Shoe

Abstract

A shoe (1A) comprises a flexible shell (10) and a sole body (30). The shell (10) includes a bottom wall part (11) that has a ground contact surface and a peripheral wall part (12) that stands upright from a peripheral edge of the bottom wall part (11). The sole body (30) is positioned above the bottom wall part (11) by being accommodated in the shell (10). Provided to the peripheral wall part (12) is a pressing surface (14) that is positioned so as to extend toward the inside of the shell (10) and that faces the bottom wall part (11) side. The sole body (30) is sandwiched by the pressing surface (14) and the bottom wall part (11), and thereby the sole body (30) is fixed to the shell (10).

Description

shoes

[0001] The present disclosure relates to shoes.

[0002] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-127292 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-127293 (Patent Document 2) disclose shoes having a flexible shell and a sole body housed in the shell.

[0003] JP 2022-127292 A JP 2022-127293 A

[0004] When a configuration is adopted in which the sole body is housed in a shell as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the shell is made of a relatively soft material, so the problem is how to fix the sole body inside the shell.

[0005] If the sole body is not sufficiently fixed to the shell, the sole body may shift position inside the shell during use, resulting in problems such as a significant loss of fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing.

[0006] On the other hand, although it is conceivable to join the shell and the sole body using adhesive, if such a fixing structure is adopted, the adhesive contains a considerable amount of organic solvent, which is not necessarily desirable from the perspective of environmental impact.

[0007] Therefore, the present disclosure aims to enable a shoe that employs a configuration in which a sole body is housed in a shell to stably fix the sole body to the shell without using adhesive or while reducing the amount of adhesive used.

[0008] A shoe according to one aspect of the present disclosure has an insertion space provided therein into which a wearer's foot is inserted, and includes a flexible shell and a sole body. The shell includes a bottom wall portion having a ground contact surface and a peripheral wall portion erected from the periphery of the bottom wall portion. The sole body is configured to support the sole of the wearer's foot, and is positioned above the bottom wall portion when housed in the shell. The peripheral wall portion is provided with a pressing surface that is positioned to extend toward the inside of the shell and faces the bottom wall portion. In the shoe according to the aspect of the present disclosure, the sole body is fixed to the shell by being sandwiched between the pressing surface and the bottom wall portion.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, in a shoe that employs a configuration in which the sole body is housed in the shell, it becomes possible to stably fix the sole body to the shell without using adhesive or while reducing the amount of adhesive used.

[0010] 1. A perspective view of a shoe according to embodiment 1. 2. A perspective view of the shoe shown in FIG. 1, seen from another direction. 3. A plan view of the shoe shown in FIG. 1. 4. A side view of the shoe shown in FIG. 1, seen from the outer foot side. 5. A cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 3. 6. A cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 3. 7. A cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 3. 8. An exploded perspective view for explaining the assembly structure of the shoe shown in FIG. 1. 9. An enlarged view of region IX shown in FIG. 6. 10. An enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the shoe shown in FIG. 1. 11. A partially cutaway perspective view of the shell shown in FIG. 1, taken along line XI-XI in FIG. 3. 12. A schematic view showing the area in which a pressing surface is formed on the peripheral wall portion of the shell shown in FIG. 1. 13. A cross-sectional view for explaining the fixing structure of a heel counter to the shell and upper body of the shoe shown in FIG. 1. 14. A schematic view for explaining the outline of the fixing structure shown in FIG. 13. 15. A perspective view showing another embodiment of the shoe shell shown in FIG. 1. 16. A schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the opening, showing yet another embodiment of the shoe shell shown in FIG. 1. 17. A side view, seen from the outer foot side, showing yet another embodiment of the shoe shell shown in FIG. 1. 21. A schematic diagram showing the range of formation of pressing surfaces provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shoe shell according to the first and second modified examples. A schematic diagram showing the range of formation of pressing surfaces provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shoe shell according to the third and fourth modified examples. A schematic diagram showing the range of formation of pressing surfaces provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shoe shell according to the fifth modified example. An enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of a shoe according to the sixth modified example. A schematic diagram showing first and second examples of the range of formation of pressing surfaces and protrusions provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shoe shell shown in FIG. 21. A schematic diagram showing third and fourth examples of the range of formation of pressing surfaces and protrusions provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shoe shell shown in FIG. 21. A cross-sectional view of a shoe according to the seventh modified example. A cross-sectional view of a shoe according to the eighth modified example. A cross-sectional view of a shoe according to the ninth modified example. An enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of a shoe according to the tenth modified example. A cross-sectional view of a shoe according to the eleventh modified example. A cross-sectional view of a shoe according to the twelfth modified example. A cross-sectional view of a shoe according to the second embodiment. A schematic cross-sectional view taken along line XXXI-XXXI shown in FIG. Fig. 31 is a schematic diagram showing the range of formation of a pressing surface provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shell of the shoe shown in Fig. 30. Fig. 32 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main part of a shoe according to a thirteenth modified example. Fig. 33 is a cross-sectional view of a shoe according to a fourteenth modified example.Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the range of formation of the pressing surface provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shoe shell according to Modifications 15 and 16. Fig. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the main part of the shoe according to Modification 16.

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

[0012] (Embodiment 1) <A. Schematic Structure 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 as 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 as viewed from the outer side of the foot. Figs. 5 to 7 are cross-sectional views taken along lines V-V, VI-VI, and VII-VII shown in Fig. 3, respectively. Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the assembly structure of the shoe shown in Fig. 1. First, the schematic structure of shoe 1A according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8.

[0013] As shown in Figures 1 to 8, shoe 1A according to this embodiment is a sock-like shoe that covers almost the entire wearer's foot (i.e., the area distal to the ankle). Shoe 1A includes a shell 10, an upper body 20, a sole body 30 (see Figures 3, 5 to 8), an additional sole body 40 (see Figures 6 to 8), and a heel counter 50 (see Figures 6 to 8). An opening 2, through which the foot is inserted, is provided at the top of shoe 1A, and a ground-contact surface 3, which comes into contact with the ground, is provided at the bottom of shoe 1A. An insertion space SP3 (see Figures 1, 3, and 5 to 7), into which the wearer's foot is inserted, is also provided inside shoe 1A.

[0014] Here, the front-to-rear 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-rear 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.

[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 (denoted 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 in the front-to-back direction X is referred to as the total length of the insertion space SP3.

[0017] In other words, if an imaginary plane that passes from the front end position PF to a position 40% of the total length of the insertion space SP3 and is perpendicular to the shoe center SC is defined as the first boundary plane P1, and an imaginary plane that passes from the front end position PF to a position 80% of the total length of the insertion space SP3 and is perpendicular to the shoe center SC is defined as the second boundary plane P2, then the forefoot R1 corresponds to the portion included 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 portion included 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 portion included 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 in a plan view into an inner foot portion (the portion on the S1 side shown in FIG. 3 ), which is on the midline side (i.e., the side closer to the midline) in the anatomical orthogonal position of the foot, and an outer foot portion (the portion on the S2 side shown in FIG. 3 ), which is on the opposite side of the midline side (i.e., the side farther from the midline) in the anatomical orthogonal position of the foot.

[0019] 1 to 8, in shoe 1A, an upper body 20 is housed in a shell 10, and a sole body 30 is housed in the upper body 20. An additional sole body 40 and a heel counter 50 are housed in the shell 10 and disposed on the outside of 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 additional sole body 40 is positioned across the midfoot region R2 and rearfoot region R3, and the heel counter 50 is positioned in the rearfoot region R3.

[0020] 1 to 7, the shell 10 constitutes the outermost shell of the shoe 1A and is made of a flexible material configured in a bag-like shape with an open mouth 10a. The shell 10 has an internal space that communicates with the mouth 10a, and the insertion space SP3 described above is included in this internal space. The internal space of the shell 10 contains the upper body 20, the sole main body 30, the additional sole body 40, and the heel counter 50.

[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 peripheral wall portion 12A configured to cover the inner part of the wearer's foot, an outer peripheral wall portion 12B configured to cover the outer part of the wearer's foot, a rear peripheral wall portion 12C configured to cover the rear surface of the heel of the wearer's foot, and a front 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 the 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 during running or walking, allowing the shoe 1A to more easily follow the movement of the foot. In addition, 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 7, 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, the additional sole body 40, 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 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 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 lower portion of the upper body 20, the entire sole body 30, the entire additional sole body 40, and the lower portion of the heel counter 50, while the upper space SP2 accommodates the upper portion of the upper body 20 and the upper portion of the heel counter 50. The upper space SP2 also includes the above-mentioned insertion space SP3. The insertion space SP3 is defined by the upper surface of the sole body 30 (more precisely, the top surface 31a of the midsole 31, which will be described later) and the inner circumferential surface 22a of the side wall portion 22 of the portion of the upper body 20 that is not covered by the sole body 30.

[0033] 1 to 7, the upper body 20 constitutes part of the portion of the shoe 1A that comes into contact with the wearer's foot (more specifically, the portion that comes into contact with the circumferential surface of the wearer's foot), and is made of a bag-shaped member with an opening 20a. The upper body 20 is housed in the shell 10, overlapping the bottom wall 11 and circumferential wall 12 of the shell 10 so as to cover the inner surface of the shell 10. The upper body 20 is made of a flexibly deformable member from the viewpoints of improving fit and ensuring good comfort.

[0034] The upper body 20 includes a lower wall portion 21 configured to cover the sole of the wearer's foot and a side wall portion 22 configured to cover the peripheral surface of the wearer's foot. The side wall portion 22 is erected so as to extend continuously upward from the peripheral edge of the lower wall portion 21. The lower wall portion 21 extends along the inner surface 11a of the bottom wall portion 11 of the shell 10, and the side wall portion 22 extends along the inner peripheral surface 12a of the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10.

[0035] 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.

[0036] The side wall portion 22 has a pair of main surfaces, that is, an inner peripheral surface 22 a and an outer peripheral surface 22 b. The inner peripheral surface 22 a is located on the insertion space SP3 side, and the outer peripheral surface 22 b is located on the peripheral wall portion 12 side of the shell 10.

[0037] As shown in Figures 3 to 7, 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.

[0038] As a result, the medial foot side wall portion 22A of the upper body 20 is positioned to overlap the medial foot side peripheral wall portion 12A of the shell 10, and the lateral foot side wall portion 22B of the upper body 20 is positioned to overlap the lateral foot side peripheral wall portion 12B of the shell 10. In addition, the rear side wall portion 22C of the upper body 20 is positioned to overlap the rear side peripheral wall portion 12C of the shell 10, and the front side wall portion 22D of the upper body 20 is positioned to overlap the front side peripheral wall portion 12D of the shell 10.

[0039] The upper body 20 is provided with a band-like portion 23 (see FIGS. 3, 5, and 7), which secures the sole body 30 to the upper body 20. More specifically, the band-like portion 23 is connected to the medial foot-side wall portion 22A and the lateral foot-side wall portion 22B of the upper body 20 so as to bridge these portions. The sole body 30 is sandwiched between the band-like portion 23 and the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20, thereby securing the sole body 30 to the upper body 20.

[0040] The upper body 20 is also provided with a fastening portion 24, the details of which will be described later.

[0041] As shown in Figures 1 to 7, 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, which 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] 5 to 8 , the sole body 30 includes a midsole 31 as a cushioning material and a plate 32 as a resilience 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 is also housed inside the upper body 20.

[0043] The midsole 31 supports the sole of the wearer's foot by forming 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. The midsole 31 is made of an elastically deformable material with a predetermined thickness so as to obtain the desired cushioning performance when landing, etc.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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, etc.

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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 including the peripheral end surface 32c of the plate 32. Of these, the lower surface of the sole body 30 covers the inner surface 21a of the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20, and the peripheral surface of the sole body 30 faces the lower end portion of the inner peripheral surface 22a of the side wall portion 22 of the upper body 20. As a result, the sole body 30 is located above the bottom wall portion 11 of the shell 10, and is further located above the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20.

[0048] 6 and 7, the additional sole body 40 supports the sole of the wearer's foot (particularly the underside of the heel) and has a flat shape whose thickness decreases from the rear end to the front end in the front-to-rear direction X. The additional sole body 40 functions as a shock absorber and is made of an elastically deformable material so as to obtain the desired shock absorbing performance when landing, etc. Here, the elastic modulus of the additional sole body 40 is different from the elastic modulus of the midsole 31 serving as a shock absorber included in the sole main body 30 described above.

