SHOE WITH RESILIENT HEEL
A shoe with a resilient heel comprising: a shoe having a heel, midsole, outsole, toe, vamp and quarter; a rear resilient member attached to the midsole having a rear impact area for impacting the ground during a first stage of a step and a rear mid-impact area for impacting the ground during a second stage of a step wherein the rear impact area includes a rear upward curve; and, a front resilient member attached to the midsole forward the quarter having a front mid-impact area for impacting the ground during a third stage of a step and a front impact area for impacting the ground during a fourth stage of a step wherein the front impact area includes a front upward curve.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a resilient heel integrated into a shoe and more particularly, a spring configuration performing the function of the heel of a shoe that accounts for the gait of a wearer.
2. Description of Related Art
The history of human development shows that the importance of protecting the foot was early recognized. Records of the Egyptians, the Chinese, and other early civilizations all contain references to shoes. The shoe is repeatedly mentioned in the Bible and the Hebrews used it in several instances with a legal significance, notably in binding a bargain. The first rubber heel for shoes was patented on Jan. 24, 1899 by Irish-American Humphrey O'Sullivan and granted U.S. Pat. No. 625,897. O'Sullivan patented the rubber heel which outlasted the leather heel then in use. Since the 1900s, the design of the heel for dress shoes has remained relatively unchanged as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,010.
When using a shoe, the gait of the wearer can be greatly affected. For example, barefoot walking features heel or midfoot strike, while barefoot running features midfoot or forefoot strike. Barefoot running rarely features heel strike because the impact can be painful, the human heel pad is not designed to absorbing much of the force of impact. As reported by Danial E. Lieberman et al in a paper Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runner”, 75% of runners wearing modern running shoes heel strike where the running shoe includes a padded sole, stiff sole and arch support. See Foot Strike Patterns of Runners At the 15-Km Point: The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (Hasegawa et al., 2007).
The attempts to provide a spring heel for a shoe fail to consider the gait of a wearer. Individuals can use different gait patterns and different individuals can have different gait patterns. A gait pattern is characterized by differences in limb movement patterns, overall velocity, forces, kinetic and potential energy cycles, and changes in the contact with the ground. Gait can be greatly affected by the shoes of the wearer.
With the increased popularity in athletics, improvements to shoes began which, according to some research, changed the gait of a runner. Many of these improvements centered around the use of a cushioned sole or heel as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,224,749; 5,560,126; 6,962,009; and D524,520. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,814 discloses the use of wave springs to cushion a shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,079 discloses an athletic shoe that includes a spring interposed in its sole providing superior shock absorbance and energy return. However, efforts to improve the comfort of dress shoes have not seen the inventive activity as that of athletic shoes.
Women's shoes, however, have seen much more inventive activity concerning improvements to the heel. U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,125 issued Nov. 28, 2006 discloses a high-heeled shoe to be worn on a foot of a wearer comprising a high heel; and a spring element provided in or with the high heel which serves to lower a heel of the foot of the wearer during a heel strike to approximate a normal walking pattern; the shoe preferably further includes a sprung midfoot support structure which distributes a load across at least a portion of the foot and provides an energy return. U.S. Pat. No. 2,825,154 issued January of 1957 and discloses a woman's high heel shoe with a shock absorbing heel using a spring supported in a longitudinal bore disposed in alignment with the longitudinal axis of a woman's high heel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,901,686 discloses a design for safety and comfort while maintaining a desired fashion sense in footwear. The mechanism provides a “spring” in the step of a user wearing footwear incorporating such a mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,996 issued Jun. 9, 1987 and discloses a woman's shoe with flexible shank for use with replaceable heels of different height including a sole with a forward support portion and a raised heel portion and an overlying insole.
