ITTV20090108A1 - STRUCTURE OF SOLE OR INSOLE, PARTICULARLY FOR FOOTWEAR - Google Patents

Description

TITLE: SOLE STRUCTURE INSOLE, ESPECIALLY FOR FOOTWEAR

DESCRIPTION

The present application relates to a sole or insole structure, particularly for footwear.

Currently known types of footwear consist of an upper to which a sole is associated, with an insole possibly being inserted inside the upper.

The sole can be made of leather or plastic and has a deliberate and determined flexibility to allow both walking and increasing comfort for the user.

However, these known types of footwear have drawbacks: the shoes are in fact created with a conformation designed to give comfort to walking and for this purpose, for example, the area corresponding to the toe (or front part) of the foot is slightly raised with respect to the walking surface. , or the arch of the foot remains slightly raised.

However, during use, the weight that continually comes to weigh on the upper and sole of the shoe, which are normally made of fairly soft materials, leads to the shoe being deformed, leading for example to the lowering of the toe up to the walking surface. ; this makes walking less comfortable and leads to incorrect posture over time.

Furthermore, in the final phase of each step, the entire weight of the body comes to rest on the front part of the foot and therefore of the shoe, which is subject to a strong bending before being lifted from the floor and returned to stretch.

Since in the known art soles are used which are normally soft enough to be comfortable during use, they have a low resistance to torsion and this creates another drawback: due to the torsion of the foot around its axis , during walking we come to a fatigue of the joints and also to traumatic events when others go a certain limit.

During walking the use of soles soft enough to be comfortable during use which involves their flexion in particular in the area of the arch, which only leads to lack of comfort, fatigue, if not inflammatory lesions, such as heelitis and tendonitis, and also traumatic.

Furthermore, a soft sole does not offer resistance to the roughness of the ground on which one walks, with the unpleasant and sometimes painful sensation of feeling every stone and difference in height directly on the sole of the foot.

As a partial solution to these latter drawbacks, it is known to insert a hardened steel stick, called a 'shank', under the assembly insole in the footwear, to avoid these unwanted bending.

However, this 'shank' has some drawbacks: it has a rigidity that uniformly affects the heel.

In addition, its use involves problems due to metal detectors that force many passengers to take off their shoes at airport security checks because the 'shank', being metallic, is identified by the metal detectors themselves.

The main task of what forms the subject of the present invention is therefore to solve the technical problems highlighted, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited known art and therefore devising an invention that allows to produce shoes that allow to achieve both optimal comfort during the walking, and maintaining the correct longitudinal conformation of the shoe, making it less tiring to use.

Within the scope of the above aim, another important object of the invention is to provide an invention which allows to achieve a containment of the transversal torsions of the shoe and at the same time also an elastic return of the toe during walking.

Another object of the invention is to allow optimal support for the plantar arch and to prevent it from flexing during walking.

Another object is to provide an invention which allows to produce a shoe which protects the foot from pain or injuries due to the roughness present in the ground even when using a shoe with a soft and / or thin sole.

Not least object is to obtain an invention which is structurally simple, which has low manufacturing costs and which can be produced with the usual and known systems.

The aforementioned task and purposes, as well as others that will appear more clearly later, are achieved by a sole (la) or insole (lb) structure, particularly for footwear, which is characterized by the fact that it comprises an insert (4) having a reticular conformation defining a differentiated flexibility in the areas (5) of the toe, (6) of the plantar arch and (7) of the heel, said insert (4) being drowned and / or inserted and / or associated with said sole (the ) or insole (lb).

Advantageously, at least part of the area of the tip of said insert lies on a raised surface with respect to the remaining parts of said insert.

