US20070017120A1

US20070017120A1 - Breathing insole

Info

Publication number: US20070017120A1
Application number: US11/183,805
Authority: US
Inventors: Zu-Ming Huang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-07-19
Filing date: 2005-07-19
Publication date: 2007-01-25

Abstract

A breathing insole for use in a shoe includes an insole body, which has an upper fabric covering, a bottom fabric covering, and a fiber layer located between the upper fabric covering and the bottom fabric covering. The fiber layer has fibers vertically orderly arranged and knitted to the upper fabric covering and the bottom fabric covering. A packing member is wrapped about the peripheral edge of the insole body for protection.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a breathing insole for shoe and more particularly, to such a breathing insole that has a wrapped peripheral edge.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional insole for shoe is directly cut from a sheet material of a certain thickness subject to a predetermined pattern and size. An insole of this design is not elastic and does not breathe. After a long use in a shoe, the insole gives off an unpleasant smell, not hygienic to the user's foot.
There is another design of prior art insole, which has combed fibers arranged inside the body of the insole. This design of insole is still not satisfactory in function. Because the fibers do not have the binding power of a woven structure, they tend to displace, resulting in an uneven thickness that makes the sole of the user's foot to feel uncomfortable.
Still another design of prior art insole is disclosed using elastic stretcher rings to provide a transverse breathing effect. However, because the bottom sealing layer of the insole does not have any pores for ventilation, the insole does not breathe in vertical direction. Further, the peripheral edge of this design of insole is not protected with a sealing edge, it wears quickly with use, shortening the service life of the insole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to a breathing insole, which uses a packing member to wrap the peripheral edge of the insole body, prolonging the service life of the insole.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a breathing insole, which uses fiber layer having fibers vertically arranged in parallel to enhance the ventilation of the insole.
To achieve these objects of the present invention, the breathing insole comprises an insole body having an upper fabric covering, a bottom fabric covering, and a fiber layer located between the upper fabric covering and the bottom fabric covering, and a packing member wrapped about a peripheral edge of the insole body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a breathing insole according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing showing the structure of the breathing insole according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the breathing insole according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a breathing insole 1 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown comprising an insole body 10, and a packing member 20. The insole body 10 comprises an upper fabric covering 11, a fiber layer 12, and a bottom fabric covering 13. The upper fabric covering 11, the fiber layer 12, and the bottom fabric covering 13 are fastened together by knitting. The fiber layer 12 is set between the upper fabric covering 11 and the bottom fabric covering 13. The internal fibers 15 of the fiber layer 12 are formed of a single thread vertically knitted to the upper fabric covering 11 and the bottom fabric covering 13, and arranged in parallel at a suitable pitch. The packing member 20 wraps the peripheral edge of the insole body 10, protecting the fibers 15 against external stretching force. The packing member 20 has a first part 21 and a second part 22. The first part 21 has a mouth 23 for bonding to the peripheral edge of the insole body 10. According to this embodiment, the packing member 20 is made of EVA (Ethylene vinyl acetate) or PU (polyurethane). The mouth 23 of the first part 21 is sealed to the peripheral edge of the insole body 10 by a hot press. The second part 22 is a distal part that does not wrap the insole body 10. The second part 22 has a flat shape extending around the border of the insole body 10. Therefore, the user can trim the second part 22 subject to the desired size and shape.
Referring to FIG. 3 again, the fibers 15 of the fiber layer 12 are formed of a single thread vertically knitted to the upper fabric covering 11 and the bottom fabric covering 13, and arranged in parallel at a suitable pitch. Therefore, the upper fabric covering 11 and the bottom fabric covering 13 are vertically spaced at a distance to provide a certain thickness that provides an elasticity in vertical direction. Because the fibers 15 are vertically arranged in parallel at an equal pitch, the insole body 10 provides a satisfactory ventilation effect in transverse direction. Further, the upper fabric covering 11 and the bottom fabric covering 13 have open spaces (pores) 14 for ventilation. Therefore, the insole body 10 allows ventilation in vertical direction as well as transverse direction.
Further, the thickness and softness of the fiber layer can be adjusted by means of changing the knitting stroke of the single thread and the density of the fibers. Increasing the knitting stroke of the single thread relatively increases the thickness of the fiber layer. Reducing the density of the fibers of the fiber layer relatively improves the softness of the fiber layer. Because the fibers 15 of the fiber layer 12 are formed by alternatively knitting the single thread to the upper fabric covering 11 and the bottom fabric covering 13, the fiber layer 12 and the fabric covers 11 and 13 are joined together in integrity. During fabrication of the breathing insole 1, the packing member 20 is directly sealed to the peripheral edge of the insole body 10 by a hot press. This insole fabrication method eliminates the complicated laminating procedure as used in conventional insole fabrication methods, thereby reducing much manufacturing cost.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show an alternate form of the present invention. According to this embodiment, a soft fabric (for example, cloth material) is used as a packing member wrapped about the peripheral edge of the insole body 10 and fixedly fastened thereto with stitches 24. Further, the bottom fabric covering 13 of the insole body 10 is adhered with an anti-slip pad 30 to enhance the friction force of the breathing insole, preventing slipping of the breathing insole in the shoe. The anti-slip pad 30 is preferably molded from a flexible resin.
As indicated above, the invention uses a packing member to wrap the peripheral edge of the insole body and to protect the fibers of the inside fiber layer of the insole body against external stretching force, prolonging the service life of the breathing insole. Further, the fibers of the internal fiber layer of the breathing insole are vertically arranged in parallel to match with the pores in the top and bottom fabric coverings of the insole body for ventilation. Because the top and bottom coverings and the internal fiber layer are joined together in integrity, the fabrication of the breathing insole saves much labor and time, therefore the breathing insole is inexpensive to manufacture.

Claims

1. A breathing insole comprising:

an insole body having an upper fabric covering, a bottom fabric covering, and a fiber layer located between said upper fabric covering and said bottom fabric covering; and

a packing member wrapped about a peripheral edge of said insole body.

2. The breathing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fiber layer is comprised of a plurality of fibers orderly vertically arranged.

3. The breathing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper fabric covering and said bottom fabric covering each have a plurality of pores for ventilation.

4. The breathing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fibers of said fiber layer are knitted to said upper fabric covering and said bottom fabric covering.

5. The breathing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said packing member is a soft member wrapped about the peripheral edge of said insole body and fixedly fastened thereto with stitches.

6. The breathing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottom fabric covering has a bottom wall adhered with an anti-slip pad.

7. The breathing insole as claimed in claim 6, wherein said anti-slip pad is made from a flexible resin.