoe during its use, and of the size of the shoe itself.
The first holes 10 communicate with first channels 12 which are provided substantially at right angles to the internal surface 9 and have a low depth, substantially comparable to the diameter of the first holes 10.
The first channels 12 communicate therefore with second channels 13, which have an orientation that is inclined toward the ground 4, at a chosen acute angle α (alpha), in the direction of the external lateral surface 14 of the sole 3.
The angle α (alpha) is indicatively comprised between 1 and 45 degrees.
The second channels 13 lead out at second holes 15 which are provided on the external lateral surface 14 of the sole 3 in a portion that is raised with respect to the surface that makes contact with the ground 4_.
The second holes 15 are arranged at a chosen height from the ground 4 so as to limit the possible ingress at the second holes 15 themselves of liquids present on the ground 4, thus being able at the same time to vary the thickness of the sole 3.
In the particular embodiment, the height from the ground 4 of the second holes 15 increases starting from the toe region 5 toward the heel region 6.
The shape and the dimension of the second channels 13 and second holes 15 and the value of the angle α (alpha) can therefore vary as a function of specific requirements, such as the speed of drainage of the liquids from the inside to the outside of the shoe and/or the arrest of the penetration of liquids from the outside to the inside of the shoe.
Advantageously the first holes 10 are provided at the edge 16 of a hollow 17, obtained on the internal surface 9 of the sole 3 adjacent to the region 11 for connection between the upper 2 and the sole 3, which makes it possible to collect the liquids that form inside the shoe by conveying them into those first holes 10.
Use of the shoe, by virtue of the presence of the hollow 17 and of first holes 10, makes it possible to collect inside it the liquids that form in it or infiltrate it and to drain them out, simply by gravity, through the first holes 10, the first channels 12, the inclined second channels 13, and the second holes 15.
Furthermore aeration is ensured from the inside to the outside of the shoe.
Any liquids present outside the shoe cannot enter the shoe both because the second holes 15 are at a certain height from the ground 4, and also because the inclination of the second channels 13 prevents the reascent of such fluids inside the shoe, while at the same time enabling aeration from outside to the inside of the shoe.
Thus it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, a shoe having been devised, particularly for hospital use, that makes it possible both to enable a high degree of ventilation for the foot and to protect the shoe from external contamination, solid or liquid, present on the ground.
Furthermore the shoe makes it possible to preserve the interior thereof from infiltrations of liquids even as a consequence of dripping on the upper part of the upper of the shoe itself.
At the same time the shoe makes it possible to easily and rapidly drain out, by gravity, any liquids that should form inside it and at the same time it prevents liquids present on the ground on which the sole rests from entering the upper.
The invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.
The materials used, as well as the dimensions that constitute the individual components of the invention, may of course be more pertinent according to the specific requirements.
The various means of achieving certain different functions certainly need not coexist only in the embodiment shown, but may be present in many embodiments, even if they are not shown.
The characteristics indicated above as advantageous, convenient or the like, may also be missing or be substituted by equivalent characteristics.
The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102020000028133 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

A shoe (1), particularly for hospital use, comprising an upper (2) and a sole (3) made of impermeable plastic material, characterized in that there is a plurality of first holes (10) on the internal surface (9) of said sole (3) on which the sole of the foot rests, said first holes communicating, through first channels (12), with second channels (13) which have an orientation inclined toward the ground (4) and which lead out at second holes (15) which are provided laterally to said sole (3) in a portion that is raised with respect to the surface that makes contact with said ground (4).
The shoe (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said first holes (10) and said second holes (15) have a polygonal or circular cross-section.
The shoe (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first holes (10) are arranged proximate to a region (11) for connection between said upper (2) and said sole (3) substantially at a perimetric edge of the foot of the user, positioned above it.
The shoe (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first holes (10) communicate with said first channels (12) which are provided substantially at right angles to said internal surface (9) and have a low depth, substantially comparable to the diameter of said first holes (10).
The shoe (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first channels (12) communicate with said second channels (13), which have an orientation that is inclined toward said ground (4), at an acute angle α (alpha), in the direction of the external lateral surface (14) of said sole (3).
The shoe (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said angle α (alpha) is comprised between 1 and 45 degrees.
The shoe (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second channels (13) lead out at said second holes (15) provided on said external lateral surface (14) of said sole (3) in a portion that is raised with respect to the surface that makes contact with said ground (4).
The shoe (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second holes (15) are arranged at a chosen height from said ground (4), said height from the ground (4) increasing starting from said toe region (5) toward said heel region (6).
The shoe (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first holes (10) are provided at the edge (16) of a hollow (17) obtained on said internal surface (9) of said sole (3) adjacent to said region (11) for connection between said upper (2) and said sole (3).