Heel balancing insole

Abstract

A removable insole for footwear that provides increased comfort through cushioning, and restores balance to the heel and rearfoot through a graduated thickening of the insole from the center of the foot either outward towards the outside of the foot or inward toward the instep of the foot.

Description

RELATED TO U.S. APPLICATION DATA

This application is entitled to the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/560,902 filed on Apr. 9, 2004.

BACKGROUND—FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to insoles for various types of footwear to provide increased comfort, added cushion and restore balance to the heel and foot of the wearer.

BACKGROUND—DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART

In the footwear industry, insoles are well known. Insoles can be an integral part of a shoe, or can be a removable portion of the footwear that is added at the time of manufacture. Because the insoles in most shoes are made for immediate comfort, not extended use, they often break down quickly. Insoles can also be purchased as an after-market product to be inserted into footwear by a consumer, either in addition to their existing insoles, or as replacements for insoles that have worn out.

In the past few decades, a great deal of attention has been paid to the design and manufacture of shoes and insoles for specific applications, such as athletics like running and basketball. These efforts have focused primarily on athletic applications in an attempt to tailor the shape and characteristics of the insole to meet the specific demands placed on the foot from the type of movements most common to a particular sport. In spite of this increased attention to designing an insole for a particular application, there has been little attention given to the design of insoles for people who in normal walking or activities experience excessive wear on the outer heel portion and counter of their footwear. Other prior art insoles mainly focus on cushion and comfort as their specific application and do not address the foot imbalance and related excessive heel wear problems faced by many consumers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A heel balancing insole is provided for restoration of balance of the heel and foot of the wearer who experiences excessive heel wear on the outer or inner sides of the heel or shoe counter. The heel balancing insole comprises a textured fabric layer for added airflow and moisture absorption and a cushioning and balancing layer that increases in thickness from the center of the insole either toward the instep or toward the outer side of the insole.

The heel balancing insole is a resiliently compressible balancing and cushioning insole that can be mass-produced and provides the desired balance of the heel and rearfoot for a large percentage of persons having imbalance problems and a need for additional cushion and comfort. The result obtained by this insole is a greatly increased wearable lifespan for each pair of shoes without the high cost of customized orthodontic insoles.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an insole that overcomes the aforementioned problems.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an insole that increases the wearer's comfort.

Another object is to provide an insole, which cushions the main contact area from heel strike through mid-foot stance.

A further object is to provide an insole that is adjustable to various shoe sizes and styles.

It is another object of this invention to provide means for reducing abnormal heel wear on a consumer's footwear.

Another object is to provide an insole that will greatly increase the wearable lifespan of a consumer's footwear.

A further object is to provide an insole that is easy and economical to manufacture and use.

Other objects of this invention will be evident from the following detailed descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention, together with other objects, features, aspects and advantages thereof, will be more closely understood from the following descriptions, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a rear view of the left shoe displaying a wear pattern typical of that caused by foot pronation;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the right shoe displaying the wear pattern when balanced by the heel-balancing insole;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heel-balancing insole;

FIG. 4 is a top view of left and right heel balancing insoles where the insole thickness is graduated from the center of the insole to the outside of the foot;

FIG. 5 is an elevation view of the insoles in FIG. 4 at section lines 2-2 and 3-3 respectively;

FIG. 6 is a series of section views from FIG. 4 as taken on view lines 4-4, 5-5, and 6-6 respectively.

FIG. 7 is a top view of left and right heel balancing insoles where the thickness of the insole is graduated from the center of the insole to the inner side of the foot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION—PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As required, detailed descriptions of the present invention are disclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for showing one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in all appropriately detailed forms.

Referring to FIG. 3, the insole 10 is comprised of two layers, a top fabric layer 12, and a cushioning and balancing layer 14. The insole as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 7 is a full insole, but is divisible into three sections. The dash lines from the inside to the outside of the insole illustrate the three divisible sections. If only the rearfoot portion 16 is desired, the insole can be cut along the dash lines between the rearfoot portion 16 and the midfoot portion 18. If a toeless insole is desired, the insole 10 can be cut along the dash lines between the midfoot portion 18 and the forefoot portion 20.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the left and right insole 10 where the thickness of the insole 10 graduatedly increases from the center of the insole outward toward the outer side of the insole 10. The insole 10 is flat at the instep-to-center portion of insole X1, and increases to the second thickness X2, and increases again to the third thickness X3, and increases a final time at the outer portion of insole X4, such that the outer portion of insole X4 is approximately four times the thickness of the instep-to-center portion of insole X1.

