U.S. patent application number 15/044733 was filed with the patent office on 2016-06-09 for lightweight foam safety shoes.
This patent application is currently assigned to FINE CHEMICAL CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is FINE CHEMICAL CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Sung Yull Lee.
Application Number | 20160157552 15/044733 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49988680 |
Filed Date | 2016-06-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160157552 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Sung Yull |
June 9, 2016 |
LIGHTWEIGHT FOAM SAFETY SHOES
Abstract
The present invention provides safety shoes with a built-in toe
cap, wherein a foam shoe in which the outsole and the upper are
integrated by foaming a synthetic resin is formed, and a toe cap is
inserted into a toe cap groove before the foam shoe is cooled by
forming the toe cap groove at the outsole and the upper at the
front inner part of the foam shoe. In the toe cap, a support
border, comprising a metal material, making contact with the
bottom, is formed at the lower end of a cover portion making
contact with the upper, and a reinforcing piece crossing the bottom
is formed at the support border by welding; or a ground plate,
comprising an engineering plastic, which is in contact with the
bottom, is formed at the lower end of a cover portion making
contact with the upper.
Inventors: |
Lee; Sung Yull; (Busan,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FINE CHEMICAL CO., LTD. |
Gimhae-si |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
FINE CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
|
Family ID: |
49988680 |
Appl. No.: |
15/044733 |
Filed: |
February 16, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/KR2014/004714 |
May 27, 2014 |
|
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15044733 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
36/87 ;
12/142R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B 23/082 20130101;
A43B 7/32 20130101; A43B 23/087 20130101; A43B 23/0215 20130101;
A43B 1/14 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A43B 7/32 20060101
A43B007/32; A43B 1/14 20060101 A43B001/14; A43B 23/08 20060101
A43B023/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 7, 2013 |
KR |
10-2013-0093833 |
Claims
1. In the forming of a safety shoe incorporating a toe cap for
covering a toe portion so as to safely protect the toe portion from
external impact, a lightweight foam safety shoe characterized in
that the safety shoe is formed as a foam shoe by foaming a
synthetic resin material such that the foam shoe includes an
outsole and an upper, which are integrated with each other, wherein
toe cap insertion grooves, are formed in the outsole and the upper
in the front portion of the foam shoe such that the toe cap is
fitted into the toe cap insertion grooves, so as to be fixed
therein before the foam shoe, which is formed by foaming, is
cooled.
2. The lightweight foam safety shoe according to claim 1, wherein
the toe cap includes a support border formed of a metal material at
the lower end of a cover portion, which comes into contact with the
upper, so as to come into contact with the outsole, and a
reinforcing piece welded to the support border by crossing the
outsole.
3. The lightweight foam safety shoe according to claim 1, wherein
the toe cap includes a ground plate formed of an engineering
plastic material at the lower end of the cover portion, which comes
into contact with the upper, so as to be integrated with the lower
end of the cover portion and comes into contact with the outsole.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation of pending International Patent
Application PCT/KR2014/004714 filed on May 27, 2014, which
designates the United States and claims priority of Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2013-0093833 filed on Aug. 7, 2013, the entire
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to safety shoes to be worn for
protecting the feet of a worker in a workplace and, more
particularly, to lightweight foam safety shoes for protecting feet
from external impact while being formed lightweight to be worn
comfortably.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] There are many kinds of safety shoes, according to the use
thereof, which have been used in the industrial workplace. In
general, the safety shoes mean the shoes used for protecting feet
from heavy things falling off in a factory, a construction site and
the like, or damages caused by the collision between the front
portions of feet and sharp or hard objects during walking.
[0004] Therefore, such the safety shoes for protecting feet are
provided with toe caps, which are formed of a steel material,
covering the tops of the feet from the toes to the approximately
middle portions of the tops of the feet in the front portions of
the safety shoes. Herein, the toe caps formed of such a steel
material in order to protect feet must have stiffness which can
bear the weight of 23 kg, falling off from the height of 46 cm, or
the load of 1,100 kg. Therefore, the toe caps are typically formed
by drawing a normal steel plate material.
[0005] As for such prior art safety shoes, there are safety shoes
suggested by Korean utility model publication No. 20-0274107 (Y1)
(3 May 2002), safety shoes suggested by Korean patent laid-open
publication No. 10-2012-0126195 (A1) (21 Nov. 2012), and the
like.
[0006] In the case of these safety shoes, an upper and an outsole
are separately formed and a toe cap is positioned in the upper,
which is formed in a dual structure. Therefore, such prior art
safety shoes have disadvantages that the safety shoes become heavy,
degrading the wearing comfort thereof, etc.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an
effort to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior
arts, and it is an objective of the present invention to provide
lightweight foam safety shoes, wherein the safety shoes are made by
foaming a synthetic resin material such that the safety shoes are
formed to be lightweight, providing excellent wearing comfort as
well as safely protecting feet from external impact.
[0008] To achieve the above objectives, according to the present
invention, in the forming of a safety shoe incorporating a toe cap
for covering a toe portion so as to safely protect the toe portion
from external impact, the safety shoe is formed as a foam shoe by
foaming a synthetic resin material such that the foam shoe includes
an outsole and an upper, which are integrated with each other,
wherein toe cap insertion grooves are formed in the outsole and the
upper in the front portion of the foam shoe such that the toe cap
is inserted into the toe cap insertion grooves before the foam shoe
is cooled.
[0009] The toe cap includes a support border formed of a metal
material at the lower end of a cover portion, which comes into
contact with the upper, so as to come into contact with the bottom,
and a reinforcing piece welded to the support border by crossing
the outsole.
[0010] Further, the toe cap includes a ground plate formed of an
engineering plastic material at the lower end of the cover portion,
which comes into contact with the upper, so as to be integrated
with the lower end of the cover portion and come into contact with
the outsole.
