AU2010352681A1

AU2010352681A1 - High foot mobility shoe

Info

Publication number: AU2010352681A1
Application number: AU2010352681A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Marco Bramani
Original assignee: Vibram SpA
Current assignee: Vibram SpA
Filing date: 2010-05-04
Publication date: 2012-11-22
Anticipated expiration: 2030-05-04

Description

"HIGH FOOT MOBILITY SHOE"

TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention refers to a shoe with high mobility for the foot.

PRIOR ART

Certain types of footwear are known and commercially available that reproduce the natural shape of the foot, in order to ensure better articular mobility especially of the toes and to give more comfort during the action of walking, giving the user the sensation of walking on bare feet while ensuring the necessary protection.

Such a type of footwear is described in the international patent application WO2007/038487 of the same applicant. This patent application describes a shoe in which the front part defines five portions independent each other made of flexible material to accommodate the five foot toes; such portions involve both the upper and the sole of the shoe.

In such shoe the sole is provided with some substantially transverse notches of different dimensions, which are aimed at increasing the flexibility thereof and thus the feeling of comfort when walking. However, it has been noted, in the practical use of the shoe, that these notches are not sufficiently effective with regard to grip on ground in various conditions of use. Indeed, it has been observed that in some specific adverse conditions, such as wet or slippery ground, the friction and grip on the ground generated by the shoe are not likely to provide the user with a satisfactory stability, balance and traction while walking. This fact, especially where the shoe is used in specific sports or recreational activities that require the support of the foot on slippery and/or tilted surfaces, may endanger the physical safety of the user himself. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The technical task of the present invention is to improve the state of the art.

Within this technical task, it is an object of the present invention to develop a shoe providing high mobility to the foot and achieving optimal adhesion and friction on the ground, even under very unfavorable conditions, such as slippery and/or inclined surfaces.

Still another object of the instant invention is to make available a high foot mobility shoe that boosts the user comfort in the walk, in the race, or while performing other movements being supported by the foot. These and other objects are all achieved by a high foot mobility shoe according one or more of the attached claims.

An important advantage achieved by the shoe according to the present invention is that it allows to obtain, as to the support of the foot on the ground, the best adhesion and friction conditions, with no danger of sudden slipping or loss of contact, along with a high mobility of the foot and of the toes thereof. These conditions are guaranteed even in unfavorable situations such as those wherein the support of the foot occurs on wet and/or slippery and/or tilted surfaces .

Another advantage of the present invention is that the shoe according the present invention provides increased comfort conditions for the support of the foot on the ground, especially with respect to damping the impact.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and further advantages will be better understood by every skilled person from the following technical description and the attached drawings, given as a non- limitative example, in which:

Figure 1 is a bottom view of the shoe according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the shoe;

Figure 3 is a front view of the shoe;

Figure 4 is a rear view of the shoe according to the present invention;

Figure 5 is a bottom view of an alternative embodiment of the sole of the shoe according to the invention.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION.

With reference to Figure 1, there is indicated as a whole with 1 a high foot mobility shoe according to the invention .

The shoe according to the invention is of general use, particularly but not exclusively indicated, thanks to its characteristics, for sports, recreation activities and the like.

Referring now to Figure 2, the shoe 1 comprises a sole, indicated as a whole by 2, and an upper generally indicated with 3, mutually attached together so as to cover completely or almost completely the surface of the foot.

The sole 2 and the upper 3, as shown in Figure 3, define front seats 4 separated each other by slots 5 for containing respective toes or group of toes of the foot .

More specifically, there are provided five front seats 4 separated each other by slots 5 for containing the five respective toes of the foot.

Advantageously, the sole 2 of the shoe 1 comprises at the bottom at least one distribution of ridges 6 and valleys 7 conformed like dermatoglyphics , in order to achieve the important technical advantages which are discussed below.

The upper 3 of the shoe 1 is made of yielding material, such as the type of natural or synthetic leather, or even another suitable type of natural or synthetic material to be employed in the field of shoe and presenting characteristics substantially equivalent. The upper 3 can be produced in one single part or in parts distinct from each other connected together for example by sewn edges 8, visible in Figure 2. Furthermore, the upper 3 is provided, at the opening 9 for insertion of the foot, with an edge 10 of substantially traditional type. As it is evident in Figure 1, the upper 3 extends from the area of the foot dorsum to the area of the foot sole, so as to completely or almost completely embrace it .

Inside the shoe a supporting insole may be provided for supporting the sole of the foot, attached to the upper 3 and to the sole 2; said insole is not represented in the figures but is mainly well-known and traditional.

The upper 3 comprises means for fastening around the foot, indicated with the reference number 11 in Figure 2. Such means for fastening 11 may be constituted by a buckle or other equivalent means, which however do not form the subject of this invention.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the upper 3 is provided with ventilation holes 12, for example positioned laterally in the region of the calcaneus (heel) , especially suitable for using the shoe according to the invention during the summer.

The sole 2 of the shoe is divided into separated portions positioned at different areas of the sole of the foot. More specifically, the sole 2 comprises a heel portion 13, a metatarsal portion 14, and phalangeal portions 15. This solution allows to make the sole 2 of the shoe softer and more pliable than that of known footwear, as the resistance to bending of the sole 2 is offered almost exclusively by the material that forms the upper 3, as one may appreciate by looking to Figures 1 and 2. At least one of said heel portions 13, metatarsal portion 14 and phalangeal portions 15 of the sole 2 comprises a respective distribution of ridges 6 and valleys 7 conformed like dermatoglyphics . More specifically, each of said heel portions 13, metatarsal portion 14 and phalangeal portions 15 contains a respective distribution of ridges 6 and valleys 7, so as to reproduce as closely as possible the dermatoglyphics of the human foot sole, at least in the shapes: the size of the dermatoglyphics made in the sole 2 are in fact increased over the real ones, to emphasize the technical effect that will be better described below.

