Boots – shoes – and leggings – Boots and shoes – Occupational or athletic shoe
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-14
2004-04-06
Stashick, Anthony D. (Department: 3728)
Boots, shoes, and leggings
Boots and shoes
Occupational or athletic shoe
C036S044000, C036S031000, C482S079000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06715219
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the general field of footwear accessories and is particularly concerned with a weighted footwear insert.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The efficiency of weights for improving muscle strength and tone is well established. Athletes in particular, for example, have long been training with weights mounted on the lower limbs in order to develop muscles for running, jumping and the like. Non-athletes can also benefit from such training aids by merely incorporating the use of the training aids in their daily regimens of moving about. Repeated use of such lower limb mounted weights when active can lead to strengthening of the leg muscles, increase in cardiovascular capacity and a generally higher metabolic rate. It is also believed that rehabilitative efforts might be hastened and improved with specific training of locally mounted weights.
The prior art is replete with various types of structures for adding weight to the lower limbs of intended users. One particularly popular method of adding weight to the lower limbs makes use of conventional ankle weights, including a strap configured and sized for mounting around the ankles, and having weights attached thereto. Apart from being most uncomfortable, one of the drawbacks associated with conventional ankle weights is that the ankle takes too much shock with each step or stride when the weight is placed around the ankle, as the ankle itself is what stops the mass of the weight from accelerating to the ground with each step. This causes the weight to jam the ankle with each step, leading to stretched ligaments and sore tendons after several weeks of use.
The intended mass needs to be below the foot if the body is to be prevented from decelerating the mass with each step. If the mass is below the foot, the ground the foot is striking stops the mass instead, eliminating shock to the body.
The solution to eliminating shock from weight placed above the ankle is to attach or incorporate the weight to the footwear. This solution has been recognised in the prior art. Indeed, some prior art patents disclose footwear incorporating weighted elements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,433 issued Jul. 10, 1984 and naming Frank Stempski as inventor discloses a footwear having a weight pocket at the outside of a toe region of the upper structure for receiving removable weights therein. The structure also proposes optional heel and side pockets for additional weights. The structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,432 however has major flaws including that positioning of the weight above the sole of the foot tends to create awkward muscle development. The disclosed structure also makes it difficult to prevent the weighted mass from moving around under heavy accelerations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,776 issued Aug. 3, 1993 naming Rodger D. Wagner as inventor discloses a footwear incorporating a grid matrix which is moulded into the footwear and sandwiched between the inner and outer sole of the latter. Relatively small weighted spheres typically of less than 1 mm of diameter are inserted into the lattice grid matrix. Although presenting a somewhat elegant solution to the problem of weight distribution, the structure disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,776 suffers from the fact that the weight is permanently fixed into the shoe. The structure thus lacks in versatility and transferability between shoes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,928 discloses a weighted shoe using a weight receiving member frame inside the shoe, the weight receiving member frame being coextensive with the sole. The weight-receiving frame is permanently built into the shoe and has openings for receiving different weight plugs. One of the main disadvantages associated with this device is that a favourite or expensive shoe would need to be permanently altered to properly incorporate the member frame according to the disclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,315 issued Feb. 24, 1981 naming Akira Kimura as inventor discloses a training aid including a toe portion and a heel portion with both having a core member made of heavy metal and a resilient covering member surrounding the core member. The toe and heel portions are so shaped that they form substantially a sole configuration when they are placed side by side on the sole of a shoe.
One of the main drawbacks associated with the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,315 relates to the lack of flexibility of the core members which leads to discomfort and potential injury to the wearer since the core members are unable to conform to the wearer's foot contour especially during motion.
The problem of weighted insoles having insufficient flexibility and being unable to conform to the changing configuration of a foot during motion has been recognized in the prior art. Attempts have been made to at least partially solve the problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,921 naming Antonette G. Valuikas and Ralph Valuikas as inventors and issued Dec. 1, 1987, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,613 naming James H. Williams and issued Jun. 17, 1997, both specifically address the lack of flexibility issue.
U.S. Pat. 4,709,921 discloses a weighted shoe insert having a weighted base member formed either as an integral portion of a shoe, or as a discrete insert sandwiched between an upper adhesively backed cover and a lower adhesively backed cover. The base member contains a series of perforation and edge contours which facilitate the shaping of the base member to conform with the shape of a human foot. In a second preferred embodiment, the base member is composed of a series of discrete elements in which chafing between adjacent segments has been substantially reduced by the contouring of the edges.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,613 discloses a weighted insole having a pair of flat weights encapsulated inside a flexible material, which is formed into an insole for placement in a shoe. A first weight is encapsulated in front and a second weight is encapsulated behind the ball of the foot area. The second weight additionally has cutouts at the arch and heel areas of the foot.
These unweighted areas throughout their thicknesses include insole materials that provide extra comfort and cushioning where the user typically places more weight on the foot. The front and back weighted construction additionally allows for flexibility of the insole at the ball area. A pattern of nodes is projected from the bottom of the insole to frictionally hold the insole in place in the shoe.
Although U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,252,315, 4,709,921 and 5,638,613 recognize the need for a flexible sole they still disclose structures presenting inherent major drawbacks that are not taking into account the relative complexity of the human foot and the knowledge emanating from the field of advanced athlete training and rehabilitation. In order to fully understand the problems associated with prior art structures and the advantages associated with the present invention a basic knowledge of foot anatomy is required.
The foot and ankle combine flexibility with stability because of the many bones they comprise and because of their shapes. The lower leg, ankle and foot have two principle functions, mainly propulsion and support. For propulsion, they act like a flexible lever. For support, they act like a rigid structure that holds up the entire body. The foot performs several important functions such as acting as a support base that provides the necessary stability for upright posture with minimal muscle effort, providing a mechanism for rotation of the tibia and fibula during the stance phase of gait, providing flexibility to adapt to uneven terrain, providing flexibility for absorption of shock by becoming a rigid structure in the pronated position and acting as a lever during “push-off”.
The joints of the lower leg, ankle and foot act as functional groups not as isolated joints. The movement occurring at each individual joint is minimal. However, when combined, there normally is sufficient range of motion in all of the joints to allow functional mobility as well as functional
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