US20120272546A1

US20120272546A1 - Healthy insole

Info

Publication number: US20120272546A1
Application number: US13/095,761
Authority: US
Inventors: Millon C. T. Tsai
Original assignee: Fusco Ind Corp
Current assignee: FUSCO INDUSTRIAL Corp; Fusco Ind Corp
Priority date: 2011-04-27
Filing date: 2011-04-27
Publication date: 2012-11-01

Abstract

A healthy insole is disclosed, which includes a first soft elastic member including a front metatarsal section, a mid foot section, and a rear heel section, and formed in a shape corresponding to a shape of an inner bottom surface of a shoe; a hard elastic member disposed at a bottom of the mid foot section and the rear heel section of the first soft elastic member, wherein a first through hole and a second through hole are respectively disposed in an arch portion of the mid foot section and the rear heel section, and a plurality of first recesses are disposed on the surface of the hard elastic member, and an arch elastic part is disposed in the first through hole; and a second soft elastic member disposed in the second through hole of the hard elastic member, wherein a plurality of second recesses are disposed on the surface of the second soft elastic member.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a healthy insole capable of being placed inside a shoe, and in particular to an impact absorbing and shock dispersing insole which can help people to walk at a normal pace.
2. The Prior Arts
In walking, each foot bears a reaction force equal to about 0.8-1.2 times of the body weight. Its reaction force directly impacts on the foot sole, knee and spine. Thus, a pad is often provided for absorbing the impact. Otherwise, many foot-related problems may occur in a long term period.
A conventional plane leather-made insole for shoes only provides cushioning characteristics, which does not have sufficient performance on shock and impact absorbing. U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,126 disclosed a plastic insole, which improves the disadvantages of the conventional plane insoles and can be just placed into a shoe. The conventional insole takes advantages of elastic property and softness of plastic material (e.g. silicon) for absorbing shocks and impacts during walking, so as to achieve foot protection and comfort. The reason why the soft plastic insoles are so popular is that they can be fabricated thin enough to be placed inside the shoes. For providing comfortable and soft feelings, a fabric capable of absorbing moisture and breathing is often disposed on the top surface of the soft plastic insole.
However, the shock absorbing property of the soft plastic insole has a disadvantage. Because the soft plastic insole has a damping effect, a user requires a more strenuous effort to walk, and thereby he/she easily got muscle fatigue. Moreover, the soft plastic insole is too soft to provide a sufficient elasticity, and thus the impact resistance is relatively low.
The inner edge of a mid foot section of the foot has a recess and is in an arch shape. While stepping or walking, there is a height difference between the foot arch and the insole. The conventional insole does not provide an appropriate structure for supporting the foot arch portion. Thus, the user who wears the shoe with the conventional insole is more likely to feel fatigue during stepping or walking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to provide a healthy insole having better impact resistance and elasticity.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a healthy insole that meets the requirements of ergonomics and has an elastic supporting structure to support the foot arch during stepping or walking so as to reduce foot fatigue.
The healthy insole of the present invention comprises a first soft elastic member, a second soft elastic member, and a hard elastic member. The first soft elastic member includes a front metatarsal section, a mid foot section and a rear heel section, and is formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of inner bottom surface of a shoe. The hard elastic member is disposed at the bottom of the mid foot section and the rear heel section of the first soft elastic member, and an arch elastic part is formed at an arch portion of the mid foot section. The second soft elastic member is disposed at the rear heel section for serving as a rear heel portion. The mid foot sections of the first soft elastic member and the hard elastic member are in an upward-protruding arc shape, so that when the insole is placed in a shoe for walking, an impact resistance is obtained through the hard elastic member. With the arc shape of the mid foot section and the arch elastic part, the foot arch can be provided with an elastic supporting effect, and thereby the fatigue feeling generated during walking is avoided. With the second soft elastic member disposed at the rear heel portion, the impact generated by putting the foot on the ground while stepping or walking is buffered.
The healthy insole of the present invention comprises a first soft elastic member made of polyurethane (PU), which includes a front metatarsal section, a mid foot section, and a rear heel section, and formed in a shape corresponding to a shape of an inner bottom surface of a shoe; a hard elastic member made of a polypropylene (PP), which is disposed at a bottom of the mid foot section and the rear heel section of the first soft elastic member, wherein a first through hole and a second through hole are respectively disposed in an arch portion of the mid foot section and the rear heel section, and a plurality of first recesses are disposed on the surface of the hard elastic member, and an arch elastic part is disposed in the first through hole; and a second soft elastic member made of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), which is disposed in the second through hole of the hard elastic member, wherein a plurality of second recesses are disposed on the surface of the second soft elastic member. With the arc shape of the mid foot section and the arch elastic part formed at the arch portion, the foot arch can be provided with an elastic supporting effect, and the fatigue feeling generated during walking is therefore avoided. With the second soft elastic member disposed at the rear heel portion, the impact generated by putting the foot on the ground while stepping or walking is buffered. The elastic effect and absorbing impact effect can be further enhanced through the first recesses formed in the hard elastic member and the second recesses formed in the second soft elastic member.
In one preferred embodiment, a part of the first soft elastic member disposed at the arch portion of the mid foot section is in an elongated shape, so that the foot arch can be provided with a sufficient support.
In one preferred embodiment, an upper layer can be disposed on the top surface of the first soft elastic member for providing more comfortable feelings when the foot is in contact with the insole. The upper layer can be made of a fabric or a plastic material, and the upper layer can be provided with decorative designs, patterns, texts or trademarks by printing or other methods.
