Heel core and shoe

Abstract

To provide a heel core which enables a user to easily put on shoes and to obtain a fit feeling in a worn state.SOLUTION: The heel core 21 is provided in the heel portion 13 of the shoe 10. The guide portion (32) has a curved shape that is concave forward when viewed from above, the guide portion (32) has a rear guide portion (36) having an inclined shape that extends forward as it goes downward from an upper end 32t of the guide portion (32), and the through hole (26) is provided in the main body portion (31).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a heel core and a shoe. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a shoe with a heel pad in the heel. If the heel of the shoe collapses, the shoe becomes uncomfortable to wear. The heel pad makes the heel of the shoe less likely to collapse. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-59608 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A user may use a shoehorn to put on shoes. The provision of a heel pad in a shoe may make the shoe less comfortable to put on. In particular, if the heel pad is hard, the shape of the heel pad may make the shoe less comfortable to put on. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide shoes that allow a user to easily put on the shoes and that provide a comfortable fit when worn, and a heel core to be used in the shoes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The heel core of the present invention is provided in the heel portion of a shoe. The heel core has a main body that covers the user's heel and a guide portion that extends upward and rearward from the main body. When viewed from above, the guide portion has a curved shape that is concave toward the front, and the guide portion has a rear guide portion that slopes downward from its upper end toward the front, and the main body has a through hole. The shoe of the present invention has a sole and an upper, and the heel core is provided in a heel region of the upper that holds the heel of the user. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, a user can easily put on shoes and can get a comfortable fit when wearing the shoes. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a shoe having a heel core. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow V in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams showing modified examples of through holes. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a shoe 10 having a heel core 21. The shoe 10 has a sole 11 and an upper 12. The sole 11 is a part that supports the user's foot F from below. The upper 12 is a part that is located on top of the sole 11 and wraps around the user's foot F from above and from the left and right to protect it. The upper 12 has a heel section 13 at its rear for holding the heel Fb of the user's foot F. A heel core 21 is provided in the heel section 13. The upper 12 has an opening 14 that opens to allow the toes Ff of the foot F to be inserted.

[0009] The upper 12 has side panels 24 in the side regions A2 that cover the sides Fs of the user's foot F. The side panels 24 are made of, for example, cloth or leather. The side panels 24 are single-ply or double-ply. The shoe 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a low shoe, but the shoe 10 described below may be another type of shoe, such as an athletic shoe. To make it easier for the user to put on the shoe 10, the shoe 10 has a protrusion 15 that extends upward and diagonally backward on the heel 13. The protrusion 15 is a part of the upper 13, is integrated with the heel 13, and has a shape that extends upward and diagonally backward from the heel 13.

[0010] The directions of the shoe 10 and the heel core 21 will now be described. When a user is wearing the shoe 10, the toe Ff side is the "front" and the heel Fb side is the "rear". The direction from the rear of the sole 11 toward the opening 14 is the "up" direction, and the opposite direction is the "down" direction. The left and right sides of a user wearing the shoe 10 are the "left" and "right" directions, respectively.

[0011] The heel portion 13 of the shoe 10 has a heel core 21. The heel core 21 is provided in the heel region A1 of the upper 12 that supports the heel Fb of the user. Upper 12 has an exterior material 22 and an interior material 23 in heel region A1 having heel part 13. Exterior material 22 covers heel core 21 from the rear. Interior material 23 covers heel core 21 from the front. Heel core 21 is interposed between exterior material 22 and interior material 23.

[0012] The exterior material 22 is made of cloth or leather. The exterior material 22 may be continuous with the side material 24, or the side material 24 may extend to the heel portion 13, and the exterior material 22 may be provided overlapping the outside of the side material 24. The interior material 23 is made of cloth or leather. The interior material 23 may be continuous with the side material 24, or the side material 24 may extend to the heel portion 13, and the interior material 23 may be provided overlapping the inside of the side material 24.

[0013] 2 is a perspective view of heel core 21. In this embodiment, heel core 21 is made of resin. Heel core 21 is a thin plate member with curved surfaces in various portions. Heel core 21 is more rigid than exterior material 22 and interior material 23, and is harder than exterior material 22 and interior material 23.

