Sole for dispersing pressure of midfoot and metatarsal bones and shoe having same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a midsole for dispersing the pressure of the mesopodium and the metatarsal bones, and a shoe having the same, the midsole having, installed in a metatarsal bone portion and mesopodium portion of the central upper part thereof, a midfoot support for receiving an inner sole, which protrudes upwardly so as to support the mesopodium, and having a bridge groove formed in a metatarsal bone portion of the lower part thereof, wherein the bridge groove consists of three components, and has been improved so as to be capable of supporting joints between the metatarsal bone body and basal tarsus metatarsal bones.

Claims

1. A sole for a shoe for dispersing the pressure applied to a midfoot and metatarsal bones of the foot to reduce a potential pain during walking while enhancing comfortability to the foot wearing the shoe, the sole comprising: a midfoot support adapted to be disposed over a metatarsal bone portion and a midfoot portion and having a shape of reversed trapezoid in which a front end side is longer than a rear end side thereof; and a bridge part including at least one buffering member formed of an elastic material for providing cushioning and slipping-preventing functions to the shoe, a distal end of the buffering member having a pillar portion extending downwardly to expose from a bottom surface of the sole through a through hole formed in a midfoot or metatarsal bone area of the sole, wherein the bridge part comprises: a first buffering member having a shape of a rectangular parallelepip, the first buffering member formed of elastic material and at least partially inserted into a bridge groove formed in the midfoot or metatarsal bone area of the sole; a second buffering member, formed of elastic material for providing the cushioning and slipping-preventing functions to the shoe and located on the underside of the first buffering member and having a flat rectangular upper portion and the pillar portion extending downwardly to expose from the bottom surface of the sole so as to have a shape of T; and a bridge body having a groove so as to accommodate the first buffering member and the second buffering member, wherein the through hole formed at a bottom of the groove in such a manner as to receive the pillar portion through the through hole of the sole.

2. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the midfoot support has a shape selected from a flat type having a generally flat top surface, a mid-high convex type having a convex top surface whose uppermost portion is at the center thereof, a front-high convex type having a convex top surface whose uppermost portion is at the front portion thereof, and rear-high convex type having a convex top surface whose uppermost portion is at the rear portion thereof.

3. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the bridge part has a shape selected from a medial portion protruding type protruding from the center of the bridge part, a front portion protruding type protruding from a front side of the bridge part, and a rear portion protruding type protruding from a rear side of the bridge part.

4. A shoe having the midsole according to claim 1; an insole placed on the sole; and an outsole placed under the sole and having an outer sole through hole being passed through by the bridge part.

5. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the midfoot support and the bridge part are formed of an elastic material selected from rubber, EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) foam, or polyurethane resin.

6. The sole according to claim 1, wherein a bottom surface of the pillar portion has a plurality of laterally directed protrusions configured to provide the slipping-preventing functions to the shoe.

7. The sole according to claim 1, wherein the midfoot has the reversed trapezoid shape in which the front end side and the rear end side each have a convex contour protruding in a forward direction of the shoe.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a bottom view showing a midsole for dispersing the pressure applied to a midfoot and metatarsal bones of a foot according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal sectional view showing the midsole according to the present invention and perspective deal drawing of the bridge part.

(3) FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing an outer sole coupled to the midsole according to the present invention.

(4) FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the outer sole coupled to the underside of the midsole according to the present invention.

(5) FIGS. 5A to 5C are sectional views showing various examples of a bridge part disposed in the midsole according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 5A shows the bridge part protruding from the center thereof, FIG. 5B shows the bridge part protruding from the front side thereof, and FIG. 5C shows the bridge part protruding from the rear side thereof.

(6) FIGS. 6A and 6B are plan and front views showing a midfoot support of the midsole according to the present invention.

(7) FIGS. 7A to 7D are sectional views showing various examples of the midfoot support of the midsole according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 7A shows a flat type midfoot support, FIG. 7B shows a midfoot support whose uppermost portion is at the center thereof, FIG. 7C shows a midfoot support whose the uppermost portion is at the front side thereof, and FIG. 7D shows a midfoot support whose the uppermost portion is at the rear side thereof.

(8) FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a shoe having the midsole according to the present invention.