Conveniently said insert and the layer constituting the remaining part of said sole or insole are made with the same material or with materials having a different hardness.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer from the detailed description of a particular, but not exclusive, embodiment, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the attached drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a side view of a plinth;

fig. 2 shows the shoe of the previous figure in a section taken along a longitudinal plane;

fig. 3 is a plan view of the insert;

fig. 4 shows the insert in a view taken according to the section plane IV-IV of fig .3;

fig. 5 shows the insert in a view taken according to the section plane V-V of fig. 3;

fig. 6 shows a further embodiment of the invention in a view similar to that of fig. 2;

fig. 7 is a plan view of the sole illustrated in the previous figure;

fig. 8 illustrates a further embodiment for a sole containing the insert in a view similar to that of fig. 6;

fig. 9 is a plan view of the insole shown in the previous figure.

In the following embodiments, single characteristics, reported in relation to specific examples, can actually be interchanged with other different characteristics, existing in other embodiments.

Furthermore, it should be noted that everything that in the course of the procedure for obtaining the patent turns out to be already known, is intended not to be claimed and subject to excerpt (disclaimer) from the claims.

With reference to the aforementioned figures, the number (la) indicates a sole structure and the number (lb) an insole, particularly usable for making footwear, of the sports type, or boots or footwear for every day or consisting of plinths (3).

Said sole (la) and insole (lb) are preferably, but not exclusively, made of plastic material, such as a polyurethane foam or rubber.

They include a rigid but at the same time elastically deformable insert (4), made of plastic material with characteristics of high hardness and high elasticity.

The indicated characteristics of the insert (4) are obtained jointly as it has a reticular conformation, which allows to achieve a differentiated flexibility in the areas (5) of the toe, (6) of the plantar arch and (7) of the heel.

The insert (4) can be inserted between a first layer (8), preferably a rubber, and a second layer (9), preferably a polyurethane foam, constituting the sole (la) of a shoe, as illustrated in Figure 2; in this case, first the first layer (8) is printed / injected and then the insert (4) is positioned in a special housing made on the first layer (8) itself, then the second layer (9) is printed / injected.

The first and second layers (8,9) can also be of the same material as well as of different materials or even with different hardness characteristics.

The second layer (9) can be directly printed / injected on the first layer (8) or glued to it.

The insert (4) can also be inserted, as illustrated in figure 6, on the upper surface (10) of the sole (la) of a shoe, in a special housing obtained thereon.

In this case the insert (4) is held in place by an assembly insole or by a normal insole placed inside the shoe.

Again, the insert (4) can be, as illustrated in figure 8, embedded in the insole (1b) then placed inside a shoe.

The insert (4) has a particular reticular shape to define a continuous perimetral edge (11) which circumscribes a series of openings (12) preferably of elongated shape along the longitudinal axis of the insert (4) itself.

Thus, in particular in the tip area (5), two series of four openings (12) side by side are defined, of decreasing length from the central area towards the perimeter edge (11), polygonal in shape with more or less edges. less rounded, which in turn define a series of first longitudinal ribs (13) and a second rib (14) transversal to the insert (4).

Still in the area (5) of the tip, these first and second ribs (13,14) preferably lie, as illustrated in Figure 5, on a raised plane with respect to that of the remaining parts of said insert (4) itself.

This particular solution allows to accentuate, during walking, the elastic effect that the insert (4) provides.

A single opening (12) is preferably obtained in correspondence with the area (6) of the plantar arch, as well as in the area (7) of the heel.

Naturally, the number and shape of the first and second ribs (13,14) as well as those of the openings (12) may be the most pertinent according to specific requirements.

The operation of the invention is as follows: the affixing of the insert (4) allows, thanks to its stiffness but at the same time to its differentiated flexibility in the various areas of the shoe, to make shoes that maintain a correct conformation, for example maintaining, in the time, the toe slightly raised with respect to the walking surface, also keeping the plantar arch raised, so as to maintain a correct posture.

Always given the characteristics of hardness and flexibility, the insert (4) facilitates the final phase of each step, in which the entire weight of the body rests on the front area of the foot, which bends strongly before being lifted from the floor. ; the final phase of each step is also facilitated by the insert that forces the shoe to return to the stretch, helping the walk itself and making it less tiring.

