Shoe

Abstract

To provide a shoe capable of stably fixing an upper body to a sole body.SOLUTION: The shoe 1A includes a flexible shell 10, an upper body 20 including a bag-like storage part side 20A, and a sole body 30 stored in the shell 10 and disposed outside the storage part side 20A. The upper body 20 includes a holding part 20B for holding the sole body 30 outside the housing part 20A, and the holding part 20B includes a first locking part 23 and a second locking part 24 disposed apart from each other in the longitudinal direction. Each of the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 has a bag shape or a band shape including at least a portion extending in the lateral direction, and the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 restrict movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 in the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction, and the vertical direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to shoes. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Publication No. 2022-127292 (Patent Document 1) and Patent Publication No. 2022-127293 (Patent Document 2) disclose shoes having a flexible shell, an upper body having a bag-like shape housed inside the shell, and a sole body arranged between the shell and the upper body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-127292 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-127293 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a configuration is adopted in which a sole body is disposed between a shell and an upper body as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the upper body is made of a relatively soft material, it is desirable to fix the upper body to the sole body from the viewpoint of preventing the upper body from shifting position inside the shell. If the upper body can be fixed to the sole body in this way, the upper body will fit the wearer's foot better when worn, resulting in a shoe that is more responsive to foot movement.

[0005] In this case, it is expected that the upper body and the sole body will be joined using an adhesive, but since the adhesive contains a considerable amount of organic solvent, adopting such a fixing structure is not necessarily desirable from the perspective of environmental impact.

[0006] Therefore, the present disclosure aims to stably fix the upper body to the sole body without using adhesive or while reducing the amount of adhesive used in a shoe that employs a configuration in which the sole body is placed between a shell and an upper body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A shoe according to one embodiment of the present disclosure has an insertion space provided therein for inserting a wearer's foot, and includes a flexible shell, an upper body, and a sole body. The shell includes a bottom wall having a ground contact surface and a peripheral wall extending from the periphery of the bottom wall. The upper body is housed in the shell and includes a bag-shaped storage compartment provided with an opening through which the wearer's foot can be inserted. The sole body is housed in the shell and positioned above the bottom wall and outside the storage compartment, thereby supporting the sole of the wearer's foot. The storage compartment includes a lower wall covering an upper surface of the sole body and side walls extending along the periphery of the lower wall and extending from the periphery of the lower wall. The upper body includes a retaining portion outside the storage compartment for holding the sole body. The retaining portion includes a first engaging portion and a second engaging portion spaced apart from each other in the front-to-rear direction, which corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the wearer's foot. Each of the first and second fastening parts has a bag-like or band-like shape that includes at least a portion extending in the left-right direction, which is a direction that matches the width direction of the wearer's foot.

[0008] In the shoe according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the sole body is sandwiched between the first and second locking portions and the lower wall portion in the up-down direction perpendicular to both the front-to-back direction and the left-to-right direction, thereby restricting movement of the sole body along the up-down direction relative to the upper body. Also, in the shoe according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the sole body is sandwiched between the first and second locking portions in the left-to-right direction, thereby restricting movement of the sole body along the left-to-right direction relative to the upper body. Furthermore, in the shoe according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the sole body is sandwiched between the first and second locking portions in the front-to-back direction, thereby restricting movement of the sole body along the front-to-back direction relative to the upper body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, in a shoe that employs a configuration in which a sole body is disposed between a shell and an upper body, it becomes possible to stably fix the upper body to the sole body without using adhesive or while reducing the amount of adhesive used. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a shoe according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view of the shoe shown in FIG. 1 as seen from another direction. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the shoe shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view of the shoe shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the outer side of the foot. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the assembly structure of the shoe shown in FIG. [Figure 10] 2 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in the shoe shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a side view of the assembly shown in FIG. 10 as seen from the outside foot side. [Figure 12] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of region XII shown in FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of an area XIII shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 14] 1. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the shell shown in FIG. 1 taken along line XIV-XIV shown in FIG. [Figure 15] 2 is a schematic diagram showing the area where a pressing surface is formed on the peripheral wall of the shell shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the shell of the shoe shown in FIG. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in a shoe according to a first modified example. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in a shoe according to a second modified example. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a side view of the assembly shown in FIG. 18 as seen from the outside foot side. [Figure 20] FIG. 19 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line XX-XX shown in FIG. [Figure 21] FIG. 11 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in a shoe according to a third modified example. [Figure 22] FIG. 11 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in a shoe according to a fourth modified example. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a shoe according to a second embodiment. [Figure 24] 24 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in the shoe shown in FIG. 23. FIG. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is a side view of the assembly shown in FIG. 24 as seen from the outside foot side. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments shown below, the same or common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0012] (Embodiment 1) <A. Schematic Configuration of Shoe> FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe according to Embodiment 1, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shoe shown in FIG. 1 viewed from another direction. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the shoe shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the shoe shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the outer foot side. FIGS. 5 to 8 are cross-sectional views taken along lines V-V, VI-VI, VII-VII, and VIII-VIII shown in FIG. 3, respectively. Further, FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the assembly structure of the shoe shown in FIG. 1. First, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9, the schematic configuration of the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment is in the form of a sock that covers substantially the entire foot of the wearer (that is, the part on the end side rather than the ankle). The shoe 1A includes a shell 10, an upper body 20, a sole body 30 (see FIGS. 5 to 9), and a heel counter 50 (see FIGS. 7 to 9). At the upper part of the shoe 1A, an opening edge 2 which is a part for inserting the foot is provided, and at the lower part of the shoe 1A, a ground contact surface 3 which contacts the ground or the like is provided. Further, inside the shoe 1A, an insertion space SP3 (see FIGS. 1, 3, and 5 to 8) which is a space for inserting the foot of the wearer is provided.

[0014] Here, the front-to-back direction X of the shoe 1A is defined as the direction that coincides with the foot length direction of a wearer wearing the shoe 1A. The left-to-right direction Y of the shoe 1A is defined as the direction that coincides with the foot width direction of a wearer wearing the shoe 1A. Furthermore, the up-to-down direction Z of the shoe 1A is defined as the direction that is perpendicular to both the front-to-back direction X and the left-to-right direction Y. The up-to-down direction Z is generally perpendicular to the ground contact surface 3 included in the midfoot portion R2 and rearfoot portion R3 of the shoe 1A, which will be described later, in particular.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the shoe 1A includes, along the front-to-rear direction X, a forefoot portion R1 configured to support the toes and tread of the wearer's foot, a midfoot portion R2 configured to support the arch of the wearer's foot, and a rearfoot portion R3 configured to support the heel of the wearer's foot.

[0016] The forefoot portion R1, midfoot portion R2, and rearfoot portion R3 are defined as follows based on the shoe center SC of the shoe 1A (see FIG. 3). Here, the shoe center SC is a line obtained by projecting a line connecting the area between the wearer's first and second toes and the center of the calcaneus (the so-called heel center (the heel center is indicated by the symbol HC in FIG. 3 and other figures)) onto the shoe 1A along the vertical direction Z when the shoe 1A is worn by a standard wearer with a foot size that fits the shoe 1A. The direction in which the shoe center SC extends coincides with the aforementioned front-to-back direction X. As a premise, the foremost and rearmost ends of the insertion space SP3 in the front-to-back direction X, which are on the shoe center SC, are referred to as the front end position PF and the rear end position PR, respectively, and the distance between the front end position PF and the rear end position PR along the front-to-back direction X is referred to as the total length of the insertion space SP3.

[0017] In other words, if the first boundary plane P1 is an imaginary plane that passes through a position 40% of the total length of the insertion space SP3 from the front end position PF and is perpendicular to the shoe center SC, and the second boundary plane P2 is an imaginary plane that passes through a position 80% of the total length of the insertion space SP3 from the front end position PF and is perpendicular to the shoe center SC, then the forefoot R1 corresponds to the part between the front end position PF and the first boundary plane P1 along the front-to-back direction X, the midfoot R2 corresponds to the part between the first boundary plane P1 and the second boundary plane P2 along the front-to-back direction X, and the rearfoot R3 corresponds to the part between the second boundary plane P2 and the rear end position PR along the front-to-back direction X.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 3, the shoe 1A is divided along the left-right direction Y when viewed in a plan view into an inner foot part (the S1 side part shown in FIG. 3) which is on the midline side (i.e., the side closer to the midline) of the anatomical orthogonal position of the foot, and an outer foot part (the S2 side part shown in FIG. 3) which is on the opposite side of the midline side of the anatomical orthogonal position of the foot (i.e., the side farther from the midline).

[0019] As shown in Figures 1 to 9, in shoe 1A, an upper body 20 is housed in a shell 10. A sole body 30 is housed in the shell 10 and is disposed outside a housing portion 20A (see Figures 3 and 5 to 8) of the upper body 20, which will be described later, and is fixed to the upper body 20. A heel counter 50 is housed in the shell 10 and disposed outside the upper body 20. The shell 10, upper body 20, and sole body 30 are all positioned across the forefoot region R1, midfoot region R2, and rearfoot region R3. Meanwhile, the heel counter 50 is located in the rearfoot region R3.

[0020] As shown in Figures 1 to 8, shell 10 constitutes the outermost shell of shoe 1A and is made of a flexible material configured in a bag-like shape with an open mouth 10a. Shell 10 has an internal space that communicates with mouth 10a, and the above-mentioned insertion space SP3 is included in this internal space. Upper body 20, sole body 30, and heel counter 50 are arranged in the internal space of shell 10.

[0021] The shell 10 includes a bottom wall 11 configured to cover the sole of the wearer's foot, and a peripheral wall 12 configured to cover the peripheral surface of the wearer's foot. The peripheral wall 12 is erected so as to extend continuously upward from the peripheral edge of the bottom wall 11.

[0022] 5 to 7, the bottom wall 11 has a pair of main surfaces, an inner surface 11a and an outer surface 11b. The inner surface 11a is located on the insertion space SP3 side, and the outer surface 11b constitutes the outermost surface located on the lower side of the shoe 1A in the vertical direction Z. The outer surface 11b of the bottom wall 11 corresponds to the above-mentioned ground contact surface 3, and thus the bottom wall 11 has the ground contact surface 3.

[0023] The peripheral wall 12 has a pair of main surfaces, an inner peripheral surface 12a and an outer peripheral surface 12b. The inner peripheral surface 12a is located on the insertion space SP3 side, and the outer peripheral surface 12b constitutes the outermost surface located in the front-to-back direction X of the shoe 1A, the outermost surface located in the left-to-right direction Y, and the outermost surface located on the upper side in the up-down direction Z.

[0024] As shown in Figures 3 to 7, the peripheral wall portion 12 has an inner foot side peripheral wall portion 12A configured to cover the inner part of the wearer's foot, an outer foot side peripheral wall portion 12B configured to cover the outer part of the wearer's foot, a rear side peripheral wall portion 12C configured to cover the rear surface of the heel of the wearer's foot, and a front side peripheral wall portion 12D configured to cover the front surface of the toes of the wearer's foot.

[0025] The height of the peripheral wall portion 12 (i.e., the dimension in the vertical direction Z) is not particularly limited, but for example, by making the height of the outer foot side peripheral wall portion 12B lower than the height of the inner foot side peripheral wall portion 12A at a position corresponding to the opening 2, the pressure that the wearer's ankle receives from the shoe 1A can be reduced.

