Ballet pointe shoe
A ballet pointe shoe for supporting a dancer. The shoe has a shank with fibers of various orientation to provide a stiffness characteristics desired by the dancer. The stiffness of the shank is varied to meet the performance needs of the dancer. In one embodiment the stiffness of the shoe at the arch is greater than the stiffness of the shoe at the ball of the foot.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/005,690, entitled “Ballet Pointe Shoe,” and filed on Dec. 8, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to the field of dance shoes, and particularly to ballet pointe shoes.
BACKGROUND‘Pointe shoes’, also referred to as toe shoes, are a special type of shoe used by ballet dancers for pointework. The shoes were developed from the desire to have a dancer to appear weightless onstage and have evolved to allow extended periods of movement on the tips of the toes (en pointe).
In general, the pointe shoe is made with a toebox platform at the tip of the shoe that provides a firm flat surface on which the dancer balances. Such a shoe often causes serious injuries that are created by the fact that the toe line of the individual is seldom straight or regular or perpendicular to the ideal vertical line along the dancer's leg. In addition to serious injuries, dancers wearing pointe shoes get minor, though often uncomfortable, injuries caused by the structure of the shoe. In addition to the injuries, pointe shoes are generally not used until the shoes have been broken-in. The process of breaking-in a new shoe, often effort intensive, includes a variety of actions such as bending and twisting the shoe until it has the characteristics desired by the dancer. After the shoe has been used for practice and performing for several weeks (dependent on the intensity) the shoe no longer has the desired performance characteristics and is usually discarded. Hence, the cost of ballet pointe shoes is generally considered a significant expense for dancers.
It is desirable that ballet pointe shoes have a reduced break-in effort and have a life in excess of the several weeks of conventional shoes. Further, it is desirable that such a shoe have consistent performance during the life of the shoe.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREGenerally, the present disclosure describes embodiments of an improved structure for a ballet pointe shoe.
In one embodiment of the disclosure, a ballet pointe shoe is comprised of toebox coupled to a shank, where the shank is comprised of layers (plies) of fiber reinforced polymers. The shank has a first portion having a first number of layers of fiber and a second portion having a second number of layers of fiber. The number of layers of fiber, and the direction the fibers are aligned in each layer, for the portions of the shank determines the stiffness of the corresponding portion of the shank. The number and directions (orientations) of layers of fiber is varied to meet the stiffness requirements requested by a dancer.
The disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention. Furthermore, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The present disclosure generally pertains to a support structure for a ballet pointe shoe and methods for manufacturing the support structure. Examples of materials comprising the support structure are also disclosed. Although the structure as described is particularly valuable for a ballet pointe shoe, the structure may be useful for other shoes to provide a desired shoe stiffness.
The ballet pointe shoe 100 as depicted to
In a comparative test the shoe 100 having the shank 120 had deflection characteristics corresponding to a shank of medium stiffness shoes of from several known manufacturers. By reducing the number of longitudinal layers, shoe 100 is softer (less stiff) and by increasing the number of longitudinal layers shoe 100 is stiffer. The ballet shoe 100 is adaptable to meet the stiffness requirement of a dancer and does not require a breaking in period. In addition the shoe 100 of the present disclosure is not subject to the short lifetime (several weeks) of conventional ballet pointe shoes.
Claims
1. A support structure for ballet pointe shoe, the support structure comprising:
- a toebox, and
- a shank having a connection strip for coupling to the toebox, the shank having a first set of layers comprised of one or more sheets with longitudinal fibers and one or more sheets with orthogonal fibers, the shank further having a second set of layers comprised of one or more sheets of having longitudinal fibers and one or more sheets having orthogonal fibers.
2. The support structure of claim 1, wherein the first set of layers extends into an area of the shoe that would engage the ball of a foot.
3. The support structure of claim 1, wherein the first set of layers and the second set of layers overlap in an area of the shoe that would engage the arch of a foot.
4. A shank for a ballet shoe comprising:
- a first set of layers having fiber sheets, wherein the fiber sheets are placed in a first alignment; and
- a second set of layers of fiber sheets with second alignment and the second set of layers is combined with the first set of layers.
5. The shank of claim 4, wherein the combined layers are coupled to a connector strip.
6. The shank of claim 5 wherein, the shank is shaped to adapt to the foot of a ballet dancer.
7. The shank of claim 6 wherein the fiber sheets are made of woven or unidirectional fibers and the sheets are impregnated with a polymer resin.
8. A support structure for ballet pointe shoe, the support structure comprising:
- a toebox; and
- a shank having a connection strip for coupling to the toebox, the shank having a first set of layers comprising one or more sheets with first oriented fibers and one or more sheets with second oriented fibers, the shank further having a second set of layers comprising one or more sheets with third oriented fibers and one or more sheets with fourth oriented fibers.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 8, 2008
Publication Date: Jun 18, 2009
Inventors: Harper Grace Niedermeyer (Huntsville, AL), Alan Tate Nettles (Huntsville, AL)
Application Number: 12/315,892
International Classification: A43B 7/14 (20060101); A43B 23/00 (20060101); A43B 5/12 (20060101);