U.S. patent application number 10/156398 was filed with the patent office on 2002-10-10 for thermal, bi-modal heat-pump and cushioning shoe insole.
Invention is credited to Dennis, Michael R., Monk, Russell A..
Application Number | 20020144425 10/156398 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26671352 |
Filed Date | 2002-10-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020144425 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dennis, Michael R. ; et
al. |
October 10, 2002 |
Thermal, bi-modal heat-pump and cushioning shoe insole
Abstract
A bi-modal thermal insole heat pump and shock cushioner which
can selectively be reversibly deployed in a shoe to act, with
regard to its heat-pump capabilities, either as a heat-deliverer or
as a heat-remover with respect to the underside of a user's
foot.
Inventors: |
Dennis, Michael R.;
(Scappoose, OR) ; Monk, Russell A.; (Salem,
OR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROBERT D. VARITZ, P.C.
2007 S.E. GRANT STREET
PORTLAND
OR
97214
US
|
Family ID: |
26671352 |
Appl. No.: |
10/156398 |
Filed: |
May 27, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10156398 |
May 27, 2002 |
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10003122 |
Nov 14, 2001 |
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60281604 |
Apr 4, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
36/2.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 7/081 20130101;
A43B 7/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/2.6 |
International
Class: |
A43B 007/02 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A bi-modal, reversibly and removably deployable, shoe-insole
heat-pump structure in the form of a generally planar plural-layer
assembly comprising a heat-delivery layer formed of a material
wherein deliverable heat develops internally as a consequence of
dynamic deformations that take place in the material during wearing
use inside a shoe, said heat-delivery layer having one facial
expanse defining a heat-delivery side for said heat-pump structure,
and an opposite facial expanse, and a heat-removal, cooling layer
formed of a low-surface-friction, moisture-wicking material having
one facial expanse joined to said opposite facial expanse in said
heat-delivery layer, and an opposite facial expanse defining a
heat-removing side for said heat-pump structure, said layers, as
joined into said assembly, having an appropriate, laterally
reversible, left-shoe/right-shoe perimetral outline, depending upon
which of the layers constitutes the upper, foot-engaging layer as
installed removably in a shoe, whichever one of the layers that is
deployed as the upper layer in a particular use installation
determining whether the wearer experiences heating or cooling with
regard to the assembly that includes that layer
2. The heat-pump structure of claim 1, wherein said heat-delivery
layer is specifically formed of one or more
acceleration-rate-sensitive material(s).
3. The heat-pump structure of claim 2, wherein said
acceleration-rate-sensitive material is a viscoelastic material.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation from regular U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/003,122. filed Nov. 14, 2001 for
"Cushioning Shoe Insole", which application, as does this
continuation application also, claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 60/281,604, filed Apr. 4, 2001 for "Cushioning
Shoe Insole". Both of these predecessor and serially copending
patent applications are hereby incorporated into this application
by reference.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to a cushioning and thermally active
shoe insole structure, and in particular to insole structure which
functions as a reversible heat pump, depending upon insole
orientation, within the confines of an otherwise conventional
shoe.
[0003] A preferred embodiment of the invention is described herein
in the form of a two-layer structure, one side of which can act
advantageously as a heat-delivery side, and the opposite side in
which can act as a heat-removal, or cooling, side.
[0004] Further, the invention focuses on such an insole structure
which, in addition, performs as an extremely effective
shock-absorbing mechanism in a shoe.
[0005] A preferred embodiment of the proposed heat-pump insole
includes at least one acceleration-rate-sensitive (typically
viscoelastic) layer having opposite facial expanses, to one of
which expanses is bonded a low-friction, wear-resistant,
moisture-wicking fabric material.
