ZA200604977B - Insole assembly for increasing weight of footwear and heavy footwear having weight-increasing midsole/outsole - Google Patents

Description

INSOLE ASSEMBLY FOR INCREASING WEIGHT OF NFOOTWEAR AND HEAVY

FOOTWEAR HAVINIG WEIGHT-INCREASING MIEDSOLE/OUTSOLE

Technical Field 5. The present imvention relates to a heavy footwear of increased weight. More particularly, the present invention relates to an insole assembly made of compressed resin for potentially increaszdng the weight of a foostwear to which the insole assembly is applied. Further, the present invention 108 relates to a heavy footwear including an outscole and/or a midsole made of a compressed resin having a high sspecific gravity to enhance exercise effect.

Background Art

Various techniques have been proposed, which can increase the weight of a footwear if necessary to ernhance the exercise effect of a wearer while keeping the weight =decreased at normal times. .

An example of such techniques is d-isclosed in Korean 200 Registered Utility Model Serial No.285242 , entitled "Sports

Shoes for Exercise" . According to this document, heavy metal members are detachab ly inserted into an outssole or a bottomsole as the outer bottom portion of a footwear —in order to enhance the exercise effect of a wearer.

Another example is disclosed in Korean Registered Utility

Model Serial No.298€08, entitled "Weight Adjustable Footwear

WwV0 20051060779 PCT/KR2004/000325

Liner", proposed by the inventor. Thi=s document proposes insertion of metal members into an insole o r liner, which is put in a footwear body, to increase the weight off the footwear thereby enhancing the exercise effect of a wearerc. ‘ 5 According to the conventional techniques, high specific gravitymaterial such as ruetal, which is inserted into the outsole or the insole for increasing the weight of shoes, lowers the shoes' ability of absorbing the load impac—t applied to a wearem thereby requiring additional shock-absorioing means.

Because additional molds as well as fabrication and assembly processes are necessary in order tc provide a detachable structure for the weight-increasing inser t members, the prio=x arts have another drawback that increases fabrication time anc cost.

The insert members made of metal cawmise inconvenience to a person in the above footwear or shoes that he/she should take off the shoes or separate the metal members=s from the shoes wher passing through an airport scanner.

Also the shoes may be soiled from the rust of the meta-l members when water-washed in a washing m&chine. :

Furthermore, if the shoes are used for- a predetermined time period, the rubber outsoles are abraded exposing the metal : members, which in turn collide against the ground creating unpleasant noises.

Therefore, there axe required novel me=ans that can overcome the foregoing problems while adjusting tlhe weight of shoes.

Disclosure omf the Invention

It is t-herefore an object of the invention to provide an insole assemBoly which can increase the weight of a fo-otwear when attached the= footwear.

It is a nother object of the inwention to provicle an insole which is molcded from heavy compresse=d resin to impar—t a desired level of body load-absorbing abil ity to a footwear without additional sshock—-absorbing means.

It is —further another object of the inventiomm to insert a weight-inc reasing member into a maidsole and/or an= outsole to increase thee weight of a footwear.

It is wet another object of t he invention to fabricate a midsole and/eor an outsole froma high specific gravity compressed resin to increase the weight of a footwear.

Accord ing to an aspect of the invention for re-alizing the above objectss, there is provided aan insole assemb_ly used for increasing t-he weight of a footwear- comprising: a 1 ower insole made of a commpressed resin having a high specific g ravity, and an upper inssole laid on the lower insole.

Tt is preferred that the lower insole is made of a compression molded resin.

It is amlso preferred that the compression molde=d resin has a specific gravity of at least 2.

The inssole assembly may furthe xr comprise a shoc k-absorbing member attached to a rear end of t-he upper insole .

Accomrding to another aspect off the invention for r ealizing the above objects, there is provicled a heavy weight footwear comprising : a body for housing a foot, an outsole conmected to the body fo r supporting the foot, at least a portion of thes outsole being made of a compressed resin hav-ing a high specific gravity, and an ins:ole laid on the outsole within the body.

