Shoe Sole with Shock Absorbing Capability

Abstract

A shoe sole includes: a sole unit defining at least one recess; at least one elastic body received in the recess and having a cellular structure that defines at least two levels of cells, the two levels of the cells being disposed one above the other, each of the cells defining a cell space therein; and a filler material that fills the cell space of each of the cells.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a shoe sole, more particularly to a shoe sole including an elastic body having a cellular structure that defines a plurality of horizontally extending cells.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional shoe sole 1 attached to an upper of a footwear article. The shoe sole 1 includes an outsole 10 formed with a recess 11, and an elastic body 12 received in the recess 11. The elastic body 12 is formed with a plurality of vertically extending through-holes 13, each of which is filled with a filler 14 so as to provide a shock absorbing effect. However, since the structure thus formed for the elastic body 12 has a relatively poor compressibility in a compression direction (Y) toward the ground, the shock absorbing effect provided by the conventional shoe sole 1 is relatively poor when a downward force (F) is applied to the shoe sole 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a shoe sole that can overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.

According to this inventions there is provided a shoe sole that comprises: a sole unit defining at least one recess; at least one elastic body received in the recess and having a cellular structure that defines at least two levels of cells, the two levels of the cells being disposed one above the other, each of the cells defining a cell space therein; and a filler material that fills the cell space of each of the cells.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary schematic view of a conventional shoe sole attached to an upper of a footwear article;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a shoe sole according to this invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an elastic body of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment viewed from a bottom side;

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of the first preferred embodiment in a compressed state;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an elastic body of the second preferred embodiment according to this invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an elastic body of the third preferred embodiment according to this invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the fourth preferred embodiment according to this invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the fifth preferred embodiment according to this invention; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the sixth preferred embodiment according to this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate the first preferred embodiment of a shoe sole of a footwear article according to this invention.

The shoe sole includes: a sole unit 2 defining at least one recess 20; at least one elastic body 3 received in the recess 20 and having a cellular structure that defines at least two levels of cells 30, the two levels of the cells 30 being disposed one above the other, each of the cells 30 defining a cell space therein; and a filler material 34 that fills the cell space of each of the cells 30.

In this embodiment, the sole unit 2 includes an outsole 21 that defines the recess 20 disposed at a heel portion of the shoe sole, and a tread member 22 attached to the outsole 21 and covering a bottom side of the recess 20. The cellular structure of the elastic body 3 has a surrounding wall 31 that defines an inner space 310 and that is disposed between and that is attached to the outsole 21 and the tread member 22, and a plurality of interconnected webs 32 that are disposed in the inner space 310 and that are connected to the surrounding wall 31 so as to define the cells 30. Note that the webs 32 and the surrounding wall 31 are formed integrally into one single piece in this embodiment.

Preferably, the filler material 34 is selected from the group consisting of gel, silicone, polyurethane resin, and soft rubber.

The surrounding wall 31 has two open ends 35 that are opposite to each other in a horizontal direction (Z). Each of the open ends 35 of the surrounding wall 31 defines an opening 350. Each of the webs 32 extends between the open ends 35 of the surrounding wall 31. Each of the cells 30 extends in the horizontal direction (Z). The shoe sole further includes an elastic film 33 that is attached to one of the open ends 35 of the surrounding wall 31 so as to cover the opening 350 of said one of the open ends 35 of the surrounding wall 31.

In this embodiment, the surrounding wall 31 has a curved upper wall portion 311 and a curved lower wall portion 312 connected end-to-end to the upper wall portion 311. The webs 32 are grouped into substantially parallel first webs 32 and substantially parallel second webs 32 that extend in a direction opposite to that of the first webs 32 and that intersect the first webs 32 to form the cells 30. Preferably, each of the webs 32 is inclined relative to the upper and lower wall portions 311, 312 of the surrounding wall 31 such that a top vertex angle θ of each of the cells 30 is greater than 90 degrees.

FIG. 5 illustrates the first preferred embodiment disposed in a compressed state. By virtue of the cellular structure, the compressibility of the elastic body 3 in the compression direction (Y) toward the ground is enhanced as compared to the aforesaid conventional shoe sole, and the elastic body 3 can be easily deformed by a downward force (F), thereby enhancing the shock absorbing effect. At the compressed state, the top vertex angle θ is enlarged as a result of the downward force (F).

FIG. 6 illustrates the second preferred embodiment of the shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole differs from the previous embodiment in the cellular structure of the elastic body 3. The cellular structure of the elastic body 3 of this embodiment has four levels of the cells 30. Each level includes different sizes of the cells 30. The different sizes of the cells 30 of the four levels are arranged in a staggered manner.

FIG. 7 illustrates the third preferred embodiment of the shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole differs from the previous embodiments in the cellular structure of the elastic body 3.

FIG. 8 illustrates the fourth preferred embodiment of the shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole of this embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the shoe sole of this embodiment includes two elastic bodies 3 and that the sole unit 2 is formed with two recesses 20, each of which receives a respective one of the elastic bodies 3. One of the recesses 20 is disposed adjacent to a toe portion of the shoe sole, while the other of the recesses 20 is disposed adjacent to the heel portion of the shoe sole.

FIG. 9 illustrates the fifth preferred embodiment of the shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole of this embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the recess 20 in the outsole 21 of this embodiment extends from the heel portion to the toe portion of the shoe sole.

FIG. 10 illustrates the sixth preferred embodiment of the shoe sole according to this invention. The shoe sole of this embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the recess 20 substantially spans two lateral sides of the heel portion of the shoe sole.

By virtue of the cellular structure of the elastic body 3, which includes multi-level cells 30 disposed one above the other, the shoe sole of this invention can enhance the compressibility in the compression direction (Y) toward the ground as compared to the aforesaid conventional shoe sole.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A shoe sole with shock absorbing capability comprising:

a sole unit defining at least one recess;

at least one elastic body received in said recess and having a cellular structure that defines at least two levels of cells, said two levels of said cells being disposed one above the other, each of said cells defining a cell space therein; and

a filler material that fills said cell space of each of said cells.

2. The shoe sole of claim 1, wherein said sole unit includes an outsole that defines said recess, and a tread member attached to said outsole and covering a bottom side of said recess, said cellular structure having a surrounding wall that defines an inner space and that is disposed between and that is attached to said outsole and said tread member, and a plurality of interconnected webs that are disposed in said inner space and that are connected to said surrounding wall so as to define said cells.

3. The shoe sole of claim 2, wherein said surrounding wall has two open ends that are opposite to each other in a horizontal direction, each of said open ends of said surrounding wall defining an opening, each of said webs extending between said open ends of said surrounding wall, each of said cells extending in the horizontal direction, said shoe sole further comprising an elastic film that is attached to one of said open ends of said surrounding wall so as to cover said opening of said one of said open ends of said surrounding wall.

4. The shoe sole of claim 1, wherein said filler material is selected from the group consisting of gel, silicone, polyurethane resin, and soft rubber.