SOLE FOR THERAPEUTIC, SPORT AND FREE TIME SHOES, WITH AN AIR TUBE AND ELASTIC DISTANCING ELEMENTS

SEMELLE A TUBE PNEUMATIQUE ET ENTRE-DEUX ELASTIQUES POUR ARTICLES CHAUSSANTS DE SPORT OU DE MARCHE

English Abstract

- 1 -
Abstract
A sole for therapeutical shoes consists of inside
(upper) and outside (lower) layers. Small pistons of
elastomeric material are fixed to or integral with the
bottom of the inside layer supporting the foot and are
separated from the lower layer.

Claims

Claims:
1. A sole for therapeutical shoes including:
an upper layer to support the foot;
a lower layer; and
a number of small cylindrical pistons distributed in a
space between the layers, the pistons being fastened to or
integral with the upper layer and not attached to the lower
layer, whereby to provide an elastomeric deformable support
such that the pistons are always oriented with their axes
at right angles to the radius of every part of the foot
bottom in accordance with the load thereof on the sole.
2. A sole according to claim 1, wherein the pistons
are solid whereby to have a high elastomeric resistance.
3. A sole according to claim 1, wherein the pistons
are hollow whereby to provide a soft support.
4. A sole according to claim 1, wherein the diameters
and/or the nature of the pistons vary in different parts
of the sole to accommodate the different loading of
various parts of the foot.

Description

Sole_for _h_r_~euti__l__hoes
The invention concerns a sole to be used in making
therapeutical shoes of the sports type, consisting of an
inside sole, whose top part is in contact ~ith the foot
S and on whose bottom part there are many small pistons
integral with said sole. These small pistons, when they
are under stress arising from the load on the sole caused
by different parts of the foot, are dynamically displaced,
since they are free in their lower end. There is also a
closing or bottom sole.
The problem in providing a sole offering adequate
resistance to the foot when walking or engaging in sports
activities has been solved by soles consisting of different
elastomeric materials. In Petrosky U.S. patent 4,229,889
issued October, 1980 there is a double sole with a spacing
provided by separation baffles, and there are some foam
material elastomeric blocks inside. The elastomeric
material has sometimes been replaced by elastomeric
spacers, whose function i~5 to create a deformable air space
between the two soles, as in Whispell, Harrison and Lingarcl
patents ll.S. 4,462,171 issued July, 1984; U.S. 1,~98,838
issued June, 1924 and British 15~21/99 of December 1899.
In the Whispell patent, the mechanical arrangement,
through the separation baffles, which are able to create
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some cross-like rigid supports to the foot, determines for
each compartment an inflation and a deflation of air, and
the pistons, connected to the bottom sole, perform the
function of receiving the load. Pistons have also been
used in a sole within a shoe, as in Daswich U.S. patent
~,345,3~7 issued August 1982.
The object of the present invention is to create a
sole for therapeutic shoes obtained with several small
pistons arranged between a bottom layer of plastic material
and an upper one supporting the foot, in such a way to
determine an original elasticity.
Round base surfaces of small pistons are fastened on
the bottom of the upper layer by glue or are integral
therewith or otherwise secured in such a way as to create
a resiliently deformable support, since the pistons are
always oriented with their axes at right angles to the
radius with each bending of the foot in accordance with the
load. These pistons are fixed to the upper layer of the
sole but their lower parts are not connected to the layer
that is in contact with the ground.
An embodiment of the invention is represented in the
attached drawing, in which:-
Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view;
Figure 2 shows a complete shoe in side view; and
Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view in a vertical cross
section, showing the deformation caused by the foot.
The figures show a sole for therapeutîc and sport shoes
having many small pistons 1 arranged between a lower layer
3 of plastic material and an upper layer 2 supporting the
foot, such pistons determining the separation of these
layers.
The circular hase surEaces of the pistorls 1 are
fastened to the upper layer 2 either by being integral
therewith or by gluing or by some other appropriate fixing
methocl. They provide an elastically deforrnable suppor~,

~2~
since the pistons are always oriented with their axes at
90 to the radius of the foot bottom and therefore of every
deformation of the top sole, in accordance with the load
projection (see Figure 3).
In the rest condition when stress is absent the
pistons 1 do not come in contact with the lower layer 3
(see Figure 2).
The pistons 1 may consist of an elastomeric material
with a solid structure, (resulting in high resistance to
displacement) or of an elastomeric material with an empty
structure (resulting in easier deformation). In any case,
the sole has the main purpose of supporting in different
manners the different parts of the foot, and can provide
different elastomeric resistances under those parts that,
due to anatomic and/or functional anomalies, would be
otherwise improperly supported.
If it is necessary to provide a more rigid support, the
sole can have pistons 1 with a larger diameter, or even
with the same diameter but made of a more compact material.
On the other hand, in the parts of the foot that require a
more yielding support the sole can have some pistons 1'
with a smaller diameter or otherwise of the same diameter
but hollow, or of the same diameter but made of a softer
material.