Shock absorbing structure and shoe to which the shock absorbing structure is applied

Abstract

A shock absorbing structure is formed by including a column member, an elastic ring member that is provided by being fitted onto the column member, and upper and lower pressure receiving portions that are connected by the column member, wherein the column member is capable of being deformed and restored at least in a pressure receiving direction, the ring member has an effective working height set to be lower than the column member, and is formed to be in a non-bonded state with the upper and lower pressure receiving portions, and at a time of pressure reception, the column member undergoes compression deformation in the pressure receiving direction first, and thereafter, the ring member undergoes compression deformation in the pressure receiving direction next, whereby multi-stage shock absorbing performance is exhibited.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a shock absorbing structure that is incorporated into a sole of a sports shoe, or a running shoe, for example, so as to be easily observed visually from outside and absorbs impact applied to a foot of a wearer at a time of landing on the ground, and particularly relates to a novel shock absorbing structure that enables a repulsive force to shift smoothly to a kick-out motion of the wearer while enabling the impact to be absorbed in a stepwise manner, and a shoe to which the shock absorbing structure is applied.BACKGROUND ART[0002]In many sports shoes, running shoes and the like, shock absorbing members (shock absorbing structures) are incorporated in order to absorb an impact which is applied to legs (feet, knees and the like) of those who wear the shoes. A number of research and development activities have been earnestly carried out, and various proposals have been made as the shock absorbing structures like this.[0003]The prese...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The shock absorbing structure described in this patent exhibits multi-stage shock absorbing performance by compressing a column member and then a ring member in a pressure receiving direction. This results in a gradual increase in repulsion force, preventing bottoming and ensuring stability during running and walking. The effective working height of the ring member should be set at a ratio of 0.2 to 0.95 of the column member to achieve favorable multi-stage shock absorbing deformation. The column member can be formed of foam, which provides soft shock absorbing performance at the initial stage of impact absorption and gradually enhances repulsion performance. The ring member can also be formed of foam to further enhance repulsion performance. The shoe sole can be formed of foam, which also contributes to reduction in weight of the shoe and improves stability.

Problems solved by technology

It has been one of problems that although the materials themselves have high shock absorbing performance, the states of the soft materials cannot be observed from the outside, that is, the ability to attract attention as a product is low.

Even when bottoming does not occur, a repulsion characteristic is small, so that in the process from landing to kicking-out with toes, reduction of a so-called repulsion characteristic occurs, such as excessive turning of an ankle and a deviation of a center of the gravity (landing stability), and reduction in a propulsion force by a repulsive force at the time of kicking out, and therefore, there has been the problem to make a shock absorbing characteristic and performance of facilitating running and jumping compatible.

However, it is not sufficient to simply expose a shock absorbing material to outside.

That is, when a columnar shock absorbing material is vertically fixed between a midsole and an outer sole as in Patent Literature 11 described above, the shock absorbing material easily causes “unsteadiness” with the column bends and tilts by compression deformation, and therefore, use of a rigid resin material for the columnar member, or another support member for a periphery is required.

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