[0026] Here, in particular, the portion of the peripheral wall portion 12 that is configured to cover the instep of the wearer's foot (i.e., the portion of the peripheral wall portion 12 that is located on the upper side in the vertical direction Z) is configured to be thinner than the other portions included in the peripheral wall portion 12, and is configured with a mesh-like structure portion 10b that is made up of multiple straight-line portions that intersect with each other in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction.

[0027] With this configuration, the portion of the peripheral wall 12 that is configured to cover the instep of the wearer's foot has a lower tensile modulus and bending rigidity than the other portions of the peripheral wall 12. This allows this portion to deform more flexibly. Therefore, when worn, the shoe 1A can be improved in fit while preventing excessive pressure from being applied to the instep (particularly the ridge of the instep). Furthermore, the shoe 1A is less likely to be hindered from bending when running or walking, allowing the shoe 1A to more easily follow the movement of the foot. Additionally, the shoe 1A can be put on and taken off more easily.

[0028] In addition, the portion of the peripheral wall 12 that is configured to cover the instep of the wearer's foot may be configured with a mesh-like structure in which polygons such as triangles and squares are regularly arranged, or a mesh-like structure in the shape of lines obtained by Voronoi division, in addition to the structure described above.

[0029] 1 to 8, the opening 10a described above is provided at the upper end of the peripheral wall 12. This opening 10a is located across the midfoot region R2 and the rearfoot region R3. The opening 10a is provided to correspond to the opening 2 described above, and during the manufacture of the shoe 1A, the upper body 20, the sole body 30, and the heel counter 50 are inserted into the shell 10 through the opening 10a.

[0030] 5 to 7, the internal space of the shell 10 is defined by the inner surface 11a of the bottom wall portion 11 and the inner peripheral surface 12a of the peripheral wall portion 12. The internal space is located across the forefoot portion R1, the midfoot portion R2, and the rearfoot portion R3.

[0031] The internal space of the shell 10 is divided into a lower space SP1 located in the lower portion of the shoe 1A in the vertical direction Z, and an upper space SP2 located in the upper portion of the shoe 1A in the vertical direction Z. More specifically, the lower space SP1 is a space defined by the inner surface 11a of the bottom wall portion 11 and the inner circumferential surface 12a of the peripheral wall portion 12 at a portion adjacent to the bottom wall portion 11, and the upper space SP2 is a space defined by the inner circumferential surface 12a of the peripheral wall portion 12 at a portion located above the portion adjacent to the bottom wall portion 11 in the vertical direction Z.

[0032] As will be described in detail later, the lower space SP1 accommodates the retaining portion 20B located on the lower side of the upper body 20, the entire sole body 30, and the lower portion of the heel counter 50, while the upper space SP2 accommodates the accommodating portion 20A located on the upper side of the upper body 20, and the upper portion of the heel counter 50. The upper space SP2 further includes the above-mentioned insertion space SP3. The insertion space SP3 is defined by the accommodating portion 20A of the upper body 20, which will be described later.

[0033] 1 to 8, upper body 20 constitutes the portion of shoe 1A that comes into contact with the wearer's foot and is made of a bag-shaped member with opening 20a. Upper body 20 is housed in shell 10 in a state where it is superimposed on bottom wall 11 and peripheral wall 12 of shell 10 so as to cover the inner surface of shell 10. Upper body 20 is made of a flexibly deformable member from the viewpoints of improving fit and ensuring good comfort.

[0034] As described above, the upper body 20 has the accommodation portion 20A located on its upper side and the retaining portion 20B located on its lower side. The accommodation portion 20A is a portion for defining the insertion space SP3 into which the wearer's foot is inserted, and the retaining portion 20B is a portion for fixing the upper body 20 to the sole body 30 by retaining the sole body 30.

[0035] The accommodation section 20A of the upper body 20 includes a lower wall section 21 configured to cover the sole of the wearer's foot, and a side wall section 22 configured to cover the peripheral surface of the wearer's foot. The side wall section 22 is erected so as to extend continuously upward from the peripheral edge of the lower wall section 21. The lower wall section 21 extends along the upper surface of the sole body 30 (more precisely, the top surface 31a of the midsole 31 described below), and the side wall section 22 extends along the inner peripheral surface 12a of the peripheral wall section 12 of the shell 10.

[0036] 5 to 7, the lower wall portion 21 has a pair of main surfaces, an inner surface 21a and an outer surface 21b. The inner surface 21a is located on the insertion space SP3 side, and the outer surface 21b is located on the bottom wall portion 11 side of the shell 10.

[0037] The side wall portion 22 has a pair of main surfaces, an inner peripheral surface 22a and an outer peripheral surface 22b. The inner peripheral surface 22a is located on the insertion space SP3 side, and the outer peripheral surface 22b is located on the peripheral wall portion 12 side of the shell 10.

[0038] As shown in Figures 3 to 8, the side wall portion 22 has an inner foot side wall portion 22A configured to cover the inner part of the wearer's foot, an outer foot side wall portion 22B configured to cover the outer part of the wearer's foot, a rear side wall portion 22C configured to cover the rear surface of the heel of the wearer's foot, and a front side wall portion 22D configured to cover the front surface of the toes of the wearer's foot.

[0039] As a result, the medial foot side wall 22A of the upper body 20 is positioned to overlap the medial foot side peripheral wall 12A of the shell 10, and the lateral foot side wall 22B of the upper body 20 is positioned to overlap the lateral foot side peripheral wall 12B of the shell 10. In addition, the rear side wall 22C of the upper body 20 is positioned to overlap the rear side peripheral wall 12C of the shell 10, and the front side wall 22D of the upper body 20 is positioned to overlap the front side peripheral wall 12D of the shell 10.

[0040] Furthermore, a fastening portion 26 is provided at the rear end portion in the front-to-rear direction X of the accommodation portion 20A of the upper body 20. This fastening portion 26 secures the shell 10, the upper body 20, and the heel counter 50 to one another. More specifically, the fastening portion 26 has a belt-like shape and is drawn out from the rear wall portion 22C of the upper body 20. The fastening portion 26 is inserted into a through-hole-shaped insertion portion provided in the heel counter 50 and a through-hole-shaped insertion portion provided in the shell 10. In this state, the shell 10 and the heel counter 50 are tightened by the fastening portion 26, and the tip of the fastening portion 26 is attached to the upper body 20, thereby securing the shell 10, the upper body 20, and the heel counter 50 to one another.

[0041] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, the opening 20a described above is provided at the upper end of the side wall 22. This opening 20a is located across the midfoot region R2 and the rearfoot region R3. The opening 20a corresponds to the opening 2 described above, and when worn, the wearer's foot is inserted into the insertion space SP3 through this opening 20a. The upper end of the side wall 22, at the portion that defines the opening 20a, is positioned so as to protrude upward in the vertical direction Z beyond the opening 10a of the shell 10. This prevents the shell 10 from coming into direct contact with the wearer's ankle when worn, ensuring a comfortable fit.

[0042] The retaining portion 20B of the upper body 20 includes a first locking portion 23 provided at the front end side of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X, and a second locking portion 24 provided at the rear end side of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X (see FIGS. 5, 7 to 9). The first locking portion 23 has a bag-like shape capable of accommodating the front end side of the sole body 30 in the front-to-rear direction X, and the second locking portion 24 has a bag-like shape capable of accommodating the rear end side of the sole body 30 in the front-to-rear direction X. More specifically, the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 sandwich and hold the sole body 30 between themselves and the lower wall portion 21 that constitutes the storage portion 20A, and their detailed structure will be described later.

[0043] 5 to 9, the sole body 30 includes a midsole 31 as a cushioning material and a plate 32 as a rebound material. The midsole 31 and the plate 32 are stacked in the vertical direction Z so that the midsole 31 is located above the plate 32. The sole body 30 is housed in the shell 10 and held by the holding portion 20B of the upper body 20 described above, and is thereby fixed to the upper body 20 in a state where it is located above the bottom wall portion 11 of the shell 10 and outside the holding portion 20A of the upper body 20.

[0044] The midsole 31 supports the sole of the wearer's foot by forming part of the part of the shoe 1A that comes into contact with the wearer's foot (more specifically, the part that comes into contact with the sole of the wearer's foot), and has a generally flat, plate-like shape. The midsole 31 has a pair of main surfaces, a top surface 31a and a bottom surface 31b, and a side end surface 31c that connects the top surface 31a and the bottom surface 31b. The midsole 31 is made of an elastically deformable material with a predetermined thickness so that the desired cushioning performance can be obtained when landing, etc.

[0045] Here, the top surface 31a of the midsole 31 may be configured to have an uneven shape corresponding to the shape of the sole of the wearer's foot, in order to prevent the wearer's ankle from collapsing (so-called pronation) and the arch of the wearer's foot from collapsing when landing.

[0046] The plate 32 has a pair of main surfaces, a first main surface 32a and a second main surface 32b, positioned in the thickness direction, and a peripheral end surface 32c connecting the first main surface 32a and the second main surface 32b. The first main surface 32a faces upward in the vertical direction Z, and the second main surface 32b faces downward in the vertical direction Z. The plate 32 is made of a hard material that is thinner than the midsole 31 so as to obtain the desired resilience performance during kicking off and other times.

[0047] As described above, the sole body 30 is configured by laminating the midsole 31 and the plate 32, and the bottom surface 31b of the midsole 31 is in contact with the first main surface 32a of the plate 32. The midsole 31 and the plate 32 may be joined together by, for example, an adhesive, but from the viewpoint of reducing the amount of organic solvent used, it is preferable that the midsole 31 and the plate 32 are not joined together.

[0048] The sole body 30 has an upper surface defined by the top surface 31a of the midsole 31, a lower surface defined by the second main surface 32b of the plate 32, and a peripheral surface defined by the side end surface 31c of the midsole 31 and the peripheral end surface 32c of the plate 32. Of these, the upper surface of the sole body 30 is covered by the lower wall 21 of the upper body 20. Meanwhile, the peripheral surface and lower surface of the sole body 30 face the peripheral wall 12 and bottom wall 11 of the shell 10, respectively, partly via the retaining portion 20B of the upper body 20 (i.e., the first engaging portion 23 and the second engaging portion 24) and partly without the retaining portion 20B.

[0049] 7 and 8, heel counter 50 covers the peripheral surface of the heel of the wearer's foot (i.e., the medial and lateral malleolus of the wearer's foot and the rear surface of the heel in the portion located between them), and is composed of a curved plate that is roughly C-shaped when viewed in a direction perpendicular to ground contact surface 3. Heel counter 50 is a member that reinforces medial foot-side peripheral wall 12A and lateral foot-side peripheral wall 12B of shell 10 in the portion corresponding to rear foot region R3, as well as rear-side peripheral wall 12C of shell 10.

[0050] The heel counter 50 is made of a material that is harder than the shell 10 and the upper body 20. The heel counter 50 includes a surrounding portion 51 that covers the circumferential surface of the heel of the wearer's foot, and a protruding portion 52 that extends continuously from the lower end of the surrounding portion 51.

