EP2883470B1

EP2883470B1 - Structure of platform shoe

Info

Publication number: EP2883470B1
Application number: EP13196571.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Po-Yao Lee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Lee Po-Yao
Priority date: 2013-12-11
Filing date: 2013-12-11
Publication date: 2016-04-06
Anticipated expiration: 2033-12-11
Also published as: ES2572913T3; EP2883470A1

Description

(a) Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a structure of a platform shoe, and more particularly to a structure of a platform shoe that alleviates front rushes of a foot in the platform shoe so as to improve the safety and comfortableness of the foot wearing the platform shoe.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

US 2 185 526 , US 4 003 146 and WO 2013/065684 are part of the prior art.
To enable an "instantaneous" increase of the body height of a consumer to a predetermined level, the footwear business provides a platform shoe 1. As shown in FIG 1, the platform shoe 1 comprises an upper 11, a midsole 12, and an outsole 13.
The upper 11 comprises a wearing opening 111. The upper 11 is attached, by means of adhesives or sewing, to the midsole 12. The combination of the upper 11 and the midsole 12 is then fixed to the outsole 13 to form a unitary structure by means of adhesives or sewing.
The outsole 13 is generally manufactured in a unitary form through injection molding. The outsole 13 comprises a bottom platform 131 formed at an anterior portion thereof. The outsole 13 has a posterior end to which a shoe heel 14 is fixed. Both the shoe heel 14 and the bottom platform 131 have predetermined heights so that the platform shoe 1 is kept at a distance from the ground.
As shown in FIG 2, in a use of the platform shoe 1, a foot 2 of a user is put through the wearing opening 111 of the upper 11 into the platform shoe 1. The foot 2 is set in contact with the midsole 12 with the heel 21 and the foot sole 22. More specifically, the body weight of the user is transmitted through the heel 21 and the foot sole 22 of the foot 2 to the midsole 12 so as to be supported by the outsole 13. In other words, the arch 23 of the foot 2 is generally in a condition of being not supported.
Further, both the midsole 12 and the outsole 13 have planer top surfaces. When a user wearing the shoe is walking, particularly for the condition where the outsole 13 has a shoe heel 14 of a substantial height, the heel 21 and the foot sole 22 of the foot 2 of the user may skid frontwards in the platform shoe 1 in a not-stopped manner. Such a condition readily causes damages to the foot 2.
Further, the shoe heel 14 and the bottom platform 131 of the outsole 13 of the conventional platform shoe 1 are generally of heights. When a user wears the platform shoe 1 and walks, a posterior end section 1311 of the bottom platform 131 of the outsole 13 becomes a location where stress concentration may occur. More specifically, the portion from a posterior end of the posterior end section 1311 of the bottom platform 131 of the outsole 13 to the shoe heel 14 may undergo swinging and twisting. This, together with the platform shoe 1 not supporting the arch 23 of the foot 2 of the user, would lead to excessive twist and deformation of the arch 23 of the foot 2 in walking and thus cause extreme discomfort of the foot 2, or in a worse condition, causing damage to the arch 23.
Thus, it is a challenge of the shoe manufacturing industry to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional platform shoe 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a platform shoe, which overcomes the problem that the conventional platform shoe cannot prevent front rushes of the foot of a user in the platform shoe and cannot provide a support to the arch of the foot and thus readily causes discomfort and hurt of the foot.
To achieve the object, the technical solution adopted in the present invention is that a structure of a platform shoe is provided, wherein the platform shoe comprises at least an upper, a midsole, and an outsole. The upper is attached to the midsole. The upper comprises at least a wearing opening. The midsole is attached to the outsole. The midsole comprises a midsole bed and a front pad. The midsole bed has a posterior portion that is recessed to form a first trough. The front pad is mounted to an anterior portion the midsole bed. The front pad is recessed to form a second trough and a third trough. The outsole comprises a supportive section, a bottom section, and a shoe heel. The supportive section has a posterior portion to which the shoe heel is fixed. The bottom section is formed on the underside of the supportive section and the shoe heel. The bottom section has an anterior portion on which a bottom platform is formed.
