US1772364A - Foot supporter - Google Patents

Description

g- 5, 1930- I w. w. PETERSON 1,772,364

FOOT SUPPORTER Filed April 30, 1928 INVENTOR A TTORNBi:

fi/aZZer Zdfdevdmz '5 formed of a light eightmetal such as Patented Au 5, 1930 c 7 roo'rsurronrna' Application fiie'aia rii -so, was; swimwear 1,041;

This invention relates to andhas-for a main object the provision of an improved type of foot supporteradaptedto be castin a single piece from an exact pattern of a foot and aluminum or'an alloy thereof, or beryllium,

and provided with a baked enamel -finishg throughout its entire" area. v -An important ob 'ect of this; invention s 10 to provide a footcsupporter based'onanew and novel principle of. design in which consideration is given to theshape' ofthe entire foot Which correspondsv substantially to a half-dome in contra-distinction to. an arch :1 or a series of arches, as viewed fro1n=th'ei'n--f ner sideof the foot, the distal ends of the metatarsals, the cuboid and s calcls defining: thebase of the halfldoine. Y

Contrary tothe; general practice of pro- J2 viding-whatihave been termed as arch supporters byothers seeking to correct deformities in the foot: by suitably curved plates of sheet metal, leather and the hke, either constructed'ofone or "more pieces of either or 1 2 both of such mater1als, I have provided what in effect is more than an arch supporteriand actually provides afirmsupport for the foot Which, in addition to, supporting the foot,

' rests beneath and extends upwardly around -3 the back-and-outer side of the heel and around the inner side of the foot so as to prevent the lateral deviation of the foot from its natural longitudinalplane of alin'ement. v 'In other types :of foot supports,the plates l formingcthe supporting'surfaces havebeen I extent have been curved upwardly around the'metatarsals and provide on the forward i first metatarsal, the cuboid and thefirst cuneiform so that itvvill conformto the cur extended forvvardlyto points beneath the distal ends of the metatarsals, and to some the posterior surface of theghe'el; Whereas I in my improved applianceI terminate the supporter'rearwardly of the distal heads of vend thereof a substantially flattened portion whereby the supporter may haveal fi rm base on the shoe. 'fA'ddition ally I accentuate that portion of the supporter Which underlies the vature 'ofthe inner side of the foot and will extend upwardly around the inner side it the metatarsal and cuneiform portions.

Having thus provided a footzsupporter .ivithjan accentuated portion at its rear end which extends substantially upwardly? over and around the outer side of the heel and near; its central portion vhas an accentuated upwardly extended portion over andaroundtheinstep or half dome, 'thesli'ding' or slipping of the heel inthe supporter and the consequent deviationof the heel. injthe sup porterand the consequent deviation'of the watrnni wrnrnnson, or Los ANenLEs, CALIFORNIA heel; outwardly from alinement is prevented, 7

hile afirni supporting surface is provided I I orthose portions of the footwhere any eakness or deformity mayexist. 1

ill be understood t-hatno attempt is made" to correct or support any so-called varches other than the halfdome thus described,nor

In the considerationof my invention, :it

to prevent any slipping of the heel except I laterally.

particular object of my inventionisto terminate the footsupporter at a point rear vvardly of the ball of the foot so that it will g be posterior to the maximum point of'bend of the shoe, thus facilitating Walking when the plates are in use and renderingthe use thereof substantially more comfortable than g Wouldotherwise bepossible; 3 i 0 her objects mayappear as the description progresses. V In the accompanyingidravv ings I have shownv a preferred form of invention subject to modifications Within the scope of the appended ClillHlS'WithOllt departing from thespirit thereof. In said drawing,

- Fig. 1 ism inside view inelevation of a foot s1.'1pporter constructed in accordancewith inyinvention and adapted for use on a right foot, thefigure of afoot being shovvnin a broken hnesproperly positioned Witll respect i to the supporter. i .i v

21s a side elevation of the sameas seen from the outer side thereof; 1 4 e 'F1g.31S a front endelevation of the same i as'seen frem line 33 of Fi 2; v F 4 5 i rear end elevation thereof a i seen from lin 4 '-4 Fig.2; i:

Fig. 5,is atop plan vievvof the same.

5 In consideration of my invention it Willbe understood that I construct my improved foot supporters by means of an improved technique which consists in making a plaster mod- (21 of each individual foot, then forming a pattern "of the support on the model with suitable wax composition. This pattern is then used for making a metal casting which is exact 1n size and form to the requirements of a particular foot. The metal employed in aluminum because of itslight weioht,

making the castsupporter is preferably of. and for the further reason that it is susceptible toa highpolish. The metal casting is polished 'throughout its entire area on both its upper and lower sides and 1s finally treated with a baked enamel, thus providing a. smooth glossy surface which is low in frictional qualities and at the same time provides a comfortable, convenient, non-corrodible and nonabsorptive supporter for the foot.