[0051] The surrounding portion 51 has a first portion 51A that covers the inner peripheral surface of the heel of the wearer's foot (i.e., the inner malleolus of the wearer's foot), a second portion 51B that covers the outer peripheral surface of the heel of the wearer's foot (i.e., the outer malleolus of the wearer's foot), and a third portion 51C that connects the first portion 51A and the second portion 51B and covers the back surface of the heel of the wearer's foot.

[0052] As a result, the first portion 51A of the surrounding portion 51 is positioned between the medial foot-side peripheral wall 12A of the shell 10 and the medial foot-side wall 22A of the upper body 20 so as to overlap them, and the second portion 51B of the surrounding portion 51 is positioned between the lateral foot-side peripheral wall 12B of the shell 10 and the lateral foot-side wall 22B of the upper body 20 so as to overlap them. In addition, the third portion 51C of the surrounding portion 51 is positioned between the rear peripheral wall 12C of the shell 10 and the rear wall 22C of the upper body 20 so as to overlap them.

[0053] Therefore, since the peripheral surface of the heel of the wearer's foot is surrounded by the surrounding portion 51 of the heel counter 50, the shell 10 and upper body 20 covering the peripheral surface of the heel of the wearer's foot can be prevented from collapsing in the left-right direction Y, thereby ensuring stability particularly when landing.

[0054] The protruding portion 52 extends from the lower end of the surrounding portion 51 toward the bottom wall portion 11 and protrudes toward the peripheral wall portion 12. More specifically, the protruding portion 52 is provided so as to extend continuously from all of the first portion 51A, the second portion 51B, and the third portion 51C of the surrounding portion 51, thereby giving the protruding portion 52 a flared shape. The protruding portion 52 is a portion for fixing the heel counter 50 to the shell 10, and details thereof will be described later.

[0055] Shoe 1A according to the present embodiment described above is configured so that the circumferential surface and sole of the wearer's foot are covered by upper body 20. Therefore, when the wearer wears shoe 1A, the wearer's foot comes into contact with flexibly deformable soft upper body 20, and shell 10 does not come into direct contact with the wearer's foot, ensuring a comfortable fit.

[0056] In addition, in the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, the sole of the wearer's foot is configured to be supported by a sole body 30 including a midsole 31 and a plate 32 via an upper body 20. Therefore, not only can the impact at the time of landing be suppressed from being applied to the wearer's foot, but it is also possible to obtain a high propulsion force during running, making it a shoe.

[0057] However, the upper body 20 does not necessarily need to come into contact with the wearer's foot entirely. In a range where the wearing comfort is not impaired, a notch shape or an opening-shaped removal portion or the like may be provided in the upper body 20.

[0058] <B. Material of Each Member> Next, the materials of the above-described respective members will be described. Note that the specific materials shown below are merely examples and are not limited thereto.

[0059] The shell 10 may basically be made of any material as long as it has flexibility, but it is preferably provided with appropriate strength. From this viewpoint, the shell 10 is preferably made of a resin material or a rubber material. Here, the material constituting the shell 10 may be a reactive one that starts a reaction by light (for example, ultraviolet light) or heat, and may be, for example, a polymer or a reactive monomer.

[0060] More specifically, when the shell 10 is made of resin, for example, it can be made of a polyolefin resin, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), a polyamide-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPA, TPAE), a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), or a polyester-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPEE). On the other hand, when the shell 10 is made of rubber, for example, it can be made of butadiene rubber.

[0061] The shell 10 can also be made of a polymer composition. In this case, examples of the polymer contained in the polymer composition include olefin-based polymers such as olefin-based elastomers and olefin-based resins. Examples of olefin-based polymers include polyethylene (e.g., linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE)), polypropylene, ethylene-propylene copolymers, propylene-1-hexene copolymers, propylene-4-methyl-1-pentene copolymers, propylene-1-butene copolymers, ethylene-1-hexene copolymers, ethylene-4-methyl-pentene copolymers, ethylene-1-butene copolymers, 1-butene-1-hexene copolymers, 1-butene-4-methyl-pentene, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers, ethylene-methyl methacrylate copolymers, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers, and ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers. Examples of the polyolefin include ethyl acrylate copolymer, ethylene-butyl methacrylate copolymer, ethylene-methyl acrylate copolymer, ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer, ethylene-butyl acrylate copolymer, propylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, propylene-methyl methacrylate copolymer, propylene-ethyl methacrylate copolymer, propylene-butyl methacrylate copolymer, propylene-methyl acrylate copolymer, propylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer, propylene-butyl acrylate copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), and propylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

[0062] The polymer may be an amide polymer such as an amide elastomer or an amide resin, etc. Examples of the amide polymer include polyamide 6, polyamide 11, polyamide 12, polyamide 66, and polyamide 610.

[0063] The polymer may also be an ester-based polymer such as an ester-based elastomer or an ester-based resin, etc. Examples of the ester-based polymer include polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate.

[0064] The polymer may be a urethane polymer such as a urethane elastomer or a urethane resin. Examples of the urethane polymer include polyester polyurethane and polyether polyurethane, and urethane acrylate is particularly suitable.

[0065] The polymer may also be a styrene-based polymer such as a styrene-based elastomer or a styrene-based resin. Examples of styrene-based elastomers include styrene-ethylene-butylene copolymer (SEB), styrene-butadiene-styrene copolymer (SBS), hydrogenated SBS (styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene copolymer (SEBS)), styrene-isoprene-styrene copolymer (SIS), hydrogenated SIS (styrene-ethylene-propylene-styrene copolymer (SEPS)), styrene-isobutylene-styrene copolymer (SIBS), styrene-butadiene-styrene-butadiene (SBSB), and styrene-butadiene-styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBSBS). Examples of styrene-based resins include polystyrene, acrylonitrile-styrene resin (AS), and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin (ABS).

[0066] Furthermore, the polymer may be, for example, an acrylic polymer such as polymethyl methacrylate, a urethane-based acrylic polymer, a polyester-based acrylic polymer, a polyether-based acrylic polymer, a polycarbonate-based acrylic polymer, an epoxy-based acrylic polymer, a conjugated diene polymer-based acrylic polymer and hydrogenated products thereof, a urethane-based methacrylic polymer, a polyester-based methacrylic polymer, a polyether-based methacrylic polymer, a polycarbonate-based methacrylic polymer, an epoxy-based methacrylic polymer, a conjugated diene polymer-based methacrylic polymer and hydrogenated products thereof, a polyvinyl chloride resin, a silicone-based elastomer, butadiene rubber (BR), isoprene rubber (IR), chloroprene (CR), natural rubber (NR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR), butyl rubber (IIR), or the like.

[0067] The method for manufacturing shell 10 is not particularly limited, but shell 10 can be manufactured by, for example, injection molding, cast molding, or modeling using a three-dimensional additive manufacturing device. In particular, if shell 10 is manufactured by modeling using a three-dimensional additive manufacturing device, it is possible to manufacture shells 10 with a wide variety of structures that are difficult to manufacture by injection molding or cast molding. Furthermore, when using a three-dimensional additive manufacturing device for modeling, the modeling method is not particularly limited, but preferably, fused deposition modeling, optical fabrication, or powder sintering additive manufacturing can be used.

[0068] The upper body 20 may be made of basically any material as long as it is flexibly deformable, but preferably, woven fabric, knitted fabric, nonwoven fabric, synthetic leather, resin, etc. More specifically, the upper body 20 may be made of natural fibers such as cotton, linen, silk, etc., or synthetic fibers such as polyamide resins such as nylon, polyester resins, polyurethane resins, polyvinyl alcohol resins such as vinylon, polyacrylonitrile resins such as Exlan and Cashmilon, polyvinyl chloride resins such as Tevilon and Environ, polypropylene resins such as Pylen, polyethylene resins, polystyrene resins, etc. The upper body 20 may also be made of recycled fibers such as rayon and cupra.

[0069] In particular, as will be described later, if a heat-shrinkable synthetic fiber woven fabric, knitted fabric, nonwoven fabric, or the like is used for a portion of the upper body 20, the upper body 20 can be made to fit the wearer's foot better. Examples of heat-shrinkable synthetic fibers include those containing polyester resin, polyurethane resin, or the like as a main component, and particularly preferred is Hytrel (trademark), a type of polyester resin.

[0070] That is, if a portion of the upper body 20 is made of a heat-shrinkable synthetic fiber woven or knitted fabric, nonwoven fabric, or the like, the upper body 20 can be formed into a bag shape in advance, and a last can be inserted into the bag and then subjected to a heat treatment. The heat shrinkage caused by the heat causes the portion of the upper body 20 to change shape and become intimately attached to the last, and the changed shape is maintained. Therefore, by preparing a last that corresponds to the shape of the wearer's foot and using it to mold the upper body 20 described above, it is possible to manufacture an upper body 20 that fits the wearer's foot. Furthermore, by performing a heat treatment using the above-described last while the upper body 20 is assembled into the shell 10, the upper body 20 will also fit the shell 10, further improving fit.

[0071] Here, the portion of the upper body 20 that can be made of a heat-shrinkable synthetic fiber woven fabric, knitted fabric, nonwoven fabric, or the like is the above-mentioned side wall portion 22. This side wall portion 22 is the portion that comes into contact with the circumferential surface of the wearer's foot.

[0072] The above-mentioned last may be a standard shape that corresponds to the wearer's foot size, but if a last made based on foot shape data obtained by measuring the actual wearer's foot is used, the fit of the manufactured shoe 1A to the wearer's foot will be significantly improved.

[0073] Furthermore, the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20 can also be manufactured by molding using a three-dimensional additive manufacturing device. When manufacturing the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20 by molding using a three-dimensional additive manufacturing device in this way, the shape of the lower wall portion 21 can be determined based on foot shape data obtained by measuring the feet of an actual wearer, thereby making it possible to significantly improve the fit of the manufactured shoe 1A to the wearer's foot.

[0074] The midsole 31 may be made of basically any material as long as it is elastically deformable, but is preferably made of a material that has adequate strength and excellent cushioning properties. From this perspective, the midsole 31 may be made of, for example, a resin foam material containing a resin material as a main component and a foaming agent and a cross-linking agent as secondary components. Alternatively, a rubber foam material containing a rubber material as a main component and a plasticizer, foaming agent, reinforcing agent, and cross-linking agent as secondary components may be used.

[0075] Particularly preferably, the midsole 31 can be made of a foam material such as polyolefin resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), polyamide thermoplastic elastomer (TPA, TPAE), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyester thermoplastic elastomer (TPEE), etc. However, the midsole 31 does not necessarily have to be made of a foam material, and may be made of a non-foam material.

[0076] The plate 32 is not particularly limited in material as long as it is made of a material harder than the material making up the midsole 31. Examples of materials for the plate 32 include fiber-reinforced resins using carbon fiber, glass fiber, aramid fiber, Dyneema fiber (registered trademark), Zylon fiber (registered trademark), boron fiber, or the like as reinforcing fibers and epoxy resin, polyester resin, phenol resin, polyamide resin, polypropylene resin, polyethylene resin, polyurethane resin, or the like as a base material, and non-fiber-reinforced resins made of polymer resins such as urethane-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPU), amide-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPA), and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA).

[0077] The heel counter 50 may be made of a material harder than the material constituting the shell 10, and its material is not particularly limited. Examples of the material of the heel counter 50 include polymer resins such as urethane-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPU), amide-based thermoplastic elastomers (TPA), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA), and thermosetting urethane elastomers (TSU), and thermoplastic rubbers.

