Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SHOE WITH ERGONOMIC INSOLE UNIT
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
l . Field of tile Invenza.on
The invention relates to a shoe, particularly, to a shoe
$ which has an ergonomic insole unit incorporated therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lasts used for lasting uppers and insoles are generally
provided with flat bottom faces to accommodate a wiper blade
of a heel lasting machine. An example of the last with a
flat bottom face 1A is shown in Figures 1A and 1B. In
manufacturing a shoe, an upper is disposed around a last and
the bottom margin thereof is folded over an insole which is
mounted on the flat bottom face of the last, via the wiper
blade that wipes over the flattened surface of the insole.
The wiper blade cannot work if the insole and/or the bottom
face of the last are not flat because the wiper blade moves
only along a planar surface.
Figures 2A and 2B show another last 2 which has a heel
part with a rounded or convex bottom face 2A conforming to
the bottom of the heel of the wearer's foot. Such a last
2 is used in forming an ergonomic insole, midsole or out sole,
which has a heel part with. a top face concaved downwardly,
and in manufacturing a sandals 3 incorporating an ergonomic
sole 31 as shown in Figure 3. However, since the rounded
bottom face 2A of the last 2 does not provide a planar surface
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to support and flatten an insole pad, the prior art never
suggests that the last 2 be used in a heel lasting process
to last an upper with an ergonomic insole.
It is conventional to place inside a shoe a removable
cushion pad which has a downward concave area at the top face
thereof to support the convex bottom of the wearer's heel.
US Patent No. 6, 070, 342 discloses a removable insole assembly
which includes an ergonomic foamed pad incorporating a
reinforcing a rigid cap. The foamed pad has a downward
concave area which is thinner than the lateral parts thereof .
This thin concave area does not have enough thickness to
sufficiently cushion the wearer's heel beneath the calcaneus
because the thickness of the removable foamed pad is limited
by the height of the interior space of the shoe measured from
the top of an insole connected directly to the bottom margin
of an upper via a lasting process. Since this height is
determined by a last used to manufacture the shoe, if the
thickness of the concave area of the foamed pad is to increase,
it is necessary to increase the height of the last.. Thus,
a particularly designed last with a dimension required to
provide the desired height of the interior space of the shoe
is needed. The need to produce a particular last would
increase the cost of manufacturing shoes incorporating such
removable insole assemblies.
An object of the present invention is to provide a shoe
with an ergonomic insole unit which has a downward concave
area with sufficient thickness to comfort and support the
wearer's heel and which can still be manufactured by using
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a common last.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a shoe with an ergonomic insole unit that is lasted with a
bottom margin of an upper by using a last having a rounded
or convex bottom heel part.
Accordingly, a shoe according to the present invention
is characterized by an ergonomic insole unit and an upper
having a bottom margin attached directly to the insole unit
via a lasting process, the insole unit including a heel part
which includes a base, a rear upward flange projecting upward
from a periphery of the base and making a U-shaped turn around
the base, the upward flange forming a corner with the base
along the U-shaped turn, the bottom margin of the upper being
folded over the corner, the base having a bottom face and
a top face opposite to the bottom face, the top face having
a downward concave area, the bottom face being coplanar at
least in a peripheral region which extends along full length
of the corner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent in the following detailed description
of the preferred embodiments with reference to the
accompanying drawings, of which:
Figure 1A is a side view of a conventional last which is
planar at the bottom of a heel region thereof;
1A;
Figure 1B is a rear view of the conventional last of Figure
Figure 2A is a side view of another conventional last which
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is convex at the bottom of a heel region thereof;
Figure 2B is a rear view of the conventional last of Figure
2A;
Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a sandal and the
conventional last of Figures 2A and 2B;
Figure 4 is a sectional view of a shoe embodying the
present invention;
Figure 5 is another sectional view of the shoe taken along
line 5-5 of Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a heel part of an insole
unit shown in Figure 4;
Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Figure
6;
Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure
6;
Figure 9 is an elevation view showing an insole element
and the heel part of Figure 4 , both of which are mounted on
a last;
Figure 10 is the same view as Figure 5 but with the insole
element being placed beneath the heel part;
Figure 11A is a perspective view showing another heel part
according to the present invention;
Figure 11B is a cross-sectional view taken along line
11B-11B of Figure 11A;
Figure 12 is a perspective view of another insole unit
according to the present invention;
Figure 13 is a perspective view of a toe part of the insole
unit according to the present invention;
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Figure 14 is a perspective view of another toe part of
the insole unit according to the present invention;
Figure 15 is a perspective view of a modified form of the
toe part of Figure 13;
5 Figure 16 is a perspective view of a modified form of the
toe part of Figure 14;
Figure 17 is a perspective view of a modified form of the
heel part of Figure 6;
Figure 18 is a perspective view of a modified form of the
heel part of Figure 11A;
Figure 19 is an elevation view of another shoe embodying
the present invention;
Figure 20 is a perspective view of a shank part usable
in the present invention;
Figure 21 is a perspective view showing a heel part which
is smaller in size than a heel section of an insole element
according to the present invention;
Figure 22 is a perspective view of a one-piece sole-shaped
member which is flat in a peripheral region and has a
downwardly projecting protrusion;
Figure 23 is another perspective view of the one-piece
sole-shaped member of Figure 22; and
Figure 24 is a sectional view taken along line 24-24 of
Figure 23.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to Figures 4 & 5, a first embodiment of a shoe
10 according to the present invention comprises an upper 20
connected to an ergonomic insole unit which includes an
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insole element 21 and a heel part 30 connected to the insole
element 21 via connection means, such as adhesive bonding,
sewing or mechanical fasteners, etc. The upper 20 has a
bottom margin 201 provided around the insole element 21 and
the heel part 30. The bottom margin 201 is attached to the
insole element 21 and the heel part 30 via a lasting process.