FIG. 6 illustrates through sectional views of the embodiment of FIG. 4 the graduated increase in thickness of the insole 10 as seen in from the rearfoot section view 4-4, the midfoot section view 5-5, and the forefoot section view 6-6. In an alternative embodiment, FIG. 7 illustrates the insole 10 with the thickness of the insole reversed, such that the thickness increases from the center of the foot toward instep portion of insole x4.

FIG. 7 shows the right and left foot with the insole 10 graduatedly increasing in thickness from the center of the foot to the instep portion of insole x4. The insole 10 is flat at the outer-to-center portion of insole x1, and increases at the second thickness x2, and increases again at the third thickness x3, and increases a final time at the instep portion of insole x4, such that the outer-to-center portion of insole x1 is approximately one-fourth the thickness of the instep portion of insole x4.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed. For example, the graduation of the thickness across the insole can be increased or decreased to accommodate users whose wear patterns are more drastic or less drastic than the average consumer.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.

DRAWINGS—LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

• 10 Heel balancing insole
• 12 Top fabric layer
• 14 Cushioning/balancing layer
• 16 Rearfoot portion
• 17 Midfoot portion
• 20 Forefoot portion
• X1 instep-to-center portion of insole
• X2 Increased second thickness
• X3 Increased third thickness
• X4 outer portion of insole
• x1 outer-to-center portion of insole
• x2 Increased second thickness
• x3 Increased third thickness
• x4 instep portion of insole

Claims

1. A heel balancing insole for footwear having at least a rearfoot portion comprising:

a top fabric layer and a cushioning and balancing layer, having a top and bottom surface generally contoured in conformance with the bottom surface of at least the rearfoot portion of the human foot, said insole having an inner side, a center, and an outer side across said insole, with said insole being substantially flat at said inner side, and increasing approximately 1 fold in thickness at said center of said insole, and again increasing approximately 1 fold at two equidistant points from said outer side of said insole, such that the thickness of said outer side of said insole is approximately four fold the thickness of said inner side of said insole.

2. A heel balancing insole according to claim 1, further including a midfoot portion and a forefoot portion.

3. A heel balancing insole according to claim 1, wherein said cushioning and balancing layer is comprised of an elastomeric, polymeric, and/or foam material.

4. A heel balancing insole according to claim 1, further including an adhesive means on said bottom surface for securing said insole to the inside of a users footwear.

5. A heel balancing insole according to claim 2, wherein the divisions between said rearfoot portion and said midfoot portion and between said midfoot portion and said forefoot portion are demarcated by long dash lines for ease of separation of the portions by the user.

6. A heel balancing insole for footwear having at least a rearfoot portion comprising: a top fabric layer and a cushioning and balancing layer, having a surface generally contoured in conformance with the bottom surface of at least the rearfoot portion of the human foot, said insole having an inner side, a center, and an outer side across said insole, with said insole being substantially flat at said outer side, and increasing approximately 1 fold in thickness at said center of said insole, and again increasing approximately 1 fold at two equidistant points from said inner side of said insole, such that the thickness of said inner side of said insole is approximately four fold the thickness of said inner side of said insole.

7. A heel balancing insole according to claim 6, further including a midfoot portion and a forefoot portion.

8. A heel balancing insole according to claim 6, wherein said cushioning and balancing layer is comprised of an elastomeric, polymeric, and/or foam material.

9. A heel balancing insole according to claim 6, further including an adhesive means on said bottom surface for securing said insole to the inside of a users footwear.

10. A heel balancing insole for footwear having at least a rearfoot portion and a having a top and bottom surface generally contoured in conformance with the human foot, said insole having an inner side, a center, and an outer side across said insole, with said insole graduatedly increasing in thickness from said center of said insole toward either said inner side of said insole, or toward said outer side of said insole, where a side is substantially thicker than said center of said insole.

11. A heel balancing insole according to claim 10, wherein said cushioning and balancing layer is comprised of an elastomeric, polymeric, and/or foam material.

12. A heel balancing insole according to claim 10, further including an adhesive means on said bottom surface for securing said insole to the inside of a users footwear.

13. A heel balancing insole according to claim 10, further including a midfoot portion and a forefoot portion.

14. A heel balancing insole according to claim 13, where the thickness of said outer side or said inner side is approximately four fold the thickness of said center of said insole.