FR2508778A1 - Pneumatic sole for shoe - has pneumatic chamber filled with fluid under semi-rigid inner sole - Google Patents

Abstract

The sole for a shoe (1) has its outer sole (6,7) separated from the semi-rigid sole (10) for supporting the foot by an elastically deformable volume (8). It has a chamber filled with a fluid or jelly, or it can be a supply foam pad. The outer sole is bonded to the semi-rigid sole around its edges (4,5) to form the chamber. The outer sole has thicker parts that form its heel and front part. The chamber can be subdivided into several chambers that can be separate or communicating.

Description

Sole of a shoe.

The present invention relates to shoe soles comprising internal cavities filled with a liquid gas fluid or pasty product. These soles are generally called pneumatic because the internal cavity or cavities are most often inflated with air.

Such soles have been described in numerous patents, among which mention may be made of US patent Nv 2,020,240 and French patent NO 1,190,358 which do not describe the means making it possible to produce the pneumatic chambers inside the mass of the sole and US Patent No. 4,016,662 which proposes to place a bag in a cavity made in the upper surface of the sole.

The general idea of all these "pneumatic" soles even when the chamber is filled with a liquid, is to equalize the contact pressures of the entire foot on the surface of the sole and, to do this, the upper surface of the sole between the air chamber and the insole is made as flexible and as deformable as possible.

The sole or outsole pad is on the contrary semi-rigid.

The present invention stems from an inverse idea, knowing that in the soles of the known art, the foot rests on an air cushion interposed between it and the sole pad, the inventor has put forward the idea verified by experience. that greater comfort could be obtained if a real pneumatic suspension was produced, absorbing the shocks and random roughness of the ground like automobile tires, the foot resting on a more stable seat constituted by a semi-rigid sole which can be in the stable and invariable shape of the foot and include, for example, an arch support. This avoids the rolling and pitching movement of the pneumatic sole under the foot, for example when pressing an edge or one end of the sole, the volume of fluid in this case being driven towards the other edge or the other end.

Consequently and in accordance with the invention, the surface area of the sole on the ground is separated from the semi-rigid surface for supporting the foot on the sole by a flexible, elastically deformable volume.

The elastically deformable flexible volume may be a chamber filled with a fluid or a mass of flexible foam or the like.

A sole according to the invention functions like a real tire and transmits the local pressures resulting from impacts or roughness in the form of a pressure uniformly distributed under the entire upper bearing surface of the foot or at least distributed over a strongly increased.

Many embodiments are possible.

According to a first embodiment, the support pad on the ground is made integral with the pocket constituting the pneumatic chamber, the assembly forming a pneumatic sole fixed under the semi-rigid sole for supporting the foot.

According to a second embodiment, the support pad on the ground can be attached under the underside of the pocket constituting the pneumatic chamber secured to the semi-rigid sole for supporting the foot.

According to a preferred embodiment and to ensure better shape stability for the shoe, the support pad on the ground and the pneumatic chamber are produced in the form of an integral part which is partially embedded on at least part of its periphery. in the molded sole forming the semi-rigid foot support sole.

The pneumatic chamber of the sole according to the invention can be common to the whole of the sole but it can be subdivided into several separate or intercommunicating chambers. It can also be cellular and consist of a flexible foam pad with intercommunicating cells or not.

Other characteristics of the present invention will appear on reading the description of various embodiments given below with reference to the attached drawing in which
Figure 1 is a perspective view in section
from below the skid element of
sole and pneumatic chamber according to the invention
tion; Figure 2 is a longitu sectional view
dinal of a shoe in the sole of which
is incorporated the element of Figure 1; figure 3
is a sectional view of a foam element for
mant the pneumatic chamber according to the invention
and Figure 4 is a sectional view of a sole
molded incorporating said garment.

In the figures the thicknesses have been exaggerated for the sake of clarity. The forms and details are also given only by way of nonlimiting example.

The element 1 forming the sole pad and pneumatic chamber of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises two molded elements joined by welding, an upper plate 2 and a part in a lower bowl 3. The two parts are joined by welding or bonding the along a plane 4, forming a peripheral flange 5. The walls of these two parts are flexible and made of natural or synthetic rubber or of plastic. The bottom of the bowl element 3 has extra thicknesses 6 and 7 which constitute the outsoles or pads of the sole and the heel. The chamber 8 formed is filled with a fluid which may be, totally or partially, a liquid, a gas such as air, a gel or the like.

The element 1 is placed in the bottom of the mold (not shown) which is closed by the shape carrying the rod 9 and the sole 10, in particular made of microcellular polyurethane, is molded to secure the rod 9 with the pneumatic sole 1.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 the flexible element ensuring the suspension is an intermediate mass in the form of a sole 11 which is made of cellular foam surrounded by a gel skin 12. The element it has on its underside cavities 13 opening laterally at a few points 14. These cavities 13 correspond to the wear pads of the sole and the heel.

The element 11 is placed in the bottom of the mold which is closed by the form carrying the rod 9. The sole 10 is molded for example from microcellular polyurethane and the material penetrates through the channels 14 to come and form the wear pads 6 ' -7 'by filling the cavities 13 and the corresponding cavities provided in the bottom of the mold.

Claims (7)

Claims 1. A shoe sole, characterized in that the bearing surface 6-7 of the sole on the ground is separated from the semi-rigid surface 10 for supporting the foot on the sole by a flexible volume 8-11 elastically deformable. 2. A shoe sole according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastically deformable flexible volume is a chamber 8 filled with a fluid. 3. A shoe sole according to claim 1, characterized in that the resiliently flexible flexible volume is a mass 11 of a flexible foam or similar material. 4. A shoe sole according to claim 2, characterized in that the pad 6-7 bearing on the ground is made integral with the pocket 2-3 constituting the pneumatic chamber. 5. A shoe sole according to claim 2, characterized in that the shoe 6-7 bearing on the ground is attached under the underside of the pocket constituting the pneumatic chamber 8 secured to the semi-rigid sole 10 of foot support. 6. A shoe sole according to claim 2, characterized in that the pad 6-7 resting on the ground and the pneumatic chamber 8 are produced in the form of an integral part 1 which is partially embedded in at least part from its periphery in the molded sole 10 forming the semi-rigid sole for supporting the foot. 7. A shoe sole according to any one of claims 2 and 4 to 6, characterized in that the pneumatic chamber 8 is subdivided into several separate or inter-communicating chambers.