In one preferred embodiment, the second soft elastic member is designed to be in an oval shape, which is substantially the same as the shape of the heel of the foot. The diameter of the second recesses formed on the surface of the second soft elastic member is greater than that of the first recesses formed on the surface of the hard elastic, member, so that when the second soft elastic member is subject to a user's weight, a better elastic deformation can be achieved for absorbing impacts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a bottom surface structure of an insole according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a top surface structure of the insole according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a top surface structure of the insole according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a plane view showing a lateral surface structure of the insole according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plane view showing the bottom surface structure of the insole according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6A is a partially enlarged view showing a zone 6A of FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7A is a partially enlarged view showing a zone 7A of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
It is known that insoles for a right foot and a left foot are symmetrically designed. So, the following embodiments adopt an insole for the right foot as an illustration. FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 are schematic views showing a bottom surface structure of an insole according to the present invention. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are schematic views showing a top surface structure of the insole. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a lateral surface structure of the insole. FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5.
FIG. 6A is a partially enlarged view showing a zone 6A of FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 5. FIG. 7A is a partially enlarged view showing a zone 7A of FIG. 7.
Referring to FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 to FIG. 7A, the insole of the present invention comprises a first soft elastic member 1, a hard elastic member 2, and a second soft elastic member 3. The first soft elastic member 1 is made of a polyurethane (PU) material, and formed in the shape corresponding to the shape of an inner bottom surface of a shoe, and the first soft elastic member 1 includes a front metatarsal section A, a mid foot section B and a rear heel section C. The front metatarsal section A is served to be treaded by the forefoot; the mid foot section B is served to be in contact with the mid foot including the arch of the foot; the rear heel section C is served to be treaded by the foot heel. The peripheral edge of the front metatarsal section A of the first soft elastic member 1 is designed according to the curve defined by toes closed together. The insole is gradually thickened from the rear peripheral edge of the front metatarsal section A towards the peripheral edge of the rear heel section C, and therefore the insole is capable of being joined and fixed in the shoe. When walking or running, the foot heel is subject to a larger impact from the ground. Therefore, the thickness of the rear heel section C is designed to be greater than that of the front metatarsal section A. For example, the thickness of the front metatarsal section A is 2 to 3 mm, and the thickness of the rear heel section C is 7 to 8 mm. In the consideration of providing comfort when wearing the shoe, an upper layer can be disposed on the top surface of the first soft elastic member 1, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, a first upper layer 4A made of a fabric having fluff is used. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, a second upper layer 4B made of a plastic material is used, and the second upper layer 4B can be further provided with decorative designs, patterns, texts or trademarks according to the desired designs.
The first soft elastic member 1 is relatively softer, and therefore for enhancing the strength and elasticity of the insole, a hard elastic member 2 having a greater hardness relative to that of the first soft elastic member 1 is disposed at the bottom of the first soft elastic member 1. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the hard elastic member 2 is made of a polypropylene (PP) material and pre-formed with the mid foot section B and the rear heel section C without including the front metatarsal section A, and an elongated first through hole 22 is formed at an arch portion B1 of the mid foot section B, an oval second through hole 23 is formed at the rear heel section C. The mid foot section B of the hard elastic member 2 is formed with an arc shape upwardly protruding and having an appropriate arch curve radius R (as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6). The surface of the hard elastic member 2 is further formed with a plurality of first recesses 21 having appropriate depths. For combing the hard elastic member 2 with the first soft elastic member 1, the pre-formed hard elastic member 2 is placed in a mold for molding the first soft elastic member 1, and then a molten PU material is injected into the mold by injection molding, and afterwards the first soft elastic member 1 is formed after being cooled and released from the mold, and a part of the PU material is filled into the first through hole 22 so as to form an arch elastic part 11. For further providing a better buffering effect to the rear heel section C, according to another manufacturing process of the present invention, a thermal plastic elastomer (TPE) material is formed in the second through hole 23 of the hard elastic member for serving as the second soft elastic member 3. The surface of the second soft elastic member 3 is formed with a plurality of second recesses 31 having appropriate depths. The diameter of the second recess 31 is larger than that of the first recess 21. The hardness of the second soft elastic member 3 is greater than that of the first soft elastic member 1 but is smaller than that of the hard elastic member 2.
According to the healthy insole structure of the present invention, when the insole is placed in a shoe to be worn, An elastic supporting effect to the foot arch can be achieved through the arch shape of the mid foot section B and the first soft elastic member 1 disposed at the arch portion B1, thus the muscle fatigue during walking can be avoided. Moreover, when the foot is put down on ground while stepping or walking, an impact is generated, and however, the impact generated can be buffered through the second soft elastic member 3 disposed at the rear heel section C. The elastic effect and absorbing impact effect can be further enhanced through the first recesses 21 formed in the hard elastic member and the second recesses 31 formed in the second soft elastic member.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A healthy insole, comprising:

