Insole for Mid- to High-Heel Shoes

Abstract

An improved insole that is molded and provides additional support and comfort to a user. The insole includes a front portion, a middle shank portion and a rear heel portion. The front portion is flexible, molded with grooves to increase flexibility and molded with a shallow cavity to receive a cushioning material to increase comfort. The middle shank and rear heel portions are stiffer than the front portion to provided improved support. The middle shank and rear heel portions are molded with a concave structure to accommodate and comfortably receive a user's foot.

Description

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/951,737, filed on Mar. 12, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shoe insole. In particular, the insole of the present invention is molded and provides improved support and comfort to a user, especially for mid- to high-heel shoes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Shoes are worn to not only protect the feet, but for decorative purposes. Comfort is and has always been an important feature for shoes. Support for the feet is also an important feature. Shoes that are very comfortable may not provide enough support to the feet. Similarly, shoes that are very supportive of the feet may not provide enough comfort. It is a fine balance between comfort and support, especially for mid- to high-heel shoes.

Prior art insole is typically planar with uniform thickness. Prior art insoles that provide a uniform thickness of a soft material such as memory foam may provide comfort, but not enough support. Prior art shoes also rely on other parts of the shoes to provide additional support or comfort; e.g. softer or stiffer outsole, thinner or thicker insole or outsole. None of the prior art that the inventor is aware of provides a molded construction of the insole for added support and comfort to a user, especially in mid- to high-heel shoes. Therefore, there is a need for an improved insole that is molded and provides additional comfort and support to a user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a molded insole that improves comfort and support to a user, especially for mid- to high-heel shoes.

The molded insole of the present invention provides stiffer support where it is needed and comfort and flexibility where it is needed.

The insole of the present invention is molded and includes a front portion, a middle shank portion and a rear heel portion. The front portion is flexible, molded with grooves to allow additional flexibility and molded with a cavity to receive a cushioning material to provide additional comfort. The middle shank and rear heel portions are stiffer to provide additional support. The middle shank and rear heel portions have a molded concave structure to accommodate and comfortably receive a user's foot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and are shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wherein:

FIG. 1 shows the side view of the insole of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the insole of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the front portion of the insole of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the heel portion of the insole of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a side and partially cross-sectional view of a high-heel shoe without the upper that incorporates the insole of the present invention.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are cross-sectional views taken along lines 6A-6A, 6B-6B, and 6C-6C, respectively, in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION

With reference to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 the molded insole 10. The insole 10 has a front portion 20, a middle shank portion 30 and a rear heel portion 40, with an upper surface 50, and a lower surface 60.

The front portion 20 is made of a flexible material, such as flexible felt or soft laminated felt. As shown in FIG. 3, on the lower surface 60 of the front portion 20, in a central location, is a shallow molded cavity 22 with a plurality of molded groves 24 that extend from the shallow cavity 22 to the left and right sides of the insole 10 to aid in flexibility. The shallow cavity 22 and grooves 24 are filled with a cushioning material such as cork or memory foam or gel or other materials known to one skilled in the art to provide additional comfort. The shallow cavity 22 is advantageously positioned where the balls of a user's foot would rest/strike.

The middle shank portion 30 and the rear heel portion 40 are made of a stiffer material, such as a hard laminated felt that allows minimal flexibility. The shank portion 30 and the heel portion 40 have a concave structure throughout to provide support to the user. At the heel portion 40 that connects to a heel 46 (see FIG. 5), there is a molded indentation 42. The indentation 42 is filled with a cushioning material such as cork or memory foam or gel or other materials known to one skilled in the art to provide additional comfort. The indentation 42 is advantageously positioned where a user's heel bone would rest/strike. One or more openings 43 within the indentation 42 are provided to receive a plurality of fastening elements (not shown) for attaching the insole 20 to the heel 46 (see FIG. 5).

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a high-heel shoe 12 incorporating the insole 10 of the present invention. From the bottom going up, the shoe 12 includes the following layers: outsole 11, insole 10, footbed 70, and upper 75. Outsole 11 is the layer that is in contact with the elements on the ground and is typically made of leather or rubber to provide support to the user. For a leather outsole 11, it may include a rubber insert 13 to further improve comfort to a user and to improve fraction of the shoe 12.

