특허와 비지니스 (6)
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금번에는 지난 칼럼에 이어서 저희 펌에서 진행한 유망한 중소기업의 특허 출원 및 등록 사례를 하나 더 소개해 드립니다. 금번의 내용은 부산에 소재한 수제화 전문 메이커인 신생 강소기업 엘비라(Elvira)에서 등록받은 신발관련 미국특허 등록건에 대한 것입니다.
금번 미국특허건의 명칭은 “HEEL COUNTER SUPPORT FOR SHOE”이며, 발명자는 발명사업가인 심상옥씨로 구두주걱이 없이 편리하게 착용할 수 있는 구두에 대한 발명이다. 그는 이 발명을 통해 신발을 신을 때 구두주걱을 사용하지 않고 발을 구두속에 집어넣고 뒷꿈치를 밟는 것만으로 간편하게 구두를 착용할수 있게 하였으며, 또한 착용 직후에는 구두 뒷축의 모양이 탄성을 가지고 곧바로 자동 복원되는 구조로 만들어 구두를 장기간에 걸쳐 착용하여도 뒷축이 변형되지 않는 우수한 구두제품을 탄생시킨 것이다. 본 특허는 그야말로 대박 특허의 잠재력을 가지고 있다.
현재 엘비라는 심상옥씨의 자녀인 심채우씨가 대표로서 기업을 이끌고 있으며 부산 신발의 국제적 명성을 되살리려는 노력을 기울이고 있다. 엘비라는 현재 이 특허를 활용하여 부산 신발을 세계적인 명품으로 만드는 사업을 적극추진하고 있다. 또한 2012년에는 국제발명품 전시회에서 금상을 수상하였으며, 엘비라는 우수한 대박 특허를 확보하여 전세계적인 명품기업으로 성장하는 꿈을 향해 나아가고 있는 것이다.
특허번호: U.S. Patent No. 9,173,451 (발명자: 심상옥)
발명의 명칭: Heel Counter Support For Shoe
대표 도면:
초록:
A heel counter support for a shoe can allow a wearer to conveniently wear the shoe, while also preventing the heel counter from being permanently bent. The heel counter support, which is embedded in the uppers of a heel counter of the shoe, includes: a support member that is formed in the same arc as the heel counter when viewed from the upper side thereof, is joined to a heel portion of a shoe sole, and is made of rigid or substantially hard synthetic resin; and an arc-shaped tension-maintaining portion that is joined to an upper end portion of the support member and is made of soft or substantially resilient synthetic resin. The tension-maintaining portion has an upper end that is resiliently flexed in a forward direction so that a wearer can easily insert the foot into the shoe.
청구범위(독립항):
1. A heel counter support for a shoe having an upper, a shoe sole and a heel counter, the heel counter support configured to support a heel of a wearer from a rear side of the heel,
wherein the heel counter support is formed of two members of different materials, one being a support member and the other being a tension-maintaining member, wherein each of the support member and the tension-maintaining member are formed into a single layer, and the support member and the tension-maintaining member extend serially and are combined together into one integral part,
wherein the support member is formed of hard synthetic resin materials, the support member having a main body portion with an arc shape in a same contour as the heel counter of the shoe, the main body portion having a predetermined length to support and cover the heel of the wearer, and a lower end portion extending laterally from a lower end of the main body portion and configured to be affixed to the shoe sole of the shoe at a heel side thereof,
wherein the tension-maintaining member is arc-shaped and formed of elastic synthetic resin materials, the tension-maintaining member having a lower end portion abutting continuously against and unitarily joined to an upper end edge of the support member, an interim portion, and an upper end portion defining a terminal end of the tension-maintaining member, the interim portion and the upper end portion extending freely upwardly to a predetermined length from the upper end edge of the support member,
wherein the heel counter support is separately formed from the upper, the sole, and the heel counter, and configured to be coupled to the heel counter of the shoe to support the heel of the wearer from the rear side of the heel,
wherein the upper end portion of the tension-maintaining member is elastically bendable to flex in a forward direction to facilitate an introduction of a foot of the wearer into an inner space of the shoe while the support member formed of hard synthetic resin materials and coupled to the heel counter maintains original shape of the supporter member, and the upper end portion of the tension-maintaining member restores original shape of the upper end portion of the tension-maintaining member extending upwardly from the support member after the foot is received in the shoe as the tension-maintaining member is formed of elastic synthetic materials.