KR101675344B1 - Hybrid Functional Insole - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hybrid type functional insole capable of providing a sufficient buffering effect and retaining its shape even after a lapse of use time and preventing adhesion between elements of a heterogeneous material from being separated, To a hybrid type functional insole composed of an elastic foam layer constituting part or all of an insole and an elastic gel layer constituting an upper part of a rear part of the insole.

Description

Hybrid Functional Insole < RTI ID = 0.0 >

The present invention relates to a functional insole, and more particularly, to a hybrid type functional insole in which the shape is maintained and the adhesion between the heterogeneous material elements is not separated even after a lapse of use time with sufficient buffering effect.

Barefoot is best when it comes to foot health, but since it is difficult to live barefoot, various shoes have been developed for various purposes. Footwear is basically made of a structure that restricts the movement of the foot. It is common to use an insole (insole) on the inner bottom of the shoe to protect the sole of the shoe wearer and to mitigate the impact of the foot when walking or standing .

These insole are developed into three kinds of functional insole mainly according to their efficacy.

First, there is a 'protective type' functional insole that protects the foot and ankle by stably fixing both sides of the heel and the back of the foot and arch when walking or running. This also applies to orthodontic special insole to complement and correct abnormal foot structures. Second, there is a 'biological' functional insole that absorbs sweat from the feet, removes foot odor, inhibits athlete's foot or harmful bacteria, maintains the health of the foot, and can prevent discomfort (foot odor, etc.). These include those that facilitate ventilation or generate heat. Third, there is a 'cushion type' functional insole for protecting the foot and ankle by relieving the impact from the ground when walking or running.

However, functional insoles are not precisely classified as above, and it is common to have a composite function that has one function as a main function and the other as an auxiliary function.

The present invention relates to a functional insole having a cushion type as its main function. It is, of course, natural that a protective function and / or a biological function may be added to the cushion type function as described above. For the sake of convenience, we will focus on 'cushion type' functional insoles.

FIG. 1A is a photograph of a functional insole made of a hard plastic material such as PVC, a heel cushion, and a cushion layer. As can be seen from the photograph, the functional insole usually consists of a heel cup of relatively hard material, which protects the ankle by stably fixing both sides of the heel and the back of the foot and the arch, and a cushion layer portion coupled to the top surface. The heel may be formed only from the heel to the ball, which is folded at the foot when walking, and at the center of the heel, there may be a heel cushion for absorbing the shock applied to the heel when walking. The cushion layer portion is usually composed of a synthetic resin cushioning material layer and a covering material layer made of artificial leather or vinyl paper or knitted fabric (fabric) bonded to the upper surface thereof.

On the other hand, since the functional insoles have a cushioning layer to mitigate shocks and give a cushion, the cushion is given to the heel portion where the impact is concentrated especially when the ground is stuck due to limitations in thickness, it's difficult.

In order to compensate for this, a method has been developed in which a through hole having a predetermined size is formed at a portion corresponding to the heel of the heel and a cushion member is inserted into the through hole. For example, the applicant of the present application or the registered patent 10-0757773 inserts a cushion member made of a gel material having excellent elasticity into the through hole (see Figs. 1A and 1B), and in the patent document 10-2006-0055724, (See Fig. 1C).

However, according to these prior arts, since the size of the cushion member is small, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient cushioning effect by acting on only a part of the heel, and materials with different elasticity are adhered, So that the cushion member may fall off from the insole. In order to prevent the cushion member from falling off, the above-mentioned Patent No. 10-0757773 suggests a method of applying a pretreatment agent to a cushioning member (soft EVA), firing the surface with ultraviolet rays and applying the adhesive again to bond the cushioning member However, there is a problem that the process is too complicated.