EXPLANATION ON THE REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS

(9) Midsole (100), toe portion (110), metatarsal bone portion (120), midfoot portion (130), rearfoot portion (140), bridge groove (190), midfoot support (200), bridge part (300), first buffering member (310), second buffering (and slipping-preventing) member (320), underside center-protruding portion (321), bridge body (330), underside center-protruding portion through hole (331), outer sole (500), outer sole through hole (510), and heel (600)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(10) So as to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a midsole for dispersing the pressure applied to a midfoot and metatarsal bones of a foot, and a shoe having the same, wherein the midsole includes a midfoot support disposed protruding upwardly from the tops of a metatarsal bone portion and a midfoot portion formed on the center thereof to support the midfoot of the foot; and a bridge groove formed on the underside of the metatarsal bone portion to insertedly mount a bridge part thereinto.

(11) The bridge part consists of three components so as to support the metatarsal bones and the joints between the metatarsal bones and phalanges of the foot.

(12) According to the present invention, the midfoot support is disposed protruding upwardly from the top of the center of the midsole in such a manner as to accommodatedly receive the inner sole thereonto and support the midfoot of the foot, and when seen from a plane view thereof, the midfoot support has a shape of generally reversed trapezoid in which a front end side and a rear end side are convex forward like an arch and the front end side is longer than the rear end side when viewed in plane of the midsole.

(13) Further, the bridge groove is formed on one side of the center of the underside of the midsole, and the bridge part is insertedly mounted into the bridge groove in such a manner as to pass through an outer sole through hole formed at the center of an outer sole.

(14) The bridge part consists of three components so as to support the metatarsal bones and the joints between the metatarsal bones and the phalanges of the foot.

(15) The three components of the bridge part are a first buffering member having a shape of a rectangular parallelepiped in such a manner as to be partially inserted into the bridge groove; a second buffering member, which is capable of providing buffering and slipping-preventing functions and located on the underside of the first buffering member and having a flat rectangular upper portion and a square pillar portion extending downwardly from the flat upper portion so as to have a shape of T when viewed from the front portion of the midsole; and a bridge body having a groove as to accommodate the first buffering member and the second buffering member and an through hole formed at a bottom of the groove in such a manner as to receive the square pillar portion through the through hole.

(16) In more detail, the first buffering plate 310 has a shape of a rectangular parallelepiped having a thickness of 1 to 10 mm, and the second buffering and slipping-preventing member 320 is located on the underside of the first buffering member and has a thickness of 20 to 35 mm. Further, the bridge body 330 has an underside center-protruding portion through hole having a depth of 0.2 to 30 mm formed at the bottom of the groove in such a manner as to pass an underside center-protruding portion therethrough.

(17) The midfoot support may have four shapes. In accordance with the shapes of a user's foot, upwardly protruding angles of the midfoot support can be classified. When viewed from the front thereof, the midfoot support may be a flat type shown in FIG. 7A having a flat top side (flat top plane in a three dimensional view), a mid-high convex type shown in FIG. 7B having a convex top side whose uppermost portion is at the center thereof, a front-high convex type shown in FIG. 7C having a convex top side whose uppermost portion is at the front portion thereof, and rear-high convex type shown in FIG. 7D having a convex top side whose uppermost portion is at the rear portion thereof.

(18) The bridge part may have three types in accordance with the shapes of the user's foot. For example, the bridge part may be a medial portion protruding type shown in FIG. 5A protruding from the center of the bridge part, a front portion protruding type shown in FIG. 5B protruding from the front side (front portion) of the bridge part, and a rear portion protruding type shown in FIG. 5C protruding from the rear side of the bridge part

(19) In a point of view, the bridge part includes a buffering portion, a through hole portion and a bridge body.

(20) A shoe having the midsole according to the present invention is provided with an outer sole having an outer sole through hole formed at the center thereof to pass the bridge part of the midsole therethrough, and the position of the outer sole through hole corresponds to the metatarsal bone portion of the outer sole.

(21) According to the present invention, in case of a women's high-heeled shoe, the bridge part is extended to a midfoot portion located behind the metatarsal bone portion, and when the bridge part is viewed in the state of being cut along a longitudinal axis of a foot, the rear side of the bridge part is thicker than the front side thereof. Further, there is a heel located on the rearfoot portion corresponding to the heel of the foot, and the heel, which is brought into contact with the ground, has a width of 3 cm or less in medial and lateral directions. Further, stability columns, which protrude at medial side and at lateral side, may be formed on the extended portion of the bridge part to the midfoot portion.

