Shoe Sole

Abstract

 A shoe sole comprises a body (2) made of plastic material on the upper surface of which a recessed area (3) is formed which is surrounded by a circumferential rim (4) designed to support an inner sole (5). Over the recessed area a plurality of supporting pegs (7) are distributed which are inclined according to mutually opposed directions and project towards the inner sole (5) terminating close to the latter. An air space (9) is created between the inner sole 5 and the recessed area (3).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a shoe sole comprising a body made of plastic material on the upper surface of which a recessed area is formed, which area is surrounded by a circumferential rim for the support of an inner sole. More particularly the sole in question is conceived such that it may exert a stimulating action on the circulation of the blood in a user, while giving a great comfort in use to the shoes it is associated with.

[0002] It is known that in many types of shoe soles suitable construction contrivances are currently used in order to make the use of the shoes to which said soles are applied more comfortable.

[0003] In this connection, a type of sole which is important to the ends of the invention substantially consists of a suitably shaped plastics body on the upper surface of which a recessed area is formed, which area is surrounded by a circumferential rim upon which an inner sole is laid. An element made of foamed material is inserted in the space between the lower surface of the inner sole and the recess­ed area; said element, due to the pressure exerted by the user's foot, is subjected to deformation thereby giving the sole particular softness features.

[0004] It is however to be noted that such soles are not capable of exerting any type of beneficial action on the user and in particular they have no effects in stimulating the circulation of the blood.

[0005] A stimulation in the circulation of the blood has been instead achieved by means of suitable soles provided with a number of vertical pegs distributed, at a very close distance from each other, over the whole surface designed to be brought into contact with the user's foot.

[0006] Such soles, generally applied to wooden-shoes and the like, are capable of carrying out a stimulation of the circulation of the blood in a user but, on the other hand, they have some drawbacks.

[0007] One drawback resides in that, being these soles made of plastic material which is in direct contact with the foot, they cause the foot to sweat too much.

[0008] Furthermore, as the pegs are vertically oriented and distributed at a very close distance from each other, they are not liable to bend elastically under the action exerted by a foot.

[0009] For the above reason shoes provided with such soles appear to be rather uncomfortable to wear.

[0010] A further drawback resides in that, being in direct contact with the foot, pegs are subjected to an important wear in use. As a result, after a certain period of time, the stimulating effects for the circulation of the blood due to the presence of pegs are remarkably reduced.

[0011] It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the above mentioned drawbacks and to provide a shoe sole capable of carrying out a stimulation of the circulation of the blood in a user which is, at the same time, provid­ ed with a high degree of comfort.

[0012] The foregoing and still further objects that will become more apparent in the following are substantially attain­ed by a shoe sole comprising a body made of plastic material, on the upper surface of which a recessed area is formed, which area is surrounded by a circumferential rim for the support of an inner sole, characterized in that over at least a portion of said recessed area a number of supporting pegs are distributed, which pegs project towards said inner sole and terminate close to the latter.

[0013] Further features and advantages of the invention will be­come more apparent from the detailed description of a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of a shoe sole, given hereinafter by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Fig. 1 is a top view of a sole according to the invention;

- Fig. 2 is an interrupted cross-sectional view to an enlarged scale taken along line II-II of Fig. 1;

- Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the sole.

[0014] Referring to the drawings, a shoe sole according to the invention has been globally identified by 1. Sole 1 comprises a body 2 made either of plastic material or of synthetic or natural rubber, on the upper surface of which a recessed area 3 is formed which is surrounded by a supporting rim 4 extending circumferentially to the sole 1. The circumferential rim 4 is designed to support an inner sole 5, partially shown, made of deformable and suitably shaped material. Around the inner sole 5 there is a circumferential projection 6 known per se.

[0015] In an original manner, a plurality of supporting pegs 7 are distributed over at least one portion of the recessed area 3; they are formed integrally with the body 2 and project towards the inner sole 5 terminating close to the lower surface of the latter, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

[0016] Pegs 7 preferably have a cylindrical form with a rounded free end 7a and are inclined along lines 10 parallel to the longitudinal extension of sole 1. It is to be noted that the pegs 7 of each line 10 are parallel to each other and inclined in the opposite direction with respect to those of the adjoining lines.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment provision is made for pegs 7 to be distributed according to rows 8 that are slightly spaced apart from each other and extend transversely to the sole 1. In addition, each peg 7 is oriented in the opposite way with respect to the direction of inclination of the pegs contiguous thereto,transversely to the sole 1. In other words, pegs 7 of each row 8 are such disposed that they exhibit a mutuallycrossedorientation,as clearly seen in Figs. 2 and 3.

[0018] Advantageously, as further shown in Fig. 2, an air space 9 is created between the recessed area 3 and the lower surface of the inner sole 5.

[0019] During the use of a shoe with which the sole 1 is associat­ed, the user's foot repeatedly carries out pressure actions on the inner sole 5. Advantageously, such pressure actions are elastically resisted by the deform­ation of pegs 7, as well as by the compression of the air enclosed inside the air space 9.

[0020] At the same time pegs 7, by virtue of their rounded ends 7a, also exert a stimulating action on the circulation of the blood of the user's foot, through the inner sole 5 which, being deformable to a great extent, is adapted to entirely transmit the pressures locally produced by the contact of ends 7a against the inner sole.

[0021] The present invention attains the intended purposes.

[0022] In fact the sole in reference is adapted to elastically deform under the action of the pressures exerted thereon by the user's foot. At the same time said sole is capable of carrying out a stimulating action on the circulation of the blood.

[0023] Furthermore and advantageously, being pegs 7 disposed under the inner sole 5, a direct contact between the user's foot and the pegs is prevented and, as a result, all drawbacks of the known art, namely the heavy perspiration of the user's foot and the quick wear of the pegs, are eliminated.

[0024] Obviously it is understood that modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the inventive concept characterizing it.

Claims

1. A shoe sole comprising a body (2) made of plastic material on the upper surface of which a recessed area (3) is formed, which area (3) is surrounded by a circumferent­ial rim (4) for the support of an inner sole (5), character­ized in that over at least one portion of said recessed area (3) a number of supporting pegs (7) are distributed which project towards said inner sole (5) and terminate close to the latter.

2. A shoe sole according to claim 1, characterized in that said supporting pegs (7) have an inclined orientation.

3. A shoe sole according to claim 1, characterized in that said supporting pegs (7) are inclined along lines parallel to the longitudinal extension of sole (1).

4. A shoe sole according to claim 2, characterized in that each supporting peg (7) is oriented in the opposite way with respect to the direction of inclination of the pegs (7) contiguous thereto, transversely to the sole (1).

5. A shoe sole according to claim 1, characterized in that said supporting pegs (7) are distributed according to rows (8) extending transversely to the sole (1) and slightly spaced apart from each other.

6. A shoe sole according to claim 1, characterized in that said supporting pegs (7) are cylindrical in section and terminate in respective rounded free ends (7a).

Drawing