It iss preferred that the whole part of the outsoles is made of the hicgh specific gravity compr—essed resin.

It is also preferred that the high specific gravity compressed resin is inserted into the outsole.

The Hheavy weight footwear mays further comprise & midsole laid betwe en the outsole and the bocly, at least a porti on of the midsole be-ing made of a high specific gravity compressed resin.

It iss preferred that the wholes part of the midsol e is made of the high specific gravity compressed resin.

It #&s also preferred that the high specific gravity compressec] resin is inserted into the midsole.

Accoerding to further another aspect of the inverntion for realizing the above objects, there is provided a heaw=ry weight footwear comprising: a body for housing a foot; a= midsole connected to the body for supporting the foot, at least a portion of the out=sole being made of a compressed resin havimng a high specific egravity; an outsole atta ched to an undersicde of the midsole; =and an insole laid on th e midsole within time body.

It i s preferred that the whol e part of the midsol_e is made of the hiegh specific gravity comp ressed resin.

It is also preferred that the high specific gravity compr-essed resin is inserte-d into the midsole=.

Brief Description of the Dr awings 5 FIG. 1 is an exploded pe rspective view of am insole assembly for i.ncreasing the weight o=f a footwear accomrding to a first embodiment of the invention ;

FIG. 2 is an exploded pe rspective view of amn insole assembly for i_ncreasing the weight o f a footwear accor ding to a second embodiment of the inventiora;

FIG. 3 is a sectional xsiew of a lower inscole shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a bottom vi ew of FIG. 3;

PIG. 6 is a sectional view of an upper ins-ole shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a plan views of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a bottom vi ew of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a side elev—ation view of a footwear which the 90 inso._le assembly of the inveention is put in;

FIG. 10 is a side ele—vation view of a heavy footwear for enha ncing exercise effect according to a third embodiment of the inve ntion;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective v=—iew of the heavy foot.wear according to the +hird embodiment cof the invention;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view o f a heavy footwear according to a fourth embo-diment of the inve=ntion; and

FIG. 13 is an exploded per spective view of a heavy footwear accord=ing to a fifth embodimemt of the invention .

Best Meode for Carrying Out thea Invention

The foregoing and other features and advan tages of the invent _dion will be described i.n detail with refe rence to the accomp-anying drawings.

E'IG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an in sole assembly for imacreasing the weight of a footwear for ex ample a shoe accord ing to a first embodiment of the inventiorm.

FReferring to FIG. 1, t he insole assembly= 100 of the invent ion includes a weight irsole or a lower inssole 110 made of a compressed resin having a high specific gravity for increa.sing the weight of a shoe, a shock-absorbimg member 130 attach ed to the heel of the lowwer insole 110 and arm upper insole 140 la_id on the lower insole 110. ~The weight insole or lower insole 110 e=mbodying the essent=ial concept of the invent ion is made by compre=ssion molding a desi_red resin up to a speci fic gravity of abou t at least 2.

The re=sin contains nitrile r ubber, butadiene ruibber, Barium

Sulfat-e (BaSO,) as high specific gravity filler, Readoxide (Pb3047), ZnO, S, stearic aci.d and vulcanizing accelerator.

Alterratively, the resin car be pressed, and then cut and processed into the form of an insole to fabricat e the insole.

The high specific gravity lower insole 110 may be fabricated separate from the shoe so that it can be detachably attacled to the shoe, or inte=grally attached to the shoe via adhesive and so on if necessary.

The shock-absorbing member 130 i=s attached to the h eel or the rear end 1.10b of the lower insole 11.0, and made of an elastic material capa ble of absorbing the impac t load applied to a wearer during his/h er movement. Further, the rear corner of the shock-absorbing member is rounded to mo re effectively abscorb the shock during stepping as well as ensuare comfortable walking.