With the above-described technical solution, the present invention achieves the following efficacy. By arranging a first trough, a second trough, and a third trough in the midsole and setting a first soft pad that corresponds in shape to the first trough in the first trough, setting a second soft pad that corresponds in shape to the second trough in the second trough, and setting a third soft pad that corresponds in shape to the third trough in the third trough, the midsole is provided with a plurality of rush stop sites thereon for alleviating front rushes of a foot in the platform shoe so as to improve safety and comfortableness of the foot wearing the platform shoe.
The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional platform shoe.
FIG 2 is a schematic view showing a use of the conventional platform shoe.
FIG 3 is a schematic view showing a platform shoe according to the present invention.
FIG 4 is an exploded view showing a midsole of the present invention.
FIG 5 is a perspective view showing, in a separated form, a supportive section and a shoe heel of an outsole of the present invention.
FIG 6 is a cross-sectional view, in a separated form, showing the outsole and the midsole of the present invention.
FIG 7 is a perspective view, in a separated form, showing the outsole and the midsole of the present invention.
FIG 8 is a schematic view showing a use of the platform shoe according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Referring first to FIG 3, the present invention provides a structure of a platform shoe. The platform shoe 3 comprises at least an upper 4, a midsole 5, and an outsole 6.
As shown in FIG 3, the upper 4 is attached to the midsole 5 by means of adhesive or sewing. The upper 4 has at least a wearing opening 41.
As shown in FIG 4, the midsole 5 comprises a midsole bed 51 and a front pad 52. The midsole bed 51 has a posterior portion (namely a shoe heel location) that is recessed to form a first trough 53. The front pad 52 is mounted to an anterior portion of the midsole bed 51 (namely a shoe palm location). The front pad 52 is recessed to form a second trough 54 and a third trough 55. The midsole bed 51 has a back surface that comprises a plurality of insertion holes 56 formed in a portion thereof between the first trough 53 and the second trough 54.
The first trough 53 is arranged to extend in an axial direction of the midsole 5 and formed in the posterior portion of the midsole 5 (namely the shoe heel location). The first trough 53 is a concave trough having a central part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part that is relatively shallow. The second trough 54 is arranged to extend in a transverse direction of the midsole 5 and formed in a posterior portion of the front pad 52. The second trough 54 is a concave recess having a central part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part that is relatively shallow. The third trough 55 is arranged to extend in a transverse direction of the midsole 5 and formed in an anterior portion of the front pad 52. The third trough 55 is a concave recess having a central part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part that is relatively shallow. More specifically, the first trough 53, the second trough 54, and the third trough 55 are arranged sequentially in a direction from the posterior portion of the platform shoe 3 (the shoe heel) toward the anterior portion (shoe palm).
The first trough 53 receives therein a first soft pad 57 that is formed to match the shape of the first trough 53. The second trough 54 receives therein a second soft pad 58 that is formed to match the shape of the second trough 54.
The third trough 55 receives therein a third soft pad 59 that is formed to match the shape of the third trough 55. The first soft pad 57 completely fills the first trough 53. The second soft pad 58 completely fills the second trough 54. The third soft pad 59 completely fills the third trough 55. As such, the midsole 5 exhibits an upper surface that is a substantially smooth surface.