ANATOMICAL SHOE INSERT ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A shoe construction including a shoe upper, an intermediate insert assembly and at least an outsole, the insert assembly including a sockliner having a raised area positioned to underlie an arch of a wearer's foot and a recessed area positioned to underlie a heel of a wearer's foot, and a relatively rigid board member having recessed areas underlying the sockliner in the heel and arch areas.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shoe construction with improved comfort and has particular utility in connection with various types of footwear.

At first glance, dress shoes are stylish, trendy and make a strong fashion statement. However, most design detail and attention is focused on the outside of the shoe rather than on the inside. A closer look beyond the cosmetic design details reveals that the base materials used to construct the shoe are rigid, dense, inflexible, have mostly flat foot contacting surfaces and low density foam padding that is initially soft but “bottoms out” immediately. While comfort is always marketed, it is not always delivered.

Throughout the years, shoes have been made lighter, more durable and more comfortable. Numerous patents have been issued relating to structures attempting to accomplish this goal. Typically, comfort has been achieved by the addition of cushioning to a shoe construction, for example, by providing foam or gel pad inserts and/or foam or gel insoles. Numerous combinations of these types of components have been used in shoes to provide comfort. In most cases, layers of foam or other similar materials are added to the sole construction to create the initial perception of comfort but such constructions typically lose their effect in a short time and actually create discomfort. Beneath the soft foam are hard, stiff structural components. A wearer of these shoes typically compromises on comfort in order to wear the stylish shoes. The stylish shapes designed into the uppers of shoes do not translate into comfort when applied to the bottoms. Insole, sockliner and bottom shapes don't match the plantar surface of a person's foot.

Nonetheless, many conventional shoes such as high-heeled shoes have a reputation for being extremely popular yet uncomfortable because raising the heel is unnatural and such a construction creates anatomical issues and pain. The wearer's weight is shifted forward from the heel and arch areas to the forefoot and toe areas, creating high pressure and concentrating up to 70%-80% of the wearer's weight to these areas. Thus, it is known that many users of such shoes experience foot pain related to the shoes immediately, and the majority of users experience such pain after as little as several hours of use.

When the shapes of the insole and sockliner don't match the plantar surface of a wearer's foot, such shoe interiors have minimal/low arch and heel contact with the foot. Combining this with inflexible soles increases pressure during flex and toe off, creating pressures in this area up to four times higher as compared to standing still.

While many improvements have been made, there is still a need for an improved light weight shoe sole construction particularly useful in high-heeled footwear with improved comfort.

It is therefore desirable to provide an improved shoe sole construction for various types of footwear including high-heeled footwear. The most important factor to address in all footwear and, particularly, in high-heeled footwear, is better distribution of foot pressure, especially as the heel height is increased. Introducing anatomical shapes to support the heel and arch areas is needed to alleviate forefoot discomfort and improve comfort.

Specific advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the attached drawings and the description of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is designed for incorporation into an article of footwear. Although the present invention will be described in connection with a conventional high-heeled sole having an outsole for engaging the ground, it is likewise well-suited for use in essentially any type of shoe construction including a sole construction having a midsole and shoe constructions having low heel or no heel (flat) configurations. The present invention involves the provision of an insert assembly including a sockliner and an insole board, the sockliner being anatomically shaped to reflect the natural shape of a wearer's foot and being superimposed or positioned in overlying relationship to the insole board. The insole board includes a relatively rigid board member extending from a heel area to at least a midfoot area and is formed and shaped to provide a consistent foundation for supporting the anatomically shaped sockliner. The sockliner is then secured in the shoe for supporting a wearer's foot.

The sockliner of the present invention includes a raised area in the midfoot region and a recessed area located in the hind foot or heel region. The raised area is positioned to underlie the medial arch of the wearer's foot and the recessed area is positioned to underlie the heel of the wearer's foot. The recessed area is defined by the peripheral edges formed around the hind foot region from the medial side to the lateral side of the heel. The peripheral edge in the hind foot region forms a raised portion where it wraps around the heel of the wearer's foot.

The anatomically shaped and formed sockliner is designed from the inside out and reflects the natural shapes of the human foot. The shaped plantar surface topography maximizes surface contact with the wearer's foot and increases comfort. An extended “heel seat” design in the sockliner utilizes more of the rear part of the foot and shoe to bear weight and distribute pressure. A reduced heel center thickness is provided to avoid peak heel pressure during heel impact.

