JP7561446B2 - Slip-on shoes - Google Patents

Description

Patent Act Article 30, Paragraph 2 applies. Exhibition date: January 18, 2023 Exhibition name: 174th 2023 Summer Japan Grand Shoe Collection Venue: Kobe International Exhibition Hall No. 2 (6-11-1 Minatojima Nakamachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe)

This invention relates to slip-on shoes that can be worn hands-free.

People with physical disabilities who have difficulty standing up and sitting down or using fine motor skills have difficulty bending over and using their hands to put on shoes, and they also have difficulty putting on shoes using normal movements when holding a small child, so there is a demand for shoes that can be put on while standing.

To meet such demands, for example, the following Patent Document 1 proposes a slip-on shoe in which a spring member made of piano wire or spring steel wire bent so that two U-shapes are connected at an angle at the front is built into the heel part of the upper connected to the sole, and when the foot is inserted through the opening of the upper and the heel part is stepped on and moved forward toward the toe part, the heel part returns to its original position due to the elasticity of the spring member, and the shoe is put on.

The following Patent Document 2 describes a slip-on shoe in which a spring member built into the heel portion of the upper is made of an elastically deformable wire with a hard resin plate fixed to the center, and the heel portion of the upper is formed by connecting a first hard skin portion whose upper part covers the plate of the spring member, a second hard skin portion that extends upward from the upper end of the sole, and an intermediate skin portion that is located between the lower end of the first hard skin portion and the upper end of the second hard skin portion and is made of a more flexible material.

In addition, the following Patent Document 3 describes a spring member built into the heel portion of the upper that is annular in shape, with the lower parts of left and right side arms that are tilted backwards connected by a base and the upper parts connected by a central segment. The central segment of this spring member has an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the inner periphery, and when the foot is placed on the central segment when inserting the foot into the opening of the upper, the side arms bend and the foot slides forward, and when the foot is placed in the specified position in the upper, the side arms return to their initial position.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 1-81910 Registered Utility Model No. 3239159 JP 2022-51925 A

However, with slip-on shoes such as those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, even when the foot is inserted into the opening of the upper, the foot does not move forward smoothly to the specified position, and the heel part of the upper does not easily return to its original position, so the foot cannot be put on completely unless the wearer bends down and supports it with their hands, which may cause inconvenience.

In addition, if a spring member such as that described in Patent Document 3 is used as a built-in spring member in the heel portion of the upper, the presence of the base connecting the lower parts of the left and right side arms restricts the design of the upper, and when the foot is inserted into the opening of the upper and weight is applied, the top end of the base may come into contact with the sole of the heel, causing an uncomfortable feeling.

Therefore, the objective of this invention is to provide slip-on shoes that can be easily put on while standing without using the hands and that can be designed in a variety of ways.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a slip-on shoe that includes an upper that extends from the toe to the heel and has an opening, and a sole that is connected to the upper and comes into contact with the ground, and a spring member is built into the heel, and when the foot is inserted through the opening and the heel is stepped on and moved forward toward the toe, the heel returns to its original position due to the elasticity of the spring member, and the shoe is put on.
The spring member has a pair of legs that are spread apart downward and have their upper parts connected via a heel support portion, and the pair of legs have a band-shaped stem that inclines backward from the support piece at the lower end to the upper end and tapers down, and the heel support portion is curved in a horseshoe shape in the width direction and has an upper part that is smoothly curved backward,
The support pieces of a pair of legs of the spring member are supported on the side edges of the sole, the stem runs along the side below the opening of the upper, and the heel support portion is held along the upper rear end of the heel portion of the upper.

In addition, the pair of legs of the spring member are formed by covering a metal wire with high tensile strength and a high elastic modulus with resin, and the resin of the legs and the resin that forms the heel support are molded as a single unit.

Furthermore, in these embodiments, the heel portion of the upper is provided with a lining stretched over the inside of the heel support portion of the spring member via a thick sponge, the outside of the heel support portion is covered with a surface material, and a soft crescent-shaped outer skin is layered on the outside of the lining between the surface material and the sole.

