Patent ID: 8245419

Claim:
An ankle support for a shoe having an upper and an interior lining that is adapted to provide lateral ankle support for a foot in said shoe and to thereby effectively increase resistance of the foot against ligament damage and to increase the stress capacity of the foot to enable greater forces to be exerted thereby when the shoe user is attempting a leap, said ankle support comprising: a support element that includes (i) horizontally elongated, generally parallel, panel-shaped edge upstanding wings having inner and outer surfaces and corresponding front and rear ends joined at their rear ends by an integral, curved and edge upstanding bight panel portion having inner and outer surfaces and opposite ends coextensive with the rear ends of said wings, said wings and bight panel portion each including upper and lower margins, at least the forward end portions of the upper margins of said wings being lower than the upper margin of said bight panel portion and the lower margin of said bight panel portion being higher than the lower margins of said wings, said insert wings and bight panel portion being constructed of stiff, but somewhat flexible material, and (ii) a bottom tab that is oriented substantially perpendicular to the wings and that extends inwardly so as to be located between the lining of the shoe and the upper so as to fix the ankle support securely in place; and a cushioning element covering at least some of the inner surface portions of said wings and bight panel portion, said ankle support being located internally between the upper and the interior lining of said shoe.