JP5647958B2 - Insole whose hardness changes discontinuously - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an insole used for a shoe.

  Conventionally, it has features in materials, shapes, and three-dimensional structures for the purpose of reducing the burden on the foot during walking and running, comfortable wearing, maintaining the ideal shape of the foot skeleton, and preventing side wrinkles of the heel, etc. Various insoles have been proposed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, in a conventional base material (corresponding to “insole” in the present specification), when a single material is molded, the first half portion having a small thickness (high compression ratio) becomes hard. In response to the problem that the hardness distribution is inversely related to the ideal flooring material, such as the latter part of the thicker (smaller compression ratio) becomes softer, foaming of synthetic resin or rubber A floor covering material is disclosed in which a backing material having a shape that is harder and more shape-retaining is integrally provided from the center of the back surface of the flexible floor covering material body made of a body to the heel portion.

Shoko 61-22484

  As pointed out in Patent Document 1, in a conventional insole, a hardness and a shape that are suitable for the portion of the sole that is placed on the insole are not necessarily realized. This makes it impossible to remarkably improve the comfort of shoes that are becoming increasingly demanding in recent years. In addition, the insole does not always bend enough when the toes move away from the ground during walking / running and the toes kick the ground (hereinafter referred to as “walking / running kicking”). It cannot be said that he was following.

The insole of the present invention is a synthetic resin foam lower layer member corresponding to the planar shape of the sole and having a heel side higher than the toe side, and a synthetic material in which the tip part on the toe side is substantially U-shaped. This is an insole formed by pressure-bonding an upper layer member of a resin foam.

  The upper layer member is
  The substantially U-shape is formed so as to extend from the vicinity of the first metatarsal bone head to the vicinity of the second metatarsal bone base, through the vicinity of the third metatarsal bone base, and to the vicinity of the fifth metatarsal bone head. Is formed so as to be harder than the lower layer member,
  The lower layer member is
  A region corresponding to the vicinity of the middle of the second metatarsal and the middle of the third metatarsal surrounded by the substantially U shape is convex, and the region is formed relatively softly.
  Furthermore, the upper layer member is
  Regions corresponding to the vicinity of the second metatarsal bone bottom and the vicinity of the third metatarsal bone bottom, which are the substantially U-shaped deep portions that contact the surface of the convex region of the lower layer member, The gist is that the lower layer member is disconnected from the convex region.

  The insole of the present invention can provide an insole that is comfortable to wear.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, this invention should not be limited to these embodiments at all, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. The first embodiment mainly relates to claims 1 and 4. The second embodiment mainly relates to claim 2 and the like. The third embodiment mainly relates to claim 3 and the like. Embodiments 4 and 5 mainly relate to other embodiments.
<< Embodiment 1 >>
<Embodiment 1: Overview>

In the insole of this embodiment, the dent corresponding portion of the sole including the arch is surrounded by a substantially U shape from the heel side, and this substantially U-shaped portion is more relative to the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion. And / or relatively thick. Further, the hardness changes discontinuously across the boundary between the substantially U-shaped part and the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part.
<Embodiment 1: Configuration>

(Description of the entire insole)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an insole according to the present embodiment. (A) is a perspective view and (b) is a plan view. Moreover, (c) and (d) have shown the top view of another example of the insole of this embodiment. These figures show the insole for the left foot.

  The insole according to the present embodiment includes a “substantially U-shaped part” and a “part surrounded by a substantially U-shaped part”. The “substantially U-shaped portion” is a substantially U-shaped portion surrounding all or part of the dent corresponding portion of the sole on the heel side as viewed from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding portions from the heel side. . The substantially U-shaped part is configured to be relatively harder and / or relatively thicker than a part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part. Further, the hardness changes discontinuously across the boundary between the substantially U-shaped portion surrounding all or part of the dent corresponding portion of the sole and the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion. 1A to 1D, a substantially U-shaped portion is a portion indicated by 0101, and a portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion is a hatched portion indicated by 0102.

  In the present specification, “insole” includes both an insole and an insole. In this specification, “insole” refers to a part of footwear that is a finished product, and is assembled in the footwear manufacturing process and cannot be removed. In the present specification, the term “insole” refers to an insole that can be attached as a part of footwear in the production process of footwear, or that can be attached to and removed from the finished footwear later as an additional part. Say. In other words, the “insole” of this embodiment may be sold as an “insole” as an integral part of the footwear, or as an “insole”, sold in a state attached to the footwear or separately from the footwear. In some cases.

