U.S. patent application number 10/974997 was filed with the patent office on 2006-05-04 for shoe replicating benefits of mountain climbing.
Invention is credited to Hwi Kim.
Application Number | 20060090372 10/974997 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36260179 |
Filed Date | 2006-05-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060090372 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; Hwi |
May 4, 2006 |
Shoe replicating benefits of mountain climbing
Abstract
A pair of shoes for maintaining the elevation of a mountain for
a wearer even while walking on a plane (street) is provided. The
shoes of the current application have a front sole that is much
higher than the heel thereof. The front sole is developed in a
distorted trapezoidal form. The upper side of the front sole, the
longest side of the sole, is adhered to an upper, which carries the
wearer's foot, from the waist of the shoe to the toe portion
thereof. One of the sides of the front sole that faces the heel
direction of the shoe is in a convex arcuate shape. The front sole
has cushioning means, such as air pockets, deep grooves, and
springs for compression thereof while walking. Insole of the shoe
of the current application is made of silicon rubber containing
powders of bio-ceramics, loess and charcoal. Pluralities of
protrusions are developed on the foot-contacting surface of the
insole. Inclined insole enabling the same effect with a plane shoes
is also provided.
Inventors: |
Kim; Hwi; (US) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Eugene Oak, Ph.D., J.D.,;Patent Attorney
610 S. Van Ness Ave.
Los Angeles
CA
90005
US
|
Family ID: |
36260179 |
Appl. No.: |
10/974997 |
Filed: |
October 28, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/25R ;
36/132 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 5/00 20130101; A43B
5/18 20130101; A43C 15/02 20130101; A63B 69/0048 20130101; A43B
3/00 20130101; A43B 13/145 20130101; A63B 69/0028 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
036/025.00R ;
036/132 |
International
Class: |
A43B 13/14 20060101
A43B013/14; A43B 5/00 20060101 A43B005/00 |
Claims
1. A pair of shoes for simulating the posture of mountain climbing
of a wearer while walking on a plane street is provided with
trapezoidal front soles, which are developed from the waist of the
shoes to the front tip along with the longest side thereof, a side
of which facing the heel of the shoe is in a convex arcuate shape,
a flat side and front side are in a straight-line shape; and air
pockets and small springs for providing a compressive repulsion
force to the sole are developed inside thereof.
2. A pair of shoes for simulating the posture while mountain
climbing of a wearer while walking on a plane street in claim 1,
wherein the trapezoidal front soles are detachably attached to the
shoes via band type attachment means, both ends of which have
Velcro.RTM. on the surface and both of the other ends are attached
to the front sole, with the aid of protrusions developed on the
soles and grooves developed on the bottom surface of the shoes for
receiving the protrusions.
3. A pair of shoes for simulating the posture while mountain
climbing of a wearer while walking on a plane street in claim 1 and
claim 2, wherein the height of the front sole is in the range of 5
cm to 15 cm depends on the position in the front sole.
4. A pair of shoes for simulating the posture while mountain
climbing of a wearer while walking on a plane street in claim 1,
claim 2 and claim 3, wherein the pair of shoes is sandals.
5. A pair of shoes for simulating the posture while mountain
climbing of a wearer while walking on a plane street in claim 1,
claim 2 and claim 3, wherein the pair of shoes is sneakers.
6. A pair of shoes for simulating the posture while mountain
climbing of a wearer while walking on a plane street in claim 1,
claim 2 and claim 3, wherein the pair of shoes is dress shoes.
7. A pair of shoes for simulating the posture while mountain
climbing of a wearer while walking on a plane street in claim 1,
claim 2 and claim 3, wherein the pair of shoes is boots.
8. A pair of shoes for simulating the posture while mountain
climbing of a wearer while walking on a plane street in claim 1,
claim 2 and claim 3, wherein the pair of shoes is golf shoes.
9. A pair of golf shoes for simulating the posture while mountain
climbing of a wearer while walking on a plane street in claim 8,
wherein spikes are developed on the bottom of the heel and on a
side facing the heel.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Diseases of adults such as obesity and stress come from the
lack of enough exercise. Mountain climbing is one of the most
popular and most simple exercises for people of all ages. However,
it is very hard to make time and go out to a mountain area,
especially for those living in a city area far away from the
mountains and lacking time for exercise. The shoes of current
application recreates for the wearer the incline and therefore
posture of mountaineering while the wearer is walking on a street
of flat road. It is purpose of the current application to provide
shoes for those people who wish to climb mountains for exercise and
other benefits, but have no time to head to a mountain.