The upp er insole 140 includes a support portion 142 placed on the lower i nsole 110, an elastic port=ion 144 laid on the s upport portion 142 and a foot-sole contact portion 146 laid -.on the elastic port ion 144 to contact a wea=xer's foot-sole.

The support portion 142 is made of for example Et hylene

Vinylacetate Copolymer (EVA) at a pr edetermined thickn_ess to prevent the distortion (e.g., abduction or adduction’ of a wearer's foot. Alternatively, the suapport portion 142 may be made of an elastic material at a desi-red thickness to keep the wearer comfortable.

The elastic portion 144 ismade oX a soft material to absorb shock and so on.

The comtact portion 146 is made of a soft materisl such as a thin cloth to absorb sweat from t=he foot while keep=ng the wearer comfortable, and attached on tke elastic portion 144 via adhesive.

When the insole assembly 100 is used in a shoe to ircrease its weight, -the lower insole 110 of a desired weight is imnserted into the shoe, and then the upper insole 140 is put on th.e lower insole 110 in the shoe, with front arad rear ends 140a a nd 140b of the uppoer insole 140 aligned with front and reear ends 110a and 110b of the lower insole 110 .

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an irmsole assembly for increasing the weight of a footwear accordin.g to a second embodiment= of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the insole assembly 200 of the invention includes a weight insole or a lower insole 210 made o=f a compressed resin having a high specific grav=ity for increasiing the welght of a footwear or a shoe, a shock— absorbing member— 230 attached to the hee=l of the lower insole 21.0 and an upper imsole 240 laid on the lower insole 210.

The lower insole 210 is macde of the same m=terial as the lower inseole 110 of the first emb=odiment, but mod ified with its configura tion.

Hereinafter the lower inso le 210 will be described with references in FIGS. 3 to 5, wherein FIG. 3 is a ssectional view of a lowe—r insole shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3, and FIZG. 5 is a bottom view «of FIG. 3.

As sshown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the lower insole 2210 is provided in a top s=surface 212 with a plurality of front co ncave portions 214, a re ar concave portion 218 and a plurality o £ longitudinal grooves 216 for connecting the concave portions 214 and 218.

The= rear concave portion 2718 is engraved or= recessed from the top surface 212 to absorb any landing impact. Also, the rear 95 concave poortion 218 is connected with the front concave portions 214 via the grooves 216 so that t he pressure appl ied to the rear concave portion 218 during stepping forces air to circulate from

Wea 2005/060779 PECT/KR2004/000325 he rear concave portion 28 through the grooves 216 toward the —front concave portions 214 in a shoe while evaporating sweat and «dispersing heat from the foot in the shoe.

There are a plurality of exposed vertical through holes 220 in the front concave poortions 218. The thr-ough holes 220 are connected to a plurality of lateral grooves 226 formed in an underside 222 of the lowser insole 210. Longit-udinal grooves 224 are connected with botztom concave portions 228, which are formed in a central portion of the underside 2222, and function as channels for flowing air from the concave port ions 228 toward the vertical through hole s 220. :

In a region of the s hoe, to which load is mainly applied from a front region of the foot, a circular conca.ve portion 226a is provided to form an air channel to absorb landing pressure and impact.

The shock-absorbing member 230 is attached to the heel of the lower insole 210, and made of an elastic m=ember to absorb impact load applied toa wemarer during his/her movement. Further, the rear corner of the shock-absorbing member is rounded to more effectively absorb the shock during stepping as well as ensure comfortable walking.

The lower insole 210 is provided with a corvex portion 232 in a central portion of thee top surface 212. The= convex portion 232 supports the metataxrsus while functionirmeg as a cushion together with a lower coracave portion 254 of the upper insole 240, which will be described later.

Hereinafter the upper insole 240 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 anA 8, wherein FIG. 6 i s a sectional views of an upper insole shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 7 is a plan view of FIG. &, and FIG. 8 is a bott om view of FIG. 6.

