JP7519057B2 - Temperature-regulating footwear - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to footwear with a temperature adjustment function, and in particular to footwear with a temperature adjustment function that can automatically cool or heat the soles of footwear such as shoes, sandals, slippers, etc., and adjust the temperature inside (sole) without requiring a power source (battery).

Traditionally, footwear such as shoes, boots, sports shoes, slippers, sneakers, sandals, and Japanese sandals are known as footwear worn by people while walking or running. Such footwear can feel cold or hot depending on the season, temperature conditions, and usage conditions.

When walking or exercising in shoes, the temperature of the surface of the foot covered by the shoe rises due to not only body heat at rest, but also heat generated by the muscles during exercise, friction between the shoe and the surface of the body, and the kinetic energy absorbed by the foot and shoe. If the temperature of the foot rises excessively, it causes discomfort and there is a risk of inducing physiological disorders. This is particularly noticeable in hot summer months. In cold regions and during severe winters, the body temperature of the foot is prone to drop. If the body temperature of the foot drops too much, it can cause physiological dysfunction such as impaired blood circulation. If an exercise such as a foot race is performed under such conditions, there is a high risk of inducing serious disorders such as muscle or Achilles tendon rupture, sprains, and fractures.

For this reason, for example, in hot summer, it is desirable for the soles of shoes to be cooled regardless of the amount of exercise being done, and conversely, in cold winter, it is desirable for the soles of shoes to be warm.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-304004 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-229902 JP 2009-11460 A JP 2018-157950 A

A method for adjusting the temperature of the soles of footwear is described in JP 6-304004 A (Patent Document 1), but this requires a power source (battery) and requires maintenance such as charging the battery.

The shoes shown in JP 10-229902 A (Patent Document 2) disclose a generator that generates electrical energy from mechanical force caused by weight when wearing the shoes and movements such as walking, but this is based on the principle of electromagnetic induction. The temperature adjustment configuration is also complicated and cumbersome, as it is equipped with sensors and microcomputers.

The present invention was made in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to provide footwear with a temperature adjustment function that can adjust the temperature of the footwear by cooling or heating, without using a battery, and with a relatively simple configuration.

The present invention relates to footwear with a temperature adjustment function that can adjust the temperature of the sole, and the above-mentioned object of the present invention is achieved in that a piezoelectric element is provided in the heel part of the sole of the footwear, and a long Peltier element is provided on the entire surface of the sole except for the heel part, via a layered thermally conductive material, and the output power of the piezoelectric element is applied to the Peltier element via a switching unit, and by switching the current based on the switching unit, the upper surface of the sole is cooled or heated via the thermally conductive material based on the heat absorption or heat release action of the Peltier element.

The footwear of the present invention does not have a built-in battery, so there is no need for maintenance such as charging the battery. In addition, power is automatically generated based on the load of walking or exercise, and the temperature of the sole is adjusted by the heat dissipation (heating) and heat absorption (cooling) of the Peltier element, so the footwear can be used cool in summer and warm in winter, for example.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a shoe according to the present invention; 1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a sole of a shoe according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a wiring diagram showing an example of a shoe according to the present invention. 4 is a configuration diagram showing details of a piezoelectric element and a switching unit. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the internal structure of a shoe. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a Peltier element. 1A and 1B are a plan view and a side view showing an example of the configuration of an elongated Peltier element. 11 is a layout diagram showing another configuration example of the piezoelectric element. FIG. FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram showing another example of the switching unit.

Footwear (shoes, boots, sports shoes, sneakers, slippers, sandals, sandals, etc.) according to the present invention does not have a built-in battery, so there is no need for maintenance such as battery replacement or charging. In addition, the piezoelectric element automatically generates electricity based on the load of the wearer's walking or exercise, and the generated electricity is applied to the Peltier element, which produces a heat dissipation (heating) and heat absorption (cooling) effect. The direction of the current flowing through the Peltier element is switched by a switching unit, so that the temperature of the sole is adjusted to heat dissipation (heating) or heat absorption (cooling). This temperature adjustment allows the sole of the shoe to be kept cool in summer and warm in winter, for example, and the footwear can be used.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows a shoe 10 according to the present invention in partial cross section from the side. A piezoelectric element 20 is embedded inside the heel portion 11 of the shoe 10, and long Peltier elements 30 are embedded in layers in the sole 12 of the shoe 10. In addition, a switching unit 40 is provided on the side of the shoe 10 for manually switching between heating ("warm" command) and cooling ("cold" command). The piezoelectric element 20 is structured to receive the weight of the wearer in the vertical direction when the person wearing the shoe 10 walks or runs.

