Shock-absorbing insole

Details Shock-absorbing insole Shock-absorbing insole

1999-11-04

2001-04-17

Sewell, Paul T. (Department: 3728)

Boots, shoes, and leggings

Insoles

Laminated

C036S102000, C036S027000, C036S028000, C036S03500R, C036S038000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06216365

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a shock-absorbing insole for footwear.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The term “insole” as used herein is to be understood as referring to an inside sole of a shoe, particularly to a relatively thin insert introducible into a shoe and serving mainly for foot comfort.
The deleterious effect on the skeletal system, especially on the heel, the knee joint and the vertebral column, of repeated impact occasioned by running, jumping or even brisk walking, is well-known, with many attempts having been made to design special shoes or boots having built-in shock-absorbing members intended to alleviate this problem. Other attempts, such as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,175, provide both integral, ie., built-in, and insole solutions. This U.S. patent proposes a sole (or an insole) containing a relatively large number of cylindrical compression springs, confined between a lower part of the sole or insole provided with a plurality of recesses nesting one end of these springs, and an upper cover strip removably attachable to the lower part.
The disadvantages of the above and similar soles or insoles resides largely in the fact that they all use cylindrical springs, the ‘solid’ height of which, in other words, their height when compressed to the point where their turns rest on one another, is irreducible. As a consequence, in order to present a reasonable ‘working stroke,’ the free, uncompressed length of such springs must be relatively large, causing such soles to be rather thick and cumbersome. With insoles that are intended for use with standard footwear, this problem is even more serious, as their thickness is liable to seriously reduce the free space of the shoe or boot.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is thus one of the objects of the present invention to provide an insole that, for a given shock-absorbing capacity, requires a significantly smaller insole thickness than that of the prior art insoles.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an insole that can be customized to take into account the relevant physical characteristics of the wearer, such as his weight and possible special orthopedic problems, as well as the principal uses of the footwear for which the insoles are intended, such as walking, marching, jogging, running, etc.
According to the invention, the above objects are achieved by providing a shock-absorbing insole for footwear, comprising a top member adapted to be in contact with the user's foot; a bottom member partly connected to said top member and adapted to rest on the inside sole of a piece of footwear, and defining a space with a heel portion of said top member, and a shock-absorbing unit comprising a top plate, at least one rubber pad and at least one effective member provided with a plurality of elastically deformable elements, characterized in that said top plate, said at least one rubber pad and said at least one effective member form a cohesive packet which is introducible into said pace via a window-like opening in a rim portion of said bottom member.


REFERENCES:
patent: Re. 13150 (1910-09-01), Byrne
patent: 4356642 (1982-11-01), Herman
patent: 5185943 (1993-02-01), Tong et al.
patent: 5224277 (1993-07-01), Sang Do
patent: 5311674 (1994-05-01), Santiyanont et al.
patent: 5544431 (1996-08-01), Dixon
patent: 5649374 (1997-07-01), Chou
patent: 5839209 (1998-11-01), Healy et al.
patent: 5918383 (1999-07-01), Chee
patent: 5983529 (1999-11-01), Serna
patent: 6006449 (1999-12-01), Orlowski et al.
patent: 6055747 (2000-05-01), Lombardino

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Shock-absorbing insole does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Shock-absorbing insole, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Shock-absorbing insole will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2553124