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The invention relates to a footwear with a ventilated sole.
For a long time, people have sought to ventilate the inside of a footwear by means of a ventilation network formed in the sole so as to distribute outside air under the foot, supplied through appropriate vents in the sole.
The TH.GRIMMEISEN company has been a pioneer in this field (French patent 1 295 561 filed on 28 Apr. 1961).
Due to its nature, the design of a ventilation network gives rise to a certain number of problems:
Many solutions have been proposed, without succeeding to simultaneously solve these various problems (FR 82 02 541, FR 86 04 692, FR 88 00 850, EP 1 093 729, WO 2004/037031, FR 91 10 484, EP 1 369 048).
The objective of the present invention is to provide an overall solution to the problems of ventilation.
This is achieved according to the invention with a footwear in which the ventilation network is distributed between the outer sole of the footwear and an insole and supplied with air through lateral vents in the outer sole, characterised in that the ventilation network in the outer sole includes a longitudinal channel formed from the area of the outer sole, stretching from the heel up to close to the point of the sole, so as to preserve, on either side of the channel and in front of the channel, an area of weight-bearing sole that represents in total at least 50% of the area of the sole, this channel communicating with the outside through lateral vents in the sole, and in that in the insole, the ventilation network includes transverse channels formed in the underside of the insole so as to communicate directly with the longitudinal channel of the outer sole and to conduct the air from this channel toward the periphery of the insole.
In preferred embodiments, the footwear also has one or more of the following characteristics:
An exemplary embodiment of a footwear according to the invention will now be described with reference to the attached figures, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a footwear for the right foot, seen from the right side;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the footwear of FIG. 1;
FIGS. 3 and 4 are views in perspective of two removable non-slip accessories for attachment to the sole;
FIG. 5 is a view of the sole of the footwear of FIG. 1 equipped with the non-slip accessories;
FIG. 6 is a view from above in perspective of the outer sole seen from the right side of the footwear;
FIG. 7 is a view in profile of the insole and of the outer sole, and
FIG. 8 is a view from above in perspective from the left side of the footwear.
FIG. 1 shows a footwear 1 of which the outer sole 2 and the upper 3 can be seen. The outer sole is manufactured with a chamber 4 in the heel and a longitudinal channel that extends from the chamber to the forepart.
In the illustrated case, the chamber (FIGS. 2 and 6) forms four cavities 4 distributed around a central part 5 which is not hollowed in order to support the heel, and the single channel 6 extends longitudinally from the chamber up to vicinity of the end of the sole, firstly widening progressively in a cambered part of the sole and then narrowing progressively until it ends in a rounded manner in the front part of the sole.
Lateral holes 7, 8 are formed in the heel so that they open into the chamber 4, and in the side of the outer sole so that they open into the longitudinal channel 6.
On its underside, the removable insole 9 has channels 10 that traverse the sole crosswise until they end in notches at the longitudinal sides of the sole.
These channels, which are created by moulding with the sole and open toward the outer sole add to the flexibility of the sole and provide a passage for the air from the chamber and from the longitudinal channel of the outer sole toward the sides of the sole. The vents 7, 8 are able to accommodate, in a captive manner in this example, hollow studs 11, 12 that are used for the attachment of two non-slip parts 13, 14 to be attached respectively under the outer sole, in the region of the forepart and in the region of the heel.
These parts are U-shaped and have a wing fitted with studs and an opposite wing fitted with a small projection 15, 16 for attachment to the top of the outer sole, possibly in suitable notches, as can be seen in FIG. 8.
The insole, of semi-rigid material, preferably includes no means of ventilation other than the transverse channels, and in particular does not include holes that pass through the thickness of the sole.
This sole is made from semi-rigid foam for example, covered with a comfort layer.
In order to prevent the entry of water into the footwear, a material which is permeable to air but impermeable to water is used as a membrane in the passages 7, 8 or as a coating for the inner contour of the chamber and of the channel in the outer sole.
This material, which is known in its own right, and can be Gor-Tex™ for example, has not been shown in the figures.
The invention is not limited to the embodiment that has just been described.