[0006] We have discovered that such an insole construction uniquely
functions as a kind of reversible, passive heat pump, depending
upon which side of the structure, inside a shoe during use, faces
upwardly toward contact with the underside of a user's foot. Very
specifically what we have discovered is that when a preferred
structure like that just generally set forth above is employed
inside a shoe, the uncovered "rate-sensitive" side, or surface, of
the structure functions as a heat-delivery surface, and the
opposite, moisture-wicking-fabric side, or surface, when facing
upwardly inside a shoe, acts as a heat-removing and cooling
surface.
[0007] While various acceleration-rate sensitive materials may be
employed in the structure of this invention, so-called viscoelastic
materials which fit within this category have been found to be very
satisfactory. It is for this reason that a preferred embodiment of
the invention is described herein in the context of such a
viscoelastic material.
[0008] The various interesting features and important and unique
advantages that are offered by the present invention will become
more fully evident as the description that now follows is read in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a simplified plan view illustrating an isolated
shoe insole which is constructed in accordance with the present
invention.
[0010] FIG. 2 is an enlarged and fragmentary side elevation, taken
generally along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1. The small insole fragment
which appears at the right side of FIG. 2 illustrates a modified
construction wherein a cushioning layer structure is made up of
more than just a single specific material.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a view somewhat like that presented in FIG. 2,
generally illustrating how the insole of FIGS. 1 and 2 responds, in
relation to its shock-absorbing capabilities, to dynamic
loading.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a simplified plan view of a pair of side-by-side
insole heat-pump structures constructed in accordance with the
present invention, placed inside left and right shoes (not shown)
in such a fashion that the insole's upwardly facing sides are those
sides which are formed by the fabric material mentioned above.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a simplified and stylized cross-sectional view,
taken generally along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4, and employing two
different styles of squiggly arrows to picture heat-flow activity
engaged in by these insole heat-pump structures in accordance with
this invention.
[0014] FIG. 6 is very similar to FIG. 4, except that here, the same
two insole heat-pump structures have been turned over (top for
bottom) and switched laterally (left to right) so that they now
occupy a pair of shoes (not shown) wherein their upper surfaces are
the viscoelastic-material surfaces mentioned above.
[0015] FIG. 7 is a simplified cross-sectional view, very much like
that presented in FIG. 5, here also employing two different
characters of squiggly arrows to illustrate heat-pump activity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] Turning attention now to the drawings, a preferred form of a
proposed heat-pump insole structure (or insole) of this invention
is indicated generally at 10. This insole is constructed in such a
fashion that it is provided to a user in mirror-image pairs. As was
generally described above, and as will be more filly described
below, the two insoles in a given, supplied pair are essentially
mirror-image copies of one another which can be placed (a) with one
set of orientations in a left and right shoe with a
common-structure upwardly facing surface, and (b) with another set
of orientations flipped and reversibly placed in left and right
shoes with common opposite facial structure then facing upwardly.
With these insoles deployed so that their directly exposed,
acceleration-rate-sensitive, viscoelastic sides face upwardly, the
insoles act as heat deliverers to the underside of a user's feet.
In the opposite orientation or deployment, flipped over and
switched in a left-to-right manner, and with, now, the
moisture-wicking fabric material facing upwardly, the insoles act
as heat removers relative to the undersides of a user's feet.
[0017] In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, only one mirror-image version of the
proposed insole is illustrated. A description of this version will
adequately suffice to describe the opposite mirror-image
counterpart.
[0018] FIG. 4-7 inclusive illustrate matched pairs of insoles, and
how they can be employed reversibly and bi-modally in accordance
with the present invention.
[0019] Beginning, therefore, with a description of what is shown in
FIG. 1, 2, and 3, insole 10 is preferably formed to be employable
as a free insert for an already constructed shoe, and specifically
to be an insert which will form-fittingly rest on the bottom inside
surface of a shoe, with the perimetral outline of the insole
substantially extending to the full perimetral outline of the
inside exposed base area in the shoe.