[0014] Figure 3 is a side view of heel core 21. Heel core 21 has a main body portion 31 that covers the user's heel Fb (see Figure 1), and a guide portion 32 that extends upward and backward from main body portion 31. Main body portion 31 and guide portion 32 are made of a single resin molded product. Guide portion 32 is a portion that is separated from the user's heel Fb (ankle) when the user is wearing shoe 10. The protruding piece 15 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a guide portion 32 of the heel core 21 and portions of the exterior material 22 and the interior material 23 that cover the guide portion 32.

[0015] The main body 31 has a rear wall 46 located behind the user's heel Fb, a left wall 47L located to the left of the user's heel Fb, and a right wall 47R located to the right of the user's heel Fb. The left wall 47L extends from the rear wall 46 to the left front and covers the left side of the heel Fb. The right wall 47R extends from the rear wall 46 to the right front and covers the right side of the heel Fb. When viewed from above (see Figure 4), the main body 31 has a curved shape that is concave toward the front. In this embodiment, the rear wall portion 46 is the range of 45 degrees to the left and right sides, centered on an imaginary line J connecting the center C (see Figure 4) of the arc that forms the rear shape of the main body portion 31 and the rear end E of the main body portion 31.

[0016] The guide portion 32 has a rear guide portion 36 that is connected upward to the rear wall portion 46, a left guide portion 37L, and a right guide portion 37R. The left guide portion 37L is located to the left of the rear guide portion 36 and is connected vertically to the left wall portion 47L. The right guide portion 37R is located to the right of the rear guide portion 36 and is connected vertically to the right wall portion 47R. When viewed from above (see Figure 4), the guide portion 32 has a curved shape that is concave toward the front.

[0017] Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow V in Fig. 4. Fig. 5 shows a cross-section in a vertical plane passing through the middle position in the left-right direction of the heel core 21. The rear guide portion 36 has a shape that slopes downward from the upper end 32t of the guide portion 32 (rear guide portion 36) and slopes forward. As shown in Fig. 5, the rear guide portion 36 has a slope that follows a curve that is convex forward. When the user is wearing the shoe 10, the rear guide portion 36 is located in a position that faces the back of the upper part of the user's heel Fb (ankle).

[0018] In the cross section shown in Figure 5, the portion of heel core 21 that has an inclined shape along curve L1 that convex forward in rear guide section 36 is "guide section 32," and the portion below guide section 32 is "main body section 31." In the cross section shown in Figure 5, rear wall section 46 of main body section 31 has a curved shape that conforms to curve L2 that convex backward. The boundary between the guide portion 32 and the main body portion 31 is indicated by a virtual two-dot chain line. In this embodiment, the boundary passes through the inflection point between the forward-convex curve L1 of the rear guide portion 36 and the backward-convex curve L2 of the rear wall portion 46. Note that in the cross section shown in FIG. 5, a straight line may be interposed between the forward-convex curve L1 and the backward-convex curve L2. In this case, the boundary passes through the intersection of the forward-convex curve L1 and the straight line.

[0019] According to the heel core 21 having the guide portion 32 described above, when a user puts on shoes 10 having the heel core 21, the heel Fb is guided by the guide portion 32, making it possible to easily put on the shoes 10 without using a shoehorn. As shown in Figure 2, a through hole 26 is provided in the main body 31. The through hole 26 reduces the rigidity of the main body 31, and the user can obtain a comfortable fit while wearing shoes 10 having the heel core 21, for example, when walking.

[0020] 2, the through-hole 26 is longer in the left-right direction than in the up-down direction, and two long holes (through-holes 26) are arranged side by side with a gap in the up-down direction. The number of through-holes 26 is not limited to two. The number of through-holes 26 may be one or more. The long through-hole 26 as described above ensures rigidity of the heel core 21 in the left-right bending direction, and maintains support force for the heel Fb from the left and right. On the other hand, the rigidity of the rear wall 46 in the front-to-back bending direction is reduced, which makes it possible to improve the fit of the shoe 10 when the user is walking, for example.

[0021] 5, position P1, which is the upper and rear end of guide portion 32, is located further rearward than rear end P2, which is located furthest rearward of main body portion 31. In this way, position P1 of rear end of guide portion 32 is located relatively rearward, so that when a user puts on shoes 10 having a heel core 21, the heel Fb is more easily guided by guide portion 32, making it even easier to put on shoes 10.

