US20120110872A1

US20120110872A1 - Midsole pad for women's shoes that distributes pressure applied onto the sole of the foot, and midsole and shoe having same

Info

Publication number: US20120110872A1
Application number: US13/260,682
Authority: US
Inventors: In Sik Park
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-07-29
Filing date: 2010-07-21
Publication date: 2012-05-10
Also published as: WO2011013940A3; CN102333464B; WO2011013940A2; CN102333464A

Abstract

Disclosed is a midsole for women's shoes which covers the area ranging from the rear end of the foot to the rear end of the forepart of the foot. The curvature (S) formed in the lengthwise direction of the foot along an upper surface of the pad has a portion that bulges out upwardly from the straight line interconnecting both ends of the pad in the lengthwise direction. The highest point (X) of the bulging portion, which is the point at which the bulging portion bulges out the farthest from said straight line, is positioned further forward (toward the forepart of the foot) than the point at which the line starting perpendicularly from the half point (M) of the straight line meets the curvature (S). According to the present invention, the portion of the women's shoe sole, which interconnects the rear end of the shoe sole spaced apart from the ground and a ground contacting part of the shoe sole, has a varying degree of slope, in order to enable the heel of the foot of a wearer to be positioned flat in the horizontal direction, thus distributing the pressure applied to the forepart and big toe part of the wearer's foot by the weight of the wearer to the heel part of the foot of the wearer, and thus effectively reducing the pressure.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a midsole of shoes, and more particularly, to a midsole having a structure in which a pressure applied to the sole of the foot can be distributed in a women's shoe having a heel.

BACKGROUND ART

The foot is an organ that is elaborated and subtle. The foot is made up of bones and joints, ligaments and tendons, muscles, and the like. These components of the foot form a basic fixed structure to smoothly perform an intrinsic function of the foot in a standing state and a locomotion state of the foot. Also, the components of the foot achieve several orthopedic shapes and structures by their mutual engagements varying depending on their respective states
The shoe can serve to protect the foot from damage caused by external heat, cold air, or contact with an external object, and can positively act to alleviate an impact applied to the foot during locomotion. However, on the other hand, the shoe limits the motion of the foot, which may have an adverse effect on the foot.
For example, in case of a women's dress shoe having a high heel of more than 5 cm, i.e., a high heel shoe for women, an one-stage walking pattern is performed by a shoe wearer, but not a natural four-stage walking pattern when focusing on the shape of a foot in walking state. In other words, while a shoe wearer is walking, the shape of the foot is always maintained in a tiptoe walking pattern similar to a second type plantarflexion performed when the shoe wearer points her foot downward while raising her heel of the foot by the shape of the high heel shoe itself. In addition, in case of the high heel shoe, a fourth-stage toe-down motion of the foot of the shoe wearer is performed while the foot continues to be in a state of the second type plantarflexion without a state of the first type plantarflexion. Thus, while walking with high heels, the wearer does not use the elasticity of muscles sufficiently due to deformation of the foot muscles, thus resulting in a remarkable deterioration of a function of plantarflexion during the toe-pushing motion.
Further, the high heel shoe includes a toe-side portion having an outsole which is in close contact with the ground surface even in a state in which a shoe wearer walks or stops walking, and a heel-side portion (the heel of the foot) which is spaced apart from the ground surface by a high heel by a predetermined distance. As a result, an inclination occurs inevitably on the bottom surface of the high heel shoe. In addition, the rear foot is not supported stably on an insole of the shoe due to the inclination of a portion interconnecting the heel-side portion and the toe-side portion of the shoe, but always receives a pushing force acting on the foot toward the front part of the shoe along an inclined surface of the insole of the shoe. Thus, the wearer's weight is concentrated on the ball of the foot by the biasing force and hallux valgus is apt to be induced due to a narrow toe box at the front end of the shoe