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the outsole 6 comprises a supportive section 61, a bottom section 62, and a shoe heel 63. As shown in FIG 5, the supportive section 61 comprises a support member 611 made of a metal or a composite material mounted therein. The support member 611 is formed inside the supportive section 61 by means of overmolding in order to provide the supportive section 61 with a predetermined stiffness. The supportive section 61 has an anterior portion from which a plurality of insertion pins 612 projects upwards. The insertion pins 612 are set to correspond in position to the insertion holes 56 of the midsole 5. As such, the insertion pins 612 are insertable into the insertion holes 56 of the midsole 5 so as to have the midsole 5 securely positioned on the outsole 6. The supportive section 61 has a posterior portion in which a plurality of fixing holes 613 is formed. The fixing holes 613 are provided to secure the shoe heel 63. The supportive section 61 has an anterior end having two projecting side portions and a central concave portion, whereby the anterior end of the supportive section 61 forms a first projecting section 614 and a second projecting section 615. The anterior end of the supportive section 61 is configured to get thickening from the center toward the first projecting section 614 and the second projecting section 615 so that the first projecting section 614 and the second projecting section 615 and an anterior end section 6111 of the support member 611 collectively form a triangular kinetic support by which the medial longitudinal arch, the lateral longitudinal arch and the anterior transverse arch of a foot 7 can be supported.
Back to FIG 5, the shoe heel 63 comprises a plurality of fixing elements 631 embedded therein. Practically, the fixing elements 631 can be embodied as expansion bolts. The fixing elements 631 are arranged to correspond to the fixing holes 613 of the supportive section 61, whereby threaded fasteners S are receivable through the fixing holes 613 of the supportive section 61 to fix the shoe heel 63 to a posterior end of the supportive section 61.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the supportive section 61 to which the shoe heel 63 is fixed is subjected to injection molding to integrally form the bottom section 62 in such a way that an anterior portion of the bottom section 62 forms a bottom platform 64 having a predetermined height. As such, the outsole 6 comprises a shoe heel 63 at a posterior portion thereof and a bottom platform 64 at an anterior portion thereof.
Referring to FIGS. 3,6, and 7, to assemble the platform shoe 3 according to the present invention, the supportive section 61 with the shoe heel 63 fixed thereto is subject to injection molding to integrally form the bottom section 62 on the underside thereof so as to provide a complete outsole 6 that comprises a bottom platform 64 of a predetermined height and a shoe heel 63. The upper 4 is attached to the midsole 5 by means of adhesives or sewing. Then, the insertion pins 612 of the outsole 6 are inserted into the insertion holes 56 of the midsole 5 and at the same time, adhesives or sewing is applied to securely fix the midsole 5 to the outsole 6 to thereby complete the assembling of the platform shoe 3 according to the present invention.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 8, to put the platform shoe 3 of the present invention into practice, after a foot 7 of a user is put through the wearing opening 41 of the upper 4 into the platform shoe 3, the heel 71 of the foot 7 is supported on a shoe heel portion 6a of the outsole 6. In other words, the heel 71 of the foot 7 is positioned on the first trough 53 and the first soft pad 57. The anterior sole 72 of the foot 7 is supported on the shoe palm portion 6b of the outsole 6. In other words, the foot sole 72 of the foot 7 is positioned on the second trough 54 and the second soft pad 58. The toes 73 of the foot 7 are supported on the shoe toe portion 6c of the outsole 6. In other words, the toes 73 of the foot 7 are positioned on the third trough 55 and the third soft pad 59. Further, the supportive section 61 of the outsole 6 is located under the arch 74 of the foot 7. As such, through the weight of the wearer, the first soft pad 57, the second soft pad 58, and the third soft pad 59 are compressed and thus sink down so as to form three rush stop sites in the midsole 5 of the platform shoe 3, namely a first rush stop site A formed in an anterior end of the first trough 53 (toward the second trough 54), a second rush stop site A1 formed in an anterior end of the second trough 54 (toward the third trough 55), and a third rush stop site A2 formed in an anterior end of the third trough 55 (toward the anterior end of the outsole 6). More specifically, the first rush stop site A is located in front of the heel 71 of the foot 7; the second rush stop site A1 is located in front of the foot sole 72 of the foot 7; and the third rush stop site A2 is located in front of the toes 73 of the foot 7, whereby the first rush stop site A, the second rush stop site A 1, and the third rush stop site A2 may help alleviate frontward rushes of the foot 7 in the platform shoe 3 to thus improve the safety and conformableness of the foot 7 in the platform shoe 3.