[0022] The shapes of the left and right front edges of the heel core 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. The main body 31 has a left wall 47L and a right wall 47R. A front edge 471L of the left wall 47L (see FIG. 3) has a slope that slopes downward and forward. A front edge 471R of the right wall 47R (see FIG. 5) has a slope that slopes downward and forward. The guide portion 32 has a left guide portion 37L and a right guide portion 37R. A front edge 371L of the left guide portion 37L has a slope that slopes forward as it extends downward. A front edge 371R of the right guide portion 37R has a slope that slopes forward as it extends downward.

[0023] As shown in Figure 3, the left front edge 41L of the heel core 21, from the front edge 371L of the left guide portion 37L to the front edge 471L of the left wall portion 47L, has a sloping shape that slopes forward as it extends downward, without becoming concave backward, except for its lower end portion 34L. As shown in Figure 5, the right front edge 41R of the heel core 21, which extends from the front edge 371R of the right guide portion 37R to the front edge 471R of the right wall portion 47R, has a sloping shape that slopes forward as it extends downward, without becoming concave backward, except for its lower end portion 34R.

[0024] In this way, the left front edge 41L of the heel core 21 (see FIG. 3) does not recess backward, but has a shape that slopes forward as it extends downward from the upper end 32t of the guide part 32. The left front edge 41L, except for the lower end 34L, has a shape that slopes forward as it extends downward from the upper end 32t. Similarly, the right front edge 41R of the heel core 21 (see FIG. 5) is not recessed backward, but has a slope that slopes forward as it extends downward from the upper end 32t of the guide part 32. Except for the lower end 34R, the right front edge 41R has a slope that slopes forward as it extends downward from the upper end 32t.

[0025] According to such a shape of the left and right front edges of the heel core 21, the heel Fb of the user is widely wrapped in the left-right and up-down directions by the heel core 21, and the heel core 21 provides increased support for the heel Fb.

[0026] The shape of the main body 31 of the heel core 21 will be described. The main body 31 (see FIG. 6) has a lower enlarged region K1 and an upper reduced region K2. The guide portion 32 is the portion of the main body 31 above the reduced region K2. The enlarged region K1 is a region in which the left-right distance S between the left wall 47L and the right wall 47R gradually increases from the lower portion 31b of the main body 31 upward. The reduced region K2 is a region in which the left-right distance S gradually decreases from the enlarged region K1 upward.

[0027] The main body 31 has a shape that fits the heel Fb of the user, and can encase the heel Fb from both the left and right. This shape of the main body 31 improves the fit of the heel core 21 around the heel Fb.

[0028] The main body 31 (see FIG. 4) has a portion where the left-right distance S between the left wall 47L and the right wall 47R narrows toward the front edges 471L, 471R. Specifically, at the boundary between the lower expanded region K1 and the upper reduced region K2 of the main body 31, the left-right distance S narrows from a midpoint Q in the front-to-rear direction of the main body 31 toward the front edges 471L, 471R. In other words, the left-to-right distance S gradually narrows from the midpoint Q in the front-to-rear direction of the main body 31 toward the front. This shape further enhances the fit of the heel core 21 around the heel Fb.

[0029] Another embodiment of the through-hole 26 will now be described. As described above, the through-hole 26 shown in Fig. 2 is an elongated hole that is long in the left-right direction, and the lower through-hole 26 in particular is provided extending from the rear wall portion 46 to both the left wall portion 47L and the right wall portion 47R. To match the overall shape of the heel core 21, the lower through-hole 26 is longer in the left-right direction than the upper through-hole 26. The through holes 26 only need to be provided in at least the rear wall portion 46, and may have shapes and arrangements other than those shown in FIGS.

[0030] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified example of the through-hole 26, and is a view of the heel core 21 as seen from behind. In the case of the heel core 21 shown in Figures 7(A) and (B), a through hole 26 is provided in the main body portion 31 and also in the guide portion 32. The through hole 26 is a hole that is long in the left-right direction, and multiple through holes 26 are arranged in a row at intervals in the up-down direction.