Meanwhile, a typical shoe is configured such that a midsole is disposed on an outsole, and a peripheral edge portion of the upper is fittingly fixed between the outsole and the midsole along the periphery of the shoe. A sponge layer is disposed at the inside of the periphery of the shoe where the upper is fixed so that the hollow portion between the outsole and the midsole is filled and the outsole and the insole are smoothly bonded to each other.
The midsole of the shoe such as a high heel shoe includes a taction formed on the entire surface of the sole of the foot and made of a paper, leather, or artificial leather material, and a pad joined to the underside surface of a rear part (i.e., a part extending from the rear end of the foot to the rear end of the ball of the foot, i.e., to a boundary portion where the outsole is in close contacts with the ground surface) of the taction. The pad is generally made of a paper or pulp material, and has a structure in which an upper pad and a lower pad are overlapped with each other in the form of a double ply. In addition, the pad has a certain shape which is thicker and harder than the taction. Interposed between plies forming the pad is a steel shank in the lengthwise direction of the pad to serves as a support frame. The shank is mounted at an inclination portion which is positioned between the toe-side portion and the heel-side portion of the wearer's shoe and interconnects them. In addition, the shank functions to prevent the inclination of the shoe sole from being collapsed or falling off from the midsole pad due to application of a pressure to the inclination portion by the weight or the motion of the wearer. That is, the shank plays a great important role in maintaining the inclined shape of the shoe sole similarly to the vertebra of the human body.
However, the conventional midsole entails a problem in that it is merely fixedly bonded with the upper, and in that it merely serves to cover the periphery edge of the upper attached to the bottom of the shoe when viewed from the inside of the shoe, but it is difficult for the conventional midsole to have a function which makes the wearer's foot comfortable or conforms to the characteristics of the wearer. In this state, a top of the outsole of the high heel shoe is covered with a thin covering layer called “a carre” for finishing, and thus a top surface of the midsole is identical to a curved top surface of the inside of the shoe, with which the sole of the wearer's foot comes into close contact. This structure is one which does not suitable for providing functionalities such as those of a variety of functional running shoes, and the like being developed recently. In particular, in case of the high heel shoe, such a structure makes it difficult to impart a functionality enough to overcome a structure of imposing a load on the wearer's foot.
Furthermore, an existing shoe midsole encounters a problem in that since the pad forming the midsole is made of a paper or pulp material, it is required that the midsole should be formed in a multi-ply structure in order to maintain the mechanical strength and the given shape, and should be joined with a shank made of a metal material stronger than the material of the pad in order to complement an insufficient strength, thereby resulting in complicated manufacturing process of the shoe, which leads to an increase of the manufacturing cost and time.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a midsole construction for a women's shoe, which can reduce a phenomenon in which the heel of a shoe wearer's foot is pushed forwards in a high heel shoe so as to distribute a pressure applied to the sole of the foot, thereby making the wear's foot comfortable.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe and its accessory which can impart a functional shape to a midsole to distribute a pressure applied to the sole of the foot, thereby promoting stability and comfort of the foot feeling.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe and its accessory which can pursue the above objects in a low cost and efficient manner.