The upper insole 2-40 integrally has a ssupport portion 242 =ttached on the lower imsole 210, an elasti c¢ portion 244 laid on the support portion 242 and a foot-sole c=ontact portion 246 aid on the elastic port=ion 144 to contact a wearer's foot-sole ~

The support porticon 242 is made of fo-r example EVA at & predetermined thickness to prevent the disto rtion of a wearer's <oot. Alternatively, tkhe support portion 142 may be made of am «<lastic material at a desired thickness t=o keep the weare=x comfortable. ‘ The elastic portio n 244 is made of a sof material to absor’d shock and so on.

The contact porti on 246 is made of a soft material suc h as a thin cloth to absor=b sweat from the foo-t while keeping th e wearer comfortable, and. attached on the elasstic portion 244 vi a adhesive.

The upper insole 240 has an anti-sl_ip projection 252”a extended from a top fromt portion adjacent ®o a front end 240am.

The upper insole 240 als ohas a plurality of v—ent holes 248 forme=d adjacent to the front end 240a and a plurality of downwar=d projections 250 formed in a front bottom thereof. Then, tine projections 250 contact the top surface 212 of the lower insole 210 to form a space be-tween the underside of the upper insoMe 240 and the top surface 212 of the lower insowle 210 through whicsh air can flow when the wearer is walking. As a result, thds circulates thes air through the shoe Wo evaporate sweat= and disperse heat from the foot.

The uppers insole 240 is provided wi th a convex portion. 252b extended longi tudinally in a middle por—tion of the top su=xface of the upper imsole 240. The convex po-rtion 252b support s the metatarsus of the foot to disperse the load across the beottom of the shoe. The bottom of the conve=x portion 252b forms a concave portion 254 to receive the conve:=x portion 232 of the lower insole 210, thereby supporting the meta—tarsus together wit=h the convex portior 232.

A hollow space 256 is formed in the bottom of the upper insole 240 adj acent to the rear end 240 b that is touched oy the heel of the wearer. The hollow space 256 is loecated corresponding to the rear concave portion 218 of the lower i _nsole 210, and three grooves 258 are formed preferably correspcanding to the upper grooves 218 of the lower insole 210. The Imollow space 256 shrinks when stepped pushing the air forward to flow from the hollow space 256 through the grooves 258 and 216 and spout out through the vent holes 248 t—oward the front portion of the foot. In this fashion, the air- circulates in the shoe while evapora ting sweat and dispersin_g heat from the foot.

FIG. 9 i sa side elevation view off a footwear or shoe vhich the insole as=embly 100 or 200 accordimg to the first or second embodiment of the invention is put im.

As showm in FIG. 9, a shoe 10 irmcludes an upper ox body 12 for housing the foot, a midsole 14 for supporting thee body 12 and an outsole 16 underlying the midsole 14.

The lower insole 110 or 210 and the upper irnsole 140 or 240 of the insole assembly 100 or 200 are inserted ira their order into the shoe 10 on the midso le 14 to support the foot.

The weight or lower inso le 110 or 210 is pre—ferably made with various weights. For example, the lower insoles are fabricated with various weigh-ts such as 200, 400, 600 an 900g so that a user can select a dessirable weight of lowwer insole to adjust his/her exercise effect.

In fabrication of the footwear, lasts a re adjusted according to wide foot, narrow foot and mid-foot of different foot widths. If the lower insoles 110 and 210 ar-e fabricated with various thicknesses, shoes of various widths ca nbe produced without additional fabricatior of different lasts f or the shoes.

That is, users of different f oot widths can fit their feet to shoes of the same last by selecting the lower insol es 110 or 210 of suitable thicknesses accord ing to their foot widt=hs. Further, substantially same effect cara be expected by taki ng the upper insole 140 or 240 out but using only the lower insol.e 110 or 210.