As shown in FIG 8, the arch 74 of the foot 7 is supported from the underside thereof by the supportive section 61 of the outsole 6 so as to prevent the platform shoe 3 from swinging and twisting between the shoe heel portion 6a and the shoe palm portion 6b of the outsole 6 and also to provide a support to the arch 74 of the foot 7 by the supportive section 61. As such, the overall conformableness and safety for protection against damage for the foot 7 wearing the platform shoe 3 can be further improved.
An efficacy of the present invention is that by arranging the first trough 53, the second trough 54, and the third trough 55 in the midsole 5 and setting the first soft pad 57 that corresponds in shape to the first trough 53 in the first trough 53, setting the second soft pad 58 that corresponds in shape to the second trough 54 in the second trough 54, and setting the third soft pad 59 that corresponds in shape to the third trough 55 in the third trough 55, the midsole 5 is provided with a plurality of rush stop sites thereon for alleviating front rushes of a foot 7 in the platform shoe 3 so as to improve safety and comfortableness of the foot 7 wearing the platform shoe 3.
Another efficacy of the present invention is that the outsole 6 is provided with the supportive section 61 and the supportive section 61 extends from the shoe heel portion 6a of the outsole 6 toward the shoe palm portion 6b of the outsole 6, so that excessive twisting of the outsole 6 of the platform shoe 3 between the shoe heel portion 6a and the shoe palm portion 6b and the arch 74 of the foot 7 is supported by the supportive section 61 to thereby improve the overall conformableness and safety for protection against damage for the foot 7 wearing the platform shoe 3 and thus enhancing the utilization of the platform shoe 3.
A further efficacy of the present invention is that the midsole bed 51 comprises a plurality of insertion holes 56 provided on the back side thereof between the first trough 53 and the second trough 54 and a plurality of insertion pins 612 is provided on the anterior portion of the supportive section 61 of the outsole 6 to project upward, where the insertion pins 612 are arranged to correspond to the insertion holes 56 of the midsole 5, so that the insertion pins 612 are insertable into the insertion holes 56 of the midsole 5 to have the midsole 5 securely positioned on the outsole 6.
A further efficacy of the present invention is that the supportive section 61 of the outsole 6 is provided, in a posterior end thereof, with a plurality of fixing holes 613 and a plurality of fixing elements 631 is embedded in the shoe heel 63 in such a way that the fixing elements 631 respectively correspond to the fixing holes 613 of the supportive section 61, so that threaded fasteners S are receivable through the fixing holes 613 of the supportive section 61 to fix the shoe heel 63 to the posterior portion of the supportive section 61 to thus securely fix the shoe heel 63 to the outsole 6 without causing the problem that the shoe heel 63 separates from the outsole 6, thereby further improving the utilization performance of the platform shoe 3.
Yet a further efficacy of the present invention is that the anterior end of the supportive section 61 exhibits a configuration having two projecting opposite sides and a concave central portion so as to form a first projecting section 614 and a second projecting section 615 at the anterior end of the supportive section 61 with the anterior end portion of the supportive section 61 being thickened from the central portion towards the first projecting section 614 and the second projecting section 615 so that the first projecting section 614 and the second projecting section 615 and the anterior end section 6111 of the support member 611 collectively form a triangular kinematic support by which the medial longitudinal arch, the lateral longitudinal arch, and the anterior transverse arch of the foot 7 are supported, thereby ensuring stability of standing and walking of a foot 7 wearing the platform shoe 3 and also ensuring overall comfortableness and safety for protection against damage for the foot 7 wearing the platform shoe 3 and thus improving the utilization performance of the platform shoe 3.