The insole board of the present invention extends from the rear of the shoe forward to an area adjacent the ball of the foot. The top surface of the insole board is shaped to conform somewhat to the shape of the bottom surface of the sockliner. The insole board generally lies on the top of the outsole or midsole if the midsole is used. The insole board preferably terminates adjacent the ball of the foot and is preferably made of a rigid pressed fiberboard material. A forefoot insole portion may be provided to extend from the terminal end of the insole board to the toe portion of the shoe. A shank may also be positioned inside the insole board. The top surface of the insole board forms recesses which open upwardly.

The shape and outline of the sockliner reflects the natural shapes of the human foot. The molded or formed insole board with a concaved heel seat creates an improved foundation to support the sockliner and the human foot. As the foot is “loaded” with body weight during heel strike, the present sockliner compresses and fills the formed concaved insole board member and supports the foot, insuring maximum contact. This formed board member effectively locks in the anatomical shape within the shoe and prevents inconsistencies in assembly.

When a foot is inserted into a shoe that houses the present sockliner, the recessed area of the sockliner serves to receive and locate the heel in a substantially concaved heel area, and the raised area portion supports the medial arch of the wearer's foot so that the sockliner contacts substantially the entire bottom surface of the wearer's foot. The combination of a raised area under the medial arch, a recessed area immediately under the heel, and the use of a sockliner material that does not bottom out improves the distribution of the pressure and the comfort of shoes made in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a high-heeled shoe showing various components of a shoe and the present insert assembly constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the sockliner associated with the present shoe insert constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the present sockliner taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through the present sockliner taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view through the present sockliner taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view through the present sockliner taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view through the present sockliner taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a foot pressure diagram of a wearer's foot in a high-heeled shoe,

FIG. 9 is a side elevational cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present insert assembly used in another high-heeled shoe constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a compression/deflection graph for one material of a specified proprietary size/shape, compressed by an increasing load to determine its percent (%) of deflection.

It should be understood that the present drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the present embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should also be understood that the present invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein. Like numbers utilized throughout the various Figures designate like or similar parts or structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present invention, an insert assembly is provided which improves comfort and can be installed in any type of shoe. For purposes of this invention, it is to be understood that high-heeled shoes include all footwear having a heel which elevates the heel of a person's foot above the midfoot and/or forefoot portions of a wearer's foot. The benefits of the present invention are achieved when a raised area is positioned in a shoe to underlie the medial arch area and a concaved area is formed to underlie the heel area. Preferably, the insert assembly of the present invention functions as the insole board and/or sockliner of a high-heeled footwear. Although the present insert assembly will be disclosed in connection with a typical high-heeled shoe, those skilled in the art will recognize that any type of shoe can be used with the present insert assembly without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The reference numeral 1 designates generally a shoe construction as illustrated in FIG. 1. The shoe 1 includes an upper 3 that can be of any suitable style or shape having a foot opening 4 and a sidewall 5. An outsole 7 is provided and is positioned on the underside of the shoe 1 for engagement with a walking surface such as the ground, sidewalk, floor or other supporting surface. The outsole 7 may be constructed of any suitable material for example, leather, elastomer, polymer, a composite thereof or the like depending upon the type of shoe desired, and includes a bottom surface 11 for engagement with the walking surface and a heel 9 secured thereto and extending downwardly therefrom as illustrated in FIG. 1. An insert assembly designated generally 10 is provided and is positioned on the inside or top surface 13 of the outsole 7. The insert assembly 10 and the outsole 7 are secured to the upper 3 and to each other using any suitable attachment means including cement, adhesives, glue, welt and direct attachment constructions. The insert assembly 10 of the present invention includes a sockliner 15 and an insole board 17. Any other suitable layer may be provided and may be positioned between the present insert assembly 10 and the outsole 7 such as a midsole. In addition, a forefoot insole portion 18 may be provided and is typically positioned between the sockliner 15 and the outsole 7 so as to extend towards the toe portion of the shoe 1. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 9, the forefoot insole portion 18 may be overlapped by the front edge portion of the insole board 17. The forefoot insole portion 18 can be made of a Texon fiberboard, a textile lining, or any suitable material.