A fabrication process of a weight or lower #nsole of the invention is as follows: Natu ral rubber is mixed with synthetic rubber of nitril rubber and but-adiene rubber, and tien with BaS0O, of high specific gravity filler. Mixture is pressed with a roll press to enhance molecular mass as well as pl asticity and viscosity. The pressed mixture is mixed again with 2n0, S, stearic acid, vulcanizing accelerator, and then pressed again to prepare sheets at a thickmess of about 5mm.

The pressing is performed urnder the pressure of about 6 to 8kgf/cm®™ at a temperature range o-f 130 to 160 for 5 to 8 mins.

In time sheets prepared as abo~—ve, an upper sheet oreferably has a hardriess of about 45 or less,- and other sheets oreferably has a hardrmess of about 50 to 60, an d more preferably, & hardness of about 5 5. The upper sheet has a relatively lower— hardness to absorb tthe load impact amountineg to about 4 to 5 times of the wearer's weight, which is applied two wearer's feet and joins when he/she wal ks.

These sheets are stacked one-= atop another with desirable number (typoically 4 to 6), loaded into a mold, and heat—ed to form into the s hape of an insole.

Then _, the insole has a spec—ific gravity of about 2.0 or more and vaarious masses of about 300 to 1200g accordingg to filler contents aX 255mm size, and thus car be used as weight-M.ncreasing means of shoes. For reference, typical shoe insol_es have a specific cogravity of about 0.4 to 0.6.

Tables 1 reports physical prcoperties of the weicght insole . fabricated in the above process.

Table 1

Ee EE ON Py

Tearing Stxength kgf/cm KS M 6518

Specific Gmavity | = | KS M 6518

Hardness (A-type) 55141 KS M 6518

Elasticity (Steell Ball pop) 8 | 11 KS M 6518

FIG. 10 is a side elevation view off a heavy footwear foor enhancing exercise effect according to a t=hird embodiment of tlhe invention. As shaown in FIG. 10, a heavy footwear or shoe 3C00 of the invention includes a body 320 of =n upper for housing a foot, a midsole 330 connected to the body 320 to support the foot and a bottomsole ©r outsole 340 underlying the midsole 330. The midsole 330 and the outsole 340 are forme«d of various materials and with various thicknesses according t—o¢ the type and use =f shoes. Further, an insole 350 (shown in a dotted line) is pirat on the midsole 330 to provide a cushion to a wearer's foot-solem.

The third embodiment of the inv ention has technical features of incre asing the weight of the shoe 300 by forming tke midsole 330 and/or the outsole 340 of the shoe 300 from a compressed resimm of a high specific gravity or insertirg weight-increasing members made of the kigh specific gravifty compressed resin into the midsole 330 armd/or the outsole 3400.

The high specifi c¢ gravity compressed resin preferably has a specific gravity of about 2 or more, and co ntains nitrile rubbe-r, butadiene rubber, Barium Sulfate (BaSO,) asshigh specific gravity filler, Readoxide= (Pb304), ZnO, S, stear:c acid and vulcan_dizing accelerator.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspect®ve view of the Iheavy footwear or shoe 300 according to the third embodiment o.f the invention. Refer-ring to FIG. 3, the he-avy shoe 300 acco—rding to the third embodiment of the inventiora includes the upp er or body 320 for housing a foot, the midsol e 330 connected tao the body 320 to suppo rt the foot and the outsole 340 underlyin g the midsole 330. The= midsole 330 and the ouksole 340 are form ed of "10 various materials and with various thickmesses according t o the type and use of t=he shoe. Further, the insole 350 put omn the midsole 330 for psroviding a cushion to a. wearer's foot-sc le is not shown for comvenience's sake.

The midsocle= 330 has a weight-incresasing member 332 made of a high specifi c gravity compressed resin and a shell member 334 for housing the weight-increasirmg member 332. The weight-increasing member 332 and the shell member 334 can be fabricated as se parate pieces before a ssembled into one via suitable means such as adhesive. Alt ernatively, the whole =20 midsole 330 can be= formed of the high speci® fic gravity compressed resin or rubber.

