IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO A SHOE, ESPECIALLY A WALKING SHOE

Abstract: The invention relates to improvements in a shoe, particularly a walking shoe with a sole structure (1) including an outer sole (2) with an anti-slip tread pattern (3), an intermediate sole (4) which insulates against cold and is shock absorbent, as well as an optional, loose inner sole placeable against the intermediate sole. The intermediate sole (4) and/or the removable inner sole may be combined with a foot forepart wedge (19) and/or a heel wedge (20) made from shock absorbent material of well balanced density for withstanding pressure for obviating wrong foot attitudes.

Description: Improvements in or relating to a shoe, especially a walking shoe The inventive improvements presented here relate to a shoe, particularly a rambling or walking shoe having a sole structure including an outer sole with an anti¬ slip tread pattern, an intermediate sole for shock absorption and insulation against cold, and an option¬ al, removable inner sole for placing against the inter- mediate sole. On the market today there are a number of different shoe types, which are suited to different fields of use and implemented such that, to a great extent, they obviate incorrect foot attitudes. This has been carried furthest for running shoes, but for walking shoes there is still much to be desired with regard to convenience and sufficient support, as well as prevention of dis¬ comfort and injury to the user. The incorrect foot attitudes that can occur are supination (toeing-in, i.e. twisting the forepart of a foot so that its sole tends to face inwards), pronation (toeing-out, i.e. the sole tends to face outwards) , inversion (inward twist¬ ing of the heel) and eversion (outward twisting of the heel) . Movements of the heel and foot forepart are thus executed about completely different axes, of which the foot has four. This signifies that a person who, for example, tends to twist the heel inwardly, may either pronate, supinate or be neutral in the foot forepart. Similarly, a person who is neutral in the heel can either pronate or supinate. This of course requires individual correction of both heel and foot forepart if an incorrect foot attitude is to be obviated. An extensive, armed forces study shows that about 75% of those tested had proneration, about 10% had supina¬ tion and about 15% were neutral. Incorrect foot atti- tudes lead, inter alia, to problems with knee joints, heel tendons, periosta and back anomalies. It is thus of the greatest importance that foot attitude is cor¬ rect in the use of walking shoes, where a person may perhaps carry 15-25 kg during a week's walking tour. At present there is no walking shoe on the market that provides for all the mentioned foot attitude devia¬ tions, although there is a profusion of models that, to a varying degree, cater for different areas of these deviations. The object of the invention presented here is to ach¬ ieve improvements in shoes, particularly walking shoes of the type mentioned in the introduction, where the disadvantages in walking mentioned above have been fully addressed. The distinguishing features of the invention are disclosed in the accompanying claims. As a result of the invention, there have now been achieved improvements in a shoe, that excellently fulfil their purpose, while also being simple and cheap to implement. The inventive shoe is laterally stable, and twists neither outwardly nor inwardly, due to a stabilizing pad built up internally in the outer sole. This pad corrects inversion, eversion and pronation. In addition, the sole is completely stable laterally, since its outer sole may be built up internally with a stabilizing pad combined with removable foot forepart wedges and/or heel wedges with well balanced density in accordance with the invention. An effective correction of wrong foot attitudes is also obtained in shoes without a stabilizing pad. The wedges mentioned are adjustable in height, since they have perforations along their edge portions. This permits simple tearing or cutting off to achieve desired correction of wrong foot attitudes. The invention will now be described in more detail below, with the aid of preferred embodiment examples of the respective improvements and with reference to the accompanying drawings, where: Fig. 1 illustrates a sole structure for a shoe, as seen from its right side in relation to the wearer's body, and where the shoe can be provided, to advantage, with foot forepart and heel