JP5765826B2 - Sole structure for footwear - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sole structure for footwear including shoes, sandals, boots, and the like, and more specifically, information from the road surface acting on the bottom surface of the sole (reaction force from the road surface, uneven state of the road surface, and the road surface) The present invention relates to a sole structure that can accurately transmit (contact area) to the sole of the wearer.

  In general, in human posture control activities, visual sense, vestibular sensation, deep sensation of each muscle tendon and skin sensation of the sole of the foot are considered to play important roles. For this reason, accurately transmitting various information acting on the sole bottom from the road surface to the wearer's sole is extremely important as a function of sports shoes.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of sole structures that transmit force (reaction force) from a road surface to the wearer's soles have been proposed. For example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0126043 discloses that a plurality of ground pads are arranged on a base portion of an outsole, and each ground pad is provided on the base portion via a bent portion. There is described what can be moved independently of each other (see FIGS. 3, 4, and 9 to 11 of the publication).

  In the above publication, when landing, a force acts on the grounded ground pad from the road surface. At this time, the ground pad moves upward with respect to the base portion of the outsole due to deformation of the bent portion. Thus, the pressing pressure from the ground pad acts on the sole of the wearer so that the wearer can feel the force from the road surface.

  In addition, US Pat. No. 6,082,024 describes a pressure stimulation member that protrudes downward from the lower surface of the outsole and a midsole disposed above the pressure stimulation member ( Fig. 2 to Fig. 4 of the publication).

  In the above publication, when a force acts on the pressure stimulation member from the road surface when landing, the pressure stimulation member moves upward to push up the midsole and deform the midsole into a convex shape (FIG. 2 of the same publication). Fig. 3 (see dotted line). Thereby, the pressing pressure from a pressure stimulating member acts on a wearer's sole, and a wearer's sole is stimulated.

  Furthermore, in JP 2009-172183 A, a plurality of elastic protrusions are provided on the sole contact surface of the insole of the shoe, and a plurality of pressing members are provided inside the insole at positions corresponding to the elastic protrusions. A device provided with an elastic member is described (see FIG. 1 of the publication).

  In the above-mentioned publication, when a force from the road surface acts on the ground contact surface of the insole at the time of landing, the force from the road surface is transmitted to the elastic protrusion via the push member and the elastic member, and the elastic protrusion is Pressing pressure is applied to the sole. Thereby, a pressure stimulus is given to the sole of the wearer during walking.

  On the other hand, as a sole structure that conveys the unevenness of the road surface to the wearer's sole, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-75001 discloses a structure in which a plurality of cylindrical rubber pieces or resin pieces are provided inside a grounded bottom main body. (See FIG. 1).

  In the above-mentioned publication, when the bottom surface of the ground bottom body touches the road surface, the bottom surface of the ground bottom body deforms up and down in accordance with the uneven state of the road surface, so that the rubber piece (or resin piece) moves up and down. As a result, the upper surface (foot contact surface) of the ground contact bottom main body changes to an uneven shape corresponding to the uneven state of the road surface. As a result, the wearer feels the uneven state of the road surface.

  In the sole structure shown in the above-mentioned US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0126043, as described in paragraph [0060] of the same publication, the bent portion is made of a material having a low Young's modulus and hardness, Since the ground pad is made of a material having a high Young's modulus and hardness, when a force from the road surface acts on the ground pad, the bent portion easily deforms, so that the ground pad easily moves upward, Since the shape of the ground pad does not change, the force from the road surface is directly transmitted to the wearer's sole through the ground pad.

  Therefore, in the above-mentioned publication, the force from the road surface can be transmitted from the ground pad to the sole of the wearer, but the shape of the ground pad does not change, and the upper and lower surfaces of the ground pad are formed flat. (This will be described later), it is impossible to accurately convey information on the contact area with the road surface to the wearer's sole when landing.

  In the sole structure shown in the above-mentioned US Pat. No. 6,082,024, as described in the third column, lines 14 to 21 of the publication, the pressure stimulating member moves upward when landing. By applying a local pressure to the midsole, it is necessary to locally deform the midsole into a convex shape. For this reason, the pressure stimulating member easily moves upward when a pressing force acts from below. Thus, the surrounding members are elastically supported through elastic bellows or the like.

  Therefore, in the above-mentioned publication, the force from the road surface can be transmitted to the wearer's sole via the pressure stimulating member, but the force from the road surface is applied to the wearer's sole via the midsole. Because of the action, information on the contact area with the road surface cannot be accurately transmitted to the wearer's sole when landing.

