SHOE CONSTRUCTION HAVING IMPROVED BACKPART FIT

Abstract: A means which functions to improve the fit of shoes is described whereby the shoe is urged forward on the foot to minimize slippage of the backpart of the shoe relative to the heel of the wearer's foot.

Description: SHOE CONSTRUCTION HAVING IMPROVED BACKPART FIT Background of the Invention Many of today's footwear products do not continually af¬ ford proper backpart fit of the shoe relative to the heel of the wearer's foot. This is particularly true for shoes having relatively long topline openings and inadequate means of ad¬ justing the dimensions of those openings or the inside girth of the shoes. Examples of such conventional shoe styles in¬ clude women's pumps and flat or 'skimmer' styles as well as casual slip-on designs such as loafers, espadrilles, and the like. The problem of improper backpart fit stems from the ten¬ dency of shoes to stretch with wear, thereby allowing the foot to move forward in the shoe to such an extent that the heel loses contact with the back part of the shoe, resulting in looseness and slippage during use. To date, the attempts to minimize this problem, which have been less than completely successful, have included back straps with elastic elements therein, counter and other insert- able spacers or shims to tighten the fit, as well as the wide¬ ly accepted but improper practice of fitting and selling shoes that are too snug girthwise and/or widthwise for the feet on which they are to be worn. Such fitting techniques often lead to serious consequences including foot discomfort and eventual health problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide im¬ proved means to continually and gently urge shoe continually forwards on the foot ' so that the backpart of the shoe will tend to stay in contact with the heel of the foot throughout the stride cycle and throughout the useful life of the shoe. Summary of the Invention The present invention is directed to a substantially con¬ cealed elastic means by which the shoe is continually urged gently forward on the foot so that the backpart of the shoe re¬ mains in comfortable and in substantially constant contact with the heel of the. wearer's foot. One such means disclosed is an elastically stretchable means such as an elastically stretchable lining element disposed in the shoe cavity. Al¬ ternatively, such means may be an elastically compressible ma¬ terial in the form Of a foam insert located in the toe region of the shoe. The elastic means may either be permanently at¬ tached and an integral part of the shoe or it may be construct¬ ed so as to be removable and replaceable. For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference will be made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a typical shoe within which principles of the present invention may be employ¬ ed; Figure 2 is a side elevational sectional view of the shoe of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the shoe of Fig. 1, taken along * the line 3-3 thereof; Figure 4 is a plan view of the insole of the shoe of Fig. 1, also showing an optional alternative shoe positioning means to that shown in Fig. 1; Figure 5 is a side elevational sectional view of the in¬ sole and shoe positioning means shown in Fig. 4. Description of the Preferred Embodiments Many popular shoe styles experience problems with the fit of the backpart of the shoe against the wearer's foot. This is particularly the case with styles having relatively long topline openings and short vamps, with little or no means of topline length or shoe girth adjustment, as in women's pumps, skimmers, flats, and many other conventional slip-on styles including loafers, espadrilles, and the like. Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1 through 3 show one of these styles, a misses' skimmer, also often referred to as a 'flat' or 'flattie' style, having this style's typical long topline opening and short vamp, and embodying principles of the present invention. It is understood that the present in¬ vention may be used with other styles of shoes and that it is being described with respect to a skimmer for ease of refer¬ ence only. As best shown in Figs. 1-3, the shoe 20 of the present in¬ vention comprises an upper 22 having a topline 24, topline stitching 26, vamp 28, backpart 32 and unitsole 30. Upper 22 is lasted over insole 33, cut from a suitable in¬ sole material such as Texon R T-480, a man-made cellulose fiber insole material, manufactured by the Texon Materials U.S.A., of Westfield, MA, and supported by the felt or composi¬ tion filler element 34. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, lin¬ ing element 36 is disposed within the shoe cavity defined by upper and unitsole. As used herein the shoe cavity includes a substantially completely enclosed cavity as in a loafer, as well as a relatively open cavity as found in strap sandals and other styling variations. Lining element 36 is shown at zero tension by the solid lines 36', and under tension against the forepart of the foot by the broken line 36". As shown, lining element 36 is attached to the upper by the topline stitching 26 in the midpart and forepart of the topline and to the quar¬ ter lining 38 by a stitched seam 44. Quarterlining 38 is in turn attached to upper 22 by topline stitching 26 and to heel tuck 42 by cement lasting thereunder. Preferably, a conven¬ tional counter 40 is inserted between upper 22 and quarterlin¬ ing 38, and cement lasted over insole 33, to provide proper support for backpart 32 and regions adjacent thereto. As best shown in Fig. 3, lining element 36 contacts but is not fasten¬ ed to upper 22 or insole 33 in the toe of the shoe, and is free to move elastically at least at a right angle to this section of the shoe, i.e. lengthwise along the interior of shoe 20. While the lining element 36 is shown in a tubular configuration as would be afforded by the tubular knit ap¬ proach used in hosiery manufacture, the use of flat knit or woven spandex materials, cut and seamed to provide the same enclosure and function is an appropriate alternative equiva¬ lent. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1-3, the shoe becomes gently and continually urged forward on the foot by the elasticized lining element 36 thereby minimizing or eliminating the space between the heel of the foot and the backpart of the shoe to minimize slippage therebetween, with such urging operating most effectively whenever the shoe and foot therein are out of weightbearing contact with the ground. Lining element 36 is preferably constructed of an elastic- ally lengthwise stretchable material. For example, it may be constructed of a tubular Lycra R knit spandex material simi¬ lar to stretch socks such as the Gold Toe SuppHose R products made by the Cluett Hosiery Corporation of New York, NY, and similar elastically stretchable hosiery products. Lining ele¬ ment 36 may also be made of or include spandex elements of flat knit fabrics similar to those used by the Isotoner Corpo¬ ration of New York, NY, for their stretchable house slippers, in which the same effect is achieved by suitably cutting and stitching the lining parts so they will smoothly and comforta¬ bly surround the foot. Alternatively, lining element 36 may also be of woven construction preferably that used in the Span- dura 1 line, produced by H.L. Warshow & Sons, Inc. of New York, NY. Transknit R fabrics and Coolmax R fabrics distri¬ buted by the Starensier Corp. of Newburyport, MA may also be used. In an case, the lining 36 as shown should be made of materials and possibly reinforcements thereof that will allow the lining element to last for the useful life of the shoe. Alternatively, lining 36 could be a complete sock bottom, as in the Peds R brand of low profile stretch socks made by Peds Products, of Villa Rica, GA, or the like, which could be removably attached to the shoe by concealed snaps, touch fas¬ tener hook/loop tape or other means. In such an embodiment, the fastener would be located inside the shoe just forward of the foremost portion of the topline 24 and/or near the back- part of the shoe. Such lining elements could be easily re¬ moved for cleaning, replacement or other reasons. It is, however, presently preferred to use a permanently fastened lining element, since such an element will be appreci¬ ably superior in look and function as compared to its remova¬ ble counterparts. Figs. 4 and 5 show another embodiment of the present in¬ vention wherein an elastically compressible means is used in¬ stead of the elastically stretchable lining element of Figs. 1-3. Fig. 4 shows insole 33 that could be used in a shoe such as shoe 20 of Fig. 1 in, for example, an unlined version there¬ of, where an elastically compressible foam toe element 46 is attached at the toe end of insole 33. The toe element 46 func¬ tions to compressively urge the shoe forward on the foot when¬ ever both become unweighted, to minimize thereby slippage of the backpart of the shoe on the heel of the foot as both are brought into gently pressurized contact with each other. Fig. 5 shows toe element 46 in its uncompressed state (solid line 48) and compressed state (broken line 48) . Other embodiments include placing and/or fastening the toe filler 46 directly into the toe cavity of shoe 20 rather than to insole 32, or at¬ taching or inseaming it into hosiery during or after manufac¬ ture of same. Compressible toe element 46 is preferably made of a soft open cell plastic foam having a density of about 0.5 #/cu. ft. or less, such as polyurethane foams available from United Foam Products and others. While the use of toe element 46 is a workable alternat¬ ive, the stretchable means shown Figs. 1 through 3 is present¬ ly preferred. The spring rate of the elastic lining element operates over much longer lengthwise dimensions than those of the compressible toe elements, and thus can be engineered to exert a gentler and more uniform pressure on the toes of the wearer's foot than can be attained with the toe element. It should be understood that the aforementioned designs and approaches represent just two applications and that many other styles of shoes and combinations of materials are possi¬ ble under the teachings of the present invention.