[0049] As described above, the additional sole body 40 is located in the rear foot portion R3, is housed in the shell 10, and is disposed on the outside of the upper body 20. As a result, the lower surface of the additional sole body 40 covers the inner surface 11a on the rear end side in the front-to-rear direction X of the bottom wall portion 11 of the shell 10, and the upper surface of the additional sole body 40 covers the outer surface 21b on the rear end side in the front-to-rear direction X of the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20. In addition, the end surface of the additional sole body 40 (i.e., the surface connecting the upper surface and lower surface of the additional sole body 40) covers a part of the inner circumferential surface 12a on the lower end side in the up-down direction Z of the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10.

[0050] In this way, by placing an additional sole body 40 as a cushioning material having a different elastic modulus from the midsole 31 included in the sole body 30 described above in addition to the midsole 31 at a position corresponding to the rear foot R3, it is possible to more easily optimize the cushioning performance for the heel when landing.

[0051] That is, when landing, high foot pressure is applied to the sole, particularly in the rear foot region R3, and in order to sufficiently relieve this foot pressure, it is necessary to improve the cushioning performance of the cushioning material arranged in that region. In this case, considering that the midsole 31 described above is composed of a single member arranged across the forefoot region R1, midfoot region R2, and rear foot region R3, it is expected that the thickness of the midsole 31 in the rear foot region R3 will be greater than the thicknesses of the forefoot region R1 and midfoot region R2. However, if the thickness of the midsole 31 in the rear foot region R3 is increased, it is necessary to obtain appropriate cushioning performance in the forefoot region R1 and midfoot region R2 as well. However, this will result in a noticeable sinking of the heel in the rear foot region R3 when landing, creating a problem of a large gap between the instep and the upper body 20, particularly at a position corresponding to the instep of the wearer's foot.

[0052] In this regard, as described above, by disposing the additional sole body 40 as a cushioning material having a different elastic modulus from the midsole 31 in the rear foot portion R3 in addition to the midsole 31 as a cushioning material contained in the sole body 30, it is possible to improve the cushioning performance in the rear foot portion R3 compared to the cushioning performance in the forefoot portion R1 and midfoot portion R2 while maintaining the necessary cushioning performance in the forefoot portion R1 and midfoot portion R2, and also to prevent excessive sinking of the heel when landing. Therefore, as described above, it is possible to more easily optimize the cushioning performance in the heel when landing, and as a result, it is possible to prevent a gap from occurring between the wearer's foot and the upper body 20.

[0053] Here, it is preferable that the thickness of the additional sole body 40 is greater than the thickness of the midsole 31, particularly in the portion that supports the heel of the wearer's foot. It is also preferable that the elastic modulus of the additional sole body 40 is lower than the elastic modulus of the midsole 31. By configuring it in this way, it becomes possible to make the amount of deformation of the additional sole body 40 greater than the amount of deformation of the midsole 31 when landing, and therefore it is possible to reduce the gap that occurs between the wearer's foot and the upper body 20 described above while ensuring high cushioning performance.

[0054] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the additional sole body 40 is disposed between the bottom wall portion 11 of the shell 10 and the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20. By configuring in this manner, the upper body 20 can be made smaller by the amount that the additional sole body 40 is not disposed inside the upper body 20, which contributes to reducing the weight of the shoe 1A.

[0055] In addition, when landing, high foot pressure is applied to the sole, particularly in the rear foot region R3, so the cushioning material in the portion located in the rear foot region R3 is more susceptible to deterioration than the cushioning material in the portions located in the forefoot region R1 and midfoot region R2, resulting in a problem of reduced cushioning performance over long periods of use. In this regard, by dividing the cushioning material in the portion located in the rear foot region R3 into the midsole 31 and the additional sole body 40, as in the present embodiment, it is possible to replace only the additional sole body 40, which is more susceptible to deterioration, and the shoe 1A can be used for a longer period of time.

[0056] 6 and 7, the 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 the ground surface 3. The heel counter 50 is a member that reinforces the medial and lateral foot-side peripheral walls 12A and 12B of the shell 10 in the portions corresponding to the rear foot region R3, as well as the rear peripheral wall 12C of the shell 10.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] The protrusion 52 extends from the lower end of the surrounding portion 51 toward the bottom wall 11 and protrudes toward the peripheral wall 12. More specifically, the protrusion 52 extends continuously from each of the first portion 51A, the second portion 51B, and the third portion 51C of the surrounding portion 51, thereby giving the protrusion 52 a flared shape. The protrusion 52 is a portion for fixing the heel counter 50 to the shell 10, and details thereof will be described later.

[0062] In the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment described above, the peripheral surface of the wearer's foot is covered by the upper body 20, and the sole of the wearer's foot is covered by the midsole 31 of the sole body 30. Therefore, when the wearer is wearing the shoe 1A, the wearer's foot comes into contact with the flexibly deformable soft upper body 20 and the elastically deformable relatively soft sole body 30. Therefore, by adopting the above-described configuration, the shell 10 does not come into direct contact with the wearer's foot, and the shoe 1A can be made to be comfortable to wear.

[0063] However, the upper body 20 and the sole body 30 do not necessarily need to come into contact with the wearer's foot entirely, and the upper body 20 and the sole body 30 may have cutout-shaped or opening-shaped cutouts or the like provided to the extent that the comfort of wearing the shoe is not impaired.

[0064] <B. Materials of Each Member> Next, the materials of each of the above-mentioned members will be described. Note that the specific materials shown below are merely examples and are not limited to these.

[0065] The shell 10 may be made of basically any material as long as it is flexible, but it is preferable that the material have appropriate strength. From this perspective, the shell 10 is preferably made of a resin material or a rubber material. Here, the material making up the shell 10 may be reactive, initiating a reaction when exposed to light (e.g., ultraviolet light) or heat, and may be, for example, a polymer or a reactive monomer.

[0066] More specifically, when the shell 10 is made of resin, it can be made of, for example, polyolefin resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), polyamide thermoplastic elastomer (TPA, TPAE), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), or polyester thermoplastic elastomer (TPEE).On the other hand, when the shell 10 is made of rubber, it can be made of, for example, butadiene rubber.

[0067] 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 polymers such as olefin elastomers and olefin resins. Examples of olefin 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 ... 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.

[0068] The polymer may be an amide polymer such as an amide elastomer or an amide resin, for example. Examples of the amide polymer include polyamide 6, polyamide 11, polyamide 12, polyamide 66, and polyamide 610.

[0069] The polymer may also be an ester polymer such as an ester elastomer or an ester resin, etc. Examples of the ester polymer include polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate.

[0070] 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.

[0071] 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 (SBBSB), and styrene-butadiene-styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBSBS). Examples of styrene-based resins include polystyrene, acrylonitrile-styrene resin (AS), and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin (ABS).

[0072] 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.

[0073] The method for manufacturing the shell 10 is not particularly limited, but the shell 10 can be manufactured by, for example, injection molding, cast molding, or modeling using a three-dimensional additive manufacturing device. In particular, if the 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 modeling, or powder sintering additive manufacturing can be used.

[0074] The upper body 20 may be made of basically any material as long as it is flexibly deformable, but preferably uses 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.

[0075] In particular, as will be described later, if a woven fabric, knitted fabric, or nonwoven fabric made of heat-shrinkable synthetic fiber is used, 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.

[0076] That is, if the upper body 20 is made of a heat-shrinkable synthetic fiber woven or knitted fabric, nonwoven fabric, or the like, it can be formed into a bag shape in advance, and a last inserted therein and then subjected to a heat treatment. The heat shrinkage caused by the heat causes the upper body 20 to change shape and become intimately attached to the last, and the changed shape is then 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 produce an upper body 20 that fits the wearer's foot. Furthermore, by performing the 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.

[0077] The above-mentioned last may be a standard shape that corresponds to the size of the wearer's foot, 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.

[0078] The midsole 31 and the additional sole body 40 may basically be made of any material as long as they are elastically deformable, but are preferably made of a material that has adequate strength and excellent cushioning properties. From this perspective, the midsole 31 and the additional sole body 40 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.

[0079] Particularly preferably, the midsole 31 and the additional sole body 40 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. Note that the midsole 31 and the additional sole body 40 do not necessarily have to be made of a foam material, and may be made of a non-foam material.

[0080] 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, phenolic 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).

[0081] There are no particular limitations on the material of the heel counter 50, as long as it is made of a material that is harder than the material that makes up the shell 10. Examples of materials for the heel counter 50 include polymer resins such as urethane thermoplastic elastomer (TPU), amide thermoplastic elastomer (TPA), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), and thermosetting urethane elastomer (TSU), as well as thermoplastic rubber.

[0082] The method for manufacturing the heel counter 50 is not particularly limited, but the heel counter 50 can be manufactured by, for example, injection molding, cast molding, or modeling using a three-dimensional additive manufacturing device. In particular, if the heel counter 50 is manufactured by modeling using a three-dimensional additive manufacturing device, it is possible to manufacture heel counters 50 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 modeling, or powder sintering additive manufacturing can be used.

[0083] <C. General Method of Assembling a Shoe> Next, a general method of assembling the shoe 1A according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8 mentioned above.

[0084] 8, the shoe 1A according to this embodiment is manufactured by assembling together a shell 10, an upper body 20, a midsole 31, a plate 32, an additional sole body 40, and a heel counter 50. The shell 10, the upper body 20, the midsole 31, the plate 32, the additional sole body 40, and the heel counter 50 may be manufactured by any method.

[0085] Specifically, first, the additional sole body 40 and the heel counter 50 are inserted into the internal space of the shell 10. Here, since the shell 10 is flexible, the additional sole body 40 is capable of elastic deformation, and the heel counter 50 is also capable of flexural deformation, the additional sole body 40 and 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 additional sole body 40 inserted into the shell 10 is positioned so that it fits along the inner surface 11a on the rear end side in the front-to-rear direction X of the bottom wall portion 11 of the shell 10. Furthermore, the heel counter 50 inserted into the shell 10 is positioned so that it fits along the inner circumferential surface 12a on the rear end side in the front-to-rear direction X of the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10.

[0086] Next, the upper body 20 is inserted into the internal space of the shell 10. Here, because the shell 10 is flexible and the upper body 20 is also flexibly deformable, the upper body 20 can be inserted into the interior of the shell 10 through the opening 10a provided at the top end of the shell 10. The upper body 20 inserted into the shell 10 is positioned so that it fits along 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 that defines the opening 20a is pulled outward from the opening 10a of the shell 10. At this time, the upper surface of the additional sole body 40 and the inner circumferential surface of the heel counter 50, which were previously housed inside the shell 10, are covered by the upper body 20.

[0087] Next, the sole body 30 including the midsole 31 and the plate 32 is inserted into the upper body 20, and thus into the internal space of the shell 10. The midsole 31 and the plate 32 may be inserted into the upper body 20 individually, or they may be inserted together into the upper body 20. Here, while the midsole 31 is elastically deformable, the plate 32 is relatively hard and does not easily deform in its in-plane direction. However, because the upper body 20 is flexibly deformable and the shell 10 is also flexible, the sole body 30 including the midsole 31 and the plate 32 can be inserted into the upper body 20 through the opening 20a provided at the top end of the upper body 20. Note that the opening 10a provided at the top end of the shell 10 does not hinder the insertion of the midsole 31 and the plate 32. The sole body 30, which includes the midsole 31 and the plate 32 inserted into the upper body 20, is positioned along the inner surface 21a of the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20. This positions the sole body 30 at an appropriate position in the internal space of the shell 10.

[0088] By going through the above assembly procedure, the assembly of the shell 10, upper body 20, midsole 31, plate 32, additional sole body 40, 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 different component arrangement positions than those described above) may also be used.

[0089] <D. Summary> As described above, shoe 1A according to the present embodiment can be manufactured by the extremely simple process of assembling together the shell 10, upper body 20, sole body 30, additional sole body 40, and heel counter 50, which have been individually manufactured in advance, making its manufacture easier than conventional methods. Note that shoe 1A according to the present embodiment is configured so that the shell 10, upper body 20, sole body 30, additional sole body 40, and heel counter 50 can be easily fixed together when they are assembled together, and furthermore, the use of adhesive is not required when assembling the midsole 31, plate 32, additional sole body 40, and heel counter 50 to the shell 10 and upper body 20; these points will be described in detail later.