[0011] The lightweight foam safety shoes provided according to the
present invention have effects as follows.
[0012] The outsoles and the uppers are formed by foaming a
synthetic resin material such that the safety shoes can be made
lightweight, thereby providing wearing comfort.
[0013] The safety shoes are lightweight such that the wearing
fatigue can be reduced even during a long time wearing thereof.
[0014] The outsole and the upper are integrally formed with each
other by foaming such that manufacturing cost reduction can be
foreseen.
[0015] Even though the toe cap is formed of a metal material which
is opened at the lower portion thereof, the reinforcing piece is
welded to the support border so as to reinforce the outsole, of
which durability is likely to be weakened, such that a foot can be
protected even when the toe cap is distorted by external
impact.
[0016] The upper has air ventilation protrusions formed inside such
that the air permeability in the safety shoes is increased,
minimizing the bad smell and diseases such as athlete's foot and
the like, which may be broken out due to the secretions
(sweat).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a lightweight foam
safety shoe, provided according to the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a boot type lightweight
foam safety shoe, provided according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a toe cap applied to
the lightweight foam safety shoe, provided according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a toe cap applied to
the lightweight foam safety shoe, provided according to another
embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the lightweight foam
safety shoe provided in the present invention, showing a state
before assembling the toe cap, and
[0022] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the lightweight foam
safety shoe provided in the present invention, showing a state, in
which the toe cap is assembled.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] Hereinafter, lightweight foam safety shoes according to
embodiments of the present invention will be described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0024] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a lightweight foam
safety shoe, provided according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is
a perspective view showing a toe cap applied to the lightweight
foam safety shoe, provided according to an embodiment of the
present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a toe
cap applied to the lightweight foam safety shoe, provided according
to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0025] The present invention is to provide effects such as the
improvement of wearing comfort, the reduction of wearing fatigue,
securing safety, improvement of productivity and the like in a
lightweight form.
[0026] To this end, according to the present invention, a
lightweight foam safety shoe 1 is formed as a foam shoe 2 by
foaming a synthetic resin material so as to integrally form an
outsole 3 and an upper 4, wherein ventilation protrusions (not
shown) are formed long in an opening direction therein.
[0027] When forming the foam shoe 2 by foaming a synthetic resin
material, toe cap insertion grooves 3a, 4a are formed on the inside
portions of the outsole 3 and the upper 4 in the front portion of
the foam shoe 2, where toes are positioned.
[0028] The toe cap insertion grooves 3a, 4a are formed in a depth
corresponding to the thickness of a toe cap 10 such that no stepped
difference is formed between the toe cap insertion grooves 3a, 4a
and the toe cap 10, thereby preventing any irritating feeling.
[0029] The toe cap insertion grooves 3a, 4a are forcedly fitted
into the toe cap 10 so as to be fixed thereto. According to a
preferred example, the toe cap 10 is fixed by fitting before the
foam shoe 2 is cooled after the foam shoe 2 is foamed, as shown in
FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.
[0030] That is, the foam shoe 2 has flexibility before the cooling
thereof such that the toe cap 10 can be easily pushed into the toe
cap insertion grooves 3a, 4a and, in this state, the foam shoe 2 is
retracted during the curing of the foam shoe 2 such that the toe
cap 10 is firmly fixed.
[0031] The toe cap 10 is made of a metal or engineering plastic
material.
[0032] If the toe cap 10 is made of a metal material, it is typical
to form a support border 12, which comes into contact with the
outsole 3, at the lower end of a cover portion 11, which comes into
contact with the upper 4. However, according to the present
invention, a reinforcing piece 13 crossing the outsole 3 is welded
to the support border 12 so as to prevent the distortion of the toe
cap 10 caused by external force. Herein, the reinforcing piece 13
is formed at the stepped portion side (sole portion) of the toe cap
insertion groove 3a.
[0033] Meanwhile, if the toe cap 10 is made of an engineering
plastic material, a ground plate 14, which comes into contact with
the outsole 3, is integrally formed at the lower end of the cover
portion 11, which comes into contact with the upper 4.
[0034] The lightweight foam safety shoe 1 according to the present
invention as described above includes the toe cap insertion grooves
3a, 4a formed on the inside of the foam shoe 2 and the toe cap 10
fitted into the toe cap insertion grooves 3a, 4a so as to be fixed
thereto. Such safety shoes 1 can be manufactured and supplied in a
lightweight form as well as safely protect feet by means of the toe
caps 10.
[0035] In particular, if the toe cap 10 is made of a metal
material, the toe cap 10 is likely to be deformed in the foam shoe
2 such that a foot may be possibly damaged. However, the
reinforcing piece 13 crossing the outsole 3 is further added to the
support border 12 so as to serve to prevent the toe cap 10 from
being deformed by external force and safely protect the foot.
[0036] Furthermore, if the ventilation protrusions are formed long
in the opening direction in the foam shoe 2 according to the
present invention, the ventilation protrusions provide excellent
air permeability such that it is possible to prevent various
diseases, which may be broken out due to the secretions such as
sweat and the like of the foot. In addition, the foam shoe 2
according to the present invention has the excellent waterproof
property so as to be used as a substitute boot and the like.
Therefore, such foam shoes 2 according to the present invention can
be usefully in the overall industries.
[0037] As described above, while the present invention has been
particularly shown and described with reference to the example
embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary
skill in the art that the above embodiments of the present
invention are all exemplified and various changes, modifications
and equivalents may be made therein without departing from the
scope of the present invention. Therefore, it would be understood
that the present invention is not limited to the forms described in
the example embodiments and the technical and protective scope of
the present invention shall be defined by the following claims and
the equivalents thereof.
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