The insole 10 is placed over the outsole 11 with the heel portion 40 affixed to a heel 46. A footbed 70 is then placed over the insole 10. Footbed 70 is preferably molded with the following layers from the bottom going up: a polyurethane (PU) layer 76, a memory foam layer 74 and a lining 72. The polyurethane layer 76 is molded to conform to the concave structure of the insole 10 and to provide the arch support at the shank portion 30 to a user. The lining 72 covers the memory foam layer 74 and is the layer in contact with the user's foot. The lining 72 is preferably made of a natural material such as leather or sheepskin lining to provide a supple and soft feel to the user to further improve the comfort to the user. The polyurethane layer 76 and memory foam layer 74 extend only from the shank portion 30 to the heel portion 40 of the insole 10.

As can be understood from the above, a shoe 12 incorporating the insole 10 of the present invention provides support at the shank portion 30 and heel portion 40, while providing comfort at the front portion 20 and where the user's heel bone rests. The insole 10 of the present invention is advantageously molded to provide the structure described above. While the insole 10 of the present invention is shown incorporated into a high-heel shoe, it is anticipated and foreseeable that the insole 10 of the present invention can be used advantageously with a mid-heel shoe or other types of shoes.

The features of the invention illustrated and described herein is the preferred embodiment. Therefore, it is understood that the specification is intended to cover unforeseeable embodiments with insubstantial differences that are within the spirit of the specification.

Claims

1. An insole having an upper surface and an opposite lower surface, comprising:

a. a front portion made of a flexible material having an outer edge;

b. a middle shank portion made of a material stiffer than said front portion;

c. a rear heel portion made of a material stiffer than said front portion;

d. a shallow cavity on the lower surface of said front portion;

e. a plurality of grooves that extend from said shallow cavity to said outer edge of said front portion; and

f. an indentation on the upper surface of said rear heel portion.

2. The insole of claim 1 further comprising a cushioning material filling said shallow cavity.

3. The insole of claim 1 further comprising a cushioning material filling said grooves.

4. The insole of claim 1 further comprising a cushioning material filling said indentation.

5. The insole of claim 1 wherein said front portion is made of a flexible felt.

6. The insole of claim 1 wherein said front portion is made of a soft laminated felt.

7. The insole of claim 1 wherein said middle shank and rear heel portions are made of a hard laminated felt.

8. The insole of claim 1 wherein said shallow cavity is in a central location of said front portion.

9. The insole of claim 2 wherein said cushioning material is selected from the group consisting of cork, memory foam and memory gel.

10. The insole of claim 3 wherein said cushioning material is selected from the group consisting of cork, memory foam and memory gel.

11. The insole of claim 4 wherein said cushioning material is selected from the group consisting of cork, memory foam and memory gel.

12. The insole of claim 1 is molded.

13. The insole of claim 1 wherein said middle shank portion and said rear heel portion have concave surfaces.

14. The insole of claim 1 further comprising at least one opening in said indentation.

15. A shoe comprising:

a. an outsole;

b. a molded insole on top of said outsole having an upper surface and an opposite lower surface, comprises: i. a front portion made of a flexible material having an outer edge; ii. a middle shank portion made of a material stiffer than said front portion; iii. a rear heel portion made of a material stiffer than said front portion; iv. a shallow cavity on the lower surface of said front portion; v. a plurality of grooves that extend from said shallow cavity to said outer edge of said front portion; and vi. an indentation on the upper surface of said rear heel portion.

c. a molded footbed on top of said molded insole; and

d. a lining on top of said molded footbed.

16. The shoe of claim 15 wherein said molded insole further comprises a cushioning material filling said shallow cavity and said grooves.

17. The shoe of claim 15 wherein said molded insole further comprises a cushioning material filling said indentation.

18. The shoe of claim 15 wherein said outsole having a surface opposite of said front portion of said molded insole, said outsole further comprises a rubber insert on said surface.

19. The shoe of claim 15 wherein said molded footbed further comprises a polyurethane layer, a memory foam layer on top of said polyurethane layer and a lining on top of said memory foam layer.