The conformation of the insert (4) also contains the torsions and therefore compensates for the structural deficiencies of known soles, furthermore optimally supporting the plantar arch.

Finally, the hardness characteristic of the insert (4) is such as to protect the foot from the roughness present on the ground, eliminating their perception even in a shoe with a soft and thin sole.

In practice it has been found that the invention has achieved the above mentioned aim and objects, having obtained a particularly shaped plastic insert with high hardness and high elasticity characteristics which, combined with a sole or insole, allows to realize a footwear that presents both optimal comfort and a barrier against the roughness in the ground, and allows use even in the presence of a metal detector as it does not have detectable components, and the correct arch support that does not flex during walking, both to contain the torsions and therefore compensate for the structural deficiencies of the known soles, and, due to its elasticity or differentiated flexibility, to quickly bring the front part of the shoe back to the initial position while the weight is lifted, helping the walk itself and making it less tiring , both, for its characteristics of hardness and elasticity, to allow maintaining the correct original conformation of the shoe.

The materials used as well as the dimensions that constitute the individual components of the invention may of course be more pertinent according to specific requirements.

The different means for carrying out certain different functions will certainly not have to coexist only in the illustrated embodiment, but may be present per se in many embodiments, including those not illustrated.

The characteristics indicated as advantageous, convenient or the like may also be missing or be replaced by equivalents.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS 1. Sole (la) or insole (lb) structure, particularly for footwear, which is characterized in that it comprises an insert (4) having a reticular conformation defining a differentiated flexibility in the areas (5) of the toe, (6) of the plantar arch and (7) of the heel, said insert (4) being drowned and / or inserted and / or associated with said sole (la) or insole (lb). 2. Structure as in claim 1 which is characterized in that at least part of the area (5) of the tip of said insert (4) lies on a raised plane with respect to the remaining parts of said insert (4) itself. 3. Structure as per claim 1 or 2 which is characterized by the fact that said insert (4) and the layer constituting the remaining part of said sole or insole (la, 1b) are made with the same material or with materials having different hardness . 4. Structure as per one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized by the fact that said insert (4), made of plastic material with high hardness characteristics, has a reticular conformation which allows it to present at the same time characteristics of high flexibility or elasticity , said insert (4) affecting the areas (5) of the toe, (6) of the plantar arch and (7) of the heel. 5. Structure as per one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized in that said insert (4) is inserted between a first layer (8), preferably a rubber, and a second layer (9), preferably a polyurethane foam , constituting said sole (la) being first molded / injected said first layer (8) and then positioned said insert (4) in a special housing specially obtained on said first layer (8) itself, then said second layer being molded / injected (9), said first and second layers (8,9) being able to be of the same material or of different materials or even with different hardness characteristics. 6. Structure as per one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized in that said second layer (9) is directly molded or injected on said first layer (8) or glued to the same. 7. Structure as per one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized by the fact that said insert (4) said insert (4) is inserted, on the upper surface (10) of said sole (la), in a special housing obtained on the same, said insert (4) being held in place by an assembly insole or by a normal insole placed inside said shoe. 8. Structure as per one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized by the fact that said insert (4) is embedded in said insole (1b) then placed inside a shoe. 9. Structure as per one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized by the fact that said insert (4) has a particular reticular shape defining a continuous perimeter edge (11) which circumscribes a series of openings (12) preferably of an elongated shape along the longitudinal axis of said insert (4) itself so as to be defined, in at least said area (5) of the tip, two series of four openings (12) side by side, of decreasing length from the central area towards said perimeter edge (11), polygonal in shape with more or less rounded edges, which in turn define a series of first longitudinal ribs (13) and a second rib (14) transversal to the insert (4). 10. Structure as per one or more of the preceding claims which is characterized by the fact that, in said area (5) of the tip, said first and second ribs (13,14) lie on a raised surface with respect to that of the remaining parts of said insert (4), in correspondence with said zone (6) of the plantar arch a single opening (12) being preferably obtained, as well as in said zone