[0078] The manufacturing method of the heel counter 50 is not particularly limited, but the heel counter 50 can be manufactured, for example, by injection molding, casting molding, or molding using a three-dimensional laminating apparatus. In particular, if the heel counter 50 is manufactured by molding using a three-dimensional laminating apparatus, heel counters 50 with various structures that are difficult to manufacture by injection molding or casting molding can be manufactured. Also, even when the molding using a three-dimensional laminating apparatus is adopted, the molding method is not particularly limited, but preferably, a thermal melting lamination molding method, a photolithography molding method, or a powder sintering lamination molding method can be used.

[0079] <C. Fixing Structure of Upper Body to Sole Body> FIG. 10 is a bottom view of an assembly of the upper body and the sole body included in the shoe shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 11 is a side view of the assembly shown in FIG. 10 as viewed from the outer foot side. Next, referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, the fixing structure of the upper body 20 to the sole body 30 in the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

[0080] The shoe 1A according to this embodiment is configured so that the upper body 20 and the sole body 30 can be assembled in advance as components prior to assembling the upper body 20 and the sole body 30 to the shell 10. Figures 10 and 11 illustrate only the assembly of the upper body 20 and the sole body 30. In this embodiment, the sole body 30 includes the midsole 31 and plate 32 described above, and the sole body 30 refers to the state in which the midsole 31 and plate 32 are stacked together.

[0081] 10 and 11, the sole body 30 is not accommodated in the accommodation portion 20A provided in the upper body 20, but is held outside the accommodation portion 20A by the holding portion 20B. The upper body 20 holds the sole body 30 by the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 serving as the holding portion 20B, as described above. Note that in FIGS. 10 and 11, the holding portion 20B is colored dark to facilitate understanding (the same applies to FIGS. 17 to 19, 21, 22, 24, and 25, which will be described later).

[0082] The first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 are positioned at a distance from each other in the front-to-rear direction X. More specifically, the first locking portion 23 is positioned at the front end side of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X, and the second locking portion 24 is positioned at the rear end side of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X.

[0083] The first locking portion 23 is made of a sheet-like member and has a bag-like shape that includes a portion extending in the left-right direction Y. The first locking portion 23 has its periphery, excluding its rear end edge in the front-rear direction X, joined, for example, by sewing, to the periphery of the front end portion of the lower wall portion 21 that constitutes the storage section 20A. Here, the sheet-like member that constitutes the first locking portion 23 is configured to be larger than the outer shape of the front end portion of the lower wall portion 21, so that the first locking portion 23 forms a space between itself and the lower wall portion 21 without being in close contact with the outer surface 21b of the lower wall portion 21.

[0084] That is, the first engagement portion 23 rises from the lower wall portion 21 generally downward in the vertical direction Z near the portion joined to the lower wall portion 21 (i.e., the portion of its periphery excluding the rear end edge in the front-to-back direction X), and is positioned opposite the lower wall portion 21 at a distance in the portion excluding this rising portion.

[0085] As a result, a space into which the front end of the sole body 30 can be inserted is formed between the first locking portion 23 and the lower wall portion 21, and when the front end of the sole body 30 is inserted into this space, the portion excluding the portion rising from the lower wall portion 21 becomes a lower surface side cover portion 23a that covers the underside of the front end of the sole body 30, and the portion rising from the lower wall portion 21 becomes a peripheral surface side cover portion 23b that covers the peripheral surface of the front end of the sole body 30. Furthermore, the rear end edge in the front-to-rear direction X, which is the portion of the peripheral edge of the first locking portion 23 that is not joined to the lower wall portion 21, becomes an insertion opening 23c for inserting the front end of the sole body 30 into the space.

[0086] The second locking portion 24 is made of a sheet-like member and has a bag-like shape that includes a portion extending in the left-right direction Y. The second locking portion 24 has its periphery, excluding its front end edge in the front-rear direction X, joined, for example, by sewing, to the periphery of the rear end portion of the lower wall portion 21 that constitutes the storage portion 20A. Here, the sheet-like member that constitutes the second locking portion 24 is configured to be larger than the outer shape of the rear end portion of the lower wall portion 21, so that the second locking portion 24 forms a space between itself and the lower wall portion 21 without being in close contact with the outer surface 21b of the lower wall portion 21.

[0087] That is, the second engagement portion 24 rises up from the lower wall portion 21 generally downward in the up-down direction Z near the portion joined to the lower wall portion 21 (i.e., the portion of its periphery excluding the front end edge in the fore-and-aft direction X), and is positioned opposite the lower wall portion 21 at a distance in the portion excluding this rising portion.

[0088] As a result, a space into which the rear end of the sole body 30 can be inserted is formed between the second engaging portion 24 and the lower wall portion 21, and when the rear end of the sole body 30 is inserted into this space, the portion excluding the portion rising from the lower wall portion 21 becomes a lower surface side cover portion 24a that covers the underside of the rear end of the sole body 30, and the portion rising from the lower wall portion 21 becomes a peripheral surface side cover portion 24b that covers the peripheral surface of the rear end of the sole body 30. Furthermore, the front end edge in the front-to-rear direction X, which is the portion of the peripheral edge of the second engaging portion 24 that is not joined to the lower wall portion 21, becomes an insertion opening 24c for inserting the rear end of the sole body 30 into the space.

[0089] Here, it is preferable to use a sewing method known as overlock to sew the first fastening portion 23 to the lower wall portion 21 and the second fastening portion 24 to the lower wall portion 21. By using this sewing method, it is not necessary to fold back any of the first fastening portion 23, the second fastening portion 24, and the lower wall portion 21 when sewing them together, which allows for a thinner sewn portion. In addition, by using this sewing method, it is possible to sew the first fastening portion 23 and the second fastening portion 24 to the lower wall portion 21 in a substantially vertically upright state, which helps to maintain the shape of the upper body 20. Furthermore, it is also preferable to use this sewing method when sewing the lower wall portion 21 to the side wall portion 22, from the same perspective. However, this sewing method is not necessarily required, and other sewing methods may be used.

[0090] In this configuration, the sole body 30 is assembled to the upper body 20 by inserting the front end portion of the sole body 30 into the space between the first locking portion 23 and the lower wall portion 21, and by inserting the rear end portion of the sole body 30 into the space between the second locking portion 24 and the lower wall portion 21. In other words, the front end portion and the rear end portion of the sole body 30 are held by the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24, respectively, and as a result, the upper body 20 is fixed to the sole body 30.

[0091] When the sole body 30 is assembled to the upper body 20, the sole body 30 is sandwiched in the up-down direction Z between the first and second locking portions 23 and 24 and the lower wall portion 21. That is, the front end of the sole body 30 is sandwiched between the lower surface cover portion 23a of the first locking portion 23 and the lower wall portion 21, and the rear end of the sole body 30 is sandwiched between the lower surface cover portion 24a of the second locking portion 24 and the lower wall portion 21. This limits the movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 in the up-down direction Z.

[0092] In this way, by limiting the movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 in the up-down direction Z, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of a gap that may occur between the instep of the wearer's foot and the shell 10 as the wearer's foot sinks due to the sole body 30 being compressed downward by the wearer's foot when landing. Therefore, it is possible to provide a shoe with excellent followability. Furthermore, by fixing the front end and rear end in the front-to-rear direction X in the up-down direction Z, it is possible to provide a shoe with improved followability to the bending movement of the foot that occurs when running or walking.

[0093] Furthermore, when the sole body 30 is assembled to the upper body 20, the sole body 30 is sandwiched in the left-right direction Y by the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24. That is, the front end of the sole body 30 is sandwiched between opposing portions of the circumferential surface cover portion 23b of the first locking portion 23 in the left-right direction Y, and the rear end of the sole body 30 is sandwiched between opposing portions of the circumferential surface cover portion 24b of the second locking portion 24 in the left-right direction Y. This limits movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 in the left-right direction Y.

[0094] In this way, by being able to restrict the movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 in the left-right direction Y, combined with the above-mentioned restriction on the movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 in the up-down direction Z, the upper body 20 and the sole body 30 are able to better follow the twisting of the foot that may occur when running or walking, making it possible to suppress the occurrence of wobbling in the left-right direction of the foot, particularly when landing.

[0095] Furthermore, when the sole body 30 is assembled to the upper body 20, the sole body 30 is sandwiched in the front-to-rear direction X by the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24. That is, the sole body 30 is sandwiched between a portion of the circumferential surface cover portion 23b of the first locking portion 23 facing rearward in the front-to-rear direction X and a portion of the circumferential surface cover portion 24b of the second locking portion 24 facing forward in the front-to-rear direction X. This limits movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X.

[0096] In this way, by restricting the movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 along the front-to-back direction X, it is possible to prevent the sole body 30 from moving in the front-to-back direction due to the bending of the foot that occurs when running or walking, and not only can a stable landing be achieved, but the shoe can also have improved foot-following properties.

[0097] Therefore, with this configuration, the movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 is restricted in any of the front-to-back direction X, the left-to-right direction Y, and the up-to-down direction Z, and as a result, the upper body 20 can be stably fixed to the sole body 30. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the upper body 20 from shifting position relative to the sole body 30 during use, resulting in a shoe 1A that fits the wearer's foot better and provides stability when landing.

[0098] Furthermore, the above-described structure for fixing the upper body 20 to the sole body 30 can stably fix the upper body 20 to the sole body 30 without using adhesive, which means that the amount of organic solvent used can be reduced compared to when adhesive is used for fixing them. Therefore, by adopting the above-described structure, the environmental load can be reduced compared to conventional methods.

[0099] Furthermore, by adopting the above configuration, the upper body 20 can be fixed to the sole body 30 without using adhesive, which makes it easy to replace the upper body 20 and the sole body 30 individually. Therefore, if a plurality of upper bodies 20 and sole bodies 30 with different specifications are prepared in advance, these can be freely combined according to the wearer's preferences, making it possible to provide shoes that meet the wearer's needs easily and at low cost.

[0100] Here, first locking portion 23 and second locking portion 24 as retaining portion 20B are preferably made of a non-elastic material or a low-elastic material. By making retaining portion 20B of a non-elastic or low-elastic material in this way, upper body 20 can be more firmly fixed to sole body 30.

[0101] Of the lower wall 21 and side wall 22 that constitute the accommodation section 20A, the lower wall 21 is also preferably made of a non-elastic or low-elastic material. With this configuration, not only can the upper body 20 be more firmly fixed to the sole body 30, but also, because the inner foot side wall 22A and the outer foot side wall 22B are connected by the lower wall 21, the inner foot side wall 22A and the outer foot side wall 22B can be prevented from collapsing outward in the left-right direction Y.

[0102] Here, when the holding part 20B and / or the lower wall part 21 are formed of a member with low stretchability, they may be formed of a member with lower stretchability than the side wall part 22. That is, since the side wall part 22 is a part that contacts the peripheral surface of the wearer's foot, it is preferably formed of a relatively stretchable member. In contrast, the holding part 20B and / or the lower wall part 21 can be formed of a member with lower stretchability than this, and the above-described effects can be obtained.

