U.S. patent application number 11/336739 was filed with the patent office on 2007-07-26 for shoe with ventilated arch support region.
This patent application is currently assigned to Eddie Chen. Invention is credited to Phyllis Chang, Eddie Chen.
Application Number | 20070169375 11/336739 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38284156 |
Filed Date | 2007-07-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070169375 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen; Eddie ; et
al. |
July 26, 2007 |
Shoe with ventilated arch support region
Abstract
A shoe includes a shell that has a bottom wall, and a peripheral
wall which extends upward from a periphery of the bottom wall. The
bottom wall includes a front region, a rear region, and an arch
support region between the front and rear regions. An upper is
connected to the peripheral wall. Front and heel sole units are
connected to the front and rear regions of the bottom wall,
respectively. At least one of the front and heel sole units
includes a midsole component and an outsole component. The arch
support region has no midsole component and no outsole component,
and is provided with a ventilation hole.
Inventors: |
Chen; Eddie; (Taichung City,
TW) ; Chang; Phyllis; (Taichung City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CHRISTENSEN, O'CONNOR, JOHNSON, KINDNESS, PLLC
1420 FIFTH AVENUE
SUITE 2800
SEATTLE
WA
98101-2347
US
|
Assignee: |
Eddie Chen
|
Family ID: |
38284156 |
Appl. No.: |
11/336739 |
Filed: |
January 20, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/3B |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 7/125 20130101;
A43B 7/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
036/003.00B |
International
Class: |
A43B 7/06 20060101
A43B007/06 |
Claims
1. A shoe comprising: a shell including a bottom wall, and a
peripheral wall which extends upward from a periphery of said
bottom wall, said bottom wall including a front region, a rear
region, and an arch support region between said front and rear
regions; an upper connected to said peripheral wall; a front sole
unit connected to said front region of said bottom wall; and a heel
sole unit connected to said rear region of said bottom wall,
wherein: at least one of said front and heel sole units includes a
midsole component and an outsole component; and said arch support
region has no midsole component and no outsole component, and is
provided with a ventilation hole.
2. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shell is a molded
shell.
3. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said arch support region
is elevated between said front sole unit and said heel sole
unit.
4. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shell further
includes a toe cap portion formed on a front end of said peripheral
wall.
5. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said peripheral wall is
looped and extends in full length of said periphery of said bottom
wall.
6. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outsole component
is bonded adhesively to said midsole component, and said midsole
component is bonded adhesively to said bottom wall.
7. The shoe as claimed in claim 6, wherein both of said front and
heel sole units have said midsole component and said outsole
component.
8. The shoe as claimed in claim 6, wherein said front sole unit
includes said midsole component and said outsole component.
9. The shoe as claimed in claim 6, wherein said heel sole unit
includes said midsole component and said outsole component.
10. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottom wall has an
outer bottom face and an inner top face, said ventilation hole
extending through said outer bottom face and said inner top face,
said arch support region being exposed at said outer bottom
face.
11. The shoe as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a function
layer attached to said inner top face and spanning said ventilation
hole.
12. The shoe as claimed in claim 11, wherein said function layer is
a waterproof breathable layer.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe
that has an exposed arch support region to reduce material costs
and weight and to facilitate the provision of a ventilating
structure therein.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional shoe 10 generally has an
outsole 11, a midsole 12 connected to an upper side of the outsole
11, a shell 13 provided on and connected to the midsole 12, and an
upper 14 having a lower edge connected to the shell 13. The outsole
11 and the midsole 12 are primarily formed from a rubber/plastic
material to provide a cushioning effect for the shoe 10. The shell
13 is primarily formed from relatively a rubber/plastic material to
sustain the shape of the shoe 10. The upper 14 is usually formed
from a fabric or leather material, and is provided with an opening
141 so that the wearer can put his foot into the shoe 10 through
the opening 141. The aforesaid conventional shoe 10 in general
suffers from the following drawbacks:
[0005] 1. As the outsole 11, the midsole 12, and the shell 13,
which together constitute a three-layer sole structure, extend
along the entire length of the shoe 10, material costs are high.
Besides, the shoe 10 is relatively heavy.