When the slip-on shoe of this invention is worn by inserting the foot through the opening of the upper and stepping on the heel, the heel of the foot is received by the heel receiving portion of the spring member and guided by the heel receiving portion, the foot slides forward. At this time, the pair of legs of the spring member have a gap between the support pieces at the lower ends, so the sole of the heel does not feel uncomfortable.

The stems of the pair of legs of the spring member are strip-shaped, tapering toward the top as they tilt backward, so the upper part of the stem bends more flexibly than the lower part, exerting a flexible elasticity that propels the foot forward.

Then, when the foot is placed in the designated position in the upper, the pair of leg sections return to their original bending, and the heel section of the upper also returns to its original position, fitting along the ankle side of the heel of the foot, allowing the user to put on the slip-on shoes while standing without having to bend down and use their hands, and without the need to slip off.

In addition, the spring components built into these slip-on shoes have almost no effect on the design of the upper, so just like regular shoes, it is possible to provide slip-on shoes in a wide variety of designs, from casual to formal, expanding the options available in shoe selection for people with physical disabilities and parents raising infants.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a slip-on shoe (sneaker type shoe with laces) according to the present invention, viewed obliquely from the rear. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the spring member of the above in a flat developed state. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the state in which the spring member is set in the heel portion of the sole. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the heel part of the upper having the spring member built therein. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the state where the heel part of the upper of the above is stepped on from diagonally behind

The following describes an embodiment of the invention with reference to the attached drawings.

The slip-on shoe shown in Figure 1 is a sneaker with a lace-up design, and is composed of an upper 1 that extends from the toe 1a to the heel 1b and has an opening 1c, and a sole 2 that is connected to the upper 1 and comes into contact with the ground, and a spring member 3 is built into the heel 1b of the upper 1. When wearing this slip-on shoe, there is no need to tie the shoelaces 1d of the upper 1 from an untied state, and they can be left tied at all times.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the spring member 3 is unfolded on a flat surface, the upper parts of a pair of legs 4 that spread out downward are connected via a heel support 5, and each leg 4 and heel support 5 form an obtuse angle.

In the spring member 3, a pair of legs 4 have triangular support pieces 4a with a wide bottom width located at their separated lower ends, and a band-shaped stem 4b that runs diagonally from the support pieces 4a to the upper end and tapers from the lower end to the upper end. The heel support part 5 has a large vertical dimension in the middle part in the left-right direction and gradually becomes smaller toward the legs 4 connected to both ends.

The pair of legs 4 of the spring member 3 are formed by covering a metal wire 6, such as a piano wire or spring steel wire, which has high tensile strength and a high elasticity, with a hard resin that has some elasticity, and the resin of the legs 4 and the resin that forms the heel support part 5 are molded as a single unit. The metal wire 6 is held in a specified position by recessing the resin on both sides of it.

As shown in FIG. 3, the heel support portion 5 is curved in a horseshoe shape in the width direction, and the upper portion is molded into a shape that is smoothly curved backward.

When manufacturing the slip-on shoe, the spring member 3 further bends the heel support 5 against the repulsion, compressing the gap between the pair of legs 4 in the width direction of the sole 2 so that the support piece 4a is supported by the raised side edge 2a of the sole 2.

In the actual process, the spring member 3 is fixed to the inside of the heel portion 1b of the upper 1 before being set on the sole 2. In this state, the stem 4b is inclined backward from the bottom end to the top end.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper 1 and the sole 2 are joined together with the stems 4b of the pair of legs 4 of the spring member 3 positioned along the side of the lower opening 1c of the upper 1 and the heel support 5 held along the upper rear end of the heel 1b of the upper 1.

The heel part 1b of the upper 1 is constructed such that a lining 8 is stretched through a sponge 7 on the inside of the heel support part 5 of the spring member 3, the outside of the heel support part 5 is covered with a surface material 9, and a crescent-shaped outer skin 10 is layered on the outside of the lining 8 from the bottom of the surface material 9 to the sole 2.