The weight~- increasing member 332 i s preferably formeed of the compressed ressin having a high speci-fic gravity of abeout 2 or more, and the spoecific gravity therecf As determined accomding =5 to a desired weicght of the shoe 300 and the thickness off the midsole 330. T he high specific grawity compressed mresin preferably has a s pecific gravity of about 2 or more, and contzains nitmrile rubber, butadiene rubber, BaSO, as high specific gravity filler, PbsO4, ZnO, S, stearic acid and vulcanizing accelerator.

The outsole 340 may be formed of a convermtional rubber or syntt-hetic resin, or a wear resistant rubber or— synthetic resin in corder to prevent easy wearing or tearing.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a heavy footwear or s=shoe 400 according to a fourth embcdiment o-f the invention.

Refesrring to FIG. 12, the heavy shoe 400 accord: ing to the fourth embodiment of the invention includes a body 42#0 of an upper for houssing a foot and an underlying outsole 440 connected to the bod=y 420 to support the foot. The outsole 4=40 has a midsole forrmed integral thereto, and is formed of various materials and with thicknesses according to the type and tase of the shoe.

FurW®her, an insole put on the outsole 440 for prcoviding a cushion to = wearer's foot-sole is not shown for conisenience's sake.

The outsole 440 has a weight~increasing member 442 made of &= high specific gravity compressed resin armd a shell member 444 for housing the weZdght-increasing mermber 442. The weicght—increasing member 442 and the shell me=mber 444 can be fab-ricated as separate pieces before assembl _ed into one via suitable means such as adhesive.

The weight-increasing member 442 is pref-erably formed of the compressed resin having a high specific gr-avity of about 2 or more, and the specific gravity thereof is determined according to a desired weight of the shoe 400 and the -—thickness of the out=sole 440. The high specific gravity czompressed resin pre=ferably contains nitril e rubber, butadiene rubber, BaSO,; as

- high specific gravity filler, Pbi3Os, ZnO, S, steari« acid and vulca nizing accelerator. Fur ther, the shell member 444 may be forme d of a conventional rublser or synthetic resin, or a wear resis tant rubber or synthetic resin in order to prevent easy weari ng or tearing.

Alternatively, the whole outsole can be formed of the high speci fic gravity resin or rulober. That is, the high specific gravi ty rubber provides not omly a large weight but also a high wear resistance, and thus itsself can function as an excellent shell member.

FIG. 13 is an exploded pe rspective view of a heavy footwear or sh oe 500 according to a fi fth embodiment of the HAnvention.

Refer-ring to FIG. 13, the heawy shoe 500 according to the fifth embod_iment of the invention iricludes a body 520 of arm upper for housi ng a foot, an underlying midsole 530 connected t=o the body 520 to support the foot and a bottomsole or outsole 540 winderlying the midsole 530. The midsole 530 and the outsole 540 are formed of various materials and with thicknesses according =o the type and u se of the shoe. Further, an insole put on the midsole 530 for providing a cushion to a wearer's foot-sole is not= shown for conve=nience's sake.

The outsole 540 has a w eight-increasing membe x 542 made of a high specific gravity cormpressed resin and a sh ell member 544 for housing the weigh-—t-increasing member 542. The weighst-increasing member 542 and the shell member 544 may be fabri_cated as separate piece s before assembled intco one via suita_ ble means such as adhesive.

The2 weight-increasing membe=r 542 is preferably feormed of the compressed resin having a high specific gravity of about 2 or more, -and the specific gravity thereof is determined aczcording to a des ired weight of the shoe 500 and the thicknesss of the outsole 540. The high specifi3c gravity compresse d resin preferab ly contains nitrile rubber, butadiene rubber, BaS04 as high spe cific gravity filler, Pb 30,4, ZnO, S, stearic =cid and vulcaniz ing accelerator. Furthers, the shell member 54 4 may be formed o f a conventional rubber or synthetic resin, o—r a wear resistan t rubber or synthetic re-sin in order to prevent easy wearing or tearing.