On the other hand, an example in which the entire insole is made of gel is known. (Fig. 1d). However, when the entire insole is a gel, it is expensive, heavy and not only sweaty on the feet but also decisively because the material is so soft that the thinner front part of the layer is rolled up over time have. In this case, when a covering material layer such as a knitted fabric is placed on the top surface of the insole to prevent sweat from becoming cold, the elasticity of the gel is dramatically reduced, making it impossible to make the entire insole as a gel.

≪ tb > Patent Document 1:

http://www.silipos.com/Products/Orthopedics/Heel-Cups-&-Insoles/Softzone-Full-Length-Insole---Soft

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hybrid type functional insole capable of providing a sufficient buffering effect.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a hybrid type functional insole in which the shape is retained even after a lapse of use time, and adhesion between elements of a heterogeneous material is not separated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing a hybrid type functional insole.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an insole comprising: an elastic foam layer forming a front part of an insole, a bottom part or a bottom part of a rear part of the insole, and an elastic gel layer forming an upper part of a rear part of the insole.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to mitigate the repetitive impact applied to the foot due to the elastic gel layer. Also, since the elastic foam layer constitutes the entire front part of the insole and a part or the whole of the bottom part of the rear part, and the elastic gel layer forms the upper part of the insole, it is possible to prevent the deformation that may occur during long- It can be maintained for a long time.

Figures 1A-1C illustrate a functional insole according to the prior art.
FIG. 2 is a photograph of the hybrid type functional insole according to the present invention, viewed from the top, bottom and diagonal directions. FIG.
3A is a photograph of a state in which a flexible thin film as a cover material is placed on a first lower mold in the method of manufacturing a hybrid type functional insole according to the present invention.
FIG. 3B is a photograph of a state in which the fabric, which is the cover material layer, is placed on the first lower mold in the method of manufacturing the hybrid type functional insole according to the present invention.
FIG. 3c is a photograph of a state in which a flexible thin film is brought into close contact with a first lower mold and a first upper mold is coupled to a first lower mold in the method of manufacturing a hybrid type functional insole according to the present invention.
FIG. 4A is a photograph of a state in which an elastic gel precursor is added to the opening of the first upper mold and gelated in the method of manufacturing the hybrid type functional insole according to the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 4B is a photograph of an example of a semi-product-type elastic gel layer-cover material layer in the method of manufacturing a hybrid type functional insole according to the present invention.
FIG. 5A is a photograph showing a second top surface mold and a second bottom surface mold in the method of manufacturing a hybrid type functional insole according to the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 5B is a photograph of a state in which a semi-finished product of the elastic gel-layer and the cover layer is placed on the second top surface mold in the method of manufacturing the hybrid type functional insole according to the present invention.
FIG. 5C is a photograph of a state in which the second top surface mold and the second bottom surface mold are coupled in the method of manufacturing the hybrid type functional insole according to the present invention. FIG.
6 is a top and bottom photograph of a semi-finished hybrid type functional insole.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only the contents and scope of technology of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention based on these examples. It is also to be understood that when an element of a claim is referred to by reference to an element, it is for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended to limit the element.

In the present specification, 'upper surface' and 'lower surface' mean surfaces corresponding to the upper and lower surfaces when the insole is mounted on the shoe. 'Front' and 'Rear' refer to the toe and heel sides, respectively, of the mounted insole. The 'front part' means the front part of the insole and the 'rear part' means the rest except the front part of the insole, and at least the heel part from the back end should be included.

The present invention relates to a hybrid type functional insole composed of two materials, an elastic foam layer and an elastic gel layer, and a manufacturing method thereof. In the present specification, the term 'hybrid type' refers to a combination of materials having different physical properties.

(1) Hybrid type functional insole

In the present invention, the elastic foam layer is a layer for maintaining and supporting the shape of the front portion of the insole and the bottom portion of the elastic gel layer while giving proper elasticity, and is formed on the entire front portion of the insole and a part or all of the bottom portion of the rear portion.

As the material of the elastic foam layer, polyurethane, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), and latex which are excellent in stretchability and shock absorbing ability can be used. These materials have a characteristic that the elasticity is slightly lower than the gel but the density is low and the shape is maintained well.

