Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B7/00—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements
  • A43B7/06—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements ventilated
  • A43B7/08—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements ventilated with air-holes, with or without closures
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B13/00—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units
  • A43B13/02—Soles; Sole-and-heel integral units characterised by the material
  • A43B13/12—Soles with several layers of different materials
  • A43B13/125—Soles with several layers of different materials characterised by the midsole or middle layer
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B7/00—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements
  • A43B7/06—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements ventilated
  • A43B7/08—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements ventilated with air-holes, with or without closures
  • A43B7/084—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements ventilated with air-holes, with or without closures characterised by the location of the holes
  • A43B7/087—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements ventilated with air-holes, with or without closures characterised by the location of the holes in the bottom of the sole
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A43—FOOTWEAR
  • A43B—CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF FOOTWEAR; PARTS OF FOOTWEAR
  • A43B7/00—Footwear with health or hygienic arrangements
  • A43B7/12—Special watertight footwear
  • A43B7/125—Special watertight footwear provided with a vapour permeable member, e.g. a membrane

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a midsole structure particularly for shoes, including shoes with a vapor-permeable sole, designed for use in sports activities.
• Soles and midsoles which, in order to meet this requirement, comprise a thickness of elastically yielding and shock- absorbing material, which is adapted to self-shape anatomically according to the configurations that the foot of the user assumes during its movement.
• midsoles are designed to have consists in effective capability to cushion the impacts of the foot with the ground.
• Currently known midsoles in order to meet the need to have such features, are generally made of polymeric material, particularly expanded polyurethane, PU, or ethyl vinyl acetate, EVA.
• Soles and midsoles which have, at the heel region, shock-absorbing devices that comprise a bubble made of plastic material that contains air or a gel, which is adapted to deform, absorbing partly elastically and partly plastically the energy of the impact with the ground.
• midsoles comprise a spring constituted by a lamina made of plastic material, which is contoured so as to have an undulated profile and is adapted to flatten upon compression of the midsole during its deformation upon impact with the ground, in order to cushion its impact, returning, as an elastic response, part of the deformation energy.
• the aim of the present invention is to provide a midsole structure that allows to generate ventilation of the sole of the foot.
• an object of the invention is to devise a midsole structure that is lightweight and flexible in order to conform easily to the movements of the foot of the user.
• Another object of the invention is to provide a midsole structure that allows effective cushioning of the impacts of the foot of the user particularly with the ground.
• a midsole structure particularly for shoes, including shoes with a vapor-permeable sole, designed for use in sports activities, characterized in that it comprises
• a plantar frame made of polymeric material which comprises a reinforced rim with structural cross-members, said rim and said structural cross-members cooperating to delimit opening compartments that pass through said frame in order to lead onto opposite faces thereof, - at least one first vapor-permeable element, which covers at least said opening compartments, which open onto a first one of said faces, with which said first vapor-permeable element is associated,
• Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a midsole structure according to the invention.
• Figure 2 is a partially sectional top plan view of a midsole structure according to the invention
• Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of a midsole structure according to the invention
• Figure 4 is a partially sectional enlarged-scale view of a detail of a midsole structure according to the invention, in a configuration for use;
• Figure 5 is an enlarged-scale sectional view of a detail of an alternative embodiment of a midsole structure according to the invention.
• reference numeral 10 generally designates a midsole structure, particularly for shoes 11, including shoes with a vapor-permeable sole, designed for use in sports activities, which has a peculiarity in that it comprises
• a monolithic plantar frame 12 made of polymeric material, conveniently made of ethyl vinyl acetate or expanded polyurethane, which comprises a rim 13 that is reinforced with structural cross-members 14, the rim 13 and the structural cross-members 14 cooperating to delimit opening compartments 15 that pass through the monolithic plantar frame 12 in order to lead onto opposite faces 16a and 16b thereof, - a first vapor-permeable element 17, which covers the opening compartments 15, which open onto a first one 16a of the faces 16a and 16b, with which the first vapor-permeable element 17 is associated,
• alternative embodiments of the midsole structure according to the invention provide for a plurality of first and second vapor-permeable elements, each covering one or more of the opening compartments that open onto the faces of the monolithic plantar frame.
• the first vapor-permeable element 17 and the second vapor-permeable element 18 are made of three-dimensional fabric, or in an equivalent manner comprise a layer thereof.
• Said three-dimensional fabric is preferably made of polypropylene, polyamide, polyester or equivalents.
• the second vapor-permeable element 18 which conveniently is designed to face the sole of the shoe provided with the midsole structure 10, comprises a waterproof and vapor-permeable layer 118, i.e., a layer that is impermeable to water in the liquid state and permeable to water vapor.
