FOOTWEAR INSOLES INCORPORATING GEL-INFUSED MEMORY FOAM

Abstract

A footwear insole includes gel-infused memory foam positioned on at least a portion of the insole such that the gel-infused memory foam supports a user's foot. The insole can include a heel pad, a half-length support, and a full-length support such that any one or more of the heel pad, the half-length support, and the full-length support includes the gel-infused memory foam.

Description

PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/047,700, entitled “Footwear Insoles Incorporating Gel-Infused Memory Foam,” filed Sep. 9, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Gel has been used in footwear insoles to provide cushioning by positioning the gel under the foot. Memory foam has also been used in footwear insoles to provide cushioning under the foot. In some instances, it may be desirable for users to provide a cushion that is softer than the gel, but denser than the memory foam. For instance, memory foam positioned under the foot may have a low compression resistance such that it is prone to collapse, which may reduce the cushioning capacity. The footwear insole described herein overcomes this difficulty by providing gel-infused memory foam positioned under the foot to provide cushioning. Accordingly, this gel-infused memory foam may be softer and less expensive than the gel, while providing a longer lasting comfort than the memory foam in part because the gel-infused memory foam may be denser and cooler than the memory foam.

While a variety of footwear have been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor(s) has made or used an invention as described herein.

SUMMARY

A footwear insole includes gel-infused memory foam positioned on at least a portion of the insole such that the gel-infused memory foam supports a user's foot. For instance, the gel-infused memory foam can be positioned as a heel pad, a half-length support, a full-length support, and any combination thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description of certain examples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a top plan view of an embodiment of a footwear insole incorporating gel-infused memory foam.

FIG. 2 depicts an exploded side view of the insole of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 depicts a top plan view of another embodiment of a footwear insole incorporating gel-infused memory foam.

FIG. 4 depicts an exploded side view of the insole of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 depicts a top plan view of another embodiment of a footwear insole incorporating gel-infused memory foam.

FIG. 6 depicts an exploded side view of the insole of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 depicts a top plan view of another embodiment of a footwear insole incorporating gel-infused memory foam.

FIG. 8 depicts an exploded side view of the insole of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 depicts a top plan view of another embodiment of a footwear insole incorporating gel-infused memory foam.

FIG. 10 depicts an exploded side view of the insole of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 depicts a top plan view of another embodiment of a footwear insole incorporating gel-infused memory foam.

FIG. 12 depicts an exploded side view of the insole of FIG. 11.

The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings, incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of certain examples of the invention should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

“Footwear” as used herein, means a device worn on a user's foot, for example, a shoe. Non-limiting examples of footwear may be a slipper, a sport shoe, a sandal, a boot, a dress shoe, etc.

Footwear typically includes an insole, such as an inner lining within the footwear, that is positioned underneath a user's foot to support the foot. In some versions, the insole directly engages a user's foot. In other versions, the insole indirectly supports the foot.

It has been known to include memory foam in the insole of footwear. Memory foam is well-known in the art and is typically made from a viscoelastic polyurethane foam and is configured to mold to a body in response to heat and pressure. This allows the memory foam to provide cushioning that contours to unique features of individual feet. Memory foam is also known to be used in mattresses and pillows. However, memory foam can have a low compression resistance such that it is prone to collapse at pressure points (e.g., the heel of a foot, the ball of a foot, etc.). This may reduce the cushioning capacity of the memory foam in these areas. The memory foam may also warm a user's foot after continued use. It may therefore be desirable to provide an insole that is cooler and/or denser than the memory foam to provide a longer lasting comfort.

Accordingly, the footwear insole described herein includes gel-infused memory foam positioned on at least a portion of the insole such that the gel-infused memory foam supports a user's foot. For instance, the gel-infused memory foam can be positioned as a heel pad, a half-length support, a full-length support, and any combination thereof. The gel-infused memory foam comprises gel particles fused with the viscoelastic foam. The gel-infused memory foam can be made by infusing a polyol gel directly into the foam, embedding or flecking the gel into the foam, and/or injecting the gel into pinholes within the foam. Still other suitable methods of making the gel-infused memory foam will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Such gel-infused memory foam has been used in mattresses.

Incorporating the gel-infused memory foam into a footwear insole provides unique benefits to a user. For instance, a footwear insole having gel-infused memory foam reduces trapped body heat from a user's foot to provide cooler footwear than an insole having regular memory foam. The gel-infused memory foam for the footwear insole also has an elevated density with respect to the regular memory foam. For instance, the gel-infused memory foam has a density that is about 20% more dense than regular memory foam. This allows the gel-infused memory foam to provide longer lasting comfort to a user because the gel-infused memory foam is not as prone to collapse at the pressure points of the foot such that it is able to maintain the cushioning capacity of the insole. Such gel-infused memory foam can be supplied by Hyda. Footwear insoles incorporating such gel-infused memory foam are described in the embodiments below.

FIGS. 1-2 illustrate a footwear insole (10) comprising a heel pad (12), an arch support (14), a half-length support (16), and full-length supports (18, 20, 22). The gel-infused memory foam can be used in any one or more of these components, or in any other portions of the insole (10). The heel pad (12) of the illustrated embodiment is positioned substantially centrally within the heel portion of the insole (10) to provide support for the heel of a user's foot. The size of the heel pad (12) may vary based on different sizes of the footwear. For instance, for a small shoe size of 5-6, the heel pad (12) may include a width of about 36 mm, a length of about 60 mm, and a thickness of about 4 mm, but any other suitable dimensions may be used. In the illustrated embodiment, the heel pad (12) comprises a gel material, but any other suitable material may be used.