In the present invention, the elastic gel layer is formed at the back of the insole as a layer for alleviating the impact acting on the heel during use (see FIG. 2). The material of the elastic gel layer is silicone, which is excellent in elasticity and can not easily change shape at high temperature and low temperature, and is made of gel material such as polyurethane and neoprene which are excellent in elasticity and abrasion resistance . These gels are relatively dense due to their high density, but have good elasticity and soft characteristics.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, cushioning members, such as elastic gel layers in conventional soles, are generally inserted in grooves formed in the lower portion of the insole. However, in this method, since the cushion member takes up a part of the area of the rear portion of the insole, it is difficult to expect a cushioning effect as a whole and the cushion member is detached from the insole when the repeated impact is applied. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, in the present invention, the upper part of the rear part of the entire insole is made of an elastic gel layer, and a part or the whole of the lower part is made into an elastic foam layer (see FIG. According to the functional insole according to the present invention, the entire rear portion of the insole has a cushioning function to maximize the buffering effect, and the cushion member (elastic gel layer) can not be easily removed from the insole.

In general, a cover material layer is further laminated on the insole to improve contact feeling, to absorb sweat, and to prevent slippage. Accordingly, the cover layer can be laminated on a part or all of the upper surface of the insole according to the present invention for the same reason. Herein, the term 'upper surface portion' includes the case where the upper surface of one of the elastic foam layer and the elastic gel layer is in the insole, the upper surface portion of the elastic foam layer, or the upper surface portion of the elastic gel layer. Examples of the cover layer include artificial leather, fabrics such as microfiber, fleece, and velvet.

As an example of the functional insole according to the present invention, a single cover material layer made of a fabric may be laminated. However, according to the preliminary experiment, when a conventional cover layer such as a fabric is laminated on the elastic gel layer, the elasticity is rapidly decreased and the meaning of applying the 'elastic gel layer' is reduced. Therefore, in the functional insole according to the present invention, it is preferable to use a flexible thin film as a cover material layer to be laminated on the elastic gel layer so as to maintain the shape of the elastic gel and to prevent contamination while minimizing the reduction of elasticity. That is, in the insole according to the present invention, since the front portion is an elastic foam layer and the rear portion is an elastic gel layer, it is preferable that the cover material layer laminated on the elastic foam layer is artificial leather or fabric and the cover material layer laminated on the elastic gel layer is a flexible thin film .

On the other hand, an insole was prepared experimentally so that the end of the covering material layer laminated on the elastic foam layer was brought into contact with the boundary of the elastic gel layer precisely. However, when the insole manufactured in this manner is worn and used, after a certain period of time, there is a problem in that the cover has a nap at the end of the cover layer and the adhesion is deteriorated. In order to solve this problem, in the present invention, a cover material layer to be bonded to the elastic foam layer may be formed to extend (protrude) by a predetermined length in the elastic gel layer region, and then an elastic gel layer may be formed. When the elastic gel precursor is gelled in the state where the elastic gel precursor having fluidity is absorbed at the end of the covering layer, the elastic gel layer is strongly bonded to the cover layer and the fluff is not generated.

In the present invention, a heel cup may be added to stably support the heel and the arch portion. The form of the heel is not limited, but it can more effectively support the heel and the arch of the foot when the back bottom of the insole has a structure corresponding to both the heel and the back side of the foot and the arch. The heel is preferably made of a hard material so that deformation of the shape is prevented and sufficient bearing capacity is maintained.

(2) Manufacturing method of hybrid type functional insole

The present invention also relates to a process for the production of a hybrid type functional insole as described above.

A method for manufacturing a functional insole according to the present invention comprises: (A) a first step of producing an elastic gel-layer-cover material layer, which is a semi-finished product as shown in FIG. 4B; and (B) And the second step of manufacturing the hybrid type functional insole.

