U.S. patent application number 10/834243 was filed with the patent office on 2005-11-03 for shoe with breathable shell.
Invention is credited to Chen, Eddie.
Application Number | 20050241179 10/834243 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35185587 |
Filed Date | 2005-11-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050241179 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen, Eddie |
November 3, 2005 |
Shoe with breathable shell
Abstract
A shoe has a shell including a front part, a rear part, and two
opposite intermediate parts extending between the front and rear
parts. The shell has a flexible corrugated portion which includes a
plurality of crests and valleys that extend along a direction
transverse to a line parallel to a front-to-rear direction of the
shell, and a plurality of vent holes formed in the corrugated
portion. The corrugated portion is extendable and compressible.
Inventors: |
Chen, Eddie; (Taichung City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HUNTON & WILLIAMS LLP
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPARTMENT
1900 K STREET, N.W.
SUITE 1200
WASHINGTON
DC
20006-1109
US
|
Family ID: |
35185587 |
Appl. No.: |
10/834243 |
Filed: |
April 29, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/3A ; 36/102;
36/3R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 7/085 20130101;
A43B 7/08 20130101; A43B 13/141 20130101; A43B 1/0018 20130101;
A43B 7/125 20130101; A43B 23/027 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
036/003.00A ;
036/003.00R; 036/102 |
International
Class: |
A43B 007/06 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A shoe comprising: a shell including a front part, a rear part,
and two opposite intermediate parts extending between said front
and rear parts, said shell having a flexible corrugated portion
which includes a plurality of crests and valleys that extend along
a direction transverse to a line parallel to a front-to-rear
direction of said shell, and a plurality of vent holes formed in
said corrugated portion, said corrugated portion being extendable
and compressible.
2. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said corrugated portion
is a molded body which is formed by a molding process.
3. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said corrugated portion
is composed of a plurality of separate pieces.
4. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shell further has a
cutout part and a bounding edge confining said cutout part, said
flexible corrugated portion having a peripheral end connected to
said bounding edge.
5. The shoe as claimed in claim 4, wherein said bounding edge
includes a front edge extending forwardly of said corrugated
portion and a rear edge extending rearwardly of said corrugated
portion, said front and rear edges being movable toward and away
from each other when said front part is flexed and moved relative
said rear part.
6. The shoe as claimed in claim 4, wherein said vent holes are
formed at said peripheral end of said corrugated portion at a
junction of said peripheral end and said bounding edge.
7. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said corrugated portion
is provided in said front part of said shell corresponding in
position to an instep of a wearer.
8. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said corrugated portion
is provided in said rear part of said shell.
9. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said corrugated portion
is made of a material selected from the group consisting of a
thermoplastic material, natural leather, synthetic leather, and a
fabric material.
10. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shell further
includes a tongue in said front part, said corrugated portion being
provided in said tongue.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe
with a breathable shell.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional ventilated shoe
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,690 is shown to include an upper
unit 1 having a plurality of vent holes 102 formed in intermediate
lateral portions 101 thereof, and a midsole unit formed with a
plurality of openings (not shown) which correspond in position to
the vent holes 102 so as to enable circulation of air through the
upper unit 1. Although such a shoe permits ventilation, the air
within the shoe cannot be effectively expelled to the outside. That
is, the ventilating effect of the shoe is not satisfactory.
[0005] Referring to FIG. 2, in another breathable shoe disclosed in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,438, a mechanical air pump 3 is mounted on a
toe part of an upper unit 2 such that when the wearer walks, the
pumping action of the air pump 3 helps drive the air within the
shoe to the outside, thereby dissipating the bad odor of the foot,
and the heat and moisture built up within the shoe to the outside.
However, such a shoe is complicated and expensive to
manufacture.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,652 discloses a shoe including a shell
having an upper part provided with a corrugated portion so as to
improve the comfort to the wearer. However, the shoe does not
provide a ventilating effect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a shoe with a breathable shell having a flexible corrugated portion
formed with vent holes to permit ventilation of the shoe when the
wearer moves.
[0008] Accordingly, a shoe of this invention comprises a shell
which includes a front part, a rear part, and two opposite
intermediate parts extending between the front and rear parts. The
shell has a flexible corrugated portion which includes a plurality
of crests and valleys that extend along a direction transverse to a
line parallel to a front-to-rear direction of the shell, and a
plurality of vent holes formed in the corrugated portion. The
corrugated portion is extendable and compressible.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional shoe with an
upper unit provided with vent holes;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic, partly sectional view of another
conventional shoe with an upper unit provided with a mechanical air
pump;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first preferred
embodiment of a shoe according to this invention;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3,
illustrating a flexible corrugated portion a shell of the first
preferred embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing how the shell of the
first preferred embodiment flexes;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view taken along line 6-6 of
FIG. 5, illustrating how air is expelled through the flexible
corrugated portion of the shell of the first preferred embodiment
when the latter is compressed during flexing of the shell;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a flexible
corrugated portion of a shell of the second preferred embodiment
according to this invention;
[0017] FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view taken along line 8-8 of
FIG. 7;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7, but illustrating the
flexible corrugated portion in a compressed state;
[0019] FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the third preferred
embodiment of a shoe according to this invention;
[0020] FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the fourth preferred
embodiment of a shoe according to this invention;
[0021] FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the fifth preferred
embodiment of a shoe according to this invention; and
[0022] FIG. 13 is a schematic sectional view of a tongue of a shell
of the fifth preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] Before the present invention is described in greater detail,
it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same
reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
[0024] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the preferred embodiment of a
shoe 100 according to the present invention is shown to include a
sole unit 10 and a shell 20 secured to the sole unit 10.
