Patent Publication Number: US-11395526-B1

Title: Shoe insert

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/279,937, filed on Nov. 16, 2021, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present invention relates to devices for reducing wear in shoes which are inserted into shoes. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Shoes generally have a soft upper portion made of leather, fabric, or flexible plastic. The upper portion between the laces and the toes may be called the vamp. The vamp in sneakers often includes a mainly flat piece of leather or flexible plastic forming the top of the toe box. This piece of leather or flexible plastic may be called a vamp piece. Sneakers (and almost all other shoes) bend as the wearer of the shoes walks. The bending of the shoe may cause the vamp piece to bend and eventually form creases in the vamp piece. These creases make the sneakers look old and worn. 
     In an effort to reduce the creasing of the vamp piece, various inserts have been made. Some of these inserts seek to eliminate the bending of the vamp piece entirely by having a hard inflexible insert that prevents the toe box of the shoe from flexing as the wearer walks. These inserts are uncomfortable for the wearer because the inflexibility of the shoe causes the shoe to feel restrictive and many cause portions of the hard inflexible insert to dig into the foot of the wearer when walking. The hard inserts also often rub against the toes and side of the foot of the wearer. 
     To compensate for the size of the insert and the inflexibility of the shoe, some people have resorted to buying sneakers that are too large for their feet so their feet will feel less restricted. However, with a larger shoe, the foot moves around in the shoe and the toes end up rubbing against or being jammed against the hard insert which causes more discomfort. 
     Other shoe inserts seek to reinforce the vamp piece by attaching to the inside of the shoe under the vamp piece in the shape of the vamp piece and without side support that extends down to the sole of the shoe. These inserts are much more comfortable and provide good protection from wear on the vamp piece, but do not maintain the shape of the toe box and wear on the sides of the toe box may not be prevented. 
     SUMMARY 
     One or more embodiments are provided below for a device for a shoe insert. The shoe insert may include a body sized and arranged to fit in the toe box of a shoe while not preventing a foot of a wearer from being inserted into the toe box of the shoe if the body is inserted in the toe box of the shoe. The body may include a top portion and side portions. The top portion may extend primarily horizontally. The top portion may include a ridge extending in a first direction. The top portion may be sized and arranged to contact a vamp piece of the toe box of the shoe. The ridge may be sized and arranged to contact the vamp piece of the toe box of the shoe when the body is inserted in the toe box of the shoe. The side portions may extend primarily vertically. The side portions may be sized and arranged to contact a sole of the shoe when the body is inserted in the toe box of the shoe. The top portion may include a forward point which is the furthest point of the body in the first direction. The side portions may include a left side portion and a right side portion with the top portion between the left side portion and the right side portion. Each of the left side portion and the right side portion may include a forward sole contact point and a rear sole contact point. The forward sole contact point may be the furthest point in the first direction arranged to contact the sole of the shoe when the shoe is not flexed and the body is inserted into the toe box. The rear sole contact point may be the furthest point in the direction opposite the first direction arranged to contact the sole of the shoe when the shoe is not flexed and the body is inserted into the toe box. The forward point of the top portion may be further in the first direction than the forward sole contact points of the left side portion and the right side portion. 
     The device may provide significant advantages over the devices known in the art. The device may provide excellent support for the toe box to maintain its shape and new (unworn) appearance. The device may also provide significant improvements in comfort over existing shoe inserts that preserve the shape of the toe box. 
     Other advantageous features as well as other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  shows an example top view of a shoe insert. 
         FIG. 2  shows an example side view of a shoe insert. 
         FIG. 3  shows an example back perspective view of a shoe insert. 
         FIG. 4  shows an example side view of a shoe with the shoe insert in the toe box of the shoe. 
         FIG. 5  shows an example top view of a pair of shoes with shoe inserts inserted in the toe boxes of the shoes. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the Summary above and in this Detailed Description, the claims below, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features (including method steps) of the invention. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, or a particular claim, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally. 