[0090] <E. Fixing Structure of Sole Body to Shell> Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of region IX shown in Fig. 6, and Fig. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of the shoe shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 11 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the shell shown in Fig. 1 taken along line XI-XI shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the range of formation of the pressing surface provided on the peripheral wall of the shell shown in Fig. 1. Next, with reference to Figs. 9 to 12 and the aforementioned Figs. 6 and 7, the fixing structure of the sole body 30 to the shell 10 in shoe 1A according to this embodiment will be described in detail.

[0091] 9 and 10 are cross-sectional views of the shoe 1A taken along a plane perpendicular to the shoe center SC, but the cross-section shown in Fig. 9 is a cross-section of the shoe 1A in a portion where the heel counter 50 is located, while the cross-section shown in Fig. 10 is a cross-section of a portion where the heel counter 50 is not located. More specifically, the cross-section shown in Fig. 9 is a cross-section of the rear foot region R3, and the cross-section shown in Fig. 10 is a cross-section of the midfoot region R2. Furthermore, in Fig. 12, the detailed structure of the shoe 1A is omitted, and the area where the pressing surface 14 is formed is colored dark to indicate the area where the pressing surface 14 is formed when viewed from above in the vertical direction Z (the same applies to Figs. 18 to 20, 22, 23, 32, and 35).

[0092] 6, 7, and 9 to 11, shoe 1A according to this embodiment has a constricted portion 13A provided in the peripheral wall 12 of the shell 10. The constricted portion 13A is formed by constricting a predetermined portion of the peripheral wall 12 toward the inside of the shell 10 (i.e., toward the insertion space SP3). As a result, the inner circumferential surface 12a of the peripheral wall 12 where the constricted portion 13A is provided protrudes toward the inside of the shell 10, while a recess is formed in the outer circumferential surface 12b of the peripheral wall 12 where the constricted portion 13A is provided.

[0093] 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 fore-and-aft direction X, of the inner peripheral wall 12A included in the forefoot portion R1, via a rear end position PR (see FIG. 7 , etc.), to the rear end, in the fore-and-aft direction X, of the outer peripheral wall 12B included in the forefoot portion R1.

[0094] 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. In other words, in the shoe 1A according to this embodiment, by inserting the end of the sole body 30 into the space below the portion 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.

[0095] 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.

[0096] 12 , the pressing surface 14 extends circumferentially of the peripheral wall 12 from the rear end, in the fore-aft 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 fore-aft 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.

[0097] 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 held in the up-down direction Z by the shell 10 at the rear end in the front-rear direction X.

[0098] 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 significantly improves the 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 manufacturing, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and simplify the manufacturing process.

[0099] 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 more stable fixation of the sole body 30.

[0100] 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 allows for a significant reduction in the amount of organic solvents used compared to when adhesives are used for fixing. Therefore, by adopting the above-described structure, the environmental impact can be reduced compared to conventional methods.

[0101] 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.

[0102] Furthermore, in shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, no pressing surface 14 is provided on the front end portions in the fore-aft direction X of medial foot-side peripheral wall 12A and lateral foot-side peripheral wall 12B included in forefoot portion R1, nor on front peripheral wall 12D. This is because, when the foot pressure applied to sole body 30 upon landing is large in rearfoot portion R3 but relatively small in forefoot portion R1, a corresponding effect can be obtained if sole body 30 is stably fixed to shell 10 in rearfoot portion R3 and midfoot portion R2. Furthermore, the portion of the internal space of shell 10 corresponding to forefoot portion R1 is located further back from shoe opening 2, and providing pressing surface 14 in this portion would complicate assembly of sole body 30 to shell 10, which is therefore avoided. However, as in the shoe 1A3 according to the third modified example described later (see Figure 19 (A)), it is of course acceptable if the pressing surface 14 is provided on the front end portion in the fore-and-aft direction X of the medial foot side peripheral wall portion 12A and the lateral foot side peripheral wall portion 12B included in the forefoot portion R1, as well as on the front side peripheral wall portion 12D.

[0103] Furthermore, in shoe 1A according to this embodiment, pressing surface 14 has an inclined surface shape that protrudes more upward in the vertical direction Z, and midsole 31 is configured to have a generally trapezoidal cross section so that the end face of sole body 30 (i.e., the portion of sole body 30 facing the lower end portion of inner circumferential surface 22a of side wall portion 22 of upper body 20) also has an inclined surface shape corresponding to this. With this configuration, it is possible to stably fix sole body 30 by pressing surface 14, while also facilitating assembly of sole body 30 to shell 10.

[0104] Furthermore, the pressing surface 14 does not necessarily have to be configured as an inclined surface shape in which the amount of protrusion increases as it moves upward in the vertical direction Z as described above, but may be configured as an inclined surface shape in which the amount of protrusion increases as it moves downward in the vertical direction Z, or may be configured as a horizontal surface shape extending in the left-right direction Y.

[0105] Here, when the pressing surface 14 is configured with an inclined surface shape in which the amount of protrusion increases toward the upper side in the vertical direction Z as described above, the smaller the angle formed between the pressing surface 14 of the inclined surface shape and the horizontal plane, the greater the fixing force to the sole body 30. On the other hand, when the pressing surface 14 is configured with an inclined surface shape in which the amount of protrusion increases toward the lower side in the vertical direction Z, the greater the angle formed between the pressing surface 14 of the inclined surface shape and the horizontal plane, the greater the fixing force to the sole body 30.

[0106] As described above, in the shoe 1A according to this embodiment, the sole body 30 includes the midsole 31 and the plate 32, and the plate 32 is positioned below the midsole 31 in the vertical direction Z, thereby being stacked on the midsole 31. Therefore, by adopting the above configuration, not only the midsole 31 but also the plate 32 can be held by the shell 10, and even if the midsole 31 and the plate 32 are not bonded together, the midsole 31 and the plate 32 can be stably fixed to the shell 10 at the same time.

[0107] As described above, in shoe 1A according to this embodiment, upper body 20 is housed in shell 10, and sole body 30 is housed inside upper body 20. Therefore, as shown in Figures 9 and 10 , sole body 30 is sandwiched between pressing surface 14 and bottom wall portion 11 with upper body 20 interposed therebetween. Even in this configuration in which sole body 30 does not come into direct contact with pressing surface 14, upper body 20 is made of a sufficiently flexible material, so that sole body 30 can be stably fixed to shell 10 via upper body 20.

[0108] As described above, in the shoe 1A according to this embodiment, the heel counter 50 is located in the rear foot region R3, and is housed in the shell 10 and disposed on the outside 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 11, with the flared protrusions 52 of the upper body 20 and the heel counter 50 interposed therebetween. Even in this configuration in which the sole body 30 does not directly contact the pressing surface 14, the upper body 20 is made of a sufficiently flexible material, and the shape of the protrusions 52 of the heel counter 50 corresponds to the shape of the pressing surface 14 and the shape of the circumferential surface of the sole body 30. Therefore, the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10 via the upper body 20 and the heel counter 50. This configuration also enables the heel counter 50 to be stably fixed to the shell 10, as will be described in detail later.

[0109] Furthermore, as described above, in shoe 1A according to this embodiment, additional sole body 40 is positioned across midfoot portion R2 and rearfoot portion R3, and this additional sole body 40 is housed in shell 10 and disposed on the outside of upper body 20. Here, lower wall portion 21 of upper body 20 covers second main surface 32b of plate 32, which is the underside of sole body 30, and additional sole body 40 is disposed between lower wall portion 21 and bottom wall portion 11 of upper body 20. Therefore, additional sole body 40 is sandwiched and held between sole body 30 and bottom wall portion 11, which are fixed by pressing surface 14, and is thereby fixed to shell 10. Therefore, with this configuration, it is possible to stably fix sole body 30 and additional sole body 40 to shell 10 simultaneously.

[0110] <F. Shell Breakage Prevention Structure> Next, the breakage prevention structure of the shell 10 in the shoe 1A according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the above-mentioned FIGS. 5 to 7, 9 and 10.

[0111] As shown in Figures 5 to 7, 9 and 10, in the shoe 1A of this embodiment, the sole body 30 has a plate 32 in addition to a midsole 31, and the plate 32 is housed in the shell 10 by being placed in the internal space of the shell 10.

[0112] As described above, the plate 32 functions as a resilient material to achieve the desired resilience during push-off and other times. That is, the plate 32 is made of a hard material with a high elastic modulus. As a result, the plate 32 elastically deforms when subjected to a high load during push-off and other times, and the restoring force generated in the plate 32 due to this elastic deformation acts on the ground as a high resilience force. Therefore, by providing the plate 32 to the shoe 1A, forward propulsion force during push-off and other times can be dramatically improved.

[0113] Here, since the plate 32 is relatively hard while the shell 10 is relatively soft, if the plate 32 is housed in the shell 10 without any special measures, the end of the plate 32 (i.e., the edge portion of the plate 32 including the peripheral end surface 32c described above) may come into contact with the shell 10, which may cause scraping or tearing of the shell 10.

[0114] In this regard, in the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, the plate 32 is not disposed in the internal space of the shell 10 and on the outside of the upper body 20, but is housed in the upper body 20. As a result, the plate 32 is disposed in the internal space of the shell 10, but is also disposed inside the upper body 20.

[0115] Therefore, by configuring it in this manner, as shown in particular in Figures 9 and 10, the upper body 20 made of a material softer than the plate 32 is interposed between the peripheral end surface 32c of the plate 32 and the inner surface 12a of the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10, and the portion of the upper body 20 sandwiched between the peripheral end surface 32c and the inner surface 12a (in Figures 9 and 10, this portion is given the reference symbol 22c) functions as a protective portion that protects the shell 10 from the plate 32.

[0116] Therefore, by adopting the above configuration, the flexible shell 10 is provided with a hard plate 32 as a rebound material, which provides high propulsion force when kicking off, etc., but the end of the plate 32 does not come into direct contact with the shell 10, so it is possible to prevent the shell 10 from being worn down or torn.As a result, it is possible to create a shoe 1A that achieves both improved propulsion force and improved durability.

[0117] In addition, by providing the flexible shell 10 with a hard plate 32, the effect of dispersing pressure inside the shoe 1A is also achieved, which prevents large localized deformations of the shell 10 and, as a result, makes it possible to deform the shell 10 more uniformly.

[0118] <G. Fixing Structure of Heel Counter to Shell and Upper Body> Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the fixing structure of the heel counter to the shell and upper body in the shoe shown in Figure 1. Figure 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of the fixing structure shown in Figure 13. Next, with reference to Figures 13 and 14 and the above-mentioned Figures 1 to 8, the fixing structure of the heel counter 50 to the shell 10 and upper body 20 in the shoe 1A according to this embodiment will be described in detail.

[0119] 1 to 8, in the shoe 1A according to this embodiment, a belt-like fastening part 24 is provided at the rear end in the front-rear direction X of the upper body 20 and at the top end in the up-down direction Z. The fastening part 24 is for fixing the heel counter 50 to the upper body 20 and the shell 10.

[0120] 13 and 14 , one end of the tightening portion 24 in the extension direction is fixed to the rear wall portion 22C of the upper body 20. The upper body 20 has the above-mentioned bottom wall portion 21 and side wall portion 22 as a main body portion, and the tightening portion 24 is provided in the main body portion of the upper body 20 by being fixed to the rear wall portion 22C of the side wall portion 22. The tightening portion 24 can be fixed to the rear wall portion 22C by any method, but stitching is preferably used.

[0121] Here, the one end of the tightening portion 24 is folded over and overlapped. This folded over and overlapped portion is integrally fixed to the outer peripheral surface 22b of the rear wall portion 22C (in FIG. 14 , the seam between the rear wall portion 22C and the tightening portion 24 is indicated by the symbol A), and the entire overlapped portion constitutes the base end 24a of the tightening portion 24 as a fixed end. Meanwhile, the other end of the tightening portion 24 in the extension direction is pulled out by a predetermined length from the rear wall portion 22C, and the entire pulled out portion constitutes the tip end 24b of the tightening portion 24 as a free end.

[0122] Meanwhile, a through-hole-like insertion portion 56 is provided at the rear end of the heel counter 50 in the front-rear direction X and at the upper end in the up-down direction Z. This insertion portion 56 is provided in the above-mentioned third portion 51C of the surrounding portion 51 of the heel counter 50, and has a slit-like shape that extends generally in the left-right direction Y corresponding to the belt-like tightening portion 24.

