Boots – shoes – and leggings – Soles – Cushion
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-03
2001-10-23
Patterson, M. D. (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Soles
Cushion
C036S093000, C036S00300B, C036S071000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06305102
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a shoe having an inflation device disposed within the sole of the shoe which provides greater comfort, protection, and vertical bounce to the wearer. Previous shoe arrangements have included soles that can be inflated at the arch to provide support thereof. Other shoes contain soles which have sealed inflated chambers disposed within the soles in order to increase vertical bounce. These previous chambers are soft sided bladders which distort into a more convex or spherical shape upon inflation. If the walls of the bladder are not constrained, for instance by the structure of the sole of the shoe, the distortion occurs in every direction. Others have addressed this problem by placing a foam core inside the bladder and adhering the entire surface of the interior bladder walls to the entire exterior surface of the foam core as taught is U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,715 to Donzis. This arrangement of adhering all of the surface of the foam core limits the shape of the bladder to the shape of the foam core and does not allow for differential distortions of the bladder as the bladder is inflated. These previous shoes also have not allowed for selective adjustment of the pressure in the chambers and may therefore result in uneven air distribution in the sole of the shoe. This invention addresses the shortcomings of the previous bladder and shoe designs and provides differential distortion of the bladder as well as selective adjustment of the bladder inflation resulting in the wearer's ability to customize the performance of the shoe.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides for an inflation device contained within the sole of the shoe which controls and distributes air pressure in several air bladders positioned throughout the sole of the shoe to provide increased comfort, protection, and vertical bounce. The invention allows each air bladder to be selectively pressurized to a desired pressure, thereby allowing the wearer to customize the performance of the shoe to the wearer's needs. The preferred embodiment of this invention includes a plurality of air bladders and/or bladder sets located at various points along the entire length of the sole, a pump either attached to the shoe, incorporated into the sole, or removable from the shoe which provides inflation of the individual bladders or bladder sets, a distribution manifold, a flow switching device, a release mechanism for each bladder or bladder set, and unidirectional flow mechanism for each bladder or bladder set. Each bladder may be a plastic envelope well known in the industry, or contain a foam core adhered to one or more internal surfaces of the bladder, as in the case of the preferred embodiment where the top surface of the foam core is adhered to the interior surface of the top side of the bladder. As the bladder is inflated, the side walls and lower surface of the bladder will tend to curve outward to a greater degree than the upper surface of the bladder which is constrained by the secured foam core. This arrangement provides a flat surface below the wearer's foot while allowing the sides and bottom of the bladder to push on the sole of the shoe to prevent the bladder from moving in the shoe.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4446634 (1984-05-01), Johnson et al.
patent: 5092060 (1992-03-01), Frachey et al.
patent: 5113599 (1992-05-01), Cohen et al.
patent: 5987779 (1999-11-01), Litchfield et al.
patent: 6014823 (2000-01-01), Lakic
patent: 93/14659 (1993-08-01), None
patent: 94/00032 (1994-01-01), None
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