The present invention relates to the construction of the insert assembly 10 and its combination with the other elements of a typical shoe such as the upper 3, the forefoot insole portion 18 and the outsole 7.

The foot of a human may be considered to have three regions, the forefoot region (area adjacent the toes), the midfoot region (area adjacent the arch), and the hind foot region (area adjacent the heel). The midfoot region is that area between the forefoot and the hind foot regions. The sockliner 15 of the present insert assembly 10 includes three regions substantially underlying the above-referenced corresponding three regions of the wearer's foot. The forefoot region of the sockliner 15 is designated generally A, the midfoot region is designated generally B, and the hind foot region is designated generally C as best illustrated in FIG. 2. The top surface portion of the hind foot region is positioned to underlie at least an area of a wearer's heel (FIG. 9). It should be understood, however, that the boundaries between the forefoot, midfoot and hind foot areas are not precise and that these terms should be interpreted loosely and with a great deal of flexibility. The ball of the foot is generally the area of the foot at the juncture between the metatarsal bones and the phalange bones.

FIG. 8 is a foot pressure diagram of a wearer's foot in a high-heeled shoe demonstrating the three regions (I, II and III) of the foot that have different pressure distributions. The primary region of the foot for load bearing is the ball area and toe area which is designated generally I. Flexure of the shoe occurs at the area of the ball of the foot while the arch is positioned between the heel and the ball of the foot. The second pressure peak region of the foot for load bearing is the heel and the lateral metatarsal area which is designated generally II. The least load bearing areas are designated generally III. The remaining un-shaded area includes the arch of the foot which has no contact with a conventional sockliner or other supporting surface. It should be understood, however, that the boundaries in the foot pressure diagram of FIG. 8 are not precise and that these boundaries should be interpreted loosely and with a great deal of flexibility.

As illustrated in the foot pressure distribution diagram of FIG. 8, the wearer's weight in a conventional high-heeled shoe is shifted forward from the heel and arch areas to the forefoot and toe areas thereby creating high pressure and concentrating up to 70%-80% of the wearer's weight in these areas. To improve this high pressure concentration, the anatomically shaped and formed insert assembly 10 of the present invention maximizes surface contact with the wearer's foot and increases comfort. The concaved heel design of the present sockliner 15 utilizes more of the rear part of the foot and shoe to bear weight and to distribute pressure.

The insert assembly 10 is preferably comprised of two superposed layers designated generally as a sockliner 15 and an insole board 17 (FIG. 1). The components of the insert assembly 10 are preferably secured together via conventional means such as by cementing or adhesives and are provided as an integral unit during assembly of the shoe 1. Joining the components 15 and 17 together prevents relative movement therebetween during assembly and use of the shoe 1. In a further embodiment, a lining (not shown) may be provided and may be positioned between the two layers 15 and 17. The lining may be a fabric, coated fabric, leather or other suitable material. The lining may be secured to the layers 15 and/or 17 with suitable attachment means. A forefoot insole portion 18 may also be provided as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The sockliner 15 has a top surface 21 and a bottom surface 24. The top surface 21 is positioned and oriented for engagement with a foot. Since the sockliner 15 is designed to support the foot and to be incorporated into conventional footwear, the sockliner 15 is generally foot-shaped. The sockliner 15 may, however, take on other shapes, as desired, to accommodate various alternative sole designs. The sockliner 15 includes a generally smooth top surface 21 designed to support the wearer's foot. The top surface 21 is shaped to match the natural shape or silhouette of the wearer's foot, for example, by providing the top surface 21 with a concaved heel area 33 and a raised arch area 23 as will be hereinafter further explained. The sockliner 15 of the illustrated embodiment further includes a peripheral lip 22 that extends upwardly around the peripheral edge of the sockliner 15 in the hind foot region. The sockliner 15 directly engages the undersurface of the wearer's foot.

In the illustrated embodiment, the sockliner 15 includes one raised area 23 in the midfoot region B. The raised area 23 (FIGS. 1-3) is positioned to underlie the medial arch 25 (FIG. 9) of the wearer's foot. The raised area 23 comprises a generally rounded or ellipsoid shape and preferably has a thinner aspect located towards the heel end 27 and a wider aspect located towards the front end 29 as best illustrated in FIG. 1. The raised area 23 positions and supports the medial arch 25 of the foot so that the sockliner 15 contacts the entire bottom surface of the foot as shown in FIG. 9.