[0123] A through-hole-like insertion portion 16 is provided at the rear end of the shell 10 in the front-rear direction X and at the upper end in the up-down direction Z. This insertion portion 16 is provided in the rear peripheral wall portion 12C of the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10, and has a slit-like shape that extends generally along the left-right direction Y corresponding to the belt-like tightening portion 24.

[0124] The insertion portion 56 provided on the heel counter 50 and the insertion portion 16 provided on the shell 10 are provided at approximately the same position in the up-down direction Z and the left-right direction Y. As a result, these insertion portions 56, 16 face each other in the front-rear direction X.

[0125] The tip 24b of the tightening portion 24 described above is inserted into these insertion portions 56, 16, and the tip 24b of the tightening portion 24 that is inserted into the insertion portions 56, 16 and pulled out to the outside of the shell 10 is further folded back to reach above the base end 24a.

[0126] Here, a male hook-and-loop fastener is provided on one of the base end 24a and the tip 24b of the fastening portion 24, and a female hook-and-loop fastener is provided on the other of the base end 24a and the tip 24b of the fastening portion 24. Therefore, the portion of the tip 24b that is inserted into the insertion portions 56, 16 and then folded back to reach the base end 24a is overlapped with the base end 24a, and is attached to the base end 24a by the engagement of the male hook-and-loop fastener and the female hook-and-loop fastener.

[0127] As a result, with the tightening portion 24 inserted into the insertion portions 56, 16, the heel counter 50 and the shell 10 are tightened by the tightening portion 24, thereby fixing the heel counter 50 and the shell 10 to the upper body 20. In other words, the tightening portion 24 is provided on the upper body 20, and the portion of the heel counter 50 located above the position where the insertion portion 56 is provided in the vertical direction Z and the portion of the shell 10 located above the position where the insertion portion 16 is provided are surrounded and held by the loop-shaped tip 24b formed by the tightening portion 24, so that the shell 10, upper body 20, and heel counter 50 are fixed together as an integral unit.

[0128] Therefore, the heel counter 50 can be fixed to the shell 10 and the upper body 20 at the upper end of the rear end of the shoe 1A, where these fastening portions 24 and insertion portions 56, 16 are provided, and the heel counter 50 can be prevented from shifting position at the upper end of the rear end of the shoe 1A.

[0129] Additionally, in shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, as described above, sole body 30 is fixed to shell 10 by sandwiching upper body 20 and bottom wall 11 in rear foot region R3 with flared protrusion 52 of heel counter 50 interposed between pressing surface 14 and bottom wall 11 (see FIGS. 6, 7, and 9). In other words, heel counter 50 is fixed to shell 10 and upper body 20 by sandwiching flared protrusion 52 between pressing surface 14 and bottom wall 11.

[0130] As described above, the flared protrusion 52 is provided around the entire lower end of the surrounding portion 51 of the heel counter 50. Therefore, the heel counter 50 can be fixed to the shell 10 and the upper body 20 at the lower rear end of the shoe 1A where the protrusion 52 is provided, and it is possible to prevent the heel counter 50 from shifting position at the lower rear end of the shoe 1A.

[0131] Therefore, by adopting the above configuration, the heel counter 50 can be stably fixed to the shell 10 and the upper body 20 at the upper end and lower end of the rear end of the shoe 1A, resulting in a shoe 1A with significantly improved fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing.

[0132] The above-described structure for fixing the heel counter 50 to the shell 10 and upper body 20 can stably fix the heel counter 50 to the shell 10 and upper body 20 without using adhesives, which allows for a significant reduction in the amount of organic solvents used compared to when adhesives are used to fix them. Therefore, by adopting the above-described structure, the environmental impact can be reduced compared to conventional methods.

[0133] <H. Others> In addition to the above-described characteristic features, the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment has the following characteristic features.

[0134] 11 , in shoe 1A according to the present embodiment, the peripheral wall 12 of the shell 10 has a portion that is thicker than other portions. The thicker portions are a portion of the medial foot-side peripheral wall 12A that is located more rearward in the anterior-posterior direction X than a portion that covers the medial malleolus end point (the apex of the medial malleolus) of the wearer's foot (this portion is designated by a thickness T1 in the drawing), and a portion of the lateral foot-side peripheral wall 12B that is located more rearward in the anterior-posterior direction X than a portion that covers the lateral malleolus end point (the apex of the lateral malleolus) of the wearer's foot (this portion is designated by a thickness T2 in the drawing).

[0135] The reason for making these areas thicker than other areas is that depressions exist on the circumferential surface of the wearer's foot in areas posterior to the ends of the medial and lateral malleolus, and gaps are likely to form between the wearer's foot and shoe 1A in these areas, which could impair fit. In other words, by increasing the thickness of shell 10 in the areas corresponding to these depressions (particularly by making peripheral wall portion 12 bulge inward of shell 10), the occurrence of the aforementioned gaps can be reduced, further improving fit.

[0136] <I. Other Aspects of the Shell> Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing another aspect of the shell of the shoe shown in Fig. 1. Hereinafter, with reference to Fig. 15, another aspect of the shell 10 of the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0137] 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 15 may be used.

[0138] The shell 10A shown in Figure 15 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. 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, thereby having intersections formed by the intersections of the wire elements and holes 10c located between adjacent wire elements.

[0139] 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 circumferential surface 12a of the peripheral wall 12) and outer surface (i.e., the outer surface 11b of the bottom wall 11 and the outer circumferential 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.

[0140] By constructing the shell 10A from a three-dimensional mesh structure in this way, the shell 10A is given 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 of the shoe.

[0141] When using a 3D additive manufacturing device, especially when producing the above-mentioned shell 10A by stereolithography, various measures are required to ensure stable manufacturing. One such measure is when manufacturing wire elements that have a section of wire elements that are sparsely connected to other wire elements over a certain length or longer and that extend at an angle of 45° or more with respect to the manufacturing direction, the weight of the wire elements can cause manufacturing defects. Here, the manufacturing direction refers to the stacking direction during the manufacturing of the object to be additively manufactured, and corresponds to the normal direction of the main surface of the platform of the 3D additive manufacturing device.

[0142] This type of problem frequently occurs at the mouth portion 10a when the shell 10A is molded in the front-to-rear direction X. A loop-shaped wire element 10a1 is formed at the mouth portion 10a, connecting the upper ends of the peripheral wall portion 12. However, the wire element 10a1 is loosely connected to other wire elements compared to other parts of the shell 10A, which can cause the above-mentioned problem.

[0143] In this regard, as shown in the figure, if the mouth portion 10a is configured to have an elongated shape in the front-to-back direction X and there is no extreme change in the height from the ground surface 3 at each point around the periphery of the mouth portion 10a, the loop-shaped wire element 10a1 connecting the upper end of the peripheral wall portion 12 will hardly include any portion that extends at an angle of more than 45° to the above-mentioned molding direction, and the occurrence of the above-mentioned molding defects can be significantly reduced.

[0144] Furthermore, even when printing a part tilted at an angle of 45° or more with respect to the printing direction, if there is an already printed part on the opposite side (i.e., vertically upward) of the printing direction (the downward vertical direction in which printing progresses) of the part in question, the above-mentioned printing defects are unlikely to occur. This is because the already printed part supports the part to be newly printed, making it less likely that deformation due to its own weight will occur. Here, we will refer to the case where an already printed part exists on the opposite side of the printing direction of the part to be printed as Case 1.

[0145] On the other hand, when printing a part that is inclined at an angle of 45° or more with respect to the printing direction, if there is no already-printed part or only a few already-printed parts on the opposite side of the part in the printing progress direction, the above-mentioned printing defects are likely to occur. This is because there are no or almost no parts to support the part to be newly printed, and deformation due to the part's own weight is likely to occur. Here, we will refer to Case 2 as the case where there are no or almost no already-printed parts on the opposite side of the part to be printed in the printing progress direction.

[0146] In this regard, considering that the wire element 10a1 constituting the mouth portion 10a necessarily extends in a direction intersecting with the molding direction, how to route the wire element 10a1 can be determined by determining whether each portion of the wire element 10a1 to be routed corresponds to the above-mentioned Case 1 or Case 2. That is, in a portion corresponding to Case 1, the extension direction of the wire element 10a1 may be inclined at an angle of 45° or more with respect to the molding direction without any restrictions, and in a portion corresponding to Case 2, the inclination of the extension direction of the wire element 10a1 with respect to the molding direction may be set to less than 45°.

[0147] The shell 10A described above is constructed of a three-dimensional mesh structure (i.e., a three-dimensional lattice structure) except for the mesh-like structure portion 10b described above, but this portion may be constructed of a structure having a three-dimensional wall structure instead of this three-dimensional mesh structure.

[0148] 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 the unit structures are arranged repeatedly so that they are 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.

[0149] Furthermore, a part of the shell may be configured as a three-dimensional mesh structure (i.e., a three-dimensional lattice structure), and another part of the shell may be configured as a structure having a three-dimensional wall structure.

[0150] 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.

[0151] Fig. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the opening, showing yet another embodiment of the shoe shell shown in Fig. 1. Hereinafter, with reference to Fig. 16, yet another embodiment of the shell 10 of the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0152] The shell 10B1 shown in Figure 16 (A) has a cutout portion 17 at the front end of the mouth portion 10a, and the thickness of the peripheral wall portion 12 defining the mouth portion 10a is relatively thin in the portion on the front end side adjacent to the cutout portion 17 and relatively thick in the remaining portion.

[0153] The shell 10B2 shown in Figure 16 (B) has a cutout portion 17 at the front end of the mouth portion 10a, and the thickness of the peripheral wall portion 12 defining the mouth portion 10a is relatively thin at the front end portion adjacent to the cutout portion 17 and at the rear end portion of the mouth portion 10a, and is relatively thick in the remaining portion.

[0154] The shell 10B3 shown in Figure 16 (C) has a mouth portion 10a configured in a closed loop shape (i.e., annular), and the thickness of the peripheral wall portion 12 defining the mouth portion 10a is configured to be relatively thin at the front end portion and relatively thick at the remaining portion.

[0155] By providing the cutouts 17 at predetermined positions on the peripheral wall 12 defining the opening 10a or by thinning the thickness of the peripheral wall 12 at predetermined positions, the corresponding portions can be more easily deformed, making it easier to put on and take off the shoe 1A. On the other hand, by making the medial and lateral peripheral walls 12A and 12B defining the opening 10a sufficiently thick or by forming the opening 10a into a closed loop shape, it is possible to effectively prevent the wearer's ankle from collapsing (so-called pronation), which may occur when landing. Furthermore, by providing a thicker portion on the peripheral wall 12 defining the opening 10a, it is possible to effectively prevent the wearer's foot from slipping out of the shoe 1A during running or walking. Furthermore, by thinning the rear end of the opening 10a, it is possible to prevent excessive pressure from being applied to the Achilles tendon.

[0156] Fig. 17 is a side view seen from the outer side of the foot, showing yet another embodiment of the shell of the shoe shown in Fig. 1. Hereinafter, with reference to Fig. 17, yet another embodiment of the shell 10 of the shoe 1A according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0157] 17(A) shows a shell 10C1 in which a plurality of cutouts 18 are provided along the circumferential direction of the mouth 10a at the upper end of the peripheral wall 12, which defines the mouth 10a. Each of the cutouts 18 is formed by providing a notch-shaped portion in part of the upper end of the peripheral wall 12, so that the upper end of the peripheral wall 12 where the cutout 18 is located is positioned lower than the upper ends of the remaining portions of the peripheral wall 12.

[0158] In the shell 10C1, one cutout 18 is provided in each of the medial peripheral wall portion 12A and the lateral peripheral wall portion 12B, both of which are located in the rear foot region R3. However, no cutout 18 is provided in the rear peripheral wall portion 12C or the front peripheral wall portion 12D, and the upper ends of these peripheral wall portions 12 are located at a relatively high position.

[0159] 17(B) shows a shell 10C2 in which an opening 10a is positioned across the forefoot region R1, midfoot region R2, and rearfoot region R3, and a plurality of cutouts 18 are provided along the circumferential direction of the opening 10a at the upper end of the peripheral wall 12, which defines the opening 10a. Each of the cutouts 18 is formed by providing a notched portion in part of the upper end of the peripheral wall 12, so that the upper end of the peripheral wall 12 where the cutout 18 is located is positioned lower than the upper ends of the remaining portions of the peripheral wall 12.