[0006] 2. In order to keep the interior of the shoe 10 dry, various
ventilating structures, such as ventilation holes, are generally
provided in the sole structure to permit exchange of air. For
instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,823,609, 6,681,500, and 6,655,048,
ventilation or breath ability in the lower part of the shoe is
achieved by providing a multi-layer outsole structure, in
combination with the provision of passages in the layers and the
use of functional materials. That is, for the two or multi-layer
sole structure, when ventilation holes are formed in the outsole
11, corresponding ventilation holes have to be formed in the
midsole 12 and the shell 13 as well, thereby resulting in a
complicated design. Besides, the correspondence among the
ventilation holes must be precise, thereby resulting in a laborious
and time-consuming fabrication process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a shoe with a shell including an exposed arch support region that
can be conveniently formed with a ventilating structure.
[0008] Accordingly, a shoe of this invention includes: a shell
including a bottom wall, and a peripheral wall which extends upward
from a periphery of the bottom wall, the bottom wall including a
front region, a rear region, and an arch support region between the
front and rear regions; an upper connected to the peripheral wall;
a front sole unit connected to the front region of the bottom wall;
and a heel sole unit connected to the rear region of the bottom
wall. At least one of the front and heel sole units includes a
midsole component and an outsole component. The arch support region
has no midsole component and no outsole component, and is provided
with a ventilation hole.
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 embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0010] FIG. 1 shows a conventional shoe;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a preferred embodiment of
a shoe according to this invention, which has front and heel sole
units provided with midsole and outsole components;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment,
but with an upper omitted;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the preferred embodiment,
illustrating an arch support region provided with ventilation
holes; and
[0014] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment taken
along line 5-5 of FIG. 4, illustrating the ventilation holes.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, the preferred embodiment of a
shoe 20 according to the present invention is shown to include a
molded shell 21, an upper 24, and front and heel sole units 26, 27.
The shell 21 includes a bottom wall 211, and a peripheral wall 212
which extends upward from a periphery of the bottom wall 211, and
has an outer bottom face 2111 and an inner top face 2110. The
bottom wall 211 includes a front region 201, a rear region 203, and
an arch support region 202 between the front and rear regions 201,
203. The peripheral wall 212 is looped, and extends in full length
of the periphery of the bottom wall 211. The shell 21 further
includes a toe cap portion 213 formed on a front end of the
peripheral wall 212 so as to protect the front end of the wearer's
foot during walking movement of the wearer. The upper 24 is
connected to the peripheral wall 212 by a known method, such as
stitching or cementing.
[0016] The front and heel sole units 26, 27 are respectively
connected to the front and rear regions 201, 203 of the bottom wall
211. Each of the front and heel sole units 26, 27 includes a
midsole component 22 and an outsole component 23. The outsole
component 23 is bonded adhesively to the midsole component 22, and
the midsole component 22 is bonded adhesively to the bottom wall
211.
[0017] This invention is characterized in that, unlike the front
and rear regions 201, 203 which are provided with the front and
heel sole units 26, 27, respectively, the arch support region 202
has no midsole component and no outsole component. Therefore, the
arch support region 202 is elevated between the front and heel sole
units 26, 27, and is exposed to the outside at the outer bottom
face 2111, thereby imparting a new look to the shoe 20. Besides,
the exposed arch support region 202 can be conveniently provided
with a ventilation unit 25. In this embodiment, the ventilation
unit 25 includes a plurality of ventilation holes 251 that extend
through the outer bottom face 2111 and the inner top face 2110, and
a function layer 252 attached to the inner top face 2110 and
spanning the ventilation holes 251. The function layer 252 may be
formed from a waterproof and breathable layer, or a screen layer
capable of blocking entry of sand particles. In this embodiment,
the function layer 252 is a layer of waterproof breathable material
(e.g., a fabric well known as Goretex.RTM.), as best shown in FIGS.
4 and 5. As shown, the ventilation holes 251 may have various
shapes and are disposed at the center and near the sides of the
arch support region 202. While the shoe 20 of this embodiment is
provided with the ventilation holes 251 and the function layer 252,
the shoe 20 may still be provided with water proofing means, such
as breathable waterproofing linings or tapes, etc.
[0018] 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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