WO2008140195A1

WO2008140195A1 - A functional footwear

Info

Publication number: WO2008140195A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/002428
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sang Gu Kim
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-05-09
Filing date: 2008-04-29
Publication date: 2008-11-20
Anticipated expiration: 2009-11-09
Also published as: JP2010525918A; KR100894880B1; CN101674743A; KR20080099516A; US20100139124A1; EP2144523A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a functional footwear having a shock absorber of an operating member adapted to absorb the shock applied during the wearer's walking, such that as first and second arms and a second magnet are operated by the shock-absorbing operation, a vibration plate having a first magnet is automatically vibrated by the generation of the repulsive force with respect to the second magnet, which makes the wearer excited during walking, thereby providing pleasant walking to him or her. Especially, the magnetic field generated from the first magnet provided on the end portion of the vibration plate stimulates the acupuncture spots on the wearer's foot sole and accelerates his or her blood circulation, thereby greatly improving his or her health.

Description

Description A FUNCTIONAL FOOTWEAR

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a functional footwear, and more particularly, to a functional footwear that absorbs and reduces the shock caused by a wearer's weight during walking so as to protect the wearer's ankle and knee joint from the shock, that provides excitement to him or her so as to make him or her feel pleasant during walking, and that accelerates his or her blood circulation by the generation of a magnetic field so as to greatly improve his or her health. Background Art

[2] Generally, a footwear is composed of an upper portion adapted to protect a wearer's foot top and a sole portion attached along the lower periphery of the upper portion and adapted to protect his or her foot sole, and the sole portion includes a midsole having a cushion force and an outsole attached on the underside of the midsole.

[3] On the other hand, recently, a variety of functional footwears having a shock- absorbing function have been proposed. That is, a shock-absorbing member like a spring or an air bag is inserted into a heel portion of the bottom portion of the footwear so as to absorb and release the shock caused by a wearer's weight during walking.

[4] Since the footwear having the shock-absorbing function is easy to be made and has a high shock-absorbing force, actually, such the shock-absorbing function is applied to most footwear. However, if the shock-absorbing member like a spring or an air bag that is inserted into the heel portion of the footwear is used for a long time, it undesirably results in the reduction in the shock-absorbing force.

[5] Additionally, a multi-functional footwear, which is capable of improving the healthy state of the wearer's foot as well as absorbing the shock applied to the wearer's foot, is definitely needed today. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[6] Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a functional footwear that absorbs and reduces the shock caused by a wearer's weight during walking so as to protect the wearer's ankle and knee joint, that provides excitement to him or her so as to make him or her feel pleasant during walking, and that accelerates his or her blood circulation by the generation of a magnetic field during walking so as to greatly improve his or her health. Technical Solution [7] To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a functional footwear having an upper portion and a sole portion, wherein the sole portion includes: a first mounting chamber and a second mounting chamber formed in a heel portion and a middle portion thereof in such a manner as to communicate with each other by means of a connection passageway formed therebetween; and vibration means provided in the first mounting chamber and the second mounting chamber and adapted to absorb the shock caused upon a wearer's walking, the vibration means having a vibration plate adapted to generate vibration and magnetic fields by a magnetic repulsive force with a driving source formed by the wearer's walking operation.

[8] Preferably, the vibration means includes: an operating member provided in the first mounting chamber of the sole portion and adapted to absorb the shock applied upon walking and to be operated with the driving source formed by the walking operation; and the vibration plate fixed at one end thereof to the lateral wall of the second mounting chamber of the sole portion and extended at the other end thereof in such a manner as to have a first magnet embedded at a distal end of thereof.

[9] Preferably, the operating member includes: a shock absorber located in the first mounting chamber of the sole portion and adapted to absorb the shock applied during walking by the upward and downward movements of a moving body mounted on the upper portion thereof; a first arm rotatably coupled at one end thereof to the moving body of the shock absorber by means of a hinge shaft and slantly extended downwardly at the other end thereof; a second arm rotatably coupled at one end thereof to the other end of the first arm by means of a hinge shaft and supported at the other end thereof by means of the connection passageway of the sole portion in such a manner as to be extended near the vibration plate and placed below the vibration plate, the second arm being moved forwardly and backwardly by the vertical movement of the moving body; and a second magnet embedded on the other end of the second arm and adapted to generate a repulsive force with respect to the first magnet of the vibration plate so as to vibrate the vibration plate upon the forward and backward movements of the second arm.