Technical Solution

To achieve the above objects, according to the present invention, there is provided a midsole pad for a women's shoe, which is configured to cover the area of the rear part of the foot while maintaining its shape without easily being deformed by an external force.
The midsole pad includes a contour line (S) as a curved line extending in the lengthwise direction of the foot along a top surface of the midsole pad. The contour line S is divided into an inner contour line S1 defined with respect to the inner part of the foot and an outer contour line S2 defined with respect to the outer part of the foot depending on the widthwise direction and position of the foot. In addition, the contour line S has a portion that bulges out upwardly from a straight line connecting both ends of the pad in the lengthwise direction of the pad.
The length of a line segment that connects a point on the straight line and a point on the contour line S so as to extend perpendicularly to the straight line may be called a separation distance between the straight line and the contour line, and a ratio of the separation distance to the length of the straight line may be called a separation distance ratio. In addition, when it is assumed that the point of the bulging portion, which is the farthest away from the straight line is the highest point X, the ratio of the maximum separation distance (D1), i.e., the maximum value of the separation distance between the straight line and the contour line to the length of the straight line connecting both ends of the pad may range from 8% to 20% in the inner contour line S1 and may range from 4% to 17% in the outer contour line S2.
Further, in the present invention, the highest point X of the contour line is positioned further forward (toward the ball of the foot) than a point at which a line extending perpendicularly from the half point M of the straight line meets the contour line S.
The midsole pad of the present invention includes a contour line S defined by the top surface of the midsole along the lengthwise direction of the foot when viewed from the inside of the foot in a state in which the midsole is applied to a women's shoe. The contour line S includes a heel seating section which forms a gentle inclination angle of below 15° with the ground surface, i.e., the horizontal surface in its entirety, an inclined section which is positioned in front of the heel seating section and forms a steep inclination angle of more than 45° with the ground surface due to an inclination angle difference of more than 30° between the inclined section and the heel seating section, and a transition section which forms a curved surface interconnecting the heel seating section and the inclined section. The heel seating section generally means a portion including a section corresponding to more than two thirds of a horizontal length ranging from the heel of the foot to a point extending directly downwardly from an ankle bone (also, called a malleolus). The transition section preferably has a horizontal length corresponding to less than 40% of the heel seating section. Moreover, the contour line S includes an inflection section which extends from the front end of the inclined section and is curved convexly downwardly for smooth connection with the ground surface (i.e., the horizontal surface).
The midsole pad of the present invention may be made of a rigid synthetic resin material, and may include a unitary shank portion which is formed thicker than a peripheral portion thereof.
The midsole pad of the present invention may be formed through a molding process of synthetic resin such as injection molding.
In the present invention, the shank portion may be formed protrudingly downwardly from the underside surface of the midsole pad and has a shape which extends in the lengthwise direction of the pad to perform a support function.
The midsole for a women's shoe of the present invention is configured such that it includes the midsole pad of the present invention, and the taction attached to the underside surface of the midsole pad in such a fashion as to be at least partially overlapped with the midsole pad so as to cover entire surface of the foot sole in a state in which the midsole and the taction are joined together.
In the midsole for a women's shoe of the present invention, the midsole pad may include a unitary shank portion formed protrudingly from the underside surface thereof in such a fashion as to extend in the lengthwise direction thereof. In this case the taction may include an elongated opening formed therein to correspond to the shank portion so that when the taction is joined to the underside surface of the midsole pad, the midsole has a natural surface without a stepped portion on the underside surface thereof in its entirety or has a relatively gentle stepped portion formed thereon as compared to the protruded height from the underside surface of the shank portion.
The shoe for women of the present invention features that it includes an outsole having a heel having a height of more than 5 cm and the midsole for women's shoe of the present invention as shoe sole members.
The shoe for women of the present invention may be configured such that the upper of the shoe and the midsole for a women's shoe are fixed to each other by using a fixture piecing through the upper and the taction together at a portion where the upper and the taction are overlapped with each other at an area where the midsole is composed of only the taction, and wherein the upper and the midsole for a women's shoe are fixed to each other by using only an adhesive at a portion where the midsole pad is overlapped with the upper together with the taction.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, an inclination degree of a bottom surface portion of the shoe, which connects the rear end of the heel-side portion spaced apart from the ground surface by a high heel by a predetermined distance, and the toe-side portion in close contact with the ground surface in a women's shoe, is adjusted differently according to each area so that the heel portion of the foot can be oriented horizontally, thereby effectively reducing a pressure caused by the wearer's weight, which is concentratedly applied to the ball and the big toe of the foot in such a fashion as to be distributed to the heel portion of the foot.
In addition, according to the present invention, since the midsole pad and the shank portion is easily integrally formed with each other using synthetic resin, the manufacturing cost, labor and time of the midsole can be greatly reduced, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the shoe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective views illustrating of a midsole for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a midsole pad for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a midsole pad for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a state in which a midsole pad for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is to be applied to a midsole and is to be mounted in the shoe, when viewed from the inside of the shoe.

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the comparison between an inner contour line of a midsole pad for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and an inner contour line of a typically designed midsole pad for a women's shoe according to the changes of height and length of the pad.

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating the comparison between an inner contour line and an outer contour line of a midsole pad for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a midsole for a women's shoe in a state in which a taction and a midsole pad are to be joined to each other.

