Patent Publication Number: US-7712229-B2

Title: Air-circulating shock absorbing shoes

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE 
     This application claims foreign priority under Paris Convention and 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0012456, filed Feb. 7, 2007 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a shoe, in more particular, an air-circulating and shock absorbing shoe which can protect backbone and knee joints of the wearer by absorbing shock and enables smooth air circulation inside the shoes, during walking or running, to provide pleasant wearing of the shoes for a long time. 
     Generally, shoes are worn for walking or running. Shoes are indispensable in our daily life. Their types can be classified by some tens of kinds such as athletic shoes, leather shoes, slippers, basketball shoes, football shoes, golf shoes, combat shoes, mountain climbing shoes, etc. 
     Recently, functional shoes are being developed for comfortable wearing and helping healthy life. 
     In addition, the moderners have various problems in their bodies, including obesity, due to excessive nutrient and lack of exercise due to the development of technologies such as transportation means. 
     Recently, many people enjoy jogging for their health, wearing light footgear and training clothes. 
     However, conventional shoes need better shock absorbing capability to protect backbone and knee joints from shock in walking and running. Furthermore, conventional shoes give fatigue to feet due to their unsatisfactory structural cushion. Especially in walking or running, the impact of body weight is transferred to the wearer without buffering, giving more fatigue with time. 
     In addition, because the conventional shoes do not provide air circulation inside, they result in moisturization inside, which promotes propagation of bacteria and fungi producing malodor and foot diseases. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide an air-circulating and shock-absorbing shoe that solves the abovementioned problems of the conventional shoes. The shoes in accordance with the present invention protect backbone and knee joints from impact reducing feet fatigue even under increased physical exercise, and protect feet from various skin diseases and malodor by smooth air ventilation, so that the wearers can wear the shoes more comfortably and pleasantly for a long time. 
     In order to achieve said objects, the shoes in accordance with the present inventions comprise outsoles formed with first and second air chambers having multiple concave holes, and multiple air cushion projections which are arranged to be inserted in the concave holes on the bottom of the midsoles facing said outsoles and formed with shock-absorbing holes on top of said air cushion projections. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a cross sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  shows the perspective view of the combination of the outsole and midsole of an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 4   a,    4   b  and  4   c  illustrate the cross sectional views of the working state of an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 5   a,    5   b,    6   a  and  6   b  illustrate the cross sectional views of the shock absorbing function of the air cushion projections in accordance with the present invention; and 
         FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b  are cross sectional views of another embodiment of the air cushion projections in accordance with this invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The functions and their effects of said members set forth and described hereinabove are described herein below; 
     The air-circulating and shock-absorbing shoe in accordance with the present invention is characterized by, as shown in the  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 7   b,  an outsole  10  formed with the first air chamber  11  and the second air chamber  12  which are connected together, a midsole  20  and an insole  30  formed with multiple suction holes  21 ,  31  which are in connection with said first air chamber  11 , and the check valve  40  in said second air chamber  12  of the outsole, wherein the bottoms of said first air chamber  11  and second air chamber  12  are formed with multiple concave holes  13 ,  14  in arrangements, the bottom of said midsole  20  is formed with multiple air cushion projections  22 ,  23  which are inserted into said concave holes  13 ,  14 , and the top of the air cushion projections  22 ,  23  are formed with shock absorbing holes  24 ,  25 . 
     Here, said shoe comprises all the footwear, which has outsole  10 , midsole  20 , and insole  30 , and the shoe may be produced in various sizes according to wearers&#39; age, sex, and foot size. 
     Said first air chamber  11  is formed on the top front and middle part of the outsole  10  and connected with the second air chamber  12 . The first air chamber is inserted with the air cushion projection  22  of the midsole  20 . 
     Said second air chamber  12 , which is formed on the rear part of the outsole  10  and connected with the first air chamber  11 , contains the air cushion projections  23  of the midsole  20  and formed with a check valve  40  at the rear side to evacuate air to outside. 
     Said concave hole  13  is formed on the bottom of the first air chamber  11  and inserted with the bottom of the air cushion projections  22 . 
     Said concave hole  14  is formed and arranged on the bottom of said second air chamber  12  and inserted with the bottom part of the air cushion projections  23 . 
     Said air suction holes  21 ,  31  are formed on the front sides of the midsole  20  and insole  30 , connected together with each other, and connected with the first air chamber  11  formed on the outsole  10 . 
     The fresh air comes in through the air suction holes  31  during walking or running. 
     Said air cushion projections  22 ,  23  are formed and arranged on the bottom side of the midsole  20 , inserted into said concave holes  13 ,  14 , inserted into the first and second air chambers  11 ,  12 , and configured to absorb shock and circulate air during walking. Since said midsole  20  is made with soft material having elasticity, when the front side of foot presses the midsole  20  during walking, said air cushion projection  22  is compressed, as illustrated in the  FIG. 5   b,  absorbing the impact. Also when the rear heel side of foot presses the midsole  20 , said air cushion projection  23  is compressed, as illustrated in the  FIG. 6   b,  absorbing the impact. 
       FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b  show another embodiment of the air cushion projections  22 ,  23  in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized in that the air cushion projections  22 ,  23  is formed with connecting holes  22   a,    23   a  inside. The connecting holes  22   a,    23   a  are configured to circulate air during walking and reduce the weight of midsole. 
     Said shock absorbing holes  24 ,  25 , which are formed on top of said air cushion projections  22 ,  23 , help said air cushion projections  22 ,  23  carry out shock-absorbing function by being compressed and expanded as illustrated in the  FIGS. 5   a,    5   b  and  FIGS. 6   a,    6   b.    
     In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, said insole  30  is characterized by being made with high density compressed pad containing anion emitting powder and herb powder. 
     Said anion emitting powder comprises elvan, germanium, rigid mica, loess, amphibole, charcoal, nephrite, ceramic, etc. The anions emitted from these materials may coexist with cations, carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, and moisture in the air, and very active due to their light weight, and their bio-energy helps human health. The anions also sterilize fungi and bacteria, and purify pollutants in the air, providing pleasantness which one feels in forests and near waterfalls and spas, in addition to such effects as purification of blood, activation of body cells, improvement of resistance against bacteria, and smooth harmonization of autonomic nerves. 
     Said herb powder comprises a mixture of functional herbs including angelica gigas, cnidium officinate makino, mint, workwood, amomi cardamomi fructus, clove, milk vetch, coptidis rhizome, cyperi rhizome, Aucklandia lappa Decne., Teucruim veronicoides, teucerium veronicoides, borneolum, cinnamon, etc., the ingredients of which are absorbed into the foot skin, removing the malodor and protecting foot from athlete&#39;s foot and eczema. Therefore, by mixing said herb powders, various effects including malodor removal, sweat absorption, prevention of athlete&#39;s foot and propagation of bacteria and fungi, and putrefaction can be acquired. 
     Said check valve  40  is formed to provide a path between the second air chamber  12  and outside to evacuate air when the second air chamber is compressed and cut-off air flow when the second air chamber  12  is expanded. 
     The combined functions of the above described members are described herein below. 
     When not worn, said first and second air chambers  11 ,  12  of the shoe in accordance with the present invention remain expanded due to the elasticity of said air cushion projections  22 ,  23 . 
     When walking or running wearing the shoe, said first and second air chambers  11 ,  12  and said air cushion projections  22 ,  23  are compressed and expanded in turns providing shock-absorbing and air circulating functions. 
     First, as shown in  FIG. 4   a,  when the heel side of foot presses the insole  30  and midsole  20  during walking or running, said second air chamber  12  is compressed by the pressure, causing the compression of said air cushion projections  23  of the midsole  20  to absorb the shock, and evacuating the air compressed in said second air chamber  12  out through said check valve  40 . 
     Next, when the toe side of the foot presses the insole  30  and midsole  20 , said first air chamber  11  is compressed, making the air cushion projections  22  of the midsole compressed to absorb shock. 
     When the shoe is lifted up from the ground, said first and second air chambers  11 ,  12  are expanded by the restoring force of the air cushion projections  22 ,  23 , providing negative pressure in said first and second air chambers  11 ,  12 . Therefore, fresh air is introduced into said first air chamber  11  through said suction holes  21 ,  31  of the midsole  20 , and the air flows into said second air chamber  12 . The fresh air circulates in the shoe in this manner. 
     Therefore, the air-circulating, shock-absorbing shoes in accordance with the present invention have such merits as, due to their shock-absorbing capability, minimizing feet fatigue and protecting backbone and knee joints from impact force during walking or running, helping users to promote their health by increasing the volume of physical exercise, and preventing various geriatric diseases caused by lack of physical exercise. 
     In addition, the air-circulating and shock-absorbing shoes in accordance with the present invention have such advantages of removing malodor, preventing athlete&#39;s foot and providing comfort and pleasantness to wearers for a long time since the fresh air is circulated in the shoes during walking or running. 
     Furthermore, an embodiment in accordance with the present invention provides insole  30  containing herb powders, and the powders which emit anions, thus preventing propagation of bacteria and malodor, removing athlete&#39;s foot, eczema, itches, and inflammations, releasing fatigue of feet by helping blood circulation, and maintaining feet in healthy state by absorbing sweat. 
     As was set forth hereinabove, the air-circulating and shock-absorbing shoes in accordance with the present invention is a very useful invention that can help promote health by protecting backbone and knee joints from impact, reducing fatigue of feet, and increasing the volume of physical exercise during walking or running, and with the circulation of fresh air, and removing malodor and prevent foot diseases, so that users can wear the shoes for a long time more pleasantly. 
     While the invention has been shown and described with reference to different embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skills in the art that variations in form, detail, compositions, and operation may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.