SANDAL HAVING GROOVES FOR DRAINAGE
A sandal includes a sole and a drainage system. The sole is molded from a resilient material and has a top surface for supporting a human foot, and a bottom surface for contacting a walking surface. Further, the sole defines on the top surface a forwardmost toe region, an intermediate ball region, an intermediate arch region and a rearmost heel region that are of different heights to follow an anatomical contour of an undersurface of the human foot. The drainage system has a plurality of grooves defined throughout the top surface of the sole to define a plurality of islands of different heights on the toe, ball, arch and heel regions of the sole. The grooves have different slopes and extend over the toe, ball, arch and heel regions in a manner which guides liquid to flow laterally out of the sole.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sandal or open shoe and, in particular, to a sandal which employs a drainage system to aid in ventilation and drainage of liquid on the sandal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since man has begun wearing shoes to protect his feet, he has continually strived for increased comfort. His efforts have been continually directed toward improvements in the sole of the shoe. Efforts to improve the sole of the shoe have included softer materials, anatomical shapes, and means for aerating the feet. However for the most part, these efforts have remained isolated from one another.
One type of sandal is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,610. In this case, a flat sole member with a constant thickness is provided for supporting and protecting the sandal wearer's foot. On the flat sole is a thong member attached to the sole member for fitting over the wearer's instep. This typical type of sandal has another name called flip-flop, which can be mass-produced at relatively low cost. However, there are still rooms to improve the sole for increased comfort.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sandal with a softer material, an anatomical shape, and means for aerating the feet to satisfy the aforementioned need.
Specifically, the sandal includes a sole and a drainage system. The sole is molded from a resilient material. The sole has a top surface for supporting a human foot, and a bottom surface for contacting a walking surface. The sole defines on the top surface a forwardmost toe region, an intermediate ball region, an intermediate arch region and a rearmost heel region. These regions are of different heights to follow an anatomical contour of an undersurface of the human foot. Moreover, the drainage system has a plurality of grooves defined throughout the top surface of the sole to define a plurality of islands of different heights on the toe, ball, arch and heel regions of the sole. And the grooves have different slopes and extend over the toe, ball, arch and heel regions in a manner which guides liquid to flow laterally out of the sole.
Preferred embodiments of the invention may have the following additional characteristics, either alone or in combination:
A partition rib is employed by the sole at a junction between the toe region and the ball region.
A peripheral wall is employed by the sole to enclose the islands of the sole. The drainage system includes an outer trench extending along the peripheral wall of the sole and in communication with the grooves, and a plurality of cutouts defined in the peripheral wall to aid in draining the liquid outside the sole.
A vamp is attached to the sole for fitting over an instep of a wearer. And, the vamp defines a pair of notches incorporating with the first pair of the cutouts of the drainage system to aid in the drainage. Alternatively, a thong member attached to the sole for fitting over the instep of the wearer.
A plurality of bumps are provided on at least one of the islands of the sole to become resistant to skidding.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The sole 2 is molded from a resilient material such as EVA foam and has the top surface for supporting a human foot and a bottom surface for contacting a walking surface. Referring to
The grooves 10 of the drainage system 1 are provided throughout the top surface of the sole 2 to define a plurality of islands 21 of different shapes and heights on the toe, ball, arch and heel regions 20a-20d of the sole 2. Moreover, the grooves 10 have different slopes, as shown in
More specifically, as shown in
Besides, the sole 2 is further formed with a plurality of elliptical bumps 25 on two of the islands in the ball region 20b of the sole 2 to become resistant to skidding. A plurality of rounded bumps may also be provided on one of the islands in the arch region 20c of the sole 2 corresponding to an arch of the foot.
It is appreciated that, in this embodiment, the vamp 3 is integrally formed with the sole 2 in one piece. However, in the modification embodiment shown in
It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are illustrative in nature and the invention is not to be limited to any one or more embodiments except as set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A sandal comprising:
- a sole molded from a resilient material; the sole having a top surface for supporting a human foot, and a bottom surface for contacting a walking surface; the sole defining on the top surface a forwardmost toe region, an intermediate ball region, an intermediate arch region and a rearmost heel region that are of different heights to follow an anatomical contour of an undersurface of the human foot; and
- a drainage system having a plurality of grooves defined throughout the top surface of the sole to define a plurality of islands of different heights on the toe, ball, arch and heel regions of the sole, and the grooves having different slopes and extending over the toe, ball, arch and heel regions in a manner which guides liquid to flow laterally out of the sole.
2. A sandal as recited in claim 1, wherein the sole is formed with a partition rib at a junction between the toe region and the ball region.
3. A sandal as recited in claim 1, wherein the sole has a peripheral wall enclosing the islands of the sole; and the drainage system includes an outer trench extending along the peripheral wall of the sole and in communication with the grooves, and a plurality of cutouts defined in the peripheral wall to aid in draining the liquid outside the sole.
4. A sandal as recited in claim 3, wherein a first pair of the cutouts of the drainage system is defined at opposite sides of the ball region of the sole.
5. A sandal as recited in claim 4, wherein a second pair of the cutouts of the drainage system is defined at a junction between the arch region and the heel region of the sole.
6. A sandal as recited in claim 4, further comprising a vamp attached to the sole for fitting over an instep of a wearer.
7. A sandal as recited in claim 6, wherein the vamp defines a pair of notches incorporating with the first pair of the cutouts of the drainage system to aid in the drainage.
8. A sandal as recited in claim 7, wherein the vamp is integrally formed with the sole in one piece.
9. A sandal as recited in claim 5, further comprising a thong member attached to the sole for fitting over an instep of a wearer.
10. A sandal as recited in claim 9, wherein the thong member is integrally formed with the sole in one piece.
11. A sandal as recited in claim 1, wherein the sole is further formed with a plurality of bumps on at least one of the islands in the ball region of the sole.
12. A sandal as recited in claim 1, wherein the sole is further formed with a plurality of bumps on one of the islands in the arch region of the sole corresponding to an arch of the foot.
Type: Application
Filed: May 6, 2014
Publication Date: Nov 12, 2015
Inventors: Yu-Chang Liao (Taichung City), Chien-Hsin Yang (Taichung City)
Application Number: 14/270,364