FIG. 8 is a partially cut view illustrating an example of a women's shoe made by applying a midsole in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view illustrating a laminated structure of an incised part of FIG. 8.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Now, the present invention will be described hereinafter in more detail by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective views illustrating of a midsole for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a midsole pad for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a midsole pad for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a portion forming a lower layer is a taction 20 corresponding to the entire surface of the sole of the foot, which is generally formed of a paper material thinner than a pad. As shown in FIG. 1, a midsole pad 10 is disposed only at the area corresponding to the rear part of the entire surface of the sole of the foot in such a fashion as to be positioned on the taction 20. The midsole pad 10 is formed thicker than the taction 20. In addition, the midsole pad 10 can be made of a rigid synthetic resin including nylon resin, pebox, polyurethane (PU), hytral, carbon plate, Polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (ABS) resin, or polyethylene terephtalate (PET) resin, a carbon fiber reinforced synthetic resin, or the like, which is not broken or deformed easily by an external force. Herein, the rigid synthetic resin refers to a hard synthetic resin which is merely not easily deformed, but does not mean a thermosetting synthetic resin. A conventional midsole pad made of a paper material includes a separate shank made of a metal material embedded therein to maintain the mechanical strength thereof. On the other hand, the midsole pad 10 according to the present invention includes a unitary shank portion 11 formed protrudingly downwardly from the underside surface thereof and extending in the lengthwise direction thereof without including a separate shank. The pad is formed of made of a synthetic resin material by an injection molding process of synthetic resin, and particularly may be formed by an injection molding method in which a molten thermoplastic resin is pushed into a mold through pressurization to fill the mold. In this case, the pad in which the shank portion and a peripheral portion other than the shank portion are formed integrally with each other may be formed by a single mold. Thus, once the mold is manufactured, the processing cost is not incurred by a separate manual work needed to form the shank portion, thereby saving the time, cost, and labor spent to manufacture the shoe, i.e., the midsole.
FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a state in which a midsole pad for a women's shoe in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is to be applied to a midsole and is to be mounted in the shoe, when viewed from the inside of the shoe (i.e., from a mid-point of shoe wearer's feet), and FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the comparison between an inner contour line S1 (i.e., an upper line corresponding to the inner upper surface of the pad) of the midsole pad for a women's shoe as a representative one of the contour line S of the midsole pad 10 in FIG. 4 and an inner contour line S′ of a typically designed midsole pad for a women's shoe to show the relationship between the changes of length and height of the pad.
The inner contour line S1 of the midsole pad for a women's shoe according to the present invention has a heel seating section A. The heel seating section A forms an inclination angle of less than 15°, with the ground surface (i.e., the horizontal surface) in the lengthwise direction of the midsole pad. More specifically, a tangent line at each point thereof forms an inclination angle ranging from 10° to 15° with the ground surface. The inner contour line S1 in the heel seating section A which extends from the rear end of the pad by a predetermined distance (i.e., about half the entire horizontal length of the pad when viewed from the side) is close to a straight line forming a gentle inclination angle of approximately 11° with the ground surface in its entirety.
Further, the inner contour line S1 has a transition section C. It is a curved portion which extends from the heel seating section A. A tangential line at each point of the transition section C forms an inclination angle ranging from 15° to 50° and a straight line connecting both end points of the transition section C forms an inclination angle of approximately 35° with the ground surface. The horizontal length of the transition section C corresponds to 35% of the horizontal length of the heel seating section in FIG. 5.
Then, the inner contour line S1 has an inclined section B which extends from the transition section C toward the front side of the pad and is substantially close to a straight line along the lengthwise direction of the foot. The inclined section B has a length corresponding to approximately 65% of the heel seating section in terms of the length of the contour line, and extends such that a straight line connecting both end points thereof forms an inclination angle ranging from 52° to 53° with the ground surface. Moreover, the inner contour line S1 has an inflection section E which may extend from the front end of the inclined section and may be curved convexly downwardly for smooth connection with the ground surface (i.e., the horizontal surface).
The inner contour line S1 of the top surface of the midsole pad, which extends in the lengthwise direction of the pad has a portion that bulges out upwardly from a straight line connecting both ends of the pad in the lengthwise direction of the pad. In addition, when it is assumed that the point of the bulging portion, which is the farthest away from the straight line is the highest point X, it can be seen that if the ratio of the maximum separation distance (D1), i.e., the maximum value of the separation distance between the straight line and the contour line, to the length of the straight line connecting both ends of the pad is more than 8% in the inner contour line S1 defined with respect to the inner upper surface of the foot, an positive effect can be obtained. If the maximum separation distance ratio is more than 10%, a more distinct effect can be obtained, and is preferably more than 12%. In a wearable structure, it is difficult for the maximum separation distance ratio to exceed a certain numerical value, for example, 20%. In this embodiment, the maximum separation distance ratio is approximately 15%. The maximum separation distance ratio preferably ranges from 4% to 17% in the outer contour line S2 defined with respect to the outer supper surface of the foot. If the maximum separation distance ratio is low, the top surface of the midsole pad is too out of the shape of the medial arch of the foot, and thus it has an inclination close to that of a straight line as in the conventional midsole pad. As a result, it has been found that the effect of distributing a pressure to the sole of the foot is deteriorated. On the contrary, if the maximum separation distance ratio is too high, the foot sole area between the heel and the ball of the foot forms a steep inclination in a stepwise pattern. Furthermore, if the maximum separation distance ratio is severely high, a pressure is concentratedly applied to the medial arch of the foot, thereby causing further an inconvenience when wearing the high heel shoe.
