Footgear

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to provide footwear that exactly matches the feet of many people, the movement of a big toe inward and away from a second toe is not restricted, movement of the five toes is not limited, the base sections of the toes are stimulated, putting on the footwear is easy, the toes are made uncomfortable, and the footwear will not slip off even during fast walking. The footwear comprises a sole and instep covers formed of a soft material, wherein five openings and holes are provided on toe tip parts of the instep covers, the instep covers serve as guides, the five toes are led to the corresponding openings and holes, the five toes can easily protrude from the openings and holes, and broad sections between the openings and holes serve as straps.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Technical Field [0002] The present invention relates to footwear, such as shoes, zori (Japanese sandals), geta (clogs), and slippers, that enables walking in a manner close to walking barefoot by using a constitution such that movement of toes is not restricted, that facilitates the slipping in of toes into the corresponding space between straps (hereinafter called “putting on of footwear” or a variant thereof), that facilitates the heel-to-toe rolling motion, and that naturally works with the foot as a single unit. [0003] 2. Background Art [0004] More than 4 million years are said to have passed since an ancestor of humankind began to walk upright, and 150-180,000 years have passed since the birth of Mitochondrial Eve, considered to be an ancestor of modern humans. For most of this time, man lived barefoot. The sandals of the ancient Egypt, said to be the oldest footwear, first appeared merely four thousand years ago. [0005] The Japanese, after...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0027] The present invention was conceived with a view toward eliminating the above drawbacks of the prior art, and its object is to provide footwear that exactly fits the feet of many people by eliminating the problem, inherent to conventional shoes, that a person is unable to walk normally unless he chooses a shoe size that matches his feet.

[0028] Another object is to eliminate such problems of conventional shoes as injuring the knees and back, by providing footwear that does not restrict the movement of the big toe as it splits from the second toe, moving inward, when it pushes off in the final stage of the heel-to-toe rolling motion, and that allows the longitudinal arch and transverse arch to function as cushions, thus in particular freeing women from the pain caused by hallux valgus.

[0029] Still another object is to provide footwear that does not limit the movement of toes, where capillaries are concentrated and blood can easily accumulate, thus attaining the milking action effect from walking and the effect of improved blood circulation by stimulating the base section of the toes.

Problems solved by technology

Thus there is the problem that people cannot walk normally unless they select the proper shoe size for their feet.

This leads to the problem that, unless a special order is placed for each foot, with foot length, foot perimeter, foot height, arch height, heel width and other measurements taken, people will not find shoes that fit their feet exactly.

As a result the person is forced to use the middle toe, which does not have sufficient strength for the task, or else walks in an unnatural manner, without pushing off, causing injury to knees and back.

In particular, the longer the distance from tip of big toe to shoe tip, the more the push-off function is inhibited.

When movement of the big toe is restricted, the longitudinal arch and the transverse arch are unable to function as cushions, and this brings injury to the knees and back.

In particular, shoes that are pointed in the tip center, which are common among women's shoes, often cause such painful conditions as hallux valgus, bring discomfort to women.

Because walking with shoes on restrains movement of the toes, where capillaries are concentrated and blood can easily accumulate, there is the further problem that the milking action that walking should provide is inhibited.

On the other hand, zori (Japanese sandals), geta (clogs), sandals, slippers and other footwear have the problem of not functioning as a unit with a foot.

Even so, the foot and bottom portion of the footwear separate from each other, causing the problem that when a person walks fast, a zori or geta can easily slip off.

Sandals, slippers and other slip-on footwear are worse than zori or geta in terms of becoming one with a foot and thus are not suitable for extended walking.

However, in the configuration of these designs and inventions the instep cover and straps are separate parts, and there is no toe tip guiding function when such footwear is put on the foot; there is also a lack of flexibility due to shortness of the strap itself.

Thus there is the problem that straps will get in the way of the toes' tips when the footwear is put on, and a person must use his hands to guide each toe one by one through the gaps between straps, making the putting on of such footwear a complicated process.

However, such inventions do not provide health footwear with the function of holding a foot in a flexible manner or of guiding the tips of toes when the footwear is put on, giving rise to the problem discussed above.

However, these designs and inventions do not provide sandals with the function of holding a foot in a flexible manner or of guiding the tips of toes when the footwear is put on, giving rise to the problem discussed above.

Further, the straps of the inventions or designs of patent documents 1-5 do not grip the toes, allowing footwear to slip off during walking, interfering with normal walking.

Further, in the inventions or designs of patent documents 1-7, straps are separate parts, causing an increase in the number of parts and leading to more manufacturing steps and increased manufacturing costs.

Images