The sponge 7 is thick and has excellent cushioning properties, while the lining 8 has a smooth surface and some cushioning properties. The surface material 9 is made of leather or fabric with excellent strength and durability as the main structural material of the upper 1, and the crescent-shaped outer skin 10 is made of leather that is softer than the surface material 9.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the foot is inserted through the opening 1c of the upper 1 and the heel 1b is stepped on, the heel of the foot is received by the heel receiving portion 5 of the spring member 3, and the foot slides forward, guided by the heel receiving portion 5. At this time, the pair of legs 4 of the spring member 3 have a gap between the support pieces 4a at their lower ends, so that the sole of the heel does not feel uncomfortable when stepping on the spring member 3, even if the weight is applied while standing.

The stems 4b of the pair of legs 4 of the spring member 3 are strip-shaped, tapering toward the top as they tilt backward, so the upper part of the stems 4b bends more flexibly than the lower part, exerting a flexible elasticity that propels the foot forward.

After that, when the foot is placed in the specified position of the upper 1, the bending of the pair of leg parts 4 is restored by the elasticity of the spring member 3, and the heel part 1b of the upper 1 is restored accordingly and fits along the ankle side of the heel of the foot, so that the slip-on shoes can be put on while standing without bending over and using the hands.

In addition, the spring member 3 built into this slip-on shoe has almost no effect on the design of the upper 1, so it is possible to provide slip-on shoes in a wide variety of designs, from casual to formal, just like regular shoes.

For example, in addition to sneakers with laces as described in this embodiment, various types of shoes such as casual shoes without laces, men's business shoes, and women's pumps can be put on hands-free and stress-free, expanding the options available in shoe selection for people with physical disabilities and parents raising infants.

Reference Signs List 1 Upper 1a Toe 1b Heel 1c Opening 1d Shoelace 2 Sole 2a Side edge 3 Spring member 4 Leg 4a Support piece 4b Stem 5 Heel support 6 Metal wire 7 Sponge 8 Lining 9 Surface material 10 Moon-shaped outer skin

Claims (2)

A slip-on shoe comprising an upper (1) having an opening (1c) extending from a toe portion (1a) to a heel portion (1b), and a sole (2) joined to the upper (1) and brought into contact with the ground, a spring member (3) built into the heel portion (1b), and when a foot is inserted through the opening (1c) and the heel portion (1b) is stepped on and moved forward toward the toe portion (1a), the heel portion (1b) returns to its original state due to the elasticity of the spring member (3) and the shoe is put on,
The spring member (3) has a shape in which the upper parts of a pair of legs (4) that are spread out downward are connected via a heel support portion (5), and the pair of legs (4) have a triangular support piece (4a) located at the lower end and wide at the bottom side, and a band-shaped stem (4b) with straight side edges that inclines backward from the upper end, and the stem (4b) is tapered along its entire length, and the heel support portion (5) has a dimension in the up-down direction that is large in the left-right intermediate portion and gradually becomes smaller toward the legs (4) connected to both ends, and the lower edge bulges downward in the left-right intermediate portion, and is curved in a horseshoe shape in the width direction, with the upper portion smoothly warping backward,
the support pieces (4a) of the pair of legs (4) of the spring member (3) are supported by the raised side edge portion (2a) of the sole (2), the stem (4b) is held along the side surface below the opening (1c) of the upper (1), and the heel receiving portion (5) is held along the upper rear end portion of the heel portion (1b) of the upper (1) ;
The heel portion (1b) of the upper (1) has a lining (8) stretched through a sponge (7) on the inside of the heel support portion (5) of the spring member (3), the outside of the heel support portion (5) is covered with a surface material (9), and a crescent-shaped outer skin (10) softer than the surface material (9) is layered on the outside of the lining (8) between the surface material (9) and the sole (2) . The pair of legs (4) of the spring member (3) are formed by covering a metal wire (6) made of piano wire or spring steel wire with high tensile strength and high elasticity with resin, and the resin of the legs (4) and the resin of the heel support part (5) are molded as a single unit. The slip-on shoe according to claim 1.

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