In this case, since the medial longitudinal arch is formed more distinct than the lateral longitudinal arch on the sole of the foot for the same midsole pad, a change in the separation distance ratio in the inner contour line S1 is preferably made larger than a change in the separation distance ratio in the outer contour line S2 as it goes in the lengthwise direction of the foot at a region forming the longitudinal arch as shown in FIG. 6 to uniformly distribute the pressure applied to the foot sole to the entire foot sole. In addition, the maximum separation distance ratio of the inner contour line S1 is preferably made larger by 3%-5% point than the maximum separation distance ratio of the outer contour line S2 in terms of the maximum separation distance ratio. Herein “% point” means a difference between % numerical values. For example, 8%−5% is equal to 3% point (i.e., 8%−5%=3% point).
In addition, the highest point X of the contour line S1 is positioned further forward (toward the ball of the foot) than a point at which a line extending perpendicularly from the half point M of the straight line meets the contour line S1.
For reference, the contour line S′ of a typical pad of a conventional high heel shoe having the same height is close to a gentle curve in its entirety whereas the heel seating section and the inclined section of the contour line S1 in the present invention is close to a straight line in terms of the inner contour line of the top surface of the midsole pad. First of all, the ratio of the maximum separation distance D2 between the straight line and the contour line S′ to the length of the straight line connecting both ends of the pad is less than 8%. Further, the highest point X′ of the contour line S′ based on the straight line is positioned substantially equal to or further rearward than a point at which a line extending perpendicularly from the half point of the straight line meets the contour line S′.
When comparing this embodiment with the midsole pad for a conventional high heel shoe, the contour line of the inner upper surface of the midsole pad is used as a reference contour line. The reason for this is that the medial longitudinal arch of the foot sole is clearer than the later longitudinal arch, and there is a more obvious difference in a distribution in which a wearer's weight is applied depending on a gradient of the curve in the medial longitudinal arch than in the later longitudinal arch.
In the present invention, it can be seen that there may be a slight difference in the inclined state (gradient) of the inner upper surface of the midsole sole in terms of stability depending on the material of the cover (i.e., carre) covered on the midsole of the shoe, but even in any case, the heel seating section of the midsole pad receives most of the weight applied to the heel of the foot through calculation of a component force (i.e., a component of a force in a specific direction) and a pressure applied to the ball of the foot can be relatively reduced as compared to the conventional midsole pad.
The transition section of the contour line of the midsole pad according to the present invention preferably has a horizontal length corresponding to less than 40% of the heel seating section based on the horizontal axis of the graph in FIG. 5. In addition, if the transition section is long in length and has a large radius of curvature, the inclined section and the heel seating section may be connected with each other more naturally, thus giving an elegant appearance to the midsole pad. However, resultantly, the inclined section has a large inclination, thereby resulting in occurrence of a problem in that the wearer's foot is excessively bent at a joint portion. Thus, the transition section of the contour line of the inventive midsole pad has a length corresponding to less than 40% of the heel seating section. On the other hand, if the transition section is short in length, the radius of curvature of the transition section is made small in order to offset a difference in the inclination angle between the heel seating section and the inclined section. Thus, the setting of the upper limit of the length of the transition section and the lower limit of the radius of curvature of the transition section can have an effect of limiting the shape and feature of the midsole pad such as the setting of the upper limit and the lower limit of the length of the transition section. There may be a difference in a substantial radius of curvature of the transition section depending on the height of the heel and the length of the foot. But if the radius of curvature of the transition section is too small, the object of the invention can be achieved but the wearer's weight applied to the heel seating section is concentrated at a portion adjacent to the transition section. As a result, since the foot sole region corresponding to the adjacent portion concentratedly receives the pressure, the wearer's foot is apt to be damaged. Thus, the radius of curvature of the transition section is within a range from 5 cm to 15 cm, preferably is more than 10cm even at the most steeply bent portion of the pad.
