WO2000070985A1

WO2000070985A1 - An article of footwear

Info

Publication number: WO2000070985A1
Application number: PCT/GB2000/001489
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter Arthur Charles Chown
Original assignee: Internet World Sport (Isle Of Man) Limited
Priority date: 1999-05-24
Filing date: 2000-04-28
Publication date: 2000-11-30
Also published as: AU4582600A; GB9912057D0

Abstract

An article of footwear comprising a sole, a chamber in the sole and passageways connecting the chamber to a foot-engaging side of the article of footwear. There is further provided a dispenser including a substance used for treating foot problems, the dispenser being received in the chamber and arranged to release the substance through the passageways and to the foot-engaging side of the article of footwear when the article of footwear is being worn and when the dispenser is received in the chamber. The substance is in solid or gel form at ambient temperatures, and becomes more fluid as a result of the influence of body heat when the article of footwear is being worn. In this way, a long-lasting deodorising or other effect may be achieved.

Description

AN ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR

This invention relates to an article of footwear.

There are many different types and styles of articles of footwear. They all generally suffer from the problem that when they are worn, foot odours and infections can occur. The problem is especially prevalent with articles of footwear which have closed uppers such for example as sports footwear known as trainers. There are various sprays and insoles containing substances for combating the foot odours and infections. In the case of sprays, a sprayed substance into an article of footwear does not last very long. In the case of the insoles, the insoles tend to curl up inside the article of footwear.

Accordingly, in one non-limiting embodiment, the present invention provides an article of footwear comprising a sole, a chamber in the sole and passage means connecting the chamber to a foot-engaging side of the article of footwear, and further comprising a dispenser including a substance used for treating foot problems, the dispenser being receivable in the chamber and adapted to release the substance through the passage means and to the foot-engaging side of the article of footwear when the article of footwear is being worn and when the dispenser is received in the chamber, characterised in that the substance is in solid or gel form at a predetermined ambient temperature.

For the avoidance of doubt, 'ambient temperature' is here intended to mean a temperature below human body temperature, i.e. around 37°C. The predetermined ambient temperature may therefore be 20°C, 25°C, 30°C or even 35°C in some embodiments.

The article of footwear may be one in which the substance is in a dispenser in the form of a hollow container which locates in the chamber. The hollow container may have gripper means for enabling the hollow container to grip sides of the chamber and thereby remain in the chamber. Typically, the hollow container is a cylindrical plug. Other types of hollow container may be employed.

Alternatively, the dispenser may be formed as a solid or gel plug of the substance itself or of a carrier material incorporating the substance. That is to say that no separate container is provided for the substance. The dispenser may have a generally cylindrical or oblong shape, although other shapes may be employed where appropriate.

The substance used for the foot problems may be any one of the known and currently available substances for use with foot problems such for example as foot odours and foot infections. Thus, for example, the substance may be at least one of an antibacterial agent, an anti-fungal agent, an anti-viral agent, an anti-allergenic agent, and a deodorant. All the substance has to do is to be able to be put into a form in which it can be located in the chamber in the sole, and subsequently pass to the foot-engaging side of the sole via the passage means during use of the article of footwear. This enables the article of footwear of the present invention to provide for a longer effective use of substances for foot problems than would be the case if the substances were simply sprayed direct into the article of footwear. Also, the article of footwear of the present invention avoids the problem of curling insoles as occurs with the known insoles which are impregnated with substances for foot problems and which are simply inserted loose inside an article of footwear. Still further, when all of the substance has been released, the dispenser can be replenished or, alternatively, replaced with another dispenser in the manner of simply replacing a cartridge.

The substance may include a disinfectant substance. The disinfectant substance may be a quaternary ammonium compound. The quaternary ammonium compound may be an alkyl trimethyl ammonium salt preferably having 12-18 carbon atoms in the alkyl group, a dialkyldimethyl ammonium salt preferably having 12-18 carbon atoms in the alkyl group, a chlorine compound, a phenolic compound, a peracid, or an amphoteric disinfectant. The chlorine compound may be sodium hypochlorite. The phenolic compound may be that sold under the trade mark Triclosan. The peracid may be peracetic acid. The amphoteric disinfectant may be that sold under the trade mark Tego 2000.

