DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a shoe provided with a platform comprising an elastic cushioning material .

It is known in the technical sector of shoes and orthopaedic soles inserted inside them that, when the user wears shoes with a high heel and is standing in an erect position, the weight of the body is discharged onto the forefoot.

In the erect and static position, in fact, the high heel causes a forwards displacement of the centre of gravity of the body, in an attempt to find an equilibrium, and most of the weight of the body is transferred onto the forefoot resting on the ground; this situation assumes even greater importance when walking and depending on the walking stride; in this case, in fact, the entire weight of the body is transferred onto the forefoot, which acts as a lever fulcrum for the foot, while the heel of the foot, which is anatomically larger than the forefoot, dampens more effectively the shock forces of the stride.

Consequently, the connecting tissues and fatty tissue which protect the delicate bones of the forefoot are directly subject to traumas due to the weight of the body and are compressed; at the same time the modified resting action of the forefoot, which is no longer physiological, causes pain, resulting in the body attempting to adapt with anomalous movements which involve the upper body structures (knee, hip, spine, etc.), the normal physiology of which is altered, causing in turn a chain reaction of other postural problems, involving for example the back and the vertebral column .

In addition, during the walking movement, compression of the foot compresses the blood vessels, resulting in destruction of some of the circulating red blood cells.

These problems for the health of the person wearing high-heel shoes are directly proportional to the height of the heel, the frequency of use of the said shoes with high heel and the percentage amount of time spent in an erect position and/or walking while wearing these shoes. These problems are extremely relevant nowadays in view of the increasingly greater height of the heels of shoes and despite attempts to compensate partially for the high gradient of the shoe by means of front levelling platforms which are applied to the front part of said shoe.

Also known in the art are shoes equipped with cushionings as those, for example, described in: US-4, 003, 146, WO-2009/082164, DE-16 85 293, that relate however to shoewear with low heel and without a platform;

the above described prior art relates therefore to shoes for which the technical problem of alleviating the damaging effects of high-heel shoes does not exist.

US 2009/0307926, describing a simple complete insole, extending for the whole length of the platform less shoe.

JP 2005074085 discloses a shoe with a soft insole arranged only at the foot body, but not underneath the forefoot. The technical problem which is posed, therefore, is that of providing a shoe with high heel which is able to overcome or reduce significantly these problems, which can be made in an easy and low-cost manner and which may be easily designed in different forms and configurations adaptable for the different existing types of footwear and/or fashion trends and/or suitable for different seasons, climates and latitudes.

This result is achieved according to the present invention by a high heel shoe provided with a platform according to the characteristic features of Claim 1.

Further details may be obtained from the following description of non-limiting examples of embodiment of the subject of the present invention provided with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :

Figure 1 : shows a schematic side view of a shoe according to the invention;

Figure 2 : shows a cross-sectional view along the plane indicated by II-II in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 : shows a partially sectioned, schematic, side view of a second embodiment of a shoe according to the present invention;

Figure 4 : shows a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a platform with cushioning material according to the present invention.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and assuming solely for the sake of convenience of the description and without a limiting meaning a set of three reference axes in a longitudinal direction X-X, parallel to the greater toe-to-heel dimension of the shoe and foot sole and also to the direction of movement of the foot during the walking stride, transverse direction Y-Y, parallel to the width of the shoe sole, and vertical direction Z-Z, at right angles to the other two directions, the shoe according to the present invention comprises essentially:

- an upper 1 which defines a seat la for receiving the foot and to the bottom surface lb of which for resting the foot sole a lining lc, preferably made of leather, leather-like and/or similar soft material, is applied;

- a rear high height heel-piece 2, not shorter than 10cm, situated underneath the heel of the user's foot ;

a platform 3 applied to the front part of the shoe opposite the surface for resting on the ground and substantially underneath the forefoot of the user;

an external outsole 5 applied to the surface of the platform 3 making contact with the ground;

according to the invention said platform comprises:

• a body 3a which is of suitable height in the vertical direction Z-Z and the surface of which in the plane X-Y containing the other two longitudinal and transverse - directions extends over most of - and preferably all of - the surface of the front part of the shoe for resting on the ground, situated underneath the forefoot of the user;

• a chamber 3b formed inside the body 3a of the platform 3, the volume of which is defined by a bottom surface, substantially parallel to the plane of the ground, in the longitudinal direction X-X and transverse direction Y-Y, and by a height in the vertical direction Z-Z such as to form an empty volume of suitable capacity without weakening the strength of the platform;

• an elastic cushioning material 4 for filling the said chamber 3b and having a height in the vertical direction Z-Z such as to allow compression thereof under the thrusting action of the forefoot. Figure 3 shows a third embodiment of a shoe according to the invention, in which the heel 22 and the platform -2-3 are incorporated in a wedge 26. This embodiment also has the lining lc of the upper 1 and a platform 3 with chamber 3b, the levelling spacer 6 (where necessary depending on the height of the heel 22 of the wedge 26) and an outsole 5. In the case of all the embodiments described, the filling 4 of the chamber 3b consists of an elastic material such as latex or viscoelastic polyurethane or equivalent material with suitable softness, elasticity and resilience properties.

With this configuration the shoe according to the present invention, which is provided with a platform 3 having a chamber 3b underlying the contact surface of the forefoot and filled with soft and elastic material 4, functions as follows: during walking, the soft base comprising the elastic material 4 filling the chamber 3b underneath the forefoot is elastically compressed under the loading action of the forefoot itself and elastically resumes its initial volume when the foot is raised, so that the platform according to the invention acts, not only as an element for resting on the ground, but also as a proper shock- absorbing device which greatly reduces the destructive action on the connecting tissues and fatty tissue of the forefoot sole when walking with high heels.

In addition, the compression/elastic extension of the filling material 4 acts also as a pump on the blood vessels of the forefoot, facilitating the return flow of the blood in the veins, which is maximum during walking, when the pumping action is assisted by the foot and leg muscles.

During use in static conditions, the forefoot is instead continuously stressed by the soft and elastic base which performs a repeated vertical micro-movement in response to any contraction of the muscles of the said forefoot, thus helping keep both the foot muscles and the leg muscles tonic. Owing to these further features the shoe according to the present invention may be of great benefit for those persons (flight assistants, shop assistants, waitresses, office workers) who, for various reasons, but in particular because of their work, must remain standing for most of the time, while wearing high-heel shoes.

The shoe according to the present invention may be designed for any shoe type with high heel height, in relation with different style demands dictated by the trends of the moment.

As shown in Fig. 4 it is also envisaged that the elastic material 4 may be applied by means of adhesive 4a directly onto the surface of a platform 103 opposite the surface for resting on the ground, said platform in this case consisting of a solid body without chamber 3b. When being applied to the upper 1, the elastic material 4 will be directly attached to the shoe again using adhesive 4a, thereby resulting interposed between upper and platform.

For aesthetic reasons in this case the platform and/or the elastic material may be lined with the same leather as the upper as normally occurs for heels .

Although described in connection with certain constructional forms and certain preferred examples of embodiment of the invention, it is understood that the scope of protection of the present patent is defined solely by the following claims.