Patent Publication Number: US-2006000114-A1

Title: Heel balancing insole

Description:
RELATED TO U.S. APPLICATION DATA  
      This application is entitled to the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/560,902 filed on Apr. 9, 2004. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND—FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to insoles for various types of footwear to provide increased comfort, added cushion and restore balance to the heel and foot of the wearer.  
     BACKGROUND—DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART  
      In the footwear industry, insoles are well known. Insoles can be an integral part of a shoe, or can be a removable portion of the footwear that is added at the time of manufacture. Because the insoles in most shoes are made for immediate comfort, not extended use, they often break down quickly. Insoles can also be purchased as an after-market product to be inserted into footwear by a consumer, either in addition to their existing insoles, or as replacements for insoles that have worn out.  
      In the past few decades, a great deal of attention has been paid to the design and manufacture of shoes and insoles for specific applications, such as athletics like running and basketball. These efforts have focused primarily on athletic applications in an attempt to tailor the shape and characteristics of the insole to meet the specific demands placed on the foot from the type of movements most common to a particular sport. In spite of this increased attention to designing an insole for a particular application, there has been little attention given to the design of insoles for people who in normal walking or activities experience excessive wear on the outer heel portion and counter of their footwear. Other prior art insoles mainly focus on cushion and comfort as their specific application and do not address the foot imbalance and related excessive heel wear problems faced by many consumers.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A heel balancing insole is provided for restoration of balance of the heel and foot of the wearer who experiences excessive heel wear on the outer or inner sides of the heel or shoe counter. The heel balancing insole comprises a textured fabric layer for added airflow and moisture absorption and a cushioning and balancing layer that increases in thickness from the center of the insole either toward the instep or toward the outer side of the insole.  
      The heel balancing insole is a resiliently compressible balancing and cushioning insole that can be mass-produced and provides the desired balance of the heel and rearfoot for a large percentage of persons having imbalance problems and a need for additional cushion and comfort. The result obtained by this insole is a greatly increased wearable lifespan for each pair of shoes without the high cost of customized orthodontic insoles.  
      Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an insole that overcomes the aforementioned problems.  
      It is another object of the present invention to provide an insole that increases the wearer&#39;s comfort.  
      Another object is to provide an insole, which cushions the main contact area from heel strike through mid-foot stance.  
      A further object is to provide an insole that is adjustable to various shoe sizes and styles.  
      It is another object of this invention to provide means for reducing abnormal heel wear on a consumer&#39;s footwear.  
      Another object is to provide an insole that will greatly increase the wearable lifespan of a consumer&#39;s footwear.  
      A further object is to provide an insole that is easy and economical to manufacture and use.  
      Other objects of this invention will be evident from the following detailed descriptions. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      This invention, together with other objects, features, aspects and advantages thereof, will be more closely understood from the following descriptions, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.  
       FIG. 1  is a rear view of the left shoe displaying a wear pattern typical of that caused by foot pronation;  
       FIG. 2  is a rear view of the right shoe displaying the wear pattern when balanced by the heel-balancing insole;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the heel-balancing insole;  
       FIG. 4  is a top view of left and right heel balancing insoles where the insole thickness is graduated from the center of the insole to the outside of the foot;  
       FIG. 5  is an elevation view of the insoles in  FIG. 4  at section lines  2 - 2  and  3 - 3  respectively;  
       FIG. 6  is a series of section views from  FIG. 4  as taken on view lines  4 - 4 ,  5 - 5 , and  6 - 6  respectively.  
       FIG. 7  is a top view of left and right heel balancing insoles where the thickness of the insole is graduated from the center of the insole to the inner side of the foot. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION—PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      As required, detailed descriptions of the present invention are disclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for showing one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in all appropriately detailed forms.  
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , the insole  10  is comprised of two layers, a top fabric layer  12 , and a cushioning and balancing layer  14 . The insole as shown in  FIGS. 3, 4 ,  7  is a full insole, but is divisible into three sections. The dash lines from the inside to the outside of the insole illustrate the three divisible sections. If only the rearfoot portion  16  is desired, the insole can be cut along the dash lines between the rearfoot portion  16  and the midfoot portion  18 . If a toeless insole is desired, the insole  10  can be cut along the dash lines between the midfoot portion  18  and the forefoot portion  20 .  
       FIG. 4  shows a top view of the left and right insole  10  where the thickness of the insole  10  graduatedly increases from the center of the insole outward toward the outer side of the insole  10 . The insole  10  is flat at the instep-to-center portion of insole X 1 , and increases to the second thickness X 2 , and increases again to the third thickness X 3 , and increases a final time at the outer portion of insole X 4 , such that the outer portion of insole X 4  is approximately four times the thickness of the instep-to-center portion of insole X 1 .  
       FIG. 6  illustrates through sectional views of the embodiment of  FIG. 4  the graduated increase in thickness of the insole  10  as seen in from the rearfoot section view  4 - 4 , the midfoot section view  5 - 5 , and the forefoot section view  6 - 6 . In an alternative embodiment,  FIG. 7  illustrates the insole  10  with the thickness of the insole reversed, such that the thickness increases from the center of the foot toward instep portion of insole x 4 .  
       FIG. 7  shows the right and left foot with the insole  10  graduatedly increasing in thickness from the center of the foot to the instep portion of insole x 4 . The insole  10  is flat at the outer-to-center portion of insole x 1 , and increases at the second thickness x 2 , and increases again at the third thickness x 3 , and increases a final time at the instep portion of insole x 4 , such that the outer-to-center portion of insole x 1  is approximately one-fourth the thickness of the instep portion of insole x 4 .  
      While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed. For example, the graduation of the thickness across the insole can be increased or decreased to accommodate users whose wear patterns are more drastic or less drastic than the average consumer.  
      Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.  
     DRAWINGS—LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS  
     
         
           10  Heel balancing insole  
           12  Top fabric layer  
           14  Cushioning/balancing layer  
           16  Rearfoot portion  
           17  Midfoot portion  
           20  Forefoot portion  
          X 1  instep-to-center portion of insole  
          X 2  Increased second thickness  
          X 3  Increased third thickness  
          X 4  outer portion of insole  
          x 1  outer-to-center portion of insole  
          x 2  Increased second thickness  
          x 3  Increased third thickness  
          x 4  instep portion of insole