Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Ventilated
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-16
2001-03-27
Kavanaugh, Ted (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Ventilated
C036S029000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205680
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to self-ventilating footwear.
2. Background of the Invention
The present invention is a modification of the self-ventilating footwear disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,806 (the “'806 patent”), which is incorporated by reference herein. The modifications were made to improve the ease of manufacture of the footwear. The present invention incorporates two one-way check valves, an air pocket with a volume of about four cubic inches in the mid-sole, and ensures that the mid-sole of the footwear is structurally sound and stable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention uses two members that are layered one on top of the other. We will call the bottom member the “compression member” and the top member the “displacement compartment.” The compression member allows for stability and cushioning and the displacement compartment is designed to flatten one hundred percent displacing an air volume of approximately four cubic inches. The upper and lower members are designed into a single unit that can be sandwiched into the mid-sole component of an athletic shoe. The mid-sole that the single unit is nested into is generally an EVA material of 50-60 durometer. The total compression of the total composite outsole should be limited to 60%.
One of the advantages of this design/construction is that it enables the displacement compartment to be valved independently from the compression member. Depending on manufacturing methods, the compression member could be filled with pressurized gas, polymer gel, or other resilient structures such as foam, flexible polymer honeycomb. The compression member can be designed numerous ways taking into consideration that, when compressed, the air is controlled within the member and does not distort the function of the shoe. For example, jumping on an inflated raft as you compress one end, the person on the other end is thrown into the air. A dynamic such as this from rear foot to fore foot is not desirable. Methods for limiting this effect would be welded-in ribs where the top surface and bottom surface are sealed together, essentially kissing off smaller compartments within the complete compression member. These kiss-offs can be laid out in many ways, depending on the specific goals of the design.
For the displacement compartment, the simplest valving design consists of two one-way flapper valves: 1) in the forefoot; and 2) in the heel. As disclosed in the '806 patent, the forefoot valve allows air to pass through it from the shoe into the displacement compartment. This valve consists of a hole through the top layer of the displacement compartment, under which hole and inside the displacement compartment is attached a piece of polymer film welded 270° around the hole. When the displacement compartment is pressurized, the valve seals itself shut. When there is a vacuum created, due to total displacement of the air in the displacement compartment, the valve is sucked open, pulling air from the shoe into the displacement compartment.
As disclosed in the '806 patent, the heel area valve allows air to evacuate from the displacement compartment. This valve could be configured as a pinch valve or flapper valve. In the case of a pinch valve, when the displacement compartment is flattened, air forces it open and as the displacement compartment attempts to reconfigure itself to its normal shape, the valve shuts. The rear exhaust valve could also be engineered to have a positive shut-off that enables the user to eliminate the cooling effect of the airflow if desired. This would be a more mechanical valve with a polymer material sandwiched into a valve housing.
Another advantage of this design over the design disclosed in the '806 patent is that the exhaust valve can be incorporated into the composite outsole construction. This approach is consistent with current shoe manufacturing practices. The '806 patent shows a tubular vent that would be incorporated into the upper with air evacuating towards the top edge of the shoe. However, the present invention uses a simplified shoe construction, making it possible for the lower part of the footwear to be unitized and attached to any number of different upper footwear designs. Although the present invention may be more susceptible to clogging than the '806 patent's tubular vent, because it is an exhaust port, air is forced out through the valve, making it self-cleaning. This solution also offers the option of being able to maintain trade secret on construction by having uppers made in the Orient and composite soles made in the United States.
The suggested manufacturing methods include a blow-molded compression member with a heat-sealed separate top layer welded to a flange to create the displacement compartment. Alternately, the design can also be executed by having three separate plastic sheets, each one thermo-formed or formed to suit the function of each individual layer, with all welded together with a single flange. The blow-molded design is easier to execute, but would eliminate the option of inserting any additional compression materials into the compression member.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3225463 (1965-12-01), Burnham
patent: 3791051 (1974-02-01), Kamimura
patent: 5138775 (1992-08-01), Chu
patent: 5515622 (1996-05-01), Lee
patent: 5606806 (1997-03-01), O'Dwyer
patent: 5697170 (1997-12-01), Murrell et al.
patent: 5950332 (1999-09-01), Lain
patent: 2627960 (1989-09-01), None
Breeze Technology
Kavanaugh Ted
Shaw Pittman
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