There is also a body of patents that use a leaf spring assembly in the sole to address adding support and resiliency to the shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 7,016,867 discloses a spring integrated into the sole of the shoe. The spring contains a portion that is under the front of the foot and another portion that is positioned under the heal. The portion under the heel provides for a “spring” support. PCT application WO 2009/064286 discloses a spring assembly for footwear; the assembly comprising an upper support coupled to at least two lower leaf springs, each capable of individually engaging the ground, and each acting as individual suspension and energy absorber while being free to travel substantially independently from the other within a range. U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,756 discloses that the spring means is a leaf spring having a leaf spring forward end and a leaf spring rearward end. U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,206 discloses an undamped spring having multi-spring rates provided in the heel support portion of a shoe for resiliently compressing under heel pressure against the ground and returning a substantial portion of the energy of the pressure to the wearer's foot.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,318 is directed to a heel having a leaf spring having an upper section which is anchored to a shoe by screws and nuts. The upper part is fastened to an anchor plate which is above the sole. The leaf spring has a lower section spaced from the upper section and resiliently held by a curved middle section. However, these references use a leaf spring containing significant disadvantages for lateral movement, are also generally unappealing from an aesthetic point of view and do not account for the gait of the wearer.
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Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide for a shoe with a resilient heel accounting for the gait of the wearer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide for a shoe with a resilient heel that can account for lateral movement of the wearer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe objectives of this invention are accomplished by providing a shoe with a resilient heel comprising: a shoe having a heel, midsole, outsole, toe, vamp and quarter; a rear resilient member attached to the shoe and extending forward past the quarter; an inner concave area defined in the rear resilient member disposed under the heel and defined in the top of the resilient member; a rear impact area included in the rear portion of the rear resilient member for impacting the ground during the first stage of a step having an upward curve at the rear end of the inner concave area; and, a rear mid-impact area included in the rear portion of the rear resilient member and disposed about a mid-line of the inner concave area for impacting the ground during the second stage of a step.
The invention can include an insert removably attached to the sole and rear resilient member at the attachment point so that the resiliency provided by the rear resilient member can be varied by providing different sized inserts. The rear resilient member can extend into the sole and can be is disposed under at least 50% of the vamp. The top portion of the rear resilient member can extend to the toe. An outer concave convex portion can be defined in rear resilient member, included in the outsole and disposed forward the quarter and under the vamp.
A front resilient member included in the shoe and disposed forward the quarter and under the vamp extending to the toe. The front resilient member can include a front mid-impact area for impacting the ground during the third stage of a step and disposed about a mid-line of a front concave area defined in the front resilient member; and, a front impact area for impacting the ground during the fourth stage of a step and including a upward curve at the toe end of the front resilient member.
A resilient bridge can connect the rear resilient member to the front resilient member wherein the resilient member bridge is included in the midsole. A plurality of fingers can be included in the resilient member extending rearward. The inner fingers can extend further rearward than a set of outer fingers. The distance between the fingers and the midsole can vary and alternate.
A light assembly can be included and attached to the shoe having a light, power supply and actuator. The actuator can be a spring mass switch. The light assembly can have a front light disposed in the tongue for projecting light forward, power supply and an actuator integrated in to the vamp. A heel light can be included in the light assembly disposed in the heel for projecting light rearward.
A rear pad can be attached to the bottom of the rear resilient member at the rear end of the rear resilient member and a mid pad attached to the bottom of the resilient member at a point forward the quarter.
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A rear space 30 can be defined as the space between the mid sole and the resilient member 26. An outer concave area 32 can be defined in the outsole forward of the quarter. The bottom portion of the rear resilient member can include a concave area 28.
A rear impact area 34 can be included in the resilient member disposed at the rear of the resilient member and under the quarter and can include an upward curve 34a at its rear most point. A rear mid-impact area 36 can be included in the resilient member disposed forward the rear impact area and located generally at a mid-line 38 of the inner concave area 28. The rear impact area can contact the ground during the first stage of a step and the rear mid-impact area can contact the ground during the second stage of the step.
