US2586057A

US2586057A - Foot-supporting means

Info

Publication number: US2586057A
Application number: US765981A
Authority: US
Inventors: Knellwolf Hans Casar
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-05-13
Filing date: 1947-08-04
Publication date: 1952-02-19
Anticipated expiration: 1969-02-19
Also published as: NL73564C; GB651887A; DE849812C

Description

Feb- 19, 1952 H. c. KNELLwoLF FOOT SUPPORTING MEANS Filed Aug. 4. 1947 Patented Feb. 19, 1952 Hans Csar Knellwolf, Zurich, Switzerland Application August 4, 1947, Serial No. 765,981

In Switzerland May 13, 1947 (Cl. Sti-71) 4 Claims.

The progressive deterioration of the condition of the human feet has led to the creation of innumerable defensive and correcting means. By supporting insets and so called health shoes it has been attempted to preserve the required faculty of walking and standing of the foot, or to restore it. The fact that the individual bones of the foot skeleton are held together by the strength of its muscles and ligaments and that accordingly a deformation f the foot can only be caused by the weakening of these ligament tissues has brought science to realize that an artioial support without simultaneous invigoration of the ligament tissues cannot be the right way. On the contrary, it has been proved that by the more or less rigid support ofthe foot arch the foot muscles in particular are hampered in their activity and are consequently gradually weakened. Therefore, the method applied over many years in the treatment of foot diseases was quite unsound in that it further damaged the weakened tissues of the foot by preventing the necessary work of the foot. This has led to making a foot-suffer more and more dependent on his foot supports and even incapable of walking at all without this aid after some time, the foot being gradually weakened by the prevented muscle activity and requiring a still higher and more rigid support. Y

Of course, a badly sunken foot cannotl be healed simply by muscle gymnastics but has to be brought into its normal position by a support first. A therapeutical success will, however, be possible only if the supporting means does not hamper the activity of the muscles securing the foot arches but, on the contrary, strongly stimulates such activity.

The most important tensile tissues of the foot arch are the nexor muscles of the toes, particularly those of the big toe. Consequently, in the interest of an invigoration of the foot arch the free unhampered activity particularly of these muscles has to be preserved. The hitherto usual foot supports, while shoring-up the foot arch, have subjected the muscles of the foot sole at the same time to a strong pressure, and have thereby hampered their mobility to a great extent. The consequence has been a gradual muscle atrophy and therefore a forcible weakening of the foot. v

With the object of removing the existing drawbacks the present invention provides a device in the form of a shoe inset, sole or the like which fulfills the double task of supporting the foot and at the same time invigorating the same,

The device comprises a resilient bridge in the range of the outer recess of the balls of the foot (transverse planar arch) which raises the foot there, prevents it from developing outwards when walking, and forces it to perform a natural developing movement of the foot over the big toe.

By way of example four embodiments of the invention are shown on the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows, as the first embodiment, a ladys shoe with the device built-in as a shoe inset, in lateralview and longitudinal section.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the sole of the shoe.

Fig. 3 shows, as a second embodiment, the device built-in between the outer sole and the insole of a shoe, in elevation and in section.

Figs. 4 and 5' show, as a third embodiment, the device as an inset sole in longitudinal section and plan view, respectively.

According to the iirst embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the device is cemented on the nsole l of the shoe 2, forming an inset. In a pad 3 a resilient steel plate 4 is inserted into a recess as a bridging means therefor, and is covered on its under side by a cover 5 of the same shape as the pad 3. The cover 5 is cemented with the pad 3 which may, for example, consist 0f rubber. Above the pad 3 and cemented to it there is a sticky tape E, preferably Aof oilcloth or the like. By means of this sticky tape 6, which projects beyond the pad on three sides, the components 3, 4 and 5 are stuck on the insole I of the shoe 2. The bridging piece, i. e. the resilient steel plate 4, runs approximately from the outer border portion 8 of the shoe, obliquely, from the small toe side of the front portion of the foot towards the big toe side of the medium portion of the foot (metatarsus), perpendicularly to the direction of rolling-nii of the foot over the big toe. Between the insole l and the cover 5 there is a cavity 1, which is bridged by the steel plate 4, below the latter, which permits resilient yielding of the bridging piece. The end of the resilient steel plate 4 pointing towards the outer border portion 8 lies substantially in the range of the front metatarsal `ioint of the small toe. By means of the inset as described a resilient bridging of the outer arch of the ball of the foot is formed which raises the foot there in a spring-fashion and thereby prevents a rolling movement in the outward direction when walking, thus compelling the natural tread development of the foot over the big toe. Consequently the big toe is stimulated to increased muscular activity and thereby the power of resistance of the foot is invgorated.