In this example, the switching part 40 is provided on the side of the shoe 10, but it can be provided in any suitable position. In addition, measures such as waterproofing are taken against external environments such as rain.

Figure 2 shows an example of the planar arrangement of the piezoelectric element 20 and the Peltier element 30. The piezoelectric element 20 is placed at a position where the heel of a person wearing the shoe 10 bears a load, and the Peltier element 30 is placed over the entire outsole 12 so as to warm or cool the sole of the person wearing the shoe 10.

Figure 3 shows an example of the fundamental structure of the Peltier element 30 and the wiring relationship with the piezoelectric element 20 and the switching unit 40. The Peltier element 30 itself is publicly known, and is a thermoelectric element that realizes the Peltier effect and has the function of transferring heat by electric current. The Peltier element 30 in this example is configured by connecting one upper metal plate 31 and two lower separated metal plates 32, and an n-type semiconductor 33 and a p-type semiconductor 34 connected at one end to the metal plate 31 and the other end to the metal plate 32. For example, when the current i flows in the CW direction, the metal plate 31 is cooled by heat absorption, and the other metal plate 32 is heated by heat dissipation. When the current i flows in the opposite direction, CCW, the metal plate 31 is heated by heat dissipation, and the other metal plate 32 is cooled by heat absorption. In other words, when a current flows from the p-type semiconductor 34 to the n-type semiconductor 33, it is cooled, and conversely, when a current flows from the n-type semiconductor 33 to the p-type semiconductor 34, it is heated. The power generated by the piezoelectric element 20 is supplied to the metal plate 32 connected to the other ends of the n-type semiconductor 33 and the p-type semiconductor 34 via the switching unit 40, and the current i flows to the metal plate 31 via the n-type semiconductor 33 and the p-type semiconductor 34.

The width L of the metal plate 31 is adjusted based on the relationship between the flowing current i and the generated temperature.

Figure 4 shows the details of the piezoelectric element 20 and the switching unit 40. The piezoelectric element 20 has a structure in which a piezoelectric material 21 is sandwiched between an upper electrode 22 and a lower electrode 23. When a load is applied in the vertical direction, power is generated between the upper electrode 22 and the lower electrode 23. The upper electrode 22 and the lower electrode 23 are connected to the switching unit 40, which is switched by a "hot/cold" command, and the switching unit 40 is composed of interlocking switches 41 and 42. Power from the piezoelectric element 20 is input to the switches 41 and 42 via a lead wire 43, the switch 41 has contacts C1A and C2A, and the switch 42 has contacts C1B and C2B. The output of the switches 41 and 42 is applied to the Peltier element 30 via a lead wire 44.

In this configuration, when the switching unit 40 is set to, for example, a "warm" command, contacts C1A and C1B are turned ON, current i in FIG. 3 flows in the CCW direction, and the metal plate 31 of the Peltier element 30 is heated. When the switching unit 40 is set to a "cold" command, contacts C2A and C2B are turned ON, current i in FIG. 3 flows in the CW direction, and the metal plate 31 of the Peltier element 30 is cooled. When the wearer of the shoes 10 wants to warm the shoes 10, he sets the switching unit 40 to the "warm" command, and when the wearer wants to cool the shoes 10, he sets the switching unit 40 to the "cold" command.

Figure 5 shows the Peltier element 30 embedded (layered) in the shoe 10. The sole 12 at the bottom of the shoe 10 is generally made of flexible insulating material 15. A flat cavity 13 is provided in the middle layer of the sole 12, and a flat Peltier element 30 is layered in this cavity 13. One metal plate 31 of the Peltier element 30 heats or cools the temperature of the bottom of the shoe 10, so a thermally conductive material 14 is layered on the upper part of the sole 12 (the side that comes into contact with the sole of the foot), making it easy to conduct the temperature (heating or cooling) of the metal plate 31 to the sole of the foot of the person wearing the shoe 10. The metal plate 32 on the opposite side of the Peltier element 30 is also cooled or heated, so the insulating structure does not allow the temperature on this side to affect the sole of the foot.