The substance may include an allergenic neutralising compound. The allergenic neutralising compound may be, for example, tannic acid.

Preferably, the substance is in the form of a solid or gel which sublimates or becomes more fluid from heat generated during wearing of the article of footwear, whereby the substance in its more fluid state is able to pass along the passage means. As indicated above, the substance can be in any suitable and appropriate form.

The substance may be provided on or in a carrier material. The carrier material may be, for example, a foam carrier material.

Usually, the article of footwear will be one in which the chamber is in a heel part of the sole. If the article of footwear has a thick enough sole, then the chamber may be in any suitable and appropriate part of the sole.

The chamber may be a blind bore. Generally, the chamber can be of any suitable and appropriate size and shape.

The passage means is preferably a plurality of small holes. Any other suitable and appropriate type of passage means may be employed.

The article of footwear may include an absorbent material in the sole for absorbing the substance when the substance passes to the foot-engaging part of the article of footwear.

The absorbent material may be in the form of a foam absorbent material. The foam absorbent material may be a hard foam absorbent material. The hard foam absorbent material may be polyethylene acetate or the absorbent material known under the trade name of Porvair. Any suitable and appropriate type of absorbent material may be employed.

The article of footwear of the present invention may be any suitable and appropriate type of footwear in any suitable and appropriate type of style. Thus, for example, the article of footwear may be a trainer, shoe, boot, Wellington or sandal. The article of footwear may be for men, women or children.

An embodiment of the invention will now be descried solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of an article of footwear;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the article of footwear as shown in Figure 1 ; and

FIGURE 3 shows a hollow container used in the article of footwear shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown an article of footwear 2 comprising a sole 4 and an upper 6. A chamber 8 is provided in a heel 10 which forms part of the sole 4.

The article of footwear 2 has passage means 12 connecting the chamber 8 to a foot- engaging side 14 of the article of footwear 2. A substance 16 used for treating foot problems is provided in the chamber 8. The article of footwear 2 is such that when it is worn, the substance 16 is caused to pass from the chamber 8 through the passage means 12 and to the foot-engaging side 14 of the article of footwear 2. The substance 16 is then appropriately positioned to be available for treating the foot problems.

As shown most clearly in Figure 3, the substance 16 is located in a hollow container 18. The hollow container 18 comprises a parallel sided body portion 20 and a head 22. The body portion 20 has gripper means in the form of ribs 24 for gripping the inside of the heel 10 defining the chamber 8. The ribs 24 thus enable the hollow container 18 to remain in the chamber 8. The chamber 8 is in the form of a closed bore of circular cross section. The body portion 20 is also of circular cross section and is sized to be an appropriate fit in the chamber 8. The head 22 is a relatively flat head 22 so that it will not be unduly noticeable in the heel 10. The outlet to the chamber 18 and therefore the head 22 can be located on the inside of the heel in the article of footwear 2 so as to be less noticeable than would be the case if the head 22 were located on the opposite side of the heel 10 to that shown in Figure 1.

The body portion 20 receives the substance 16, with the substance 16 being in the form of a tube as shown in Figure 3. The substance 16 is able to be formed as a tube because the substance 16 is provided as a gel in and on a carrier which is made of a foam material. The gel is of a type which becomes more fluid under the action of heat. More specifically, the gel becomes more fluid when it is subjected to heat generated from the foot of a person wearing the article of footwear 2. In its more fluid state, the gel is able to pass out through aperture 26 in the body portion 20, and then through the passage means 12 to the foot-engaging side 14 of the article of footwear 2. As can best be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the passage means 12 is in the form of a plurality of small holes extending between the chamber 8 and the foot- engaging side 14 of the article of footwear 2.