[10] Preferably, the sole portion further includes a third magnet provided on the top surface of the second mounting chamber and adapted to generate a repulsive force with respect to the first magnet embedded on the vibration plate so as to prevent the vibration plate from directly striking the sole portion upon the generation of the vibration of the vibration plate.

Advantageous Effects

[11] According to the functional footwear of the present invention, the shock absorber of the operating member absorbs the shock applied during the wearer's walking, and as the first and second arms and the second magnet are operated by the shock-absorbing operation, the vibration plate having the first magnet is automatically vibrated by the generation of the repulsive force with respect to the second magnet, which makes the wearer excited during walking, thereby providing pleasant walking to him or her. Especially, the magnetic field generated from the first magnet provided on the end portion of the vibration plate stimulates the acupuncture spots on the wearer's foot sole and accelerates his or her blood circulation, thereby greatly improving his or her health. Brief Description of the Drawings

[12] FIG.1 is a sectional view showing a part of a functional footwear according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[13] FIG.2 is a perspective view showing vibration means in the functional footwear according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[14] FIGs.3 a and 3b are views showing the operations of the vibration means in the functional footwear according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[15] FIGs.4a and 4b are views showing the use states of the functional footwear according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Mode for the Invention

[16] Hereinafter, an explanation on the configuration of a functional footwear according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be given with reference to the attached drawings.

[17] FIG.1 is a sectional view showing a part of a functional footwear according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.2 is a perspective view showing vibration means in the functional footwear according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[18] Referring to FIGS.l and 2, the functional footwear 100 according to the present invention largely includes an upper portion 110 and a sole portion 120, and the sole portion 120 has a first mounting chamber 122 and a second mounting chamber 124 formed in a heel portion and a middle portion thereof in such a manner as to communicate with each other by means of a connection passageway 126 formed therebetween. The first mounting chamber 122 and the second mounting chamber 124 of the sole portion 120 have vibration means 130 adapted to absorb the shock caused upon a wearer's walking and at the same time to generate vibration and magnetic fields.

[19] Preferably, the first mounting chamber 122 and the second mounting chamber 124 have an air passageway 128 through which outside air enters so as to be gently compressed.

[20] On the other hand, the vibration means 130 provided in the first mounting chamber

122 and the second mounting chamber 124 largely includes an operating member 131 and a vibration plate 138, and first, the operating member 131 is provided in the first mounting chamber 122 of the sole portion 120, while serving to absorb the shock applied upon just walking and at the same time to vibrate the vibration plate 138 in such a manner as to be moved forwardly and backwardly with a driving force generated by the wearer's walking operation.

[21] The operating member 131 includes: a shock absorber 132 provided in the first mounting chamber 122 of the sole portion 120 and adapted to absorb the shock applied during walking by the upward and downward movements of a moving body 134 mounted on the upper portion thereof, together with a coil spring 136; a first arm 137a rotatably coupled at one end thereof to the moving body 134 of the shock absorber 132 by means of a hinge shaft h and slantly extended downwardly at the other end thereof; a second arm 137b rotatably coupled at one end thereof to the other end of the first arm 137a by means of a hinge shaft h and supported at the other end thereof by the connection passageway 126 of the sole portion 120 in such a manner as to be extended near the vibration plate 138 and placed below the vibration plate 138; and a second magnet 137c embedded on the other end of the second arm 137b.

[22] On the other hand, the shock absorber 132, which is adapted to absorb the shock applied during walking by the upward and downward movements of the moving body 134, together with the coil spring 136, is preferably made of a smooth material having a relatively small damping force. The shock absorber 132 is classified into gas and oil types, and since it is typically applied in a variety of fields, the explanation of which will be avoided for the brevity of the description.

