WO2011136531A2

WO2011136531A2 - Sole for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration and diabetic shoe having the same

Info

Publication number: WO2011136531A2
Application number: PCT/KR2011/003012
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hae Soo Park
Original assignee: Hae Soo Park
Priority date: 2010-04-26
Filing date: 2011-04-26
Publication date: 2011-11-03
Also published as: WO2011136531A3; KR20110010284U; KR200467738Y1

Abstract

Disclosed is a sole for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration and a diabetic shoe having the same. The sole includes a sole body for absorbing shock; and a coupling member provided in the anterior part of a heel portion of the sole body to enhance resiliency. The sole that have the sole body and the coupling member with a different resilience effectively absorbs the shock on the plantar surface of a foot and makes the pressure distribution uniform during walking, thereby preventing and mitigating diabetic foot problems.

Description

SOLE FOR ABSORBING SHOCK AND MITIGATING FOOT PRESSURE CONCENTRATION AND DIABETIC SHOE HAVING THE SAME

The present invention relates to a sole for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration and a diabetic shoe having the same and, more particularly to, a sole for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration and a diabetic shoe having the same that absorbs shock and provides resiliency during walking.

Recently, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of diabetic foot problems as one of the common diabetic complications. Foot problems commonly develop in people with diabetes and require a lot of time and money for treatment.

Peripheral neuropathy and vascular disorders pertaining to diabetes play an important part in diabetic foot problems. Other causes of diabetic foot problems are limited joint mobility, callus formation, gait abnormality, foot deformity, and excessive foot pressure on a certain plantar area of the foot due to a wrong shoe shape.

Diabetic shoes or foot orthosis are generally used to prevent or treat diabetic foot problems, but they are mostly imported overseas, thus unaffordable, and incur high expense.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a sole for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration and a diabetic shoe having the same that absorbs shock and provides resiliency during walking.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sole for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration that includes: a sole body for absorbing shock; and a coupling member provided in an anterior part of a heel portion of the sole body to enhance resiliency.

The sole further includes a bottom material contoured to match the bottom side of the heel portion of the sole body.

The coupling member is H-shaped in horizontal cross section.

The sole further includes a support portion formed in the frontal center of the coupling member as a projection integrally adhered to the coupling member to disperse a downward weight.

The sole body has resilience in the range of 0% to 50%, and the coupling member has resilience in the range of 51% to 100%.

The coupling member includes at least one through hole or at least one groove formed in a vertical direction.

The sole further includes a spring or an air cushion provided inside the through hole or the groove to absorb shock and enhance restoring force.

The sole further includes a cushioning material provided on the top side of the sole body and contoured to match a plane side of the sole body.

The cushion material is formed integrally with the sole body by post-molding bonding, insert injection molding, or double injection molding.

The bottom side of the bottom member has an anterior part contoured to form a plane parallel with the ground, and a posterior part contoured to form an inclined plane having a defined degree of inclination towards the rear end thereof.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a diabetic shoe having the sole for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration.

The present invention realizes a sole including a sole body and a coupling member that have different resilience to effectively absorb the shock on the plantar surface of a foot during walking. The coupling member provided in the sole offers resiliency that helps the foot weight shift forward to make the plantar pressure distribution uniform. This prevents or mitigates diabetic foot problems. Particularly, the coupling member with a through hole or a groove lightens the sole and improves resiliency. Accordingly, the sole and the diabetic shoe of the present invention reduce the downward pressure on the plantar surface of the foot and make the pressure distribution uniform over the plantar surface to improve vascular circulation and diminish the fatigue of the foot muscles.

Likewise, the elderly with weak joints or patients with Rheumatic troubles or Herniated disk can benefit from the shoe of the present invention during walking as it removes musculoskeletal pain and protects the human musculoskeletal system. The shoe of the present invention also help re-establish normal gait.

The attached drawings are only for illustrative purposes of preferred embodiments of the present invention and serve to enlighten technical ideas of the present invention with the detailed description of the present invention, and hence, it is to be understood the present invention is not limited to matters illustrated in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective showing the bottom side of a sole according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective showing the bottom side of a sole according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective showing the bottom side of a sole according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a plane view of the sole according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is another side view of the sole according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the sole according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an A-A cross-sectional view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a graph showing a plantar pressure distribution during walking with geriatric shoes on;

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a plantar pressure distribution during walking with the diabetic shoes of the present invention on;

FIG. 10 is a bar graph showing the pressure on the anterior parts of a normal geriatric shoe and the diabetic shoe according to the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a bar graph showing the pressure on the posterior parts of a normal geriatric shoe and the diabetic shoe according to the present invention.

10: sole

100: sole body

150: cushioning member

200: coupling member

210: groove

220: through hole

250: support portion

300: bottom member

510: plantar pressure on a big toe part during walking with geriatric shoes on

520: plantar pressure on a big toe part during walking with the diabetic shoes of the present invention on

Reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.

