JPH0698053B2 - Insole of footwear - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosed sole is made of a semi-rigid heat-shapable material and is obtained by moulding so as to present a profile corresponding to the general shape of the lower surface of a standard foot, of which the external edge (2b) is intended, in its central portion, to bear against the upper (5) of the shoe (6) substantially perpendicularly thereto, and of which the inner edge (2a), intended to bear against the internal wall of the central area (5a) of the upper (5) substantially tangentially thereto, is raised with respect to the low portion of the sole so that the area (2c) which it delimits forms a suspended zone rising progressively from the low portion of the sole, substantially from the median line thereof up to the raised inner edge (2a), the suspended zone (2c) of the sole being arranged so that, after setting the sole in the shoe, it adapts itself to the particular shape of the user's foot under the effect of the user's weight, by sliding along the upper of the sole region abutting tangentially there against.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an insole of footwear.

(Prior Art) The foot has a lower surface that is not evenly supported by the ground due to the shape of the bone that bends more or less in an arch, and various portions thereof are unevenly applied with force.

The arch is suspended in the air like a canopy and supported by muscles, which absorbs the various pressures exerted by the weight on the underside of the foot while standing, walking, running or supporting heavy loads. , Gives the relative suppleness that a cushion of this weight can make up.

The heels, and in particular the first and fifth metatarsal heads and the big toes, are the most stressed bearing surfaces.

In order to support the foot and distribute its support to the ground, in fact, there are numerous insoles that provide the anatomy and can be grouped into two main types.

-One is industrially manufactured and has a contour corresponding to the overall shape of the lower surface of the foot, and the whole or one part of the foot surface, especially each part of the foot that receives a large supporting force as well as impact. The part has a soft padding or cushioning material. These insoles have the disadvantage of not guaranteeing effective support of the foot, as they do not fit the arch anatomy of each user, which varies greatly from individual to individual, which is likely to cause convulsions. Brings the power to give pain to the muscles that support the arch.

-The other is an insole molded with the shape of the underside of the user's foot, which fits perfectly snugly. These insoles guarantee good support of the arch, but cannot be manufactured industrially and are specialized by people with the necessary skills and equipment to make them, such as foot specialists or orthopedists. Dedicated to work.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) An object of the present invention is to provide an insole capable of conforming to the shape of a user's foot despite being industrially manufactured, without requiring the use of complicated means. Is to provide.

Another object of the invention is to ensure a conforming or precise anatomical support to the shape of the user's foot, yet nevertheless fulfill the physiological function of the cushion and ensure good comfort. So to provide an elastic insole.

To this end, the insole to which the present invention pertains is made of a semi-rigid, thermoformable material and is shaped to have a cross section corresponding to the general shape of the underside of a standard foot. Obtained by moulding, the outer edge of which is intended to bear in its middle part approximately at right angles to the torso of the footwear and to bear substantially tangentially to the inner wall of the middle part of the torso. The inner edge is designed to be higher than the lower part of the insole,
As a result, the area bounded by the inner edge is from the bottom of the insole,
Forming a suspended area that is regularly elevated from approximately the mid-edge of the insole to the raised inner edge, the suspended area of the insole being a window, concavity or notch in the inner portion defining the area. And after the insole has been placed in the footwear, the action of the user's weight causes the user to slide along the torso in the area of the insole that is tangentially supported to the torso. Fits the special shape of the foot.

Therefore, although this insole is manufactured industrially, it is suspended in the air depending on the shape of the user's foot due to the locking of the outer edge with respect to the torso and the sliding of the inner edge supported tangentially to the torso. A shape corresponding to the exact anatomy of the user's foot can be obtained with the deformation of the area.

The arch support is fully guaranteed and the insole always provides a support base for the entire foot, increasing foot stability and avoiding ankle twists, including some characteristic features. In addition, blood circulation in the foot is stimulated by the "pumping effect", which is based on a suspended area that bends elastically when the foot rests on the ground.

