Vibrating massaging footwear

Abstract

A footwear article, preferably a sand slipper comprised of an upper sole, upper attached to the sole which defines a foot opening with an insert pad filled with loose particulate material which is configured within the pad to provide the feeling of walking on the sandy beach, all without squishing the particulate material to the sides, and with an electric massage element mounted in the insert pad to provide vibration to both the wearer's foot and the particulate material to enhance the massage affect.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A foot wear article comprised of
 a sole;   an upper attached to the sole which defines a foot opening;   an insert pad that is a series of elongated general parallel pockets, each of which are filled with particulate material to restrict particle flow within the pocket, and each of which has opposing ends in open communication with the ends of other of said pockets so that particulate material may move from one pocket to another, said insert pad fitting on top of the sole to provide the feeling of walking on a sandy beach; and   an electro-massage element mounted in said insert pad to provide vibration to a wearer's foot and to the particulate material.   
     
     
         2 . The foot wear article of  claim 1  where the insert pad is removable. 
     
     
         3 . The foot wear article of  claim 1  wherein the insert pad is filled with loose, particulate, beaded material. 
     
     
         4 . The foot wear article of  claim 1  wherein the elongated pockets extend from the heel area forward to the toe area of said insert pad. 
     
     
         5 . The foot wear article of  claim 1  wherein the foot wear article is selected from the group consisting of a slipper, sandal, shoe, stocking and boot. 
     
     
         6 . The foot wear article of  claim 5  wherein the article is a slipper. 
     
     
         7 . The foot wear article of  claim 1  wherein the particulate material is a population of smooth plastic beads. 
     
     
         8 . The foot wear article of  claim 7  wherein the plastic beads are low density polyethylene. 
     
     
         9 . The foot wear article of  claim 8  wherein the beads are ergo beads. 
     
     
         10 . The foot wear article of  claim 9  wherein the ergo beads are covered with a mold release agent. 
     
     
         11 . The foot wear article of  claim 1  wherein the insert pad has an inner surface overlay of stretchable fabric to cover the electro-massage unit and to provide a normal fabric inner surface adjacent a wearer's tissue. 
     
     
         12 . The foot wear article of  claim 1  wherein the overlay is at least partially releasably attached to the insert pad to provide at least partial access to the electro-massage element. 
     
     
         13 . The foot wear article of  claim 12  wherein the electro-massage unit comprises a rechargeable power source electrically connected to motors associated with the insert pad. 
     
     
         14 . The foot wear article of  claim 11  wherein the stretchable fabric is about 90% cotton and about 10% spandex. 
     
     
         15 . The foot wear article of  claim 11  wherein the stretchable fabric is about 92% cotton and about 8% spandex. 
     
     
         16 . The foot wear article of  claim 11  which has an on-off switch associated with the rechargeable power source. 
     
     
         17 . The foot wear article of  claim 11  wherein the motors are replaced with piezoelectric vibration generators. 
     
     
         18 . A vibrating sand slipper, comprising:
 a sole;   an upper attached to the sole which defines a foot opening;   an insert pad fitting on top of the sole that is a series of elongated general parallel pockets, each of which are filled with loose particulate material, and each of which has opposing ends in open communication with the ends of others of said pockets so that particulate material may move from one pocket to another; and   an electro-massage element mounted in said insert pad to provide vibration to a wearer's foot and to particulate material to cause at least some of said particulate material to migrate from one pocket to another.   
     
     
         19 . The vibrating sand slipper of  claim 18  wherein the loose particulate material is a population of smooth plastic beads. 
     
     
         20 . The vibrating sand slipper of  claim 19  wherein the smooth plastic beads are ergo beads.