WO2006033558A1

WO2006033558A1 - Shoes having members for preventing from slipping

Info

Publication number: WO2006033558A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/003149
Authority: WO
Inventors: Duck-Seung Kim
Original assignee: Duck-Seung Kim
Priority date: 2004-09-23
Filing date: 2005-09-23
Publication date: 2006-03-30
Also published as: KR100631151B1; KR20060027547A

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a shoe capable of holding skid-proof members in an outsole and heel of the shoe when the skid-proof members are not in use. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, when the skid-proof members are in use, the skid-proof members are inserted into the guide grooves so that their protrusions are oriented to protrude out of the outsole. When the skid-proof members are not in use, the skid-proof members are inserted into the guide grooves so that their protrusions are oriented to be hidden in the outsole. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, when the skid-proof members are in use, the skid-proof members are inserted into the guide grooves formed at the outsole. Also, when the skid-proof members are not in use, the skid-proof members are inserted into and stored in receptacles formed in the shoe heel.

Description

[DESCRIPTION] [Invention Title]

SHOES HAVING MEMBERS FOR PREVENTING FROM SLIPPING

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to shoes having skid-proof members, and, more particularly, to a shoe capable of holding skid-proof members in an outsole and heel of the shoe when the skid-proof members are not in use.

[Background Art]

In cold season such as winter, walkers are frequently injured due to falling down on slippery roads such as snowy or icy roads. Thus, for the sake of protecting walkers from falling down, there are known various skid-proof devices designed to be simply attached to an outsole of a shoe for use during cold season.

Conventionally, such skid-proof devices are classified into fixed-type skid- proof devices wherein studs are integrally formed at a shoe outsole or a skid-proof sheet made of rubber or crushed ore powder is attached to a shoe outsole, and portable-type skid-proof devices wherein tools such as crampons, which are carried in a bag when not in use, are fastened to an outsole of a shoe by means of belts, etc. if necessary.

However, the fixed-type skid-proof devices have problems in that walkers suffer from inconvenience in walking on ordinary roads and the integrally formed studs or the attached skid-proof sheet tend to be easily worn or be unintentionally detached from a shoe outsole. Problems of the portable-type skid-proof devices are that tools such as crampons are inconvenient to carry due to their heavy weight, and belts used to fasten the tools tend to be unintentionally loosened or unfastened if they are not strongly tightened. [Disclosure] [Technical Problem]

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a shoe having skid- proof members wherein the skid-proof members are stored in an outsole and a heel of the shoe when not in use, so that they can be mounted to the bottom of the shoe outsole via a simple manipulation if necessary, thereby preventing walkers from falling down on slippery roads such as snowy and icy roads.

[Technical Solution]

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a shoe having at least one skid- proof member, wherein the shoe further has at least one guide groove transversely formed at an outsole for the insertion of the skid-proof member: the guide groove is formed at a portion of the outsole that comes into contact with a road surface in walking: the skid-proof member includes a body to be slidably inserted into the guide groove and a plurality of protrusions protruding from the body; and the guide groove has the same cross section as that of the skid-proof member, whereby, when the skid-proof member is in use, the skid-proof member is inserted into the guide groove so that the protrusions are oriented to protrude out of the outsole, and when the skid-proof member is not in use, the skid-proof member is inserted into the guide groove so that the protrusions are oriented to be hidden in the outsole.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shoe having at least one skid-proof member, wherein: the shoe further has at least one guide groove transversely formed at an outsole of the shoe and a receptacle formed in a heel of the shoe; the guide groove is formed at a portion of the outsole that comes into contact with a road surface in walking: the skid-proof member is selected from among first to fourth skid-proof members, and includes a body to be slidably inserted into the guide groove and a plurality of protrusions protruding from the body; and the guide groove has the same cross section as a cross section of the body of the skid-proof member except for the protrusions, and the receptacle has the same cross section as a cross section of the entire skid-proof member including the protrusions, whereby, when the skid-proof member is in use, the skid-proof member is inserted into the guide groove formed at the outsole, and when the skid-proof member is not in use, the skid-proof member is inserted into and stored in the receptacle formed in the heel.