  The insole of the present embodiment is formed so that the planar shape is substantially the same type and size as the bottom surface of the shoe, for example. The “inner shoe bottom surface” is a surface serving as an inner shoe sole. The insole of the present embodiment is disposed on the bottom surface of the shoe, and further, the insole of the present embodiment is used in a state where the foot is placed directly or indirectly on the insole.

  The material of the insole of the present embodiment is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to form the insole with a sponge material because the insole can be reduced in weight and the breathability is increased and the comfort is good. The sponge material is foamed rubber or synthetic resin foam. A synthetic resin foam (for example, urethane foam) is more preferable because it is lighter than foamed rubber and has a shorter molding time than foamed rubber that requires vulcanization molding.

(Explanation of positional relationship between insole and foot)
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the insole and the foot according to the present embodiment. (A) is a skeleton diagram when the right foot is viewed from the sole, and (b) shows a positional relationship with the foot when using the insole of the present embodiment. With reference to these drawings, the “corresponding dent portion of the sole on the heel side as viewed from the corresponding portion of the second and third metatarsal heads” will be described.

  The “second and third metatarsal heads” will be described with reference to FIG. There are five metatarsals that form part of the skeleton of the foot (0201), from the first metatarsal on the thumb side to the fifth metatarsal on the little finger side, and the toes of each of these metatarsals Is called the metatarsal head. In this figure, the second metatarsal head (0202) and the third metatarsal head (0203) are labeled. The “second and third metatarsal head corresponding parts” are parts corresponding to the second and third metatarsal heads in a state where the insole is used in a shoe. Specifically, it is a portion surrounded by a dotted line 0204 in FIGS.

  The “indentation on the sole” is a recess (gray portion indicated by 0205) of the foot including the arch. The “corresponding dent portion of the sole” is a portion corresponding to the dent portion of the sole in a state where the insole is put in a shoe. "The dent corresponding part of the sole on the heel side as viewed from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding parts" is a region on the heel side as viewed from the corresponding parts of the second and third metatarsal heads, and This refers to the area included in the dent corresponding part of the foot. Specifically, it is a portion 0209 surrounded by a thick dotted line in FIGS.

  The insole of this embodiment is demonstrated using FIG.2 (b). The insole of the present embodiment has a substantially U-shape that surrounds all or part of the dent corresponding part of the sole on the heel side when viewed from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding parts. The U-shaped portion is configured to be relatively harder and / or relatively thicker than a portion surrounded by the U-shaped portion.

  The “substantially U-shape that surrounds from the heel side” refers to a shape that extends from the heel side to the lower side of the U-shape and extends to the toe side while enclosing (pinching) other parts in the middle. As a result, this “other part” is surrounded by three sides. For example, the curve indicated by 0206 is substantially U-shaped. The “substantially” U-shape does not necessarily mean that the dent corresponding part of the sole on the heel side as viewed from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding parts completely surrounds both sides. For example, when the left foot insole shown in FIG. 1 is partially enclosed from the inside (thumb side) of the foot, as in (c), or only partially from both sides of the foot, as in (d). It is a condition such as including.

  The parts corresponding to each metatarsal head of the foot, especially the parts corresponding to the first metatarsal head and the fifth metatarsal head, are both ends of the lateral arch that supports the load applied to the foot across each metatarsal head. It is. The insole that receives the load applied to the lateral arch may have a feeling that the foot is swung sideways because the insole is greatly deformed when the side surface is particularly soft. Therefore, both ends of the substantially U-shaped portion are located at positions corresponding to the first metatarsal head and the fifth metatarsal head corresponding portion of the insole, and the substantially U-shaped portion is configured to be relatively hard. It ’s fine. In this case, it is possible to prevent the insole receiving the load applied to the lateral arch from being greatly deformed, so that stable walking can be obtained.

(Description of relatively hard structure)
"Relatively hard" means that the hardness of the substantially U-shaped part is higher than that of the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part. In order to support the foot firmly during walking / running, the part corresponding to the heel of the insole and the part corresponding to the inner side (thumb side) and the outer side (little finger side) of the insole should be configured to be relatively hard. preferable. Such a relatively hard structure can be realized by making the type of the synthetic resin and the composition of the synthetic resin material different when the insole of the present embodiment is made of the synthetic resin. Alternatively, even if the kind of the synthetic resin and the composition of the synthetic resin material are the same, the low-density sponge may be compressed to a high density so that the hardness is relatively changed.

