US2605560A

US2605560A - Shoe sole

Info

Publication number: US2605560A
Application number: US235713A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gouabault Robert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-07-31
Filing date: 1951-07-09
Publication date: 1952-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 1969-08-05

Description

R. GOUABAULT Aug. 5, 1952 SHOE SOLE Filed July 9, 1951 RofiERT GouAB u LT BY:

IHVENTOR;

Patented Aug. 5, 1952 v T UNITED STATE-s f Application July 9,1951,se-ra1;1v0.235,71a c In France July 31,1950 [1;

' 1 Claim. (cries-Q29) L My invention has for its object a shoe sole al lowing a very easy gait while reducing or cutting out the strain on the wearer who becomes unsensitive to the roughness of the ground'he is walking on, as due for instance to the pebbles of a sidewalk or to the paving stones of the roadway. Furthermore, this improved sole is a poor conductor of heat and is particularly pleasant to wear both in winter and in summer. It may be incorporated to working shoes, to walking shoes, to town shoes as well as to indoor shoes. When applied to heavy shoes, such as army shoes for instance, it allows walking more easily, quicker and with less fatigue.

The sole according to the invention is, furthermore, economical and highly resistant to wear and tear.

According to my invention, the sole includes one or several recesses containing one or several air bags or chambers projecting slightly beyondvthe lower surface of the sole.

The air bags or chambers may be protected by a cover of rubber for instance.

The sole may include a thick edge defining recesses in which bags or chambers filled with air are housed together with a cover therefor, such a cover being made for instance of rubber or the like material.

A thin sheet of leather for instance may, furthermore, be fitted between the sole and the vamp.

The covering of the air chambers or bags may be constituted by a sheet of material such as rubber provided along its edge with a reinforcement such as a metal wire, the cover edge provided with said reinforcement being housed inside a groove provided inside the thick edge of the sole.

A metal or the like stiffening member may be fitted between the sole and the.vamp of the shoe. The medial part of the sole lying between the sole body and the heel may include no recesses of the type referred to and show only housings for the valves used for inflating the air chambers or bags.

This medial part of the sole located between the sole body and the heel, when including no recesses for air bags, may be slightly out out and carry means for securing the cover edge, said edge being housed in the cut out part or parts so as to produce no extra thickness underneath the sole.

Lastly, in a modified embodiment, the sole may be provided with one or several air filled chambers or bags and a cover for the latter, the edge of the cover constituting a thick edge for 2 1 the sole which edge is secured underneaththe shoefbody i g A I will'now idescr-ibewith further detail a preferred embodiment of my invention given by way of example, reference "being made to accompanying drawings, wherein: I

Fig. l-i's a view from underneath of a sole according t'o'the :invention, the cover being removed so as'to allow the air bags and inflating valves to become apparent. K 1 j:

Fig.1 2 is aticross-section throughlineIL-II of Fig. 1, the vamp of the shoe not beingillustrated While the cover of the bag is shown in its normal location. I j Fig. 1, illustrates 'a-ysole according to my invention, said sole including three parts, to wit: the sole body, the instep or medial part, and the heel.

The vamp of a new shoe may first be provided with a thin sole I, of leather for instance, to which is secured the sole according to my invention, that will now be described.

Said sole according to myinvention includes a flange or edge 2 defining grooves or

recesses

3 and 4 for engagement by a metal rod while an air chamber or

bag

5 or 6 is arranged inside the corresponding recessed part of the sole body and of the heel. Each

air chamber

5 or 6 is provided with a

corresponding valve

1 or 8 housed inside a small recess 9 or [0 formed inside one of the edges II or l2 of the recesses facing the medial part of the sole.

The portion of the shoe edge 2 defining the recess 3 may assume a breadth and a thickness substantially equal to 1 cm.. for instance. In contradistinction, the portion of the edge 2 defining the groove 4 in the heel may assume a thickness that is for instance double, the heel being normally higher than the sole body.

The edge 2 may be provided as illustrated in Fig. 2 with an auxiliary groove adapted to be engaged by the edge I 4 of the cover if enclosing the

air chamber

5 or 6.

This cover may be made for instance of rubber or the like material. The edge M of the cover l5 may be comparatively thick and include a reinforcement constituted by a metal wire or rod l6 or a cable. This edge [4 is held fast through engagement of its reinforcement inside the groove I3 in the sole edge. The covers l5 of the

air chambers

5 and 6 include each towards the middle of the sole a section adapted to engage a recessed part H or IT. Said parts II and I1 are shallow as it is not necessary as a matter of fact for the covers IE to extend substantially beyond the sole. These parts H and I! are provided with ports I8 adapted to receive pressure screws the heads of which are embedded inside the covering material I5.

The air chambers are inflated through the

valves

1 and 8 at a suitable pressure varying with the weight of the wearer, after which the inflating

valves

1 and 8 are housed inside the small recesses 9 and It and the pressure screws engag ing the covers 15 are fitted into the openings l8 so as to provide means for closinghermetically the

recesses

3 and 4 and to thereby prevent the earth and gravel from entering the latter.

The covers I5 may of course be made of any suitable material other than rubber such as yielding and resistant leather. v

It is also possible to provide a thin plate of steel 20 (Fig. 2) laid over the vamp; this plate may alternatively be replaced by a plurality of metal plates such as are shown at 2| in Fig. l, secured rigidly and transversely over the thin leather sole I so as to ensure rigidity-of the shoe.

After inflation of the air chamber, the middle of the covers l5 projects slightly beyond the thickness of the sole and allows thus the wearer to assume a very easy and light gait.

In the case wherea pointed part were to tear an air chamber open, it would always be possible to continue walking as the shoe would then rest transiently on the ground only through the edges 2 of the sole.

Of course, myinvention is by no means limited 4 claim. For instance, the covers [5 with their reinforced edges It may be replaced by yielding or elastic sheets, the edges of which are thick and provide consequently underneath them recesses for air chambers such as 5 and 6 while their thick edges are secured to the vamp through stressresisting means. In this modification, the inflating valves for the air chamber are located in small recesses provided for this purpose inside'the sole.

What I claim is: v

A sole for shoes comprising a sole body provided with at least one recess and including a thick peripheral flange defining said recesses and provided with a groove along its inner periphery and air chamber fitted in each recess and adapted,

when inflated, to project slightly beyond the lower'surface of the sole facing the ground and a cover for each air chamber including a wire reinforcement along its edge engaging the corresponding flange groove. 7

ROBERT GOUABAULT.

REFERENCES icrrnn The following references are of record in the v file of'this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany i Apr. 2a, 1922