  In the sole structure shown in the above Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-172183, as described in paragraphs [0015] and [0017] of the same publication, a force from the road surface acts on the ground contact surface of the midsole during landing. At this time, the pushing member inside the midsole transmits the force from the road surface to the elastic protrusion as it is, and the elastic member inside the midsole transmits the force from the road surface to the elastic protrusion while partially absorbing the force.

  Therefore, in the above-mentioned publication, the push member and the elastic member are arranged inside the insole even though the force from the road surface can be transmitted to the wearer's sole via the push member and the elastic member. In addition, the bottom surface of each of the push member and the elastic member and the top surface of the elastic protrusion are formed flat (this will be described later), so that information on the contact area with the road surface at the time of landing can be obtained. I cannot tell you exactly.

  In the sole structure shown in the above Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-75001, as described in the 20th line of the first page and the second column of the publication and the first line of the third page of the second page, when landing, When the bottom surface of the grounding bottom body touches the road surface, the rubber piece (or resin piece) inside the grounding bottom body moves up and down without deformation according to the uneven state of the road surface, so that the top surface of the grounding bottom body (Foot sole contact surface) is changed to an uneven shape corresponding to the uneven state of the road surface.

  Therefore, in the above-mentioned publication, the shape of the rubber piece (or resin piece) is changed even though the uneven state of the road surface can be transmitted to the sole of the wearer through the vertical movement of the rubber piece (or resin piece). In addition, since the rubber piece (or resin piece) is arranged inside the grounded bottom main body, information on the contact area with the road surface cannot be accurately transmitted to the wearer's sole when landing.

  By the way, in general, human senses have evolved so that the senses work in conjunction with each other, and it is known that recognition is enhanced if a plurality of senses are stimulated at once. The same is true for the skin sensation, and when grasping the softness of an object, not only the force information applied to the skin but also the information on the contact area where the skin contacts the object, (Ikeda, Fujita: "Presentation of flexible elastic objects by simultaneous control of finger contact area and reaction force", Transactions of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan Vol.9, No.2 , 2004).

  On the other hand, it is very important from the viewpoint of brain recognition that information from multiple senses is accurately linked. This is because, by its nature, when the brain obtains contradictory information from multiple sensations, it may cause a sense that does not actually occur, trying to force it together ("Magaku" "Effect" is a good example).

  Therefore, accurately transmitting the information on the force acting on the sole of the wearer and the information on the contact area to the sole of the wearer in an interlocked manner is important for enhancing the wearer's cognition. Come. Here, looking at the relationship between the force acting on the human foot and the contact area, the foot has a curved shape, so the contact relationship between the foot and the object is the force acting according to Hertz theory. It can be considered that the larger the is, the larger the contact area is. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain this relationship when accurately transmitting the information on the force acting on the sole of the wearer and the information on the contact area to the sole of the wearer in an interlocked manner. it is conceivable that.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is information from the road surface acting on the sole bottom surface (that is, reaction force from the road surface and uneven state of the road surface). It is an object of the present invention to provide a sole structure capable of accurately transmitting not only the contact area with the road surface) but also the sole of the wearer in an interlocked state.

The sole structure for footwear according to the present invention includes a sole body having a bottom surface of the sole disposed on the road surface side and a sole top surface on the opposite side, and a plurality of first protrusions made of an elastic member provided on the bottom surface of the sole. And a plurality of second protrusions made of an elastic member provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of first protrusions on the upper surface of the sole. The cross-sectional shape of the first protrusion is formed so as to gradually decrease as the distance from the bottom surface of the sole is increased, and the tip of the first protrusion has a convex surface protruding downward. The cross-sectional shape of the second protrusion is formed so as to gradually decrease as the distance from the upper surface of the sole increases, and the tip of the second protrusion has a convex surface protruding upward. The uneven shape formed by the plurality of second protrusions on the upper surface of the sole defines the uneven shape of the wearer's foot contact surface in the footwear . The hardness of the first protrusion is higher than the hardness of the second protrusion (see claim 1).