Claims

A structure of a platform shoe (3) comprising at least an upper (4), a midsole (5), and an outsole;
the upper (4) being attached to the midsole (5), the upper (4) comprising at least a wearing opening (41);

the midsole (5) being mounted to the outsole (6), the midsole (5) comprising a midsole bed (51) and a front pad (52), the midsole bed (51) having a posterior portion that is recessed to form a first trough (53), the front pad (52) being mounted to an anterior portion of the midsole bed (51), the front pad (52) being recessed to form a second trough (54) and a third trough (55); and

the outsole (6) comprising a supportive section (61), a bottom section (62), and a shoe heel (63), the supportive section (61) having a posterior portion to which the shoe heel (63) is fixed, the bottom section (62) being provided at an underside of the supportive section (61) and the shoe heel (63), the bottom section (62) having an anterior portion on which a bottom platform (64) is formed.
The structure of the platform shoe (3) according to claim 1, wherein the supportive section (61) comprises a support member (611) made of a metal or a composite material mounted therein.
The structure of the platform shoe (3) according to claim 1, wherein the first trough (53) is formed on the midsole bed (51) of the midsole (5) and located at a shoe heel portion (6a) of the outsole (6), the first trough (53) being formed in the midsole (5) in such a way as to extend in an axial direction of the midsole bed (51) of the midsole (5), the first trough (53) being a concave trough having a central part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part that is relatively shallow.
The structure of the platform shoe (3) according to claim 1, wherein the second trough (54) is formed on the front pad (52) of the midsole (5) and located at a shoe palm portion (6b) of the outsole (6), the second trough (54) being formed in the midsole (5) in such a way as to extend in a transverse direction of the midsole (5), the second trough (54) being a concave trough having a central part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part that is relatively shallow.
The structure of the platform shoe (3) according to claim 1, wherein the third trough (55) is formed on the front pad (52) of the midsole (5) and located at a shoe toe portion (6c) of the outsole (6), the third trough (55) being formed in the midsole (5) in such a way as to extend in a transverse direction of the midsole (5), the third trough (55) being a concave trough having a central part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part that is relatively shallow.
The structure of the platform shoe (3) according to claim 1,3,4 or 5 wherein the midsole (5) comprises a plurality of insertion holes (56) formed in a back side thereof, the insertion holes (56) being separately located in a portion between the first trough (53) and the second trough (54), the outsole (6) comprising insertion pins (612) formed thereon in such a way that the insertion pins (612) respectively correspond to the insertion holes (56) of the midsole (5), whereby the insertion pins (612) of the outsole (6) are insertable into the insertion holes (56) of the midsole (5).
The structure of the platform shoe (3) according to claim 6, wherein the insertion pins (612) are formed on the supportive section (61) of the outsole (6).
The structure of the platform shoe (3) according to claim 1, wherein the midsole (5) comprises a first rush stop site (A), a second rush stop site (A1), and a third rush stop site (A2), the first rush stop site (A) being formed in an anterior end of the first trough (53), the second rush stop site (A1) being formed in an anterior end of the second trough (54), the third rush stop site (A2) being formed in an anterior end of the third trough (55), whereby the first rush stop site (A) is located in front of the heel (71) of a foot (7) wearing the shoe, the second rush stop site (A1) is located in front of a foot sole (72) of the foot (7), and the third rush stop site (A2) is located in front of toes (73) of the foot (7).
The structure of the platform shoe (3) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the supportive section (61) is provided, in a posterior end thereof, with a plurality of fixing holes (613) and the shoe heel (63) comprises a plurality of fixing elements (631) arranged therein in such a way that the fixing holes (613) respectively correspond to the fixing elements (631), so that threaded fasteners (S) are receivable through the fixing holes (613) and the fixing elements (631) to fix the shoe heel (63) to the supportive section (61), the fixing elements (631) being expansion bolts.
The structure of the platform shoe (3) according to claim 9, wherein the supportive section (61) has an anterior end having a configuration having projecting opposite sides and a concave central portion so that the anterior end of the supportive section (61) forms a first projecting section (614) and a first projecting section (615), the supportive section (61) with the anterior end being thickened from the central portion towards the first projecting section (614) and the first projecting section (615), whereby the first projecting section (614) and the first projecting section (615) and an anterior end section (6111) of the support member (611) collectively form a triangular kinematic support by which a medial longitudinal arch, a lateral longitudinal arch, and an anterior transverse arch of a foot wearing the shoe are supported.