The top surface of the midsole pad according to the embodiment of the present invention may be formed to have a smooth surface of a gentle curve like the sole surface of the foot, but may be formed to have a functional portion which is partially protruded or elastic. Thus, the top surface of the midsole is typically not flat even in the transverse direction. For example, since the heel of the foot has a shape which is curved convexly downwardly, the top surface of the midsole pad has a concaved structure to accommodate the downwardly convexed heel of the foot. In addition, the outsole of the shoe has a uniform thickness in its entirety, and the inner side of the midsole pad may be formed thicker than the outer side thereof in order to make the surface of the midsole pad correspond to the curved surface of the foot sole which cannot be compensated by the plain shape of the outsole, for example, the medial longitudinal arch, and the like of the foot to increase a natural contact with the foot sole to thereby improve the weight distributing effect.
Furthermore, a conventional midsole pad entails a drawback in that it is difficult to perform a modification of the pad to have a sufficient thickness and shape due to a limitation of a structure in which a plurality of sheets of paper are laminated together. On the other hand, the midsole pad of the present invention involves a merit in that since it is easily formed in a unitary manner through a synthetic resin molding or an injection molding of synthetic resin, various shapes can be more easily imparted to the midsole pad depending on the purpose for pathological correction of the foot. For example, the midsole pad may be configured such that an intermediate part (i.e., medial longitudinal arch) 12 (see FIG. 3) of the inclined section of the top surface thereof is formed to have a slightly upwardly convexed thick portion to compensate for the curved surface according to a transverse arch of the foot sole, or a process for giving an acupressure effect to the muscles of the foot is performed and screw holes 13 (see FIG. 13) for engagement with the heel of the shoe is formed without a separate process work.
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a midsole for a women's shoe in a state in which a taction and a midsole pad are to be joined to each other to form the midsole according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The midsole of the present invention does not include a separate shank made of a metal for preventing deformation, but the midsole pad 10 of the midsole includes a unitary shank portion 11 formed protrudingly downwardly form the bottom surface thereof and extending in the lengthwise direction thereof. If the outsole or the taction 20 does not include a structure of receiving the shank portion, a shoe sole member is separated from the shank portion receiving portion, and the bonding force between parts constituting the shoe sole member is deteriorated, and balance and stability of the shoe wearer are lowered. Thus, an elongated opening 21 is formed at an area of the taction to correspond to the shank portion 11 indicated by a doted line in FIG. 7. As a result, when the shank portion 11 is fit into the elongated opening 21 as shown in FIG. 7 and an adhesive 71 is bondingly coated on the top surface of the taction and the underside surface of the midsole pad at other contact portions, the midsole has a natural surface without a large stepped portion on the underside surface thereof in its entirety
FIG. 8 is a partially cut view illustrating an example of a women's shoe made by applying a midsole in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view illustrating a laminated structure of an incised part of FIG. 8.
The women's shoe of the present invention is focused on a women's shoe including a heel 50, preferably a heel having a height of more than 5 cm, an outsole 40, and a midsole, as shoe sole members. In case of the heel having a height of more than 5 cm based on an adult's foot, problems are emphasized relatively strongly which are involved in an inclination of the shoe sole and a pathological syndrome associated with the high heel or a wearing felling of the high heel.
In this embodiment, the outsole 40 and the midsole are used as a shoe sole (i.e., sole member), and the upper 30 is interposed between the outsole 30 and the midsole at the peripheral edge. The upper 30 is first joined to the midsole, in which state, the outsole 40 is joined to the midsole. In this case, the upper and the midsole for a women's shoe are fixed to each other at a portion where the upper 30 and the taction 20 are overlapped with each other using a fixture 73 piecing through the upper and the taction together at an area where the midsole is composed of only the taction 20. Of course, an adhesive 71 may be used at the fixed portion of the upper and the midsole. In this case, the upper and the midsole may be fixed together using only the adhesive 71 at a portion where the midsole pad 10 and the taction 20 are overlapped with each other. The reason for this is that it is difficult to install the fixture to fix the midsole and the upper 30 to each other in a state in which a hole for the fixture 73 is not formed in the midsole pad. Herein, the fixture may be any one of existing various fixtures including a pin, a nail, a bolt, a stapler, and the like.
In the meantime, for a sandal type shoe in which a portion where the upper and the midsole are joined together is mainly concentrated on the front part of the foot, the fixture need not to be used to join the upper 30 and the midsole 10 together. In addition, when the midsole and the upper are joined together in the form of a string at only a portion of the midsole in which the midsole pad 10 is overlapped partially, a hole may be formed previously to join the fixture to the midsole in the manufacturing step such as molding.
While the present invention has been described in connection with specific exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that it is merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and various modifications and changes can be made thereto within the technical spirit and scope of the present invention. Such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A midsole pad for a women's shoe, which is configured to cover the area of the rear part of the foot, which extends from the rear end of the foot to the rear end of the ball of the foot, wherein the midsole pad comprises a contour line S as a curved line extending in the lengthwise direction of the foot along a top surface of the pad, wherein the contour line S has a portion that bulges out upwardly from a straight line connecting both ends of the pad in the lengthwise direction of the pad, and wherein the highest point X of the bulging portion, which is the point that is the farthest away from the straight line, is positioned further forward (toward the ball of the foot) than a point at which a line extending perpendicularly from the half point M of the straight line meets the contour line S.