Claims: What is claimed is; 1. A shoe comprising an upper member and a bottom member attached thereto and defining a shoe cavity for receiving a foot, said shoe having a backpart and a forepart and a means for exerting constant pressure against the toe of the foot and constantly urging the shoe forward relative to a foot disposed within the shoe cavity so as to reduce slippage of the heel of the foot relative to the backpart of the shoe, said urging means being disposed within the shoe cavity and being perma¬ nently attached thereto. 2. The shoe of Claim 1, wherein the urging means compris¬ es an elastic material for at least partly enclosing a foot. 3. The shoe of Claim 1, wherein the urging means is at¬ tached to the upper member and the bottom member. 4. The shoe of Claim 2, wherein the urging means compris¬ es an elastic sheet material. 5. The shoe of Claim 2, wherein the urging means compris¬ es an elastic fabric. 6. A shoe comprising an upper member and a bottom member attached thereto and defining a shoe cavity for receiving a foot, said shoe having a backpart and a forepart and a means for exerting constant pressure against the toe of the foot and for constantly urging the shoe forward relative to a foot dis¬ posed within the shoe cavity so as to reduce a slippage of the heel of the foot to the backpart of the shoe, said urging means comprises a compressible member disposed in the forepart of the shoe cavity. 7. The shoe of Claim 6, wherein the compressible member is made of plastic foam. 8. The shoe of Claim 7, wherein the plastic is a polyure- thane.

Inventors: ROSEN HENRI E, ROSEN, HENRI, E.
Applicants: ROSEN HENRI E, ROSEN, HENRI, E.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: A43B23
IPC codes: A43B17, A43B23