(Description of relatively thick structure)
Further, “relatively thick” means that the substantially U-shaped part is configured to be thicker than the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part. In the insole of the present embodiment, the substantially U-shaped portion is relatively thicker than the portion surrounded by the insole, and the center-corresponding portion of the sole is relatively thin, so that the sole is relatively thin. Easier to fit in front of the insole. Therefore, a sense that is not far from the sense of a foot that has been able to wear a certain level of heel on a daily basis, that is, the center of gravity of the sole is located on the front side of the normal center of gravity that is felt when wearing flat shoes It becomes easier to get a sense. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the feeling of discomfort in the balance of the center of gravity when a shoe with a certain level of heel is replaced with a nearly flat shoe having the insole of this embodiment, particularly for women. In addition, when the left and right edge parts of the substantially U-shaped part are emphasized and made relatively thick (in the case of a cup shape), the sole can be less likely to protrude from the left and right sides of the insole, and the foot can be easily placed in the center of the insole Because it can support the foot firmly, it becomes easier to walk stably. In particular, when the substantially U-shaped portion is relatively hard, the insole holds the foot more firmly and further increases walking stability. However, not all the portions of the substantially U-shaped portion are relatively thicker than all the portions surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion, but relatively when the average value of the thickness of the insole is compared. If it is thick, it corresponds to the insole of this embodiment.

  When the rear side (heel side) of the insole is configured to be relatively thick and the heel side of the insole is slightly higher, a force from the sole is easily applied to the left and right ends of the substantially U-shaped portion. Since the character-shaped portion is pressed down strongly, the insole bending operation is easily induced when the foot kick is started during walking or running. This is due to a synergistic effect with the discontinuous change in hardness described later. In addition, when tilting the body to the left, such as when turning around when walking or running, when tilting the body to the right, the left end or right end of the substantially U-shaped part of the insole is particularly strongly pressed. The boundary between the substantially U-shaped part of the part and the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part is easily bent.

(The hardness changes discontinuously: Overview)
About the configuration of “the hardness changes discontinuously across the boundary between the substantially U-shaped part surrounding all or part of the dent corresponding part of the sole and the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part” explain. As described above, the “substantially U-shaped part surrounding all or part of the indentation corresponding to the sole” is “the indentation corresponding to the sole on the heel side as viewed from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding parts. The part of "substantially U-shape" which surrounds all or a part from the heel side. This part is configured to be “relatively harder and / or relatively thicker” than the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part. In the insole of this embodiment, the hardness changes discontinuously across the boundary between the substantially U-shaped part and the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part. “Discontinuously changing” means that there is a discontinuous difference in hardness between a substantially U-shaped portion and a portion surrounded by a substantially U-shaped portion.

(Effect of discontinuous change in hardness 1)
The effect of the hardness “discontinuously changing” will be described with reference to FIG. 4A. FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining a change in shape when the insole according to this embodiment is used. 4A (a) shows a conventional insole (the hardness change is not discontinuous), and FIG. 4A (b) shows the insole of the present embodiment. FIG. 4A (c) is a conceptual plan view showing an example of the insole of the present embodiment. In the insole (0401b) shown in FIG. 4A (c), the hardness across the boundary between the substantially U-shaped portion (0402) and the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion (the hatched portion indicated by 0403). Changes are discontinuous. Thus, when the change in hardness is discontinuous, the insole tends to bend near the boundary between the substantially U-shaped portion and the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion. Therefore, if an insole whose boundary corresponds to an appropriate position on the sole is used, an insole that is easier to walk and run can be provided. First, let us describe the case of walking straight ahead and running. Observing the change in the shape of the sole when walking straight and walking forward, the foot bends from the region spanning the first to fifth metatarsal head correspondence when kicking the foot during walking and running It becomes. In this case, it is preferable that the portion of the insole corresponding to the region spanning the first metatarsal head and the fifth metatarsal head bend easily in accordance with the change in the shape of the sole, so that walking and running are facilitated. . Therefore, for example, as in the insole (0401b) shown in FIG. 4A (c), in the vicinity of the first metatarsal head and the fifth metatarsal head corresponding portion of the sole, a substantially U-shaped portion and a substantially U-shaped portion. It comprises so that a part of boundary with the part enclosed by may be provided. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4A (b), when the change in the shape of the insole at the time of kicking the foot during walking / running is observed, the area near the shaded portion indicated by the dotted arrow is likely to be bent. Because the insole is deformed following the change in the shape of the sole of the foot, it is easy to walk and run. In addition, the effect that the vicinity of the portion corresponding to the region spanning the first metatarsal head and the fifth metatarsal head of the insole is easily bent is not an effect caused only by the hardness “discontinuously changing”. The insole is configured to include a part of the boundary between the substantially U-shaped part and the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part in the vicinity of the first metatarsal head and the part corresponding to the fifth metatarsal head on the sole. As a result, most of the portion corresponding to the region extending over the first metatarsal head and the fifth metatarsal head is occupied by a relatively soft portion surrounded by a substantially U-shaped portion. For this reason, along the bending of the foot, the vicinity of the portion corresponding to the region spanning the first metatarsal head and the fifth metatarsal head of the insole (the shaded portion in FIG. 4A (c)) is easily bent.

