JP3244158U7 - Shoe heel holder - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a shoe heel shape retainer that prevents the heel from losing its shape.

Traditionally, a counter (moon-shaped core) has been attached to the inside of the heel of a shoe to maintain the shape of the heel. When putting on shoes, the user generally uses his/her hand or a shoehorn to avoid damaging the heel. Also, this counter (moon-shaped core) is usually made to be at a height that reaches the bottom of the heel of the shoe to prevent the user from accidentally stepping on the upper edge of the counter with the heel of the foot. However, users are often lazy and step on the heel of the shoe without using their hand or a shoehorn to force their foot into the inside of the shoe. This causes the counter (moon-shaped core) to deform, making it difficult to walk and unsightly. Once the counter (moon-shaped core) of the heel of the shoe loses its shape and becomes deformed, it cannot be restored to its original state, so it is necessary to ask a professional repair shop to replace the counter (moon-shaped core).

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a shoe that has a curved portion made of a hard material on the upper edge of the counter (moon-shaped core), allowing the user to put on the shoe smoothly without the sole of the heel stepping on the upper edge of the counter (moon-shaped core). Patent Document 2 proposes attaching a shoehorn made of a hard material without any bends to the inside of the heel of the shoe with an adhesive or the like, so that the heel of the shoe and the shoehorn itself do not get crushed. Patent Document 3 further proposes a shoe that has a hard protrusion extending diagonally upward and backward on the upper edge of the heel of the shoe so that the shoe can be put on without using hands, and the protrusion can reliably guide the heel of the user's foot into the inside of the shoe as it is lowered from above.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-59608 JP 2004-344396 A JP 2022-139151 A

However, these methods involve reinforcing the heel of the shoe with a hard material, making the heel harder than necessary, which can cause problems such as hurting the heel of the user and impairing the fit. The inventors conducted extensive research to solve these problems, and came up with this invention by attempting to solve these problems by utilizing the amazing elastic recovery properties of superelastic alloys.

The invention of claim 1 is a shoe heel retainer, comprising a heel retaining member arranged on the upper part of the heel of the shoe, two foot members arranged on the lower part of the upper material of the shoe, and a connecting member made of a superelastic alloy that connects the heel retaining member and the foot members, the heel retaining member has two connecting member insertion holes for inserting the connecting members, and each of the foot members has one connecting member insertion hole for inserting a connecting member, the heel retaining member has a small thickness to accommodate the connecting member insertion holes, and the central part is as thin as possible and formed into an inwardly concave shape, the foot members are formed thin so as not to cause discomfort to the user's foot, and are formed into an approximately triangular shape so as to withstand the force from the connecting member, and the foot members have an even thinner foot member sewing part that is formed particularly thin for sewing to the upper material with a sewing machine .

The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the heel support member and the foot member are made of TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane).

The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that the connecting member is a superelastic alloy made of Nitinol.

As described above, the present invention is composed of a heel support member arranged on the upper part of the heel of the shoe, two foot members arranged on the lower part of the upper material of the shoe, and a connecting member made of a superelastic alloy that connects the heel support member and the foot members. Due to the extraordinary elastic recovery of the superelastic alloy, when a user puts on a shoe, the heel of the shoe is stepped on and the heel of the shoe is crushed, the connecting member bends greatly in response and the restoring force increases. When the user inserts the heel of the foot into the shoe, the applied pressure is released, and the extraordinary elastic recovery of the superelastic alloy allows the heel of the shoe to instantly restore to its original shape.
Furthermore, since an upward force is constantly acting on the heel of the shoe, the user can easily insert the foot into the shoe.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a shoe heel shape retainer 1 according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention when mounted on a shoe. 1A and 1B show an embodiment of a heel-shape support member 10, in which FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a leg member 20, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A'. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining how the shoe heel shape retaining device 1 is attached to the heel portion 40 of the shoe. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the restoring action of the shoe heel shape retaining device 1, in which (a) shows a state in which no pressure is applied to the upper part of the heel portion 40 of the shoe, (b) shows a state in which the heel of the user's foot abuts against the heel portion 40 of the shoe and is slightly pressed down when the user puts on the shoe, (c) shows a state in which the user presses down on the heel portion 40 of the shoe with the heel of the user to insert the heel of the user into the shoe, causing the heel portion of the shoe to be crushed, and (d) shows a state in which the user has inserted the heel of the user into the shoe and the heel portion 40 of the shoe is released from the pressure of the heel of the user's foot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the shoe heel shape retainer 1 of the present invention. The shoe heel shape retainer 1 is composed of a heel shape member 10 attached to the upper center of the shoe heel, a foot member 20 attached to the lower part of the upper material of the shoe heel, and a connecting member 30 connecting the heel shape member 10 and the foot member 20. The foot member 20 is composed of two foot members 20, a left foot member 20L and a right foot member 20R. Therefore, the connecting member 30 is also composed of two connecting members 30, a left connecting member 30L connecting the heel shape member 10 and the left foot member 20L, and a right connecting member 30R connecting the heel shape member 10 and the right foot member 20R.