wedges in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view from above of the sole structure illustrated in Fig. 1, without an inner sole, and showing the extent of a stabilizing pad, Fig. 3 illustrates the structure of Fig. 1, as seen from its left side, in relation to the wearer's body, Fig. 4 is a plan view from below of the structure in Figs. 1-3 and Figs. 5-7 are plan views of a foot forepart wedge and two heel wedges intended to obviate wrong foot atti¬ tudes when in combination with an inner sole or without it. As will be seen from Figs. 1-4, a shoe, particularly a walking shoe, has a sole structure 1 including an outer sole 2 with anti-slip tread pattern 3 and an inter- mediate, shock-absorbing, cold-insulating sole 4. The shoe may also accommodate a loose inner sole (unillu¬ strated on the drawings) placed on top of the inter¬ mediate sole. The outer sole 2 is preferably made from rubber and has a good anti-slip pattern 3 for its tread, which does not collect dirt. An intermediate sole 4 arranged on it is intended for insulation against cold and is preferably made from polyurethane of the proper hardness for obtaining well balanced shock absorption, there being under this sole 4 at least one stabilizing pad 5 built into the outer sole for correcting pronation, inversion and eversion. The pad 5 has a configuration such that it extends along the inside 6 of the outer sole 2, i.e. between outer sole 2 and intermediate sole 4, substantially to cover the entire width of the sole structure heel portion 7, excepting a small circle segment 8 at its outer portion 9, which is intended to meet a substructure first as the shoe is used. The pad subsequently continues for¬ ward over the foot arch portion 10 of the sole 2 to the termination 11 of this portion at the toe portion 18 of the sole 2, and such that it is delimited laterally in relation to the remaining sole portion 13 by a boundary line 14, which extends from the termination 11 to termination 15 immediately forward of heel portion 7, the line 14 extending in an S-shape between these two terminations with its middle section extending super- posed on the centre line of the sole. The sole 2 has been made completely stable by its outer tread pro¬ tuberances being made about 2 mm proud of the inner ones all the way round, thus giving the outer sole 2 a concave appearance in cross-section. As will be more clearly seen from Fig. 4, to facilitate natural flexing of the foot the sole 2 has a tread pattern for the foot forepart that includes at least one flexing groove 16, which extends arcuately with its convexity 17 facing towards the toe portion 18 of the sole. In addition, this portion 18 has an upward curva¬ ture or rise of between 10 and 20 mm, which is benefi¬ cial to the user's toe joints, as well as making the shoe more easy to walk with. The loose inner sole may be combined with a foot fore¬ part wedge 19 and/or a heel wedge 20 made from shock- absorbing material of a density well balanced for withstanding pressure for obviating wrong foot attitu¬ des. Since the wedges 19, 20 are provided along their thick edge portions with perforations 21-23, their major thickness may be adjusted for further correction by simply tearing or cutting off the thickest portion along the respective perforations 21-23.

Claims: Claims 1. Improvement in a shoe, particularly a walking shoe having a sole structure (1) including an outer sole (2) with an anti-slip tread pattern (3) , an intermediate sole (4) for shock absorption and insulation against cold, and an optional, removable inner sole for placing against the intermediate sole, characterized in that the intermediate sole (4) and/or the loose inner sole may be combined with a foot forepart wedge (19) and/or a heel wedge (20) , the wedges being made from shock absorbent material of well balanced density for with¬ standing pressure for obviating wrong foot attitudes. 2. Improvement as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the wedges (19, 20) have perforations (21-23) extending along their edge portions and juxtaposed different correction heights, by which perforations the wedges (19, 20) are adjustable to the correction re- quire ent in question by tearing or cutting off a portion thereof along said perforations.

Inventors: BERGSTROEM EJE, HOEGLUND LARS, BERGSTROEM, EJE, HOEGLUND, LARS
Applicants: BERGSTROEM EJE, HAGLOEFS SCANDINAVIA AB, HOEGLUND LARS, BERGSTROEM, EJE, HOEGLUND, LARS
Application year: 1996
Main classification: A43B13
IPC codes: A43B7, A43B13, A43B17