(Effect 2 of hardness changing discontinuously)
On the other hand, when the change in the shape of the conventional insole (0401a) shown in FIG. 4A (a) is observed, the insole does not have a structure that is easily bent at a specific portion. In particular, if the insole is thick or hard, and it is difficult to bend, the shoe (0404) may be removed, or if there is an unnecessarily large space between the bottom of the shoe and the sole, even if it cannot be removed. There is also. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4A (a) and FIG. 4A (b), when comparing the conventional insole and the insole of the present embodiment, the insole of the present embodiment changes in the shape of the sole. It is easy to walk and run because it bends at an appropriate position according to the situation.

  In addition, when the insole of this embodiment is put in a shoe having a certain level of heel, the inner bottom surface of the shoe itself bends upward greatly from the toe side toward the heel side, so that by bending at the boundary portion, The insole is easy to follow the inner bottom of a shoe with heel.

(Effect 3 of hardness changing discontinuously)
Next, a case where the body is tilted obliquely, such as when changing direction during walking / running, will be described with reference to FIG. 4B. FIG. 4B is another view for explaining a change in shape when the insole according to this embodiment is used. (D) is a plane conceptual diagram, (e) is a figure for demonstrating the state in which the insole was bent diagonally. As described above, the insole according to the present embodiment is easily bent near the boundary between the substantially U-shaped portion and the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion. For example, it is easy to bend along the dotted line 0405 shown in FIGS. 4B (d) and 4 (e). FIG. 4B (e) shows a state where the vicinity of the heel side portion is lifted and the vicinity of the heel side portion is bent obliquely in the left direction of the foot (toward the front side in this figure).

  The effect of bending diagonally in this way is as follows. When tilting the body at an angle, the sole also bends at an angle. Specifically, when the body is tilted to the left to turn left, the right foot is lifted diagonally leftward from the vicinity of the first metatarsal head, and the vicinity of the fifth metatarsal head is It will be away from the ground first, and it will become the shape twisted diagonally as a whole. Therefore, if the insole bends diagonally according to the change in shape, it is easy to walk and run. The same applies when the body is tilted to the right to turn right.

(Structure where hardness changes discontinuously: When there is no discontinuous seam)
As an example of the configuration in which the hardness changes discontinuously, an example in which a boundary where the hardness changes discontinuously appears on the surface (foot sole side) or / and the back surface (shoe sole side) of the insole can be given. However, the boundary where the hardness changes discontinuously does not necessarily have to appear on the front and back surfaces of the insole, and may be provided only inside the insole, which does not appear on the front or back surface of the insole. . For example, the hardness changes discontinuously inside the insole, but it does not appear on the front or back surface. Specifically, an example in which the insole has a plurality of layers, the hardness of the back surface layer and the surface layer continuously changes, and the hardness changes discontinuously in all or part of the intermediate layer can be given. In other words, “a configuration in which the hardness changes discontinuously” can be realized by making the insole portion adjacent to the boundary where the hardness changes discontinuously different, but when the hardness also changes in the thickness direction of the insole. Can be said to be the “hardness changes discontinuously” as referred to in the present invention if the hardness of the insole portion and the adjacent portions of the hardness in the thickness direction change discontinuously.

