Abstract:
A ventilating shoe configured to absorb air from the interior of the shoe when a ventilation component is not compressed by a wearer&#39;s foot and configured to expel the air out of the heel region of the shoe when the ventilation component is compressed by a wearer&#39;s foot. The ventilation component is configured to be produced quickly and conveniently and to preserve the comfort and support necessary for the activity or purpose for which the ventilating shoe was designed.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a ventilating shoe. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shoe with a ventilation component configured to draw air from the interior of the shoe when the ventilation component is not compressed by a wearer&#39;s foot and to expel the air out of the heel of the shoe when the ventilation component is compressed by a wearer&#39;s foot. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Shoes in general are worn for a variety of activities. Athletic shoes, for example are worn to protect the feet, provide support, and to provide adequate grip with a playing surface depending on the particular athletic activity for which the shoe is designed. Shoes are also worn for fashion, comfort, protection of the feet, and other purposes. 
         [0003]    Most shoes have two main components, a shoe upper and a sole. The shoe upper operates to secure the wearer&#39;s foot to the sole and to provide some ventilation to the outside air. The sole is designed to grip the wearer&#39;s foot to a particular surface. A sole is often composed of several layers such as a footbed, an insole and an outsole. The footbed is a thin layer formed from padded material placed within the shoe upper to enhance comfort. The insole is attached to the shoe upper so as to form a shoe interior and operates to cushion a wearer&#39;s foot during ambulatory movement. The outsole is usually constructed from a durable material to resist wear during use. The outsole may be designed for running, walking, dancing, fashion, comfort or other purposes. 
         [0004]    A shoe typically encloses a wearer&#39;s foot for an extended period of time. Due to poor ventilation in the shoe, heat becomes trapped in the interior of the shoe causing the foot to sweat and possibly produce a foul odor. A wearer of a shoe may become embarrassed when taking off the shoe due to the release of foul odor. Further, the hot and wet environment of the shoe interior shoe may cause the skin to suffer from a skin disease or bacterial or fungal infection such as athlete&#39;s foot. The hot and wet environment of the shoe interior also leads to discomfort which is undesireable. 
         [0005]    Ventilating shoes known in the art are often inadequate either because they are too expensive to mass produce or because the do not provide the necessary comfort and support to correspond with the activity for which the shoe was designed. Thus, a need exists for a shoe with a ventilation component that removes air (including foul air) from the shoe interior that can be produced quickly and inexpensively. It is desirable to have the ventilation component be operated by the ambulatory movement of the wearer&#39;s foot. It is also desirable that the ventilation component provide the necessary comfort and support to correspond with the activity for which the shoe is designed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    A summary of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be set forth here. Using the description provided herein, one skilled in the art will understand that additional exemplary embodiments are within the scope of the present invention. 
         [0007]    One exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a ventilating shoe defining a forefoot region and a heel region. The ventilating shoe has a shoe upper, an insole connected to the shoe upper so as to define a shoe interior, and an outsole. A ventilation component is located between the insole and the outsole. The ventilation component has an air bladder in the heel region and a breather pad having a top surface in the forefoot region. The air bladder is configured to expel air out of the heel region when compressed by the downward pressure of a wearer&#39;s foot. The air bladder is further configured to draw air out of the shoe interior through the top surface of the breather pad when the air bladder is not compressed by the downward pressure of a wearer&#39;s foot. 
         [0008]    In variations of this exemplary embodiment, the breather pad may have a plurality of operatively connected air channels and a plurality of openings disposed along the top surface of the breather pad. In another variation, the air bladder is operatively connected to the breather pad by at least one air conduit. In yet another variation, the air bladder has a plurality of supports configured to return the air bladder to its original position when the air bladder is not compressed by the downward pressure of a wearer&#39;s foot. In still a further variation of this exemplary embodiment, the air bladder may have at least one air intake and at least one exhaust port. The air intake has a one-way valve configured to let air flow into the air bladder but not out of the air bladder. The exhaust port has a one-way valve configured to let air flow out of the air bladder but not into the air bladder. The air intake may be connected to the air bladder by inserting an end of the air intake into a sleeve. The exhaust port may also be connected to the air bladder by inserting an end of the exhaust port into a sleeve. 
