Shoe pad with a gas discharging valve

Abstract

A flexible pad body includes an inflatable part that is compressible and that confines a cavity injected with high pressure gas such that the pressure in the cavity is greater than the ambient pressure, and at least a discharging valve installed in the inflatable part and having a valve opening for permitting fluid communication between the cavity and the atmosphere. The discharging valve is deformable in such a manner that when foot pressure is applied on the pad body, the discharging valve is deformed, which, in turn, results in opening of the valve opening, and that when the pad body is relieved from the foot pressure, the discharging valve recovers to its non-deformed state, which, in turn, results in closing of the valve opening.

I claim:  
     
         1 . A shoe pad comprising: 
 a flexible pad body including an airtight flat inflatable part that is compressible and that confines a cavity adapted to store a high pressure gas therein in such a manner that the pressure in said cavity is greater than the ambient pressure so as to permit discharge of the gas from said cavity into the atmosphere; and    at least a discharging valve installed in said inflatable part and including a valve body that has a valve opening for permitting fluid communication between said cavity and the atmosphere, said discharging valve being deformable in such a manner that when foot pressure is applied on said pad body, said discharging valve is deformed, which, in turn, results in opening of said valve opening, thereby permitting the discharge of the gas from said cavity into the atmosphere, and that when said pad body is relieved from the foot pressure, said discharging valve recovers to its non-deformed state, which, in turn, results in closing of said valve opening, thereby preventing the discharge of the gas from said cavity into the atmosphere.    
     
     
         2 . The shoe pad of  claim 1 , further comprising an injection valve installed in said inflatable part and adapted for injection of the high pressure gas into said cavity.  
     
     
         3 . The shoe pad of  claim 1 , wherein said inflatable part has top and bottom walls and a peripheral side wall interconnecting said top and bottom walls and having a front end that is formed with a wall opening which is in fluid communication with said cavity via said discharging valve, said valve body of said discharging valve extending from a periphery of said wall opening into said cavity and having a generally cone-shaped inner wall that has a diverging end extending from said periphery of said wall opening and a converging end opposite to and extending convergingly from said diverging end to define said valve opening so that when the foot pressure is applied on said pad body and compresses said diverging end, said converging end is deformed together with said diverging end, which, in turn, results in opening of said valve opening.  
     
     
         4 . The shoe pad of  claim 3 , wherein said discharging valve further includes an elastic returning member that is disposed in said cone-shaped inner wall between said converging and diverging ends and that has two opposite ends extending in a direction transverse to said top and bottom walls and connected to said cone-shaped inner-wall.  
     
     
         5 . The shoe pad of  claim 4 , wherein said pad body further includes an outer part confining a receiving space that is defined by an inner face and that receives fittingly said inflatable part, said peripheral side wall of said inflatable part having a shape conforming to said inner face, said outer part having a top face that is flush with said top wall of said inflatable part, and being formed with at least an L-shaped vent hole extending from said top face to said inner face to communicate with said wall opening in said front end of said peripheral side wall.  
     
     
         6 . The shoe pad of  claim 1 , wherein the high pressure gas is oxygen.