(Configuration where hardness changes discontinuously: Pattern of configuration where hardness changes discontinuously)
Specifically, it can be classified into the following four types. First, a pattern in which the hardness changes discontinuously appears on the surface of the insole, a pattern in which the hardness changes discontinuously appears on the back surface of the insole, and a structure in which the hardness changes discontinuously A pattern that appears in the middle of the thickness direction, and finally, a structure that discontinuously changes the hardness appears on the front and back surfaces of the insole but does not appear on the intermediate layer (that is, a pattern in which the intermediate layer continuously changes in hardness) is there. There are four types, but the “configuration in which the hardness changes discontinuously” is not limited to this, and a portion where the hardness changes discontinuously and a portion where the hardness changes continuously Are included in combination in the middle of the insole thickness direction.

  The hardness does not need to change discontinuously at the entire boundary between the substantially U-shaped portion and the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion, and includes the case where the hardness relates to discontinuity at a part of the boundary. It is. Moreover, the part which hardness changes intermittently discontinuously may be formed in the boundary of a substantially U-shaped part and the part enclosed by this substantially U-shaped part.

(Configuration to change the hardness discontinuously: When using discontinuous seams)
Further, when realizing a configuration in which the change in hardness is discontinuous, the boundary between the substantially U-shaped portion (0402) and the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion (the hatched portion indicated by 0403) ( The boundary at which the hardness changes discontinuously may be a discontinuous seam between a substantially U-shaped portion and a portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion. In this case, the insole is easily deformed by the discontinuous seams, and it is further possible to realize the change in the shape of the insole in accordance with the change in the shape of the sole.

  “Discontinuous seam” means a case where seams are not continuous (not integrated). For example, when the insole is observed from above, there is a case where there is a slight gap or break between the substantially U-shaped part and the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part. When the cross-sectional shape is observed, the “discontinuous seam” may be a thin groove or a simple cut. In the case of a thin groove, the shape of the groove may be U-shaped or V-shaped. FIG. 4C is a diagram for explaining an example of discontinuous seams, and shows an A1-A2 cross-sectional view (g) and a B1-B2 cross-sectional view (h) in the plan view (f). The discontinuous seam may be provided with a narrow V-shaped groove with a slight gap as shown in FIG. 4C (g), or a simple cut as shown in FIG. 4C (h). May be.

(Configuration in which the hardness changes discontinuously Specific example: discontinuous seam)
The configuration of the discontinuous seam can be configured according to the above-described configuration in which the hardness changes discontinuously. For example, an example in which a discontinuous seam appears on the front surface and / or the back surface of the insole, or a configuration in which a groove or a cut is provided inside the insole, but it does not appear on the front surface or the back surface can be considered. . Further, even when adjacent portions have the same hardness, it can be said that the hardness in the present invention changes discontinuously because the hardness is indefinite at discontinuous joint portions.

(Other effects due to discontinuous seam construction)

  When a discontinuous seam appears on the back side, there is no sense of incongruity due to the seam touching the sole. Alternatively, if a discontinuous seam appears on the surface, the border of the insole can be seen when the shoe is taken off.For example, the insole color can be different from the border, or the color near the border can be changed. The design can be improved by emphasizing the boundary as a color different from the colors of other portions. If you put a soft material on the surface of the insole, there will be no sense of incongruity due to discontinuous seams touching the sole of the foot, and if this soft material is made of a transparent material, the design may be impaired. Absent.

  In addition, when the boundary between the substantially U-shaped part and the part surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part is a discontinuous seam, the discontinuous seam part is expanded or narrowed. Therefore, the insole is easily deformed in the vicinity of the boundary, and it is further possible to realize the change of the insole shape in accordance with the change of the shape of the sole.

Note that the entire boundary between the substantially U-shaped portion and the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion does not need to be a discontinuous joint, and as long as the above effect is achieved, a part of the boundary is discontinuous. The case of a seam is also included. Further, discontinuous seams may be formed intermittently at the boundary.
<Embodiment 1: Effect>

The insole of this embodiment can support a foot firmly and easily bends in response to a change in the shape of the sole, so that it is easy to walk and run and is comfortable to wear.
<< Embodiment 2 >>
<Embodiment 2: Overview>

The insole of the present embodiment is characterized by the shape of the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion while being based on the first embodiment. That is, the whole or part of the dent corresponding part of the sole is configured so as to be relatively softer and relatively thicker than the adjacent part of the substantially U-shaped part. The load can be distributed by supporting the vicinity of the second and third metatarsals with an appropriate force.
<Embodiment 2: Configuration>