[0020] Insole 10 includes a heat-flowable, anti-spring-back, shock
(acceleration)-rate-sensitive cushioning layer 12, preferably
formed of a material such as the micro-cellular, viscoelastic,
urethane material known as Poron.RTM. 400 Performance Urethane
Series 90, Formation #94. This particular material is manufactured
by Rogers Corporation in Woodstock, Conn.
[0021] Layer 12, which has upper and lower surfaces 12a, 12b,
respectively, as seen in FIG. 1, and which is formed preferably
from a viscoelastic material like that just specifically
identified, has an important behavioral pattern, or set of
capabilities, whereby (a) it deforms in an
acceleration-rate-sensitive manner (the greater the acceleration,
the slower the responsive deflection), (b) it self-generates a
significant amount of heat as it is subjected to repeated,
normal-walking (or running), reversible deformation in use, (c) it
returns slowly from such a deformation toward an undeformed
condition without exhibiting any appreciable spring-like
mannerisms, and (d) it delivers heat from its broad, outwardly
facing, preferably uncovered surface expanse during its retarded
return toward to a non-deformed state, and in fact, throughout the
period of time that is it actually in use beneath a user's
foot.
[0022] By way of contrast, and specifically discussing contrasts in
relation to shock-cushioning behavior, an undesirable spring-action
response to a deflection (which does not occur with respect to the
behavior of layer 12) occurs where a material effectively reacts
to, and tends to return from, a force-impact deflected condition
with a felt return force, and in a time-frame, that generally match
those of the event which has produced the subject deflection. A
non-spring-like response, which importantly is characteristic of
the behavior of layer 12, takes the form of a return (from a
shock-force/impact deflection) that is retarded over time, and
characterized by a lowered, overall-felt, return-force behavior. In
a sense, a material behaving in this non-spring-like manner tends
to "creep" back toward an undeformed condition, and this is
precisely how the material which makes up layer 12 in accordance
with the present invention behaves in the overall performance of
insole 10. This behavior plays a significant role in minimizing the
presence of localized high-pressure contact regions between a shoe,
the insole and the underside of a user's foot.
[0023] Another important advantage which is offered by layer 12 in
the insole is that it tends to flow (at a creep) with heat and
compression, and thus tends to deform gradually to create an
upwardly facing, topographically conforming, foot-support surface
which tends to complement and follow the configuration of the
underside of the supported foot. This behavior is what enables
insole 10 to obviate high-pressure contact regions with a user's
foot.
[0024] The exposed surface-expanse area of layer 12 which remains
uncovered, so-to-speak, in the final preferred construction of
insole 10 has a surface frictioning quality which, when stood upon
directly (i.e., directly contacting the underside of a wearer's
foot), plays an important role herein in the generating of
friction-induced heat. This friction heat-generating facet of the
behavior of layer 12, when coupled with the layer's above-mentioned
propensity to "self-generate" heat as a consequence of repeated
reversible deformations, offers, as the present invention proposes,
a significant opportunity to employ the insole of this invention as
a heat-delivering heat-pump.
[0025] Layer 12 herein has a thickness of about {fraction
(3/16)}-inches. Variations in this thickness have a bearing on the
heat-generating performance of layer 12, with thicker layers
generally acting to generate more appreciable heat than thinner
layers. Thus, thickness of this layer offers to designers a
performance-variation option vis-a-vis heat delivery behavior.
[0026] The small fragment of insole 10 which appears at the right
side of FIG. 2 illustrates a modified form of insole, wherein layer
12 includes two sub-layers 12c, 12d. Each of these layers is formed
of an appropriate, through selectively somewhat different,
viscoelastic material. This form of the insole provides a somewhat
different kind of behavior, especially in relation to cushioning
and shock-absorbing performance.
[0027] Suitably surface-bonded to surface 12a in layer 12 is a
thin, fabric, moisture-wicking, low-surface-friction layer 14.