(22) According to the present invention, the bridge part is made of an elastic material being soft and having strong restitutive force. The elastic material is selected from rubber, EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) foam, polyurethane resin, or the like only if the pressed portion may be contracted much more than the neighboring portions when pressed, so that the metatarsal bone portion can be surrounded with the elastic material.

(23) Further, the elastic material may be capable of performing shape memory. The bridge part is made of the elastic material, and when a given pressure is applied to a point of the bridge part, accordingly, the given pressure is dispersed evenly to the place at which the elastic material is located, while being not concentrated on the specific point of the metatarsal bone portion, thus performing the buffering action against the given pressure.

(24) Hereinafter, an explanation on the midsole for dispersing the pressure applied to the midfoot and metatarsal bones of the foot according to the present invention will be in detail given with reference to the attached drawings.

(25) FIG. 1 is a bottom view showing a midsole according to the present invention.

(26) Anatomically, a foot is divided into three portions like a forefoot, a midfoot, and a rearfoot (hindfoot) by Chopart joint and Lisfranc joint. In case of the midsole of a shoe, however, the forefoot is divided into a toe portion and a metatarsal bone portion by means of metatarsophalangeal joint (MP joint), and accordingly, the midsole is conveniently divided into four portions like a rearfoot portion 140, a midfoot portion 130, a metatarsal bone portion 120 of the forefoot, and a toe portion 110 of the forefoot.

(27) According to the present invention, for the sake of convenience, the midsole is divided into four portions from the front side thereof to the rear side thereof by means of vertical lines to the longitudinal axis of the foot.

(28) As shown in FIG. 2, the midsole according to the present invention has the bridge groove formed on the center of the underside thereof and the bridge part mounted into the bridge groove. The bridge part consists of three components. Each of the components is attached to the body of the midsole by means of an adhesive. The bridge part is generally made of a different material from the body of the midsole.

(29) That is, the material and shape of the bridge part can be different from those of the body of the midsole.

(30) Since the metatarsal bone portion has a portion on which a pressure is concentrated at the third walking step, the bridge part is desirably made of a tough material so that it is not easily worn out even if the pressure is applied thereto. However, the bridge part is made to be bent easily with a relatively smaller force than that applied to the body of the midsole to be bent, so that it is easy to raise the heel of the foot at the third walking step. Further, the bridge part has a protrusion formed at a portion coming into contact with the ground.

(31) FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a shoe according to the present invention.

(32) Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 8, the midsole 100 is located on top of the outer sole 500, and a heel 600 is located on the rear side of the outer sole 500. The outer sole 500 has an outer sole through hole 510 formed at the center thereof.

(33) The midsole 100 includes a midfoot support 200 located on top thereof, a bridge groove 190 formed on the underside of the center thereof, and a bridge part 300 located on the bridge groove 190 in such a manner as to pass through the outer sole through hole 510 of the outer sole 500.

(34) The bridge part 300 includes a first buffering member 310 having a thickness of 1 to 10 mm in such a manner as to be partially inserted into the bridge groove 190, a second buffering member 320 (capable of buffering and slipping-preventing function) having a planar portion and a downward protruding portion to form a generally T shape and having a thickness of 20 to 35 mm in such a manner as to be located on the underside of the first buffering member 310, and a bridge body 330 adapted to accommodate the first buffering plate 310 and the second buffering member 320 thereinto and having a through hole formed on the center thereof in such a manner as to receive the downward protruding portion of the second buffering member therethrough, the underside center-protruding portion through hole 331 having a thickness of 0.2 to 30 mm.

(35) The midfoot support 200 is made of a buffering material or an elastic material, like rubber, EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) foam, polyurethane resin, etc. and situated around the metatarsal head of the metatarsal bone portion.

(36) When the bridge part 300 is viewed in the state of being cut along the longitudinal axis of a foot, the rear side of the bridge part 300 is thicker than the front side thereof, and the high thickness is maintained up to the end portion of the rear side of the bridge part 300. A general portion of the bridge part 300 is convexed downwardly like a streamlined shape seen in the cut-off surface of the wing of an aircraft. Accordingly, the bridge part 300 forms the curved underside of the metatarsal bone portion of the forefoot, which can be called forefoot rocker.