  According to the present invention, at the time of landing, the force acting on the sole structure from the road surface is transmitted from the first protrusion on the lower surface side of the sole to the second protrusion on the upper surface side of the sole via the sole body, By this 2nd processus | protrusion, the information of the force from a road surface is conveyed to a wearer's sole. At this time, the distribution of the force acting on the first protrusion from the road surface changes according to the uneven state of the road surface, and the change state is transmitted to the second protrusion through the sole body. By the protrusions 2, information on the unevenness of the road surface is transmitted to the soles of the wearers.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the first protrusion has a convex surface formed such that the cross-sectional shape gradually decreases as the distance from the bottom surface of the sole increases, and the tip of the first protrusion protrudes downward. In addition, since the cross-sectional shape of the second protrusion is formed so as to gradually decrease as the distance from the upper surface of the sole increases, and the tip of the second protrusion has a convex surface protruding upward, the road surface when landing As the force acting on the first protrusion increases, the contact area of the first protrusion with the road surface increases, and the second protrusion corresponding to the first protrusion from the sole of the wearer when landing. As the applied force increases, the contact area of the second protrusion with the sole increases. Thereby, the information on the contact area with the road surface is accurately transmitted to the sole of the wearer. In addition, since the hardness of the first protrusion is higher than the hardness of the second protrusion, the hardness of the first protrusion in contact with the road surface is relatively increased to improve the wear resistance of the first protrusion. In addition, the hardness of the second protrusion arranged on the sole contact surface side of the wearer can be relatively lowered to improve the foot contact at the time of wearing.

  In this way, according to the present invention, information from the road surface acting on the sole bottom surface, that is, not only the reaction force from the road surface and the uneven state of the road surface, but also the contact area with the road surface are linked to each other. In this state, it can be accurately transmitted to the sole of the wearer.

  Here, FIG. 15 shows the result of analysis for examining the function and effect of the present invention. In this analysis, as shown in the upper column of the figure, four protrusion structures having different shapes (sample 1: cylindrical protrusion, sample 2: spherical protrusion, sample 3: protrusions with spherical upper and lower surfaces, sample 4) : Protrusions with a spherical top surface and a flat bottom surface), and each protrusion structure is dropped freely from a certain height downward with a weight of a certain weight placed on the upper surface of each protrusion structure. In addition, the load that the lower surface of each protruding structure exerts on the drop surface (grounding surface) (in other words, the reaction force that acts on the lower surface of each protruding structure from the grounding surface) and the contact with the grounding surface of each protruding structure The relationship with the area was analyzed using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The weight placed on the upper surface of each protrusion structure corresponds to the sole body of the present invention. In addition, the more detailed shape (side surface shape) of each protrusion structure divided into elements is shown in FIG. 16 to FIG. 19, and a downward arrow indicates the falling direction in each figure. Further, specific dimensions of each protrusion structure are shown in the upper column of FIG.

The analysis conditions of the finite element method are as follows.
(I) The weight of each protrusion structure was 1 g, the weight of the weight placed on the upper surface of each protrusion structure was 256 g, and the total weight of both was 257 g.
(Ii) The height of the drop, that is, the height from the drop surface to the lower surface of each protrusion structure was 7.7 mm.

The analysis result in each protrusion structure is shown in the lower graph of FIG. In each graph, the horizontal axis indicates the reaction force (kg), and the vertical axis indicates the contact area (mm ² ). Looking at each graph, if the bottom surface of the projection is flat, such as the cylindrical projection of sample 1 or the projection of sample 4, the contact area with the ground plane is almost constant even if the reaction force from the ground plane increases. Thus, it can be seen that the information on the force from the contact surface and the information on the contact area with the contact surface are not accurately linked. In the sole structure described in the above-mentioned US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0126043, the bottom surface of the sole structure is formed flat, or in the sole structure described in JP 2009-172183 A, the bottom surface is It can be said that the pressing member and the elastic member formed flat correspond to these samples 1 or 4.

  On the other hand, as in Samples 2 and 3, the bottom surface has a convex surface (more specifically, the bottom surface has a convex curved surface, an arcuate surface, or a spherical surface) and goes toward the bottom surface. In the case of the protrusion formed so that its cross-sectional shape gradually decreases, the contact area with the ground contact surface increases as the reaction force from the ground contact surface increases, and the contact information with the force from the ground contact surface increases. It can be seen that the information on the contact area with the ground is accurately linked.

  Therefore, as in the present invention, the tip of the first protrusion has a convex surface protruding downward, and the cross-sectional shape of the first protrusion gradually decreases as the distance from the bottom surface of the sole increases. In this case, the contact area with the road surface increases as the reaction force from the road surface increases, and the information on the reaction force from the road surface and the information on the contact area with the road surface are accurately linked. Moreover, in the case of the present invention, the tip end portion of the second protrusion provided at a position corresponding to the first protrusion on the upper surface of the sole has a convex surface protruding upward, and the cross-sectional shape of the second protrusion Is formed so as to gradually decrease as the distance from the upper surface of the sole increases, the contact area between the first protrusion and the road surface increases as the force acting on the first protrusion from the road surface during landing increases. As the force acting from the sole of the wearer on landing on the second projection corresponding to the first projection increases, the contact area of the second projection with the sole increases, thereby increasing the road surface. The information on the contact area is accurately transmitted to the sole of the wearer.