[0160] In the shell 10C2, two cutouts 18 are provided on each of the medial peripheral wall 12A and the lateral peripheral wall 12B, one of which is located between the forefoot region R1 and the midfoot region R2, and the other of which is located in the rearfoot region R3. No cutouts 18 are provided on the rear peripheral wall 12C and the front peripheral wall 12D, and the upper ends of these peripheral wall portions 12 are positioned relatively high.

[0161] 17(C) shows a shell 10C3 in which an opening 10a is located across the forefoot region R1, midfoot region R2, and rearfoot region R3, and a larger cutout 18 is provided along the circumferential direction at the upper end of the peripheral wall 12, which defines the opening 10a, compared to the shells 10B1 and 10B2. The cutout 18 is also configured by providing a notched portion in part of the upper end of the peripheral wall 12, so that the upper end of the peripheral wall 12 where the cutout 18 is located is positioned lower than the upper ends of the remaining portions of the peripheral wall 12.

[0162] In the shell 10C3, the cutout 18 is provided so as to straddle the medial peripheral wall portion 12A, the lateral peripheral wall portion 12B, and the front peripheral wall portion 12D. Note that the rear peripheral wall portion 12C does not have the cutout 18, and the upper end of the rear peripheral wall portion 12C is positioned at a relatively high position.

[0163] By providing the cutout 18 at the upper end of the peripheral wall 12 in this way, the shoe 1A is more likely to deform at the portion where the cutout 18 is provided, which results in the opening 10a being more easily opened and making it easier for the wearer's foot to be inserted into the insertion space SP3. Furthermore, this makes it less likely that the shoe 1A will be hindered from bending when running or walking, which also makes it easier for the shoe 1A to follow the movement of the foot.

[0164] Here, when the cutout portion 18 is provided in the peripheral wall 12 of the portion defining the mouth portion 10a, as in the above-described shells 10C1 to 10C3, and when the shells 10C1 to 10C3 are constructed as a three-dimensional mesh structure using three-dimensional additive manufacturing based on a photolithography method, it is important to consider how to route the wire elements 10a1 (see FIG. 15) that form the mouth portion 10a. For this consideration, the above-described design method of determining whether each portion corresponds to Case 1 or Case 2 and then carrying out the design can be suitably used.

[0165] Furthermore, it is preferable that at least a portion of the upper end of peripheral wall 12 that defines opening 10a be located higher than the position corresponding to the RR line of the wearer's foot (in Fig. 17, this position is indicated by a two-dot chain line labeled RR). Here, the RR line is a curve obtained by obtaining cross sections of the foot perpendicular to the foot length direction at each point in the foot length direction of a standard wearer having a foot size that fits shoe 1A, extracting, for each of the obtained cross sections, the medial end point located closest to the median side of the wearer's foot and the lateral end point located closest to the median side of the wearer's foot, and further connecting these extracted medial end points and lateral end points.

[0166] In this way, by positioning the upper end of the peripheral wall portion 12 of the portion defining the mouth portion 10a at a position higher than the RR line, the peripheral surface of the wearer's foot is covered by the peripheral wall portion 12 at a position higher than the RR line, making it possible to effectively suppress the collapse of the wearer's ankle (so-called pronation) that may occur when landing.

[0167] (First to Fourth Modifications) Fig. 18 is a schematic diagram showing the area where the pressing surface is formed on the peripheral wall of the shoe shell according to the first and second modifications, and Fig. 19 is a schematic diagram showing the area where the pressing surface is formed on the peripheral wall of the shoe shell according to the third and fourth modifications. Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing the area where the pressing surface is formed on the peripheral wall of the shoe shell according to the fifth modification. Hereinafter, shoes 1A1 to 1A5 according to the first to fifth modifications based on the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 18 to 20. The configurations of shoes 1A1 to 1A5 according to the first to fifth modifications differ from shoe 1A according to the first embodiment only in that the area where the pressing surface 14 is formed is different due to the location of the constricted portion 13A.

[0168] 18A, the shoe 1A1 according to the first modification has one pressing surface 14 (i.e., one medial pressing surface 14A and one lateral pressing surface 14B) on each of the medial peripheral wall 12A and the lateral peripheral wall 12B. These two independent pressing surfaces 14 are each positioned so as to extend relatively long along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12, while protruding relatively little inward from the shell 10.

[0169] 18(B), a shoe 1A2 according to a second modification is provided with one pressing surface 14 (i.e., one medial pressing surface 14A, one lateral pressing surface 14B, and one rear pressing surface 14C) on each of the medial peripheral wall 12A, the lateral peripheral wall 12B, and the rear peripheral wall 12C. These three mutually independent pressing surfaces 14 are each positioned so as to extend relatively long along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12, while protruding relatively little inward from the shell 10.

[0170] 19(A), a shoe 1A3 according to a third modification has a pressing surface 14 provided around the entire periphery of the peripheral wall 12. That is, an inner pressing surface 14A, an outer pressing surface 14B, a rear pressing surface 14C, and a front pressing surface 14D are provided on the inner peripheral wall 12A, the outer peripheral wall 12B, the rear peripheral wall 12C, and the front peripheral wall 12D, respectively, and these inner pressing surface 14A, outer pressing surface 14B, rear pressing surface 14C, and front pressing surface 14D extend continuously along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12. This continuous pressing surface 14 is positioned so as to extend long along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12, but protrudes relatively little toward the inside of the shell 10.

[0171] 19(B), a shoe 1A4 according to a fourth modification has three independent pressing surfaces 14 (i.e., three medial pressing surfaces 14A and three lateral pressing surfaces 14B) on each of an inner peripheral wall 12A and an outer peripheral wall 12B. Each of these six mutually independent pressing surfaces 14 is positioned so as to extend relatively short along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12, but protrudes relatively large inward from the shell 10.

[0172] The three medial pressure surfaces 14A provided on the medial peripheral wall 12A and the three lateral pressure surfaces 14B provided on the lateral peripheral wall 12B are positioned opposite each other in the left-right direction Y. This configuration can suppress an increase in the bending rigidity of the shoe 1A4 due to the provision of the pressure surfaces 14, making it less likely that the shoe 1A4 will be hindered from bending when running or walking, and allowing the shoe 1A4 to more easily follow the movement of the foot.

[0173] 20 , a shoe 1A5 according to the fifth modification has five independent pressing surfaces 14 (i.e., three inner pressing surfaces 14A and two outer pressing surfaces 14B) on the inner peripheral wall 12A and the outer peripheral wall 12B. Each of these five independent pressing surfaces 14 extends relatively short along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12, but protrudes relatively large inward from the shell 10.

[0174] The three medial pressure surfaces 14A provided on the medial peripheral wall 12A and the two lateral pressure surfaces 14B provided on the lateral peripheral wall 12B are arranged in alternating positions along the front-to-rear direction X. This configuration can suppress an increase in the bending rigidity of the shoe 1A5 due to the provision of the pressure surfaces 14, making it less likely that the shoe 1A5 will be hindered from bending during running or walking, and allowing the shoe 1A5 to more easily follow the movement of the foot. Furthermore, compared to the shoe 1A4 according to the fourth modification described above, it is also possible to prevent extreme variations in bending rigidity from region to region.

[0175] Even when configurations such as those of the first to fifth modified examples are adopted, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those described in the first embodiment above, and the ability to stably fix the sole body 30 to the shell 10 significantly improves the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing, and it is possible to provide shoes 1A1 to 1A5 that have a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes. In particular, when the area in which the pressing surface 14 is formed in the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 12 is configured to be short, as in the fourth and fifth modified examples, it is possible to achieve both easier fitting of the sole body 30 and stable fixation of the sole body 30 by increasing the protrusion amount of the pressing surface 14.

[0176] Here, when the medial and lateral pressing surfaces 14A and 14B are provided on the medial and lateral peripheral walls 12A and 12B, respectively, the medial and lateral pressing surfaces 14A and 14B may be positioned opposite each other in the left-right direction Y. This configuration positions the medial and lateral pressing surfaces 14A and 14B to connect the medial and lateral ends of the sole body 30 over the shortest distance, effectively preventing the end of the sole body 30 from slipping out of the space below them. Therefore, this configuration prevents the sole body 30 from falling off the shell 10 and more stably secures the sole body 30 to the shell 10.

[0177] (Sixth Modification) Fig. 21 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of a shoe according to a sixth modification. Fig. 22 is a schematic diagram showing first and second examples of the ranges of the pressing surfaces and protrusions provided on the peripheral wall of the shoe shell shown in Fig. 21 , and Fig. 23 is a schematic diagram showing third and fourth examples of the ranges of the pressing surfaces and protrusions provided on the peripheral wall of the shoe shell shown in Fig. 21 . Hereinafter, shoes 1A6, 1A6a to 1A6d according to a sixth modification based on the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 21 to 23 . The shoes 1A6, 1A6a to 1A6d according to the sixth modification are basically different in configuration from shoe 1A according to the first embodiment described above only in the shape of the inner edge of the pressing surface 14.

[0178] As shown in Figure 21, in shoe 1A6 according to the sixth modification, a solid ridge 15 is provided along the inner edge of pressing surface 14 provided on peripheral wall 12 of shell 10, extending circumferentially around peripheral wall 12. Here, the inner edge of pressing surface 14 refers to the boundary between the lower surface (i.e., pressing surface 14) and the upper surface of constricted portion 13A. This inner edge of pressing surface 14 extends circumferentially around peripheral wall 12 to form a ridge, and the above-mentioned ridge 15 also extends in the same direction as this inner edge.

[0179] The protrusions 15 function as a stopper, so to speak, and the provision of the protrusions 15 effectively prevents the end of the sole body 30 from slipping out of the space below the pressing surface 14. Therefore, with this configuration, the sole body 30 can be prevented from falling off the shell 10, and the sole body 30 can be fixed to the shell 10 more stably.

[0180] 22 and 23, the formation range of the protrusion 15 can be changed in various ways to match the formation range and shape of the pressing surface 14 provided on the peripheral wall 12. In Fig. 22 and 23, the formation range of the protrusion 15 is indicated by a thick solid line for ease of understanding.

[0181] 22(A), similarly to the shoe 1A according to the first embodiment, the peripheral wall 12 is provided with an inner foot-side pressing surface 14A, an outer foot-side pressing surface 14B, and a rear side pressing surface 14C as pressing surfaces 14, while no pressing surface is provided on the front side peripheral wall 12D of the peripheral wall 12. The inner foot-side pressing surface 14A, the outer foot-side pressing surface 14B, and the rear side pressing surface 14C extend continuously along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12.

[0182] In the shoe 1A6a, the above-described protrusions 15 are provided on the portions of the peripheral wall 12 where the pressing surfaces 14 are formed. That is, the protrusions 15 extend circumferentially along the peripheral wall 12 from the rear end, in the fore-and-aft direction X, of the medial peripheral wall 12A included in the forefoot portion R1, via the rear end position PR, to the rear end, in the fore-and-aft direction X, of the lateral peripheral wall 12B included in the forefoot portion R1.

[0183] 22(B), similarly to the shoe 1A according to the first embodiment, the peripheral wall 12 is provided with an inner foot-side pressing surface 14A, an outer foot-side pressing surface 14B, and a rear side pressing surface 14C as pressing surfaces 14, while no pressing surface is provided on the front side peripheral wall 12D of the peripheral wall 12. The inner foot-side pressing surface 14A, the outer foot-side pressing surface 14B, and the rear side pressing surface 14C extend continuously along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12.

[0184] In the shoe 1A6b, the above-mentioned ridges 15 are provided on the portions of the peripheral wall 12 where the pressing surfaces 14 are formed, and the ridges 15 are also provided continuously on portions where the pressing surfaces 14 are not formed. That is, in the shoe 1A6b, the ridges 15 are located all around the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall 12. Here, the ridges 15 provided on the portions where the pressing surfaces 14 are not formed are solid like the ridges 15 provided on the portions where the pressing surfaces 14 are formed, and are provided so as to protrude from the inner peripheral surface 12a of the peripheral wall 12.

[0185] In the shoe 1A6c of the third example shown in Figure 23 (A), as in the case of the shoe 1A4 of the fourth modified example described above, the pressing surfaces 14 are provided with three mutually independent inner foot side pressing surfaces 14A provided on the inner foot side peripheral wall portion 12A and three mutually independent outer foot side pressing surfaces 14B provided on the outer foot side peripheral wall portion 12B.