[0103] In addition, when the upper body 20 is provided with the holding part 20B composed of the first locking part 23 and the second locking part 24 described above, there is a concern that the bending of the shoe during running or walking may be slightly inhibited compared to the case where it is not provided. However, as described above, both the first locking part 23 and the second locking part 24 are formed of sheet-like thin members and can be flexibly deformed, so the bending of the shoe is hardly inhibited by this. Therefore, by making the shoe 1A as in the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid a decrease in the followability of the shoe with respect to the movement of the foot and to stably fix the upper body 20 to the sole body 30.

[0104] <D. Installation position of the holding part> Next, referring to FIG. 10 described above, the position where the holding part 20B should be provided will be described in more detail.

[0105] As shown in FIG. 10, in the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, as described above, the first locking part 23 and the second locking part 24 as the holding part 20B are arranged at a distance from each other in the front-rear direction X. Among these, the first locking part 23 is located on the front end side in the front-rear direction X, and the second locking part 24 is located on the rear end side in the front-rear direction X.

[0106] Here, the position where the holding part 20B should be provided can generally be determined based on the shape of the shoe designed to follow the wearer's foot.

[0107] In other words, if a first imaginary plane VP1 is defined as a virtual plane that passes through a position 40% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3 from the front end position PF and is perpendicular to the shoe center SC, and a second imaginary plane VP2 is defined as a virtual plane that passes through a position 60% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3 from the front end position PF and is perpendicular to the shoe center SC, it is preferable that the first locking portions 23 and the second locking portions 24 constituting the retaining portion 20B are configured such that at least a portion of the first locking portion 23 that is positioned more forward in the front-to-rear direction X is located in a region Q1 forward of the first imaginary plane VP1 in the front-to-rear direction X, and that at least a portion of the second locking portion 24 that is positioned more rearward in the front-to-rear direction X is located in a region Q2 rearward of the second imaginary plane VP2 in the front-to-rear direction X.

[0108] This is because, as described above, in order to restrict the movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 along the front-to-back direction X, it is necessary to provide at least a portion of the peripheral cover portion 23b of the first engagement portion 23 facing rearward in the front-to-back direction X, and a portion of the peripheral cover portion 24b of the second engagement portion 24 facing forward in the front-to-back direction X.

[0109] That is, the upper body 20 and the sole body 30 in the portion corresponding to the above-mentioned region Q1 include a portion whose outer shape tapers at least toward the front in the front-to-back direction X, and the upper body 20 and the sole body 30 in the portion corresponding to the above-mentioned region Q2 include a portion whose outer shape tapers at least toward the rear in the front-to-back direction X. Therefore, if the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 are provided corresponding to these regions Q1 and Q2, the peripheral surface side covering portion 23b of the first locking portion 23 will naturally include a portion facing rearward in the front-to-back direction X, and the peripheral surface side covering portion 24b of the second locking portion 24 will naturally include a portion facing forward in the front-to-back direction X.

[0110] Therefore, it is preferable that the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 as the holding portion 20B are provided such that a part of the first locking portion 23 is included in the region Q1 and a part of the second locking portion 24 is included in the region Q2.

[0111] In the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, when the front end position PF is used as a reference, the first locking portion 23 is provided at a position approximately 0 to 35% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3, and the second locking portion 24 is provided at a position approximately 65 to 100% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3. In this way, if the length in the front-rear direction X of the holding portion 20B of the portion covering the sole body 30 is increased, more portions of the sole body 30 will be held by the holding portion 20B, so that the upper body 20 can be more stably fixed to the sole body 30.

[0112] <E. Schematic shoe assembly method> Next, referring to FIG. 9 described above, a schematic shoe assembly method for the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0113] As shown in FIG. 9, the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment is manufactured by assembling the shell 10, the upper body 20, the midsole 31, the plate 32, and the heel counter 50 to each other. These shell 10, upper body 20, midsole 31, plate 32, and heel counter 50 may be manufactured by any method.

[0114] Specifically, first, the sole body 30 including the midsole 31 and the plate 32 is assembled to the upper body 20 to produce the above-described assembly of the upper body 20 and the sole body 30. More specifically, the front end of the stacked midsole 31 and plate 32 is inserted into the space between the first engaging portion 23 and the lower wall portion 21 provided on the upper body 20, and the rear end of the stacked midsole 31 and plate 32 is inserted into the space between the second engaging portion 24 and the lower wall portion 21 provided on the upper body 20. As a result, the sole body 30 is held by the holding portion 20B of the upper body 20, and an assembly in which the upper body 20 and the sole body 30 are integrated is produced.

[0115] Next, the heel counter 50 is inserted into the internal space of the shell 10. Here, since the shell 10 is flexible and the heel counter 50 is also capable of flexural deformation, the heel counter 50 can be inserted into the interior of the shell 10 through the opening 10a provided at the upper end of the shell 10. The heel counter 50 inserted into the shell 10 is positioned so that it fits along the inner peripheral surface 12a on the rear end side in the front-to-rear direction X of the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10.

[0116] Next, the assembly of the upper body 20 and sole body 30 described above is inserted into the internal space of the shell 10. Here, the upper body 20 is flexibly deformable, and the midsole 31 is also elastically deformable, whereas the plate 32 is relatively hard and does not easily deform in its in-plane direction. However, because the shell 10 is flexible, the assembly of the upper body 20 and sole body 30 can be inserted into the interior of the shell 10 through the opening 10a provided at the upper end of the shell 10. The assembly of the upper body 20 and sole body 30 inserted into the shell 10 is arranged so as to be aligned with the inner surface 11a of the bottom wall 11 and the inner circumferential surface 12a of the peripheral wall 12 of the shell 10. Furthermore, the upper end of the side wall 22, which defines the opening 20a of the upper body 20, is pulled outward from the opening 10a of the shell 10. At this time, the inner peripheral surface of the heel counter 50 housed inside the shell 10 in advance is covered by the upper body 20 .

[0117] By going through the above assembly procedure, the assembly of the shell 10, upper body 20, midsole 31, plate 32, and heel counter 50 is completed, thereby completing the manufacture of the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment described above. Note that the above assembly method is merely an example, and other assembly methods (for example, other assembly procedures or arrangement positions of the components different from those described above) may also be used.

[0118] Thus, the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment can be manufactured by a very simple operation of assembling the shell 10, the upper body 20, the sole body 30, and the heel counter 50, which are individually manufactured in advance, to each other. Therefore, its manufacturing is facilitated as compared with the prior art. Further, in the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, as described above or as described later, when the shell 10, the upper body 20, the sole body 30, and the heel counter 50 are assembled to each other, they are configured to be easily fixed. Moreover, since the use of an adhesive is not required for assembling the midsole 31, the plate 32, and the heel counter 50 to the shell 10 and the upper body 20, the environmental load is reduced as compared with the prior art.

[0119] <F. Fixing Structure of Sole Body to Shell> FIGS. 12 and 13 are enlarged views of regions XII shown in FIG. 6 and region XIII shown in FIG. 7, respectively. FIG. 14 is a partially broken perspective view taken along the XIV-XIV line shown in FIG. 3 of the shell shown in FIG. 1. Further, FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing the formation range of the pressing surface provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shell shown in FIG. 1. Next, referring to FIGS. 12 to 15 and FIGS. 6 and 7 described above, the fixing structure of the sole body 30 to the shell 10 in the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

[0120] Here, in FIG. 15, the detailed structure of the shoe 1A is not shown, and by coloring the range where the pressing surface 14 is formed in a dark color, the formation range of the pressing surface 14 when viewed from the upper side along the vertical direction Z is shown.

[0121] 6, 7, and 12 to 14, shoe 1A according to the present embodiment has a constricted portion 13A provided in peripheral wall 12 of shell 10. Constricted portion 13A is formed by constricting a predetermined portion of peripheral wall 12 toward the inside of shell 10 (i.e., toward insertion space SP3). As a result, inner circumferential surface 12a of peripheral wall 12 where constricted portion 13A is provided protrudes toward the inside of shell 10, while an indentation is formed in outer circumferential surface 12b of peripheral wall 12 where constricted portion 13A is provided.

[0122] The constricted portion 13A extends circumferentially of the peripheral wall 12. More specifically, the constricted portion 13A extends circumferentially of the peripheral wall 12 from the rear end, in the longitudinal direction X, of the inner peripheral wall 12A included in the forefoot portion R1, via a rear end position PR (see FIG. 8, etc.), to the rear end, in the longitudinal direction X, of the outer peripheral wall 12B included in the forefoot portion R1.

[0123] Here, by providing the constricted portion 13A described above in the peripheral wall portion 12, the inner peripheral surface 12a of the peripheral wall portion 12 includes a surface that is positioned so as to extend toward the inside of the shell 10 and faces the bottom wall portion 11. This surface of the peripheral wall portion 12 that faces the bottom wall portion 11 corresponds to the underside of the constricted portion 13A, and this underside of the constricted portion 13A functions as a pressing surface 14 for fixing the sole body 30. That is, in the shoe 1A according to this embodiment, by inserting the end of the sole body 30 into the space below the part where the constricted portion 13A is provided, the sole body 30 is sandwiched between the pressing surface 14 and the bottom wall portion 11, and thereby the sole body 30 is fixed to the shell 10.

[0124] As described above, in the shoe 1A according to this embodiment, the constricted portion 13A is arranged to extend along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 12, and therefore the above-mentioned pressing surface 14 is also positioned to extend along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 12.

[0125] 15 , the pressing surface 14 extends circumferentially of the peripheral wall 12 from the rear end, in the longitudinal direction X, of the medial peripheral wall 12A at the portion included in the forefoot region R1, via a rear end position PR, to the rear end, in the longitudinal direction X, of the lateral peripheral wall 12B at the portion included in the forefoot region R1. Therefore, the pressing surface 14 includes an medial pressing surface 14A provided on the medial peripheral wall 12A, an lateral pressing surface 14B provided on the lateral peripheral wall 12B, and a rear pressing surface 14C provided on the rear peripheral wall 12C, and these medial pressing surface 14A, lateral pressing surface 14B, and rear pressing surface 14C extend continuously along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12.

[0126] As a result, the sole body 30 is sandwiched between the medial foot-side pressing surface 14A, the lateral foot-side pressing surface 14B, and the rear-side pressing surface 14C and the bottom wall portion 11. Therefore, the sole body 30 is held in the up-down direction Z by the shell 10 at both ends in the left-right direction Y, and is also held in the up-down direction Z by the shell 10 at the rear end in the front-rear direction X.

[0127] Therefore, by adopting the above configuration, the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, and it is possible to effectively prevent the sole body 30 from shifting position inside the shell 10 during use. Therefore, by adopting the above configuration, it is possible to obtain a shoe 1A that improves fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing. Furthermore, since the pressing surface 14 for fixing the sole body 30 can be integrally formed with the shell 10 during production of the shell 10, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and simplify the manufacturing process.

[0128] Additionally, in shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, upper body 20 is fixed to sole body 30 as described above, and sole body 30 is further stably fixed to shell 10 as described above, which effectively prevents upper body 20 from shifting position relative to shell 10 during use. Therefore, by adopting the above configuration, shoe 1A can be obtained that fits the wearer's foot even better.

