U.S. patent application number 11/562479 was filed with the patent office on 2008-05-22 for shoe sole with shock absorbing capability.
Invention is credited to Joey Hsieh.
Application Number | 20080115389 11/562479 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39415502 |
Filed Date | 2008-05-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080115389 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hsieh; Joey |
May 22, 2008 |
Shoe Sole with Shock Absorbing Capability
Abstract
A shoe sole includes: a sole unit defining at least one recess;
at least one elastic body received in the recess and having a
cellular structure that defines at least two levels of cells, the
two levels of the cells being disposed one above the other, each of
the cells defining a cell space therein; and a filler material that
fills the cell space of each of the cells.
Inventors: |
Hsieh; Joey; (Chang-Hua
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WHYTE HIRSCHBOECK DUDEK S C
555 EAST WELLS STREET, SUITE 1900
MILWAUKEE
WI
53202
US
|
Family ID: |
39415502 |
Appl. No.: |
11/562479 |
Filed: |
November 22, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/30A ; 36/25R;
36/28 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 13/189 20130101;
A43B 13/187 20130101; A43B 13/181 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/30.A ;
36/25.R; 36/28 |
International
Class: |
A43B 13/42 20060101
A43B013/42; A43B 13/00 20060101 A43B013/00; A43B 13/18 20060101
A43B013/18 |
Claims
1. A shoe sole with shock absorbing capability comprising: a sole
unit defining at least one recess; at least one elastic body
received in said recess and having a cellular structure that
defines at least two levels of cells, said two levels of said cells
being disposed one above the other, each of said cells defining a
cell space therein; and a filler material that fills said cell
space of each of said cells.
2. The shoe sole of claim 1, wherein said sole unit includes an
outsole that defines said recess, and a tread member attached to
said outsole and covering a bottom side of said recess, said
cellular structure having a surrounding wall that defines an inner
space and that is disposed between and that is attached to said
outsole and said tread member, and a plurality of interconnected
webs that are disposed in said inner space and that are connected
to said surrounding wall so as to define said cells.
3. The shoe sole of claim 2, wherein said surrounding wall has two
open ends that are opposite to each other in a horizontal
direction, each of said open ends of said surrounding wall defining
an opening, each of said webs extending between said open ends of
said surrounding wall, each of said cells extending in the
horizontal direction, said shoe sole further comprising an elastic
film that is attached to one of said open ends of said surrounding
wall so as to cover said opening of said one of said open ends of
said surrounding wall.
4. The shoe sole of claim 1, wherein said filler material is
selected from the group consisting of gel, silicone, polyurethane
resin, and soft rubber.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a shoe sole, more particularly to
a shoe sole including an elastic body having a cellular structure
that defines a plurality of horizontally extending cells.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional shoe sole 1 attached to an
upper of a footwear article. The shoe sole 1 includes an outsole 10
formed with a recess 11, and an elastic body 12 received in the
recess 11. The elastic body 12 is formed with a plurality of
vertically extending through-holes 13, each of which is filled with
a filler 14 so as to provide a shock absorbing effect. However,
since the structure thus formed for the elastic body 12 has a
relatively poor compressibility in a compression direction (Y)
toward the ground, the shock absorbing effect provided by the
conventional shoe sole 1 is relatively poor when a downward force
(F) is applied to the shoe sole 1.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a shoe
sole that can overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.
[0006] According to this inventions there is provided a shoe sole
that comprises: a sole unit defining at least one recess; at least
one elastic body received in the recess and having a cellular
structure that defines at least two levels of cells, the two levels
of the cells being disposed one above the other, each of the cells
defining a cell space therein; and a filler material that fills the
cell space of each of the cells.
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 embodiments of the invention, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary schematic view of a conventional
shoe sole attached to an upper of a footwear article;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first preferred
embodiment of a shoe sole according to this invention;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an elastic body of the first
preferred embodiment;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment
viewed from a bottom side;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of the first preferred
embodiment in a compressed state;
[0013] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an elastic body of the
second preferred embodiment according to this invention;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an elastic body of the third
preferred embodiment according to this invention;
[0015] FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the fourth preferred
embodiment according to this invention;
[0016] FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the fifth preferred embodiment
according to this invention; and
[0017] FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the sixth preferred
embodiment according to this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate the first preferred embodiment of a
shoe sole of a footwear article according to this invention.