  The insole according to the present embodiment includes a “substantially U-shaped portion” and a “portion surrounded by a substantially U-shaped portion”. In the insole according to the present embodiment, all or part of the indented portion of the sole is configured to be relatively softer and relatively thicker than an adjacent portion of the substantially U-shaped portion. ing. “All or part of the corresponding part corresponding to the indentation of the sole” is described in the first embodiment, “the heel side as viewed from the corresponding part of the second and third metatarsal heads surrounded by the substantially U-shaped part. The whole or part of the corresponding part of the indentation in the sole. Since the configuration of the substantially U-shaped portion is the same as that described in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  The “adjacent portion of the substantially U-shaped portion” refers to the heel side when viewed from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding portions surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion in the substantially U-shaped portion. It is the part adjacent to the dent corresponding part of the sole in the. In FIG. 2B, the dent corresponding part of the sole on the heel side when viewed from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding parts is a part corresponding to a part surrounded by a dotted line of 0209. The substantially U-shaped portion refers to a substantially U-shaped heel side portion indicated by 0206. The “adjacent portion of the substantially U-shaped portion” is a hatched portion surrounded by a dotted line 0208. This shape will be further described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional state of an example of the insole according to the present embodiment. No. 1 is a toe side cross section, and shows a cross section on the heel side as the number increases. This figure is created by cutting the insole of this embodiment at equal intervals and photographing the cut surface. Therefore, especially when the insole is thicker in the depth direction (toe direction) of the photograph, not only the cut surface of the insole but also the surface of the insole may be visible.

In FIG. 3, the vicinity of No. 14 corresponds to “the adjacent part of the substantially U-shaped part” (the hatched part surrounded by the dotted line 0208 in FIG. 2B). In the cut surface indicated by No. 14, the shape near the “adjacent portion of the substantially U-shaped portion” is indicated by hatching. From the 10th to the 13th, when the shape near the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion (the portion surrounded by the dotted line) is observed, it is relatively thick compared to the shape of the portion indicated by the 14th diagonal line It is configured. As described above, the portion surrounded by the substantially U-shaped portion is configured to be relatively soft and relatively thick as compared to “the adjacent portion of the approximately U-shaped portion”.
<Embodiment 2: Effect>

  With the insole of this embodiment, the space which arises in the dent of the sole can be filled, and the pressure concerning the 2nd metatarsal head vicinity of the foot and the third metatarsal head vicinity can be dispersed. The second metatarsal head and the vicinity of the third metatarsal head of the foot are parts where a large load is applied when kicking the foot during walking and running, and it is possible to further improve the comfort by dispersing the pressure applied to this part. it can.

Further, it is possible to support all or part of the dent corresponding portion of the sole on the heel side as viewed from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding portions with an appropriate force, thereby further improving the comfort.
<< Embodiment 3 >>
<Embodiment 3: Overview>

The insole of the present embodiment is based on the second embodiment, and is further configured to be thickest in the middle of the second third metatarsal bone of the sole, in particular, the second and third legs. The effect of dispersing the load by supporting the metatarsal area with an appropriate force is high.
<Embodiment 3: Configuration>

  The insole according to the present embodiment includes a “substantially U-shaped portion” and a “portion surrounded by a substantially U-shaped portion”, and all or a part of the indentation corresponding to the sole is substantially U-shaped. It is comprised so that it may become relatively softer and relatively thicker than the adjacent part among parts. Since the configuration of the substantially U-shaped portion is the same as that described in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted. In addition, about the point that “all or a part of the indentation corresponding to the sole is relatively soft and relatively thicker than the adjacent portion of the substantially U-shaped portion”, Except for the points described below, the description is omitted because it is the same as that described in the second embodiment. The insole according to the present embodiment further has a dent-corresponding portion of the sole that is configured to be relatively soft and relatively thick, and corresponds to a middle portion of the second third metatarsal bone of the sole. It arrange | positions so that a part may become the thickest.

