US20070056188A1

US20070056188A1 - Shoe pad structure having an air chamber

Info

Publication number: US20070056188A1
Application number: US11/224,008
Authority: US
Inventors: Shuang-Chu Tsai
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-09-13
Filing date: 2005-09-13
Publication date: 2007-03-15

Abstract

A shoe pad structure having an air chamber, particularly a shoe pad structure having an air chamber with cushion effects and applicable to the heel or ball on a shoe sole, comprising a flexible unit installed in an air chamber composed of two flexible plastic films with depressed centers thereof, characterized in that: the flexible unit is installed in the center depression of the air chamber, forming a ring-shaped buffer air chamber at the rim of the flexible unit in the air chamber, thereby enabling better cushion effects to prevent possible injury from exercise.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shoe pad structure having an air chamber, particularly a shoe pad structure having an air chamber with cushion effects and applicable to the heel or ball on a shoe sole.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Due to better living standards in recent years, people have placed an increasing emphasis on their physical health. As a result, it has become a fad for people to engage in sports or exercise, which has resulted in increasing cases of injury during exercise or sporting activities. Most injuries sustained during exercise or sport are caused by either insufficient warm-up or poorly designed sports shoes. Insufficient warm-up can be corrected by the person doing the exercise, but poor design of sports shoes will have to be addressed by manufacturers. To date, the shoe industry has spent an extended period of time researching a design to prevent injury during sports activities or exercise. Most designs have divided a sports shoe pad into a pad unit and an air pad, the air pad serving to withstand and buffer the gravity of the user. In most cases, the air pad is installed in the heel of a shoe where most part of a body weight falls during exercise. Conventional air pad structures involve primarily a support block 12 installed in an air chamber 11 composed of two plastic films 10. The support block 12 is a serial combination of a specified number of hard and hollow plastic blocks 13, the support block 12 filling the space in the air chamber 11.
However, while conventional air pad structures in athletic shoes do have a buffer effect and are widely adopted in the industry for use by the general consumers. In actual application, it does have the following shortcomings:
1. In the conventional shoe's air pad structure, the support block 12 fills the space in the air chamber 11, so there is but a slight buffer distance between the flexible plastic films 10 on upper and lower sides and the support block 12. As a result, when the user jumps up and down on a surface, it produces a large compression force from the user's heels. So, the flexible plastic films 10 on the upper and lower sides of the air chamber 11 are compressed by that downward force to directly press against the support block 12 by the heels, resulting in the direct impact of the heels on the support block 12. Also, because the support block 12 is composed of several hard and hollow plastic blocks 13 in serial combination, injury can easily be sustained during sports activities.
2. Furthermore, due to the fact that there is just a slight buffer distance between the support block 12 and the flexible plastic films 10 on upper and lower sides, after a certain period of use of the air pad, the flexible plastic films 10 on upper and lower sides of the support block 12 will experience flexible fatigue caused by compression force from the heels. As a result, the flexible plastic films 10 on upper and lower sides of the air chamber 11 are pressed tightly against the support block 12, losing their buffer effect. So the heels of the user will directly come into impact the support block 12 during sports activities and suffer injury.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to provide a type of shoe pad structure having an air chamber with a buffer effect and applicable to the heel or ball on a shoe sole, comprising of a flexible unit installed in an air chamber composed of two flexible plastic films having slightly depressed centers, particularly the flexible unit is installed in the center depression of the air chamber, forming a ring-shaped buffer air chamber at the rim of the flexible unit in the air chamber, thereby providing better buffer effect, to prevent injury during sports and exercise activities.
For full understanding of the structure, characteristics and applicability of the present invention, please refer to the following description of the preferred embodiment and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective exterior view of a prior art.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a section view of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective exterior view of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE NUMERALS



10	plastic film	11	air chamber
12	support block	13	plastic film
20	plastic film	21	air chamber
22	flexible unit	23	plastic block
24	buffer air chamber

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Please refer to FIGS. 2 to 4. The present invention is a shoe pad structure having an air chamber, particularly a shoe pad structure having an air chamber providing buffer function, applicable to the heel or ball of a shoe sole, comprising an air chamber 21 consisting of two flexible plastic films 20 with slightly depressed center parts, containing a flexible unit 22. The flexible unit 22 is a flexible plastic block 23, or a serial combination of more than one flexible plastic block 23. The flexible unit 22 is installed in the center depression of the air chamber 21, forming a ring-shaped buffer air chamber 24 at the rim of the flexible unit 22 in the air chamber 21.
Because of the special structural design of the present invention as described above, the present invention has the following characteristics in application:

- 1. Because of the present invention of shoe pad structure, the flexible unit 22 is installed at a central depression of the air chamber 21, forming a ring-shaped buffer air chamber 24 at the rim of the flexible unit 22 of the air chamber 21, the flexible unit 22 being installed at the center of the ring-shaped buffer air chamber 24, having a clearance on an upper and lower part thereof, so when a user jumps down on a hard surface, the force pressing onto the user's heel can be absorbed by the buffer air chamber 24, thereby avoiding direct impact of the user's heel onto the flexible unit 22, and reducing the possibility of exercise injury.
- 2. Furthermore, due to the shoe pad structure in the present invention, the flexible unit 22 is installed in the center depression of the air chamber 21, forming a ring-shaped buffer air chamber 24 at the rim of the flexible unit 22 in the air chamber 21, so even after an extended period of use of the shoe pad unit, the buffer air chamber 23 is capable of maintaining an appropriate buffer distance, though the flexible plastic film 10 wrapping the upper and lower sides of the flexible unit 22 may have flexible fatigue caused by long-time compression from the downward force of the heel, thereby maintaining excellent flexible effects.

It is to be understood that the preferred embodiment and design drawings described above are for reference purposes, and shall not be a basis to restrict the scope of claim of the present invention, and that all equivalent modifications or variations made without departing from the above description shall be included in the following claim.

Claims

1. A shoe pad structure having an air chamber, comprising of a flexible unit installed inside an air chamber composed by two flexible plastic films, characterized in that;

the flexible plastic film has a depression in the center thereof, the flexible unit being installed in the depression in the center, forming a ring-shaped buffer air chamber at the rim of the flexible unit in the air chamber;

thereby contributing a superior buffer effect to prevent possible injury during exercise.

2. The shoe pad structure of claim 1, wherein the flexible unit is one of two options, a flexible plastic block and a flexible air bag.

3. The shoe pad structure of claim 1, wherein the flexible unit is one of two options, a flexible plastic block having a through hole and a flexible air bag having a through hole.

4. The shoe pad structure of claim 1, wherein the flexible unit is one of two options, a serial combination of a plurality of flexible plastic blocks, and a serial combination of a plurality of flexible plastic air bags.

5. The shoe pad structure of claim 1, wherein the flexible unit is one of two options, a serial combination of a plurality of flexible plastic blocks having through holes, and a serial combination of a plurality of flexible plastic air bags having through holes.

6. The shoe pad structure of claim 1, wherein the flexible unit is one of two options, a web-shaped and flexible plastic block and a web-shaped and flexible air bag.