U.S. patent application number 10/032486 was filed with the patent office on 2003-07-03 for ventilated insole.
This patent application is currently assigned to Eddie Chen. Invention is credited to Tsai, Jesse, Wang, Danniella.
Application Number | 20030121174 10/032486 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 21865179 |
Filed Date | 2003-07-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030121174 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsai, Jesse ; et
al. |
July 3, 2003 |
Ventilated insole
Abstract
An insole includes an insole pad which has a toe section, a heel
section and a shank section and which is constituted of top and
bottom sheets heat sealed together. The top and bottom sheets
confine therebetween a first air chamber in the toe section, a
second air chamber in the heel section and an air passage in the
shank section. The air passage is relatively narrower than the
first and second air chambers. A compressible resilient member is
disposed in the second air chamber so that, when the heel section
is compressed and released, the second air chamber can act as an
air pump to draw air into the first air chamber and force the air
out of the first air chamber through vent holes formed in the toe
section.
Inventors: |
Tsai, Jesse; (Taichung City,
TW) ; Wang, Danniella; (Taichung City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP
1111 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NW
WASHINGTON
DC
20004
US
|
Assignee: |
Eddie Chen
|
Family ID: |
21865179 |
Appl. No.: |
10/032486 |
Filed: |
January 2, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/3B ;
36/29 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 7/081 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/3.00B ;
36/29 |
International
Class: |
A43B 013/20 |
Claims
I claim:
1. An insole comprising an insole pad having a heel section, a toe
section, and a shank section between said heel and toe sections,
said insole pad being constituted of top and bottom sheets which
are laid one over the other and which are heat sealed together,
said top and bottom sheets confining therebetween a first air
chamber at said toe section, a second air chamber at said heel
section, and an elongated and narrow air passage extending in said
shank section and connected fluidly to said first and second air
chambers, said air passage being narrower than said first and
second air chambers, said insole pad further having a resilient
member disposed in said second air chamber, said insole pad being
compressible when said heel section is compressed and expandable to
return said heel section to an uncompressed original state, said
top sheet having vent holes formed in said toe section.
2. The insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said resilient member
is configured as a resilient block disposed in said second air
chamber and formed with a plurality of through-holes extending
along a direction from said top sheet to bottom sheet.
3. The insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said top sheet further
has a plurality of protrusions projecting downward and toward said
bottom sheet.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a shoe sole, more particularly to
an insole capable of circulating air inside a shoe.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] It is known in the art to ventilate shoes by using shoe
soles incorporating air circulation systems which can circulate air
inside the shoes or which can draw fresh air into the shoes or
expel internal air from the inside to the outside of the shoes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,349 discloses a ventilated shoe having an
outsole which has a plurality of resilient encasements positioned
within the sole, a plurality of check valves connected between the
resilient encasements, an air intake connected to the resilient
encasements, and a plurality of apertures projecting into the sole.
While the aforesaid outsole can draw fresh air from the heel part
of the shoe and discharge the same to the toe part of the shoe, the
construction thereof is complicated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an insole
with a simple ventilation system which can be fabricated via a
simple manner and which can circulate air inside a shoe.
[0006] Accordingly, an insole comprises an insole pad having a heel
section, a toe section, and a shank section between the heel and
toe sections, the insole pad being constituted of top and bottom
sheets which are laid one over the other and which are heat sealed
together, the top and bottom sheets confining therebetween a first
air chamber at the toe section, a second air chamber at the heel
section, and an elongated and narrow air passage extending in the
shank section and connected fluidly to the first and second air
chambers, the air passage being narrower than the first and second
air chambers, the insole pad further having a resilient member
disposed in the second air chamber, the insole pad being
compressible when the heel section is compressed and expandable to
return the heel section to an uncompressed original state, the top
sheet having vent holes formed in the toe section.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a plan view of an insole embodying the present
invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the insole of FIG.
1;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a top sheet of the
insole of FIG. 1; and
[0011] FIG. 4 is a plan view of a resilient member of the insole of
FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0012] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, an insole embodying the
present invention is shown to include an insole pad 1 having a toe
section 11, a heel section 12 and a shank section 13 between the
toe and heel sections 11, 12. The insole pad 1 is constituted of
top and bottom sheets 21, 22 which are preformed individually and
which are laid one over the other and heat sealed together. The top
and bottom sheets 21, 22 confine a first air chamber 31 in the toe
section 11, a second air chamber 32 in the heel section 12, and a
narrow and elongated air passage 33 formed in the shank section 13
and connected fluidly to the first and second air chambers 31, 32.
To provide the first and second air chambers 31, 32 and the air
passage 33, the toe, heel and shank regions 211, 212, 213 of the
top sheet 21 in this embodiment are concave as best shown in FIG.
3. A plurality of vent holes 214 are formed in the toe region 211
of the top sheet 21 to communicate with the first air chamber 31.
Preferably, a plurality of protrusions 215 are formed in the top
sheet 21 to project downward and toward the second sheet 22 to
serve as a reinforcement support for the top sheet 21.
[0013] The insole pad 1 further has a resilient member 4 disposed
in the second chamber 32. The resilient member 4 is compressible
when the heel section 12 is compressed and expandable to return the
heel section 12 to an uncompressed original state. The top end of
the resilient member 4 abuts against the top sheet 21, whereas the
bottom end thereof abuts against the bottom sheet 22. The resilient
member 4 is configured as a resilient block 41 which is fabricated
from an elastomeric material. The resilient block 41 has a
plurality of through-holes 42 extending from the top to the bottom
of the resilient block 41.
[0014] When the insole pad 1 is placed inside a shoe and when the
heel section 12 of the insole pad 1 is pressed by the foot of a
wearer, the second air chamber 32 and the resilient block 41 are
compressed so that the air in the second chamber 32 is forced into
the first air chamber 31 through the air passage 33 and is expelled
out of the first air chamber 31. When the pressure on the heel
section 12 is removed, the resilient block 41 returns to its
original state, and the second air chamber 32 expands, thereby
producing a suction force inside the second air chamber 32. The
suction force draws air into the first air chamber from the outside
of the insole pad 1. As such, the insole pad 1 can circulate the
air inside a shoe which includes the insole pad 1.
[0015] Note that the air passage 33 is relatively narrower than the
first and second air chambers 31, 32 and that the vent holes 214
are provided only in the toe section 11 of the insole pad 1 so that
effective blowing of air can be accomplished in the toe section 11
of the insole pad 1.
[0016] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
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