7 "I contemplate the use of a new element known as beryllium as soon as such material is economically available, and possibly other metals -or"alloys' which possess the qualities hereinbefore named may be employed in the construction of my supports with satisfactory results.

Referringnow to the particular form of my improved supporter, it will be noted by reference to Fig.1 thatthe forward terminus E v ofthe supporter S is so disposed on the foot relative to the base of the half dome and the distal ends .of the metatarsal bones that the ball of the foot may freely flex in a walking operation. The frontedge E is preferably formed in an irregular arc, the axis of which is substantially on the longitudinal medial line ofthe foot. From this medial line the I end Erecedes gradually in the direction of and merges with'the outer edge e and the inner edge e inconvenient curves conforming substantially to the arc of the distal ends of the metatarsals. From the junction point of the front edge E and the inner edge ethe supporter is bent upwardly in a gradual and graceful curve to a point beneath the upper end of the first metatarsal and the first cuneiform, as at a, thus providing ahalf dome like portionwhich underlies the half dome of the foot and serves to support the dome against collapse and spreading in the case of -Weakness or deformity at such points. The

is disposed approximately at an angle of w from the base of the dome. The heel portion H is cupped and the inner side thereof is slightly'bowled at h to conform to the natural curvature of the heel so that a comfortable and convenient heel socket will be provided The portion H is continued around the outer sideof the heel for a substantial distance and at an elevation above the base of the dome.

sufiicient to prevent a lateral movement or deviation of the 0s calcis from its natural alignment with the other bones of the foot, as at'i. f w The portion i'may terminate at-any convenient point on the outerside of and opposite the astragalus, depending upon the nature, form, comfort and deformity of a particular foot. From the point 2' the outer side of the plate is then turned downwardly at an incline a" where it merges with the outeredgee of th'e sole portion E.

' It will be readily understood that it is necessary in all cases to conform the plate S to the exact requirements of certain portions of the foot and. approximately to other portions of the foot, so that it is impossible to define a contour or crosssectional form of a foot supporter enibodying my invention which will be applicable to all cases of foot correction. It will be noted, however, that the accentuatedcurvedand upwardly extended portions a and H engage respectively the inner side of the foot at the apex of the half domeand the outer side of the heel, thus preventing the lateral deviation of the bones of the foot from a natural alinement. This is very-important in foot correction for the reason that the tendency of a foot having a collapsing dome is to slide the os calcis laterally when the weight of the body is placed on thefoot. 3 I

IVhen a supporter is constructed in accordance with the technique and'of the form hereinbefore described, there canlbe no relative movement laterally between'the'foot' and the supporter, and yet a freedom of longitudinal movement and articulation is permitted.

I desire to emphasize the fact that in the production of myimproved supporter I have considered the foot as a half domewith a collapsing apex and a deviating base instead of a seriesof arches, and to this end have pro vided'a distinctive foot supporter of new and novel characteristics;

Attention is called to the fact that a sup-Y porter'of thecharacter shown and described will not absorb or induce body perspiration. It will be observed by reference to the drawing that'when the foot is considered as a half dome the-portion a conforms substantially to the curve and plane of the half dome portion of the foot and the apex of the upwardly bent and laterally inclined portion a is disposed adjacent the tubercle of the scaphoid, or substantially so. p Also, the heel socket H is inclined'upwardly from the point 7) near the bottom and adjacent the interior lateral surface of the astragalus around the posterior end thereof and is continued at a substantial elevation above the base of the dome around the external lateral surface of v the astragalus, from which plane it declines more or less gradually as required to merge with the outer lateral edge e. i

What I claim is: 1. A foot supporter comprising an integral cast metal plate having a heel socket with its outerside bent upwardly to substantially conform to the height of the os calcis and to extend around and in conformity with the heel, and its inner side bent but slightly upwardly from the base, the forward portion tiallyfiushwith the top of the 0s calcis, an

instep portion bent upwardly and inclined laterally from the base to a point beneath and having its apex adjacent the tubercle of the scaphoid, the forward end of said support being arcuately formed and terminating posteriorly of the distal heads of the metatarsals. V

3. A foot supporter formed of a single piece, of cast metal and having its anterior end arranged to be disposed posteriorly of the distal heads of the metatarsals, an inner lateral portion bent upwardly and inclined laterally, and its posterior end portion forming a heel socket and bent upwardly around the outer lateral surface and outer portion of the heel so that its periphery will be sub stantially flush with the upper side of the os calcis. v r v I WALTER W. PETERSON.

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