JP7716871B2 - footwear - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to footwear.

The patent documents describe ideas for footwear such as geta and sandals. The footwear in the patent documents includes a base on which the foot rests, and front and rear teeth that protrude downward from the underside of the base. Furthermore, a gap-closing member is provided in the gap between the front and rear teeth to prevent the gap between the front and rear teeth from getting caught on the corners of the stairs when going up and down. The footwear also includes a tapered surface that slopes from the front teeth toward the toe, preventing the front surfaces of the front teeth from getting caught on the corners of the stairs and allowing for foot movement similar to that of shoes.

Utility Model Registration No. 3076557

For most people, walking and running are achieved by repeating the following steps in sequence: heel strike, where the heel touches the ground, foot horizontal, where the entire sole of the foot touches the ground, heel off, where the heel leaves the ground, and toe off, where the toes leave the ground. Looking at the ground reaction force in the front-to-back direction, at heel strike, a backward force (opposite the direction of travel) acts on the human body, hindering smooth walking and running.

This phenomenon occurs not only when walking or running in sneakers or other shoes, but also when walking or running in the footwear described in the above-mentioned patent document. In other words, the footwear described in the above-mentioned patent document has rear teeth where the heel would be located, so when the heel strikes the ground, a rearward force acts via the rear teeth.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide footwear that allows for smooth walking and running.

To achieve the above objective, the footwear of the present invention is footwear having a sole that partially contacts the ground, the sole having a flat contact surface that partially contacts the ground, a midfoot portion where the user's arch is positioned, and a rearfoot portion where the user's heel is positioned, the midfoot portion being thicker than the rearfoot portion.

The sole also includes a forefoot portion where the user's foot rests, and the forefoot portion is formed so that its thickness gradually decreases from the midfoot side to the tip.

Furthermore, the ground contact surface of the midfoot extends from the rearfoot to the center of the user's arch.

According to the present invention, the midfoot is thicker than the rearfoot, and the ground contact surface is flat, allowing the user to walk or run without the heel touching the ground, and no ground reaction force acts in the opposite direction to the direction of travel. This allows for smooth walking and running.

(a) is a perspective view of the front side of a footwear according to a first embodiment of the present invention; (b) is a perspective view of the back side of the footwear; A side view of the bottom of the footwear. 1 is a side view of a sneaker according to a second embodiment of the present invention; (a) A side view of a bottom portion according to a first modified example of the present invention. (b) A side view of a bottom portion according to a third modified example of the present invention.

Footwear according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First embodiment]

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the footwear 1 according to the first embodiment is a geta-like footwear 1 comprising a wooden base 10, a known thong 6 attached to the base 10, and a rubber sole 20 attached to the base 10.

The base 10 is made of wood and extends in the length of the user's foot. It is comprised of an integrally formed heel placement section 11 where the heel is placed, an arch placement section 12 where the arch of the foot is placed, and a tread placement section 13 where the foot is placed. The heel placement section 11 is formed as a horizontally extending rectangular plate, and has two mounting holes 11c that function as mounting sections for attaching the rear ends of the thongs 6. The mounting holes 11c extend from the upper surface 11a, where the heel is placed, to the lower surface 11b, and the rear ends of the thongs 6 that pass through the mounting holes 11c are connected to each other. The arch placement section 12 is formed in front of the heel placement section 11. The arch placement section 12 is formed as a horizontally extending thick plate, and the upper surface 12a, where the arch is placed, is formed flush with the upper surface 11a of the heel placement section 11. The lower surface 12b of the arch placement portion 12 is flat and protrudes downwardly relative to the lower surface 11b of the heel placement portion 11. The tread placement portion 13 is formed in front of the arch placement portion 12. The tread placement portion 13 is formed in a plate shape with a horizontally extending upper surface 13a and a lower surface 13b that slopes toward its tip. The upper surface 13a of the tread placement portion 13 is formed on the same plane as the upper surface 11a of the heel placement portion 11 and the upper surface 12a of the arch placement portion 12. The lower surface 13b of the tread placement portion 13 is formed to slope upward from the tip of the lower surface 12b of the arch placement portion 12.

In this embodiment, the heel placement portion 11 is 10 mm thick. The arch placement portion 12 is 25 mm thick. The tread placement portion 13 is 25 mm thick at its rear end and 10 mm thick at its front end. In this way, the arch placement portion 12 is thicker than the heel placement portion 11 and is formed to protrude downward. The tread placement portion 13 is also formed so that its thickness gradually decreases from the rear end (the tip of the arch placement portion 12) to the tip (the toe). A rubber sole 20 with a thickness of approximately 5 mm is attached to the undersides 12b, 13b of both the arch placement portion 12 and the tread placement portion 13. Note that while the dimensions of each portion in this embodiment are as described above, the dimensions of each portion in the present invention are not limited to these dimensions.