Alternatively, the whole out=sole can be formed of the high specific gravity resin or rubber . That is, the high specific gravity rubber provides not only & large weight but als o a high wear res istance, and thus itself can function as an ex<cellent shell member.

As set forth above, the weig ht-increasing members= made of the high specific gravity resin ca n be inserted into the outsole and/or tlhe midsole or the whole parts of the outsole an«d/or the midsole -can be made from the high specific gravity corupressed resin to increase the weight of the shoe thereby rermarkably enhancin g the exercise effect of the wearer.

Her-einafter a fabrication p rocess of the midsoles=s and/or outsoles in use with the heavy sh oes according to the ~third to fifth embodiments of the inventi on will be described.

Natzural rubber is mixed witch synthetic rubber ox nitril rubber and butadieme rubber, and then wit=h Bas0, of high specific gravity filler. M ixture is pressed witlm a roll press to enhance molecular mass as wrell as plasticity and viscosity. The pressed . mixture is mixed again with 2Zn0, S, stearic acid, vulcanizing accelerator, and then pressed again t=o prepare shee ts at a predetermined thickness, preferably, eat a thickness of about

Smm.

The pressinar is performed under t—he pressure of about 6 to 8kgf/cm? at a termperature range of 130 to 160T for 5 to 8 mins.

The sheets a re prepared at a hard ness of about 4 5 to 60, preferably, at a hardness of about 50 to 55.

These sheets are stacked one atop another with dessirable number, loaded into a mold, and heated to form into thne shape } of an insole.

The weight-fincreasing member fabericated as abowse has a specific gravity o f about 2.0 or more anca various masses of about 300 to 1200g according to filler contents=s at 255mm size, and thus can be used as we ight-increasing means of shoes.

The weight-Ancreasing members fambricated via tlkne above process have physical properties as repoorted in Table 1 above.

Industrial Applic ability

As set forth above, the insole asseembly for increa_sing the weight of a footwezar such as a shoe acc=ording to the imvention 95 is made from onlys synthetic rubber arad/or resin to sovercome various problems nduced from metal ele=ments that are _inserted into an outsole and/or an insole of a shoe.

The insol e assembly of the invent don can also save= cost since the mold for the weight-increasin g member made of metal is not necessary and an assembly processs is simplified.

Because m etal is not adopted, the insole assembly <f the invention can reelieve the wearer from the dnconvenience of t=aking off the footwea r or separating metal memkoers when he/she goasses through an airport scanner. The footwrear does not germerate noises during walking although the coutsol-e is partially wormout, and thus can pr-olong its lifetime. Als o, the footwear i s not soiled since it does not rust even though water-washed for = long time.

In the meantime, natural perfume and herb or medicine powder may be adlded to the synthetic resim or rubber of the i nsole to improve foo health.

Further, the heavy footwear accord ing to the invention is made from only synthetic rubber and/or re sin to overcome various problems inducesd from metal elements that are inserted imto an outsole and/or an insole of a shoe.

The heavy footwear of the invention can also save cost since the mold for thme weight-increasing membe=r made of metal 3s not necessary and aan assembly process is sZimplified.

Because metal is not adopted, the heavy footwear of the invention can reslieve the wearer from the inconvenience of t—aking 95 off the footweaxr or separating metal memJXoers when he/she Dasses through an airport scanner. The footwrear does not gernerate noises during walking although the outsol e is partially wor nout,

WNO 2005/060779 PCT/KR2004/000325 and thus can prolong it s lifetime. Also, the= footwear is not soiled since it does not rust even though water —washed for a long time.

While the present invention has been sh.-own and described in connection with the prreferred embodiments, i t will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modificatiomns and variations can be made without departing from the spirit. and scope of the invention as defined bys the appended claims.