[0186] In the shoe 1A6c, the above-mentioned ridges 15 are provided on the portions of the peripheral wall 12 where the pressing surfaces 14 are formed. That is, the ridges 15 are provided on the inner foot-side peripheral wall 12A and the outer foot-side peripheral wall 12B in correspondence with the pressing surfaces 14 provided on the inner foot-side peripheral wall 12A and the outer foot-side peripheral wall 12B, respectively.

[0187] In the fourth example shoe 1A6d shown in Figure 23 (B), similar to the case of the shoe 1A4 according to the fourth modified example described above, the pressing surfaces 14 include three mutually independent inner foot side pressing surfaces 14A provided on the inner foot side peripheral wall portion 12A and three mutually independent outer foot side pressing surfaces 14B provided on the outer foot side peripheral wall portion 12B.

[0188] In shoe 1A6d, the above-mentioned ridges 15 are provided on the portions of peripheral wall 12 where pressing surfaces 14 are formed, and ridges 15 are also provided continuously on portions where no pressing surfaces 14 are formed. That is, in shoe 1A6d, ridges 15 are located all around the circumferential direction of peripheral wall 12. Here, ridges 15 provided on portions where no pressing surfaces 14 are formed are solid like ridges 15 provided on portions where pressing surfaces 14 are formed, and are provided so as to protrude from inner circumferential surface 12a of peripheral wall 12.

[0189] Even when a configuration like the sixth modified example described above is adopted, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those described in the first embodiment, and the ability to stably fix the sole body 30 to the shell 10 significantly improves the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing, and shoes 1A6, 1A6a to 1A6d can be made with a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes. In particular, by providing the protrusions 15 even in areas where the pressing surface 14 is not formed, as in the second and fourth examples, it is possible to achieve both easier fitting of the sole body 30 and stable fixation of the sole body 30.

[0190] (Seventh Modification) Figure 24 is a cross-sectional view of a shoe according to a seventh modification. Below, a shoe 1A7 according to the seventh modification, which is based on the above-described first embodiment, will be described with reference to Figure 24. Note that when compared with shoe 1A according to the above-described first embodiment, shoe 1A7 according to the seventh modification differs only in the configuration of the components housed inside shell 10.

[0191] 24 , in a shoe 1A7 according to the seventh modification, a sole body 30 is configured only by a midsole 31 as a cushioning material, and does not include a plate 32 (see FIG. 7 , etc.) as a rebound material in the sole body 30. Therefore, the lower surface of the sole body 30 is defined by the bottom surface 31 b of the midsole 31, and this bottom surface 31 b of the midsole 31 is covered by the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20.

[0192] Even when configured in this manner, it is possible to obtain effects similar to those described in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, and since the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing are greatly improved, and it is possible to create a shoe 1A7 that has a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes.

[0193] (Eighth Modification) Figure 25 is a cross-sectional view of a shoe according to an eighth modification. Below, a shoe 1A8 according to an eighth modification based on the above-described first embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 25. Note that when compared with shoe 1A7 according to the above-described seventh modification, shoe 1A8 according to the eighth modification differs only in the configuration of the components housed inside shell 10.

[0194] 25, in a shoe 1A8 according to the eighth modification, the sole body 30 does not have a plate 32 (see FIG. 7, etc.) as a resilient material, and the shoe 1A8 does not have a heel counter 50 (see FIG. 24, etc.). Therefore, in the rear foot portion R3, as in the midfoot portion R2, the sole body 30 is sandwiched between the pressing surface 14 and the bottom wall portion 11 with only the upper body 20 interposed therebetween (i.e., without the heel counter 50 interposed therebetween).

[0195] Even when configured in this manner, it is possible to obtain effects similar to those described in the first embodiment above, and since the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing are greatly improved, and it is possible to create a shoe 1A8 that has a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes.

[0196] (Ninth Modification) Figure 26 is a cross-sectional view of a shoe according to a ninth modification. Below, a shoe 1A9 according to a ninth modification based on the above-described first embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 26. Note that when compared with shoe 1A8 according to the above-described eighth modification, shoe 1A9 according to the ninth modification differs only in the configuration of the components housed inside shell 10.

[0197] As shown in Figure 26, in shoe 1A9 according to the ninth modification, the sole body 30 does not have the plate 32 (see Figure 7, etc.) as a rebound material, and shoe 1A9 does not have a heel counter 50 (see Figure 24, etc.), and further does not have an additional sole body 40 (see Figure 25, etc.). Therefore, in the midfoot region R2 and rearfoot region R3, the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20 is directly covered by the bottom wall portion 11 of the shell 10, just like in the forefoot region R1.

[0198] Even when configured in this manner, it is possible to obtain effects similar to those described in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, and since the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing are greatly improved, and it is possible to create a shoe 1A9 that has a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes.

[0199] (Tenth Modification) Fig. 27 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of a shoe according to a tenth modification. Below, a shoe 1A10 according to a tenth modification based on the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 27. Note that the shoe 1A10 according to the tenth modification differs from the shoe 1A according to the first embodiment only in the configuration of the shell 10.

[0200] As shown in Fig. 27, a shoe 1A10 according to the tenth modification includes a shell 10A1, the portion of which except for the mesh-like structure portion 10b is made of a three-dimensional mesh structure, similar to the shell 10A shown in Fig. 15. The shell 10A1 differs from the shell 10A described above only in the configuration of the portion of the peripheral wall portion 12 in the vicinity of the pressing surface 14.

[0201] Specifically, in shell 10A1, a high-rigidity portion 19 is provided in a portion of peripheral wall 12 that defines pressing surface 14. High-rigidity portion 19 is a portion configured to have higher rigidity than a portion of peripheral wall 12 adjacent to the portion where high-rigidity portion 19 is provided. High-rigidity portion 19 is formed by configuring the space factor of the portion of peripheral wall 12 that defines pressing surface 14 to be higher than the space factor of the portion adjacent to that portion.

[0202] Here, the space factor represents the ratio of the volume of solid portions (i.e., portions other than the above-described hole portions 10c) per given volume of the three-dimensional mesh structure. Therefore, generally, portions with a high space factor have high rigidity, while portions with a low space factor have low rigidity. Possible methods for varying the space factor from portion to portion include, for example, changing the size of the above-described unit structure from portion to portion, changing the thickness of the wire elements of the unit structure from portion to portion, or changing the structure of the unit structure itself from portion to portion. Incidentally, one possible method for maximizing the rigidity of the high-rigidity portion 19 is to configure the high-rigidity portion 19 in a solid shape (i.e., a plate-like or block-like portion that does not include the hole portions 10c therein).

[0203] In this way, when the portion of the peripheral wall 12 that defines the pressing surface 14 is made the high-rigidity portion 19, it is possible to suppress deformation of the peripheral wall 12 at the portion where the pressing surface 14 is provided, and therefore it is possible to effectively prevent the end of the sole body 30 from slipping out of the space below the pressing surface 14. Therefore, with this configuration, it is possible to prevent the sole body 30 from falling off the shell 10, and it is possible to fix the sole body 30 to the shell 10 more stably.

[0204] Therefore, even when configured in this manner, it is possible to obtain effects similar to those described in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, and since the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing are greatly improved, and the shoe 1A10 can be made to have a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes.

[0205] (Eleventh Modification) Fig. 28 is a cross-sectional view of a shoe according to an eleventh modification. Below, a shoe 1A11 according to an eleventh modification based on the above-described first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 28. Note that the shoe 1A11 according to the eleventh modification differs from the shoe 1A according to the above-described first embodiment only in the configuration of the components housed inside the shell 10.

[0206] The shoe 1A according to the first embodiment described above has a configuration in which the upper body 20 is housed in the shell 10, and the sole body 30 is housed in the upper body 20 (see FIG. 7, etc.), but as shown in FIG. 28 , a shoe 1A11 according to an eleventh modified example has a configuration in which the sole body 30 is housed in the shell 10, but the upper body 20 is housed inside the shell 10 without the sole body 30 being housed inside. In other words, the sole body 30 is positioned so as to be sandwiched between the bottom wall 11 of the shell 10 and the lower wall 21 of the upper body 20, and the upper body 20 is disposed only in the upper space SP2 of the interior space of the shell 10.

[0207] In this configuration, the upper surface of the sole body 30 defined by the top surface 31a of the midsole 31 is covered by the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20, except for the portion covered by the pressing surface 14 provided on the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10. Accordingly, the sole body 30 is directly sandwiched between the pressing surface 14 provided on the peripheral wall portion 12 and the bottom wall portion 11, without the upper body 20 being interposed therebetween.

[0208] Therefore, even when configured in this manner, it is possible to obtain effects similar to those described in the above-mentioned first embodiment, and since the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing are greatly improved, and it is possible to create a shoe 1A11 that has a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes.

[0209] (Twelfth Modification) Fig. 29 is a cross-sectional view of a shoe according to a twelfth modification. Below, a shoe 1A12 according to a twelfth modification based on the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 29. Note that the shoe 1A12 according to the twelfth modification differs from the shoe 1A according to the first embodiment only in the configuration of the shell 10.

[0210] The shoe 1A according to the first embodiment described above is an example of a case in which a pressing surface 14 is formed by providing a constricted portion 13A (see Figures 5 to 7, etc.) at a predetermined location on the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10, but as shown in Figure 29, the shoe 1A12 according to the 12th modified example is configured to form the pressing surface 14 by providing a protruding portion 13B at a predetermined location on the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10.

[0211] More specifically, the protrusion 13B protrudes toward the inside of the shell 10 (i.e., toward the insertion space SP3), so that the inner circumferential surface 12a of the peripheral wall 12 where the protrusion 13B is provided protrudes toward the inside of the shell 10. On the other hand, no depression or the like is provided on the outer circumferential surface 12b of the peripheral wall 12 where the protrusion 13B is provided.

[0212] In this configuration, by providing the protrusion 13B on the peripheral wall 12, the inner peripheral surface 12a of the peripheral wall 12 includes a surface that is positioned so as to extend toward the inside of the shell 10 and faces the bottom wall 11. The surface of the peripheral wall 12 that faces the bottom wall 11 corresponds to the lower surface of the protrusion 13B, and the lower surface of the protrusion 13B functions as a pressing surface 14 for fixing the sole body 30.

[0213] Therefore, even with this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those described in the first embodiment above, and since the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing are greatly improved, and the shoe 1A12 can be made to have a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes.

[0214] (Embodiment 2) Figure 30 is a cross-sectional view of a shoe according to embodiment 2. Figure 31 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line XXXI-XXXI in Figure 30. Figure 32 is a schematic view showing the area where the pressing surface provided on the peripheral wall of the shell of the shoe shown in Figure 30 is formed. Next, shoe 1B according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 30 to 32. Note that shoe 1B according to this embodiment is fundamentally different from shoe 1A according to embodiment 1 described above in terms of the configuration of the shell 10.

[0215] The shoe 1A according to the above-described embodiment 1 is an example of a case in which the pressing surface 14 is formed by providing a narrowed portion 13A (see Figures 5 to 7, etc.) at a predetermined location on the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10, but as shown in Figures 30 to 32, the shoe 1B according to this embodiment is configured so that the pressing surface 14 is formed by providing a connecting portion 13C on the peripheral wall portion 12.

[0216] More specifically, the connection portion 13C is a belt-like portion having one end connected to the medial circumferential wall portion 12A and the other end connected to the lateral circumferential wall portion 12B. The connection portion 13C is located approximately at the center of the midfoot portion R2 in the longitudinal direction X and extends continuously from both the medial circumferential wall portion 12A and the lateral circumferential wall portion 12B. As a result, the connection portion 13C is positioned so as to bridge the medial circumferential wall portion 12A and the lateral circumferential wall portion 12B along the transverse direction Y. The connection portion 13C is also located a distance from the bottom wall portion 11 equal to the thickness of the sole body 30 (i.e., the dimension of the sole body 30 in the vertical direction Z).

[0217] In this configuration, the connection portion 13C, which is provided to bridge the medial and lateral peripheral walls 12A and 12B, includes a surface that is positioned to extend from the medial and lateral peripheral walls 12A and 12B toward the inside of the shell 10 and faces the bottom wall 11. This surface facing the bottom wall 11 corresponds to the lower surface of the connection portion 13C, and this lower surface of the connection portion 13C functions as a pressing surface 14 for fixing the sole body 30. The pressing surface 14 extends in the left-right direction Y.