The apex of the raised area 23 is preferably between about 2 mm and about 25 mm higher than the top surface 21 of the sockliner 15 located immediately forward of the forward raised area location 20 (FIGS. 1 and 2) under the ball 31 of the wearer's foot depending on foot type, shoe size, and/or shoe type. Also, the apex of the raised portion 23 is preferably lower for smaller sized shoes and higher for larger sized shoes. The area covered by the raised area 23 also changes with shoe size, with the size of the area 23 increasing with increasing length and/or width.

The sockliner 15 further includes a recessed area 33 located in the hind foot region C. The top surface 21 of the hind foot region C forms a recessed portion lying under the area of the calcaneus so as to receive the wearer's heel. The recessed area 33 is positioned to underlie the heel 35 of the wearer's foot as best seen in FIG. 9 and is formed by the peripheral lip 22 extending around the hind foot region C from the medial side 32 to the lateral side 34. The peripheral lip 22 forms a raised portion where it wraps around the heel 35 of the wearer's foot. The depth D of the recessed area 33 is typically in the range of about 3 mm to 20 mm measured from the top peripheral edge 36 on the medial and lateral sides down to the lowest point 38 on the top surface 21 of the recessed area 33 as best illustrated in FIG. 5. This depth varies from the heel seat area to the forward edge of the recessed area 33 due to the anatomical shape of the foot, foot type, shoe size and/or shoe type. The area covered by the recessed area 33 also changes with shoe size, with the size of the area 33 increasing with increasing length and/or width. When a foot 40 is inserted into a shoe 1, the recessed area 33 serves to locate the heel in a substantial concaved area as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 9. The extended “heel seat” design in the sockliner 15 utilizes more of the rear part of the foot 40 and shoe 1 to bear weight and distribute pressure. The recessed area 33 comprises a generally rounded or ellipsoid shape. Because the sockliner 15 is generally made of a foam type material as will be hereinafter further explained, foam material specifications for the sockliner 15 are engineered to adequately support the body weight in critical areas throughout the complete gait cycle without “bottoming out”. By not fully compressing, peak plantar pressures are avoided and the foam material provides long term cushioning and comfort value to the wearer.

The thicknesses of the sockliner 15 varies from the hind foot region C to the midfoot region B and the forefoot region A. The minimum thickness is in the forefoot region A where the thickness of the sockliner 15 is typically in the range of about 1 mm to about 5 mm. In the midfoot region B, the thickness of the sockliner 15 can vary from about 0.5 mm at the edges to up to about 25 mm at the arch area depending on the shoe as best seen in the cross sectional views from the medial to lateral sides as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. In the hind foot region C, that is, the heel cup area, the thickness of the sockliner 15 can vary from about 0.5 mm at the edges to up to about 5 to 12 mm. The desired condition is that the thickness of the sockliner 15 and the cross-sectional contour radius are not exactly the same as the depth and radius of the lower insole board 17 for the reason that while the wearer steps down on the heel, the heel portion of the sockliner 15 is able to adjust to accommodate the wearer's foot shape and have some travel distance before the foam thickness starts to compress.

Further, the overall dimensions of the present insert assembly 10 as well as the specific shape and configuration of the various sections thereof are also subject to wide variations and may be sized and shaped into a wide variety of different sizes and configurations so as to be compatible with the size and shape of the particular footwear onto which the present structures may be mounted, or to conform with any space limitations associated therewith out impairing the teachings and practice of the present invention.

It is also understood that various modifications may be made to all of the various embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The sockliner 15 can be a molded foam layer, for example, a cellular type non-rigid foam, and depending upon the particular characteristics needed in the layer 15, the material can be an open cell or a closed cell foam. Preferably, the sockliner 15 is formed from a flexible material, e.g., molded flexible plastic or rubber, such as polyurethane, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), latex, thermoplastic rubber (TPR), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), rubber sponge, specialty elastomers, or the like. Preferably, the hardness of the sockliner 15 is in the range of between about 15 and about 60 ASKER C scale. The density of the sockliner 15 is in the range of between about 0.10 and about 0.40 g/cc.