The Peltier element 30 has a structure in which the upper and lower metals (31, 32) are alternately connected with n-type and p-type semiconductors, so when making it long, as shown in FIG. 6, multiple metal plates 31-1, 31-2 and 32-1, 32-2, 32-3 are used, and n-type semiconductors (34-1, 34-2) and p-type semiconductors (33-1, 33-2) are separated and alternately connected to the metal plates 31-1, 31-2 and metal plates 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, respectively. The overall length of the Peltier element 30 can be adjusted by adjusting the number of upper and lower metal plates and the width of each metal.

From the viewpoint of thermal efficiency of cooling and heating, the gap d between the metal plates 31-1 and 31-2 needs to be as small as possible.

Figure 7 shows the detailed structure, with Figure 7(A) being a plan view and Figure 7(B) being a cross-sectional view of the side. Rectangular metal plates 31-1, 31-2, 31-3, ... and rectangular metal plates 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, ... are arranged in an alternating up-down relationship, and p-type semiconductors 33-1, 33-2, 33-3, ... and n-type semiconductors 34-1, 34-2, 34-3, ... are alternately connected between metal plates 31-1, 31-2, 31-3, ... and 32-1, 32-2, 32-3, ... to generate a Peltier effect. That is, plate-shaped p-type and n-type semiconductors 33-1 and 34-1, p-type and n-type semiconductors 33-2 and 34-2, and p-type and n-type semiconductors 33-3 and 34-2 are connected to the ends of the upper metal plates 31-1, 31-2, and 31-3, respectively, and the n-type and p-type semiconductors 34-1 and 33-2 are connected to the lower metal plate 32-2, and the n-type and p-type semiconductors 34-2 and 33-3 are connected to the lower metal plate 32-3. By repeating such a configuration, a long Peltier element 30 that is layered on the sole of the shoe can be formed.

Although the above shows an example in which one piezoelectric element 20 is used, if it is desired to increase the generated power, multiple (e.g., four) piezoelectric elements 20-1 to 20-4 may be installed as shown in FIG. 8 to obtain composite power. Since the piezoelectric element 20 needs to be able to generate power based on the weight of a person walking while wearing the shoes, it may be provided not only in the heel portion but also in the sole. For example, in footwear with a relatively flat structure such as sandals or zori, the piezoelectric element may be provided in the sole.

In addition, while the above description has two temperature switching modes, "hot" and "cold," it is also possible to have three modes, including a neutral "off" (OFF) mode. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the switching unit 40A has a switch 41A with three contacts C1A, C2A, and C3A, and a switch 42A with three contacts C1B, C2B, and C3B. When a "hot" command is issued, contacts C1A and C1B are turned ON, when a "cold" command is issued, contacts C2A and C2B are turned ON, and when an "off" command is issued, contacts C3A and C3B are turned ON, and the device is used in a normal state with neither heating nor cooling.

Note that while the above description is about shoes, it can also be applied to other footwear such as boots, boots, sports shoes, sneakers, slippers, sandals, and zori sandals.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 shoe 11 heel portion 12 sole 13 cavity 14 thermally conductive material 20 piezoelectric element 21 piezoelectric material 22 upper electrode 23 lower electrode 30 Peltier element 31, 32 metal plate 40 switching portion 41, 42 switch 43, 44 lead wire

Claims (2)

Footwear with a temperature adjustment function, characterized in that a piezoelectric element is provided in the heel portion of the sole of the footwear, and a long Peltier element is provided on the entire surface of the sole except for the heel portion via a layered thermally conductive material, and the output power of the piezoelectric element is applied to the Peltier element via a switching unit, and by switching the current based on the switching unit, the upper surface of the sole is cooled or heated via the thermally conductive material based on the heat absorption or heat release action of the Peltier element. 2. Footwear with a temperature adjusting function according to claim 1 , wherein the switching section has three stages: heating, cooling and disconnection.

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