Inflatable sole lining for shoes and boots

The combination of an inflatable lining and footwear which has a sole and a flexible upper, said lining received within said footwear and supported therein against selected flexible, interior surfaces of said footwear comprising the tongue, the sole, the rear and opposite interior sides of the footwear, and combinations thereof, said lining comprising:

• an air enclosure having flexible walls formed of plastic film surrounding a sealed interior and provided with at least one continuous transverse seam to subdivide said sealed interior into at least two sealed chambers, a respective relief valve in communication with each of said chambers to permit the user to adjust the pressures within said sealed interior chambers independently of each other, an air pump supported on said lining and having an air pump discharge passageway with each of said relief valves including a valve housing, an outlet port, an inlet port, and an user adjustable valve member which is received within said housing and positioned between said valve ports to provide a controlled air pressure at said outlet port and a flexible tube connecting said outlet port to a respective one of said sealed chambers, whereby the user can adjust the pressure within each respective chamber independently of each other to adjust the resiliency, shock absorbency and comfort of the lining, and connector means operable to connect said air pump discharge passageway to said inlet ports of said relief valves whereby said pump can provide inflation pressure within said chambers.

The combination of an inflatable lining and footwear having a sole and a flexible upper, with said lining received within footwear for support therein against selected flexible, interior surfaces of said footwear comprising the tongue, the sole, the rear and opposite interior sides of the footwear, and combinations thereof, which lining comprises:

• an air enclosure having flexible walls formed as a laminate of first and second flat sheets of plastic film having a size and shape of said selected interior surfaces and bonded together about their peripheral edges and including a sole portion to provide an inflatable inner sole, with at least two continuous transverse seams to subdivide said inner sole into rear, front and arch chambers, an air pump having a discharge port supported on said lining, three relief valves, one each, in communication with a respective one of said chambers to permit the user to adjust the pressures within said sealed interior chambers independently of each other, and connector means connecting said air pump discharge port to said sealed interior chambers of said lining to apply inflation pressure thereto with each of said relief valves including a valve housing, an outlet port, an inlet port, and a valve member which is received within its respective valve housing and positioned between said valve ports to provide a controlled air pressure at said outlet port and a plurality of flexible tubes, one each connecting the outlet port of its respective valve to a selected one of said sealed chambers, and wherein said connector means includes at least one air pump flexible discharge tube to connect the discharge of said air pump to the inlet ports of said valves.

The combination of footwear having an outer sole and an attached outer upper with an inflatable lining received within said footwear for support therein against selected flexible, interior surfaces of said footwear comprising the tongue, the sole, the rear and opposite interior sides of the footwear, and combinations thereof, and comprising an air enclosure having flexible walls formed of plastic film surrounding a sealed interior and being formed of first and second flat sheets sealed together by a peripheral seam and having a plurality of discontinuous seams forming passageways within said lining, and forming indentations in the exterior surfaces of said lining between said passageways, and provided with at least one continuous transverse seam to subdivide said sealed interior into at least two sealed chambers, at least one relief valve having an user adjustable valve member, said relief valve being in communication with a respective one of said chambers to adjust the pressure within said respective one chamber whereby the user can adjust the resiliency, shock absorbency and comfort of the lining, and an air pump supported on said lining and having an air pump discharge passageway connecting the discharge of said air pump with said sealed interior chambers of said lining, whereby said pump can provide inflation pressure within said chambers of said sealed interior and with said seams forming exterior air channels between the outer surface of said inflatable lining and the opposite inner surface of said footwear and including a flexible tube with a sleeve extending to said exterior air channels, whereby said air pump discharge passageway may be connected to said sleeve and flexible tube to circulate air through said footwear.

An inflatable lining to be received within footwear for support therein against selected flexible, interior surfaces of said footwear comprising the tongue, the sole, the rear and opposite interior sides of the footwear, and combinations thereof, which comprises:

• an air enclosure having flexible walls formed as a laminate of first and second sheets of plastic having a size and shape of said selected interior surfaces and bonded together about their peripheral edges and including a sole portion to provide an inflatable inner sole, with continuous transverse seams to subdivide said inner sole into at least rear, front and arch chambers, an air pump supported on said lining and having an air pump discharge passageway, relief valves, one each, in communication with a respective one of said chambers to permit the user to adjust the pressures within said sealed interior chambers independently of each other, with each of said valves also including an excess air discharge port and said relief valves being serially connected with the first valve thereof having its inlet port connected to said air pump discharge passageway and having its excess air discharge valve port connected to the inlet port of the succeeding valve in said series, and with the controlled pressure discharge ports of each of said valves being connected with respective flexible tubes to its respective sealed chamber of said inflatable lining.

