U.S. patent number 3,875,689 [Application Number 05/468,158] was granted by the patent office on 1975-04-08 for sole for a shoe.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Juan Frau S.A.. Invention is credited to Juan Frau Tomas.
United States Patent |
3,875,689 |
Frau Tomas |
April 8, 1975 |
Sole for a shoe
Abstract
An improved sole for a shoe made from a single piece, purposely
sized to receive thereon the entire foot of the user, and of the
type whose inner shank is anatomically raised at the ball portion
to act as a support for the arch of the foot, includes a heel
supporting zone in a lower plane than the ball supporting zone
which, on the other hand, is slightly raised at its center in a
rounded fashion. The sole includes means to prevent the foot from
twisting outwards, when resting, and means whereby the weight of
the user rests on the big toe, at the end of each stride, which
means are respectively comprised of a longitudinal recess in the
upper surface of the shank situated between the raised support of
the arch and the outer opposite edge, and of a decrease in the
thickness of the fore portion of the sole which starts
approximately midway of the ball and progresses towards the toe
portion, forming a curved surface, whose front view defines an
oblique front, when such decrease reaches its maximum value
coinciding with the supporting zone for the big toe.
Inventors: |
Frau Tomas; Juan (Palma De
Mallorca, ES) |
Assignee: |
Juan Frau S.A. (Palma De
Mallorca, ES)
|
Family
ID: |
8364827 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/468,158 |
Filed: |
May 8, 1974 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
36/32R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A43B
13/143 (20130101); A43B 13/145 (20130101); A43B
13/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A43B
13/14 (20060101); A43B 13/00 (20060101); A43d
013/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;36/32R,80,11.5,43,69 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lawson; Patrick D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack
Claims
I claim:
1. An improved shoe sole made from a single piece of a size to
receive thereon the entire foot of the user, said sole having:
the inner shank thereof anatomically raised at the ball portion to
provide a support for the arch of the foot;
a ball supporting zone slightly raised at its center in a rounded
fashion;
a heel supporting zone in a lower plane than said ball supporting
zone;
means for preventing a foot from twisting outwardly when resting,
said twist preventing means comprising a longitudinal recess in the
upper surface of the shank at a position between the raised support
for the arch and the outer opposite edge; and
means for causing the weight of the user to rest on the big toe
thereof at the end of each stride, said means for causing
comprising a fore portion of the sole having a decrease in
thickness beginning approximately midway of the ball supporting
portion and progressing toward the toe portion, said decrease
forming a curved surface, the front view of which defines an
oblique front, said decrease being at a maximum at the supporting
zone for the big toe.
Description
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention refers to a sole for shoes with which two
essential objects are fundamentally sought:
1. A rational support for the foot when the user is at rest;
and
2. A correct displacement of weights, benefitting from and using
the functional structure of the foot, during walking of the
user.
As will subsequently be seen, the first mentioned object is mainly
achieved with the contemplated configuration of the upper portion
of the sole, which retains the exact anatomical characteristics of
the user, and the second object is achieved due to the specially
rounded shape of the lower foresurface of the ball.
Other secondary objects of the invention are constituted by the
light-weight construction of the sole, readily and economically
obtained, which can adequately be used with any type of shoe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As will subsequently be explained in detail with reference to the
set of drawings attached hereto, the sole is of the type made from
a single piece, purposely sized to receive thereon the entire foot
of the user. The inner shank is anatomically raised at the ball
portion so as to act as a support for the arch of the foot.
The main characteristics of the sole, with regards to obtaining a
rational support for the foot when the user is at rest, reside in
the fact that the heel supporting zone is in a lower plane than the
ball supporting zone which, is slightly raised at its center, in a
rounded manner, and that means have been provided to prevent the
foot from twisting outwards. It will later be seen that such means
comprise a longitudinal recess in the upper surface of the shank
situated between the raised support of the arch of the foot and the
outer opposite edge.
With respect to the achievement of the second main object of the
invention, which consists in obtaining a correct displacement of
weights during walking of the user, the invention contemplates a
decrease in the thickness of the foreportion of the sole, which
starts approximately midway of the ball and progresses towards the
toe portion, forming a curved surface which, as will be seen, is
fundamentally cylindrical. It will also be seen that such decrease,
provided that the zone of the toe portion which corresponds to the
support for the big toe is in a more forward position, establishes
an oblique front, reaching its maximum value precisely in
coincidence with the mentioned supporting zone for the big toe of
the user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described in more detail below, taken with
the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, taken from the inner side, of a
sole for shoes made in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 is an upper plan view of the same sole for shoes, wherein
the lines which approximately define the superficial changes which
give rise to the previously mentioned anatomical conformation, are
shown.