The metatarsal portions 13 and the heel portions 14 of the sole 2 comprise respective perimetral edges 16, 17 delimiting the respective distributions of ridges 6 and valleys 7. These edges 16, 17 save the ends of the ridges 6 from breakage, wear and tearing, thus maintaining the sole 2 intact over time. The edges 16, 17 of heel portion 13 and the metatarsal portion 14 define respective inlets 18, 19 which accomplish a thinning of the same portions 13, 14 at the tarsal area of the foot, in order to increase the softness of the sole 2 in that area.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the sole 2 comprises five phalangeal portions 15, arranged respectively at said five seats 4 separated by slots 5. The sole 2 - that is, the heel portion 13, the metatarsal portion 14 and the phalangeal portions 15 thereof - is made of elastically yielding material, such as the type of natural or synthetic rubber. Said heel portion 13, metatarsal portion 14 and phalangeal portions 15 of the sole 2 are fixed to the upper 3 by seams; alternatively, they may be fixed to the upper 3 by gluing; still the fixing may occur by other known and equivalent connection means which are not covered by the present invention. In practical use, the shoe according to the invention, properly worn and fastened to the foot through the fastening means 11, allows the user to walk, run and make other changes in support on the foot with maximum freedom of mobility, especially of the toes independently from each other: this allows to facilitate the tactile and prehensile activities of foot sole, giving the user the sensation of walking around on bare feet with maximum comfort and safety.

With the solution according to the invention, however, the user clearly gets other important technical advantages .

The presence of ridges and valleys 6, 7 made like dermatoglyphics in the portions 13, 14, 15 of the sole 2 of the shoe 1 ensures optimum adhesion of the sole 2 itself to all surfaces, even wet and/or slippery and/or inclined ones; indeed the valleys 7 allow the drain of possible amount of water or other fluid that may locate between the sole 2 and the ground, preventing the slipping of the user. Furthermore, these ridges 6 and valleys 7, elastically deformable, allow to increase the friction between the sole 2 and the ground and therefore the user's ability to push in the walk and/or the run. An additional advantage conferred by the shoe according to the present invention is that the ridges 6 deform elastically under the weight of the user, and accomplish a damping of the impact of the foot onto the ground while walking and/or running, as small cushions: in this way the user' s comfort in its movements is substantially increased compared with soles essentially smooth .

Furthermore, the prehensile activity of the foot is increased, with the consequent increase of the available sprint power in running execution.

An alternative embodiment of the sole 2 of the shoe according to the invention is shown in Figure 5.

In this embodiment the sole 2 is made of one single piece, e.g. of rubber or other equivalent materials, that extends substantially on the entire sole of the foot; in other words, the heel portion 13, the metatarsal portion 14 and the phalangeal portions 15, the same as the previous embodiment, are integral to each other.

This embodiment allows producing a sole 2 which is a little more elastic than the previous embodiment; also, such sole 2 ensures better protection of the foot sole in cases where, for example, the user places his foot on rough or irregular surfaces. Thus it has been explained how the invention achieves the proposed objects.

The present invention has been described according to preferred embodiments, but equivalent variants can be developed without going beyond the scope of protection offered by the claims that follow.

Claims

1. High foot mobility shoe, comprising a sole (2) and an upper (3) which define separate front seats (4) to hold respective toes or toes groups, characterized in that said sole (2) comprises at the bottom at least one distribution of ridges (6) and valleys (7) configured like dermatoglyphics, in order to increase the prehensility of the foot.

2. Shoe according to claim 1, wherein said sole (2) is divided into separated portions (13, 14, 15) positioned at different zones of the sole of the foot.

3. Shoe according to claim 2, wherein said sole (2) comprises at least a heel portion (13) .

4. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said sole (2) comprises at least a metatarsal portion ( 14 ) .

5. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said sole (2) comprises at least a phalangeal portion (15) .

6. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of said portions (13, 14, 15) of said sole (2) comprises at least one respective distribution of ridges (6) and valleys (7) configured like dermatoglyphics.

7. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of said portions of said sole comprises at least a contour (16, 17) which defines said distribution of ridges (6) and valleys (7) .

8. Shoe according to the previous claim, wherein said contour (16, 17) defines at least one respective inlet

(18, 19) which accomplishes a thinning of the respective portion (13, 14) of said sole (2) at the tarsal zone of the foot.

9. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising five separate seats (4) to contain the respective five toes of the foot.

10. Shoe according to the previous claim, wherein said sole (2) comprises five phalangeal portions (15) provided at said five separate seats (4) .

11. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said sole (2) is made of elastically yielding material .

12. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said portions (13, 14, 15) of said sole (2) are fixed to said upper (3) through seams.

13. Shoe according to any one of claims 2 to 12, wherein said portions (13, 14, 15) of said sole (2) are fixed to said upper (3) through gluing.

14. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said upper (3) extends to the area of the foot dorsum and the foot sole.

15. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said upper (3) is made of yielding material.

16. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said upper (3) comprises means for fastening

(11) around the foot.

17. Shoe according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said upper (3) is provided with ventilation holes ( 12 ) .

18. Sole (2) for shoe, characterized in that it comprises at the bottom at least one distribution of ridges (6) and valleys (7) configured like dermatoglyphics .

19. Sole (2) according to the previous claim, comprising a heel portion (13), a metatarsal portion (14) and phalangeal portions (15) provided with respective distribution of ridges (6) and valleys (7) configured like dermatoglyphics.