“About the middle of the second third metatarsal bone of the sole” is the middle of the second metatarsal bone and the third metatarsal bone of the sole when viewed in the length direction. Is a portion 0207 surrounded by a dotted line in FIGS.
<Embodiment 3: Effect>

The second metatarsal head and the vicinity of the third metatarsal head of the foot are parts that are heavily loaded when kicking the foot during walking and running, so the second third of the sole on the heel side as viewed from this part. The comfort can be further improved by supporting the indented portion of the sole around the middle of the metatarsal with an appropriate force.
<< Embodiment 4 >>
<Embodiment 4: Overview>

This embodiment relates to a manufacturing process for manufacturing the insole of Embodiments 1 to 3 using a sponge material. As described above, when the insole of the present embodiment is manufactured by pressing the sponge, the thickness distribution of the sponge before compression, the distribution of the quality of the sponge, and the distribution of the compression ratio of the sponge are adjusted to adjust the distribution after compression. It is possible to control the thickness distribution and hardness distribution of the product insole. Therefore, in the manufacturing process of the insole of the present embodiment, the hardness and thickness of the molded sponge are appropriately distributed by appropriately arranging the sponge of appropriate quality and / or thickness in the plane of the insole type. Form 1 to 3 insoles can be produced.
<Embodiment 4: Configuration>

The manufacturing process of the insole of this embodiment has a sponge arrangement | positioning process and a sponge shaping | molding process.
<Sponge placement process>

  Sponge placement process is performed on the female mold whose pressing surface corresponds to the shape of all or part of the bottom surface of the shoe, and the quality or / and thickness depending on the position of the pressing surface corresponding to all or part of the bottom surface of the shoe. Is a step of arranging different sponges.

  The metal mold | die and sponge in the manufacturing method of the insole of this embodiment are demonstrated.

  The method of arranging the sponge on the female mold in which the pressing surface corresponds to the shape of all or part of the bottom surface of the shoe is configured to realize the configuration of the insole described in the first to third embodiments.

  “Sponge” refers to a synthetic resin foam in the present embodiment.

  “Thickness” is the thickness in the vertical direction from the pressing surface when a sponge is placed on a female mold.

  When placing sponges with different thicknesses, the sponges to be placed may be processed and partially different in thickness, or partially laminated by partially stacking sponges of the same thickness. The thickness may be different.

  “Quality” means that the hardness, color, touch, etc. of the sponge are different. This can be realized by changing the type of synthetic resin and the composition of the synthetic resin material. Alternatively, even if the kind of the synthetic resin and the composition of the synthetic resin material are the same, the low-density sponge may be compressed to a high density so that the hardness is relatively changed. As described above, when the sponges are partially laminated in order to have different thicknesses, it is preferable that the same kind of synthetic resin is used because it is easier to adhere to the molding.

The sponge may be partially arranged on the sponge placed on the female mold, but the upper and lower relation is not limited, and the sponge may be laminated so as to further cover the arranged sponge. good.
<Sponge molding process>

  The sponge molding process is a process of molding the sponge by pressing the sponge between the male mold and the female mold.

  A male mold having a shape corresponding to the female mold and the same shape as all or part of the bottom surface of the shoe has a function of pressing the sponge between the female mold. For example, the sponge can be molded by sufficiently heating the mold and compressing the sponge made of thermoplastic resin between the female mold and the male mold.

As described above, the sponge before being pressed is arranged so that the quality or / and thickness differs depending on the position of the pressing surface corresponding to all or part of the bottom surface of the shoe. As a result of the different rates, the hardness of the molded sponge will be partially different. Specifically, the relatively thick portion has a high compression ratio and is relatively hard.
<Embodiment 4: Effect>

By the insole manufacturing method of the present invention, insoles having partially different hardness can be manufactured in a short time and at low cost.
<< Embodiment 5 >>
<Embodiment 5: Overview>

The insole manufacturing method of the present embodiment is based on Embodiment 4, but the distance between the female mold and the male mold corresponds to the bottom surface of the shoe during the pressing. It has a feature in that it differs depending on the position. With the insole manufacturing method of the present invention, an insole having a shape (thickness) suitable for the position of the corresponding sole can be manufactured as described in the first to third embodiments. Furthermore, in combination with the fourth embodiment, various insoles having shapes (thicknesses) and hardness suitable for the corresponding positions of the soles as described in the first to third embodiments can be manufactured. .
<Embodiment 5: Configuration>

The manufacturing process of the insole of this embodiment has a sponge arrangement | positioning process and a sponge shaping | molding process. The sponge placement process and the sponge molding process are the same as those described in the fourth embodiment except for the points described below, and thus the description thereof is omitted. In the insole manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the distance between the female mold and the male mold is further different depending on the position of the pressing surface of the mold corresponding to the bottom surface of the shoe during the pressing. Characterized by points.
(Distance between the female mold and the male mold)

  The distance between the female mold and the male mold is a distance between the pressing surfaces facing each other.