A sole 10 for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration according to the present invention includes a sole body 100, a coupling member 200, and a bottom member 300.

The sole body 100 is contoured to match the bottom side of a shoe from front end to rear end in order to underlie the bottom side of the shoe. In other words, the sole body 100 has the same contour of a normal shoe sole. Preferably, a half dome is formed crosswise in the bottom side of the sole body 100 that corresponds to the arch part in the central plantar of a foot. The posterior and anterior parts of the sole body 100 contact the ground, and the medial part has a half dome formed crosswise on its one side. The material for the sole body 100 consists of a soft synthetic resin with an excellent function of shock absorption (resilience: 0% to 50%), including ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyurethane, TPR, rubber, etc.

On the top side of the sole body 100 is further provided a cushioning member 150 contoured to match the plane side of the sole body 100 in order to facilitate shock absorption. The cushioning member 150 is formed to have a contour corresponding to the plane side of the sole body 100. The cushioning member 150 has a smaller contour compared to the plane contour of the sole body 100. And, the cushioning member 150 accords with the sole body 100 in thickness. In other words, the cushioning member 150 is formed in the same manner as the sole body 100 of which the posterior part is thicker than the anterior part. The cushioning member 150 is formed integrally with the sole body 100 by post-molding bonding, insert injection molding, or double injection molding, to realize excellent retention force. But the cushioning member 150 may be optionally provided on the top side of the sole body 100.

The coupling member 200 is provided in the front bottom side of the heel portion of the sole body 100 in order to induce a take-off function. The take-off function is to help the foot weight move back toward the front foot the moment the heel contacts the ground in horizon and then lifts for a weight shift. The coupling member 200 consists of a soft synthetic resin material with excellent resiliency (resilience: 51% to 100 %), including EVA, polyurethane, TPR, rubber, etc. As shown in FIG. 1, the top side of the coupling member 200 is contoured to have the same curved side of the corresponding bottom side of the sole body 100. The front lateral side of the coupling member 200 takes the shape of an inclined plane. Preferably, the front lateral side of the coupling member 200 is inclined forward on the part that contacts the bottom side of the sole body 100, in order to make the walking easier and comfortable. The left and right lateral sides and the bottom side of the coupling member 200 are coupled to the sole body 100 to form a heel along with the anterior part of the sole body 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the coupling member 200 is H-shaped in horizontal cross section. The coupling member 200 may be formed integrally with the sole body 100, or bonded to the sole body 100 through an adhesive or other bonding means.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 7, the sole 10 further includes a support portion 250 in the front center of the coupling member 200, that is, between the front U-shaped branches of the H-shaped coupling member 200. The support portion 250 is provided to effectively absorb the downward foot weight concentrated on the central plantar of the shoe and to prevent the bending of the central plantar. The support portion 250 is integrally bonded to the coupling member 200. To support the downward foot weight on the central plantar of the sole body 100, the support portion 250 protrudes at a defined degree of inclination from the front bottom of the coupling member 200 to the central bottom of the sole body 100.

Inside the coupling member 200 is formed at least one through hole 220 or a groove 210 in a vertical direction. For example, the through hole 220 is formed upward from the bottom side of the coupling member 200 to pierce the coupling member 200 in a vertical direction. The through hole 220 takes the shape of a hexagonal prism and fifteen of the through holes are arranged in honeycomb structure. This honeycomb structure not only minimizes the weight of the coupling member 200 but also provides a stable support to the coupling member 200. The groove 210 is formed crosswise in a single line on the top side of the coupling member 200 in a defined depth and a defined thickness. The length of the groove 210 is less than the crosswise width of the top side of the coupling member 200. The through hole 220 or the groove 210 formed inside the coupling member 200 is to strengthen the resiliency and reduce the weight of the coupling member 200. In addition, a spring (not shown) or an air cushion (not shown) may be inserted in the through hole 220 or the groove 210 to prevent a deterioration of restoring force or a reduction of resiliency after a long-term use. The use of the spring or the air cushion is to strengthen the resiliency of the coupling member 200. The through hole 220 or the groove 210 may be formed simultaneously during the injection molding.

The bottom member 300 is contoured to match the bottom side of the posterior part of the sole body 100 and the bottom side of the coupling member 200. The anterior part of the sole body 100 covers the area from the front end of the coupling member 200 to the rear end of the sole body 100. The bottom member 300 consists of the same material of the outsole for a normal shoe. The bottom member 300 is formed integrally with the posterior part of the sole body 100 and the bottom side of the coupling member 200. The bottom member 300 is integrally adhered to the posterior part of the sole body 100 and the bottom side of the coupling member 200 through an adhesive or other bonding means. The anterior part of the bottom member 300 is contoured to form a plane parallel with the ground, and the posterior part is contoured to form an inclined plane having a defined degree of inclination towards the rear end. The bottom member 300 is to facilitate landing and take-off.