Thus, the insole can be self-adapted to all feet by having the elastic properties required for foot movement during some activities, especially sporting activities.

The shape, orientation and number of these notches, windows or concavities are
It can accommodate the elasticity of the insole and its progressive flexibility depending on the desired support and performance of the arch.

According to this first embodiment of the insole, the suspended area is mechanically deformable.

According to another feature of the invention, the suspended area is made of a material that can be thermoformed at temperatures below 100 ° C.

Therefore, it is possible to heat the insole by a simple means such as a hair dryer in order to soften the insole, make it supple before putting it into the footwear, and take the shape by supporting the foot of the user, This can be accommodated even in the case of extremely high foot or flat foot configurations, in which case the extent of mechanical deformation of the insole is not sufficient.

The insole heel is tangential to the torso and is defined by an edge that is upwardly directed to provide a support that defines a suspended area.

This suspended area also ensures a self-adaptation of the rear part of the insole in the shape of the user's heel and stabilizes the heel laterally in contact with the ground.

According to the first method, the insole is produced by thermoforming at least two layers of interdigitated material, at least one layer of which is semi-rigid, into corresponding shapes, which layers are For example, it can be constituted by a reticulated or non-reticulated polyethylene, a thermoformable elastomer, a support lined with a polyisoprene or polycaprolactone derivative. These materials behave as stiff enough to behave and support the foot.

According to the second method, the insole is made by injection molding and the material used is polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane or AB.
Materials such as S (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) may be used.

The shape, orientation and number of these notches, windows or concavities are
It can accommodate the elasticity of the insole and its progressive flexibility depending on the desired support and performance of the arch.

In the midfoot area, the layer of semi-rigid material that is softened by heat preferably has a convolution.

Therefore, in these highly stressed areas, the flexibility of the insole is increased.

For complete comfort, the insole has cushion and support pieces located in the impact area.

If the insole is made by thermoforming multiple layers of material combined with each other, it is advantageous for the layer of semi-rigid material to have a cutout covered by the outer layer. In this way a cushion is created and the void defined by the cutout can contain air, fluid or cushioning material.

In any case, the invention will be better understood by the description given below with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, which show by way of non-limiting example some embodiments of an insole according to the invention.

Example FIG. 1 shows an insole 2 having a contour corresponding to the overall shape of the lower surface of the foot, which is molded from a material that can be thermoformed at low temperatures, i.e. 65-100 ° C.

The edge 2a located inside the foot has a limited area of the insole 2.
It is elevated at 2c to form an arch 3 which is substantially suspended from the midline of the insole 2, this suspended region being tangentially connected to the bottom of the footwear. The rear part of the insole 2 has a raised edge 2d which defines the depression 4.

As shown in FIG. 5, the edge portion 2b located on the outside of the foot is designed to be supported almost at right angles to the body portion 5 of the footwear 6, while the edge portion 2a located on the inside of the foot is The inner wall of the central area 5a of the body 5 is supported almost tangentially. The edge portion 2d is also supported substantially tangentially to the body portion 5.

The insole is stabilized by the support of the edges 2a and 2b against the body 5. The foot is placed on the insole to obtain a shape corresponding to the exact anatomical model of its underside.

The arch portion 3 defines a void 10 between the insole 2 and the sole 7 of the footwear 6, and when the arch is supported against the region 2c of the insole 2, the void covers this region 2c. It can be elastically deformable so that when the foot exerts a force on it, the cavity is dented and when the force is relaxed it regains its original shape. The automatic adaptation of the insole to the special shape of the foot is thus achieved by sliding the tangentially supported area along the torso under the action of the foot when the footwear is occluded.

Figures 2 to 4 show an improved embodiment of this insole at different angles, where the same components are designated by the same reference numerals as above.

The insole 20 shown in these figures is thermoformed into a corresponding shape and is made by combining two layers 21, 22 together, the semi-rigid layer 21 being made of reticulated polyethylene,
The 22 is made of a comfortable elastic foam such as polyurethane.