The heel support member 10 has two holes: a left connecting member insertion hole 11L for inserting the left connecting member 30L, and a right connecting member insertion hole 11R for inserting the right connecting member 30R. The left foot member 20L has a left connecting member insertion hole 21L for inserting the left connecting member 30L, and the right foot member 20R has a right connecting member insertion hole 21R for inserting the right connecting member 30R.

Materials for the heel-retaining member 10 include TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer), silicone, elastomer, neoprene, etc., but TPU is preferred in terms of abrasion resistance, oil resistance, chemical resistance, elastic recovery, and bending resistance. From the same perspective, TPU is also preferred as a material for the foot member 20.

The connecting member 30 is made of a superelastic alloy. A superelastic alloy is an alloy that returns to its original shape when it is deformed by a large strain and the deforming force is removed. Examples of superelastic alloys include Nitinol, an alloy of nickel and titanium, cobalt chromium alloy, copper aluminum nickel alloy (Cu-Al-Ni), and silver cadmium alloy, with Nitinol being preferred. Nitinol is an alloy of nickel and titanium, and has superelasticity and shape memory properties. It maintains a fixed shape at low temperatures and returns to its original shape when heated. This property makes it a memory alloy that is used in medical devices (stents, vascular filters, etc.), eyeglass frames, dental wires, robots, the aerospace industry, and the like.
This invention utilizes the superelasticity of this superelastic alloy to maintain the shape of the heel of the shoe.

This invention can be implemented in various forms. In the following description, "shoe" refers to a single shoe, "upper" refers to the upper part of the shoe excluding the sole, "upper material" refers to the material used for the upper of the shoe, and "lining material" refers to the material used for the inside of the shoe. Upper materials are mainly leather, synthetic leather, mesh, synthetic fabric, etc. Lining materials are mainly rubber, EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer), PU (polyurethane), rubber outsole, etc.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention when implemented in a shoe. The heel retaining member 10 is attached to the highest part in the center of the heel part 40 of the shoe. The left foot member 20L is attached to the lowest part on the left side of the upper material of the shoe. The left connecting member 30L is then inserted into the left connecting member insertion hole 11L of the heel retaining member 10 and the left connecting member insertion hole 21L of the left foot member 20L to connect them. At this time, in order to maintain the shape of the heel part 40 of the shoe, it is preferable that the left connecting member 30L has a slightly bent length so that it can exert an upward restoring force due to its superelastic force.

Similarly, the right foot member 20R is attached to the bottom of the right side of the upper material of the shoe. The right connecting member 30R is then inserted into the right connecting member insertion hole 11R of the heel support member 10 and the right connecting member insertion hole 21R of the right foot member 20R to connect them. At this time, in order to maintain the shape of the heel part 40 of the shoe, it is preferable that the right connecting member 30R is slightly bent in length so that it can exert the upward restoring force of its superelastic force.

Figure 3(a) is a front view of one embodiment of the heel retaining member 10, and Figure 3(b) is a perspective view. The heel retaining member 10 is attached to the highest central part of the heel part 40 of the shoe. Its function is to constantly transmit upward force to the heel part of the shoe by the restoring force of the superelastic alloy of the connecting member 30, and to maintain the shape of the heel part 40 of the shoe. The heel retaining member 10 has two connecting member insertion holes 11, the left connecting member insertion hole 11L and the right connecting member insertion hole 11R, and is formed to be thin so as not to cause discomfort to the heel of the user's foot. It is structured so that it will not break even if the user's entire weight is applied to the heel retaining member 10 through the heel of the user's foot when the user puts on the shoe. Therefore, in this embodiment, the heel-retaining member 10 is made of TPU as shown in Figure 3, and both ends are slightly thicker to accommodate the connecting member insertion holes 11, while the center is as thin as possible and has an inwardly concave shape. However, the shape shown in Figure 3 is not essential, and any shape that can fulfill the function of the heel-retaining member 10 is within the scope of this invention.

Figure 4(a) is a front view of one embodiment of the foot member 20, and Figure 4(b) is a cross-sectional view of the foot member 20 taken along the line A-A'. Compared to the shape of the foot member 20 shown in Figure 2, the shape of the foot member 20 in Figure 4 is closer to a triangle when viewed from the front. This is because it has more strength to withstand the force from the connecting member 30 than the inverted T-shape when viewed from the front as shown in Figure 2. Also, it is formed thin as shown in Figure (b) so as not to cause discomfort to the user's foot, and the foot member sewing portion 22 is formed particularly thin because the foot member 20 is sewn to the upper material by a sewing machine.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the state in which the shoe heel shape retaining device 1 is attached to the heel part 40 of the shoe. Fig. 5 shows the state in which all the soles of the shoe have been removed.
The heel support member 10 is entirely wrapped in fabric backed with a 2 mm thick cushioning material so as not to cause discomfort to the heel of the user's foot, and is then fixed with a glue between the upper back 42 of the heel part of the shoe and the backing material (not shown) at the highest part 41 in the center of the heel part of the shoe.