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to shoes that replicate the
incline and benefits of mountain climbing while walking on a plane,
especially, shoes having a front sole much higher than the heel of
the shoes.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,757 to Jackinsky illustrates a shoe
having a forwardly inclined heel with the advantages of an
arcuately tapered toe. The rear portion increases linearly in
thickness in the forward direction, the sole's overall thickness
being correspondingly increased. The forward portion is of
forwardly decreasing thickness, the sole tapering arcuately to
forward termination of the shoe.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,073 to Robinson illustrates a walking
shoe that is provided with a reverse wedge, i.e., one which
increases in thickness in the forward direction. The reverse wedge
terminates forwards of the shoe heel.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,672 to Fasse illustrates a boot over
sole and carrier attachment for boots, such as ski boots. The boot
over sole is characterized by a wedged thickness, which compensates
for the unnatural leg angle imposed by ski boots. The tread of the
over sole is preferably of dovetail grooves to provide good
traction and to allow the over soles of a mating pair to be easily
interlocked.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,104 to Calkin, et al. illustrates a
conventional ski boot provided with a walking attachment configured
as a removable, curved sole arranged with toe and heel straps
configured to be clipped over the front and rear ledges of the
boot, the deepest portion of the curved sole being located under
the ball of the foot for allowing the foot to rock rearward, thus
enabling the leg to be straightened at the knee for normal
walking.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,476 to Anderie illustrates a running
shoe comprising a front sole of hard plastic material for mounting
gripping elements, and a support member arranged behind the
rearmost gripping elements, of elastically deformable material. In
order to ensure that it is better possible to maintain a foot
attitude required for optimum running efficiency, the support
member is a wedge member which increases in thickness in a rearward
direction and which comprises a relatively hard but elastically
pressure-deformable material, wherein the underside thereof is
disposed approximately in one plane with the front sole, and the
wedge member extends at least with its portion associated with the
outer edge of the sole, into the shank region of the sole.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,445 to Brisco illustrates a walking sole
accessory for a ski boot is disclosed. The accessory includes a
sole having a convex bottom surface and means for attaching the
sole to a ski boot. The attachment means are operated manually and
adjust to accommodate a wide range of boot sizes. The walking sole
accessory allows a ski boot wearer to enjoy a comfortable walking
gait.
[0010] None of the prior art illustrates a shoe with a trapezoidal
front sole that is much higher than the heel and starts from the
waist of a shoe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Diseases of adults such as obesity and stress mainly come
from lack of enough exercise. Mountain climbing is an extremely
popular and simple exercise for people of all ages. The shoes of
current application recreates for the wearer the incline and
therefore posture of mountaineering while the wearer is walking on
a street of flat road. It is purpose of the current application to
provide shoes for those people who wish to climb mountains for
exercise and other benefits, but have no time to head to a
mountain. The shoes refer all the shoes such as sandals, sneakers,
dress shoes, golf shoes, and boots. The shoes of the current
application have a front sole that is much higher than the heel
thereof. The front sole is developed in a distorted trapezoidal
form. The upper side of the front sole, the longest side of the
sole, is adhered to an upper that carries the wearer's foot by
various means such as band combined with protuberances and grooves,
glue, and Velcro.RTM.s from the waist of the shoes to the toe
portion thereof. One of the sides of the front sole that faces the
heel direction is in a convex arcuate shape. The front sole has
cushioning means such as air cushion and springs for compression
thereof when walking. Insole of the shoe of the current application
is made of material containing silicon rubber, bio-ceramics, loess
and charcoal. Inclined insole rendering the same effect to a plane
shoes is also provided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing showing the leg and foot
arrangement of a wearer of the shoes of the current
application.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the shoe of current
application.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of walking in shoes of prior
arts.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of walking in shoes of current
application.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a front view of the shoe with the front sole of
current application.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a side view of the sandal of current
application.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a perspective rear view of the sandal of current
application showing protrusions developed on the insole of the
sandal.
[0019] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of sandal
having an attachment means.
[0020] FIG. 9 is an exploded drawing of the sole and the
sandal.
[0021] FIG. 10 is a side view of a front sole engaged sandal by
attachment means.
[0022] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an inner sole for raising
the front part of a wearer's foot.
[0023] FIG. 12 is a schematic side view showing the folding of the
ankle of a user wearing a shoe with the insole of current
application.
