GB2300559A

GB2300559A - Sole with chamber

Info

Publication number: GB2300559A
Application number: GB9509660A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Young-Hwan Park
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-03-03
Filing date: 1995-05-12
Publication date: 1996-11-13
Also published as: DE19517279A1; JPH0838209A; GB9509660D0

Description

2300559 MULTIPURPOSE SOLE FOR FOOTWEAR The present invention relates to a

multipurpose sole for footwear.

Presently known footwear soles comprise elastomeric pads or a plurality of holes in the soles. Some types of footwear include a pocket disposed on a footwear upper for storing keys. These types of footwear, however, cannot guarantee safety. Some types of footwear contain a light emitting system. However, such footwear does not enable replacement of a new battery for an old one.

It is an object of the invention to provide a multipurpose sole for footwear which reduces the problems encountered in conventional footwear soles.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a multipurpose sole for footwear comprising an insole and an outsole, said outsole having a chamber therein, and having a movable cover for selectively opening and closing said chamber, and wherein said insole is arranged to overlie said outsole and to cover and conceal said chamber and its cover.

The invention also extends to a footwear sole comprising an outsole, midsole, and insole in sequence from the bottom thereof, the outsole having a chamber disposed in a heel portion thereof for storing valuable possessions and a battery, and a plurality of illumination members disposed on front and rear surfaces thereof for safely walking in reduced visibility conditions.

A multipurpose footwear sole of an embodiment of the invention is simple in structure, inexpensive to manufacture, durable in use, and easy to operate.

The present invention also extends to a multipurpose footwear sole for footwear, including a chamber disposed in a heel portion of an outsole thereof for storing keys and the like and a battery for providing power to a plurality of lights disposed on front and rear surfaces thereof, and an opening and closing cover disposed on a heel portion of a midsole thereof for easily inserting and removing the keys and the like and replacing the battery within the chamber.

Embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side perspective view of an item of footwear having a multipurpose sole of the invention containing cut-away portions in order to illustrate the construction, Figure 2 shows a top perspective view of the multipurpose sale of the footwear item shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a top plan view of the sole of Figure 2, Figure 4 is a perspective view of an outsole of the footwear item shown in Figure 1, Figure 5 is a top plan view of the outsole of Figure 4 showing a wiring diagram, and Figure 6 is a sectional view of the outsole of Figure 5 showing an emitting light.

The drawings show an item 1 of footwear, specifically a trainer, having a multipurpose sole 10 and an upper 3. The multipurpose sole 10 comprises an outsole 2, a midsole 4, and an insole 5 in sequence from the bottom thereof. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the midsole 4 comprises an opening and closing cover 4B disposed at a heel portion thereof. The opening and closing cover 4B having a D-shaped configuration is formed by cutting through a split line 4A which has a reverse C-shaped configuration. By this means, a hinge line 4C functions as a hinge. A thin strip handle 4D is attached to the cover 4B for opening and closing the cover 4B.

As shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, the outsole 2 contains a chamber 7 disposed in a heel portion thereof and corresponding in location with the cover 4B. A key storage area 7A is formed at one side of chamber 7 so as to store keys 11, rings and the like and another storage area 7B is provided for housing a power source 8 such as, for example, a mercury battery, at the other side of chamber 7. The keys 11 includes car keys, home keys and the like. The mercury battery 8 is held by a pair of connecting terminals 9.

The outsole 2 is provided with a plurality of front and rear emitting lights 6A and 6B disposed on a front side surface and a rear side surface thereof, respectively, (Figures 4 and 5). The plurality of emitting lights 6A and 6B preferably comprise from one to four lights, and preferably two lights. In this case, the front emitting lights 6A are connected by electric wires 13 in an integrated circuit, and the rear emitting lights 6B are connected to the power source 8 by the electric wires 13 through an on/off switch LOA for emitting light from the front emitting lights 6A and flickering on the rear emitting lights 6B. The emitting lights 6A and 6B are a colour emitting diode, respectively (Figure 6). An operating switch 14 is located on one side surface of the outsole 2 for selectively enabling the power source 8. Preferably, the operating switch 14 is a push button style switch 12.