• Said waterproof and vapor-permeable layer 118 is conveniently connected, by means of a waterproof sealing region 119, to the monolithic plantar frame 12 so as to provide tightness to the passage of water in the liquid state and simultaneous permeability to water vapor of the midsole structure 10.
• the waterproof sealing region 119 is provided by hermetic adhesive bonding or, as an alternative, by overmolding of the monolithic plantar frame 12 on the waterproof and vapor-permeable layer 118 of the vapor-permeable element 18.
• the waterproof and vapor-permeable layer 118 comprises a membrane 120 made of polymeric material, conveniently expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, expanded polyurethane or the like.
• auxiliary layers 121 for protecting and reinforcing the membrane 120 are appropriately provided and conveniently comprise
• a protective layer 123 which is associated in a downward region with respect to the membrane 120, in order to protect it against impacts, cuts and perforations and is preferably made of vapor-permeable material, such as felt, Kevlar®, or other strong and diffusely perforated material,
• a supporting layer 124 which is associated in a downward region with respect to the protective layer 123 and is made of a dense-knitted mesh of metallic material, synthetic material or natural fibers.
• a midsole structure 10 according to the invention in said constructive variation entails that it is associated with a perforated sole 125 which has, below said opening compartments 15, vapor permeation regions 126, which are conveniently affected by a number of diffuse holes or by large openings 126a which are adapted to allow the dispersion of the water vapor that arrives from the foot insertion region.
• the first vapor-permeable element also comprises a waterproof and vapor-permeable membrane as described.
• the first vapor-permeable element comprises a waterproof and vapor-permeable membrane, as described, and at the same time the second vapor-permeable element is made of three-dimensional fabric or comprises a layer thereof.
• the monolithic plantar frame 12 has a first reinforcement 19 for bearing the heel of the user.
• Said first reinforcement 19 extends substantially along the entire thickness that the rim 13 has at the heel of the shoe, so as to form, in cooperation with the rim, the support for the heel of the user.
• the monolithic plantar frame 12 conveniently has a second reinforcement 20 for bearing the first metatarsophalangeal articulation of the user, which extends substantially through the entire thickness that the rim 13 has at the forepart of the midsole structure 10.
• the second reinforcement 20 cooperates with the rim 13 in defining a support for one of the main resting regions of the foot of the user, which, as it is known, corresponds to the first metatarsophalangeal articulation.
• the structural cross-members 14 join transversely opposite portions 21a and 21b of the rim 13, and have, with respect to them, a substantially identical thickness, so as to share with them the load applied by the user to the midsole structure 10.
• the structural cross-members 14 have extensions 22 that lie transversely with respect to their length and are conveniently lobe-shaped and adapted to distribute the load applied by the user on the midsole structure 10 during the use of a shoe 11 that comprises it.
• the first vapor-permeable element 17 and the second vapor- permeable element 18 form advantageously, through themselves, a ventilation path that is substantially longitudinal with respect to the midsole structure 10.
• the pressure of the foot of the user thereon causes the substantially elastic deformation of the monolithic plantar frame 12 thereof.
• the stresses A generated on the monolithic plantar frame 12 by the foot of the user cause the successive contraction of the ventilation plenums 23 that correspond to the portion B of the shoe 11, which constitutes the bearing of the foot of the user on the ground.
• the deformation of the monolithic plantar frame 12 produces a compression of the corresponding rim portion 13 and of the structural cross-members 14 at right angles to the resting plane of the portion B and an expansion thereof transversely to said resting plane.
• Such deformations define a contraction of at least a first one 23 a of the ventilation plenums 23, which is located at the portion B.
• This contraction imparts to the air contained in said first plenum 23 a an evacuation pressure that causes its passage C through at least one between the first vapor-permeable element 17 and the second vapor- permeable element 18, toward second plenums 23b that are adjacent to the first plenum 23 a.
• the first vapor-permeable element 17 and the second vapor-permeable element 18 are connected at least peripherally to the rim 13, conveniently by adhesive bonding, and said rim has, on the faces 16a and 16b, corresponding peripheral regions 24 for connection to the vapor- permeable elements 17 and 18.
• the invention achieves the intended aim and objects, providing a midsole structure that allows to generate ventilation of the sole of the foot, at the same time ensuring effective cushioning of the impacts of the foot of the user, in particular with the ground, thanks to the elastic deformability of the monolithic plantar frame.
• a midsole structure according to the invention being made mainly of microporous ethyl vinyl acetate or expanded polyurethane, is lightweight and flexible and adapted to conform easily to the movements of the foot of the user.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Cited By (1)

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Citations (5)

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• 2009
  • 2009-05-13 EP EP09425183.2A patent/EP2250917B1/en active Active
  • 2009-05-13 ES ES09425183.2T patent/ES2523243T3/es active Active
  • 2009-05-13 DK DK09425183.2T patent/DK2250917T3/da active
• 2010
  • 2010-04-13 BR BRPI1011965A patent/BRPI1011965A2/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2010-04-13 US US13/264,999 patent/US9596905B2/en active Active
  • 2010-04-13 CA CA2761662A patent/CA2761662C/en active Active
  • 2010-04-13 JP JP2012510184A patent/JP5684795B2/ja active Active
  • 2010-04-13 CN CN201080021474.4A patent/CN102421313B/zh active Active
  • 2010-04-13 WO PCT/EP2010/054796 patent/WO2010130515A1/en not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (5)

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