[0129] The pressing surfaces 14, including the medial foot-side pressing surface 14A, the lateral foot-side pressing surface 14B, and the rear pressing surface 14C, are positioned so as to extend longitudinally along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 12, while protruding relatively little toward the inside of the shell 10. This configuration facilitates the work of fitting the end of the sole body 30 into the space below the pressing surfaces 14, and allows a larger portion of the sole body 30 to be held by the shell 10, thereby enabling a more stable fixation of the sole body 30.

[0130] The above-described structure for fixing the sole body 30 to the shell 10 can stably fix the sole body 30 to the shell 10 without using adhesive, which reduces the amount of organic solvent used compared to when adhesive is used for fixing them. Therefore, by adopting the above-described structure, the environmental load can be reduced compared to conventional methods.

[0131] As described above, since the shell 10 is flexible, when assembling the sole body 30 to the shell 10, the shell 10 flexes and deforms, allowing the end of the sole body 30 to be easily inserted into the space below the portion where the constricted portion 13A is provided. Therefore, by adopting the above configuration, assembling the sole body 30 to the shell 10 is not difficult and can be easily performed.

[0132] Here, as described above, in the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, the upper body 20 includes a holding portion 20B for holding the sole body 30 outside the accommodating portion 20A. As a result, a part of the peripheral surface of the sole body 30 is covered by the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 that constitute the holding portion 20B. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, in the portion where the peripheral surface of the sole body 30 is covered by the holding portion 20B, the sole body 30 is sandwiched between the pressing surface 14 and the bottom wall portion 11 with the holding portion 20B interposed therebetween. Even in a configuration where the sole body 30 does not directly contact the pressing surface 14, since the holding portion 20B is formed of a sufficiently flexible member, the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10 via the holding portion 20B.

[0133] Also, as described above, in the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, the heel counter 50 is located at the rear foot portion R3, and the heel counter 50 is accommodated in the shell 10 and disposed outside the holding portion 20B of the upper body 20. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the sole body 30 is sandwiched between the pressing surface 14 and the bottom wall portion 11 with the flare-shaped protruding portion 52 of the holding portion 20B and the heel counter 50 interposed therebetween. Even in a configuration where the sole body 30 does not directly contact the pressing surface 14, since the holding portion 20B is formed of a sufficiently flexible member and the shape of the protruding portion 52 of the heel counter 50 corresponds to the shape of the pressing surface 14 and the shape of the peripheral surface of the sole body 30, the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10 via the holding portion 20B and the heel counter 50. By adopting this configuration, it is also possible to stably fix the heel counter 50 to the shell  10.

[0134] Here, in the present embodiment, the case where the heel counter 50 as a reinforcing portion is disposed between the shell 10 and the upper body 20 has been exemplified and described. However, when reinforcement is not necessary, it may not be provided.

[0135] <G. Other aspects of the shell> Fig. 16 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the shell of the shoe shown in Fig. 1. Hereinafter, another embodiment of the shell 10 of the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 16.

[0136] In this embodiment, the shell 10 provided in the shoe 1A has been described as being of the type shown in Figures 1 to 4, but various types of shells can be used as long as they are flexible. As an example, a shell 10A as shown in Figure 16 may be used.

[0137] The shell 10A shown in Fig. 16 is configured with a three-dimensional mesh structure except for the mesh structure portion 10b. Here, the three-dimensional mesh structure is formed by repeatedly arranging a plurality of predetermined unit structures adjacent to each other, and a three-dimensional structure such as this three-dimensional mesh structure is also called a lattice structure or a three-dimensional grid structure. More specifically, the three-dimensional mesh structure includes a plurality of wire elements connected to each other so as to intersect, and has intersections formed by the intersections of the wire elements and holes 10c located between adjacent wire elements.

[0138] Therefore, when the shell 10A is configured with a three-dimensional mesh structure in this manner, countless holes 10c are formed so as to reach its inner surface (i.e., the inner surface 11a of the bottom wall 11 and the inner peripheral surface 12a of the peripheral wall 12) and outer surface (i.e., the outer surface 11b of the bottom wall 11 and the outer peripheral surface 12b of the peripheral wall 12). Note that the shell 10A having such a structure can be manufactured relatively easily, particularly by molding using the above-mentioned three-dimensional additive manufacturing device.

[0139] By constructing the shell 10A from a three-dimensional mesh structure in this way, the shell 10A has sufficient strength while also having appropriate flexibility, and furthermore, the shoe 1A is made lighter and more breathable. In addition, the upper body 20 housed in the internal space of the shell 10A is visible from the outside through the numerous holes 10c, thereby improving the design.

[0140] The shell 10A described above is configured with a three-dimensional mesh structure (i.e., a three-dimensional lattice structure) except for the mesh structure portion 10b described above, but this portion may be configured with a structure having a three-dimensional wall structure instead of this three-dimensional mesh structure.

[0141] Here, the three-dimensional wall structure is a unit structure in which a three-dimensional shape formed by walls whose outline is defined by a pair of parallel curved or flat surfaces is used as a unit structure, and multiple unit structures are arranged adjacent to each other. Specific examples of such a unit structure include those in which a thickness is added based on a triply periodic minimal surface such as a gyroid structure, a Schwartz P structure, or a Schwartz D structure, or those in which a thickness is added based on an octet structure, a cubic structure, or a Kelvin structure.

[0142] Furthermore, a part of the shell may be configured as a three-dimensional mesh structure (that is, a three-dimensional lattice structure), and another part of the shell may be configured as a structure having a three-dimensional wall structure.

[0143] Furthermore, when at least a portion of the shell is configured with a three-dimensional mesh structure, the thickness of the wire elements described above may be partially changed, or the size of the unit structures may be partially changed. This configuration allows for variations in the physical properties (e.g., rigidity, etc.) of each part of the shell. Furthermore, when at least a portion of the shell is configured with a structure having a three-dimensional wall structure, the thickness of the walls described above may be partially changed, or the size of the unit structures may be partially changed. This configuration allows for variations in the physical properties (e.g., rigidity, etc.) of each part of the shell.

[0144] (First Modification) Fig. 17 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in a shoe according to a first modified example. Below, a description will be given of a shoe 1A1 according to the first modified example based on the above-mentioned embodiment 1 with reference to Fig. 17. Note that the shoe 1A1 according to the first modified example differs from the shoe 1A according to the above-mentioned embodiment 1 only in the configuration of the retaining portion 20B of the upper body 20.

[0145] In the shoe 1A according to the first embodiment described above, the first locking portion 23 provided at the front end side of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X and the second locking portion 24 provided at the rear end side of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X are both configured to be relatively long along the front-to-rear direction X. However, as shown in FIG. 17, in the shoe 1A1 according to the first modified example, the lengths of the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 in the front-to-rear direction X are configured to be relatively short.

[0146] More specifically, in the shoe 1A1 of this modified example, when the front end position PF is used as a reference, the first engagement portion 23 is provided at a position that is approximately 0 to 20% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3, and the second engagement portion 24 is provided at a position that is approximately 80 to 100% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3.

[0147] Here, if the length in the front-to-rear direction X of the retaining portion 20B that covers the sole body 30 is made long as in the shoe 1A according to the first embodiment described above, it becomes possible to fix the upper body 20 to the sole body 30 more stably, but there is a risk that it will become difficult to assemble the sole body 30 to the upper body 20. In particular, if the retaining portion 20B and the lower wall portion 21 are made of a non-elastic material or a material with extremely low elasticity, the difficulty of the assembly work will become significant.

[0148] In contrast, if the length in the front-to-rear direction X of the retaining portion 20B that covers the sole body 30 is shortened as in the shoe 1A1 according to this modification, it becomes possible to easily assemble the sole body 30 to the upper body 20, and in particular, even if the retaining portion 20B and the lower wall portion 21 are made of a non-elastic material or an extremely low-elastic material, the work does not become complicated. Therefore, by adopting a configuration like that of this modification, it is possible to obtain shoe 1A1 that is even easier to manufacture while still achieving effects similar to those described in the first embodiment.

[0149] (Second Modification) Fig. 18 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in a shoe according to a second modified example. Fig. 19 is a side view of the assembly shown in Fig. 18 as seen from the outer side of the foot, and Fig. 20 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the assembly taken along line XX-XX shown in Fig. 18. Below, a description will be given of a shoe 1A2 according to a second modified example based on the above-described first embodiment with reference to Figs. 18 to 20. Note that the shoe 1A2 according to the second modified example differs from the shoe 1A1 according to the above-described first modified example only in the configuration of the retaining portion 20B of the upper body 20.

[0150] 18 to 20, in a shoe 1A2 according to the second modification, the upper body 20 includes a first locking portion 23 provided at the front end side in the front-rear direction X and a second locking portion 24 provided at the rear end side in the front-rear direction X, as well as a third locking portion 25 provided at the center in the front-rear direction X. Like the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24, the third locking portion 25 is a portion for fixing the upper body 20 to the sole body 30 by holding the sole body 30. In the shoe 1A2 according to this modification, the third locking portion 25 is provided at a position that is approximately 45 to 55% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3, when the front end position PF is used as a reference.

[0151] The third locking portion 25 is made of a sheet-like member and has a band-like shape extending in the left-right direction Y. One end 25c of the third locking portion 25 in the extending direction is fixed in an undetachable manner, for example, by sewing, to one side edge of the center portion in the front-rear direction X of the lower wall portion 21 constituting the accommodation portion 20A (i.e., the side edge on the inner leg side wall portion 22A side). The other end 25d of the third locking portion 25 in the extending direction is fixed in an undetachable manner, for example, by hook-and-loop fastener, to a portion of the side wall portion 22 adjacent to the other side edge of the center portion in the front-rear direction X of the lower wall portion 21 constituting the accommodation portion 20A (i.e., the outer leg side wall portion 22B).

[0152] Here, the sheet-like member constituting the third engaging portion 25 is configured to be longer than the width dimension of the central portion of the lower wall portion 21 in the front-to-back direction X, thereby forming a space between the third engaging portion 25 and the lower wall portion 21 without being in close contact with the outer surface 21b of the lower wall portion 21.

[0153] That is, the third engagement portion 25 rises up from the lower wall portion 21 generally downward in the vertical direction Z near the portion fixed to the lower wall portion 21 (i.e., one end 25c and the other end 25d in its extending direction), and is positioned opposite the lower wall portion 21 at a distance in the portion excluding this rising portion.

[0154] As a result, a space is formed between the third engagement portion 25 and the lower wall portion 21, through which the sole body 30 can be inserted. When the central portion of the sole body 30 in the front-to-back direction X is inserted into this space, the portion excluding the portion rising from the lower wall portion 21 described above becomes a lower surface side covering portion 25a that covers the underside of the central portion of the sole body 30 in the front-to-back direction X, and the portion rising from the lower wall portion 21 described above becomes a peripheral surface side covering portion 25b that covers the peripheral surface of the central portion of the sole body 30 in the front-to-back direction X.

[0155] As described above, the other end 25d of the third locking portion 25 is detachably fixed to the outer leg side wall portion 22B. More specifically, a male hook-and-loop fastener is provided on one of the other end 25d of the third locking portion 25 and the outer leg side wall portion 22B, and a female hook-and-loop fastener is provided on the other end of the third locking portion 25 and the outer leg side wall portion 22B. As a result, as shown in FIG. 21 , by overlapping the other end 25d of the third locking portion 25 with the outer leg side wall portion 22B, the male hook-and-loop fastener and the female hook-and-loop fastener engage with each other, thereby fixing the other end 25d of the third locking portion 25 to the outer leg side wall portion 22B.