In the first step (A), a cover material layer is mounted on a first lower mold for fabricating an overturned elastic gel-layer-cover material layer and a first upper mold having an opened upper surface, and an elastic gel precursor And forming an elastic gel layer by gelation to produce a semi-finished elastic gel layer-cover material layer.

In the second step (B), the semi-product elastic gel layer-cover material layer is mounted on the second lower surface metal mold and the second upper surface metal mold for manufacturing the entire insole, and the raw material for the elastic foam layer is added and foamed, This is the step of manufacturing the hybrid type functional insole.

The first step (A) may be performed in the following detailed process.

First, the cover material layer (flexible thin film) is placed on the first lower mold so as to be wider than the surface contacting the product (hereinafter referred to as "effective surface") in the mold (see FIG. At this time, the first lower mold has a shape corresponding to the upper surface of the elastic gel layer, and a plurality of micropores for reducing pressure are formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the cover material layer (artificial leather or fabric, etc., hereinafter referred to as "fabric", which is bonded to the elastic foam layer) is formed on the side from the first lower mold toward the toe ) So as to extend inward by a predetermined length.

Then, the first upper mold is coupled as shown in FIG. 3C. Here, the first upper mold has a shape corresponding to the lower and side surfaces of the elastic gel layer and serves to fix the material of the cover material layer that is seated in advance. The mold may be divided into a plurality of lower molds for convenience, and a mold for fixing the outer circumferential surface and the upper portion of the first upper mold may be additionally provided.

Before or after the first upper mold is coupled to the first lower mold, the flexible thin film is brought into close contact with the first lower mold through reduced pressure. FIG. 3C shows a case where the flexible thin film is brought into close contact with the first lower mold and then the first upper mold is coupled to the first lower mold.

Thereafter, the elastic gel precursor in a fluid state through the opening of the first upper mold is applied by a predetermined volume (see FIG. 4A). When the applied elastic gel is left to stand for a certain period of time, the elastic gel having a high viscosity is firmly bonded to the flexible thin film and gelled gradually. In this case, the flexible thin film is very thin and flexible, so that even if the elastic gel precursor is gelled, elasticity is maintained and adhesion with the elastic gel is high, so that even if continuous elastic deformation occurs in the elastic gel layer, it can not be separated. On the other hand, since the elastic gel is absorbed and absorbed between the ends of the fabric spanning a predetermined length on the inner side of the first lower mold, the fabric and the elastic gel layer are firmly coupled.

A photograph of an example of a semi-finished elastic gel-cover layer completed in the first step is shown in FIG. 4B.

In the second step (B) , the second upper surface mold and the second upper surface mold are used to join the elastic gel layer-cover material layer and the elastic foam layer. At this time, the rear effective surface shape of the second top surface mold matches with the effective surface shape of the first bottom surface mold (see FIG. 5A). Protruding patterns for engraving patterns or logos may be formed on the effective surfaces of the second bottom surface mold to be engaged with the second top surface mold (see FIG. 5A). In the production example of the present invention, the two molds are connected by a hinge as shown in FIG. 5A, but it is not always necessary to produce them in this way.

The second step (B) may be performed by the following detailed process.

First, the semi-finished product of the elastic gel layer-cover layer produced in the first step (A) is placed on the second top surface mold (see FIG. 5B). Then, a raw material for a predetermined volume of the elastic foam layer is applied to the second bottom surface mold, and the second top surface mold and the second bottom surface mold are joined (see FIG. 5C). At this time, the positions of the second upper surface metal mold and the second lower surface metal mold may be upper and lower, respectively, and may be reversed.

When the two molds are coupled to each other, the elastic gel-layer-cover material layer placed on the second upper surface mold is combined with the raw material. At this time, the fabric of the elastic gel-layer material covers the raw material, And is firmly bonded together with the raw material. On the other hand, the elastic gel layer of the elastic gel layer-cover material layer may have weak binding force with the elastic foam. Therefore, before bonding the two molds, a primer for bonding can be applied to the surface of the elastic gel-layer of the elastic gel-layer material that is seated on the second upper surface mold.