[Description of the Drawings]

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a shoe according to a first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating skid-proof members in use; FIG. 2 is a side view of the shoe according to the first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a stored state of the skid-proof members;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the skid-proof member according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the skid-proof member according to the first embodiment of the present invention in use;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating the bottom of the shoe according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view illustrating a shoe having skid-proof members according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a side view of the shoe having the skid-proof members according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 8 A to 8D are perspective views, respectively, illustrating alternative examples of the skid-proof member according to the second embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. 9A to 9D are partially enlarged sectional views, respectively, illustrating the alternative examples of the skid-proof member according to the second embodiment of the present invention in use; and

FIG. 10 is a view explaining operation of a fixing unit that is used to prevent unintentional separation of the skid-proof member and to ensure convenient fastening/unfastening of the skid-proof member.

[Mode for Invention]

Now, preferred embodiments of a shoe having skid-proof members according to the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a shoe according to a first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating skid-proof members in use. FIG. 2 is a side view of the shoe according to the first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a stored state of the skid-proof members. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the skid- proof member according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the skid-proof member according to the first embodiment of the present invention in use. FIG. 5 is a view illustrating the bottom of the shoe according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the shoe having skid-proof members according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes one or more guide grooves 10 transversely formed at an outsole 2. Preferably, at least two guide grooves 10 are formed in a front region of the outsole 2 at specific locations which come into contact with a road surface in walking, but the present invention is not limited by formation positions and number of the guide grooves. Into the guide grooves 10 are inserted skid-proof members 11, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the skid-proof members 11 includes a body 11a to be slidably inserted into one of the guide grooves 10, and a plurality of protrusions 1 Ib protruding from the body 11a.

In the present embodiment, the skid-proof member 11 is formed by arranging the toothed protrusions lib on the body 11a generally having a hexagonal cross section. More specifically, the body 11a has an irregular hexagonal cross section that a horizontal width is slightly larger than a vertical height. As compared to a regular hexagon, such an irregular hexagonal cross section effectively prevents the body 11a from rotating in the guide groove 10 when in use.

Each of the guide grooves 10 preferably has the same cross section as that of the skid-proof member 11 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. Accordingly, the guide groove 10 has the same irregular hexagonal cross section as the body 11a of the skid-proof member 11. hi addition, the guide groove 10 is formed with recesses 10b for the insertion of the protrusions lib ofthe skid-proof member 11.

Hereinafter, insertion of the skid-proof members 11 into the guide grooves 10 when in use or when not in use will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5.

The skid-proof members 11 are inserted into the guide grooves 10 in a one to one ratio. In this case, although each of the guide grooves 10 may extend across the entire width of the shoe outsole 2, it is desirable that, as shown in FIG. 5, the guide groove 10 extends across part of the width of the shoe outsole 2 so that one end thereof is blocked, m the blocked portion of the guide groove 10 is formed a spherical holding cavity 10a. Correspondingly, at one end of each of the skid- proof members 11 is formed a spherical boss 1 Ic to correspond to the holding cavity 10a. By virtue of elastic coupling between the boss l ie and the holding cavity 10a, it is possible to prevent the skid-proof member 11 from being unintentionally separated from the guide groove 10.

In addition to the elastically coupled boss and cavity as stated above, magnets or snap-buttons may be used as structures to prevent unintentional separation of the skid-proof member.

When the skid-proof member 11 is in use on slippery roads, as shown in FIG. 1, the skid-proof member 11 is inserted into the guide groove 10 so that the protrusions lib are oriented to protrude out of the outsole 2. Also, when the skid- proof member 11 is not in use, as shown in FIG. 2, the skid-proof member 11 is inserted into the guide groove 10 so that the protrusions l ib are oriented to be hidden in the outsole 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates a state wherein the skid-proof member 11 as shown in FIG. 3 is inserted in the guide groove 10. In FIG. 4, a solid line indicates the skid- proof member 11 when in use, and a dashed line indicates a stored state of the skid- proof member 11 when not in use.

With the shoe having the skid-proof members according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the skid-proof members 11 are always inserted into the guide grooves 10 regardless of whether it is in use or not in use. Thus, there is no risk that impurities, such as sand or fine stones, enter the guide grooves 10.

Now, a shoe having skid-proof members according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9D. The following description deals only with differences between the first and second embodiments. The same reference numerals will be used to indicate the same or like parts, and no detailed description thereof will be given.