In one embodiment, it is desirable to have predictable performance characteristics of the foam to be used. One way to measure this is by a compression/deflection graph such as the representative compression/deflection graph illustrated in FIG. 10. A material of a specified proprietary size/shape is compressed by an increasing load to determine its percent (%) of deflection. Once a desired material is chosen and its curve understood, the material specifications can be engineered to perform during the expected wearer's size/weight range for the intended thickness of the sockliner 15. The ideal wearing situation is to have foam that doesn't exceed a deflection range of about 50%-80% for the given dynamic weight/load expected within the shoe. This insures that an adequate amount of foam is still available to cushion the foot during wearing and for the expected range of wearer weights for a given shoe size.

As shown, the insert assembly 10 also includes an insole board 17 that extends from the rear of the shoe 1 forward to an area adjacent the ball 31 of the foot. In another embodiment, the insole board 17 may extend from the heel to the toe area, or a forefoot insole member such as forefoot insole portion 18 may be utilized to extend from or overlap with the terminal end of the insole board 17 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 9. In the preferred embodiment, the top surface 42 of the insole board 17 has a topographic shape generally complimentary to the topographic shape of the bottom surface 24 of the sockliner 15. The top surface 42 of the insole board is sized and shaped to both conform to and receive the bottom surface 24 of the sockliner 15. The insole board 17 generally lies on the top of the outsole 7 and preferably terminates adjacent the ball of the foot. The board 17 is preferably of a pressed fiberboard material such as Texon and has a height in the range of between about 3 mm and about 12 mm measured from the top side edges on the medial and lateral sides down to the lowest point on the top surface 42 of the board. This depth varies from the heel seat area to the forward edge (tread point) of the insole board 17 due to the anatomical shape. The forward edge portion may be tapered from front to rear. As illustrated, the insole board 17 is provided with a plurality of perforations 44 in the heel area. The perforations may be formed during a molding process or may be formed afterwards as by a die or punch cutting process. A shank, for example, a steel shank (not shown) may be positioned inside the insole board 17. The shank is secured to the insole board.

The top surface 42 of the insole board 17 includes recesses and is shaped to conform to the bottom surface 24 of the sockliner 15. The recesses are upwardly opening. Preferably the proximal and distal ends of the insole board 17 have a depth that results in their being flush with the bottom surface 24 of the sockliner 15 where it wraps around the bottom surface 24 of the sockliner 15. Preferably the peripheral edges of the insole board 17 have a shape corresponding to a shape of the bottom surface 24 of the sockliner 15. The insole board 17 has a peripheral edge configuration substantially parallel to the outer peripheral edge configuration of the bottom surface 24 of the sockliner 15, but slightly larger than the outline of the sockliner 15.

In use, the insert assembly 10 is located within a shoe 1 with its heel end at the back of the shoe so that the recessed area 33 underlies substantially the heel 35 of the wearer such that the recessed area 33 receives and the sockliner 15 wraps around a substantial portion of the heel of the wearer. From there, the sockliner 15 extends forwardly to the midfoot region having the raised area 23. The raised area 23 underlies substantially the medial arch area of the wearer's foot. The raised area 23 tapers toward the distal end of the sockliner 15. Thus, when a wearer's foot is inserted into a shoe that houses the present sockliner 15, the recessed area 33 serves to locate the heel on a substantially concave surface. The raised area 23 positions and supports the medial arch of the foot so that the sockliner 15 contacts the entire bottom surface of the foot. It should be noted that contrary to the teachings of the prior art, the present invention provides a recessed area 33 for receiving the heel of the wearer's foot and a raised area 23 for supporting the arch of the wearer's foot. The combination of a raised area 23 under the medial arch, a recessed area 33 immediately under the heel, and the use of a foam material that doesn't exceed a deflection range of about 50%-80% for a given dynamic weight/load expected within the shoe, that is, the material does not bottom out, improves the comfort of shoes made in accordance with the present invention.

Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of an anatomical shoe insert construction. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.

Claims

1. An insert assembly for use in a shoe sole, the insert assembly comprising:

a board member extending from a heel region to at least a midfoot region; and

a sockliner positioned in overlying relation to a top surface of said board member, said sockliner including: a hind foot region having a first top surface and positioned to underlie at least an area of a wearer's heel, the first top surface of said hind foot region forming a recessed portion for receiving a wearer's heel; a midfoot region having a second top surface and positioned to underlie at least a portion of an arch of a wearer's foot, the second top surface of said midfoot region having a lateral arch region and a medial arch region, the medial arch region of said second top surface forming a raised portion which gradually rises to an apex positioned to underlie a medial arch of a wearer's foot; and a forefoot region having a third top surface and positioned to underlie at least a portion of a ball of a wearer's foot, at least a portion of said forefoot region being thinner than said raised portion.