In the footwear 1 of this embodiment, the base 10 and rubber sole 20 constitute the bottom 2 of the footwear 1. The heel placement section 11 functions as the rear foot section 3 where the heel of the foot is placed. The arch placement section 12 and the rubber sole 20a on the arch placement section underside 12b function as the midfoot section 4 where the arch of the foot is placed. The tread section 13 and the rubber sole 20b on the tread section underside 13b function as the forefoot section 5 where the foot's foot is placed. The underside of the midfoot section 4 forms a flat contact surface that partially contacts the ground when the user is standing upright. With this footwear 1, the midfoot section 4 is thicker than the rear foot section 3, so the heel does not touch the ground during walking or running, and no ground reaction force acts in the direction opposite to the direction of travel. This allows for smooth walking and running. Additionally, when standing upright, the user's center of gravity is placed on the midfoot 4, which reduces center of gravity movement when starting to walk or run, allowing the user to start walking or running quickly.

[Second embodiment]

As shown in FIG. 3, the footwear 100 according to the second embodiment is a sneaker and includes an upper 7 having a known configuration and a sole 102. The sole 102 includes a midsole 110 and an outsole 120.

The midsole 110, like the base 10 of the first embodiment, is integrally formed with a heel placement section 111 where the heel is placed, an arch placement section 112 where the arch is not placed, and a tread placement section 113 where the foot is placed. The arch placement section 112 is thicker than the heel placement section 111 and is formed to protrude downward. The tread placement section 113 is formed so that its thickness gradually decreases from its rear end to its tip. Note that while the underside of the tread placement section 13 of the first embodiment is a flat, inclined surface, the underside of the tread placement section 113 of the second embodiment is a curved, inclined surface. The outsole 120, like the rubber sole 20 of the first embodiment, is adhered to the undersides of both the arch placement section 112 and the tread placement section 113.

In the footwear 100 of this embodiment, which is configured in this manner, the sole 102 constitutes the bottom. The heel placement section 111 functions as the rear foot section 103, where the heel of the foot is placed. The arch placement section 112 and the outsole 120a below the arch placement section function as the midfoot section 104, where the arch of the foot is placed. The footbed placement section 113 and the outsole 120b below the footbed placement section function as the forefoot section 105, where the footbed is placed. The underside of the midfoot section 104 forms a contact surface that partially contacts the ground when the user is standing upright. With this footwear 100, the midfoot section 104 is formed thicker than the rear foot section 103, so the heel does not touch the ground during walking or running, and no ground reaction force acts in the direction opposite to the direction of travel. This allows for smooth walking and running. Furthermore, when standing upright, the user's center of gravity is placed on the midfoot 104, so there is less movement of the center of gravity when starting to walk or run, allowing the user to start walking or running quickly.

The footwear of the present invention is not limited to the footwear of the first embodiment or the sneakers of the second embodiment, and may take the form of, for example, the following modified examples.

[Modification 1]
In order to enhance the effects of the footwear of the first and second embodiments, the midfoot portion 4, 104 of the footwear 1, 100 is preferably formed from the rear foot portion 3 to the center of the arch, as shown in Figure 4(a). Specifically, the midfoot portion 4 is preferably formed so as to be located below the tibia.

[Modification 2]
The arch placement portion 12, 112 of the first and second embodiments may include multiple layers made of different materials. For example, it may include a gas layer containing compressed gas and a polyurethane layer that seals in the compressed gas. The foot placement portion 13, 113 may also include multiple layers made of different materials. Furthermore, the layers of the arch placement portion 12, 112 and the layers of the foot placement portion 13, 113 may be made of different materials.

[Modification 3]
In the first and second embodiments described above, the arch placement portion 12, 112 is made thicker than the heel placement portion 11, 111, and as a result, the midfoot portion 4, 104 is made thicker than the rearfoot portion 3, 103. However, as shown in FIG. 4(b), for example, the arch placement portion 212 and the tread placement portion 213 may be made the same thickness as the heel placement portion 211 and the rubber sole 220 (outsole) may be made thicker, i.e., the rubber sole 220a attached to the underside of the arch placement portion 212 may be made thicker, so that the midfoot portion 204 is made thicker than the rearfoot portion 203.

1,100 Footwear 2, Bottom 102 Sole (bottom)
3, 103 Rearfoot 4, 104 Midfoot 5, 105 Forefoot

Claims (2)

A geta having a wooden base with a thong attached ,
a bottom portion including the base and partially in contact with the ground;
the bottom portion is formed by successively forming a forefoot portion on which a user's foot is placed, a midfoot portion on which the user's arch is placed, and a rearfoot portion on which the user's heel is placed in this order;
The rear foot part is formed in a horizontally extending rectangular plate shape, and the thong is fixed to the underside thereof,
The midfoot portion extends horizontally and is formed in a thick plate shape that is thicker than the rearfoot portion,
The forefoot portion is formed so that the thickness gradually decreases from the midfoot portion to the tip,
the upper surfaces of the forefoot portion, the midfoot portion, and the rearfoot portion are arranged on the same plane;
The lower surface of the rear foot portion is formed horizontally,
The lower surface of the midfoot portion is formed horizontally and elongated, and is located lower than the thong on the lower surface side of the rearfoot portion,
The lower surface of the forefoot portion is formed so as to be inclined from the lower surface of the midfoot portion to the tip, and extends longer in the front-to-back direction than the lower surface of the midfoot portion . The geta according to claim 1, wherein the lower surface of the midfoot portion extends from the rearfoot portion to the center of the user's arch.