         [0009]    In further variations of this exemplary embodiment, the ventilating shoe may have a footbed with a plurality of openings in the forefoot region. The ventilating shoe may have an insole comprising a plurality of perforations configured to allow air to flow through the insole. The shoe upper may also comprise a plurality of perforations configured to allow air to flow from outside the shoe upper into the shoe interior. 
         [0010]    In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the ventilating shoe defines a forefoot region and a heel region. The ventilating shoe has a shoe upper, an insole connected to the shoe upper so as to create a shoe interior, and an outsole. Located in between the insole and the outsole is a ventilation apparatus. The ventilation apparatus has an air bladder in the heel region and a breather pad in the forefoot region. The air bladder is operative connected to the breather pad by at least on air conduit. The breather pad defines a top surface and a bottom surface and has a plurality of operatively connected air channels and a plurality of openings disposed along the top surface of the breather pad. In a variation of this particular embodiment, the plurality of air channels may be operatively connected at intersections with the plurality of openings disposed along the top surface of the breather pad located at the intersections. In another variation of this embodiment, a plurality of openings may be disposed along the bottom surface of the breather pad. In yet another variation of this embodiment, a plurality of openings may be disposed along the bottom surface of the breather pad at the intersections. 
         [0011]    In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the ventilating shoe has a shoe upper, an insole connected to the shoe upper so as to define a shoe interior, and an outsole. Located between the insole and the outsole is a ventilation device having a means for drawing air out of the shoe interior when said ventilation device is not compressed by a wearer&#39;s foot and a means for expelling air out of the heel region of the shoe when said ventilation device is compressed by a wearer&#39;s foot. 
         [0012]    These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of an outsole with embedded ventilation component according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a ventilation component of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is an end view of the heel region of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0019]    Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following description, or may be apparent from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. 
         [0020]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary embodiment of a ventilating shoe  100  according to the present invention is shown therein. The ventilating shoe  100  depicted in  FIG. 1  is an athletic shoe. However, the present invention is not limited to any particular type of shoe, and using the teachings disclosed herein, one of skill in the art will understand that the present invention may be used with a variety of different types of shoes. 
         [0021]    Ventilating shoe  100  defines a heel region  120  and a forefoot region  130 . The ventilating shoe  100  includes a shoe upper  200 . The shoe upper  200  is designed to secure a wearer&#39;s foot to the outsole  600 . The shoe upper  200  depicted in  FIG. 1 , has a plurality of perforations  210  located on the surface of the shoe upper  200 . The perforations  210  may be located in the vamp  220  of the shoe upper and also along the sidewall  230  or the heel support  240  of the shoe upper  200 . The perforations  210  facilitate the flow of air from outside the ventilating shoe  100  into the shoe interior  150 . 
         [0022]    An insole  400  is attached to the bottom of the shoe upper  200  so as to define a shoe interior  150 . The insole  400  operates to cushion a wearer&#39;s foot during ambulatory movement. The insole  400  depicted in  FIG. 1  has a plurality of perforations  410 . The perforations  410  allow air to flow through the insole  400 . 
         [0023]    A footbed  300  is inserted into the shoe interior  150  and is located parallel to and above the insole  400 . The footbed  300  is a thin layer constructed from a padded material to enhance comfort and support for a wearer&#39;s foot. The footbed  300  depicted in  FIG. 1  has a raised heel section  320  to provide added support to a wearer&#39;s foot. The footbed  300  includes a plurality of openings  310  located in the forefoot region  130  of the footbed  300 . The plurality of openings  310  allows air to flow from the shoe interior  150  through the footbed  300 . 
         [0024]    An outsole  600  is located parallel to and beneath the insole  400 . The outsole  600  is preferably composed of a durable material, such as rubber, to resist wear during use. The outsole  600  may have treads  610  designed to grip the ventilating shoe  100  to a surface. The design of the treads  610  may vary depending on the purpose for which the ventilating shoe  100  is designed. The outsole  600  includes a depression  620  in the heel region  120  and a depression  630  in the forefoot region  130 . These depressions  620  and  630  are designed to partially secure the ventilation component  500  of the ventilating shoe  100  to the outsole  600 . 
