Cushioned Foot Sole

The invention relates to foot wear and, in particular, to shoes, sandles and the like having cushioned soles for foot wear containing pockets for flowable material such as air, felt or cork.

Air cushioned soles for the underside of shoes with valves for adjusting pressure are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,620,574 and more recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,712. The present cushioned sole contains hollowed segment valves of a unique character in this art. Each segment is designed to afford obliquely oriented trailing edges to give maximum grip on soft ground such as beaches, gravel and the like. It has been found that when the segments are filled with sand as well as air a high degree of comfort is afforded the wearer. The segments bottom surfaces are of sufficient area to permit a second sole to be attached as a lamination, if desired, for ordinary street wear.

One object of the invention is to provide a foot sole of unique construction which affords air cushioned comfort to the wearer as well as maximum grippage to soft surfaces in contact therewith.

Other objects and advantages of the invention may be appreciated on reading the following description of several embodiments thereof which are taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the cushioned foot wear with the individual segments shown deflected in dotted line;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the segments and air pockets therein;

FIG. 3 shows a modification in section of the invention showing the pockets sand filled, and a second bottom sole;

FIG. 4 is a section on line 4--4 of FIG. 2 with the foam insert omitted; and

FIG. 5 is an end view of the foot wear shown in FIG. 3 showing the air escape port and adjustable valve structure for the bottom sole.

Referring to the drawings foot sole 6 comprises top layer foam insert 8 from which depends a plurality of segments 10. Each segment is trapezoidal in shape on a longitudinal cross section having oblique leading and trailing edges 12. When pressure is applied by the foot in the course of walking on lose gravel or sand, for example, the segments are caused to deflect slightly as shown by their dotted line positions of the edges in FIG. 1.

The segments 10 are preferably fabricated of a high density foam having air pockets 14 communicating with a hollow center 15 as shown in FIG. 2. If desired, the hollow center may be sand filled as shown in FIG. 3.

For ordinary street walking a second sole 16 may be attached as by dual backed adhesive tape 17 to the bottom surfaces 18 of the segments. The sole 16 is actually an air chamber having an end slide valve 20 to control the rate of air escape through air port 22. Air enters the sole 16 through side holes 24. In the process of deflating the sole 16 as the weight of the wearer is exerted on it while walking, air is expressed out of its chamber and through the port 22 at a velocity depending on the position of the slide valve 20 relative to the port 22. When the chamber inflates as the weight is removed therefrom air is drawn in through the holes 24 to provide the desired air cushion in support of wearer in taking his next step.

Various other modifications of the invention may be effected by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope and principle thereof as defined in the appended claims.