[0156] Therefore, unlike the first and second locking portions 23 and 24, the provision of such third locking portion 25 makes it possible to fix the sole body 30 to the upper body 20 using the third locking portion 25 after the sole body 30 is placed against the outer surface 21b of the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20. Therefore, after the sole body 30 is fixed by the first and second locking portions 23 and 24, it becomes possible to further fix the sole body 30 by the third locking portion 25 at the center of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X.

[0157] Here, in shoe 1A2 according to this modification, similarly to shoe 1A1 according to the first modification described above, first locking portion 23 and second locking portion 24 are configured to have a relatively short length in the front-to-rear direction X, which makes it possible to compensate for the reduction in holding force caused by the reduction in size of the portion of the sole body covered by first locking portion 23 and second locking portion 24 by the holding power provided by this third locking portion 25. Therefore, by adopting a configuration like that of this modification, shoe 1A2 can be made that is even easier to manufacture while providing the same effects as those described in the first embodiment described above.

[0158] In the shoe 1A2 of this modified example, one end 25c of the third engagement portion 25 is fixed to the lower wall portion 21 in an undetachable manner, and the other end 25d of the third engagement portion 25 is configured to be detachable to the outer foot side wall portion 22B. However, the other end 25d of the third engagement portion 25 may be fixed to the lower wall portion 21 in an undetachable manner, and one end 25c of the third engagement portion 25 may be configured to be detachable to the inner foot side wall portion 22A.

[0159] (Third Modification) Fig. 21 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in a shoe according to a third modified example. Below, a description will be given of a shoe 1A3 according to the third modified example based on the above-described first embodiment with reference to Fig. 21. Note that the shoe 1A3 according to the third modified example differs from the shoe 1A2 according to the above-described second modified example only in the configuration of the retaining portion 20B of the upper body 20.

[0160] In the shoe 1A2 according to the second modified example described above, the first locking portion 23 provided at the front end of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X and the second locking portion 24 provided at the rear end of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X have a bag-like shape, and the third locking portion 25 provided at the center of the upper body 20 in the front-to-rear direction X has a band-like shape. However, as shown in FIG. 21 , in the shoe 1A3 according to the third modified example, the first locking portion 23, the second locking portion 24, and the third locking portion 25 all have a band-like shape.

[0161] More specifically, in the shoe 1A3 of this modified example, when the front end position PF is used as a reference, the first engagement portion 23 is located at a position approximately 5 to 15% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3, and the second engagement portion 24 is located at a position approximately 85 to 95% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3.

[0162] Here, like the third locking portion 25, the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 may have one end in their extension direction fixed non-detachably to the lower wall portion 21 and the other end in their extension direction fixed non-detachably to the side wall portion 22, or they may have both ends in their extension direction fixed non-detachably to the lower wall portion 21.

[0163] Even in this case, the shoe 1A3 can be manufactured more easily while still achieving the same effects as those described in the first embodiment.

[0164] In addition, in the shoe 1A3 of this modified example, when compared with the shoe 1A2 of the second modified example described above, the example has been given in which both the first engaging portion 23 and the second engaging portion 24 have been changed from a bag-shaped configuration to a band-shaped configuration, but it is also possible to change only one of the first engaging portion 23 and the second engaging portion 24 from a bag-shaped configuration to a band-shaped configuration.

[0165] (Fourth Modification) Fig. 22 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in a shoe according to a fourth modified example. Below, a description will be given of a shoe 1A4 according to the fourth modified example based on the above-mentioned embodiment 1 with reference to Fig. 22. Note that the shoe 1A4 according to the fourth modified example differs from the shoe 1A according to the above-mentioned embodiment 1 only in the configuration of the retaining portion 20B of the upper body 20.

[0166] As shown in Figure 22, in the shoe 1A4 relating to the fourth modified example, a pair of cutout portions 23d are provided at predetermined positions of the first engagement portion 23 having a bag-like shape provided on the upper body 20, and a pair of cutout portions 24d are provided at predetermined positions of the second engagement portion 24 having a bag-like shape provided on the upper body 20.

[0167] More specifically, one of the pair of cutouts 23d is provided at a position of the first fastening portion 23 corresponding to the front end portion on the medial side of the upper body 20, and the other of the pair of cutouts 23d is provided at a position of the first fastening portion 23 corresponding to the front end portion on the lateral side of the upper body 20. Each of the pair of cutouts 23d is positioned so as to reach the periphery of the portion of the first fastening portion 23 that is joined to the lower wall portion 21. This results in the first fastening portion 23 having a substantially T-shape in plan view.

[0168] Meanwhile, one of the pair of cutouts 24d is provided at a position of the second fastening portion 24 corresponding to the rear end portion on the medial side of the upper body 20, and the other of the pair of cutouts 24d is provided at a position of the second fastening portion 24 corresponding to the rear end portion on the lateral side of the upper body 20. Each of the pair of cutouts 24d is positioned so as to reach the periphery of the portion of the second fastening portion 24 that is joined to the lower wall portion 21. This results in the second fastening portion 24 having a substantially T-shape when viewed in a plane.

[0169] Even in this configuration, the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24 serving as the retaining portion 20B restrict the movement of the sole body 30 relative to the upper body 20 in any of the front-rear direction X, the left-right direction Y, and the up-down direction Z. Therefore, the same effects as those described in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0170] Furthermore, when configured in this manner, the contact area of ​​the retaining portion 20B with the sole body 30 is increased, thereby increasing the holding force of the retaining portion 20B on the sole body 30, while making it possible to reduce the joining area of ​​the retaining portion 20B with the lower wall portion 21, which not only makes manufacturing easier but also prevents wrinkles, bending, etc. from occurring in the retaining portion 20B during joining.

[0171] In addition, when cutout portions are provided in the bag-shaped member constituting the holding portion 20B, the number, formation position, shape, size, etc. of the cutout portions are not limited to those in this fourth modified example, and can be changed as appropriate.

[0172] (Embodiment 2) Fig. 23 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a shoe according to embodiment 2. Fig. 24 is a bottom view of an assembly of an upper body and a sole body provided in the shoe shown in Fig. 23, and Fig. 25 is a side view of the assembly shown in Fig. 24 viewed from the outer side of the foot. Below, 1B according to embodiment 2 will be described with reference to Figs. 23 to 25. Note that shoe 1B according to this embodiment differs from shoe 1A1 according to the first modified example described above only in the configuration of the sole body 30.

[0173] 23 to 25, in shoe 1B according to the present embodiment, of midsole 31 and plate 32 included in sole body 30, midsole 31 has rolled-up portion 31d. Rolled-up portion 31d covers outer peripheral surface 22b, which is the outer surface of side wall portion 22 of upper body 20, and this rolled-up portion 31d is provided only at a predetermined position in the front-to-rear direction X.

[0174] Specifically, the roll-up portion 31d is provided in a portion of the upper body 20 located between the first locking portion 23 and the second locking portion 24, and extends upward in the vertical direction Z beyond the top surface 31a of the midsole 31 that defines the upper surface of the sole body 30. A pair of roll-up portions 31d are provided so as to cover both the medial foot side wall portion 22A and the lateral foot side wall portion 22B of the side wall portion 22.

[0175] Here, it is preferable that the roll-up portion 31d is arranged to include at least a portion of a position that is 40 to 60% of the total length L of the insertion space SP3, based on the forward end position PF, and it is even more preferable that its shape when viewed from the side is generally arched.

[0176] In this way, by providing the rolled-up portion 31d covering the outer surface of the side wall portion 22 of the upper body 20 in the portion of the sole body 30 located between the first engaging portion 23 and the second engaging portion 24 in the front-to-rear direction X, it is possible to reduce the gap between the portion corresponding to the arch of the wearer's foot and the shell 10, thereby suppressing the occurrence of wobbling of the foot when landing. Therefore, by making the shoe 1B according to this embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those described in the above-mentioned first embodiment, and to obtain shoe 1B with even greater stability when landing.

[0177] Furthermore, by providing the rolled-up portion 31d as described above, not only does the fit of the upper body 20 to the wearer's foot improve, but by changing the size, shape, position, etc. of the rolled-up portion 31d, it becomes possible to partially change the bending rigidity and torsional rigidity of the sole body 30. Therefore, if a plurality of sole bodies 30 with different specifications are prepared in advance, it becomes possible for the wearer to freely combine these according to their preferences, and it becomes possible to provide shoes that meet the wearer's needs easily and at low cost.

[0178] It should be noted that the above-mentioned roll-up portion 31d does not necessarily have to be provided in pairs so as to cover both the medial foot-side wall portion 22A and the lateral foot-side wall portion 22B of the side wall portion 22, and only one roll-up portion may be provided so as to cover only one of them. However, even in this case, from the viewpoint of increasing stability when landing, it is preferable to provide the roll-up portion 31d on the medial foot side of the midsole 31 so as to cover the medial foot-side wall portion 22A, which is more likely to have a gap with the shell 10.

[0179] (Summary of the Disclosure of the Embodiments and Modifications) The characteristic configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiment and modifications can be summarized as follows.

[0180] [Appendix 1] A shoe having an insertion space provided therein into which the wearer's foot is inserted, a flexible shell including a bottom wall portion having a ground contact surface and a peripheral wall portion erected from a peripheral edge of the bottom wall portion; an upper body that is accommodated in the shell and includes a bag-shaped accommodation portion provided with an opening through which the wearer's foot can be inserted; a sole body configured to be accommodated in the shell, and to be positioned above the bottom wall portion and outside the accommodation portion, and to support the sole of the wearer's foot; The storage section has a lower wall section that covers an upper surface of the sole body, and a side wall section that stands from a peripheral edge of the lower wall section so as to extend along the peripheral wall section, the upper body includes a holding portion that holds the sole body outside the storage portion, the holding portion includes a first fastening portion and a second fastening portion that are arranged at a distance from each other in a front-to-rear direction that is a direction that coincides with the foot length direction of the wearer, Each of the first fastening portion and the second fastening portion has a bag-like or band-like shape including at least a portion extending in a left-right direction that corresponds to the width direction of the wearer's foot, the sole body is sandwiched between the first engaging portion, the second engaging portion and the lower wall portion in a vertical direction perpendicular to both the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, thereby restricting movement of the sole body along the vertical direction relative to the upper body; the sole body is sandwiched in the left-right direction by the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion, thereby restricting movement of the sole body along the left-right direction relative to the upper body, The shoe in which the sole body is sandwiched in the front-to-back direction by the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion, thereby restricting movement of the sole body along the front-to-back direction relative to the upper body.

[0181] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 1 above, the retaining portion limits the movement of the sole body relative to the upper body in any of the front-to-back, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions, so that the upper body can be stably fixed to the sole body. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the upper body from shifting position relative to the sole body during use, resulting in a shoe that fits the wearer's foot better and has improved stability when landing.