         [0025]    The ventilation component  500  is located between the insole  400  and the outsole  600 . Other sole layers not shown or described herein may be located between the insole  400  and the outsole  600  without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. The ventilation component includes an air bladder  510  located in the heel region  120  of the ventilating shoe. The air bladder  510  is partially secured to the outsole  600  by depression  620 . The ventilation component further includes a breather pad  520  located in the forefoot region  130  of the ventilating shoe  100 . The breather pad  520  is partially secured to the outsole  600  by depression  630 . The breather pad  520  is operatively connected to the air bladder  510  by air conduits  530 . Air conduits  530  are operatively connected to the air bladder  510  at air intakes  512 . Air is expelled from air bladder  510  through exhaust port  514 . 
         [0026]    With reference to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 5 , the exhaust port  514  of the ventilating shoe  100  is connected to heel opening  650 . The heel opening  650  is located in the heel support  640  of the outsole  600 . Air from the air bladder  510  is expelled through the exhaust port  514  and through the heel opening  650  to the outside of the ventilating shoe  100 . 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the ventilation component  500  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in additional detail. The ventilation component  500  includes an air bladder  510  located in the heel region  120  of the ventilating shoe  100 . The air bladder  510  may be composed of any material capable of being compressed by the downward pressure of a wearer&#39;s foot. The air bladder  510  shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  includes a plurality of supports  515 . The supports  515  are cylindrical columns configured to return the air bladder to its original position when the air bladder  510  is not compressed by a wearer&#39;s foot. The supports  515  also provide enhanced support and shock absorption capabilities to the ventilating shoe  100 . The air bladder  510  includes sleeves  511  and  513 . 
         [0028]    The air bladder  510  is operatively connected to breather pad  520  by air conduits  530 . Air conduits  530  are operatively connected to air bladder  510  at air intakes  512 . Air intakes  512  include one-way valves  540  designed to allow air to flow into the air bladder  510  from air conduits  530  and to prevent air from flowing out of the air bladder  510  into air conduits  530 . One-way valves  540  may be standard ball-valves in which a ball operates to restrict the air flow from the air bladder  510  to the air conduits  530 . However, the present invention is not limited to any particular type of one-way valve, and using the teachings disclosed herein, one of skill in the art will understand that the present invention may be used with a variety of different types of one-way valves designed to restrict the flow of air from the air bladder  510  to the air conduits  530 . 
         [0029]    The air bladder  510  includes an exhaust port  514 . The exhaust port  514  has a one-way valve  550  designed to allow air to flow out of the air bladder  510  into the heel opening  650  and to prevent air to flow from the outside of the ventilating shoe  100  through the heel opening  650  into the air bladder  510 . Similar to one-way valves  540 , the one-way valve  550  may be a standard ball-valve in which a ball operates to restrict the air flow from the heel opening  650  to the air bladder  510 . However, the present invention is not limited to any particular type of one-way valve, and using the teachings disclosed herein, one of skill in the art will understand that the present invention may be used with a variety of different types of one-way valves to restrict the flow of air from the heel opening  650  to the air bladder  510 . 
         [0030]    One-way valves  540  and  550  are connected to the ventilation component  500  by complementary male-female connections. Specifically, one-way valves  540  are connected to air conduits  530  by inserting the ends of the one-way valves  540  into the air conduits  530 . One-way valves  540  are connected to the air bladder  510  by inserting the opposing ends of the one-way valves  540  into sleeves  511 . The one-way valve  550  is connected to the air bladder  510  by inserting the end of the one-way valve  550  into sleeve  513 . The one-way valve  550  is connected to the heel opening  650  by inserting an opposing end of the one-way valve  550  into the heel opening  650 . This arrangement facilitates the assembly of the ventilation component  500 . 
