Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Ventilated
Patent
1998-11-20
2000-06-20
Sewell, Paul T.
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Ventilated
36 29, 36141, 36153, A43B 706
Patent
active
060762829
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a forced-ventilation shoe and in particular to a shoe of this type in which there are provided improved means for controlling the flow of air inside the shoe itself, in the interface zone between the internal part of the shoe and the air-chamber for collecting and pumping the contaminated air.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
During recent years a great deal of interest has been generated by a new type of shoe which has been introduced onto the market, i.e. a so-called ventilated shoe in which ventilation of the foot is no longer ensured only by the intrinsic breathability of the material which forms the sole or the upper or general ventilation of the shoe obtained by means of varyingly arranged ventilation holes, but instead is provided by a true pumping system which, by exploiting via different techniques the compressive work performed by the foot during the walking movement, transfers the contaminated air from the inside to the outside of the shoe, re-introducing fresh air via the neck or other openings in the shoe itself.
This new type of shoe was initially first introduced in connection with shoes used for sports activities. These shoes, in fact, are often made with low-permeability materials and therefore give rise to considerable problems of breathability which are made worse by the increased sweating of the foot during the sporting activity. In the ventilation system used by these sports shoes, compressible chambers are formed in the thickness of the sole, in the heel or sole zone of the shoe, said chambers acting as a lung for sucking in and expelling the contaminated air from inside the shoe, by exploiting the mechanical energy of the foot during the walking movement. The lung is in fact alternately compressed and released during the respective pressing and lifting movements of the shoe onto/from the ground, thus resulting in suction of air from inside the shoe and emission thereof outside through special channels or holes formed in the shoe.
Forced ventilation systems of this type are for example disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,463, GB-A-2,247,391, U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,573 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,982. These forced-ventilation systems also envisage the use of one-way valves inserted in the aforementioned channels or holes, so as to allow a single direction for the air flow, and in particular from the inside to the outside of the shoe. The presence of the compressible lung also has the effect of cushioning the impacts to which the shoe itself is subject during the sporting activity, while ensuring maximum comfort of the foot.
The same Applicant has already proposed the application of a ventilation system for footwear also to classic rigid-sole shoes for daily use, in which the introduction of compressible elements for the formation of the lung is not desirable. The cushioning effect which the lung inevitably has is not liked at all by users of this type of shoe since it provides the walking movement with an excessively "springy" action which is not suitable for formal work or social situations.
Italian Utility Model No. 222,150 discloses precisely an innovative system for the ventilation of shoes, where in the front part of the shoe, more precisely between the outsole and insole, there is formed a spacious chamber for collecting the contaminated air, communicating with the inside of the shoe by means of a plurality of holes, said chamber being formed by elements which are rigid and, at least partly, flexible. An air chamber thus formed offers a rigid and stable support for the foot, which is entirely similar to that of traditional shoes and at the same time is able to vary its own volume during the final part of the step and the consequent accentuated bending of the front part of the shoe, obtaining the desired pumping effect without the insertion of compressible elements in the sole structure.
In order to obtain the maximum pumping efficiency and avoid also a partial backflow of air from the collecting chamber to the inside of the sho
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Brue S.p.A.
Mohandesi J.
Sewell Paul T.
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