(37) The heel 600 is located on the outer sole 500 corresponding to the rearfoot portion 140 at which the heel of the foot is placed. The heel 600 may be a Thomas heel, and the formation of the heel 600 may allow the foot to perform supination after the heel of the foot comes into contact with the ground at the first step of walking.

(38) In case that the medial side of the heel 600 is more extended to the front side thereof than the lateral side thereof to form an extension portion, so that as the whole portion of the foot comes into contact with the ground at the second step of walking after the heel of the foot comes into contact with the ground, the foot on the midfoot portion 130 is naturally inclined to the lateral side of the midfoot portion 130 having no heel, thus naturally conducting the supination.

(39) Now, an explanation on the actions taken while a wearer who wears the shoe having the midsole according to the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is walking will be given.

(40) Referring first to natural working patterns by a bare foot, the foot walking is conducted in a flapping way so that the foot moves from the lateral side to the medial side. Accordingly, the consumption of energy upon walking is reduced, thus making it possible to keep the walking for a long period of time.

(41) In the flapping walking, the lateral edge of the foot first comes into contact with the ground, and next, the whole sole of the foot is contacted with the ground. After that, the heel of the foot is separated from the ground, and then, a walker's weight is applied to the toes of the foot to allow the toes of the foot to push the ground. That is, until the whole sole of the foot comes into contact with the ground after the heel of the foot has been brought into contact with the ground, the movement from the supination (the medial side of the sole of the foot is raised up and rotated outward from the walker's body) to the pronation (the lateral side of the sole of the foot is raised up and rotated inward from the walker's body)is conducted, and contrarily, until the toes of the foot push the ground after the whole sole of the foot has been brought into contact with the ground, the movement from the pronation to the supination is conducted.

(42) By the way, the conventional shoe outer sole has a horizontal underside surface, and when the whole sole of the foot comes into contact with the ground after the heel of the foot has been brought into contact with the ground, it may frequently come into contact with the ground, without having any lateral edge being contacted with the ground, so that the supination movement, through which the lateral edge of the foot is first contacted with the ground before the medial side of the foot, cannot be gently conducted, and accordingly, natural walking by the bare foot cannot be obtained, thus undesirably increasing the fatigue of the foot and lowering the walking efficiencies.

(43) If the shoe outer sole according to the present invention is adopted, at the first step of walking the heel of the foot comes into contact with the ground in the state where the foot forms dorsiflexion. Further, a buffering material (not shown) is located with a shape of a wedge at the rear end of the rearfoot portion 140 corresponding to the heel of the foot, thus releasing the impacts generated at the grounding step.

(44) Next, at the second step of walking the ankle of the foot is stretched out from the dorsiflexion of the foot so that the foot forms plantar flexion to allow the whole portion of the foot to come into contact with the ground. At this time, the outer sole of the shoe is not just flat, but has the heel 600 located on the rearfoot portion 140. Especially, the heel 600 is formed of a Thomas heel so that the medial side of the heel 600 is extended by 1 to 1.5 cm to the front side thereof. Accordingly, at the step where the whole portion of the foot comes into contact with the ground, the thickness on the medial side of the midfoot portion of the outer sole becomes high and the thickness on the lateral side thereof becomes low by means of the Thomas heel.

(45) Accordingly, the foot is inclined laterally to allow the lateral side of the foot to be brought into contact with the ground, thus providing the supination movement.

(46) So as to conduct the forward walking, without being turned laterally, however, it is not desirable that the supination movement is too developed.

(47) The development of the supination movement applies a lot of loads to the muscles of the sole of the foot suppressing the height of the medial longitudinal arch of the foot from being too decreased upon the change to the pronation movement.

(48) According to the present invention, therefore, if the foot coming into contact with the ground reaches the front end of the midfoot portion 130 or the metatarsal bone portion 120 after the supination movement, the rear side of the bridge part 300 is high in thickness and the lateral side of the bridge part 300 is extended toward the rear side on the midsole, so that at the initial process of the third step of walking the foot is inclined to the medial side on which the midsole is low in thickness to allow the supination state to be naturally changed to the pronation state through the thickening of the midsole by the rear end portion of the lateral side of the bridge part 300.