     The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, ingredients, and steps, among others, are optionally present. For example, an article “comprising” (or “which comprises”) components A, B, and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B, and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and C but also contain one or more other components. 
     Where reference is made herein to a method comprising two or more defined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order or simultaneously (except where the context excludes that possibility), and the method can include one or more other steps which are carried out before any of the defined steps, between two of the defined steps, or after all the defined steps (except where the context excludes that possibility). 
     The term “at least” followed by a number is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning with that number (which may be a range having an upper limit or no upper limit, depending on the variable being defined). For example, “at least 1” means 1 or more than 1. The term “at most” followed by a number is used herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number (which may be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit, or a range having no lower limit, depending upon the variable being defined). For example, “at most 4” means 4 or less than 4, and “at most 40%” means 40% or less than 40%. When, in this specification, a range is given as “(a first number) to (a second number)” or “(a first number)−(a second number),” this means a range whose lower limit is the first number and whose upper limit is the second number. For example, 25 to 100 mm means a range whose lower limit is 25 mm and upper limit is 100 mm. 
     Certain terminology and derivations thereof may be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,” and “right” would refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made unless otherwise stated. Similarly, words such as “inward” and “outward” would refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof. References in the singular tense include the plural, and vice versa, unless otherwise noted. 
     The term “coupled to” as used herein may mean a direct or indirect connection via one or more components. 
     Referring now to the drawings and the following written description of the present invention, it will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible to broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the detailed description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. This disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  shows an example top view of a shoe insert  100 .  FIG. 2  shows an example side view of the shoe insert  100 .  FIG. 3  shows an example back perspective view of the shoe insert  100 . The shoe insert may have a shape similar to the shape of the toe box of a shoe and have a minimal thickness so it can be inserted into a shoe and the wearer of the shoe can still comfortably put his or her foot into the shoe. The shoe insert may have a thickness of about less than 5 mm. The thickness of the shoe insert may vary between example embodiments and within an embodiment. The shoe insert  100  may include or be made of molded plastic or other durable material suitable for maintaining the shape of a toe box of a shoe while a user walks in the shoe. A body of the shoe insert  100  may include the molded plastic or other durable material. 
     The shoe insert  100  may include a top portion  110  and side portions  120 . The top portion  110  and side portions  120  may form entirely or be part of the body of the shoe insert. The top portion may extend primarily horizontally (left to right and into the page and out of the page of  FIG. 2 ) and the side portions may extend primarily vertically (up and down in the view of  FIG. 2 ). The top portion  110  may decrease in height in a first direction (rightward in  FIG. 2 ). The top portion may include a forward point  116  which is the furthest point forward in the first direction. The top portion may also include a rear point  114  which is the furthest point in the direction opposite the first direction (leftward in  FIG. 2 ). The rate of the decrease in height may accelerate near a front point  116  such that the angle at the front point  116  is the lowest angle below the level of the top portion  110 . The rear point  114  may be the highest point of the top portion  110 . The front point  116  and the rear point  114  may be about in the middle of the shoe insert in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the first direction (left to right in  FIG. 1 ). The shoe insert  100  may not be symmetrical in the direction perpendicular to the first direction. 
     The top portion  110  may include a ridge  112 . The ridge may be pronounced or smooth. The ridge  112  may be the highest point of the top portion  110  in the direction perpendicular to the first direction for each point in the first direction. The ridge may extend in the first direction from the rear point  114  to the front point  116 . The ridge  112  may have a greater thickness than the rest of the top portion  110 . Restated, the top portion  110  may have the greatest thickness at the ridge  112 . 
     The side portion  120  may include a left side portion  120  and a right side portion  120 . The features of the left side portion  120  and the right side portion  120  may be identical other than slight differences in size and shape to conform to the size and shape of the toe box of the shoe (not shown in these figures). The toe box in most shoes is not symmetrical left to right so in many embodiments the left side portion  120  and the right side portion  120  may not be symmetrical or mirrors of each other. However, the left side portion  120  and the right side portion  120  may have the same major features. 
