U.S. patent application number 14/330451 was filed with the patent office on 2015-01-15 for quick change shock mitigation outsole insert with debris shield.
The applicant listed for this patent is B&B Technologies L.P.. Invention is credited to Jeffrey W. Brown.
Application Number | 20150013191 14/330451 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52275973 |
Filed Date | 2015-01-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150013191 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brown; Jeffrey W. |
January 15, 2015 |
Quick Change Shock Mitigation Outsole Insert with Debris Shield
Abstract
An article of footwear has a shock absorbing insert placed
between the insole and the outsole thereof, for example at the
heel. The insert includes a spring carrier having upper and lower
portions, each having a plurality seats for receiving a respective
ends of respective coil springs. Each of the springs extends
between said upper and lower portions and is captured therebetween.
A magnetic spring supplements the mechanical springs. The springs
and carrier are protected from environmental elements and abrasive
particles by a debris shield.
Inventors: |
Brown; Jeffrey W.; (San
Diego, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
B&B Technologies L.P. |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52275973 |
Appl. No.: |
14/330451 |
Filed: |
July 14, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61957910 |
Jul 15, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/102 ;
36/27 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 7/1465 20130101;
A43B 21/00 20130101; A43B 1/0054 20130101; A43B 7/144 20130101;
A43B 13/182 20130101; A43B 7/1445 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
36/102 ;
36/27 |
International
Class: |
A43B 13/18 20060101
A43B013/18 |
Claims
1. An article of footwear comprising an outsole, an inner sole, and
a shock absorbing insert disposed between the outsole and the inner
sole, said insert comprising a spring carrier having upper and
lower portions, each of said portions having a plurality seats for
receiving a respective ends of respective mechanical compression
springs, a like plurality of mechanical compression springs, each
extending between said upper and lower portions and being captured
therebetween, a single magnetic spring disposed between the
mechanical compression springs, said magnetic spring comprising a
pair of permanent magnets of opposed polarity, and a debris shield
for containing said spring carrier and said springs, said debris
shield being adapted to protect said springs from environmental
elements and abrasive particles.
2. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein each of the
mechanical compression springs is a coil spring and each of the
spring seats has a double wall defining an annular volume for
securely holding an end of a respective coil spring.
3. The article of footwear of claim 1, further comprising snap-in
structure for holding the insert in the footwear.
4. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the upper and lower
portions of the spring carriers are integrally interconnected by a
living hinge.
5. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the seats are molded
integrally with and as part of the spring carrier.
6. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the insert further
comprises upper and lower magnet canisters formed in the plate,
amid the mechanical compression spring seats.
7. The article of footwear of claim 6, wherein the canisters are
aligned on an axis which lies on the vertical center plane of the
insert.
8. The article of footwear of claim 7, wherein the mechanical
compression spring seats are arranged around the canisters, at a
uniform radial distance from said axis.
9. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein said magnets are
rare earth permanent magnets having a magnetic strength of at least
35 mgo.
10. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the insert further
comprises a debris shield to protect the springs and magnets from
water, dirt and abrasive particles.
11. The article of footwear of claim 11, wherein the debris shield
has at least one pull tab that a user can grasp to remove or
replace the insert.
12. The article of footwear of claim 1, further comprising a
footbed between the outsole and the insole.
13. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the insert is
disposed in a recess in the outsole, beneath the footbed.
14. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the insert is
disposed in a recess in the outsole, above the footbed.
15. A shock-absorbing spring insert assembly for footwear, said
assembly comprising a spring carrier having upper and lower
portions, each of said portions having a plurality seats for
receiving a respective ends of respective mechanical compression
springs, a like plurality of mechanical compression springs, each
extending between said upper and lower portions and being captured
therebetween, and a magnetic spring disposed between the magnetic
compression springs, said magnetic spring comprising a pair of
permanent magnets of opposed polarity, wherein said upper and lower
portions of the spring carrier are interconnected by a hinge so
that the spring carrier can be opened to permit servicing or
replacement of the springs, whereby characteristics of the insert
may be adjusted for different wearers or to control supination
and/or pronation of a wearer's foot.
16. The insert assembly of claim 15, wherein the hinge is a living
hinge formed integrally with said upper and lower portions.
