Patentable/Patents/US-20250374992-A1
US-20250374992-A1

Sports shoe with foot's little thumb protection structure

PublishedDecember 11, 2025
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Inventorsnot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of sports shoe structure, in particular to the sports shoe with foot's little thumb protection structure, comprising a sole and a upper, the area of the upper corresponding to the little thumb of human foot is a little thumb protection area, the sole extends upwards at the corresponding part of the little thumb protection area, to form a protection part covering the outer side of the little thumb protection area, the protection part is a bulge which is bulging outward, whose inner side is a concave cavity that is not bonded to the upper, and the bulging edge of the protection part is bonded to the upper, a flexible structure for squeezing the foot's little thumb is provided between the little thumb protection area and the concave cavity.

Patent Claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.

1

. A sports shoe with a little toe protection structure, comprising a sole and an upper bonded to said sole, wherein an area of said upper corresponding to a little toe is a little toe protection area, a portion of said sole corresponding to the little toe protection area extends upwards to form a protection part covering an outer side of the little toe protection area, said protection part is a bulge which bulges outwards, an inner side surface of the bulge is a concave cavity that is not bonded to the upper, and an edge of the bulge is bonded to the upper, a flexible structure configured to press against the little toe is provided between said little toe protection area and the concave cavity; a through hole is provided on the little toe protection area of said upper, said flexible structure includes a support plate embedded in the concave cavity and a silicone block fixedly bonded to one surface of the support plate, a portion of said silicone block corresponding to the through hole protrudes out of the through hole to form a protective protrusion that extends into an interior side of the upper; the protective protrusion is configured to be in contact with the little toe.

2

-. (canceled)

3

. A sports shoe with a foot's little toe protection structure as claimed in, wherein the support plate includes an inner support plate and an outer support plate spaced apart from each other, as well as an arc-shaped connection part formed by extending and connecting each pair of corresponding ends of the inner support plate and the outer support plate respectively, said outer support plate is embedded in the concave cavity, and said silicone block is bonded and connected to an outer surface of the inner support plate.

Detailed Description

Complete technical specification and implementation details from the patent document.

The utility model relates to the field of sports shoes structure, in particular to the sports shoes with foot's toes protection structures.

At present, sports shoe products on the market focus more on functional structural design such as wear resistance, shock absorption, cushioning, comfort, and wrapping. In terms of human foot protection, the main focus is on the design of protection structures to prevent sprains and protect ankles. However, there are still very few protection structures for the foot's toes. There is a current situation regarding the protection of the foot's toes, specifically, in adolescent sports injuries, in addition to common sprains, there are also injuries to the foot's toes, especially the foot's little thumb. Due to the fact that adolescent skin is still relatively tender, running, jumping, kicking, and sudden stopping actions during exercise can cause significant squeezing force on the little thumb of the foot. Some even cause redness, swelling, and skin abrasion on the foot's little thumb after each exercise. Moreover, adolescents are in a stage of skeletal development, and long-term exposure to this state can also have an impact on the skeletal development of the foot's toes, leading to deformation of the foot's little thumb of the foot. The deformation of the foot's little thumb is also a common occurrence in many adults, which is caused by frequent squeezing from a young age. In addition, long-term squeezing also has a certain adverse effect on the growth of nails on the foot's little thumb.

Although the above issues may not have the adverse effect of causing bone deformation in most people, redness, swelling, and abrasion of the little thumb are quite common. Adolescents are also in a stage of being energetic and active, and foot pain and discomfort can affect their foot movements and also affect their exercise enthusiasm.

The purpose of this utility model is to provide a sports shoe with a foot's little thumb protection structure, whose thumb protection structure can provide flexible contact for the foot's little thumb when subjected to squeezing, thereby providing protection.

To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of this utility model is: A sports shoe with a foot's little thumb protection structure, comprising a sole and a upper bonded to said sole, the area of said upper corresponding to the little thumb of human foot is a little thumb protection area, said sole extends upwards at the corresponding part of the little thumb protection area, to form a protection part covering the outer side of the little thumb protection area, said protection part is a bulge which is bulging outward, whose inner side is a concave cavity that is not bonded to the upper, and the bulging edge of said protection part is bonded to the upper, a flexible structure for squeezing the foot's little thumb is provided between said little thumb protection area and the concave cavity.

Said flexible structure is that the outer side of the little thumb protection area is covered with a protective thin film, the bulging edge of said protection part is bonded to the protective thin film.

Said flexible structure is that the concave cavity is embedded or filled with airbags or cushions.

The upper fabric of the little thumb protection area is flexible fabric.

A protective through hole is provided in the little thumb protection area of said upper, said flexible structure includes a support plate embedded in the concave cavity and a silicone block fixedly bonded to the surface of the support plate, the part of said silicone block corresponding to the protective through hole protrudes to form a protective protrusion that passes through the protective through hole and protrudes inside the upper to contact human foot's toes.

The structure of said support plate includes an inner support plate and an outer support plate with relative spacing, as well as an arc-shaped connection part formed by extending and connecting the two ends of the inner support plate and the outer support plate respectively, said outer support plate is embedded towards the concave cavity, and said silicone block is bonded and connected to the outer surface of the inner support plate.