  In the present invention, at the time of landing of the sole structure, the first and second protrusions are compressed and deformed, and the contact area between the first protrusion and the road surface increases as the load on the first protrusion increases. As the contact area increases, the contact area between the second protrusion and the wearer's foot increases (see claim 2).

  In the present invention, the tip end portion of the first protrusion has a downwardly convex curved surface shape, and the tip end portion of the second protrusion has an upwardly convex curved surface shape. reference).

  In the present invention, the tip of the first or second protrusion is formed of an arcuate surface composed of a single arc or a plurality of arcs (see claim 4).

  In the present invention, the angle formed by the outer surface of the first protrusion with respect to the lower surface of the sole is an obtuse angle, and the angle formed by the outer surface of the second protrusion with respect to the upper surface of the sole is obtuse (see claim 5). .

  In the present invention, the tip of the second protrusion is provided so as to directly contact the bottom surface of the upper part of the footwear, or the footwear contact surface of the wearer is directly configured in the footwear. (See claim 6).

  When the tip of the second protrusion is in direct contact with the bottom surface of the upper portion of the footwear, the wearer's sole contact surface is formed by the bottom surface of the upper portion. Further, when the tip of the second protrusion directly constitutes the wearer's sole contact surface in the footwear, the outer peripheral edge of the upper part is sewn to the outer peripheral edge of the sole structure or This corresponds to footwear such as shoes in which the bottom surface is not provided on the upper part or sandals in which the upper part is not provided by being fixed by bonding or the like.

  In the present invention, a cavity is formed inside the first or second protrusion (see claim 8). Thereby, the increase in the weight of the entire sole structure due to the provision of the protrusions can be reduced.

  In the present invention, the first and second protrusions are provided in the forefoot region and the middle foot region of the sole structure, that is, the region excluding the buttocks in the sole structure (see claim 9). This is because, particularly in sports shoes, a large impact force acts on the buttocks at the time of landing, so that excessive pressure acts on the buttocks due to the projections.

  In the present invention, the distance between the adjacent first protrusions and the distance between the adjacent second protrusions are greater in the front foot rear region and the middle foot region than in the front foot front region of the sole structure. It is larger (see claim 10). In the present invention, the distance between the first projections adjacent to each other in the front foot rear region and the middle foot region of the sole structure and the interval between the adjacent second projections are determined by the feet of the sole structure. The foot length direction is larger than the width direction (see claim 11).

The reason why the first and second protrusions are arranged in this way is as follows.
In order to investigate the ability to detect the soles of human feet, an experiment of two-point discrimination threshold was conducted. In this experiment, each subject area was stimulated with the tip of the toothpick while blindfolded on the subject. There are two types of stimulation with a toothpick (one condition) and two cases where two toothpicks are arranged at intervals (two conditions). Stimulation was given by randomly combining the case of 2 and the case of 2 pieces. When using two toothpicks, fix each toothpick on the scale (ruler) at a distance that is read by the scale, and fix the tips of the two toothpicks to the subject's sole. I tried to hit it at the same time. Moreover, the direction which separates the space | interval of two toothpicks was performed about two directions, a foot width direction and a foot length direction. First, the subject answers whether the stimulus given to the sole is due to one or two toothpick. And when the test subject can identify the stimulation by the two toothpicks gradually, the interval between the two toothpicks is gradually increased on the scale, and when the stimulation by the two toothpicks can be identified three times in succession. The test subject determined that two toothpicks could be detected, otherwise the test subject determined that two toothpicks could not be detected.

  The experimental results are shown in FIG. In the figure, the left column shows each area of the subject's sole (thumb, middle finger, thumb ball part, middle foot part, arch part, buttocks). The experiment was performed on three subjects A to C. Further, in the same figure, the upper column shows the interval between each toothpick in the case of two conditions using two toothpicks. In the figure, a circle indicates that the subject was able to detect two toothpicks in both the foot width direction and the foot length direction, and a × mark was that the subject was able to detect two toothpick in the foot width direction. △ indicates that the subject was able to detect two toothpicks in the foot width direction but not in the foot length direction, and − indicates the experiment Is not implemented.