The substance 16 may be any one of the known and currently available substances for use with foot problems such for example as foot odours and foot infections. Thus, for example, the substance may be at least one of an anti-bacterial agent, an anti- fungal agent, an anti-viral agent, an anti-allergenic agent, and a deodorant. The use of the hollow container 18 in the chamber 8 enables the substance 16 to be provided in the article of footwear 2 over a long period of time and in appropriate concentrations. When the substance 16 becomes used up, a new tube of the substance 16 can be inserted into the hollow container 18. Alternatively, the entire hollow container 18 can be removed and a new hollow container 18 containing fresh substance 16 can be inserted into the chamber 8. The head 22 can be provided in colours to match different shoe colours. This can easily be arranged during manufacture of the article of footwear 2.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiment of the invention described above with reference to the accompanying drawings has been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the article of footwear may be any suitable and appropriate article of footwear and it is not limited to the article of footwear 2 shown in the drawings. The chamber 8 may be located in another part of the article of footwear 2, especially if the article of footwear 2 has a thick sole extending the length of the article of footwear 2. The hollow container 18 need not be in tubular form and it can be in any suitable shape and size. The ribs 24 may be replaced by other gripper means.

The substance 16 will normally be provided in a shape that is complementary to the shape of the body portion 20 but it may be provided in other shapes if desired. The substance 16 may be provided on any suitable and appropriate type of carrier. Thus, as mentioned above, the substance 16 may be absorbed in a foam material carrier. The substance 16 may be mixed with a chemical carrier such for example as gelatine bloom 180 together with 10% gypsum, and the resulting mixture may be absorbed in the foam material carrier. The foam material carrier can be dispensed with, if the substance 16 can be made to be sufficiently self-supporting.

With articles of footwear having resilient soles, then the heel part of the sole can tend to create pressure on the hollow container 18 during walking or ruriiiing. This may help to pump up small amounts of the substance 16 through the passage means 12, for example by creating an overpressure or a partial vacuum in the hollow container 18. Any suitable and appropriate passage means 12 may be employed. The sole 4 of the article of footwear 2 may be modified to have one or more passages extending from wherever the substance 16 is located, along the length of the sole 4, in order to ensure that the substance 16 is dispensed all over the foot-engaging side 14 of the sole 4.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An article of footwear comprising a sole, a chamber in the sole and passage means connecting the chamber to a foot-engaging side of the article of footwear, and further comprising a dispenser including a substance used for treating foot problems, the dispenser being receivable in the chamber and adapted to release the substance through the passage means and to the foot-engaging side of the article of footwear when the article of footwear is being worn and when the dispenser is received in the chamber, characterised in that the substance is in solid or gel form at a predetermined ambient temperature .

2. An article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dispenser is releasably retainable in the chamber.

3. An article as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the dispenser is provided with gripper means adapted to retain the dispenser within the chamber.

4. An article as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the dispenser comprises a solid or gel plug of the substance.

5. An article as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the dispenser comprises a solid or gel plug of the substance dispersed on or in a carrier medium.

6. An article as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the dispenser comprises a container containing the substance.

7. An article as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the chamber is located in a heel part of the sole.

8. An article as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the chamber is located in a part of the sole that receives a ball of a person's foot when the article is being worn.

9. An article as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the substance is such as to become more fluid at temperatures above the predetermined ambient temperature.

10. An article as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the substance includes at least one component selected from the group comprising: an anti-bacterial agent, an anti-fungal agent, an anti- viral agent, an anti-allergenic agent and a deodorant.

11. An article as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the substance includes at least one disinfectant component.

12. An article as claimed in claim 11, wherein the at least one disinfectant component is selected from the group comprising: a quaternary ammonium compound, an alkyl trimethyl ammonium salt, a dialkyldimethyl ammonium salt, a chlorine compound, a phenolic compound, a peracid, an amphoteric disinfectant, sodium hypochlorite and peracetic acid.

13. An article as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the substance includes an allergenic neutralising compound.

14. An article as claimed in claim 13, wherein the allergenic neutralising compound is tannic acid.

15. An article as claimed in claim 6 and in any claim depending from claim 6, wherein the container includes a carrier material in or on which the substance is dispersed.

16. An article as claimed in claim 15, wherein the carrier material is a foam carrier material.

17. An article as claimed in any preceding claim, further including an absorbent material in the sole for absorbing the substance when the substance passes to the foot-engaging side of the article.

18. An article as claimed in claim 17, wherein the absorbent material is a foam absorbent material.

19. An article as claimed in claim 18, wherein the absorbent material is a hard foam absorbent material.

20. An article as claimed in claim 19, wherein the absorbent material is polyethylene acetate or Porvair™.