     The side portion  120  may extend primarily vertically and the top portion  110  may extend primarily horizontally. The side portion  120  and the top portion  110  may be made of a single molded piece of plastic. The side portions  120  may be portions of the insert  100  that have an outer surface angled below −45 degrees in the direction perpendicular to the first direction. The top portion  110  may be a portion with an outer surface that is angled between 0 and −45 degrees. The top portion  110  may include portions with an outer surface that are below −45 degrees in the first direction (e.g., the front point  116  may have an outer surface with an angle of up to −90 degrees in the first direction). 
     The side portions may include a forward sole contact point  126  and a rear sole contact point  122  with a bottom surface between the forward sole contact point  126  and the rear sole contact point  122 . The bottom surface may be the lowest point in the vertical direction of the side portion between the forward sole contact point  126  and the rear sole contact point  122  in the first direction. The forward sole contact point  126  and the rear sole contact point  122  may have about the same height in the vertical direction and the bottom surface may be substantially flat between the forward sole contact point  126  and the rear sole contact point  122 . The forward sole contact point  126  may be a portion of the bottom surface furthest in the first direction and the rear sole contact point  122  may be a portion of the bottom surface furthest in a direction opposite the first direction. The forward point  116  of the top portion  110  may be further in the first direction than the forward sole contact point  126  of the left side portion  120  and the forward sole contact point  126  in the right side portion  120 . 
     The top portion  110 , left side portion  120 , and right side portion  120  together may define a forward edge which extends from the forward sole contact point  126  of the left side portion  120 , to the forward point  116  of the top portion  110 , and to the forward sole contact point  126  of the right side portion  120 . The forward edge may be higher than the bottom surface of the left side portion  120  or the bottom surface of the right side portion  120 . The shoe insert  120  may not extend below the forward edge (i.e., the forward edge may be the lowest point of the shoe insert  110  in the first direction of the front sole contact points  126 ). The forward edge may include a left mid-point  124  between the forward sole contact point  126  of the left side portion  120  and the forward point  116  of the top portion  110 . The forward edge may also include right mid-point  124  between the forward point  116  of the top portion  110  and to the forward sole contact point  126  of the right side portion  120 . The mid-points  124  may be located at about the transition between the top portion  110  and the side portions  120 . The forward edge may be convex between the mid-point  124  and the forward sole contact point  126 . The forward edge may be concave between the left mid-point  124  and the forward point  116  and concave between the right mid-point  124  and the forward point  116 . 
     The top portion  110 , left side portion  120 , and right side portion  120  together may define a rear edge. The rear edge (or back edge) may be points of the shoe insert  100  that are furthest in the direction opposite the first direction. The back edge may extend from the left rear sole contact point  122  to the rear point  114  of the top portion  110  to the right rear sole contact point  122 . The rear edge may be concave between the rear sole contact point  122  and the rear point  114 . 
       FIG. 4  shows an example side view of a shoe  200  with the shoe insert  100  in the toe box of the shoe  200 .  FIG. 5  shows an example top view of a pair of shoes  200  with shoe inserts  100  inserted in the toe boxes of the shoes  200 . The shoe insert  100  for the left shoe  200  may be the mirror of the shoe insert for the right shoe  200 . The shoes  200  may include soles  250  and uppers  240 . The uppers  240  and soles  250  may define a toe  230  and heal  220  of the shoe. The area of the upper  240  arranged to go around the toes of the foot of the wearer may be the toe box. In  FIGS. 4 and 5  the portion of the shoe above the inserted shoe insert  100  is not shown in order to show the features of the insert in the shoe  200 . The shoe insert  100  may be sized and arranged to fit in the toe box of the shoe  200  while not preventing a foot of a wearer from being inserted into the toe box of the shoe  200  if the shoe insert  100  is already inserted in the toe box of the shoe  200 . 