  In FIG. 20, as can be seen by comparing each circle mark in the thumb and middle finger column with each circle symbol in the middle foot and arch column, in the case of the thumb and middle finger, the interval between the two toothpicks is 8 mm. If it is -12 mm away, all the subjects A to C can detect two toothpicks in both the foot width direction and the foot length direction. If the distance between the toothpick is 16 mm to 18 mm, all the subjects A to C can detect the two toothpicks in both the foot width direction and the foot length direction. Further, in the case of the thumbball part, if the distance between the two toothpicks is 14 mm to 16 mm, the subjects A and B can detect the two toothpicks in the foot width direction and the foot length direction. From this, the subject can detect each toothpick in the forefoot front region of the sole even if the distance between the two toothpicks is relatively narrow, and the forefoot rear region (including the toe ball part) and the middle foot In the partial area, it can be said that each toothpick cannot be detected unless the distance between the two toothpick is relatively wide. The invention of claim 10 has been made in view of such an experimental result, and the distance between the adjacent first protrusions and the distance between the adjacent second protrusions are determined based on the front foot front region of the sole structure. And relatively wide in the front foot rear region and the middle foot region.

  In FIG. 20, as can be seen by comparing each Δ mark of the middle foot part and the arch part, in any case of the middle foot part and the arch part, when the interval between the two toothpick is 14 mm away, All subjects A to C can detect two toothpick in the foot width direction, but not in the foot length direction, and if the distance between the two toothpicks is 16 mm to 18 mm apart, all The subjects A to C can detect two toothpicks in both the foot width direction and the foot length direction. The invention of claim 11 has been made in view of such an experimental result, and the interval between the adjacent first protrusions and the interval between the adjacent second protrusions in the midfoot region of the sole structure. Is relatively narrow in the foot width direction of the sole structure and relatively wide in the foot length direction.

  In the present invention, the first and second protrusions have a circular shape in the front foot front region of the sole structure as viewed from the bottom surface side and the plane side, and extend from the front foot rear region to the middle foot region. Has an elliptical shape that is substantially long in the foot length direction (see claim 12).

It is a bottom view of the sole structure for sports shoes by one Example of this invention. It is a top view of the sole structure of FIG. It is the III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a front foot front region of the sole structure of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a middle foot region of the sole structure in FIG. 1. It is the VIII-VIII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the IX-IX sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the XX sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the XI-XI sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining a method of assembling the sole structure in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the sole structure in FIG. 1. FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing another modification of the sole structure in FIG. 1. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of the analysis for seeing the effect of this invention, and its result. It is a side view of the protrusion structure of the sample 1 used for the analysis of FIG. It is a side view of the protrusion structure of the sample 2 used for the analysis of FIG. It is a side view of the protrusion structure of the sample 3 used for the analysis of FIG. It is a side view of the protrusion structure of the sample 4 used for the analysis of FIG. It is a figure which shows the result of the experiment of the 2 point | piece discrimination threshold for investigating the sensing ability of a person's sole.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 to 12 show a sole structure for sports shoes according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, and “rear” mean the upper, lower, front, and rear of the shoe, respectively. That is, the upper and lower parts refer to the upper and lower parts of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, respectively, and the front and rear parts are the upper and lower parts of FIG. Pointing downward. 1 and 2, H indicates a heel portion of the sole structure, M indicates a middle foot portion, and F indicates a forefoot portion.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the sole structure 1 includes a sole body 2 made of an elastic member that extends from the heel H to the middle foot M to the front foot F. The sole body 2 includes a sole lower surface 20 disposed on the road surface side (lower side in FIGS. 3 and 4) and a sole upper surface 21 disposed on the sole contact side on the opposite side.

  The sole lower surface 20 is provided with a plurality of first protrusions 3 made of an elastic member, and the sole upper surface 21 is similarly provided with a plurality of second protrusions 4 made of an elastic member. In this example, the first and second protrusions 3 and 4 are mainly provided on the front foot portion F and the middle foot portion M of the sole structure 1, and are not provided on the heel portion H. The plurality of first and second protrusions 3 and 4 are arranged at positions facing each other vertically with the sole body 2 interposed therebetween. Preferably, the center of each of the corresponding first and second protrusions coincides with the vertical direction.

  The plurality of first protrusions 3 are provided so as to be separated from each other without overlapping with the adjacent first protrusions 3. Similarly, the plurality of second protrusions 4 are adjacent to the respective second protrusions. 4 are separated from each other without overlapping. The first and second protrusions 3 and 4 have a circular shape in a bottom view (and a plan view) in the front region of the front foot F of the sole structure 1, and the rear region (finger ball portion) of the front foot F From the middle foot portion to the middle foot portion, it has an oval shape in bottom view (and plan view) extending substantially in the front-rear direction (that is, the foot length direction) (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

  In the thumb ball part, the major axis direction (the arrow a direction in FIG. 2) of the elliptical protrusions 3 and 4 is 5 ° to the outer side with respect to the front-rear direction (foot length direction) of the sole structure 1. In the middle foot portion, the major axis direction (in the direction of arrow b in the figure) of the elliptical protrusions 3 and 4 is the front-rear direction (foot length direction) of the sole structure 1. ) With respect to the outer shell side by -5 ° to 25 ° (that is, 5 ° to the inner shell side to 25 ° to the outer shell side). This is because the shear direction with respect to the sole structure 1 during the running operation is taken into consideration.

