US20070169375A1

US20070169375A1 - Shoe with ventilated arch support region

Info

Publication number: US20070169375A1
Application number: US11/336,739
Authority: US
Inventors: Eddie Chen; Phyllis Chang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-01-20
Filing date: 2006-01-20
Publication date: 2007-07-26

Abstract

A shoe includes a shell that has a bottom wall, and a peripheral wall which extends upward from a periphery of the bottom wall. The bottom wall includes a front region, a rear region, and an arch support region between the front and rear regions. An upper is connected to the peripheral wall. Front and heel sole units are connected to the front and rear regions of the bottom wall, respectively. At least one of the front and heel sole units includes a midsole component and an outsole component. The arch support region has no midsole component and no outsole component, and is provided with a ventilation hole.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe that has an exposed arch support region to reduce material costs and weight and to facilitate the provision of a ventilating structure therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional shoe 10 generally has an outsole 11, a midsole 12 connected to an upper side of the outsole 11, a shell 13 provided on and connected to the midsole 12, and an upper 14 having a lower edge connected to the shell 13. The outsole 11 and the midsole 12 are primarily formed from a rubber/plastic material to provide a cushioning effect for the shoe 10. The shell 13 is primarily formed from relatively a rubber/plastic material to sustain the shape of the shoe 10. The upper 14 is usually formed from a fabric or leather material, and is provided with an opening 141 so that the wearer can put his foot into the shoe 10 through the opening 141. The aforesaid conventional shoe 10 in general suffers from the following drawbacks:
1. As the outsole 11, the midsole 12, and the shell 13, which together constitute a three-layer sole structure, extend along the entire length of the shoe 10, material costs are high. Besides, the shoe 10 is relatively heavy.
2. In order to keep the interior of the shoe 10 dry, various ventilating structures, such as ventilation holes, are generally provided in the sole structure to permit exchange of air. For instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,823,609, 6,681,500, and 6,655,048, ventilation or breath ability in the lower part of the shoe is achieved by providing a multi-layer outsole structure, in combination with the provision of passages in the layers and the use of functional materials. That is, for the two or multi-layer sole structure, when ventilation holes are formed in the outsole 11, corresponding ventilation holes have to be formed in the midsole 12 and the shell 13 as well, thereby resulting in a complicated design. Besides, the correspondence among the ventilation holes must be precise, thereby resulting in a laborious and time-consuming fabrication process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a shoe with a shell including an exposed arch support region that can be conveniently formed with a ventilating structure.
Accordingly, a shoe of this invention includes: a shell including a bottom wall, and a peripheral wall which extends upward from a periphery of the bottom wall, the bottom wall including a front region, a rear region, and an arch support region between the front and rear regions; an upper connected to the peripheral wall; a front sole unit connected to the front region of the bottom wall; and a heel sole unit connected to the rear region of the bottom wall. At least one of the front and heel sole units includes a midsole component and an outsole component. The arch support region has no midsole component and no outsole component, and is provided with a ventilation hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 shows a conventional shoe;
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a preferred embodiment of a shoe according to this invention, which has front and heel sole units provided with midsole and outsole components;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment, but with an upper omitted;
FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating an arch support region provided with ventilation holes; and
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4, illustrating the ventilation holes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, the preferred embodiment of a shoe 20 according to the present invention is shown to include a molded shell 21, an upper 24, and front and heel sole units 26, 27. The shell 21 includes a bottom wall 211, and a peripheral wall 212 which extends upward from a periphery of the bottom wall 211, and has an outer bottom face 2111 and an inner top face 2110. The bottom wall 211 includes a front region 201, a rear region 203, and an arch support region 202 between the front and rear regions 201, 203. The peripheral wall 212 is looped, and extends in full length of the periphery of the bottom wall 211. The shell 21 further includes a toe cap portion 213 formed on a front end of the peripheral wall 212 so as to protect the front end of the wearer's foot during walking movement of the wearer. The upper 24 is connected to the peripheral wall 212 by a known method, such as stitching or cementing.
The front and heel sole units 26, 27 are respectively connected to the front and rear regions 201, 203 of the bottom wall 211. Each of the front and heel sole units 26, 27 includes a midsole component 22 and an outsole component 23. The outsole component 23 is bonded adhesively to the midsole component 22, and the midsole component 22 is bonded adhesively to the bottom wall 211.
This invention is characterized in that, unlike the front and rear regions 201, 203 which are provided with the front and heel sole units 26, 27, respectively, the arch support region 202 has no midsole component and no outsole component. Therefore, the arch support region 202 is elevated between the front and heel sole units 26, 27, and is exposed to the outside at the outer bottom face 2111, thereby imparting a new look to the shoe 20. Besides, the exposed arch support region 202 can be conveniently provided with a ventilation unit 25. In this embodiment, the ventilation unit 25 includes a plurality of ventilation holes 251 that extend through the outer bottom face 2111 and the inner top face 2110, and a function layer 252 attached to the inner top face 2110 and spanning the ventilation holes 251. The function layer 252 may be formed from a waterproof and breathable layer, or a screen layer capable of blocking entry of sand particles. In this embodiment, the function layer 252 is a layer of waterproof breathable material (e.g., a fabric well known as Goretex®), as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown, the ventilation holes 251 may have various shapes and are disposed at the center and near the sides of the arch support region 202. While the shoe 20 of this embodiment is provided with the ventilation holes 251 and the function layer 252, the shoe 20 may still be provided with water proofing means, such as breathable waterproofing linings or tapes, etc.
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 embodiment 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.

Claims

1. A shoe comprising:

a shell including a bottom wall, and a peripheral wall which extends upward from a periphery of said bottom wall, said bottom wall including a front region, a rear region, and an arch support region between said front and rear regions;

an upper connected to said peripheral wall;

a front sole unit connected to said front region of said bottom wall; and

a heel sole unit connected to said rear region of said bottom wall, wherein:

at least one of said front and heel sole units includes a midsole component and an outsole component; and

said arch support region has no midsole component and no outsole component, and is provided with a ventilation hole.

2. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shell is a molded shell.

3. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said arch support region is elevated between said front sole unit and said heel sole unit.

4. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shell further includes a toe cap portion formed on a front end of said peripheral wall.

5. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said peripheral wall is looped and extends in full length of said periphery of said bottom wall.

6. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outsole component is bonded adhesively to said midsole component, and said midsole component is bonded adhesively to said bottom wall.

7. The shoe as claimed in claim 6, wherein both of said front and heel sole units have said midsole component and said outsole component.

8. The shoe as claimed in claim 6, wherein said front sole unit includes said midsole component and said outsole component.

9. The shoe as claimed in claim 6, wherein said heel sole unit includes said midsole component and said outsole component.

10. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bottom wall has an outer bottom face and an inner top face, said ventilation hole extending through said outer bottom face and said inner top face, said arch support region being exposed at said outer bottom face.

11. The shoe as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a function layer attached to said inner top face and spanning said ventilation hole.

12. The shoe as claimed in claim 11, wherein said function layer is a waterproof breathable layer.