Preferably, layer 14 is formed of a woven-fibre fabric material,
such as that known as HEATHERSTONE.RTM., made by Lee Fashion
Fabrics, Inc., in Gloversville, N.Y. Fabric layer 14 herein has a
thickness preferably of about {fraction (1/64)}-inches, and
includes elongate, stretch-resistant fibres (see 14a in the
figures) that function as tension-active, load-distributing
components in the fabric.
[0028] Layer 14 plays several important cooperative roles (i.e.,
cooperative with layer 12) in insole 10. One of these roles
involves furnishing a surface which has a low coefficient of
sliding friction, so as to minimize friction heat development
around the foot of a user during normal shoe use with layer 14
directly lying beneath a user's foot. Another role involves the
wicking of moisture which typically develops in a shoe, and
carrying this moisture efficiently to the side edges (perimeter) of
the insole where that moisture can quickly evaporate, and in so
doing, provide cooling within a shoe. Yet another role of layer 14
is that its fibres act as elongate load-distributing elements that
aid in spreading localized load events to a broader area within the
insole.
[0029] From the description of insole 10 which has just been given,
it will be apparent that its opposite broad faces, one of which is
defined by surface 12b in layer 12, and other of which is defined
by the exposed surface expanse of the fabric material in layer 14,
act bi-modally to deliverer or remove heat from the region of
contact with the underside of a user's foot, depending upon which
one of these surfaces faces upwardly in the manner that the insole
is deployed in a shoe. An so, with insole 10 deployed in a shoe
with fabric layer 14 facing upwardly, this insole acts as a cooling
heat-pump. With this same insole flipped over, and deployed in the
opposite-foot shoe, and with surface 12b of layer 12 facing
upwardly beneath a user's foot, the insole acts like a
heat-delivery heat-pump. Thus the insole offers the opportunity to
provide bi-modal heat delivery or heat removal selectively, and
under appropriate wearing conditions, all at the user's complete
selection.
[0030] While the preferred construction of insole 10 is one wherein
side 12b in layer 12 is completely uncovered, an additional
modification of the invention involves employing a thin fabric
layer over this surface as a modest modifier of heat-delivery
activity. Such a thin layer of fabric, which can be thought of as
being represented visually in FIG. 2 by a thin portion of the line
therein designated with reference character 12a, can be employed to
"tone down" the delivery of heat.
[0031] Offered by insole 10 of this invention, along with the
just-expressed important heat-pump capabilities, are shock-handling
qualities which will now be more fully described.
[0032] As was pointed out earlier, the material which makes up
cushioning layer 12 responds to shock-force/impact loading in such
a fashion that it has a tendency to return from a deformation
(produced by such loading) in a retarded, slow and low-return-force
(non-springy) fashion. This "low-return-force" behavior is
evidenced by the material returning toward an undeformed
(unshock-deformed) condition without displaying anywhere the same
level of local return force or pressure which characterizes the
initial loading per se.
[0033] FIG. 3 is expressly presented to highlight this important
performance of layer 12 in insole 10. In solid lines in this
figure, layers 12, 14 are shown representationally shock-deflected
to produce the combined deformation generally indicated as a
depression at D. Dash-double-dot-lines show the undeformed, prior
dispositions of the local upper surfaces of these two layers.
[0034] Short, solid, downwardly-pointing arrow T.sub.1, and long,
shaded, downwardly-pointing arrow F.sub.1 represent related
time-span and applied-force characteristics, respectively, of the
shock event which has produced deformation D. Long, solid,
upwardly-pointing arrow T.sub.2, and short, shaded, upwardly
pointing arrow F.sub.2, represent the related time-span and
return-force characteristics, respectively, of how layer 12, in
cooperation with layer 14, will try to return from the
shock-deformed state. As can be seen, T.sub.2 is greater in length
than is T.sub.1, and F.sub.1 is greater in length than is F.sub.2.