By adopting the above technical solution, the beneficial effect of the present utility model is that the sports shoes with the above-mentioned structure are equipped with a little thumb protection area on the corresponding part of the foot's little thumb through the upper and a flexible structure protection area on the corresponding position of the shoe sole to provide deformable buffering when the foot's little thumb is squeezed during movement, achieving flexible contact and reducing the force generated during squeezing, which can cause damage to the foot's little thumb. The flexible contact can naturally improve the comfort of the foot's little thumb. The functional effect of the structure can effectively solve the problems mentioned in the background and achieve the above-mentioned goal of this utility model. In addition, the above structure has a simple structure, easy to produce and implement, suitable for widespread application, stable and durable in structure, and can also be adapted for shoe applications of different age groups and usage environments.

In the figures:

To further explain the technical solution of the utility model, the following will provide detailed explanation of the utility model through specific embodiments.

The present utility model discloses a sports shoe with a foot's little thumb protection structure, which is an improved setting on the existing shoe structure comprising a sole and an upper bonded to the sole. The following is a detailed description through embodiments combined with the accompanying drawings.

Example 1, as shown in, the sports shoe comprises a soleand an upperbonded to the sole. The area of the uppercorresponding to the little thumb of human foot is a little thumb protection area. The soleextends upwards at the corresponding part of the little thumb protection area, to form a protection partcovering the outer side of the little thumb protection area. The protection partis a bulge which is bulging outward, and it can be directly formed during the production and molding of the sole. For example, the commonly used foam sole can directly foam the structure of the bulging protection partin the mold. In addition, the upper fabric of the little thumb protection areacan be made of flexible fabric, such as knitted fabric or other thinner soft fabrics. The bulging inner side of the protection partis a concave cavitythat is not bonded to the upper, and its bulging edge is bonded to the upper. A flexible structurefor squeezing the foot's little thumb is provided between the little thumb protection areaand the concave cavity. In this embodiment, the flexible structureis, as shown in the figure, is a protective thin film, and the outer side of the little thumb protection areais covered with a protective thin film. The bulging edge of the protection partis bonded to the protective thin film. The protective thin filmcan be an independently produced thin film, which can be a rubber sheet or a foam sheet material. The thin film has good elastic deformation effect and can be stably bonded to the outer surface of the upper. When the little thumb is squeezed to the position of the protective thin film, the protective thin filmis deformed and embedded into the concave cavityunder pressure. Therefore, the concave cavityin this embodiment provides a space for deformation, and the protective thin filmforms a flexible buffering squeezing pressure, thereby protecting the foot's little thumb.

Example 2, as shown in, differs from Example 1 in that the flexible structureis not equipped with a protective sheet, but is embedded or filled with airbags or cushionsin the concave cavity. Through the airbags or cushions, the elastic deformation of the protective sheetin Example 1 is achieved, and the effect of flexible support is achieved.

Example 3, as shown in, the sports shoe include a soleand a upperbonded to the sole. The area corresponding to the little thumb of human foot on the upperis a little thumb protection area. The soleextends upwards at the corresponding part of the little thumb protection area, to form a protection partcovering the outer side of the little thumb protection area. The protection partis a bulge which is bulging outward, and it can be directly formed during the production and molding of the sole. For example, the commonly used foam sole can directly foam the structure of the bulging protection partin the mold. The bulging inner side of the protection partis a concave cavitythat is not bonded to the upper, and its bulging edge is bonded to the upper. A flexible structurefor squeezing the foot's little thumb is provided between the little thumb protection areaand the concave cavity. Unlike the above embodiments, in this embodiment, a protective through holeis provided in the little thumb protection areaof the upper. The flexible structurein this embodiment, as shown in the figure, includes a support plateembedded in the concave cavityand a silicone blockfixedly bonded to the surface of the support plate. The part of the silicone blockcorresponding to the protective through holeprotrudes to form a protective protrusionthat passes through the protective through holeand protrudes inside the upperto contact the little thumb of human foot. The silicone blockhas a relatively soft characteristic, and when the little thumb is squeezed into the little thumb protection area, it directly presses against the soft protective protrusion, so it can also effectively protect the little thumb. Due to the soft and deformable characteristic of silicone material, the main function of the support platehere is to provide support for the shaping, positioning, and connection of the silicone block, so that the silicone blockwill not deviate from its position and can maintain structural stability. In addition, in order to further enhance the flexible protective support in situations with high squeezing pressure in this embodiment, the structure of the support platecan be further set as shown in the figure, including the inner support plateand the outer support platewith relative spacing, as well as the arc-shaped connection partformed by extending and connecting the two ends of the inner support plateand the outer support platerespectively. The outer support plateis embedded towards the concave cavity, and the silicone blockis bonded and connected to the outer surface of the inner support plate. The protective protrusionpasses through the corresponding protective through holeand protruding inside the upper, providing flexible contact for the foot's little thumb. Also, the support plateof the above structure has a circular structure as a whole, which can be directly injection molded with plastic. The plastic ring can be deformed and compressed and elastic recovered when squeezed, therefore, it can also achieve elastic support and better achieve flexible support.

The above embodiments and drawings do not limit the product form and style of the present utility model. Any appropriate changes or modifications made by ordinary technical personnel in the technical field shall be deemed not to be outside the scope of the present utility model patent.

Patent Metadata

Filing Date

Unknown

Publication Date

December 11, 2025

Inventors

Unknown

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Cite as: Patentable. “Sports shoe with foot's little thumb protection structure” (US-20250374992-A1). https://patentable.app/patents/US-20250374992-A1

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