17. The insert assembly of claim 15, further comprising a debris
shield for containing said spring carrier and said springs, to
protect said mechanical and magnetic springs from environmental
elements and abrasive particles, said debris shield comprising a
flexible envelope having an opening at one side into which the
spring assembly can be inserted, prior to installation of the
spring assembly into the footwear.
18. The insert assembly of claim 17, wherein the flexible envelope
is made of rubber or an elastomeric polymer.
19. The insert assembly of claim 17, wherein the debris shield has
formed thereon at least one pull tab to facilitate installation and
removal of the spring assembly.
20. The insert assembly of claim 15, wherein the mechanical and
compression springs are selected to as to together support a load
in the range of 100-600 pounds without binding.
Description
[0001] This application claims benefit of provisional application
61/957910, filed Jul. 15, 2013.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to shock absorbing footwear.
[0003] Numerous footwear inventions have been proposed for
absorbing shock and adding lift, particularly in the athletic shoe
field. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,304 describes footwear with
a cushioning sole structure in which a sealed internal member in
the sole is inflated with gas to form a resilient insert in the
heel region of the shoe. Various shoe structures have also been
proposed in which springs are embedded in the shoe sole in the heel
region or over the entire sole. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No.
5,502,901, No. 5,138,776, No. 4,566,206, and No. 4,592,153. Some of
these structures are bulky and heavy, or cannot effectively be
manufactured. My own patents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,502,901 and
7,213,350) describe improvements over those prior patents.
[0004] One problem with prior shock absorbing footwear, including
my own, is that the characteristics of the shock absorber,
particularly including the load capacity, cannot be easily
adjusted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide new and
improved items of footwear which have improved shock absorbing
properties and which also add lift and propulsion to the foot of a
wearer when walking or running
[0006] In this invention, two strong permanent magnets are placed
in a cavity in the heel in magnetic opposition so that they are
repelled from one another and tend to hold the cavity open. This
magnetic spring acts in conjunction with mechanical (coil) springs
to dissipate shock and further add lift and propulsion to the
wearer's foot in motion.
[0007] The coil springs and magnetic spring together are designed
to support an air-flux gap within the sole member at all times.
This permits continuous and more effective shock dissipation than
when the gap is closed, solid or absent under load.
[0008] The coil springs and magnets work in conjunction to absorb
and dissipate load or shock as the foot hits the ground.
Subsequently, as the load shifts from the heel to the ball of the
foot, both the coil springs and the magnets bias the opposing walls
of the cavity apart, giving lift or propulsion to the wearer.
[0009] The shock absorbing insert of this invention may be used in
any type of footwear, such as sports/athletic shoes, boots, casual
shoes, work shoes, children's shoes, orthopedic shoes, sandals and
the like. It significantly reduces shock to the body while walking,
running or in other types of foot motion, and adds lift and
propulsion, thereby reducing fatigue.
[0010] An object of the invention is to provide an article of
footwear having an improved, easily replaceable, spring insert in
the heel.
[0011] These and other objects are attained by a shock absorbing
footwear as described below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] In the accompanying drawings,
[0013] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment
of shock absorbing footwear embodying the invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a similar view of a second embodiment of the
invention;
[0015] FIG. 3 is an unexploded sectional view of the second
embodiment, taken on a vertical longitudinal plane;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a view of a spring insert assembly shown in FIGS.
1 and 2;
[0017] FIG. 5 is an enlargement of the portion of FIG. 4 indicated
by a circle;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the insert assembly;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the vertical center
plane 7-7 in FIG. 6;
[0020] FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are enlargements of the portions indicated
in FIG. 7 by respective circles;
[0021] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of a debris
shield shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and
[0022] FIG. 12 is an enlargement of the portion of FIG. 11
indicated by a circle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which depict two embodiments of
the invention, shock absorbing footwear embodying the invention
includes an outsole 10, an insole 20, and an insert assembly
30.
[0024] The outsole 10 is preferably made of rubber, EVA, composite
or polyurethane. It has an open heel cavity or a similar cavity
beneath the ball of the foot, approximately as wide as the heel or
ball, 2.5'' for example. FIG. 2 shows the heel cavity only, as an
example. The reader will understand that the principles illustrated
can easily be adapted to an insert placed beneath the ball of the
foot (as suggested in FIG. 1) rather than--or in addition to--at
the heel location.