The heel part 30 may be fabricated via a molding process
from a rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible plastic material . The
plastic materials usable for the heel part 30 include PVC,
PU, EVA, EPE, etc. Referring to Figures 6, 7 and 8, the heel
part 30 includes a base 301, and a rear upward flange 302
extending upward from the base 301 and making a substantially
U-shaped turn around the base 301. The base 301 has a planar
bottom face 304 which forms a corner 305 with the upward
flange 302. The heel part 30 further has a top face opposite
to the planar bottom face 304, which has a downward concave
area 307.
The insole element 21 has a toe section 211, a shank section
212, and a heel section 213, like the conventional insole.
The insole element 21 is made of a flexible material such
as PU, PVC, EVA, a woven or non-woven fabric, or the like.
The insole element 21 has a substantially uniform thickness,
and the heel section 213 of the insole element 21 is placed
above the base 301 of the heel part 30. In assembly, the
insole element 21 and the heel part 30 are mounted on a bottom
side of a last 40, as shown in Figure 9, to undergo a lasting
operation in a conventional manner. During the lasting
operation, the upper 20 is also mounted on the last 40, and
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a portion of the bottom margin 201 is folded over and attached
to the planar bottom face 304 of the heel part 30. The
remaining portion of the bottom margin 201 of the upper 20
is folded over and attached to the bottom face of the insole
element 21. After the lasting operation, the upper 20, the
insole element 21 and the heel part 30 are assembled with
an outsole 50 via a conventional soling process, such as a
direct injection process to form the outsole 50, a cementing
process to cement the outsole 50 , or a goodyear welt process
to attach a goodyear welt and the outsole 50.
Although the last 40 has a rounded or concave bottom
profile, like the last 2 shown in Figures 2A and 2B, it is
feasible to use the last 40 to fabricate the shoe 10 by using
a conventional heel lasting machine since the heel part 30
has the planar bottom face 304. Since the insole unit,
comprised of the heel part 30 and the insole element 21, is
attached directly to the bottom margin 201 of the upper 20
during the lasting operation, the insole unit is at the
outside of the volume of the last 40. Thus, the thickness
of the insole unit or the heel part 30 is not limited by the
height or volume of the interior space of the upper 20 which
is determined by the volume of the last 40. As a result,
the heel part 30 can be provided with a sufficient thickness
at the downward concave area 307 so as to effectively cushion
the bottom face of the wearer' s heel beneath the calcaneus .
Referring to Figure 10 , the heel part 3 0 may be placed above
and connected integrally with the insole element 2I. In
assembly, the heel part 30 together with the insole element
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21 is mounted on the last 40 shown in figure 9 and is connected
to the bottom margin 201 of the upper 20.
Instead of the heel part 30 described hereinbefore, the
ergonomic insole unit according to the present invention may
be configured to include a heel part 30A as shown in Figures
11A and 118. The heel part 30A has a base 301A and an upward
flange 302A which are substantially the same as the base 301
and the flange 302 of the heel part 30 except that the base
3 O 1A i s provided with an opening 3 0 9A in the downward concave
area 307A thereof.
Referring to Figure 12, the ergonomic insole unit
according to the present invention is configured as a single
piece member 308 including a heel part 3018, a shank part
3028 and a toe part 3038. The heel part 3018 has
substantially the same configuration as the heel part 30.