The foot member 20 is fixed by sewing the foot member sewing portion 22 and the upper member at the bottom 43 of the heel portion of the upper member with sewing thread. The connecting member 30 is covered with nonwoven fabric (not shown) so that the connecting member 30 does not directly contact the user's foot. One end of the left connecting member 30L is inserted into the left connecting member insertion hole 11L of the heel retaining member 10, and the other end is inserted into the left connecting member insertion hole 21L of the left foot member 20L. One end of the right connecting member 30R is inserted into the right connecting member insertion hole 11R of the heel retaining member 10, and the other end is inserted into the right connecting member insertion hole 21R of the right foot member 20R. At this time, it is preferable that the connecting member 30 is slightly bent in length as shown in the figure in order to generate an upward force on the heel portion 40 of the shoe.
It should be noted that the method of mounting the shoe heel shape retainer 1 of the present invention shown in this embodiment is not restrictive, and another mounting method may be adopted in accordance with the gist of the present invention.

Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the function of the shoe heel shape retainer 1. Figure 6 (a) shows the state where no pressure is applied to the upper part of the heel part 40 of the shoe. As mentioned above, the connecting member 30 made of a superelastic alloy is attached in a slightly bent state, so that due to its restoring force, an upward force is always applied to the heel shape retainer 10 attached to the central top part 41 of the heel part 40 of the shoe, and the heel part 40 of the shoe is always kept in an upright shape. Figure 6 (b) shows the state where the heel of the user's foot abuts against the heel part 40 of the shoe and steps down slightly when the user puts on the shoe. At this time, the connecting member 30 bends more than in Figure 5 (a) in response to the pressure of the heel of the user's foot. FIG. 6(c) shows the state where the user presses the heel portion 40 of the shoe further with the heel of the user's foot to insert the heel of the foot into the inside of the shoe, so that the heel portion 40 of the shoe is crushed and the connecting member 30 is greatly bent. At this time, the restoring force of the connecting member 30 increases further in response to the bending, and the force pushing the upper part of the heel portion 40 of the shoe upward increases further, so that the user can easily slide the heel of the foot into the inside of the shoe. FIG. 6(d) shows the state where the pressure on the heel portion 40 of the shoe is released when the heel portion of the user's foot enters the shoe, and at the same time, the heel portion 40 of the shoe is restored to its original shape due to the amazing elastic recovery effect of the connecting member 30.

The embodiment of this invention is not limited to the shape shown in this example, and other shapes may be adopted as long as they do not go against the purpose of this invention, which is to maintain the shape of the heel of the shoe by utilizing the amazing elastic recovery properties of the superelastic alloy.

1 Shoe heel shape retainer 10 Heel shape retainer
11 Connecting member insertion hole 11L Left connecting member insertion hole 11R Right connecting member insertion hole 20 Foot member 20L Left foot member 20R Right foot member 21 Connecting member insertion hole 21L Left connecting member insertion hole 21R Right connecting member insertion hole 22 Foot member sewing portion 30 Connecting member 30L Left connecting member 30R Right connecting member 40 Shoe heel portion 41 Highest portion of shoe heel portion 42 Shoe heel portion upper back portion 43 Lowermost portion of upper heel portion

Claims (3)

A shoe heel shape retainer,
A heel retaining member disposed on an upper portion of the heel of the shoe;
Two foot members to be disposed under the upper of the shoe;
a connecting member made of a superelastic alloy that connects the heel-supporting member and the foot member ,
The heel support member has two connecting member insertion holes for inserting the connecting members,
Each of the leg members has a connecting member insertion hole into which the connecting member is inserted,
The heel support member is slightly thick to accommodate the insertion hole of the connecting member, and the central portion is as thin as possible and is formed in an inwardly concave shape.
The foot member is formed thin so as not to cause discomfort to the user's foot, and is formed in a substantially triangular shape so as to be able to withstand the force from the connecting member,
The shoe heel shape retainer is characterized in that the foot member has a particularly thin foot member sewing portion for sewing to the upper material by a sewing machine . 2. The shoe heel retainer according to claim 1 , wherein the heel retainer and the foot member are made of TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). 4. The shoe heel shape retainer according to claim 1 or 3 , wherein the connecting member is made of a superelastic alloy made of Nitinol.