FIG. 3 is a lower plan view of the same sole, wherein the line from
which the curvilineal decrease of the foreportion of the ball
departs is shown.
FIG. 4 is a second side elevational view of the sole, taken from
the outer side thereof.
FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the sole.
FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the sole.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the sole, taken on plane A-B of
FIG. 2.
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of the sole, taken on plane C-D of
FIG. 2.
FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the sole, taken on plane E-F of
FIG. 2.
FIG. 10 is another cross sectional view of the sole, taken on plane
G-H of FIG. 2.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the sole, taken from the lower
part thereof.
Finally, FIG. 12 illustrates a perspective view of the sole, taken
from the upper part thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 to
4, 11 and 12, it can be seen, as has already been stated, that the
sole is of the type which is made from a single piece. The shank
portion adjacent to the inner edge of the sole is raised at the
upper portion so as to give rise to the formation of anatomically
shaped supporting means 5 for the arch of the foot of the user.
With this general construction a sole can be formed of plastic
materials, with low production costs and of a light weight, which
weight can be even more reduced by forming hollows in the sole,
such as those illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 12.
FIGS. 2 and 7 mainly illustrate the anatomical construction of the
upper part of the sole, in order to obtain a rational support of
the weight of the user and to prevent outward twisting of the foot
of the user, as a result of the existence of the raised zone 5 of
the inner shank.
FIG. 2 particularly illustrates the lines which define the changes
in the plane of the upper zone of the sole, giving rise to the
anatomical support to be obtained. These lines, beginning with that
marked 11 which indicates the end of the raised zone 5 of the inner
shank, extend in the direction of the ball (line 12), they surround
the toe portion (line 13), they border the outer edge of the sole
(line 14) and continue along the shank (line 9) until they reach
the heel which they enclose (line 10), and then they are slightly
deflected towards the edge of the inner zone of the sole.
The assembly of lines 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 define a slight
change in height between the central zone of the sole, encircled by
these lines, and the peripheral zone of the mentioned sole, which
is in a higher plane. Thus, for example, a longitudinal channel 4
is formed in the zone of the outer shank, exactly opposite to the
raised shank 5. Such channel is limited, at the outer portion, by
the highest border which continues along the side, whereby stopping
means are achieved which prevent the foot from twisting outwards,
due to the presence of the already mentioned elevation 5. This type
of channel or recess can perfectly be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 which,
as already mentioned, correspond to cross sectional views of the
sole, taken on planes C-D and E-F of FIG. 2, respectively.
In the heel portion 1, line 10 forms a dip or depression by means
of which such portion remains in a lower plane than that occupied
by the ball 2, as can more clearly be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4.
Furthermore, as a result of the deflection of line 10 towards the
inner edge of the sole, the depression of heel 1 forms, within the
same zone, a portion 8 which is situated at an even lower level
(see FIGS. 2 and 10) and which helps channel 4 so that the foot is
correctly placed on the raised shank 5, without the possibility of
twisting outwards.
Furthermore, and as can clearly be seen in FIGS. 2 and 7, the
central cut-down portion in the central zone of the ball which is
situated between the deflection lines 12, 13 and 14, has a small
rounded promontory 3 which is designed so as to be accomodated to
the ball of the user, exactly behind the initial articulations of
the toes, in order to achieve a perfect support.
On the other hand, FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 11 should be pointed out
with regards to the characteristics of the foot in order to achieve
a correct displacement of weights during walking of the user. These
figures illustrate that the lower part of the foreportion of the
sole has a decrease in the thickness which starts approximately
midway of the ball, from an imaginary transversal line 7, and
progresses towards the toe portion, forming a substantially
cylindrical curved surface 6 which, as can be seen in FIG. 5, forms
an oblique front, according to which the thinnest part is precisely
that which corresponds to the supporting zone for the big toe of
the user.
As is clear, the fact that the cylindrical surface 6 precisely
forms an oblique front, as illustrated in FIG. 5, is subject to the
fact that the zone of the sole for shoes corresponding to the
support for the big toe is placed forwards, as illustrated in FIG.
2. On the other hand, if the toe portion of the sole for shoes were
regularly rounded, the front to which the curved surface 6 should
give rise would be perfectly regular.
Nevertheless, it should be emphasized that the shape of the sole
illustrated in FIG. 2 corresponds to a preferred embodiment of the
invention, since it is advantageous for the oblique front,
represented in FIG. 5, and consequently a maximum decrease in the
thickness of the sole, coinciding with the supporting zone for the
big toe, to be produced. In this way, not only can a stride be made
more easily wearing shoes provided with this sole, due to the
rounded zone 6, but the weight of the user rests precisely on the
big toe, which is the most powerful and which, consequently, is in
a better position to advantageously withstand the operation.
* * * * *