Footwear with sole provided with a protective insert

Abstract

Footwear having an upper associated with an insole and a sole associated with the upper. The footwear includes a protective insert inserted in the sole, with the protective insert having a puncture resistant rear element made of a first rigid material, including plastic material, that extends in the first zone designed to face the rear foot and mid foot of the user. The protective insert also has a puncture resistant front element made of a second flexible material, including textile laminate, that extends into the second area intended to face the forefoot of the user.

1 . Footwear comprising:
 an upper associated with an insole;   a sole associated with the upper; and   a protective insert inserted into said sole, and comprising:
 a perforation resistant rear element made of a first rigid material, including plastic material, and extending in a first zone intended to be facing the rearfoot and midfoot of the user of the footwear; 
 a perforation resistant front element made of a flexible second material, including textile laminate, and extending into a second zone intended to be facing the forefoot of the user of the footwear; 
   wherein said rear element comprises
 a first portion configured to define a concavity facing an external surface of said sole and intended to face the heel of the user; 
 wherein said first portion has a wavy type section having longitudinal beveled ribs, with said section being obtained in a plane orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the footwear; and 
 wherein said rear element has a second portion, in a single piece with the first portion, having a substantially planar shape and intended to be facing the user's midfoot. 
   
     
     
         2 . Footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said wavy type section defines at least an internal crest which is internal to a cavity opposed to said concavity and at least two external crests which are external to said cavity. 
     
     
         3 . Footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first portion is arranged internally to the sole and so as to be spaced apart from the upper and said insole;   the second portion is arranged so as to approximate the insole; and   the front element is arranged so as to be in contact with the insole.   
     
     
         4 . Footwear according to  claim 3 , wherein at least said first portion is provided on an edge facing the insole with at least one spacer element of the first portion from the insole. 
     
     
         5 . Footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said rear element is made of one of the following materials:
 a thermoplastic material,   a thermosetting material,   a thermoplastic material or thermosetting material loaded with another material belonging to the group: carbon fibers, glass fibers, Kevlar, wood;   a polyamide loaded with glass fibers in a proportion by weight between 20% and 50%.   
     
     
         6 . Footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein the rear element and the front element are glued to each other. 
     
     
         7 . Footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein the rear element is provided with a stop wall for an edge of the front element and a support wall of part of the front element. 
     
     
         8 . Footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein said sole is of the type obtained by a direct injection molding technique on the upper of a molding material, and wherein said sole incorporates the protective insert and the molding material forming the sole is also disposed within a cavity of the protective insert corresponding to said concavity. 
     
     
         9 . Footwear according to  claim 1 , wherein the first portion comprises a bottom wall and a side wall connected each other to define the concavity, with said side wall joining the bottom wall by forming a curved joining wall. 
     
     
         10 . Footwear according to  claim 2 , wherein the protective insert is positioned at a height evaluated with respect to the insole between 35% and 67% of the total thickness of the sole at the heel. 
     
     
         11 . Footwear according to  claim 2 , wherein said insert is configured to provide stability to the footwear. 
     
     
         12 . Footwear according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an impact and compression protection toe cap arranged in a front area of the footwear;   a cut-resistant protective layer interposed between a lining and the upper;   a rear reinforcement associated with the upper near the heel,   lateral reinforcements associated with the upper and such as to surround, at least partially, the ankle and the instep of the user.   
     
     
         13 . Footwear according to  claim 9 , wherein the side wall has a slope with respect to a horizontal plane associated with the bottom wall according to an angle which varies, increasing, between a minimum value found at a junction area with the bottom wall and a maximum value found at a free edge of the side wall. 
     
     
         14 . Footwear according to  claim 13 , wherein the slope of the side wall varies between a value of 15° and a value of 85°. 
     
     
         15 . A protective insert integrable into the sole of a footwear, comprising:
 a perforation resistant rear element made of a first rigid material including plastic material; the rear element being configured to extend, when integrated into the sole, into an area facing the rearfoot and midfoot of the user of the footwear;   a perforation resistant front member made of a flexible second material including textile laminate; the front member being configured to extend, when integrated into the sole, into an area facing the forefoot of the user of the footwear;   wherein said rear element is made as defined by  claim 1 .   
     
     
         16 . Footwear according to  claim 10 , wherein the protective insert is positioned at a height evaluated with respect to the insole between 35% and 50% of the total thickness of the sole at the heel. 
     
     
         17 . Footwear according to  claim 14 , wherein the slope of the side wall varies between of value of 20° and a value of 80°.