     The toe box may include a vamp piece, which is a piece of material that may be directly above the toes of the wearer and may be flat and extending primarily horizontally. The top portion  110  may be sized and arranged to contact the vamp piece of the toe box of the shoe. The ridge  112  may be sized and arranged to contact the vamp piece of the toe box of the shoe when the shoe insert  100  is interested in the toe box of the shoe  200 . The top portion  110  and the ridge  112  may support the structure of the toe box of the shoe while a wearer is walking and prevent creasing in the vamp piece and sides of the toe box. 
     The primary way that walking creases the vamp piece of the upper  240  is that the sole  250  bends with the foot during the walking motion. The bending of the sole primarily bends the toe  230  upward and make the upper  240  fold or crease under the pressure of the upturned toe. The insert  100  may decrease the amount the toe  230  can bend up by the forward point  116  contacting the sole  250  or contacting the toes of the foot which contacts the sole  250 . In this way, the worst of the creasing may be prevented by not allowing too much movement of the toe  230  of the shoe  200 . However, allowing no movement of the toe  230  would be uncomfortable for the foot of the wearer. Some movement of the toe  240  and some bending pressure on the upper  240  may still be allowed by the shoe insert due to the forward edge being shaped and arranged to not contact the sole  250  when the shoe is not flexed. To prevent damage from this reduced movement, the ridge  112  of the upper portion  110  may cause the upper to have a supported slight bend in the direction perpendicular to the first direction (left to right in  FIG. 5 ). This bend in the material of the direction perpendicular to the first direction makes the material resistant to bending and creasing due to bending pressure in the vertical direction from the toe  230 . The combination of the structure preventing bending and providing a bend to the material to increase resistance to creasing in the first direction causes the shoe insert to significantly reduce wear and creasing while allowing a comfortable amount of movement for the wearer. 
     The front edge is arranged to not contact the toes of the wearer during walking. When walking, a person&#39;s foot tends to be pushed forward on impact with the ground and slide back toward the heel  220  when the toes bend and the foot is lifted. The front edge may be arranged to allow the toes to slide forward under the front edge when the foot contacts the ground so the toes do not contact a hard surface. The shoe insert  100  may also have a soft padding on the interior of the insert  100  to provide a softer contact with the foot of the wearer. The front edge may be more over the big toe and second toe of the foot of the wearer than over the other three toes to prevent uncomfortable contact with the big toe or first toe which are the most likely to slide forward and contact the upper  240  of the shoe  200  at the toe  230 . In some embodiments, the forward point  116  may be arranged to contact the sole  250  when the shoe is flexed and may be arranged to be directly in the first direction in front of the third, fourth, or fifth toes (i.e., not in front of the big toe or first toe). As an example,  FIG. 1  may show an example right shoe insert with the forward point  116  arranged to be over the third toe of the foot. 
     The concave shape of the forward edge between the forward sole contact point  126  and the mid-point  124  allows for some movement of the toe  230  vertically and causes the sole  250  to not bend at a single point to prevent or reduce damage to sides of the toe box material of the upper  240 . The forward sole contact point  126  may be arranged to be about even with the first joint of the toes of the foot of the wearer and the bend in the sole  250  can match the bend in the foot/toes. The convex shape of the forward edge between the mid-point  124  and the forward point  116  arranges the forward edge of the shoe insert to not pinch the toes of the person as the foot and shoe move in the walking motion. 
     Many different embodiments of the inventive concepts have been shown. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the features from different embodiments may be combined or replaced with other features from different embodiments. 
     Advantageously, the shoe insert  100  may provide excellent support for the toe box of a shoe  200  to maintain its shape and new (unworn) appearance. The shoe insert  100  may also provide significant improvements in comfort over existing shoe inserts that preserve the shape of the toe box. 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. 
     The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The present invention according to one or more embodiments described in the present description may be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Thus, the description is to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive of the present invention.