Claims (21)

Claims

1. An insole assembly (100, 200) used for iracreasing the weight of a footwear comprising: Ss a lower insole (110, 210) made of a compressed resin having a high specific gravity; and an upper insole (120, 220) laid on the lower insole (110, 210).

2. The insole assemboly according to claim 1 , wherein the lower insole (110, 210) is made of a compression rmolded resin.

3. The insole assemioly according to claim 2 , wherein the compression molded resin has a specific gravity o f at least 2.

4. The insole assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the lower insole (210) has, im a top surface (212) tlhereof, front concave portions (214), & rear concave portion (218) and a plurality of longitudinal grooves (216) for connectzing the front concave portions (214) with the rear concave por—tion (218).

5. The insole assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the lower insole (210) has longitudinal and lateral cgrooves (224, 226) formed in an underside (222) thereof and conmscave portions (228) formed in a central portion of the underside (222) and connected with the longitudinal grooves (228).

6 . The insole assembly acc ording to claim 1, wherein the lower i nsole (210) has a plurali ty of through hole s (220) for connect-ing a top surface (212) with an underside (222).

7 . The insole assembly acc ording to claim 1, wherein the upper i nsole (240) has an anti~s’lip projection (252a) in a top front portion thereof.

8 . The insole assembly according to claim 1, wherein the upper insole (240) has vent holees (248) perforated vertically in a froont portion thereof and projections (250) —formed in a bottom front portion thereof.

9 . The insole assembly according to claim 1, wherein the upper insole (240) has a corvex portion (252 ) extended longitiadinally in a top central portion to support a -metatarsus.

1 0. The insole assembly acecording to claim 1, wherein the upper i-nsole 240 has a hollow ccancave portion (254 ) formed in a bottom rear portion thereof.

1 1. The insole assembly ac<ording to claim 1, wherein the upper i.nsole (140, 240) has a support portion (142_, 242) made of a hamd resin for preventing the foot of a wearer fr—om twisting and a cesontact portion (144) made of a thin cloth and laid on the support- portion (142, 242).

12. The ins ole assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a shock—absorbing member (130, 230) attached to a rear end (110b, 210b) of the upper insole (110, 210) .

13. A heavy weight footwear comprising: a body (320, 420, 520) for housing a foot; an outsole (340, 440, 540) connected to the loody (320, 420, 520) for supportin g the foot, at least a portion of the outsole being made of a compressed resin having a high specific gravity; and an insole la id on the outsole (340, 440, 5 40) within the body (320, 420, 520).

14. The heavy weight footwear according to claim 13, wherein the whole part of the outsole (440, 540) is made of the high specific grawity compressed resin.

15. The heavy weight footwear according to claim 13, wherein the high s pecific gravity compressed resin is inserted into the outsole (440, 540).

16. The heavy weight footwear according to claim 13, further comprisingg a midsole (330, 530) laid between the outsole (340, 540) and the body (320, 520), at least a portion of the midsole (330, 53€) being made of a high specific gravity compressed resin.

17. The heavy weight footwear acceording to claim 16, wherein the whole part of the midsole (330. 530) is made of the= high specific gravity compressed resin.

18. The heavy weight footwear accoording to claim 16, wherein the high specific gravity compress ed resin is inserted. into the midsole (330, 530).

19. A heavy weight footwear comprissing: a body (320) for housing a foot; a midsole (330) connected to the body (320) for supporting the foot, at least a portion of the outseole being made of a compressed resin having a high specific g ravity; an outsole (340) attached to an under side of the midsole: and an insole laid on the midsole withira the body.

20. The heavy weight footwear according to claim 19, wherein the whole part of the midsole is made of the high specific gravity compressed resin. ]

21. The heavy weight footwear according to claim 19, wherein the high specific gravity compressed resin is inserted into the midsole (330).