[0019] The shoe sole includes: a sole unit 2 defining at least one
recess 20; at least one elastic body 3 received in the recess 20
and having a cellular structure that defines at least two levels of
cells 30, the two levels of the cells 30 being disposed one above
the other, each of the cells 30 defining a cell space therein; and
a filler material 34 that fills the cell space of each of the cells
30.
[0020] In this embodiment, the sole unit 2 includes an outsole 21
that defines the recess 20 disposed at a heel portion of the shoe
sole, and a tread member 22 attached to the outsole 21 and covering
a bottom side of the recess 20. The cellular structure of the
elastic body 3 has a surrounding wall 31 that defines an inner
space 310 and that is disposed between and that is attached to the
outsole 21 and the tread member 22, and a plurality of
interconnected webs 32 that are disposed in the inner space 310 and
that are connected to the surrounding wall 31 so as to define the
cells 30. Note that the webs 32 and the surrounding wall 31 are
formed integrally into one single piece in this embodiment.
[0021] Preferably, the filler material 34 is selected from the
group consisting of gel, silicone, polyurethane resin, and soft
rubber.
[0022] The surrounding wall 31 has two open ends 35 that are
opposite to each other in a horizontal direction (Z). Each of the
open ends 35 of the surrounding wall 31 defines an opening 350.
Each of the webs 32 extends between the open ends 35 of the
surrounding wall 31. Each of the cells 30 extends in the horizontal
direction (Z). The shoe sole further includes an elastic film 33
that is attached to one of the open ends 35 of the surrounding wall
31 so as to cover the opening 350 of said one of the open ends 35
of the surrounding wall 31.
[0023] In this embodiment, the surrounding wall 31 has a curved
upper wall portion 311 and a curved lower wall portion 312
connected end-to-end to the upper wall portion 311. The webs 32 are
grouped into substantially parallel first webs 32 and substantially
parallel second webs 32 that extend in a direction opposite to that
of the first webs 32 and that intersect the first webs 32 to form
the cells 30. Preferably, each of the webs 32 is inclined relative
to the upper and lower wall portions 311, 312 of the surrounding
wall 31 such that a top vertex angle .theta. of each of the cells
30 is greater than 90 degrees.
[0024] FIG. 5 illustrates the first preferred embodiment disposed
in a compressed state. By virtue of the cellular structure, the
compressibility of the elastic body 3 in the compression direction
(Y) toward the ground is enhanced as compared to the aforesaid
conventional shoe sole, and the elastic body 3 can be easily
deformed by a downward force (F), thereby enhancing the shock
absorbing effect. At the compressed state, the top vertex angle
.theta. is enlarged as a result of the downward force (F).
[0025] FIG. 6 illustrates the second preferred embodiment of the
shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole differs from
the previous embodiment in the cellular structure of the elastic
body 3. The cellular structure of the elastic body 3 of this
embodiment has four levels of the cells 30. Each level includes
different sizes of the cells 30. The different sizes of the cells
30 of the four levels are arranged in a staggered manner.
[0026] FIG. 7 illustrates the third preferred embodiment of the
shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole differs from
the previous embodiments in the cellular structure of the elastic
body 3.
[0027] FIG. 8 illustrates the fourth preferred embodiment of the
shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole of this
embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the shoe
sole of this embodiment includes two elastic bodies 3 and that the
sole unit 2 is formed with two recesses 20, each of which receives
a respective one of the elastic bodies 3. One of the recesses 20 is
disposed adjacent to a toe portion of the shoe sole, while the
other of the recesses 20 is disposed adjacent to the heel portion
of the shoe sole.
[0028] FIG. 9 illustrates the fifth preferred embodiment of the
shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole of this
embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the recess
20 in the outsole 21 of this embodiment extends from the heel
portion to the toe portion of the shoe sole.
[0029] FIG. 10 illustrates the sixth preferred embodiment of the
shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole of this
embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the recess
20 substantially spans two lateral sides of the heel portion of the
shoe sole.
[0030] By virtue of the cellular structure of the elastic body 3,
which includes multi-level cells 30 disposed one above the other,
the shoe sole of this invention can enhance the compressibility in
the compression direction (Y) toward the ground as compared to the
aforesaid conventional shoe sole.
[0031] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what are 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
interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
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