The distance between adjacent second protrusions 4, that is, the distance between the centers (the same applies to the distance between adjacent first protrusions 3 (the distance between the centers)), both for the width in the foot width direction and for the distance in the foot length direction. The distance in the rear region of the front foot F and the middle foot M is larger than the space in the front region of the front foot F. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, S ₁ the interval between the second projection 4 feet width direction adjacent to each other in the forefoot anterior _region, S ₁ in the forefoot posterior region ', S ₁ at midfoot M " and then, when the S _{2 "in} S ₂ ', midfoot portion M in the forefoot front region spacing foot length direction S _2, in the forefoot posterior region,
S ₁ ′> S ₁ , S ₁ ″> S ₁ , S ₂ ′> S ₂ , S ₂ ″> S ₂
It has become.

In the rear region of the forefoot F of the sole structure 1 and the middle foot M, the interval between the adjacent second protrusions 4 (the same applies to the interval between the adjacent first protrusions 3) The foot length direction is larger than the width direction. That is, as shown in FIG.
S ₂ ′> S ₁ ′, S ₂ ″> S ₁ ″
It has become.

  As described above, the distance between the first and second protrusions 3 and 4 is adjusted based on the experimental result of the two-point discrimination threshold using the toothpick as described above.

In the sole structure 1 shown in the present embodiment, for example, S ₁ ≈10 mm, S ₂ ≈10 mm, S ₁ ′ ≈12 mm, S ₁ ″ ≈12 mm,
_{S 2 '≒ 15mm, S 2} "≒ 15mm
Is set to

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cross-sectional shape of the first protrusion 3 is formed so as to gradually decrease as the distance from the bottom surface 20 of the sole is increased, and the tip of the first protrusion 3 protrudes downward. And has a convex surface (in this example, a curved surface that is convex downward). As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cross-sectional shape of the second protrusion 4 is formed so as to gradually decrease as the distance from the sole upper surface 21 increases, and the tip of the second protrusion 4 protrudes upward. A convex surface (in this example, an upwardly convex curved surface shape). The curved surfaces of the tip portions of the first and second protrusions 3 and 4 are composed of a plurality of arc-shaped surfaces composed of a plurality of arcs, even though they are composed of arc-shaped surfaces composed of a single arc. Also good. In this example, not only the circular protrusions in the front foot region but also the elliptical protrusions from the front foot rear region to the middle foot region (both the foot width direction and the foot length direction for the elliptical protrusion) The tip of the second protrusion 4 is composed of a single arcuate surface having a large radius of curvature, and the tip of the first protrusion 3 is disposed at the center and has a large radius of curvature. The arc-shaped surface is composed of arc-shaped surfaces and arc-shaped surfaces having small curvature radii that are arranged on both sides of the arc-shaped surface and are connected to the side surfaces of the first protrusion 3.

  The amount of protrusion of the second protrusion 4 from the sole upper surface 21 is smaller than the amount of protrusion of the first protrusion 3 from the sole lower surface 20 (see FIGS. 3 to 5). The surface on the sole abutment side has a concavo-convex shape with a low step, in which a convex portion formed by the second protrusion 4 and a concave portion formed by the sole upper surface 21 are combined. 3 to 5 show examples in which the upper portion U is provided on the sole structure 1 (only a part of the upper portion U is shown in each figure). The bottom surface Ua of the second protrusion 4 is bonded to the curved surface of the second protrusion 4. For this reason, the uneven | corrugated shape with a low level | step difference is formed in the bottom face Ua of the upper part U. FIG. In the sports shoes in which the sole structure 1 is employed, the insole is preferably not used, and the sole of the wearer directly comes into contact with the bottom surface Ua of the upper U portion. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 which are partially enlarged views of FIG. 1, the plurality of first protrusions 3 are elastic members between the first protrusions 3 adjacent in the oblique direction on the bottom surface 20 of the sole. They are connected to each other via a connecting part 30 made of metal. Although the first protrusion 3 is elastically supported in the vertical direction by the connecting portion 30, the connecting portion 30 is not an essential member. In FIG. 1, the front foot F has a region g in which the connecting portion 30 is not provided extending in the foot width direction, and this region g corresponds to the position of the middle foot joint joint of the foot. By not providing the connecting part 30, the area is more easily bent than the other areas, and good flexibility of the forefoot part F during running is ensured.