<Construction of Diabetic Shoe>

A diabetic shoe according to the present invention installs the sole 10 of the present invention on the bottom part of a normal shoe, preferably, a diabetic shoe by using a polymer adhesive or other bonding means. Diabetic shoes are specially designed shoes for diabetic patients intended to minimize uniform distribution of the foot pressure and prevent or mitigate diabetic foot problems.

<Comparison of Normal Geriatric Shoes and Diabetic Shoes of the Present Invention>

The foot pressure was measured with in-shoe plantar pressure sensors (Pedar System, Novel Cmbh, Germany). The walking speed was 3.0 km/h during a normal walking on a running machine. The peak foot pressure during walking was measured, with greatly deviating data taken out of the measurement results.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing a plantar pressure distribution during walking with geriatric shoes on; and FIG. 9 is a graph showing a plantar pressure distribution during walking with the diabetic shoes of the present invention on. In each graph, x-axis and y-axis define the position of the plantar surface of a foot; and z-axis indicates the downward pressure on the plantar surface. The contrast in FIGS. 8 and 9 indicate different plantar pressure magnitudes. The plantar pressure on a big toe part 510 in FIG. 8 is above 30 N/㎠ which is the highest pressure region. The plantar pressure on a big toe part 520 in FIG. 9 is in between 15 N/㎠ and 22 N/㎠ which is the third highest pressure region.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the walking foot with the diabetic shoe on is under a considerably low plantar pressure with a uniform pressure distribution, while the walking foot with the normal geriatric shoe on is under the higher plantar pressure with a non-uniform pressure distribution.

FIG. 10 is a bar graph showing the pressure on the anterior parts of a normal geriatric shoe and the diabetic shoe according to the present invention, where x-axis is the type of shoes, and y-axis is the pressure. As shown in FIG. 10, the peak plantar pressure on the anterior part of the normal geriatric shoe exceeds 30.0 kPa, whereas the peak plantar pressure on the anterior part of the diabetic shoe of the present invention is less than 20.0 kPa, which is lower than the peak plantar pressure on the normal geriatric shoe.

FIG. 11 is a bar graph showing the pressure on the posterior part of a normal geriatric shoe and the diabetic shoe according to the present invention, where x-axis is the type of shoes, and y-axis is the pressure. As shown in FIG. 11, the peak plantar pressure on the posterior part of the normal geriatric shoe is about 19.0 kPa, whereas the peak plantar pressure on the posterior part of the diabetic shoe of the present invention is about 11.0 kPa, which is less than the peak plantar pressure on the normal geriatric shoe.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the foot with the diabetic shoe of the present invention on is under the lower plantar pressure. The diabetic shoe imposes less plantar pressure with a uniform pressure distribution and offers relax and comfort to the feet.

As described above, although the invention has been described with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that variations and modifications may be resorted to as will be apparent to those skilled in the art without changing the technical ideas and essential features. Thus, the embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the present invention. It is to be understood that modifications and variations of the present invention may be resorted to without departing from the technical idea and scope of the present invention as those skilled in the art readily understand. Such modifications, variations and all equivalent relationships are considered to be within the scope of the invention and the appended claims.

Claims

A sole for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration, the sole comprising:

a sole body (100) for shock absorption; and

a coupling member (200) provided in an anterior part of a heel portion of the sole body (100) to enhance resiliency.
The sole as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a bottom material (300) contoured to match the bottom side of the heel portion of the sole body (100).
The sole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coupling member (200) is H-shaped in horizontal cross section.
The sole as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a support portion (250) formed in the frontal center of the coupling member (200) as a projection integrally adhered to the coupling member (200) to disperse a downward weight.
The sole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sole body (100) has resilience in the range of 0% to 50%,

the coupling member (200) having resilience in the range of 51% to 100%.
The sole as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coupling member (200) includes at least one through hole (220) or at least one groove (210) formed in a vertical direction.
The sole as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

a spring or an air cushion provided inside the through hole (220) or the groove (210) to absorb shock and enhance restoring force.
The sole as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a cushioning material (150) provided on the top side of the sole body (100) and contoured to match a plane side of the sole body (100).
The sole as claimed in claim 8, wherein the cushion material (150) is formed integrally with the sole body (100) by post-molding bonding, insert injection molding, or double injection molding.
The sole as claimed in claim 2, wherein the bottom side of the bottom member (300) has an anterior part thereof contoured to form a plane parallel with the ground, and a posterior part thereof contoured to form an inclined plane having a defined degree of inclination towards the rear end thereof.
A diabetic shoe having a sole for absorbing shock and mitigating foot pressure concentration, the sole comprising:

a sole body (100) for shock absorption;

a coupling member (200) provided in an anterior part of a heel portion of the sole body (100) for enhancing resiliency, the coupling member (200) having at least one through hole (220) or at least one groove (210) formed in a vertical direction; and

a bottom member (300) contoured to match the bottom side of the heel portion of the sole body (100).