The arch support (14) of insole (10) is positioned substantially centrally on an inner portion of the insole (10) to provide support for a user's arch. The size of the arch support (14) may also vary based on different sizes of the footwear. For instance, for a small shoe size of 5-6, the arch support (14) may include a width of about 33 mm, a length of about 80 mm, and a thickness of about 10 mm, but any other suitable dimensions may be used. The arch support (14) of the present embodiment comprises gel-infused memory foam. Accordingly, the gel-infused memory foam may be softer and less expensive than regular gel, while providing a longer lasting comfort than regular memory foam because the gel-infused memory foam may be denser and cooler than the memory foam.

The half-length support (16) is positioned in a rear portion of the insole (10) such that the half-length support (16) extends to about a central portion of the insole (10). The size of the half-length support (16) can vary based on different sizes of the footwear. For instance, for a small shoe size of 5-6, the half-length support (16) may include a width of about 58 mm and a thickness of about 10 mm, but any other suitable dimensions may be used. In the illustrated embodiment, the half-length support (16) may include molded sponge ethylene vinyl acetate (“EVA”), but any other suitable materials can be used. The full-length supports (18, 20, 22) are positioned along the length of the insole (10). In the present embodiment, full-length support (18) comprises polyurethane foam, full-length support (20) comprises high density EVA, and full-length support (22) comprises texon board. Other suitable materials for full-length supports (18, 20, 22) will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. While the illustrated embodiment shows the EVA positioned between the polyurethane foam and the texon board, the full-length supports (18, 20, 22) can be layered in any position. Further, the insole (10) can comprise any other number of suitable layers.

FIGS. 3-4 show another footwear insole (110) that is similar to insole (10), except that insole (110) further comprises a full-length support (117) comprising gel-infused memory foam. As best seen in FIG. 4, full-length support (117) is positioned on top of full-length support (118) such that full-length support (117) extends beyond half-length support (116) to directly contact the ball portion of a user's foot. The arch support (114) can include gel and have a thickness of about 7 mm, but other suitable configurations for arch support (114) will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.

FIGS. 5-6 show another footwear insole (210) that is similar to insole (10), except that insole (210) further comprises a ball support (215). In the illustrated embodiment, ball support (215) is positioned substantially centrally in a front portion of the insole (210) to support the ball of a user's foot. The position and size of the ball support (215) may vary based on different sizes of footwear. For instance, the ball support (215) may be positioned about 20 mm from a front edge of the insole (210). For instance, for a small shoe size of 5-6, the ball support (215) may include a width of about 75 mm, a length of about 48 mm, and a thickness of about 10 mm, but any other suitable dimensions may be used. The ball support (215) comprises gel-infused memory foam.

FIGS. 7-8 show another footwear insole (310) that is similar to insole (10), except that insole (310) comprises a heel pad (213) with gel-infused memory foam. FIGS. 9-10 further show another footwear insole (410) that is similar to insole (10), except that insole (410) comprises a heel pad (412) and a half-length support (416) that includes gel-infused memory foam. Insole (410) further fails to include an arch support. FIGS. 11-12 show another footwear insole that is similar to insole (410), except that gel-infused memory foam is positioned as a full-length support (516) instead of a half-length support (416). Further, the high density EVA support is shown as a half-length support (520) instead of a full-length support (420).

Other suitable configurations for insoles (10, 110, 210, 310, 410, 510) will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. For instance, the gel-infused memory foam can be incorporated into any one or more of the insole components, particular where one wants a higher compression resistance, such as the heel pad, the arch support, the ball support, the half-length support, and/or the full-length support. The gel-infused memory foam can have a thickness of between about 5 mm and about 10 mm. For gel-infused memory foam that has a thickness of about 5 mm, the density can be about 3.0 lb/ft³ +/−3% and the CFD can be about 2.0 lb/in² +/−3%. For gel-infused memory foam that has a thickness of about 10 mm, the density can be about 4.0 lb/ft³ +/−3% and the CFD can be about 0.25 lb/in² +/−3%. The CFD is the Compression Force Deflection of the gel-infused memory foam. It is the force required to compress the gel-infused memory foam to 50% of its original thickness.

EXAMPLE

The gel-infused memory foam was subjected to a compression test for a heel assembly. In the test, the gel-infused memory foam for a heel portion of a 6.5-7 size slipper was subjected to 10,000 cycles of a 620+/−50 N force. After a visual and washing inspection of the slipper, no damage or deterioration of the heel assembly of the slipper was observed. Further, after a 24 hour recovery time, the heel assembly of the slipper experienced a 0% change in thickness.

Having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention, further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, the examples, embodiments, geometries, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps, and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.

Claims

1. A footwear insole comprising gel-infused memory foam in at least a portion of the insole.

2. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam is positioned at least as a heel pad.

3. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam is positioned at least as an arch support.

4. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam is positioned at least as a ball support.

5. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam is positioned at least as a half-length support.

6. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam is positioned at least as a full-length support.

7. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam has a thickness of between about 5 mm and about 10 mm.

8. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam has a density of about 4.0 lb/ft3 +/−3%.

9. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam has a density of about 3.0 lb/ft3 +/−3%.

10. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam comprises a CFD of about 0.25 lb/in2 +/−3%.

11. The insole of claim 1, wherein the gel-infused memory foam comprises a CFD of about 2.0 lb/in2 +/−3%.

12. The insole of claim 1, wherein the insole is configured for a slipper.

13. A footwear insole comprising a heel pad, a half-length support, and a full-length support, wherein at least one of the heel pad, the half-length support, and the full-length support comprises gel-infused memory foam.

14. The insole of claim 13 further comprising an arch support comprising gel-infused memory foam.

15. The insole of claim 13 further comprising a ball support comprising gel-infused memory foam.