[0025] The heel cavity has an opening on one side, e.g., toward to
the arch or heel, approximately 3.0'' wide, for receiving the
insert assembly.
[0026] The outsole has a perimeter bead made of rubber, eva,
composite or polyurethane. Alternatively, it may have multiple
beads (upper and lower) to allow the insert to be manually pressed
in the cavity while also allowing for easy removal and
replacement.
[0027] The footwear preferably also includes, between the insole
and outsole, a midsole or footbed 25 made of modified cardboard or
other suitable stiff material. The insole (FIG. 1) or the footbed
(FIG. 2) has a hinged or flexible portion 27 which can be peeled
back to allow access to the insert for removal or replacement.
[0028] The insert assembly 30 includes a spring assembly 40
contained within a protective debris shield 60. The spring
assembly, best seen in FIGS. 4 and 7, includes a plate which has
upper and lower portions 42, 44 joined along one edge by a living
hinge 46; that is, the upper and lower plates are one continuous
piece of material. The living hinge provides a preferred line of
flexure between the upper and lower portions and allows the insert
to be closed around the coil springs and magnets described below.
The hinge and the upper and lower plates are preferably a single
piece U-shaped molded part made of nylon or other suitable
polymer.
[0029] Each of the upper and lower plate portions 42, 44 is
provided with a plurality of (preferably five or more) cup-shaped
seats 48, each designed to receive one end of a respective
compression coil spring 50. Each seat on the upper portion is
aligned with a counterpart seat on the lower portion, along a
longitudinal axis of the spring. Each seat has spaced walls 52, 54
defining an annular volume for securely holding the end of one of
the springs.
[0030] The spring seats 48 have beveled tops to prevent spring rub.
The bottoms of the seats have protruding ribs that allow the spring
to snap in, but hold the springs in place thereafter.
[0031] Exemplary dimensions for each coil spring are 1.25'' length
by 0.50'' diameter. The springs are preferably made of stainless
steel; however, it should be understood that the choice of
materials and exact dimensions may be adjusted to suit a particular
situation. Furthermore, other types of mechanical springs, such as
wave springs or Belleville springs, might be used instead of coil
springs. The claims below use the generic term "mechanical
compression springs" to cover all such alternatives.
[0032] The seats 48 are preferably molded integrally with the plate
portions 42, 44, but they could alternatively be made as separate
pieces.
[0033] Upper and lower magnet canisters 55 are also formed in the
plate, amid the coil spring seats 48. The axis A-A (FIG. 7) of each
canister lies on the vertical center plane 7-7 (FIG. 6) of the
insert. The coil spring seats are arranged around the canisters,
preferably at a uniform radial distance from the axis A-A. The
insert preferably has snap-in feature to hold the magnet canisters
in place.
[0034] The preferred magnets 56 are two opposing thick
nickel-coated rare earth permanent magnets of 35 mgo (megagauss
oersteds) or greater. Exemplary dimensions of each magnet are 1.0''
dia..times.0.350''.
[0035] It is preferred that the magnet spring and coil spring
arrangement be able to support a load in the range of 100-600
pounds without binding.
[0036] Before being installed in the outsole, the spring insert is
placed within a debris shield 60 (FIGS. 1-3) which provides some
structural support and protects the springs and magnets from the
elements (water, dirt, abrasive particles). The debris shield is a
rubber or elastomeric polymer cover for the spring assembly; it is
open on one end to receive the spring assembly.
[0037] The debris shield preferably has a pair of pull tabs 58 that
the user can grasp when removing the spring insert from the
envelope.
[0038] The insert assembly, normally securely seated in the recess
in the outsole, can be quickly removed, for example when one
desires to replace the insert with another having different spring
characteristics, or to rebuild the inert by replacing the
mechanical springs or the magnetic spring with parts having
different spring rates of other characteristics. For example, the
coil spring rates can be adjusted higher or lower around the
perimeter of the insert. All the coil springs may have the same
spring rate, or springs of different rates may be used to control
pronation and supination for a particular wearer.
[0039] Since the invention is subject to modifications and
variations, it is intended that the foregoing description and the
accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as only illustrative of
the invention defined by the following claims.
* * * * *