These comparative and differentiated "lengths" represent the
time-span and force-level behavioral characteristics which signal
the kind of non-spring-factor cushioning response which produces
the remarkable cushioning performance that is offered by the
present invention. Fibers 14a, as indicated cooperatively by
reversed arrows 16 in FIG. 3, act to distribute and spread load
laterally in the insole.
[0035] On another point, the several outwardly pointing arrows
which radiate from the letter M in FIG. 1 represent how moisture is
wicked by layer 14 to the lateral (perimetral) edges of insole 10.
At the perimeter of the insole, such wicked moisture readily
evaporates, and introduces effective and noticeable cooling in a
shoe equipped with the insole of this invention.
[0036] Shifting attention now to FIG. 4-7, inclusive, FIGS. 4 and 5
illustrate schematically and very simply two different points of
view relating to two, mirror-image insoles 20, 22 which are formed
with the construction described above for insole 10. These two
insoles are deployed in left and right shoes, respectively, in
FIGS. 4 and 5 and very specifically are deployed in such as fashion
that their respective fabric sides 20a, 22a face upwardly to engage
directly the undersides of a user's feet. The exposed viscoelastic
sides of these two insoles, shown at 20b, 22b, are downwardly
facing in the deployment pictured in FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0037] With this deployment of insoles 20, 22 in shoes (not shown),
heat is removed from the region beneath a wearer's foot, such heat
removal being indicated by broad squiggly arrows 24, and heat is
vented, or pumped, outwardly and downwardly through the bottom
viscoelastic sides of the insoles, as is indicated by pairs of
squiggly arrows 26.
[0038] In FIGS. 6 and 7, matters are reversed. Here, insoles 20, 22
have been shifted left to right, placed in the opposite shoes
respecting where they were as pictured in FIGS. 4 and 5, and have
been turned over gravitationally so that their upper surfaces are
now the viscoelastic surfaces. With this deployment of insoles 20,
22, heat is delivered upwardly to the underside of a user's feet,
and is withdrawn from the region of the interface between the
undersides 20a, 22a of the insoles and the bottom inside surfaces
(upwardly facing but not shown) of the respective, associated
shoes.
[0039] Insoles 20, 22 are preferably formed with perimetral
outlines that are the mirror images of one another with respect to
commonly facing broad expanse surfaces. They can easily be
reversibly deployed, as was just described, in a user's shoes of
the appropriate size, thus to give the user an opportunity to
utilize the insoles either as heat-delivery heat-pumps, or as
heat-removal heat-pumps, depending upon various conditions, and as
selected by the user.
[0040] The insole structure thus proposed by the present invention
offers some very special advantages in relation to conventional
insoles. Its construction is quite simple, and it lends itself
readily to incorporation removably in just about any conventional
shoe design. By selecting the gravitational orientation of a pair
of matched insoles, these insoles, when installed and in use, can
act selectively either as heat-pump deliverers of heat, or as a
heat-pump removers of heat. Heating of the material in layer 12
during normal use, and regardless of the gravitational orientation
of that layer, causes the portion or the surface of the associated
insole which directly contacts a user's foot to form fit with
respect to the underside of the foot.
[0041] Acceleration-rate-sensitivity in layer 12 leads to
significant anti-spring-back behavior, and contributes to a
remarkable ability of the insole, in addition to acting as a
versatile, reversible (or bi-modal) heat-pump, to cushion shock
loads. Fabric layer 14 acts as a low-friction surface in the insole
which is especially effective when the insole is deployed so as to
remove heat from the region of interfacial contact between the
insole and the user's foot. The moisture-wicking capability of
layer 14 draws moisture away from beneath the foot, under
circumstances with the foot engaging this layer, transporting that
moisture to the perimeter of the insole, and thus promoting
heat-removal cooling.
[0042] Accordingly, while the present invention has been disclosed
in a particular setting, and with a particular structural form
herein, it is appreciated that variations and modifications may be
made without departing from the spirit of the invention.
* * * * *