  As shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 7, which are cross-sectional views of FIG. 6, and FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, a mesh sheet made of synthetic resin such as nylon is formed on the lower surface 20 of the sole body 2. 5 is installed. The first protrusion 3 and the connecting portion 30 are formed on the lower surface of the mesh sheet 5. In this example, as shown in FIG. 12, the lower first protrusion 3 and the upper second protrusion 4 are formed separately. That is, the first protrusion 3 formed on the lower surface of the mesh sheet 5 and the sole body 2 in which the second protrusion 4 is integrally formed in another forming step are prepared, and the upper surface of the mesh sheet 5 is the sole. The main body 2 is bonded to the bottom surface 20 of the sole. The use of such a mesh sheet ensures the adhesion of the sole body 2 to the sole lower surface 20 while facilitating the molding of the first projection 3, and the first and second projections opposed to each other in the vertical direction. This is for making the positioning of 3 and 4 easy, while reducing the weight of the whole.

  The first protrusion 3 is made of a synthetic resin such as polyurethane (TPU) or a foam thereof, and the second protrusion 4 is a synthetic resin such as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) or the like. It is composed of a foam. The hardness of the first protrusion 3 is set to be relatively high in consideration of wear resistance, and the hardness of the second protrusion 4 is set to be relatively low in consideration of foot contact. . Specifically, the hardness of the first protrusion 3 is set to 40A-80A in Asker A hardness, and the hardness of the second protrusion 4 is set to 30C-70C in Asker C hardness.

  The first and second protrusions 3 and 4 and the sole body 2 may be integrally formed as shown in FIG. In this case, the first and second protrusions 3 and 4 can be aligned accurately and reliably, and the positioning process after molding becomes unnecessary, thereby simplifying the assembly process of the sole structure. Further, in this case, as shown in FIG. 14, a cavity 2h may be formed inside, and in the cavity 2h, a separate body is provided at a position corresponding to the first and second protrusions 3 and 4. It is also possible to insert a lightweight elastic body, and such a structure can reduce the overall weight.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the base surface of the first projection 3 (the mating surface with the mesh sheet lower surface or the intersecting surface with the sole lower surface 20 (see dotted line)) 3B and the base surface of the second projection 4 (A crossing surface with the sole upper surface 21 (see dotted line)) 4B has the same shape and size, and is disposed at a position facing vertically with the sole body 2 interposed therebetween. In addition, the angle α formed by the outer surface of the first protrusion 3 with respect to the mesh sheet lower surface or the sole lower surface 20 is an obtuse angle over the entire circumference of the outer surface. Similarly, the outer surface of the second protrusion 4 is The angle β formed with respect to the sole upper surface 21 is an obtuse angle over the entire circumference of the outer surface.

In this embodiment, the protrusion amount of the first protrusion 3 from the lower surface of the mesh sheet or the sole lower surface 20 is d ₁ , the protrusion amount of the second protrusion 4 from the sole upper surface 21 is d ₂ , and the plate thickness of the sole body 2 is When t ₁ d ₁ = 5.0 mm, d ₂ = 1.5 mm, t = 4.5 to 7.5 mm
Is set to

Next, the function and effect of this embodiment will be described.
When landing, the force acting on the sole structure 1 from the road surface is transmitted from the first projection 3 on the sole lower surface 20 side to the second projection 4 on the sole upper surface 21 side through the sole body 2. By the 2nd protrusion 4, the information of the force from a road surface is conveyed to a wearer's sole. At this time, the distribution of the force acting on the first protrusion 3 from the road surface changes according to the uneven state of the road surface, and the state of the change is transmitted to the second protrusion 4 via the sole body 2. Therefore, the information on the uneven state of the road surface is transmitted to the sole of the wearer by the second protrusion 4.

  In addition, in the sole structure 1, the first protrusion 3 is formed so that the cross-sectional shape of the first protrusion 3 gradually decreases as the distance from the sole lower surface 20 increases, and the tip of the first protrusion 3 protrudes downward. As shown in the above-described analysis by the finite element method (see samples 2 and 3 in FIG. 15), the first protrusion 3 from the road surface at the time of landing is clear. As the force acting on the first protrusion 3 increases, the first protrusion 3 is elastically compressed and deformed, and the contact area of the first protrusion 3 with the road surface increases. On the other hand, the cross-sectional shape of the second protrusion 4 corresponding to the first protrusion is also formed so as to gradually decrease as the distance from the sole upper surface 21 increases, and the tip of the second protrusion 4 is upward. Since it has a protruding convex surface (here, an arc-shaped surface), it is similarly worn from the time of landing, as is clear from the analysis by the finite element method described above (see samples 2 and 3 in FIG. 15). As the force acting on the second protrusion 4 from the sole of the person increases, the second protrusion 4 is elastically compressed and deformed, and the contact area of the second protrusion 4 with the sole increases. As a result, information on the contact area with the road surface at the time of landing is accurately transmitted to the soles of the wearers.