[0031] In the case of the heel core 21 shown in Figure 7(C), the through holes 26 are circular holes rather than elongated holes. The circular through holes 26 are arranged in multiple rows in the left-right direction and in multiple lines in the up-down direction. In the case of the heel core 21 shown in Figure 7(D), the through-holes 26 are oval, but include a through-hole 26 that is long in the left-right direction and a through-hole 26 that is long in the up-down direction. The through-holes 26 that are long in the left-right direction are provided in both the guide portion 32 and the main body portion 31. The through-hole 26 that is long in the up-down direction is provided so as to straddle the boundary between the guide portion 32 and the main body portion 31.

[0032] In the case of the heel core 21 shown in Figure 7(E), a through hole 26 is provided in each of the rear wall portion 46, left wall portion 47L, and right wall portion 47R of the main body portion 31, and further, a through hole 26 is provided in the guide portion 32. In the case of the heel core 21 shown in Figure 7(F), from the main body portion 31 to the guide portion 32, long through holes 26 in the left-right direction and sets of multiple circular through holes 26 lined up in the left-right direction are arranged alternately in the up-down direction.

[0033] As described above, in each of the above-described forms of heel core 21, at least main body 31 is provided with through-holes 26. Heel core 21 is harder and less likely to deform than exterior material 22 or interior material 23. Although heel core 21 is hard, providing through-holes 26 reduces its rigidity, making it possible to improve the comfort of shoe 10.

[0034] As described above, when the user puts on the shoe 10, the guide portion 32 of the heel core 21 is utilized. In other words, the guide portion 32 functions as a member for guiding the user's heel Fb into the shoe 10. For this reason, the heel core 21, including the guide portion 32, is rigid. Even though the heel core 21 is rigid, the main body 31 is provided with the through-hole 26. For this reason, the user can improve the comfort of wearing the shoe 10.

[0035] Furthermore, the through holes 26 can improve breathability. In shoes 10 having heel cores 21 of the above-described types, it is preferable that one or both of the exterior material 22 and the interior material 23 use a material that is more waterproof than the side surface material 24 in at least the portion that covers the through-hole 26. It is also preferable that a material with high moisture permeability be used in the portion that covers the through-hole 26. In other words, it is preferable that a moisture-permeable waterproof material be used in the portion that covers the through-hole 26.

[0036] 〔others〕 The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes all modifications within the scope of the claims and equivalents thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 10. Shoes 11 Sole 12 Upper 13 Heel 21 Heel core 26 Through hole 31 Main body 32 Guide section 36 Rear guide section 41L Left front edge 41R Right front edge 46 Rear wall 47L left wall 47R Right wall section K1 Expanded Area K2 reduced area S interval

Claims

1. A heel core provided in the heel portion of a shoe, The shoe has a main body portion that covers the heel of the user, and a guide portion that extends upward and rearward from the main body portion, The guide portion has a curved shape that is concave forward when viewed from above, The guide portion has a rear guide portion that is inclined downward from its upper end toward the front, A heel core having a through hole formed in the main body portion.

2. a left front edge portion extending from the left front edge of the guide portion to the left front edge of the main body portion has an inclined shape that slopes downward and forward without being recessed backward, 2. The heel core according to claim 1, wherein a right front edge portion extending from the right front edge of the guide portion to the right front edge of the main body portion has a shape that slopes downward and forward without being concave backward.

3. the main body portion has a rear wall portion located behind the heel of the user, a left wall portion located to the left of the heel of the user, and a right wall portion located to the right of the heel of the user; the body portion has a lower enlarged region and an upper reduced region; the enlarged region is a region in which the left-right distance between the left wall portion and the right wall portion gradually increases from a lower portion of the main body portion toward an upper portion thereof, 3. The heel core according to claim 1, wherein the narrowed region is a region in which the distance in the left-right direction gradually narrows upward from the enlarged region.

4. The heel core according to claim 3 , wherein the main body portion has a portion in which the distance between the left wall portion and the right wall portion in the left-right direction decreases toward the front edge.

5. The through hole is a hole that is longer in the left-right direction than in the up-down direction, The plurality of elongated holes are arranged in a line at intervals in the vertical direction. The heel core according to claim 1 or claim 2.

6. The shoe has a sole and an upper, A shoe, comprising the heel core according to claim 1 provided in a heel region of the upper that holds the heel of a user.

Images