a first soft elastic member including a front metatarsal section, a mid foot section, and a rear heel section, and formed in a shape corresponding to a shape of an inner bottom surface of a shoe;

a hard elastic member disposed at a bottom of the mid foot section and the rear heel section of the first soft elastic member, a first through hole and a second through hole being respectively disposed in an arch portion of the mid foot section and the rear heel section, a plurality of first recesses being disposed on the surface of the hard elastic member, an arch elastic part being disposed in the first through hole; and

a second soft elastic member disposed in the second through hole of the hard elastic member, a plurality of second recesses being disposed on the surface of the second soft elastic member.

2. The healthy insole according to claim 1, wherein the mid foot sections of the first soft elastic member and the hard elastic member are in an arc shape.

3. The healthy insole according to claim 1, wherein the first through hole of the hard elastic member is in an elongated shape.

4. The healthy insole according to claim 1, wherein the material of the first soft elastic member is made of polyurethane, the material of the second soft elastic member is made of thermoplastic elastomers, and the material of the hard elastic member is made of polypropylene.

5. The healthy insole according to claim 1, wherein a fabric used as an upper layer is disposed on a top surface of the first soft elastic member.

6. The healthy insole according to claim 1, wherein a plastic material having patterns thereon used as an upper layer is disposed on the top surface of the first soft elastic member.

7. The healthy insole according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of the first through hole is smaller than that of the second through hole.

8. The healthy insole according to claim 1, wherein the second soft elastic member is in an oval shape.