  In this way, according to the present invention, the information from the road surface acting on the sole lower surface 20, that is, not only the reaction force from the road surface and the uneven state of the road surface but also the contact area with the road surface are linked to each other. In this state, it can be accurately transmitted to the sole of the wearer.

  In the said Example, although the front-end | tip part of the 2nd protrusion 4 showed the example provided so that it might contact | abut directly to the upper part bottom face Ua which comprises a wearer's sole contact surface, application of this invention was shown. Is not limited to this. The present invention is also applicable to the case where the tip of the second protrusion 4 directly constitutes the wearer's foot contact surface. As an example of such footwear, the bottom surface of the upper portion is provided in an annular shape along the outer peripheral edge portion of the upper surface of the sole body, and the annular portion is bonded or sewn only to the outer peripheral edge portion of the upper surface of the sole body. If the upper part of the footwear is not provided, for example, if the belt-like upper part is provided only on a part of the footwear, The thing which is not provided at all (for example, sandals etc.) is mentioned.

  In the said Example, although the said sole structure showed the example applied to sports shoes, such as running shoes, this invention is applicable to footwear (namely, footwear) generally, such as walking shoes, sandals, and boots. .

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a sole structure for footwear, and in particular, information on the road surface acting on the bottom surface of the sole (reaction force from the road surface, uneven state of the road surface, and contact area with the road surface) Suitable for those that require accurate transmission to the sole.

1: Sole structure

2: Sole body 20: Sole lower surface 21: Sole upper surface

3: First protrusion

4: Second protrusion

F: Forefoot M: Middle foot

US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0126043 (see FIGS. 3, 4, 9 to 11) US Pat. No. 6,082,024 (see FIG. 2 to FIG. 4) JP 2009-172183 A (see FIG. 1) Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 4-75001 (see Fig. 1)

Claims (11)

A sole structure for footwear,
A sole body having a sole lower surface disposed on the road surface side and a sole upper surface on the opposite side;
A plurality of first protrusions made of an elastic member provided on the bottom surface of the sole;
A plurality of second protrusions made of an elastic member provided at positions corresponding to the plurality of first protrusions on the upper surface of the sole,
The cross-sectional shape of the first protrusion is formed so as to gradually decrease as the distance from the bottom surface of the sole is increased, and the tip of the first protrusion has a convex surface protruding downward,
The cross-sectional shape of the second protrusion is formed so as to gradually decrease as the distance from the upper surface of the sole is increased, and the tip of the second protrusion has a convex surface protruding upward,
The uneven shape formed by the plurality of second protrusions on the upper surface of the sole defines the uneven shape of the foot contact surface of the wearer in the footwear ,
The hardness of the first protrusion is higher than the hardness of the second protrusion;
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 1,
At the time of landing of the sole structure, the first and second protrusions are compressed and deformed, and the contact area of the first protrusion with the road surface increases as the load on the first protrusion increases. The contact area of the second protrusion with the wearer's sole increases with the increase of the contact area.
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 1,
The distal end portion of the first protrusion has a downwardly curved surface shape, and the distal end portion of the second protrusion has an upwardly convex curved surface shape.
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 1,
The tip of the first or second protrusion is formed of an arcuate surface composed of a single or a plurality of arcs.
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 1,
The angle formed by the outer surface of the first protrusion with respect to the lower surface of the sole is an obtuse angle, and the angle formed by the outer surface of the second protrusion with respect to the upper surface of the sole is an obtuse angle.
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 1,
The tip of the second protrusion is provided so as to be in direct contact with the bottom surface of the upper part of the footwear, or directly constitutes the sole contact surface of the wearer in the footwear.
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 1,
A cavity is formed inside the first or second protrusion,
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 1,
The first and second protrusions are provided in the forefoot region and the middle foot region of the sole structure,
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 8,
The distance between the adjacent first protrusions and the distance between the adjacent second protrusions are larger in the front foot rear region and the middle foot region than in the front foot front region of the sole structure. Yes,
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 8,
In the forefoot rear region and the middle foot region of the sole structure, the interval between the adjacent first protrusions and the interval between the adjacent second protrusions are determined from the foot width direction of the sole structure. The foot length direction is larger,
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above. In claim 8,
The first and second protrusions have a circular shape in the front foot front region of the sole structure when viewed from the bottom side and the plane side, and substantially from the front foot rear region to the middle foot region. Has a long oval shape in the foot length direction,
A sole structure for footwear characterized by the above.

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