“Differs depending on the position of the pressing surface of the mold corresponding to the bottom surface of the shoe during the pressing” means that the space height between the male mold and the female mold depends on the position of the pressing surface. It means changing. For example, with respect to a female mold having a flat pressing surface, the pressing surface of the male mold is provided with unevenness corresponding to the unevenness of each part of the foot.
(Example of the configuration of the distance between molds)

For example, providing a portion having a large distance between the molds in a substantially U shape surrounding all or part of the dent corresponding to the heel side on the heel side when viewed from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding portions. Thus, an insole, which is an example of the insole of the first invention, can be manufactured such that an approximately U-shaped portion is relatively thick.
(Another example of the structure of the distance between molds)

  In the insole manufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the distance between the molds at the time of pressing may be the whole of the indentation corresponding part of the sole on the heel side as viewed from the corresponding part of the second and third metatarsal heads or In some cases, it may be larger than the distance between molds in the vicinity of the boundary.

  The distance between the molds is a distance between the female mold and the male mold. If the thickness of the sponge to be pressed is the same, the larger the distance between the molds, the lower the compression ratio, and the softer the softness.

Therefore, with regard to the distance between the molds at the time of pressing, the mold in the vicinity of the boundary in all or part of the dent corresponding part of the sole on the heel side when viewed from the corresponding part of the second and third metatarsal heads When the distance is larger than the distance, as in the second invention, all or part of the dent corresponding part of the sole is configured to be relatively softer and relatively thicker than the vicinity of the boundary. Insoles can be manufactured.
<Embodiment 5: Effect>

  With the insole manufacturing method of the present embodiment, a comfortable insole can be manufactured in a short time at a low cost.

The figure which shows an example of the insole of Embodiment 1. The figure for demonstrating the positional relationship of an insole and a leg | foot about the insole of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the mode of the cross section of an example of the insole of Embodiment 2. FIG. The figure for demonstrating the change of the shape at the time of use of the insole of Embodiment 1. FIG. The other figure for demonstrating the change of the shape at the time of use of the insole of Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure for demonstrating an example of the discontinuous seam of the insole of Embodiment 1. FIG.

U-shaped part 0101, 0402
Parts surrounded by a substantially U-shaped part 0102, 0403
Feet 0201
Second metatarsal head 0202
Third metatarsal head 0203
Second and third metatarsal head corresponding parts
Dents on the sole of the foot 0205
Around the middle of the second third metatarsal bone of the sole
[0208] Adjacent portions of the substantially U-shaped portion
[0209] Corresponding dent portion of the sole on the heel side as seen from the second and third metatarsal head corresponding portions
Conventional insole 0401a
Insole 0401b of the present invention
Shoes 0404
Dotted line 0405 indicating the position where the insole is easy to bend

Claims (4)

Synthetic resin foam upper layer member that corresponds to the planar shape of the sole and that has a heel side higher than the toe side, and a synthetic resin foam lower end member that has a substantially U-shaped tip portion on the toe side An insole formed by pressure bonding,
The upper layer member is
The substantially U-shape is formed so as to extend from the vicinity of the first metatarsal bone head to the vicinity of the second metatarsal bone base, through the vicinity of the third metatarsal bone base, and to the vicinity of the fifth metatarsal bone head. Is formed so as to be harder than the lower layer member,
The lower layer member is
A region corresponding to the vicinity of the middle of the second metatarsal and the middle of the third metatarsal surrounded by the substantially U shape is convex, and the region is formed relatively softly.
Furthermore, the upper layer member is
Areas corresponding to the vicinity of the second metatarsal bone bottom and the vicinity of the third metatarsal bone bottom, which are the substantially U-shaped back portions that contact the surface of the convex area of the lower layer member, An insole characterized in that it is disconnected from the convex region of the lower layer member . The unconnected portion of the upper layer member is
2. The insole according to claim 1, wherein the insole is inclined obliquely corresponding to an inclination of a surface of a region on the upper layer member side of the convex shape of the lower layer member. The lower layer member is
  The insole according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the convex shape is formed in a dent corresponding portion of the sole. The insole according to claim 1, wherein the lower layer member and the upper layer member form a smooth thickness on the inside of the foot corresponding to the dent corresponding to the sole .