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view illustrating a shoe having skid-proof members according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a side view of the shoe having the skid-proof members according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 8 A to 8D are perspective views, respectively, illustrating alternative examples of the skid-proof member according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 9 A to 9D are partially enlarged sectional views, respectively, illustrating the alternative examples of the skid-proof member according to the second embodiment of the present invention in use. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the same manner as the first embodiment, the shoe having skid-proof members according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes one or more guide grooves 20 transversely formed at the outsole 2. Preferably, at least two guide grooves 20 are formed in a front region of the outsole 2 at specific locations which come into contact with a road surface in walking, but the present invention is not limited by formation positions and number of the guide grooves. Into a respective one of the guide grooves 20 is inserted a selected one of first to fourth skid-proof members 21 to 24 according to the second embodiment.

Differently from the above described first embodiment, the shoe having the skid-proof members according to the second embodiment further includes one or more receptacles 3 a formed at a heel 3 of the shoe. One of the first to fourth skid- proof members 21 to 24 is inserted into a respective one of the receptacles 3 a according to the second embodiment when it is not in use.

Cross sections of both the guide grooves 20 and the receptacles 3 a correspond to a cross section of a selected one of the first to fourth skid-proof members 21 to 24. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the guide grooves 20 and the receptacles 3a have the same cross section as that of the skid-proof members 21 as shown in FIG.

8A.

As shown in FIGS. 8 A to 8D, a respective one of the first, second, third, or fourth skid-proof members 21, 22, 23, or 24 includes a body 21a, 22a, 23 a, or 24a configured to be slidably inserted into one of the guide grooves 20, and a plurality of protrusions 21b, 22b, 23b, or 24b protruding from the body 21a, 22a, 23b, or 24a.

Specifically, the first skid-proof member 21 as shown in FIG. 8 A is configured such that the toothed protrusions 21b are formed at the body 21a, which generally has a triangular cross section having recessed oblique sides. The second skid-proof member 22 as shown in FIG. 8B is configured such that it generally has a T-shaped cross section, and the toothed protrusions 22b are formed at the elongated rectangular body 22a having a predetermined thickness.

The third skid-proof member 23 as shown in FIG. 8C is configured such that it generally has a trapezoidal cross section having a relatively narrow width and high height, and the toothed protrusions 23b and the body 23a form an integral unit, rather than being definitely divided from each other.

The fourth skid-proof member 24 as shown in FIG. 8D is configured such that the toothed protrusions 24b are formed at the elongated body 24a that has a trapezoidal cross section having a relatively wide width and low height. Preferably, each of the guide grooves 20 has the same cross section as that of the body 21a, 22a, 23a, or 24a of the skid-proof member 21, 22, 23, or 24, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9D.

Although not shown, preferably, each of the receptacles 3 a has the same cross section as the entire cross section of the skid-proof member 21, 22, 23, or 24 including the protrusions 21b, 22b, 23b, or 24b. The shoe having the skid-proof members according to the second embodiment of the present invention further includes fitting members (not shown) to prevent impurities, such as sand or fine stones, from entering the guide grooves 20 when the skid-proof members 21 to 24 are not in use. Each of the fitting members has the same cross section as that of a selected one of the first to fourth skid-proof members 21 to 24 except for the protrusions 21b to 24b.

When the first to fourth skid-proof members 21 to 24 are not in use, the fitting members are inserted into the guide grooves 20, to prevent impurities from entering the guide grooves 20. Conversely, when the first to fourth skid-proof members 21 to 24 are in use, the fitting members are inserted into and stored in the receptacles 3 a of the shoe heel 3.

Therefore, a walker can prevent impurities from entering the guide grooves 20 and the receptacles 3 a by alternately inserting the first to fourth skid-proof members 21 to 24 and the fitting members into the guide grooves.

Similar to the above described first embodiment, it should be understood that the second embodiment may use magnets or snap-buttons as structures to prevent unintentional separation of the skid-proof members, in addition to the elastically coupled boss and cavity.

FIG. 10 illustrates operation of a fixing unit that is used to prevent unintentional separation of a respective one of the skid-proof members and to ensure convenient fastening/unfastening of the skid-proof member.

The fixing unit includes a hook 32 pivotally coupled to an end of one of the skid-proof members 11, and 21 to 24 by means of a pivot 31, and a coupling rod 33 formed at a predetermined location of the shoe to be caught by the hook 32.