[23] Next, the vibration plate 138 is fixed at one end thereof to the lateral wall of the second mounting chamber 124 of the sole portion 120 and is extended at the other end thereof in such a manner as to have a first magnet 140 embedded at the end thereof. The vibration plate 138 becomes vibrated by the repulsive force between the first magnet 140 and the second magnet 137c provided on the second arm 137b of the operating member 131.

[24] Further, a third magnet 150 is provided on the top surface of the second mounting chamber 124 of the sole portion 120 and adapted to generate a repulsive force with respect to the first magnet 140 embedded on the vibration plate 138 such that upon the vibration of the vibration plate 138, the vibration plate 138 does not strike directly the top surface of the second mounting chamber 124.

[25] Now, the operation of the vibration means 130 as configured above will be in detail explained. [26] FIGS.3a and 3b are views showing the operations of the vibration means in the functional footwear according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[27] Referring first to FIG.3a, the first arm 137a is rotatably coupled at one end thereof to the moving body 134 of the shock absorber 132 by means of the hinge shaft h and is slantly extended downwardly at the other end thereof, and the second arm 137b is rotatably coupled at one end thereof to the other end of the first arm 137a by means of the hinge shaft h and is extended at the other end thereof to a predetermined length, while having the second magnet 137c embedded thereon. Further, above the right side of the second magnet 137c embedded on the second arm 137b is provided the vibration plate 138 having the first magnet 140 embedded on the end thereof, and above the first magnet 140 is provided the third magnet 150.

[28] At this time, even though not shown in the drawing, it should be noted that the second arm 137b is supported by means of the connection passageway 126 of the sole portion 120, the vibration plate 138 is attached at one end thereof on the lateral wall of the second mounting chamber 124, and the third magnet 150 is attached on the top surface of the second mounting chamber 124.

[29] Referring to the partly enlarged portion in FIG.3a, on the other hand, the first magnet

140 embedded on the end of the vibration plate 138 and the second magnet 137c located at the left side below the first magnet 140 generate the repulsive force with respect to each other, and the first magnet 140 and the third magnet 150 located above the first magnet 140 generate the repulsive force with respect to each other.

[30] Referring next to FIG.3b, if the upper portion of the moving body 134 of the shock absorber 132 is pressurized, the moving body 134 is moved downwardly and the first arm 137a attached to the moving body 134 is also moved downwardly, thereby allowing the second arm 137b to be moved in a direction of an arrow, that is, to the right side. As a result, the second arm 137b is moved to the right side to cause the second magnet 137c to approach the first magnet 140 embedded on the vibration plate 138, thereby generating the repulsive force between the first magnet 140 and the second magnet 137c. Thus, the end portion of the vibration plate 138 springs upwardly, thereby generating vibration on the vibration plate 138. At this time, since the third magnet 150 is provided above the first magnet 140 so as to generate the repulsive force with respect to the first magnet 140, the vibration plate 138 is vibrated between the second magnet 137c and the third magnet 150.

[31] Of course, the vibration plate 138 may be vibrated in the second mounting chamber

124 by the generation of the repulsive force with respect to the second magnet 137c, without having the third magnet 150, but if the third magnet 150 exists, the vibration plate 138 can be more easily operated.

[32] FIGS.4a and 4b are views showing the use states of the functional footwear according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[33] Referring first to FIG.4a, the functional footwear 100 according to the present invention is worn by a wearer. At this time, the vibration means 130, that is, the operating member 131 and the vibration plate 138 having the first magnet 140, is provided in the first mounting chamber 122 and the second mounting chamber 124 of the sole portion 120. In more detail, the moving body 134 of the shock absorber 132 provided in the first mounting chamber 122 is coupled at one end thereof to one end of the first arm 137a, and the second arm 137b coupled to the other end of the first arm 137a is located near the vibration plate 138 in such a manner as to be supported by means of the connection passageway 126.

[34] The second magnet 137c is provided at the end portion of the second arm 137b, and the third magnet 150 is located on the top surface of the second mounting chamber 124, each of them generating the repulsive force with respect to the first magnet 140.