Subsequently, the raw material is foamed to produce a semi-finished product (before the trimming operation) of the hybrid type functional insole. At this time, in order to rapidly foil the raw material, it is preferable to put the combined body of the second upper surface mold and the second lower surface mold in a high-temperature environment. The upper and lower portions of the semi-finished hybrid-type functional insole semi-finished product thus fabricated are shown in Fig. 6, respectively.

Alternatively, unlike the above method, a method may be employed in which an injection hole is formed in the second upper surface mold or the second lower surface mold, and the raw material is added and foamed through the injection hole. That is, (A) the semi-finished product of the elastic gel-layer-cover material produced in the first step is placed on the second upper surface mold, then the second upper surface mold and the second lower surface mold are first joined, It is to add and foil the material.

The insole of the present invention can be completed by trimming the outer circumferential surface of the semi-finished hybrid in -sole manufactured by the above method to the shape of the insole. The hybrid type functional insole may have various patterns and colors of the elastic foam layer, the elastic gel layer and the cover material layer in accordance with the preference.

11. Elastic foam layer 12. Cover layer deposited on the elastic foam layer
21. Elastic gel layer 22. Cover layer deposited on the elastic gel layer
31. First lower mold 32. First upper mold 32a. Opening
41. Second top surface mold 42. Second bottom surface mold

Claims (9)

delete delete delete delete delete (A) a cover material layer is mounted on a first lower mold for fabricating an overturned elastic gel-layer-cover material layer and a first upper mold having an opened upper surface, and an elastic gel precursor in a fluid state is added and gelled to form a semi-finished product A first step of fabricating a gel layer-cover material layer;
(B) an elastic gel layer-covering material layer as a semi-finished product is mounted on a second lower surface metal mold and a second upper surface metal mold for manufacturing the entire insole, and a raw material for the elastic foam layer is added and foamed to produce a semi-finished hybrid type functional insole ;
A method for manufacturing a hybrid type functional insole comprising the steps of:
Wherein a plurality of micropores for reducing pressure are formed in the first lower mold,
The covering material layer to be bonded to the elastic foam layer is artificial leather or fabric (hereinafter referred to as 'cover material'), and the cover material layer to be bonded to the elastic gel layer is a flexible thin film,
The first step (A)
(1) placing the flexible thin film on the first lower metal mold so as to be wider than the surface contacting the product in the metal mold, then placing the cover material on the front side of the first lower metal mold so as to cover the inner side by a predetermined width, Attaching the flexible thin film to the first lower mold via depressurization before or after bonding the first upper mold;
(2) adding an elastic gel precursor having a predetermined volume of fluidity through the opening of the first upper mold to allow gelation;
≪ / RTI > wherein the method comprises the steps of:
delete The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the rear effective surface shape of the second top surface metal mold matches the effective surface shape of the first bottom mold,
The second step (B)
After the elastic gel layer-cover material layer semi-finished product manufactured in the step (A) is placed on the second top surface mold, a raw material for an elastic foam layer of a predetermined volume is added, and then the second top surface mold and the second Wherein the raw material material is foamed by combining a mold for a bottom surface and a raw material material.
The method according to claim 6,
The effective surface shape of the rear surface of the second upper surface metal mold is matched with the effective surface shape of the first lower surface metal mold and the second surface metal mold or the second lower surface metal mold is provided with an opening for injecting a raw material for the elastic foam layer An injection hole is formed,
The second step (B)
(A) combining the second upper surface mold and the second lower surface mold by placing the semi-finished product of the elastic gel-layer and cover layer produced in the first step in the second upper surface mold;
(2) adding and foaming a raw material for a predetermined volume of the elastic foam layer through the injection hole;
≪ / RTI > wherein the method comprises the steps of:

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