[0024] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a golf shoe with a
trapezoidal front sole of current application.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing showing the leg (1) and foot
(2) arrangement of a wearer of the shoe (3) of the current
application. The angle (4) between the foot (2) and the leg (1) is
less than 85 degrees. The purpose of providing a shoe of the
current application is to minimize this angle (4) to simulate the
posture of a person who is mountain climbing.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a shoe (3) of current
application. The front sole (5) of the shoe (3) of current
application is in a distorted trapezoidal shape. The sole (5) is
developed from the waist (6) of the shoe (3) to the front tip (7)
along with the longest side thereof. A side (8) facing the heel (9)
of the shoe (3) is in a convex arcuate shape. A flat side (10) and
front side (11) are in a straight-line shape. Air pockets (12) and
small springs (13) providing a compressive repulsion force to the
sole (5) are developed inside thereof. This shape and position of
the front sole (5) is totally different from the prior arts. All
the prior arts illustrate soles in a triangular wedge shape
developed throughout the entire length of the bottom of the
shoes.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the side (8) of the front
sole (5) that faces the heel (9) touches the ground. In this
position, the sole of the foot of the wearer is fully stretched and
the angle (4) between the leg (1) and foot (2) is minimized. At the
same time the muscle in the calf of the leg (1) is stretched,
stimulating the sole, foot and calf of the wearer. This does not
happen when a user wears the shoes of prior arts.
[0028] FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of walking in a shoe (14) with
wedge type front sole (15) of prior arts. When a user walks wearing
a shoe (14) with wedge type front sole (15) of the prior arts, the
heel (16) touches the ground (17) first, the flat side (18) of the
front sole touches the ground and then the heel (16) takes off from
the ground. FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of walking in a shoe (3)
with trapezoid type front sole (5) of current application. In this
case, the heel (9) touches the ground first, the arculated heel
facing side (8) touches the ground, and then the heel (9) takes off
from the ground. In these steps, the maximum of the angle (4)
between the leg (1) and foot (2) of the wearer is maintained much
lower than the prior arts' angle (4'). Therefore, more stimulation
is transferred to the foot and leg of the wearer. However, there is
a limit to decreasing the angle (4) because of the limit of the
joint of a human ankle. If the front sole (5) is too high, simply
walking straight is impossible. FIG. 5 is a front view of the shoes
(3) with trapezoid shape front sole (5) of current application.
Desirable height (19) of the front sole (5) falls in the range of 5
cm to 15 cm, depending on the position in the front sole and height
of the heel (9), in the range of 0.3 cm to 2 cm.
[0029] FIG. 6 is a side view of a sandal (20) of current
application showing pluralities of deep grooves (21) developed on
the front sole (22). That grooves (21) provide compressive
repulsion force to the front sole (22). Air pockets (12) and small
springs (13) that are shown in the FIG. 2 are another option for
the compressive repulsion force. FIG. 7 is a perspective rear view
of the sandal of FIG. 6 showing protrusions (23) developed on the
insole (24) of the sandal (20). The protrusions (23) have a
massaging effect on the sole of the wearer. The protrusions (23)
and insole (24) of the sandal (20) are made with same material
comprised of silicon rubber containing powders of bio-ceramics,
loess and charcoal.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of sandal
(25), a detachably attached front sole (26) sandal, having an
attachment means (27). The front sole (26) may be the same as the
one shown in FIG. 6 and that shown in FIG. 2. Whatever the apparent
look, the front sole is engaged to the sandal (25) by means of
protrusions (28) and grooves (29). FIG. 9 is an exploded drawing of
the sole (26) and the sandal (25) showing protrusions (28)
developed on the sole (26) and grooves (29) developed on the bottom
surface of the sandal (25) for receiving the protrusions (28). The
band type attachment means (27) is attached to the front sole (26).
Both ends of the attachment means have Velcro.RTM. (30) on the
surface thereof. FIG. 10 is a side view of the sandal (25) engaging
a front sole (26) by attachment means (27). The wearer uses this
sandal (25) for normal walking by undoing the attachment means (27)
and taking off the sole (26) from the sandal (25). This detachably
attached front sole (26) is applicable to any of shoes of the
current application.
[0031] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an inner sole (31) for
raising the front part of a wearer's foot. By inserting the inner
sole (31) into shoes (32) having a flat inside bottom, a wearer can
enjoy the same effect as that of climbing a mountain. FIG. 12 is a
schematic side view showing the folding of the ankle of a user when
apply the insole (31) into a shoes (32) having flat inside bottom.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a golf shoe (33) with a
trapezoidal front sole (34) of current application. Spikes (35) are
developed on the bottom of the heel (36) and a side (37) facing the
heel (36).
* * * * *