[35] Referring now to FIG.4b, when the wearer starts to walk, the moving body 134 and the coil spring 136 of the shock absorber 132 provided in the heel portion of the sole portion 120 are moved downwardly by the shock caused by the wearer's weight so as to absorb and release the applied shock, thereby protecting his or her ankle and knee joint from the shock. Moreover, upon the downward movement of the moving body 134, the first arm 137a coupled to the moving body 134 is moved downwardly to allow the second arm 137b supported by means of the connection passageway 126 to be moved near the vibration plate 138. Thus, the first magnet 140 embedded on the vibration plate 138 generates the repulsive force with respect to the second magnet 137c approaching thereon and thus springs upwardly to allow the vibration plate 138 to be vibrated. Of course, since the third magnet 150 is provided above the first magnet 140, the vibration plate 138 can be more easily vibrated, and a magnetic field caused by the vibration of the vibration plate 138 is formed around the first magnet 140, thereby stimulating the acupuncture spots on the wearer's foot sole and accelerating his or her blood circulation.

[36] According to the functional footwear of this invention, therefore, the shock absorber

132 of the operating member 131 absorbs the shock applied during the wearer's walking, and as the first and second arms 137a and 137b and the second magnet 137c are operated by the shock- absorbing operation, the vibration plate 138 having the first magnet 140 is automatically vibrated by the generation of the repulsive force with respect to the second magnet 137c, which makes the wearer excited during walking, thereby providing pleasant walking to him or her. Especially, the magnetic field generated from the first magnet 140 provided on the end portion of the vibration plate 138 stimulates the acupuncture spots on the wearer's foot sole and accelerates his or her blood circulation, thereby greatly improving his or her health. [37] In the foregoing description, the characteristics and technical advantages of this invention are explained so as to make the claims of this invention more understood. The additional characteristics and technical advantages the claims of this invention have will be discussed below. It should be noted to those skilled in the art that the disclosed concepts and specific embodiment of this invention are instantly applied to the basic of design or modification in other structures.

[38] While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

[1] A functional footwear having an upper portion and a sole portion, wherein the sole portion comprises: a first mounting chamber and a second mounting chamber formed in a heel portion and a middle portion thereof in such a manner as to communicate with each other by means of a connection passageway formed therebetween; and vibration means provided in the first mounting chamber and the second mounting chamber and adapted to absorb the shock caused upon a wearer's walking, the vibration means having a vibration plate adapted to generate vibration and magnetic fields by a magnetic repulsive force with a driving source formed by the wearer's walking operation.

[2] The functional footwear as defined as claim 1, wherein the vibration means comprises: an operating member provided in the first mounting chamber of the sole portion and adapted to absorb the shock applied upon walking and to be operated with the driving source formed by the walking operation; and the vibration plate fixed at one end thereof to the lateral wall of the second mounting chamber of the sole portion and extended at the other end thereof in such a manner as to have a first magnet embedded at a distal end of thereof.

[3] The functional footwear as defined as claim 2, wherein the operating member comprises: a shock absorber located in the first mounting chamber of the sole portion and adapted to absorb the shock applied during walking by the upward and downward movements of a moving body mounted on the upper portion thereof; a first arm rotatably coupled at one end thereof to the moving body of the shock absorber by means of a hinge shaft and slantly extended downwardly at the other end thereof; a second arm rotatably coupled at one end thereof to the other end of the first arm by means of a hinge shaft and supported at the other end thereof by means of the connection passageway of the sole portion in such a manner as to be extended near the vibration plate and placed below the vibration plate, the second arm being moved forwardly and backwardly by the vertical movement of the moving body; and a second magnet embedded on the other end of the second arm and adapted to generate a repulsive force with respect to the first magnet of the vibration plate so as to vibrate the vibration plate upon the forward and backward movements of the second arm. [4] The functional footwear as defined as claim 1 or 2, wherein the sole portion further comprises a third magnet provided on the top surface of the second mounting chamber and adapted to generate a repulsive force with respect to the first magnet embedded on the vibration plate so as to prevent the vibration plate from directly striking the sole portion upon the generation of the vibration of the vibration plate.