Patent Publication Number: US-6209161-B1

Title: Shoe insert

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a shoe insert, and more particularly to an improved structure of the shoe insert. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A shoe insert is usually inserted at the front tip of the shoe to support the inner portion of said shoe, so as to display the shoe&#39;s surface straight and upright. Therefore, a shoe insert is very important to use inside the shoe, and many manufacturers would like to improve said shoe insert by shapes or materials. 
     Nowadays, various shapes and materials of the shoe insert can be found on the market. Among those materials are plastics, bubbles, and papers. However, the structure of the currently used shoe linings can be divided into paper ball-shaped or plastic or bubble plate-shaped. Such structures are defective in design as described hereinafter. 
     1. The paper ball-shaped shoe insert is taken from waste paper. Such structure is defective for the support in standing up the shoe surface is not durable. 
     2. The plastic plate-shaped shoe insert is rather sturdy, but it can not be decomposed naturally and will cause an environmental protection problem. 
     3. The bubble plate-shaped shoe insert is lightweight, but it also can not provide durable support for the shoe surface and can not overcome the environmental protection problem. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary objective of the present invention to provide an improved shoe insert structure which is free from the shortcomings of the conventional shoe insert described above. 
     The structure of the present invention is an improved shoe insert has a hollow construction which opens across the bottom. The shoe insert has an exterior shape which is open and similar in shape to the space in the inner portion of the shoe. The shoe insert is provided with a handle portion at one end thereof. 
     The features, functions, and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of a structure of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 shows another sectional view of the structure of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a shoe insert  40  is of a hollow construction which opens across the bottom thereof. The shoe insert has an exterior shape which is similar to the toe portion inside the shoe. A handle portion  41  is formed at one end of the shoe insert  40  provided with a concave ridge  42  between the handle portion  41  and the end of the shoe insert  40 . The handle portion  41  extends outwardly from the end of the shoe insert  40  for a suitable distance to facilitate the ability to grasp the handle portion  41  for inspection, installation and removal of the shoe insert  40 . 
     When the present invention is in using condition (as shown in FIG.  2 ), the shoe insert  40  can be easily taken in or out from the outlet  51  of the leather shoe  50  by grasping to manipulate the handle portion  41  the shoe insert  40 . At the same time of the shoe insert  40  is inserted into the inner portion of the leather shoe  50 , and when the structure of the shoe insert  40  is same as the toe&#39;s space  52  of the front leather shoe  50 , the shoe lining  40  supports the surface  53  of the leather shoe  50  so that it is straight and upright. 
     It is a feature of the present invention wherein said shoe insert  40  can reduce humidity while the leather shoe  50  is wet, and that said shoe insert  40  can be used again after being air-dried or sun-dried. 
     It is another feature of the present invention wherein the shoe insert  40  can hold a fragrance element  60  inside itself to rid foul smell adhered in the hollow bottom portion  43  of the shoe insert  40  by using an adhesive element  61  (as shown in FIG.  3 ). So that the inner portion of the leather shoe  50  smells sweet and prevents bacteria from breeding. 
     It is still another feature of the present invention wherein said shoe insert  40  is molded from the liquid of recycled waste paper (the mold processing is not applied in the claims, therefore it is not described more in the description). Such structure is stronger than the structure of paper ball-shaped or plate-shaped linings, and more efficient in moisture absorption. The present invention can be recycled after used because it will not effect the environmental protection problem. 
     The embodiment of the present invention described above is to be regarded in all respects as being merely illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without deviating from the spirit thereof. The present invention is therefore to be limited only by the scope of the following appended claims.