[0218] Therefore, even with this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those described in the first embodiment above, and the ability to stably fix the sole body 30 to the shell 10 significantly improves the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing, and it is possible to obtain a shoe 1B that has a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoe types. Furthermore, since the pressing surface 14 for fixing the sole body 30 can be provided integrally with the shell 10 during production of the shell 10, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and simplify the manufacturing process.

[0219] Furthermore, in the shoe 1B according to the present embodiment, the connecting portion 13C is provided on the peripheral wall 12 so as to connect the medial side peripheral wall 12A and the lateral side peripheral wall 12B as described above, which also prevents the medial side peripheral wall 12A and the lateral side peripheral wall 12B from collapsing in the left-right direction Y. This makes it possible to prevent the wearer's ankle from collapsing (so-called pronation) when landing. Therefore, in this sense as well, the adoption of the above-described configuration allows for the shoe 1B to be provided with significantly improved fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing.

[0220] Here, in shoe 1B according to the present embodiment, as in the case of shoe 1A11 according to the above-described eleventh modified example, sole body 30 is not housed inside upper body 20, but is positioned so as to be sandwiched between bottom wall 11 of shell 10 and lower wall 21 of upper body 20. This is because connecting portion 13C is provided so as to bridge between medial foot-side peripheral wall 12A and lateral foot-side peripheral wall 12B of shell 10, and therefore upper body 20 cannot be positioned to house connecting portion 13C.

[0221] Therefore, when the connection portion 13C is provided on the peripheral wall portion 12 as in this embodiment, the upper body 20 will be positioned only in the upper space SP2 of the internal space of the shell 10, and as a result, the upper surface of the sole body 30 defined by the top surface 31a of the midsole 31 and the upper surface 13a of the connection portion 13C will both be covered by the lower wall portion 21 of the upper body 20.

[0222] Here, in shoe 1B according to the present embodiment, if corresponding concave and convex portions are provided on pressing surface 14 of connection portion 13C and on top surface 31a of midsole 31 facing pressing surface 14, respectively, these concave and convex portions will fit together, thereby preventing misalignment of midsole 31 in the front-to-back direction X and the left-to-right direction Y.

[0223] In shoe 1B according to this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment described above, constricted portions 13A are provided at predetermined locations on peripheral wall 12 of shell 10, and the underside of constricted portions 13A also functions as pressing surface 14. Pressing surface 14 defined by the underside of constricted portions 13A and pressing surface 14 defined by the underside of connecting portion 13C are configured to be continuous with each other.

[0224] (Thirteenth Modification) Figure 33 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main portion of a shoe according to a thirteenth modification. Below, a shoe 1B1 according to the thirteenth modification, which is based on the above-described second embodiment, will be described with reference to Figure 33. Note that the shoe 1B1 according to the thirteenth modification differs from the shoe 1B according to the above-described second embodiment only in the configuration of the shell 10.

[0225] The shoe 1B according to the second embodiment described above is configured so that the pressing surface 14 is formed by providing the constricted portion 13A and the connecting portion 13C on the peripheral wall portion 12, but as shown in Figure 33, the shoe 1B1 according to the thirteenth modified example forms the pressing surface 14 by providing the connecting portion 13C on the peripheral wall portion 12, and the sole body 30 is fixed to the shell 10 only by the pressing surface 14 formed by the underside of this connecting portion 13C.

[0226] Even when configured in this manner, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those described in the second embodiment above, and since the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing are greatly improved, and the shoe 1B1 can be made to have a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes.

[0227] (Fourteenth Modification) Figure 34 is a cross-sectional view of a shoe according to a fourteenth modification. Below, a shoe 1B2 according to a fourteenth modification based on the above-described second embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 34. Note that the shoe 1B2 according to the fourteenth modification differs from the shoe 1B according to the above-described second embodiment only in the configuration of the sole body 30.

[0228] 34 , in the shoe 1B2 according to the fourteenth modification, similar to the shoe 1B according to the second embodiment described above, the pressing surface 14 is formed by providing a connecting portion 13C on the peripheral wall portion 12, but a groove portion 31c having a shape corresponding to the connecting portion 13C is provided on the top surface 31a of the midsole 31 in the portion that comes into contact with the pressing surface 14. This groove portion 31c extends in the left-right direction Y, and both ends thereof reach the end faces of the midsole 31.

[0229] With this configuration, it is possible to fit the connecting portion 13C into the groove portion 31c provided in the midsole 31. This allows the top surface 31a of the midsole 31 and the upper surface 13a of the connecting portion 13C to be smoothly continuous, which makes it possible to prevent the wearer from feeling any discomfort in the soles of their feet when wearing the shoes.

[0230] Therefore, when configured in this manner, as in the case of the above-mentioned embodiment 2, the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, thereby significantly improving the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing, and not only is the environmental load reduced compared to conventional shoes, but the shoe 1B2 can also be made even more comfortable to wear.

[0231] (Fifteenth and Sixteenth Modifications) Figure 35 is a schematic diagram showing the formation range of the pressing surface provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shoe shell according to the fifteenth and sixteenth modifications. Below, shoes 1B3 and 1B4 according to the fifteenth and sixteenth modifications based on the above-described second embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 35. Note that the configurations of shoes 1B3 and 1B4 according to the fifteenth and sixteenth modifications differ from shoe 1B according to the above-described second embodiment only in that the formation range of pressing surface 14 is different due to differences in the positions and number of connecting portions 13C provided.

[0232] 35(A), in a shoe 1B3 according to a fifteenth modification, two connecting portions 13C are arranged at a distance from each other in the front-to-rear direction X, thereby providing two pressing surfaces 14 at a distance from each other in the front-to-rear direction X. One pressing surface 14 is located near the rear end of the forefoot portion R1 in the front-to-rear direction X, and the other pressing surface 14 is located at the boundary between the midfoot portion R2 and the rearfoot portion R3. Both of these two pressing surfaces 14 extend in the left-to-right direction Y.

[0233] Here, in the shoe 1B3 relating to the 15th variant, the peripheral wall portion 12 of the shell 10 does not have a constricted portion 13A (see Figures 5 to 7, etc.) or a protruding portion 13B (see Figure 29, etc.), and the pressing surface 14 is formed only by the underside of each of the two connecting portions 13C mentioned above.

[0234] As shown in FIG. 35(B), in the shoe 1B4 according to the sixteenth modification, the connection portion 13C is provided at approximately the center of the midfoot portion R2 in the front-to-back direction X, so that the pressing surface 14 is provided at approximately the center of the midfoot portion R2 in the front-to-back direction X, and the constricted portion 13A or the protruding portion 13B is provided on the rear peripheral wall portion 12C, so that a rear pressing surface 14C is further provided.

[0235] As in the 15th and 16th variants, by providing two pressing surfaces 14 spaced apart in the front-to-back direction X, the sole body 30 can be fixed to the shell 10 more stably than when only one pressing surface 14 is provided.

[0236] Therefore, even with this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those described in the above-mentioned second embodiment, and since the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing are greatly improved, and shoes 1B3 and 1B4 can be made with a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes.

[0237] (Seventeenth Modification) Figure 36 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main portion of a shoe according to a seventeenth modification. Below, a shoe 1B5 according to the seventeenth modification, which is based on the second embodiment described above, will be described with reference to Figure 36. Note that the shoe 1B5 according to the seventeenth modification differs from the shoe 1B according to the second embodiment described above only in the configuration of the shell 10.

[0238] As shown in Fig. 36, shoe 1B5 according to the seventeenth modification includes shell 10A2, the portion of which except for mesh structure portion 10b is made of a three-dimensional mesh structure, similar to shell 10A shown in Fig. 15. Shell 10A2 differs in configuration from shell 10A described above in that it is provided with connecting portion 13C, and pressing surface 14 is formed by the underside of connecting portion 13C.

[0239] Additionally, in shell 10A2, a high-rigidity portion 19 is provided in a portion of connecting portion 13C that defines pressing surface 14. This high-rigidity portion 19 is similar to the high-rigidity portion 19 provided in shell 10A1 included in shoe 1A10 according to the above-described tenth modification, and is a portion configured to have higher rigidity than the connecting portion 13C and peripheral wall portion 12 in the portions adjacent to the portion where high-rigidity portion 19 is provided. This high-rigidity portion 19 is formed by configuring the space factor of the portion of connecting portion 13C that defines pressing surface 14 to be higher than the space factor of the portions adjacent to that portion.

[0240] In this way, when the portion of connecting portion 13C that defines pressing surface 14 is made high-rigidity portion 19, it is possible to suppress deformation of connecting portion 13C at the portion where pressing surface 14 is provided, and therefore it is possible to effectively prevent sole body 30 from slipping out of the space below pressing surface 14. Therefore, with this configuration, it is possible to prevent sole body 30 from falling off shell 10 and to more stably fix sole body 30 to shell 10.

[0241] Therefore, even with this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those described in the above-mentioned second embodiment, and since the sole body 30 can be stably fixed to the shell 10, the fit to the wearer's foot and stability when landing are greatly improved, and it is possible to create a shoe 1B5 that has a reduced environmental impact compared to conventional shoes.

[0242] (Summary of Contents Disclosed in the Embodiments and Modifications) The characteristic configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments and modifications can be summarized as follows.

[0243] [Note 1] A shoe having an insertion space provided inside into which a wearer's foot is inserted, the shoe comprising: a flexible shell including a bottom wall portion having a ground contact surface and a peripheral wall portion erected from the periphery of the bottom wall portion; and a sole body that is accommodated in the shell to be positioned above the bottom wall portion and configured to support the sole of the wearer's foot, the peripheral wall portion having a pressing surface that is positioned so as to extend toward the inside of the shell and faces the bottom wall portion, and the sole body is fixed to the shell by being sandwiched between the pressing surface and the bottom wall portion.

[0244] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 1 above, it becomes possible to clamp and fix the sole body between the bottom wall portion of the shell and the pressing surface provided on the peripheral wall portion of the shell, making it possible to stably fix the sole body to the shell without using adhesive or while reducing the amount of adhesive used.

[0245] [Appendix 2] The shoe according to appendix 1, wherein the peripheral wall portion is provided with a protruding portion that protrudes toward the inside of the shell, and the pressing surface is formed by the underside of the protruding portion.

[0246] By employing the configuration described in Supplementary Note 2 above, it becomes possible to easily provide a pressing surface on the peripheral wall portion of the shell, and the sole body can be fixed to the shell with a simple configuration.

[0247] [Appendix 3] The shoe according to appendix 1, wherein the peripheral wall portion is provided with a constricted portion that is constricted toward the inside of the shell, and the pressing surface is formed by the underside of the constricted portion.

[0248] By employing the configuration described in Supplementary Note 3 above, it becomes possible to easily provide a pressing surface on the peripheral wall portion of the shell, and the sole body can be fixed to the shell with a simple configuration.

[0249] [Appendix 4] The shoe according to appendix 2 or 3, wherein the peripheral wall portion has an inner peripheral wall portion configured to cover a portion of the inner side of the wearer's foot and an outer peripheral wall portion configured to cover a portion of the outer side of the wearer's foot, and the pressing surface includes an inner pressing surface provided on the inner peripheral wall portion and an outer pressing surface provided on the outer peripheral wall portion.

[0250] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 4 above, it becomes possible to fix the sole body to the shell at the inner and outer foot sides of the shoe located in the left-right direction where the outer dimensions of the shoe are small, thereby making it possible to fix the sole body to the shell more stably.

[0251] [Appendix 5] The shoe according to appendix 4, wherein the medial foot pressing surface and the lateral foot pressing surface are provided at positions opposite each other in the left-right direction, which is the direction that coincides with the width direction of the wearer's foot.

[0252] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 5 above, the medial foot pressing surface and the lateral foot pressing surface are arranged so as to be connected by the shortest distance along the left-right direction of the shoe, thereby making it possible to more stably fix the sole body to the shell.

[0253] [Appendix 6] The shoe according to appendix 4 or 5, wherein the peripheral wall portion further has a rear peripheral wall portion configured to cover the rear surface of the heel of the wearer's foot, and the pressing surface further includes a rear pressing surface provided on the rear peripheral wall portion.

[0254] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 6 above, it becomes possible to fix the sole body to the shell at the rear end of the shoe, where the sole body is more likely to shift position, thereby making it possible to fix the sole body to the shell more stably.

[0255] [Appendix 7] The shoe according to appendix 6, wherein the medial foot-side pressing surface, the lateral foot-side pressing surface, and the rear-side pressing surface extend continuously along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion.