The portion 20c forming the arch portion 3 reaches the window 20 and the edge portion 20a of the insole 20 and is provided substantially transversely to the longitudinal axis of the insole, and the notch 26 whose elasticity and its progressive flexibility can be adjusted 26
Have. Furthermore, the insole 20 has a thinner area 30 made up of cutouts provided in the layer 21, which is the most supportive surface of the foot, i.e. the big toe, the head of the middle foot and the heel. The flexibility can be increased in terms of.

Figures 6-8 show an insole 20 having a layer 221 of reticulated polyethylene and a layer 222 of comfortable elastic polyurethane foam.
It is the figure which looked at 1,202 and 203 from the bottom.

Layer 221 has a concavity 226 that increases the flexibility of this location in the metatarsal area.

The insole 201 further increases the shock absorption of its front part,
It has a foamed polyurethane piece 223 inserted between layers 221 and 222, and a heel support piece 224 made of shock absorbing foam such as neoprene, expanded polyurethane or expanded polyvinyl chloride.

In the insole 202, the layer 221 has a circular cutout 230 at the heel, as it can be seen in FIG.
The layer 222 and the piece 224 cover this cutout 230, which may constitute an air layer which increases the comfort and flexibility of the insole 202.

The insole 203 has a window 225 that increases the flexibility of the raised portion 203c.

Depending on the shape of the layers or pieces and their positioning, the flexibility of the insole according to the invention can be adapted to different configurations.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the several embodiments described above by way of example. On the contrary, the invention covers all variant embodiments, by using a thermoformable elastomer, a support lined with polyisoprene or with a polycaprolactone derivative, or with polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane or ABS. It does not depart from the scope of the present invention by forming an insole by injection of a material such as.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insole according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view seen from the lower side, FIG. 3 is a side view thereof, and FIG. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of the drawing, Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of footwear provided with an insole according to the present invention, and Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are three sectional views of the insole according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX in FIG. 7 as viewed from the lower side of the different embodiment.

In the figure, 2,20,201,202,203: insole, 2a, 20a: inner edge, 2b:
Outside edge, 2c, 20c, 203c: suspended area, 2d: rear edge, 3:
Hanging arch part, 4: hollow, 5: body part of footwear, 5a: body part 5
Central area, 6: footwear, 7: leather, 10: void

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An insole is made of a semi-rigid thermoformable material, obtained by molding to have a contour corresponding to the general shape of the underside of a standard foot, and the outer edge of the insole (2b). )
Of the footwear (6) is supported at a substantially right angle to the torso (5) of the footwear (6).
The inner edge (2a) of the insole which is adapted to be supported substantially tangentially to the inner wall of the central area (5a) of
An area suspended higher than the midsole, resulting in a region (2c) confined by the inner edge that is regularly elevated from the bottom of the insole to about the midline of the insole to the inner edge (2a) Forming an area, the suspended area (2c) of the insole having windows (25,225), shapes or cuts (26) at the inner edge defining the area, and after the insole has been placed in the footwear , Arranged to fit the special shape of the user's foot by the action of the weight of the user, by sliding along the torso in the area of the insole which is tangentially supported to the torso The insole of footwear characterized by that. 2. Insole according to claim 1, characterized in that the suspended area (2c) is mechanically deformable. 3. The suspended area (2c) is made of a material that can be heat-molded at a temperature of 100 ° C. or less, and is mechanically deformable after the temperature rises. Midsole according to paragraph 2. 4. A hem (2) which is tangential to the torso and which is directed upwards to provide a support for defining a suspended area.
Insole according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is defined by d). 5. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least two layers of material combined with one another, at least one layer being semi-rigid. Insole according to paragraph. 6. The layer of thermoformable material (21, 22) in the area of the midfoot has a concavity (226) covered by the material of the outer layer. Insole according to paragraph. 7. Insole according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the insole (2) is obtained by injection molding. 8. An insole according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the insole (2) is obtained by thermoforming into a certain shape. 9. Insole according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it has a buffer piece (223) and a support piece (224) arranged in the impact area. .