US1061353A - Arch-support. - Google Patents

Description

A. E. BLOCK.

ARCH SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1912.

1,061,353. Patented May13,1913.

ALEXANDER E. BLOCK, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

ARCH-SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May13, 1913.

Application filed September 18, 1912. Serial No. 720,936.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER E. BLOCK, a citizen of the United States, and'a resident of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in v Arch-Supports, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in arch supports, and has for its object to provide a shoe or boot with a fixed welt or insole-member, or a removable insole or insolemember, and one or more insertions or liftmembers; and to provide detachable means mounted on or carried by the insole-member and" the insertions, whereby the insertions may be detachably fixed at various points upon the insole-member within the boot or shoe, and means whereby the insertions may be detachably fixed upon each other, for the treatment of abnormalities of the foot of the wearer occasioned by mal-formation, accident, or disease.

In the drawingsFigure 1 is an inverted plan view of a. detachable insole-member employed in practising my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a side-insertion employed in practising my invention. Fig. 3 is a like view of a heel-insertion, employed in practising my-invention. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of a side insertion, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2. Fig. '5 is a top plan view of an insertion employed in the treatment of the anterior metatarsal arch. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the insole-member illustrated in Fig. 1 with the insertion 27 in place, taken on the line 77 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a view partly in section illustrating the manner in which the insertions are detachably built up, one upon another. Fig. 9 is a plan View of a fixed insole-member employed in practising my invention.

As shown in' the drawings, the insolemember 10 may be either of a shape, as illustrated in Fig. 9, or an insole as illustrated in Fig. 1. Upon the surface of the insolemember 10, I provide a series of embedded sockets, grouped in pairs, and located with reference to the portions of the foot which usually require treatment by means of an arch support; the sockets indicated as 11--12, 13-14, are for the accommodation of a heel insertion 27 such as is shown in Fig. 3;. the sockets indicated as 1516, 1718, 19--20, 21-22, 2324, 2-"26 are for the accommodation of a side insertion 28 (see Fig. 2); while the sockets 29-30, 3132, 3334, 35-36 are for the reception of one or more of the insertions 37 which are adapted to the support and treatment of the anterior metatarsal arch of the foot. The heel insertion 27 is provided with a pair of skeletons 38-39; the side insertion 28 is provided with a like pair of skeletons 40- 41; while the insertion 37 is provided with like skeletons 42-43. The contour, dimensions and number of the insertions will vary in accordance with the condition and conformation of the foot to be treated.

While I have employed the terms socket and skeleton in this description, and have illustrated in the drawing a separable fastening of the button-fastener type, it is obvious that the securing means may be any two-part separable lockin device, of which one part is seated in the insole-member and the opposing part in the lift or insertion, and which is therefore practically selfcontained within the parts themselves; so that I am enabled to dispense with the use of bars, pockets or other mountings in securing the lift or insertion to the insole member. I thereby attain lightness, cheapen the cost of manufacture, and rovide for a practically unlimited range of adjustment of the respective parts, with resulting accuracy in building up the arch-support to conform with the contour of the foot.

In cases where a greater lift for a point upon the foot than can be accomplished by the tl'iickness of a single insertion is necessary, the insertions may be built one upon another as shown in Fig. 8; the lower face of each of the various forms of insertion (see Figs. 2, 3 and 5) being provided with sockets for that purpose, as shown in Fig.3.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to have secured to me by the grant of Letters Patent, is

1. In an arch support, the combination of an insole-member"; an insertion; and selfcontained means carried by the insolemember and the insertion whereby the insertion may be detachably secured to the insole-member at pre-determined points.

2. In an arch support, the combination. of an insole-member; sockets embedded in the insole-member; an insertion; a skeleton mounted on the insertion and adapted to detachably engage with either of the sockets.

3. In an arch support, the combination of an insole-member; sockets arranged in pairs detachably engage With either of the pairs of sockets.

4. In an arcIiPsupport, the combination of an insole-member; a plurality of insertions; and self contained means carried by the insole-member and the insertions Where- 10 by the insertionsmay be detachably secured I to the insole-member or to each otherat predetermined points.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this application, .in presence of twc subscriblng Witnesses.

. ALEXANDER E. BLOCK.

Witnesses:

N. E. BROcKMAN, JAMES L. HOPKINS.

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