2. The insert assembly of claim 1 wherein said board member includes a recess to receive a bottom surface of said sockliner, said recess being upwardly opening.

3. The insert assembly of claim 1 wherein said board member includes a plurality of perforations in a heel region.

4. The insert assembly of claim 1 wherein said board member is made of relatively rigid material.

5. The insert assembly of claim 1 wherein the apex of said raised portion is higher than said third top surface of the forefoot region which is positioned immediately forward of said raised portion in the vicinity of the ball of a wearer's foot by at least between about 2 mm and about 25 mm.

6. The insert assembly of claim 1 wherein a thickness of the forefoot region of the sockliner is in the range of about 1 mm to about 5 mm.

7. The insert assembly of claim 1 wherein the raised portion of said sockliner has a thinner aspect located towards the hind foot region and a wider aspect located towards the forefoot region.

8. The insert assembly of claim 1 wherein the shape of the sockliner causes weight borne by the wearer's foot to be shifted towards the arch and heel and off the ball of the foot.

9. The insert assembly of claim 1 wherein the sockliner is made of a material which does not exceed a deflection range of about 50% to about 80% in at least the hind foot region for a given dynamic weight load expected for that particular shoe.

10. An insert assembly for insertion into a shoe sole, the insert assembly comprising:

a relatively rigid board member extending from a heel area to at least the midfoot area; and

a sockliner positioned in overlying relation to said board member, said sockliner including: a hind foot region positioned to underlie at least an area of a wearer's heel, said hind foot region forming a recessed portion lying under the area of the wearer's heel; a midfoot region positioned to underlie at least a portion of an arch of the wearer's foot, said midfoot region having a lateral arch region and a medial arch region, the medial arch region forming a raised portion which gradually rises to an apex positioned to underlie a medial arch of a wearer's foot, said medial arch region being higher than said lateral arch region; and a forefoot region positioned to underlie at least a portion of a ball of a wearer's foot, at least a portion of said forefoot region being thinner than said raised portion.

11. The insert assembly of claim 10 wherein said board member includes a recess to receive a bottom surface of said sockliner, said recess being upwardly opening.

12. The insert assembly of claim 10 wherein said board member includes a plurality of perforations in a heel region.

13. The insert assembly of claim 10 wherein said raised portion is between about 20 mm and about 25 mm at its apex.

14. The insert assembly of claim 10 wherein the apex of said raised portion is higher than the third top surface of said forefoot region which is positioned immediately forward of the raised portion in the vicinity of the ball of a wearer's foot by at least between about 2 mm and about 25 mm.

15. The insert assembly of claim 10 wherein a thickness of the forefoot region of said sockliner is in the range of about 1 mm to about 5 mm.

16. The insert assembly of claim 10 wherein said raised portion has a thinner aspect located towards the hind foot region and a wider aspect located towards the forefoot region.

17. The insert assembly of claim 10 wherein the hardness of the sockliner is in the range of between about 15 and about 60 ASKER C scale.

18. The insert assembly of claim 10 wherein the density of the sockliner is in the range of between about 0.10 and about 0.40 g/cc.

19. The insert assembly of claim 10 including a forefoot insole portion mating with one end portion of said board member.

20. An insert assembly for insertion into a shoe sole, the insert assembly comprising:

a relatively rigid board member extending from a heel area to at least the midfoot area; and

a sockliner positioned in overlying relation to said board member, said sockliner including:

a hind foot region positioned to underlie at least an area of a wearer's heel, said hind foot region forming a recessed portion lying under the area of the wearer's heel;

a midfoot region positioned to underlie at least a portion of an arch of the wearer's foot, said midfoot region having a lateral arch region and a medial arch region, the medial arch region forming a raised portion which gradually rises to an apex positioned to underlie a medial arch of a wearer's foot, said medial arch region being higher than said lateral arch region;

a forefoot region positioned to underlie at least a portion of a ball of a wearer's foot, at least a portion of said forefoot region being thinner than said raised portion; and

said sockliner being made of a material which does not exceed a deflection range of about 50% to about 80% in at least the hind foot region for a given dynamic weight load expected for that particular shoe.