Although the hook is coupled to the skid-proof member and the coupling rod is formed at the shoe in FIG. 10, conversely, the hook may be coupled to the shoe and the coupling rod may be formed at the skid-proof member. It should be understood that other known means, such as snap-buttons and Velcro-tapes, may be substituted for the hooks so long as they can prevent the skid- proof members from being separated from the guide grooves when in use and can allow a walker to conveniently grip the skid-proof members in order to insert or separate the skid-proof members into or from the guide grooves.

In addition, although not shown, it is desirable that a tip end surface of a respective one of the protrusions l ib, and 21b to 24b of the skid-proof members be formed with prominences and depressions arranged in longitudinal, transversal, or other directions, to prevent slippage and separation of the skid-proof members with improved efficiency.

[Industrial Applicability]

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a shoe having skid-proof members wherein the skid-proof members are stored in an outsole and a heel of the shoe when not in use, so that it can be mounted to the bottom of the shoe outsole via a simple manipulation if necessary, thereby preventing walkers from falling down on slippery roads such as snowy and icy roads.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

[CLAIMS]

[Claim 1] A shoe having at least one skid-proof member, wherein: the shoe further has at least one guide groove transversely formed at an outsole for the insertion of the skid-proof member; the guide groove is formed at a portion of the outsole that comes into contact with a road surface in walking: the skid-proof member includes a body to be slidably inserted into the guide groove and a plurality of protrusions protruding from the body; and the guide groove has the same cross section as that of the skid-proof member, whereby, when the skid-proof member is in use, the skid-proof member is inserted into the guide groove so that the protrusions are oriented to protrude out of the outsole, and when the skid-proof member is not in use, the skid-proof member is inserted into the guide groove so that the protrusions are oriented to be hidden in the outsole.

[Claim 2] A shoe having at least one skid-proof member, wherein: the shoe further has at least one guide groove transversely formed at an outsole of the shoe and a receptacle formed in a heel of the shoe; the guide groove is formed at a portion of the outsole that comes into contact with a road surface in walking: the skid-proof member is selected from among first to fourth skid-proof members, and includes a body to be slidably inserted into the guide groove and a plurality of protrusions protruding from the body; and the guide groove has the same cross section as a cross section of the body of the skid-proof member except for the protrusions, and the receptacle has the same cross section as a cross section of the entire skid-proof member including the protrusions, whereby, when the skid-proof member is in use, the skid-proof member is inserted into the guide groove formed at the outsole, and when the skid-proof member is not in use, the skid-proof member is inserted into and stored in the receptacle formed in the heel.

[Claim 3] The shoe as set forth in claim 2, wherein: the first skid member is configured such that the toothed protrusions are formed at the body, which generally has a triangular cross section having recessed oblique sides: the second skid-proof member is configured such that it generally has a T- shaped cross section, and the toothed protrusions are formed at the elongated rectangular body having a predetermined thickness: the third skid-proof member is configured such that it generally has a trapezoidal cross section having a relatively narrow width and high height, and the toothed protrusions and the body form an integral unit, rather than being definitely divided from each other: and the fourth skid-proof member is configured such that the toothed protrusions are formed at the elongated body that has a trapezoidal cross section having a relatively wide width and low height.

[Claim 4] The shoe as set forth in claim 3, wherein:

The shoe further has at least one fitting member having the same cross section as a cross section of one of the first to fourth skid-proof members except for the protrusions: and the fitting member is inserted into the guide groove to prevent impurities from entering the guide groove when the skid-proof member is not in use, or is inserted into the receptacle of the heel when the skid-proof member is in use, whereby invasion of impurities into both the guide groove and the receptacle is prevented by alternately inserting one of the first to fourth skid-proof members and the fitting member into the guide groove.

[Claim 5] The shoe as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: the guide groove extends across part of the width of the shoe outsole so that one end thereof is blocked: a spherical holding cavity is formed in the blocked portion of the guide groove, and a spherical boss is formed at one end of the skid-proof member to correspond to the holding cavity, so that the boss is elastically coupled into the holding cavity to prevent the skid-proof member from being unintentionally separated from the guide groove.

[Claim 6] The shoe as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: the shoe further has a fixing unit to prevent unintentional separation of the skid-proof member when in use and to ensure convenient fastening/unfastening of the skid-proof member; and the fixing unit includes: a hook pivotally coupled to an end of the skid- proof member by means of a pivot; and a coupling rod formed at a predetermined location of the shoe to be caught by the hook.