[0182] [Appendix 2] The shoe according to Appendix 1, wherein when a first imaginary plane is defined as a virtual plane that passes from a front end position on the shoe center of the insertion space to a position 40% of the total length of the insertion space on the shoe center of the insertion space and is perpendicular to the shoe center, and a second imaginary plane is defined as a virtual plane that passes from a front end position on the shoe center of the insertion space to a position 60% of the total length of the insertion space on the shoe center of the insertion space and is perpendicular to the shoe center, at least a part of the first locking portion is located in a region forward in the front-to-rear direction from the first imaginary plane, and at least a part of the second locking portion is located in a region rearward in the front-to-rear direction from the second imaginary plane.

[0183] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 2 above, the sole body can be more securely sandwiched between the first locking portion and the second locking portion in the front-to-back direction, making it possible to more stably fix the upper body to the sole body.

[0184] [Appendix 3] The shoe described in Appendix 1 or 2, wherein the lower wall portion is made of a non-elastic material or a material that is less elastic than the side wall portion.

[0185] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 3 above, stretching is less likely to occur in the lower wall portion, which allows the sole body to be held more stably by the holding portion, making it possible to more stably fix the upper body to the sole body.

[0186] [Appendix 4] A shoe described in any one of Appendices 1 to 3, wherein the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are made of a non-elastic material or a material that is less elastic than the side wall portion.

[0187] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 4 above, stretching and loosening are less likely to occur in the first and second locking portions, which allows the sole body to be held more stably by the holding portion, making it possible to more stably fix the upper body to the sole body.

[0188] [Appendix 5] A shoe described in any one of Appendices 1 to 4, wherein a portion of the sole body located between the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion in the front-to-back direction has a rolled-up portion that covers at least a portion of the outer surface of the side wall portion.

[0189] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 5 above, the roll-up portion that reduces gaps between the wearer's foot and the shoe is located in the area where gaps are likely to occur, thereby preventing the foot from wobbling when landing and resulting in a shoe with even greater stability.

[0190] [Appendix 6] the holding portion further includes a third locking portion located between the first locking portion and the second locking portion in the front-rear direction and disposed at a distance from each of the first locking portion and the second locking portion, A shoe described in any one of appendix 1 to 5, wherein the third engagement portion has a band-like shape that includes at least a portion extending in the left-right direction.

[0191] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 6 above, the sole body is further held between the first and second locking portions by the third locking portion, making it possible to more stably fix the upper body to the sole body.

[0192] [Appendix 7] the third engaging portion is made of a non-elastic material or a material that is less elastic than the side wall portion, A shoe as described in Appendix 6, wherein one end of the third engagement portion is fixed non-detachably to the storage portion, and the other end of the third engagement portion is configured to be detachable from the storage portion.

[0193] By employing the configuration described in Supplementary Note 7 above, the sole body can be more easily fixed to the upper body.

[0194] [Appendix 8] A shoe as described in any one of appendixes 1 to 7, wherein the side wall portion is made of a heat-shrinkable synthetic fiber.

[0195] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 8 above, a last corresponding to the shape of the wearer's foot can be prepared and used to mold the side wall portion of the upper body, making it possible to easily produce an upper body that fits the wearer's foot.

[0196] [Appendix 9] 9. The shoe of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sole body includes a cushioning material.

[0197] By employing the configuration described in Supplementary Note 9 above, it becomes possible to stably fix the upper body to the sole body while ensuring cushioning performance when landing.

[0198] [Appendix 10] 10. The shoe of claim 9, wherein the sole body further includes a plate that is harder than the shell.

[0199] By employing the configuration described in Supplementary Note 10 above, it becomes possible to stably fix the upper body to the sole body while ensuring the resilience performance at the time of kicking off.

[0200] [Appendix 11] an inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion is provided with a pressing surface that protrudes toward the inside of the shell and faces the bottom wall portion; A shoe as described in any one of appendices 1 to 10, wherein the sole body is fixed to the shell by being sandwiched between the pressing surface and the bottom wall portion with the peripheral edge of the sole body and the upper body facing the peripheral edge interposed therebetween.

[0201] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 11 above, it becomes possible to clamp and fix the sole body between the bottom wall of the shell and the pressing surface provided on the peripheral wall of the shell, so that the sole body to which the upper body is fixed can be stably fixed to the shell, and as a result, it becomes possible to effectively suppress misalignment of the upper body relative to the shell.

[0202] (Other forms, etc.) The configurations of the upper body shown in the above-described embodiments and modifications are merely illustrative and may be modified in various ways. For example, the first and second locking portions constituting the retaining portion may be configured to have a bag-like shape, but one or both of them may be removably fixed to the lower wall portion. Alternatively, one or both of them may be permanently fixed to the lower wall portion, but only a portion of their periphery may be removably attached to the lower wall portion. Furthermore, the first and second locking portions do not necessarily need to be joined to the lower wall portion; one or both may be joined to the side wall portion. Furthermore, the third locking portion provided between the first and second locking portions may be provided as a single portion, or multiple portions may be provided spaced apart from each other in the front-to-rear direction. Thus, the configuration of the upper body may be modified in various ways, such as in number, shape, size, and position, as long as they do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0203] Furthermore, the configurations of the sole body shown in the above-described embodiment and modified examples are merely examples, and various modifications are possible. In other words, the sole body does not necessarily have to include both a cushioning material and a resilience material, but may be composed of only one of these, or may further include other components.

[0204] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment and modified example, an example has been given of a configuration in which a pressing surface is provided on the peripheral wall portion of the flexible shell by providing a constricted portion on the peripheral wall portion, but it is not necessarily necessary to provide a pressing surface on the peripheral wall portion, and even if a pressing surface is provided, the shape of the peripheral wall portion of the flexible shell to provide the pressing surface is arbitrary.

[0205] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment and its variations, the explanation has been given on the assumption that the shoes will be used without an insole attached to the shoe, but it goes without saying that the shoes may also be used with an insole attached to them.

[0206] Furthermore, the characteristic configurations shown in the above-described embodiments and modifications can be combined with each other without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

[0207] As such, the above-described embodiments and their modifications disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not limiting. The technical scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, and includes all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0208] 1A, 1A1 to 1A4, 1B shoe, 2 shoe opening, 3 ground contact surface, 10, 10A shell, 10a opening, 10b mesh structure, 10c hole, 11 bottom wall, 11a inner surface, 11b outer surface, 12 circumferential wall, 12A inner foot side circumferential wall, 12B outer foot side circumferential wall, 12C rear side circumferential wall, 12D front side circumferential wall, 12a inner surface, 12b outer surface, 13A constricted portion, 14 pressing surface, 14A inner foot side pressing surface, 14B outer foot side pressing surface, 14C rear side pressing surface, 20 upper body, 20A storage portion, 20B holding portion, 20a opening, 21 lower wall, 21a inner surface, 21b outer surface, 22 side wall, 22a Inner peripheral surface, 22b outer peripheral surface, 22A inner foot side wall portion, 22B outer foot side wall portion, 22C rear side wall portion, 22D front side wall portion, 23 first engaging portion, 23a lower surface side cover portion, 23b peripheral surface side cover portion, 23c insertion hole, 23d notch portion, 24 second engaging portion, 24a lower surface side cover portion, 24b peripheral surface side cover portion, 24c insertion hole, 24d notch portion, 25 third engaging portion, 25a lower surface side cover portion, 25b peripheral surface side cover portion, 25c one end, 25d other end, 26 fastening portion, 30 sole body, 31 midsole, 31a top surface, 31b bottom surface, 31c side end surface, 32 plate, 32a first main surface, 32b second main surface, 32c Circumferential end surface, 50 heel counter, 51 surrounding portion, 51A first portion, 51B second portion, 51C third portion, 52 protruding portion, P1 first boundary surface, P2 second boundary surface, PF front end position, PR rear end position, R1 forefoot portion, R2 midfoot portion, R3 rearfoot portion, SC shoe center, SP1 lower space, SP2 upper space, SP3 insertion space, VP1 first imaginary surface, VP2 second imaginary surface.

Claims

1. A shoe having an insertion space provided therein into which the wearer's foot is inserted, a flexible shell including a bottom wall portion having a ground contact surface and a peripheral wall portion erected from a peripheral edge of the bottom wall portion; an upper body that is accommodated in the shell and includes a bag-shaped accommodation portion provided with an opening through which the wearer's foot can be inserted; a sole body configured to be accommodated in the shell, and to be positioned above the bottom wall portion and outside the accommodation portion, and to support the sole of the wearer's foot; The storage section has a lower wall section that covers an upper surface of the sole body, and a side wall section that stands from a peripheral edge of the lower wall section so as to extend along the peripheral wall section, the upper body includes a holding portion that holds the sole body outside the storage portion, the holding portion includes a first fastening portion and a second fastening portion that are arranged at a distance from each other in a front-to-rear direction that is a direction that coincides with the foot length direction of the wearer, Each of the first fastening portion and the second fastening portion has a bag-like or band-like shape including at least a portion extending in a left-right direction that corresponds to the width direction of the wearer's foot, the sole body is sandwiched between the first engaging portion, the second engaging portion and the lower wall portion in a vertical direction perpendicular to both the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, thereby restricting movement of the sole body along the vertical direction relative to the upper body; the sole body is sandwiched in the left-right direction by each of the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion, thereby restricting movement of the sole body along the left-right direction relative to the upper body, The shoe, wherein the sole body is sandwiched in the front-to-rear direction by the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion, thereby restricting movement of the sole body along the front-to-rear direction relative to the upper body.

2. 2. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein when a first imaginary plane is defined as a virtual plane that passes from a front end position of the insertion space on the shoe center to a position 40% of the total length of the insertion space on the shoe center of the insertion space and is perpendicular to the shoe center, and a second imaginary plane is defined as a virtual plane that passes from the front end position of the insertion space on the shoe center to a position 60% of the total length of the insertion space on the shoe center of the insertion space and is perpendicular to the shoe center, at least a part of the first locking portion is located in a region forward of the first imaginary plane in the front-to-rear direction, and at least a part of the second locking portion is located in a region rearward of the second imaginary plane in the front-to-rear direction.

3. 2. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein the lower wall portion is made of a non-elastic material or a material that is less elastic than the side wall portion.

4. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are made of a non-elastic material or a material that is less elastic than the side wall portion.

5. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the sole body located between the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion in the front-to-rear direction has a roll-up portion that covers at least a portion of an outer surface of the side wall portion.

6. the holding portion further includes a third locking portion located between the first locking portion and the second locking portion in the front-rear direction and spaced apart from each of the first locking portion and the second locking portion, The shoe according to claim 1 , wherein the third engaging portion has a band-like shape including at least a portion extending in the left-right direction.

7. the third engaging portion is made of a non-elastic material or a material that is less elastic than the side wall portion, The shoe according to claim 6, wherein one end of the third fastening portion is fixed to the storage portion in an undetachable manner, and the other end of the third fastening portion is configured to be detachable from the storage portion.

8. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein the side wall portion is made of a heat-shrinkable synthetic fiber.

9. The shoe according to claim 1 , wherein the sole body includes a cushioning material.

10. The shoe according to claim 9 , wherein the sole body further includes a plate that is harder than the shell.

11. an inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion is provided with a pressing surface that protrudes toward the inside of the shell and faces the bottom wall portion; The shoe according to claim 1, wherein the sole body is fixed to the shell by being sandwiched between the pressing surface and the bottom wall portion with the peripheral edge of the sole body and the upper body facing the peripheral edge interposed therebetween.

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