Shoe bottom, especially designed for sandals or clogs, with inserts embedded in the upper plant

Abstract

 This invention relates to a shoe bottom, made of non-mouldable material, whose upper plant features one or more carved seats (3) suitable for housing inserts (2) made up of shock-absorbing pads, insoles or pieces of leather, cork or plastic.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a wooden shoe bottom, especially designed for sandals or clogs, whose upper plant features one or more carved seats suitable for housing inserts made up of shock-absorbing sort pads or moulded insoles provided with a dense series of protuberances able to carry out a micromassage on the foot plant or pieces in anti-slip absorbing material, such as cork or leather.

[0002] For a better understanding and appreciation of the advantages of the shoe bottom according to this invention it is necessary to refer to the technique that is currently used to provide rigid wooden bottoms with a soft surface for foot support.

[0003] Today the common procedure is represented by the application of a soft insole on the upper plant of the wooden bottom by means of glue. The adoption of such insole involves several problems of economic as well as of esthetical nature.

[0004] When the upper plant of the bottom is coated and padded with an insole, due to esthetical reasons it is necessary to apply a perimetric welt on the upper plant of the wooden bottom.

[0005] The presence of the welt represents a limitation to the free shaping of the bottom, whose upper plant must feature a profile without sharp corners and curves to facilitate the application of the welt that, although flexible, tends to maintain a straight direction.

[0006] It must be also said that from the functional viewpoint the insoles are not very soft, since they can only be a few millimetres thick in order to be covered up with the welt.

[0007] This means that, although giving little comfort, the insoles involve a considerable increase in the production cost of the bottom, which is due not to the cost of the insoles themselves, but to the cost of the welt and especially the labour for assembling it.

[0008] Another inconvenience of the insoles is represented by the fact that with the passing of time they easily come out from the upper surface of the wooden bottom.

[0009] All the inconveniences of the application of soft insoles on a wooden bottom also occur when massaging, anti-slip or absorbing insoles (instead of shock-absorbing insoles) are applied on the upper plant of the wooden bottom. Everybody is familiar with the wooden clogs on which a moulded plastic insole is applied on the upper plant, characterised in that the insole features a dense series of vertical protuberances able to carry out a micromassage on the foot plant in order to activate and maintain blood circulation in the lower limbs.

[0010] The same happens with the application of a cork or leather insole on the upper plant of the wooden bottom in order to absorb the foot perspiration and at the same time offer a non-slippery surface for the foot plant - since the wooden surface would get slippery especially in case of damp feet caused by perspiration.

[0011] The purpose of the present invention is to create a wooden bottom whose upper plant is covered by a shock-absorbing, massaging, absorbing or anti-slip insole, without requesting the application of the welt. Once on the foot, the bottom according to this invention looks like an ordinary wooden bottom with no coating on the upper plant, since the presence of inserts on the upper plant is not visible.

[0012] The model according to the present invention comprises a wooden bottom whose upper plant features one or more carved seats suitable for housing inserts of any material and with any function, such as soft shock-absorbing pads or pieces made of leather, straw, cork or felt.

[0013] In case of soft shock-absorbing pads it is obvious that the softer the pads are, the higher their thickness is and therefore the higher the depth of the housing carved on the wood.

[0014] Unlike the technique mentioned above, in which the soft insole must have a surface development equal to the upper plant of the wooden bottom, the model according to this invention can use pads of any shape or size. It is also possible to use pads with different thickness in order to obtain a different level of softness in the various parts of the foot.

[0015] The pad itself can feature a gradually variable thickness in order to obtain a different level of softness in the various points of the same pad.

[0016] For clearer explication, the description of the model according to this invention continues with reference to the enclosed drawing, which only has an explanatory, not restrictive purpose, where:

• Fig. 1 shows the bottom sectioned with a longitudinal plane.

[0017] With reference to the above mentioned figure, the model consists in a wooden bottom (1) for shoes that features one or more inserts (2) embedded in appropriate housings (3) carved on the upper plant of the bottom (1).

[0018] As mentioned above, the shape, size, thickness and material of the inserts (2) can be of any type, according to the specific taste or requirements.

[0019] The bottom illustrated in Fig. 1 features two inserts (2) one located in the back over the heel and the other in the front on the metatarsal area of the foot.

[0020] Although in this description reference has always been made to a wooden bottom, it is understood that the scope of patent protection extends to all shoe bottoms made of any material that - just like wood - cannot be moulded, but only processed by carving the material itself, such as cork.

Claims

1. Shoe bottom, especially designed for sandals or clogs, with inserts embedded in the upper plant, comprising a bottom (1) made of non-mouldable material with one or more inserts (2) embedded in appropriate housings (3) carved on the upper plant of the bottom (1).

2. Shoe bottom according to claim 1, characterised in that the inserts (2) are represented by shock-absorbing pads.

3. Shoe bottom according to claim 2, characterised in that all pads (2) have the same thickness.

4. Shoe bottom according to claim 2, characterised in that the pads (2) have a different thickness.

5. Shoe bottom according to claim 2, characterised in that each pad (2) has a gradually variable thickness.

6. Shoe bottom according to claim 1, characterised in that the inserts (2) are represented by insoles or pieces made of leather.

7. Shoe bottom according to claim 1, characterised in that the inserts (2) are represented by insoles or pieces made of cork.

8. Shoe bottom according to claim 1, characterised in that the inserts (2) are represented by insoles or pieces made of moulded plastic material.

Drawing