Shoe Sole with Torque Relief Component
A shoe sole includes a tread section having a cavity, and a torque relief component disposed in the cavity. A fixed part of the torque relief component is secured in the cavity, and a rotating part of the torque relief component is rotatable relative to the fixed part via a magnetic force.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/162,423, filed Mar. 23, 2009, the entire content of which is herein incorporated by reference.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT(NOT APPLICABLE)
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA pivoting mechanism uses the principles of magnetic attraction and repulsion to permit the rotation of a segment of a shoe sole in the area of the ball of the foot. In this description, the term “shoe” is used to describe all matter of foot wear. The function of the mechanism is to facilitate the pivoting of the shoe wearer when changing directions and to reduce the amount of stress placed on the lower extremities when making this direction change.
A segment of the sole of a shoe is modified by the inclusion of a cavity. A cylinder, with an end, referred to as the retainer or fixed part, is housed in and affixed to the shoe cavity. Two low friction, preferably magnetic plates are contained in the retainer. The lower plate is free to rotate against the upper plate which does not rotate and is attached to the retainer. A magnet or magnets encapsulated in the plates provide a strong attractive (or repulsive in one embodiment) force between the plates. In one embodiment, the lower plate is held in place against the upper plate by magnetic attraction.
The use of magnetic attraction has several advantages when compared to other means of securing or attaching a rotating assembly to a shoe. Some of the advantages are: low manufacturing cost, ease of manufacture, light weight, and the pivoting mechanism has a low profile.
In an exemplary embodiment, a shoe sole includes a tread section having a cavity, and a torque relief component disposed in the cavity. A fixed part of the torque relief component is secured in the cavity, and a rotating part of the torque relief component is rotatable relative to the fixed part. The rotating part is cooperatively engaged with the fixed part via a magnetic force.
A sole part secured may be to the rotating part. Preferably, the sole part is raised relative to the tread section. In one arrangement, the sole part comprises a tread that is formed of a different compound than the tread section.
The tread section may include a ball part in an area adjacent a location where a ball of a wearer's foot would lie, where the cavity and the torque relief component are positioned adjacent the ball part of the tread section. The tread section may include at least one slot adjacent the cavity, which slot may be downward sloping.
The fixed part is preferably adhesively bonded in the cavity.
The fixed part may include an upper plate fixed to the shoe sole, and the rotating part may include a lower plate cooperatively engageable with the upper plate via the magnetic force and rotatable relative to the upper plate. The rotating part may further include a sleeve, such as a low friction sleeve, where the lower plate is disposed in the sleeve. At least one of the upper and lower plates preferably comprises a permanent magnet. In this context, the permanent magnet may be embedded in a low friction material.
Preferably, the magnetic force is adjustable.
In another exemplary embodiment, a shoe sole includes a tread section having a cavity, and a torque relief component disposed in the cavity. A fixed part of the torque relief component is secured in the cavity, and a rotating part of the torque relief component is rotatable relative to the fixed part via a magnetic force. In one arrangement, the rotating part of the torque relief component is engageable with the fixed part via the magnetic force. In another arrangement, the fixed part includes an upper plate fixed to the shoe sole, and the rotating part includes a lower plate that is rotatable relative to the upper plate. The upper and lower plates comprise permanent magnets disposed with similar poles in facing relation, where the lower plate is secured adjacent the upper plate via a connector.
These and other aspects and advantages will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
With reference to the drawings,
In
As shown in
Although the plates are held together by a strong attractive force, the lower plate (5) is free to rotate. This is because the strength of the magnet field lies in a plane that is perpendicular to the plate surfaces. The magnetic force in the horizontal plane, i.e., the direction of rotation, is relatively weak and therefore rotation can take place.
The strength of the magnetic field can be varied by selecting different types of magnetic material, changing the number of magnets or sizes, and varying the distance between the plates. The magnetic force should be strong enough to securely hold the lower plate (5) in place and yet not so strong that rotation of the lower plate (5) is unduly hindered. The flexibility afforded by varying the magnetic strength allows for different shoe applications and for different characteristics or demands of the shoe wearer. For example, shoe sizes can be proxy for the wearer's weight. The weight of the shoe wearer puts a downward force on the rotating assembly (7). This downward force affects how strong or weak the magnetic field must be to permit ease of rotation when the wearer changes direction.
If more than one magnet is used in the upper (3) or lower plate (5), they are preferably arranged in a symmetrical pattern to make the lower plate (5) self-centering on the upper plate (3). The lower plate (5) may be provided with a rounded edge to reduce the surface contact with the inside wall of the retainer (2). The magnetic attraction holds the lower plate (5) securely in place against the upper plate (3). A circular segment of the sole or sole part (6) is attached to the lower plate (5) by a suitable adhesive, and this segment is not attached to the retainer (2). If magnets are made integral to the sole part (6), a lower plate is not needed. The tread can be of any pattern associated with how the shoe is to be used. There may be an advantage for the tread on the sole part (6) to be made of a different, e.g. softer, compound and to be slightly higher than the surrounding tread surface to improve traction with the ground or playing surface.
With reference to
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A shoe sole comprising:
- a tread section having a cavity; and
- a torque relief component disposed in the cavity, wherein a fixed part of the torque relief component is secured in the cavity, and wherein a rotating part of the torque relief component is rotatable relative to the fixed part, the rotating part being cooperatively engaged with the fixed part via a magnetic force.
2. A shoe sole according to claim 1, further comprising a sole part secured to the rotating part.
3. A shoe sole according to claim 2, wherein the sole part is raised relative to the tread section.
4. A shoe sole according to claim 3, wherein the sole part comprises a tread, and wherein the sole part tread is formed of a different compound than the tread section.
5. A shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the tread section comprises a ball part in an area adjacent a location where a ball of a wearer's foot would lie, and wherein the cavity and the torque relief component are positioned adjacent the ball part of the tread section
6. A shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the tread section comprises at least one slot adjacent the cavity.
7. A shoe sole according to claim 6, wherein the at least one slot is downward sloping.
8. A shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the fixed part is adhesively bonded in the cavity.
9. A shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the fixed part comprises an upper plate fixed to the shoe sole, and wherein the rotating part comprises a lower plate cooperatively engageable with the upper plate via the magnetic force and rotatable relative to the upper plate.
10. A shoe sole according to claim 9, wherein the rotating part further comprises a sleeve, and wherein the lower plate is disposed in the sleeve.
11. A shoe sole according to claim 10, wherein the sleeve is a low friction sleeve.
12. A shoe sole according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the upper and lower plates contains a permanent magnet.
13. A shoe sole according to claim 12, wherein the permanent magnet is embedded in a low friction material.
14. A shoe sole according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic force is adjustable.
15. A shoe sole comprising:
- a tread section having a cavity; and
- a torque relief component disposed in the cavity, wherein a fixed part of the torque relief component is secured in the cavity, and wherein a rotating part of the torque relief component is rotatable relative to the fixed part via a magnetic force.
16. A shoe sole according to claim 15, wherein the rotating part of the torque relief component is engageable with the fixed part via the magnetic force.
17. A shoe sole according to claim 15, wherein the fixed part comprises an upper plate fixed to the shoe sole, and wherein the rotating part comprises a lower plate that is rotatable relative to the upper plate, the upper and lower plates comprising permanent magnets disposed with similar poles in facing relation, wherein the lower plate is secured adjacent the upper plate via a connector.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 23, 2010
Publication Date: Sep 23, 2010
Inventor: Lawrence Reed (Hilton Head Island, SC)
Application Number: 12/729,381
International Classification: A43B 13/18 (20060101); A43C 15/00 (20060101);