The shank part 3028 and the toe part 303B may be designed
such that they are more flexible and have a lower hardness
than that of the heel part 3018. The single-piece member
308 may be constructed in such a manner that they have
different levels of hardness at the heel, shank and toe parts
3018, 3028 and 3038. When the single piece member 308 is
used, the upper 20 may be lasted with or without the insole
element 21.
Referring to Figures 13 and 14, the ergonomic insole unit
in the present invention may also include a separate toe part
31, or a separate toe part 32 to be used together with the
heel part 3 0 or 3 OA . The toe part 31 in Figure 13 has a f ront
upward flange 312 projecting upward from the periphery of
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the toe part 31 and having a U-shaped turn along the periphery
of the toe part 31. The toe part 32 in Figure 14 has a front
upward flange 322 projecting upward from the periphery of
the toe part 32 and having a U-shaped turn along the periphery
of the toe part 32. In assembly, the toe part 31 or 32 may
be placed above or below the insole element 21, like the heel
part 3 0 or 3 OA, and mounted on the 1 as t 4 0 ( shown in f figure
9) together with the insole element 21.
Referring to Figures 15 and 16, reference numerals 31A and
32A represent respectively another toe parts which are
modified forms of the toe parts 31 and 32. The toe part 31A
has an additional front outward flange 313A which projects
outward from an upward flange 312A along a plane coplanar
with a bottom face (not shown) of the toe part 31A. The toe
part 32A has an additional front outward flange 323A which
projects outward from an upward flange 322A along a plane
coplanar with a bottom face (not shown) of the toe part 32A.
Referring to Figures 17 and 18, reference numerals 30C and
30D represent respectively another heel parts which are
modified forms of the heel parts 30 and 30A. The heel part
30C has an additional rear outward flange 301C which projects
outward from an upward flange 302C along a plane coplanar
with the planar bottom face (not shown) of the heel part 30C.
The heel part 30D has an additional rear outward flange 301D
which projects outward from an upward flange 302D along a
plane coplanar with a planar bottom face (not shown) of the
heel part 30D.
Referring to Figure 19, the heel part 30C or 30D and the
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toe part 31A or 32A have the outward flanges 301C or 301D
and the outward flanges 313A or 323A thereof connected to
an outwardly turned bottom margin 201A of an upper 20A. The
heel part 30C or 30D and the toe part 31A or 32A are disposed
above the insole element 21 and are interconnected integrally.
Assembly of the upper 20A with the insole element 21, the
heel part 30C or 30D and the toe part 31A or 32A is accomplished
via a conventional stitchdown process using the last 40 which
is shown in Figure 9.
Referring to Figure 20, the ergonomic insole unit
according to the present invention may also include a
separate shank part 33 which can be used in combination with
the heel part 30 or 30A and the toe part 31 or 32. The shank
part 33 has two opposite lateral upward flanges 331 which
project upward from two opposite ends of the shank part 33.
In assembly, the shank part 33 may be placed above or below
the insole element 21 together with the heel part 30 or 30A
and/or the toe part 31 or 32 and connected to the bottom margin
201 of the upper 20.
Referring to Figure 21, the heel part 30A may be configured
with a size smaller than the heel section 213 of the insole
element 21 so that the periphery of the insole element 21
extends beyond and projects outwardly of the periphery of
the heel part 30A when the heel part 30A is disposed above
the insole element 21. The outwardly proj ecting part of the
insole element 21 may be connected to the outwardly turned
bottom margin 201A of the upper 20A shown in Figure 19.
Referring to Figures 22, 23 and 24, a one-piece sole-
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shaped member 308' is constructed substantially in the same
manner as the one-piece member 30B shown in Figure 12 except
that the one-piece sole-shaped member 308' has a protrusion
3098. In particular, the one-piece member 308' includes a
heel part 3018, a shank part 3028, and a toe part 303B. The
protrusion 3098 projects downward from the bottom face (3048)
of the one-piece member 308' so that a looped shoulder 30918
is formed around the protrusion 3098 and a peripheral region
30928 is formed around the shoulder 30918. The peripheral
region 30928 is adjacent immediately to and extends around
the shoulder 30918. The peripheral region 30928 has a
coplanar face which extends along full length of a corner
3058 of the heel part 3018 and further extends to the shank
part 3028 and the toe part 3038. Preferably, the width of
the peripheral region 30928 is at least lOmm measured from
the corner 3058.
While the present invention has been described in
connection with what is considered the most practical and
preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention
is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended
to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and
scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all
such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