[0256] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 7 above, it becomes possible to fix the sole body to the shell over a relatively long range along the periphery of the sole body, including the rear end of the shoe where the sole body is more likely to shift position, thereby making it possible to fix the sole body to the shell more stably.

[0257] [Appendix 8] The shoe according to appendix 2 or 3, wherein the pressing surface is provided over the entire periphery along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion.

[0258] By employing the configuration described in Supplementary Note 8 above, it becomes possible to fix the sole body to the shell around the entire circumference of the sole body, thereby enabling the sole body to be fixed to the shell more stably.

[0259] [Appendix 9] The shoe according to any one of Appendices 2 to 8, wherein the shell is made of a three-dimensional mesh structure in which a plurality of unit structures are repeatedly arranged adjacent to each other.

[0260] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 9 above, the shell will have sufficient strength while also having appropriate flexibility, and the shoe will be made lighter and more breathable.

[0261] [Appendix 10] The shoe according to appendix 9, wherein the space factor of the portion of the peripheral wall that defines the pressing surface is higher than the space factor of the portion adjacent to that portion.

[0262] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 10 above, it is possible to increase the strength of the pressing surface and its surrounding area while the shell is constructed of a three-dimensional mesh structure, thereby enabling the sole body to be stably fixed to the shell.

[0263] [Appendix 11] The shoe according to any one of Appendices 2 to 10, wherein a solid protrusion extending along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion is provided at a position along the inner edge of the pressing surface.

[0264] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 11 above, the protrusion portion functions as a stopper, so that the sole body sandwiched between the pressing surface and the bottom wall portion can be effectively prevented from coming off the shell.

[0265] [Appendix 12] The shoe described in any one of Appendices 2 to 11, further comprising a bag-shaped upper body that is housed in the shell and is positioned along the inner circumferential surface of the peripheral wall portion, and that has an opening through which the wearer's foot can be inserted.

[0266] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 12 above, it becomes possible to construct the part covering the circumferential surface of the foot of the shoe wearer with a flexible upper body, thereby realizing a good fit on the foot.

[0267] [Appendix 13] The shoe according to appendix 12, wherein the sole body is housed in the upper body and is sandwiched between the pressing surface and the bottom wall portion with the upper body interposed therebetween.

[0268] By employing the configuration described in Supplementary Note 13, it becomes possible to fix not only the sole body but also the upper body to the shell.

[0269] [Appendix 14] The shoe according to Appendix 13, further comprising an additional sole body housed in the shell and arranged on the outside of the upper body, wherein the additional sole body is fixed to the shell by being arranged between a portion of the upper body covering the sole body and the bottom wall portion.

[0270] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 14 above, not only can the cushioning performance when landing be more easily optimized, but the additional sole body can also be easily replaced, thereby extending the life of the shoe.

[0271] [Appendix 15] The shoe according to Appendix 12, wherein the upper body is disposed in a space located above the sole body within a space formed inside the shell, and a portion of the top surface of the sole body other than a portion covered by the pressing surface is covered by the upper body.

[0272] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 15 above, it becomes possible to construct the part covering the sole of the shoe wearer's foot with a flexible upper body, thereby realizing a good fit on the foot.

[0273] [Appendix 16] The shoe according to Appendix 1, wherein the peripheral wall portion further includes an inner peripheral wall portion configured to cover a portion of the inner side of the wearer's foot, an outer peripheral wall portion configured to cover a portion of the outer side of the wearer's foot, and a connecting portion having one end connected to the inner peripheral wall portion and the other end connected to the outer peripheral wall portion, and the pressing surface is formed by the underside of the connecting portion.

[0274] By employing the configuration described in Supplementary Note 16 above, it becomes possible to easily provide a pressing surface on the peripheral wall portion of the shell, and the sole body can be fixed to the shell with a simple configuration.

[0275] [Appendix 17] The shoe according to appendix 16, wherein the connecting portions are arranged at intervals in the front-to-rear direction, which is the direction that coincides with the longitudinal direction of the wearer's foot.

[0276] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 17 above, it becomes possible to fix the sole body to the shell at multiple positions in the front-to-back direction of the shoe, thereby making it possible to fix the sole body to the shell more stably.

[0277] [Appendix 18] The shoe according to appendix 16 or 17, wherein the shell is made of a three-dimensional mesh structure in which a plurality of unit structures are repeatedly arranged adjacent to each other.

[0278] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 18 above, the shell will have sufficient strength while also having appropriate flexibility, and the shoe will be made lighter and more breathable.

[0279] [Appendix 19] The shoe according to appendix 18, wherein the space factor of the portion of the connecting portion that defines the pressing surface is higher than the space factor of the portion adjacent to that portion.

[0280] By adopting the configuration described in Appendix 19 above, it is possible to increase the strength of the pressing surface and its surrounding area while the shell is constructed of a three-dimensional mesh structure, thereby enabling the sole body to be stably fixed to the shell.

[0281] [Appendix 20] The shoe according to any one of Appendices 16 to 19, further comprising a bag-shaped upper body that is housed in the shell and is positioned along the inner circumferential surface of the peripheral wall portion, and that has an opening through which a wearer's foot can be inserted, the upper body being disposed in a space that is located above the connecting portion within a space formed inside the shell, and the upper surface of the connecting portion being covered by the upper body.

[0282] By adopting the configuration described in Supplementary Note 20 above, it becomes possible to construct the part covering the periphery and sole of the shoe wearer's foot with a flexible upper body, thereby achieving a good fit.

[0283] (Other embodiments, etc.) The formation range, number, shape, size, etc. of the constricted portions, protrusions, connecting portions, etc. shown in the above-described embodiment and modified examples can be changed as appropriate. Accordingly, the formation range, number, shape, size, etc. of the pressing surfaces can also be changed accordingly. For example, in the above-described embodiment and modified examples, only cases in which the connecting portions extend in the left-right direction have been described as examples, but they may be configured to extend in different directions.

[0284] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment and its modified examples, the case where the upper surface of the sole body is in direct or indirect contact with the pressing surface has been described as an example, but the pressing surface does not necessarily have to be configured in this way. For example, a protruding portion may be provided on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall of the shell, the pressing surface may be formed on the underside of this protruding portion, and a recess may be provided on the end surface of the midsole that constitutes the sole body, and the protruding portion may be fitted into this recess. In this case, the pressing surface will be in direct or indirect contact with the bottom surface of the recess, and the sole body will be sandwiched and held between the pressing surface and the bottom wall.

[0285] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment and its modified examples, the explanation has been given on the assumption that the shoes are used without an insole attached to the shoe, but it goes without saying that the shoes may be used with an insole attached to them. In that case, the pressing surface and the sole body are covered by the insole. When the shoe is equipped with an insole in this way, the shoe can be made to feel more comfortable on the foot.

[0286] 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.

[0287] 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.

[0288] 1A. Hole, 11 Bottom wall, 11a Inner surface, 11b Outer surface, 12 Peripheral wall, 12A Inner foot side peripheral wall, 12B Outer foot side peripheral wall, 12C Rear side peripheral wall, 12D Front peripheral wall, 12a Inner peripheral surface, 12b Outer peripheral surface, 13A Narrow portion, 13B Projection, 13C Connection portion, 13a Top surface, 14 Holding surface, 14A Inner foot side pressing surface, 14B outer foot side pressing surface, 14C rear side pressing surface, 14D front side pressing surface, 15 protrusion portion, 16 insertion portion, 17, 18 missing portion, 19 high rigidity portion, 20 upper body, 20a opening, 21 lower wall portion, 21a inner surface, 21b outer surface, 22 side wall portion, 22A inner foot side wall portion, 22B outer foot side wall portion, 22C rear side wall portion, 22D front side wall portion, 22a inner peripheral surface, 22b outer peripheral surface, 23 band-shaped portion, 24 tightening portion, 24a base end, 24b tip, 30 sole body, 31 midsole, 31a top surface, 31b bottom surface, 31c groove portion, 32 plate, 32a first main surface, 32b second main surface, 32c peripheral end surface, 40 Additional sole body, 50 heel counter, 51 surrounding portion, 51A first portion, 51B second portion, 51C third portion, 52 protruding portion, 56 insertion 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.

Claims

1. A shoe having an insertion space into which the wearer's foot is inserted, the shoe comprising: a flexible shell including a bottom wall portion having a ground contact surface and a peripheral wall portion erected from a periphery of the bottom wall portion; and a sole body that is accommodated in the shell and is positioned above the bottom wall portion and configured to support the sole of the wearer's foot. The peripheral wall portion is provided with a pressing surface that extends toward the inside of the shell and faces the bottom wall portion side. The sole body is sandwiched between the pressing surface and the bottom wall portion, whereby the sole body is fixed to the shell.

2. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall portion is provided with a protruding portion that protrudes toward the inside of the shell, and the pressing surface is constituted by a lower surface of the protruding portion.

3. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall portion is provided with a constricted portion that constricts toward the inside of the shell, and the pressing surface is constituted by a lower surface of the constricted portion.

4. The peripheral wall portion has an inner foot side peripheral wall portion configured to cover a portion of the wearer's foot on the inner foot side and an outer foot side peripheral wall portion configured to cover a portion of the wearer's foot on the outer foot side. The pressing surface includes an inner foot side pressing surface provided on the inner foot side peripheral wall portion and an outer foot side pressing surface provided on the outer foot side peripheral wall portion. The shoe according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The shoe according to claim 4, wherein the inner foot side pressing surface and the outer foot side pressing surface are provided at positions facing each other in the left-right direction, which is a direction matching the foot width direction of the wearer's foot.

6. The peripheral wall portion further has a rear side peripheral wall portion configured to cover the rear surface of the heel portion of the wearer's foot. The pressing surface further includes a rear side pressing surface provided on the rear side peripheral wall portion. The shoe according to claim 4 or 5.

7. The shoe according to claim 6, wherein the inner foot side pressing surface, the outer foot side pressing surface, and the rear side pressing surface extend continuously along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion.

8. The shoe according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the pressing surface is provided over the entire circumference along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion.

9. The shoe according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the shell is formed of a three-dimensional mesh structure body in which a plurality of unit structures are repeatedly arranged adjacent to each other.

10. The shoe according to claim 9, wherein an occupation ratio of a portion of the peripheral wall portion that defines the pressing surface is higher than an occupation ratio of an adjacent portion of the portion.

11. The shoe according to any one of claims 2 to 10, wherein a solid ridge portion extending along the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion is provided at a position along the inner edge portion of the pressing surface.

12. The shoe according to any one of claims 2 to 11, further comprising a bag-shaped upper body that is accommodated in the shell and is positioned along the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion, and has an opening into which the wearer's foot can be inserted.

13. The shoe according to claim 12, wherein the sole body is accommodated in the upper body and is sandwiched between the pressing surface and the bottom wall portion with the upper body interposed therebetween.

14. The shoe according to claim 13, further comprising an additional sole body that is accommodated in the shell and is disposed outside the upper body, and the additional sole body is fixed to the shell by being disposed between a portion covering the sole body of the upper body and the bottom wall portion.

15. The shoe according to claim 12, wherein the upper body is disposed in a space above the sole body among the spaces formed inside the shell, and a portion of the upper surface of the sole body other than the portion covered by the pressing surface is covered by the upper body.

16. The shoe according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral wall portion further includes an inner-side peripheral wall portion configured to cover a portion of the wearer's foot on the inner-foot side, an outer-side peripheral wall portion configured to cover a portion of the wearer's foot on the outer-foot side, and a connecting portion having one end connected to the inner-side peripheral wall portion and the other end connected to the outer-side peripheral wall portion, and the pressing surface is constituted by the lower surface of the connecting portion.

17. The shoe according to claim 16, wherein a plurality of the connecting portions are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction, which is a direction corresponding to the foot length direction of the wearer's foot.

18. The shoe according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the shell is formed of a three-dimensional mesh structure body in which a plurality of unit structures are repeatedly arranged adjacent to each other.

19. The shoe according to claim 18, wherein the occupancy ratio of the portion defining the pressing surface among the connecting portions is higher than the occupancy ratio of the portion adjacent to the portion.

20. Further comprising a bag-shaped upper body that is housed in the shell and is positioned along the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion, and has an opening into which the wearer's foot can be inserted, the upper body is disposed in a space above the connecting portion among the spaces formed inside the shell, and the upper surface of the connecting portion is covered by the upper body. The shoe according to any one of claims 16 to 19.

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