         [0031]    The breather pad  520  is located in the forefoot region  130  of the ventilating shoe  100  and is operatively connected to the air bladder  510  by air conduits  530 . The air conduits  530  are connected to the breather pad  520  by a complementary male-female connection. Specifically, the ends of the air conduits  530  are inserted into sleeves  521  located on the breather pad  520 . This arrangement further facilitates the assembly of the ventilation component  500   
         [0032]    The breather pad  520  has a top surface  526  and a bottom surface  528  and includes a plurality of operatively connected air channels  522 .  FIG. 4  shows a side view of the breather pad  520  and the plurality of operatively connected air channels  522 . Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the air channels  522  are connected to each other at intersections  525 . A plurality of openings  524  is disposed along the top surface  526  of the breather pad  520 . The breather pad  520  absorbs air from the shoe interior  150  during ambulatory movement of a wearer&#39;s foot through the plurality of openings  524 . In alternate embodiments of the present disclosure, the plurality of openings  524  may be located on the bottom surface  528  of the breather pad  520  or located on both the top surface  526  and the bottom surface  528  of the breather pad  520 . In the embodiment of the breather pad  520  shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the openings  524  are placed at the intersections  525  of the air channels  522 . This allows air absorbed by an opening  524  to flow into multiple air channels  522 . 
         [0033]    The breather pad  520  shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  is configured to prevent or minimize any discomfort to the wearer of the ventilating shoe  100  caused by the presence of a ventilation component  500 . The breather pad  520  substantially conforms to the shape of the forefoot region  130  of the ventilating shoe  100  so as not to create an irregularity that can be felt by a wearer of the ventilating shoe  100 . The depressions  527  in the breather pad  520  further minimize the amount of contact the breather pad  520  has with the bottom of a wearer&#39;s foot through the insole  400  and the footbed  300 . 
         [0034]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the operation of the ventilating shoe  100  will be described in detail. During the compression phase, the downward pressure of a wearer&#39;s foot compresses the air bladder  510  forcing air located in the air bladder  510  out of the exhaust port  514  through one-way valve  550  and through heel opening  650 . By forcing the air out of air bladder  510 , the downward pressure of a wearer&#39;s foot creates a temporary vacuum inside air bladder  510 . 
         [0035]    During the absorption phase, the air bladder  510  is not compressed by the downward pressure of a wearer&#39;s foot and the supports  515  cause the air bladder  510  to return to its original position. The temporary vacuum inside air bladder  510  draws air from the shoe interior  150  into the ventilation component  550  through the breather pad  520 . In this manner, air from the shoe interior  150  is absorbed by the ventilation component  500 . 
         [0036]    The air flow associated with both the compression phase and the absorption phase will now be discussed in detail. During the absorption phase, air from the shoe interior  150  is drawn by the breather pad  520  through openings  310  in footbed  300  and through the perforations  410  in the insole  400 . The air of the shoe interior  150  is replaced by outside air that flows through perforations  210  in the shoe upper  200 . The removed air flows into the breather pad  520  through the plurality of openings  524 . Once the air from the shoe interior  150  has been absorbed by the breather pad  520 , it flows through air conduits  530  toward the air bladder  510 . The air flows through one-way valves  540  disposed in the air intakes  512  into the air bladder  510 . The flow of air into the air bladder  510  assists the supports  515  in returning the air bladder  510  to its original position. 
         [0037]    Once the absorption phase is complete, the compression phase is re-initiated by downward pressure from a wearer&#39;s foot applied to the air bladder  510 . This forces the recently absorbed air from the air bladder  510  out of the heel opening  650 . Thus, during the ambulatory movement of a wearer&#39;s foot, air from the shoe interior  150  is repeatedly absorbed by the breather pad  520  and forced out of the air bladder  510  through heel opening  650 . Fresh air replenishes the removed air in the shoe interior  150  through perforations  210  in the shoe upper  200 . 
         [0038]    While the present subject matter has been described in detail with respect to specific exemplary embodiments and methods thereof, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing may readily produce alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is by way of example rather than by way of limitation, and the subject disclosure does not preclude inclusion of such modifications, variations and/or additions to the present subject matter as would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.