[0025] The shell 20 has a front part 110 corresponding to a toe
part of the shoe 100, a rear part 120 opposite to the front part
110 and corresponding to a heel part of the shoe 100, and two
opposite intermediate parts 130, 140 extending between the front
and rear parts 110, 120. The shell 20 further has opposite upper
and lower surfaces 21, 22, a cutout part 23 formed in the front
part 110 thereof and extending from the lower surface 22 to the
upper surface 21, a bounding edge confining the cutout part 23, and
a flexible corrugated portion 30 which has a peripheral end
connected to the bounding edge. In this embodiment, the bounding
edge includes a front edge 232 extending forwardly of the
corrugated portion 30, and a rear edge 233 extending rearwardly of
the corrugated portion 30.
[0026] The corrugated portion 30 is made of a material selected
from the group consisting of a thermoplastic (plastic or rubber)
material, natural leather, synthetic leather, and a fabric
material, and has a peripheral end connected to the bounding edge
of the shell 20. In this embodiment, the corrugated portion 30 has
first and second peripheral edges 31, 32 connected respectively to
the front and rear edges 232, 233 of the bounding edge by
conventional techniques, such as sewing, adhesive bonding, and heat
bonding. The corrugated portion 30 includes a plurality of crests
331 and valleys 332 that extend along a direction transverse to a
line parallel to a front-to-rear direction of the shell 20, and a
plurality of vent holes 34 formed in the corrugated portion 30. The
corrugated portion 30 may be a molded body formed by a molding
process. Alternatively, the corrugated portion 30 may be composed
of a plurality of separate pieces. In this embodiment, the
corrugated portion 30 extends across the shell 20 from the
intermediate part 130 to the intermediate part 140, and is provided
in the front part 110 of the shell 20 corresponding in position to
an instep of the wearer. The vent holes 34 are through holes which
may be formed in the corrugated portion 30 at any suitable
positions to permit communication between the interior of the shoe
100 and the ambient air.
[0027] By virtue of the aforesaid construction, when the front part
110 is flexed and moved relative to the rear part 120 during
walking of the wearer, the corrugated portion 30 will be extended
and compressed along the front-to-rear direction so that the front
and rear edges 232, 233 of the bounding edge move toward and away
from each other (see FIGS. 4 to 6). When the corrugated portion 30
is compressed (see FIGS. 5 and 6), the air within the shoe 100 will
be forced out through the vent holes 34 to the outside, as
indicated by the arrows in FIG. 6. When the corrugated portion 30
is thereafter extended, the ambient air is drawn into the shoe 100
through the vent holes 34. In other words, the present invention
utilizes the flexing and unflexing actions of the shell 20 at the
corrugated portion 30 during walking of the wearer to achieve
exchange of air between the air inside the shoe 100 and the ambient
air to thereby expel the heat, moisture, and bad odor pent-up
within the shoe 100.
[0028] In addition to having the capability to ventilate the shoe
10, the corrugated portion 30 also facilitates flexing of the shell
20. Moreover, due to the arrangement of the corrugated portion 30
in the front part 110 of the shell 20 where the shell 20 will be
bent when the user flexes his/her foot during walking, generation
of undesirable creases at the front part 110 of the shell 20 can be
avoided.
[0029] It is worth noting that a waterproof breathable film (not
shown) can be applied to an inner surface of the corrugated portion
30 to provide waterproofing and ventilating functions when the shoe
100 is adapted for use as a waterproof shoe.
[0030] Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, the corrugated portion 30' of the
shell 20 of the second preferred embodiment of a shoe according to
this invention is shown to be substantially similar to that of the
first preferred embodiment in construction. The major difference
therebetween resides in that, in addition to the vent holes 34',
additional vent holes 341' are formed at the peripheral end of the
corrugated portion 30' by sewing the first and second edges 31',
32' of the corrugated portion 30' to the front and rear edges 232,
233 in such a manner as to form the vent holes 341' between the
front edge 232 and the first edge 31' and between the rear edge 233
and the second edge 32'. With the provision of the vent holes 341',
ventilation of the shoe according to this invention can be further
enhanced.
[0031] Certainly, the corrugated portion 30' can be formed from a
plurality of separate pieces connected together by sewing, and the
vent holes 34' are holes through which the sewing threads pass (not
shown).
[0032] FIG. 10 shows the third preferred embodiment of a shoe 100'
according to this invention. As shown, the shoe 100' is in the form
of a boot having a shell 200 which is composed of a lower 200A and
an upper 200B. A corrugated portion 300 is provided in a front part
110' of the lower 200A corresponding in position to the instep of
the wearer so as to permit circulation of air through the
corrugated portion 300 when the wearer walks or squats.
[0033] Referring to FIG. 11, the fourth preferred embodiment of a
shoe 100' according to this invention is also in the form of a
boot, and differs from the third preferred embodiment mainly in
that the corrugated portion 300' is provided in the rear part 120'
of the shell 200 at a location above the heel of the wearer. As
such, when the wearer walks or squats, the shoe 100' can be
ventilated.
[0034] Referring to FIG. 12, the fifth preferred embodiment of a
shoe 100" according to this invention is also in the form of a
boot, and differs from the previous preferred embodiments mainly in
that the shell 200' further includes a tongue 150, and that the
corrugated portion 300" is provided in the tongue 150. Referring to
FIG. 13, the tongue 150 may include a soft and porous filler 151
disposed between the corrugated portion 300' and a lining 152 to
provide comfort as well as ventilation.
[0035] In summary, with the arrangement of the corrugated portion
at the front part or the rear part of the shell, the shoe of this
invention can virtually breathe, and can bend or flex easily
without creating unsightly creases on the shell.
[0036] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiments 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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