As shown in Fig. 3 a cushion Il), which is equipped with a steel plate 9, is embedded between the outer sole II and the insole I2 of the shoe I3.

The inset sole according to Figs. 4 and 5 consists of a sole proper I4' which may be covered by sheet material if desired. In the range of the outer ball of the foot a pad-like support I5 is cemented to the lower surface of this sole I 4. The latter again comprises as a bridging piece an embedded resilient steel plate I6 which runs obliquely inwards and backwards as in the first embodiment. The sole I 4 is covered on its under side by a soft sole I'I which makes the tread pleasant and serves as a protection against the device sliding within the shoe. In the heel portion of the sole I4 there is a cut-out I8 which has a cuneiform shape with the point directed towards the small toe. The edge portion thereof is sharpened so that a bed I9 for the human heel vis formed true to shape which may be open, or, as shown, covered by the soft sole I'I. In addition to the springing of the ball of the foot, a pleasant relief to the heel is afforded by means of the heel cushion of the device. By the pointed shape of the heel bed and/or by the cut-out I 8 an oblique transversely directed rising slope for the slight lifting of the sunken heel bone is achieved. Due to the applied soft sole I1, the edge portions of the cut-out I8 cannot tilt up should they get brittle due to perspiration.

In all the embodiments the resilient bridging of the recess in the ball of the foot can of course be effected, instead of by a resilient steel plate, alternatively by VVmeans of covered short torsion springs arranged-'obliquely in line, or by a piece of more or less resilient filling material.

For the purpose of raising the resilient bridging the steel plate may be bowed or arched. I claim:

1. In a shoe, `in combination, a sole having outer and inner side edges, a substantially at front portion, an inclined shank portion and a curved-soleportion located between Vsaid front portion and said shank portion, merging into the same, and having a concave upper face, a resilient-flat, supporting strip located across said concave upper face of said curved sole portion andY having opposite ends supported by said sole, one of said ends being located adjacent said outer side edge of said sole in the region where said curved sole-portion merges into Said flat front portion and the" other of said ends being located substantially centrally between said side edges of said sole in the region where said curved sole portion merges into said inclined shank portion, so that said fiat supporting strip extends diagonally over said curved sole portion and bridges the same; and a flexible cover sheet located over said concave upper face of said curved sole portion and said resilient supporting strip, said exible cover sheet extending over a greater area than said curved sole portion so as to rest against said front and shank portions of said sole.

2. A substantially iiat, elongated shoe insert, comprising in combination, a flexible non-metallic top sheet having inner and outer side edges. a rear heel portion, a front end portion, and an intermediate shank portion; a resilient, at, supporting strip located against the under face of said flexible top sheet and having one end thereof located adjacent said outer side edge of said top sheet and having the opposite end thereof located substantially centrally between said side edges of said top sheet, said one end of said strip being located nearer to the front end of said top sheet than said opposite end of said strip and said 'opposite end of said strip being located in the region where said front end portion of said top sheet merges into said shank portion; and a flat, iiexible, non-metallic cover member located against the under face of said top sheet, covering said iiat, supporting strip and being secured around the same to the under face of said top sheet.

3. A shoe insert as defined in claim 2, said shoe insert further comprising a flexible non-metallic bottom sheet of a softer material than said top sheet, of substantially the same configuration as said top sheet, being joined to the latter against the under face thereof and covering said flexible cover member.

4. A shoe insert as defined in claim 3, said top sheet being formed with an opening passing through said rear heel portion thereof and said bottom sheet being exposed through said opening so as to provide a recess to support the heel of the user of the insert.

' HANS CsAR KNELLWOLF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 815,897 Arrowsmith Mar. 20, 1906 892,652 Dahlmann July "I, 1908 918,101 Toporczer Apr. 13, 1909 1,701,252 Ahern Feb. 5, 1929 1,728,780 Burns Sept. 17, 1929 1,841,942 Fenton Jan. 19, 1932 1,960,418 Schaller May 29, 1934 1,996,215 Sabiston Apr. 2, 1935 2,095,532 Rigandi Oct. 12, 1937 2,193,704 Vaughn Mar. 12, 1940 2,207,165 Seigle July 9, 1940