The multipurpose sole 10 illustrated operates as follows: If necessary, the front and rear emitting lights 6A and 6B can be in either an on or off position by operating the push button styled switch 12. In an ON position, the front emitting lights 6A are continuously illuminated and the rear emitting lights 6B are illuminated intermittently. The illumination of the lights provides walking safety, thereby preventing rear impact car accidents, and functioning as a kind of signal. The switch 12 can be operated without a manual handle, for example, by using the other item of footwear of a pair. The emitting lights 6A are fabricated of a material ensuring that they are durable over a long period of time.

After the insole 5 is removed from the midsole 4, by using the opening and closing cover 4B the battery or power source 8 can be easily replaced, and keys 11 and the like. can be placed in and removed from the storage area 7. Particularly during jogging or exercise, if the wearer of the footwear does not wear clothing with pockets, he can store keys 11 in the storage chamber 7A conveniently and confidently.

The items of footwear having a sole as illustrated may beany type of shoe, for example, sports shoes, work shoes, mountain climbing boots, clothing footwear, vinyl footwear, and sandals. Also, the multipurpose sole 10 may be utilized on general footwear, for example, without the light emitting system being provided.

As the multipurpose sale 10 has the chamber 7 disposed in a heel position of the outsole 2, it provides very convenient and safe storage for important and valuable possessions. Where an electrically operable circuit is provided in the sole, the battery, as 8, therefore is also stored in the chamber 7. The footwear sole 10 is simple in structure, inexpensive to manufacture, durable in use, and easy to operate.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the scope of the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A multipurpose sole for footwear comprising an insole and an outsole, said outsole having a chamber therein, and having a movable cover for selectively opening and closing said chamber, and wherein said insole is arranged to overlie said outsole and to cover and conceal said chamber and its cover.

2. A multipurpose sole as claimed in Claim 1, further comprising an electrically operable circuit formed within said outsole, and having power terminals for connection to a power source within said chamber.

3. A multipurpose sole as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said outsole carries illuminable means arranged to be illuminated by said electrically operable circuit.

4. A multipurpose sole as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said outsole comprises a midsole which is overlain by said insole and carries the cover for said chamber.

5.

A multipurpose sole for footwear, comprising: an outsole, a midsole, and an insole formed in sequence from the bottom of said multipurpose sole, said outsole including a chamber disposed in a heel position thereof for storing at least a power source, a plurality of illuminating members disposed on both a front peripheral surface and a rear peripheral surface thereof for emitting light, said illuminating members being connected to the, power source through electric wires, and a push button-styled on/off switch disposed on a side surface of the heel position and connected to the power source through the electric wires, and said midsole including a selectively openable cover for correspondingly covering the chamber of the outsole, 1 whereby said footwear having the multipurpose sole disposed therein can provide storage in the chamber and emit light from the plurality of illuminating members.

6. A multipurpose sole as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said chamber is provided with a preshaped storage area at one side thereof for storing possessions.

7. A multipurpose sole as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said plurality of illuminating members define a plurality of front emitting lights and a plurality of rear emitting lights disposed on the front and rear surfaces thereof for selectively emitting continuous and flickering light.

8. A multipurpose sole as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said plurality of front and rear emitting lights number two, respectively.

9. A multipurpose sole as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein said emitting lights are colour transparent diodes.

10. A multipurpose sole as claimed in any of Claims 5 to 9, wherein said power source is a mercury battery.

11. A multipurpose sole as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said cover has been fabricated by cutting the heel portion of a midsole along a substantially C-shaped line to define a remaining hinge line, and wherein a handle is provided on the cover.

12. A multipurpose sole as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said chamber is arranged to house important and valuable possessions including car keys, home keys and rings.

13. A multipurpose sole for footwear substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.