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The front resilient member can include a front mid-impact area 54 and a front impact area 56. The front mid-impact area can be disposed under the vamp and forward the rear mid-impact area and can include an upward curve 56a at the toe. Referring to
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In one embodiment, a rear contact member 120 (
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The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
Claims
1. A shoe with a resilient heel comprising:
- a shoe having a heel, midsole, outsole, toe, vamp and quarter;
- a rear resilient member attached to the shoe and extending forward past the quarter;
- an inner concave area defined in the rear resilient member disposed under the heel and defined in the top of the resilient member;
- a rear impact area included in the rear portion of the rear resilient member for impacting the ground during the first stage of a step having an upward curve at the rear end of the inner concave area; and,
- a rear mid-impact area included in the rear portion of the rear resilient member and disposed about a mid-line of the inner concave area for impacting the ground during the second stage of a step.
2. The shoe of claim 1 including an insert removably attached to the sole and rear resilient member at the attachment point so that the resiliency provided by the rear resilient member can be varied by providing different sized inserts.
3. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the rear resilient member extends into the sole and is disposed under at least 50% of the vamp.
4. The shoe of claim 3 wherein the top portion of the rear resilient member extends to the toe.
5. The shoe of claim 3 including an outer concave convex portion defined in rear resilient member, included in the outsole and disposed forward the quarter and under the vamp.
6. The shoe of claim 1 including a front resilient member included in the shoe and disposed forward the quarter and under the vamp extending to the toe.
7. The shoe of claim 7 including:
- a front mid-impact area included in the front resilient member for impacting the ground during the third stage of a step and disposed about a mid-line of a front concave area defined in the front resilient member; and,
- a front impact area defined in the front portion of the front resilient member impacting the ground during the fourth stage of a step and including a upward curve at the toe end of the front resilient member.
8. The shoe of claim 7 including a resilient bridge connecting the rear resilient member to the front resilient member wherein the resilient member bridge is included in the midsole.
9. The shoe of claim 1 including a plurality of fingers included in the resilient member extending rearward.
10. The shoe of claim 9 wherein a set of inner fingers extend further rearward than a set of outer fingers.
11. The shoe of claim 9 wherein the distance between the fingers and the midsole varies and alternates.
12. The shoe of claim 1 including a light assembly having a light, power supply and actuator attached to the midsole disposed in a space defined between the midsole and the rear resilient member.
13. The shoe of claim 12 wherein the actuator is a spring mass switch.
14. The shoe of claim 1 including a light assembly having a front light disposed in the tongue for projecting light forward, power supply and an actuator integrated in to the vamp.
15. The shoe of claim 14 including a heel light included in the light assembly disposed in the heel for projecting light rearward.
16. The shoe of claim 1 including a rear pad attached to the bottom of the rear resilient member at the rear end of the rear resilient member and a mid pad attached to the bottom of the resilient member at a point forward the quarter.
17. A shoe with a resilient heel comprising:
- a shoe having a heel, midsole, outsole, toe, vamp and quarter;
- a rear resilient member attached to the midsole having a rear impact area for impacting the ground during a first stage of a step and a rear mid-impact area for impacting the ground during a second stage of a step wherein the rear impact area includes a rear upward curve; and,
- a front resilient member attached to the midsole forward the quarter having a front mid-impact area for impacting the ground during a third stage of a step and a front impact area for impacting the ground during a fourth stage of a step wherein the front impact area includes a front upward curve.
18. The shoe of claim 17 including a rear concave area defined in the top portion of the rear resilient member.
19. The shoe of claim 17 including a front concave area defined in the top portion of the front resilient member.
20. A shoe with a resilient heel comprising:
- a shoe having a midsole;
- a rear resilient member attached to the midsole having a rear concave area and defining a space between the midsole and the rear resilient member; and,
- a sole concave area defined in the outsole disposed forward the rear concave area.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 12, 2014
Publication Date: Jul 10, 2014
Inventor: Nathan Scolari (Greenville, SC)
Application Number: 14/207,305
International Classification: A43B 21/26 (20060101);