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DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an improved ventilated insole for shoes.

It is known that wearing a shoe reduces the foot perspiration causing a build-up of heat thereon, and accordingly an increased sweating. Several solutions have been suggested to obviate these problems, mostly having the common puipose of reducing the excess heat thus making the shoe more perspiring and allowing the foot that wears it to not overheat and to not dampen too much. Obviously, the increase in perspiration must occur without the user of the shoe, especially in winter time, feeling a certain thermal unease due to the insufficient thermal insulation or to the excessive transpiration of the shoe, and in particular of the upper thereof.

U.S. patent US2006168845(A1) describes a ventilation pad for a shoe.

Japanese patent JP 10085002(A) shows a shoe that prevents the formation of humidity and the foot rotation therein.

Japanese patent JP6062910(A) discloses a shoe padding which increases the walking stability and the foot perspiring properties.

FR1286269(A) describes a venti lated insole for shoes.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a highly transpiring ventilated insole for shoes.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a ventilated insole for shoes capable of providing the foot with the right support.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a ventilated insole for shoes which has low manufacturing costs.

Last but not least, another object of the present invention is to provide a process of manufacturing a ventilated insole for shoes capable of achieving the above objects.

According to the invention, such objects are achieved by means of a ventilated insole for shoes as described in claim 1 and with a process of manufacturing said insole as described in claim 9.

These and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a practical embodiment thereof, provided by way of a non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a top plan view of an insole for shoes according to the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a plan bottom view of the insole in Figure 2;

Figure 3 shows a side view of the insole in Figure 1 or 2; and

Figure 4 shows a side perspective view of the insole in Figures 1-3.

With reference to the above Figures, it wi ll be seen that an insole 1 for slices 2 (not shown in the accompanying Figures) consists of a top layer 4, preferably made of a natural and transpiring material, such as leather, having a suitable shape and size so that insole 1 may be inserted into a shoe 2.

The top layer 4 is coupled at the bottom, for example by gluing, to an intermediate reinforcing layer 5, intended to impart a certain structural stiffness to the top layer 4. Preferably, the intermediate layer 5 will be made of a bearing, thermo -forming material such as for example one or two cellulose sheets.

The intermediate layer 5, coupled at the top to the top layer 4, wi ll be coupled at the bottom, for example by gluing, to a lower layer 6 made of highly transpiring, elastic material. Preferably, the lower layer 6 will consist in turn of two textile layers 61 and 63 connected by a filamentous structure 62, referred to as micro- spring structure.

The sandwich formed by the top layer 4, coupled at the bottom to the upper surface of the intermediate layer 5, in turn coupled at the bottom to the dampening lower layer 6 actually forms the insole 1 according to the present invention.

As it will be seen (Fig. 4), the external edge 1 1 of insole 1 is spread with a glue 12 intended to reinforce said edge and to limit the wear thereof over time. Preferably, glue 12 may be silicone glue of the "hotmelt" type, latex or other suitable material. With reference to Figs. 1 and 4, it will be seen that the top layer 4 has slots 8, having a certain depth (preferably from 0.1 mm to 1 mm), which are substantially longitudinal with respect to insole 1. If desired, the top layer 4 may have five slots 8 which, from the shoe 2 toe, will join at the heel zone and converge into a slot 9 having a substantially drop shape running parallel to the whole heel zone.

Slots 8 and 9 are preferably obtained by pyrography or equivalent hot engraving or pressing technique so that the pyrographed zone, in addition to taking the typical bronzed color, is slightly concave and depressed. The depth of slots 8 and 9 thus obtained will be in the range from 0, 1 to 1 mm and in particular, the upper surface of the top layer 4 will have no discontinuities at slots 8 and 9 mostly intended to allow an imperceptible passage of air therethrough.

Both the top layer 4 of insole I and the intermediate layer 5 will have a plurality of through holes 13 intended to put the part overlying the top layer 4 in fluid communication with the lower layer 6.

It will also be seen that at slots 8, layers 4 and 5 have cuts or through slits 14 having a line shape intended to increase the air circulation between the part overlying the top layer 4 and the lower layer 6. The length of the through slits 14 may preferably be 0.5 ~ 7 cm.

The process for obtaining an insole 1 for shoes 2 according to the present invention includes the following steps:

- coupling the upper layer 4 with the intermediate layer 5 by gluing;

- molding or punching or laser cutting, according to the desired periphery, the layers 4 and 5, consequently forming through holes 13 and through slits 14;

- pyrographing or laser cutting the top layer 4 to create slots 8 and 9;

- punching or laser cutting to obtain the desired periphery for the lower layer 6;

- coupling layers 4 and 5 with the lower layer 6 by gluing;

- forming insole 1 , preferably by means of a cold press, to make insole 1 anatomically designed, i.e. to obtain the arch 15;

- finishing the peripheral edge of insole 1 by spreading glue 12.

In the practice, the ventilated insole 1 according to the present invention is inserted into shoes 2 to impart a high comfort and exceptional transpiring properties thereto. These features are ensured, on one hand, by the high transpiring properties of the natural material used to make the insole 1, and on the other hand by the fact that insole 1 is provided with a series of seating slots 8 for the through slits 14 in addition to a plurality of holes 13 suitably distributed on the surface of the top layer 4. The provision of slots 8 and 9 actually prevents a user's foot from evenly resting onto insole 1, since the pyrographed zones which are slightly concave, will not adhere to the foot, thus allowing a slight passage of air which increases the insole transpiration. The fluid communication resulting from the provision of the plurality of holes 13 and increased by the through slits 14 creates a microcirculation of air between the zone overlying the top layer 4 and the zone underlying the intermediate layer 5. This microcirculation is generated due to the fact that since the lower layer 6 is very soft, elastic and transpiring, when the user of shoe 2 with insole 1 is walking, he/she will cause a certain compression and decompression of the lower layer 6, thus generating an ejection and introduction of air into the latter layer. This two-directional air movement through the plurality of holes 13 and sl its 14 contributes to ventilate the foot of the user of the insole 1 and moreover, since layer 6 consists of a filamentous structure, referred to as micro-springs, the shoe 2 including insole 1 will be really comfortable, and the support of the user's foot will be particularly stable since the thickness of insole 1 is in any case restricted (preferably between 0.5 - 1.5 cm).

As specified above, the pyrography may be replaced by laser cutting.

In the practice, the materials used as well as the sizes, can be whatever, according to the requirements.