(49) Next, at the third step of walking the heel of the foot is raised up to allow the walker's weight to be concentrated on the metatarsal bone portion, especially, the metatarsal head, thus increasing the angles between the metatarsal bones and the phalanges of toes connected to the metatarsal bones. At this time, a portion of the metatarsal bone portion of the midsole being generally hard and difficult to be bent is removed, and the easily bendable bridge part 300 is located at the portion of the metatarsal bone portion of the midsole, so that as the heel of the foot is raised up, the midsole increases the angles between the metatarsal bones and the phalanges of toes, thus reducing a resistance generated from the shoe.

(50) Moreover, the soft and elastic midfoot support is located on top of the midsole to disperse and release the pressure applied to the metatarsal head. The midfoot support serves to allow the metatarsal head to move more downward at the step of raising up the heel of the foot, thus increasing the angles between the metatarsal bones and the phalanges of toes. Further, the development of the plantar flexion for next step is more easily conducted to increase the walking efficiencies.

(51) Next, at the step of forefoot pushing as the fourth step of walking, the toes form a small arch, and then, the metatarsal bones and the phalanges of toes having the given angles therebetween at the third step of walking are stretched out, so that the toes push backward from the ground. After that, while the movement to the first step of walking is being ready, the foot forms the dorsiflexion so that it is separated from the ground.

(52) Since the plantar flexion is developed, the forefoot can push up from the ground more efficiently through the elasticity of the muscles accumulated on the foot.

(53) Further, the metatarsal bones of the foot is push up by the restoring force of the elastic energy accumulated on the compressed elastic material, so that at the step wherein the toes push the ground, the shape of the foot is formed to be easily pushed up by the forefoot under the principle of the lever, and on the other hand, the foot easily forms the dorsiflexion to conduct the first step of walking as a next step.

(54) At this time, since the pronation movement is conducted at the third step of walking, the medial side (great toe) of the foot generally pushes the ground at the fourth step of walking, so that the foot is changed from the pronation state to the supination state according to the action of the midsole dispersing the pressure applied to the midfoot and the metatarsal bones of the foot.

(55) According to the present invention, through the four steps of walking, through the process from the grounding to the kicking the ground, the change from the supination to the pronation and the change from the pronation to the supination are performed, which is similar to the natural walking of the bare foot.

(56) According to the present invention, however, the change from the pronation to the supination and the change from the supination to the pronation are conducted through the structure of the midsole of the shoe, so that the load in the change can be reduced when compared with the change by the foot itself, and especially, load applied to the foot can be decreased while a walker having weak foot muscles is walking.

(57) FIGS. 5A to 5C show various examples of the bridge part formed in the midsole according to the present invention. FIG. 5A shows the bridge part protruding from the center thereof, FIG. 5B shows that protruding from the front side thereof, and FIG. 5C shows that protruding from the rear side thereof.

(58) FIGS. 7A to 7D show various examples of the midfoot support according to the present invention.

(59) FIG. 7A shows a flat type midfoot support, FIG. 7B shows a midfoot support whose uppermost portion is at the center thereof, FIG. 7C shows a midfoot support whose uppermost portion is at the front side thereof, and FIG. 7D shows a midfoot support whose uppermost portion is at the rear side thereof.

(60) They are selectively adopted in accordance with the shapes of the walker's foot, and at this time, the adoption is conducted through the accurate prescription of a doctor.

(61) FIGS. 6A and 6B are plan view and front view showing a midfoot support of the midsole according to the present invention.

(62) The midfoot support 200 disposed in the midfoot portion and metatarsal bones portion at the center of the top portion thereof and having a shape of reversed trapezoid in which a front end side and a rear end side are convex forward like an arch and the front end side is longer than the rear end side, the width between the two lateral side increase along the longitudinal direction to the front end when viewed in plane of the midsole and having a convex top side whose uppermost portion is at the center thereof when viewed from the front portion of the midsole.

(63) The bridge part and the midfoot support may be used optionally or selectively in accordance with the shapes of the user's foot, and at this time, the usage is conducted through the accurate prescription of a doctor.

(64) While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.