The combination of an inflatable lining and footwear which has a sole and a flexible upper, said lining received within said footwear and supported therein against selected flexible, interior surfaces of said footwear comprising the tongue, the sole, the rear and opposite interior sides of the footwear, and combinations thereof, which comprises:

• first and second flat sheets of plastic film having the shape and size of the selected inner surfaces including sole portions to provide an inflatable inner sole, with said first and second sheets being bonded together in a continuous seam about their peripheral edges to form an air enclosure having flexible walls surrounding a sealed interior and provided with at least one continuous transverse seam to subdivide said sealed interior into at least two sealed chambers, at least one relief valve having an user adjustable valve member, said relief valve being in communication with a respective one of said chambers to adjust the pressure within said respective one chamber whereby the user can adjust the resiliency, shock absorbency and comfort of the lining, and including an opening through said first and second sheets and surrounded by a closed circular loop seam located at a preselected position in said lining, and a flexible bulb air pump received within said opening said air pump having an inlet port and air pump inlet check valve and an air pump discharge port with an air pump discharge check valve, an air pump discharge passageway connecting the discharge of said air pump with said sealed interior chambers of said lining, whereby said air pump can provide inflation pressure within said chambers of said sealed interior.

An inflatable lining to be received within footwear for support therein against selected flexible, interior surfaces of said footwear comprising the tongue, the sole, the rear and opposite interior sides of the footwear, and combinations thereof, which comprises:

• an air enclosure having flexible walls formed of a laminate of first and second sheets of plastic having a size and shape of said selected interior surfaces including a sole portion, and bonded about their peripheral edges to form a sealed interior and provided with at least one continuous transverse seam to subdivide said sealed interior into at least two sealed chambers, at least one relief valve having an user adjustable valve member, said relief valve being in communication with a respective one of said chambers to adjust the pressure within said respective one chamber whereby the user can adjust the resiliency, shock absorbency and comfort of the lining, and an air pump supported on said lining and comprising a flexible bulb having an air puma inlet port and air pump inlet check valve and an air pump discharge port with an air pump discharge check valve communicating with an air pump discharge passageway connecting the discharge of said air pump with said sealed interior chambers of said lining, whereby said pump can provide inflation pressure within said chambers of said sealed interior, with said sole portion having an opening through said first and second sheets and surrounded by a closed circular loon seam located at the heel of the sole with said flexible bulb received within said opening whereby the normal walking activities of a wearer of said footwear will operate said air pump and pressurize said inflatable lining, and including spring means within said flexible bulb to bias said bulb into an extended position, with an aperture in the undersurface of said flexible bulb, and including a sealing plug removably received within said aperture, thereby providing access to permit removal and replacement of said spring means with spring means of varied compression strengths.

An inflatable liner for footwear which has a sole and a flexible upper, said lining to be received within said footwear and supported therein against selected flexible, interior surfaces of said footwear comprising the tongue, the sole, the rear and opposite interior sides of the footwear, said liner comprising first and second flat sheets of plastic film having the shape and size of the selected inner surfaces and bonded together in a continuous seam about their peripheral edges to form a sealed interior and a plurality of discontinuous seams between the first and second flat sheets to create within the sealed interior a plurality of interconnecting passageways, and at least one continuous seam to subdivide the sealed interior into at least two subdivided, sealed chambers;

• means to supply pressured air to said sealed chambers comprising an air tube connected to each of said chambers, a pressure relief valve and a connector sleeve carried on each of said tubes whereby a source of pressured air can be connected to said tubes and wherein said relief valves are pressure relief valves each having a valve housing, an outlet port, an inlet port, an excess air discharge port, and an user adjustable valve member which is received within said housing and positioned between said valve ports to provide a controlled air pressure at said outlet port and a tube connecting said outlet port to a respective one of said sealed chambers, with a tube connecting the excess air discharge port of one of said valves to the inlet port of the next valve, whereby the user can adjust the pressure within each respective chamber.