2. The midsole pad according to claim 1, wherein the length of a line segment that connects a point on the straight line and a point on the contour line S so as to extend perpendicularly to the straight line is a separation distance between the straight line and the contour line, and a ratio of the separation distance to the length of the straight line is a separation distance ratio, and wherein when the contour line S is divided into an inner contour line S1 as a contour line defined with respect to the inner upper surface of the foot and an outer contour line S2 as a contour line defined with respect to the outer supper surface of the foot, the maximum separation distance ratio as the maximum value of the separation distance ratio ranges from 8% to 20% in the inner contour line and ranges from 4% to 17% in the outer contour line.

3. The midsole pad according to claim 1, wherein the pad is made of a rigid synthetic resin material, and comprises a shank portion and a peripheral portion formed integrally with the shank portion, the shank portion having a shape which is thicker than the peripheral portion so that it is further protruded as compared to the peripheral portion.

4. The midsole pad according to claim 3, wherein the pad is formed by an injection molding process of synthetic resin.

5. The midsole pad according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a change in the separation distance ratio of the inner contour line is larger than that of the outer contour line, and

the maximum separation distance ratio of the inner contour line S1 is larger by 3% point-5% point than that of the inner contour line S2.

6. A midsole for a women's shoe, which comprises the midsole pad according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and a taction attached to the underside surface of the midsole pad in such a fashion as to be at least partially overlapped with the midsole pad, the midsole being configured to cover an area corresponding to the entire surface of the foot sole.

7. A midsole for a women's shoe, which comprises the midsole pad according to claim 3 or 4, and a taction attached to the underside surface of the midsole pad in such a fashion as to be at least partially overlapped with the midsole pad, the midsole being configured to cover an area corresponding to the entire surface of the foot sole,

wherein the midsole pad comprises a shank portion formed protrudingly downwardly from the underside surface of the pad, and

wherein the taction comprises an elongated opening formed therein to correspond to the shank portion so that when the taction and the midsole pad are joined to each other, the shank portion is fit into elongated opening.

8. A shoe for women comprising the midsole according to claim 6 and an outsole including a heel as shoe sole members.

9. A shoe for women comprising the midsole according to claim 6 and an outsole including a heel as shoe sole members, wherein the upper of the shoe and the midsole for a women's shoe are fixed to each other by using a fixture piecing through the upper and the taction together at a portion where the upper and the taction are overlapped with each other at an area where the midsole is composed of only the taction, and wherein the upper and the midsole for a women's shoe are fixed to each other by using only an adhesive at a portion where the midsole pad is overlapped with the upper together with the taction.

10. A shoe for women comprising the midsole according to claim 6 and an outsole including a heel as shoe sole members, wherein the midsole pad comprises a contour line S defined by the top surface thereof when viewed from the inside of the foot, the contour line S comprising:

a heel seating section configured to form a gentle inclination angle of below 15° with the ground surface, i.e., the horizontal surface in its entirety;

an inclined section positioned in front of the heel seating section and configured to form a steep inclination angle of more than 45° with the ground surface due to an inclination angle difference of more than 30° between the inclined section and the heel seating section; and

a transition section configured to form a curved surface interconnecting the heel seating section and the inclined section.