Arch Support Insole for Shoes

Abstract

An arch support insole includes a basic body made from soft flexible material having a top surface, a heel support portion in form of crescent moon shape and projecting upward from the top surface and a palm support portion in front of the heel support portion. The heel support portion has two distal ends that gradually increase in thickness toward a center area thereof thereby forming a curved surface with an apex at the center area which is spaced from the top surface of the basic body at 5 mm˜9 mm and wherein the palm support portion has an upwardly curved top surface with a topmost point which is spaced from the top surface of the basic body at 1 mm˜6 mm.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an insole, more particularly to arch support insoles which is adapted to be utilized in shoes and which can eliminate sole pains caused due to the wearer during walking operation.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] It is said that when a man is walking, his feet must bear a burden of 0.8˜1.2 times of the body weight. Since the reaction force of the foot from the ground is applied on the palm or arch of the foot sole, knee or backbone, it is generally advisable to insert insoles within a pair of shoes to absorb the shock of the foot, thereby avoiding the sole problem caused due to long term impact of the foot against the ground during walking.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,126 has proposed an arch support insole, which generally provides cushion effect to the wearer. The arch support insole is generally made from rubber material, such as silicone, to counteract the reaction force of the ground and to absorb the impact of foot against the ground during walking. However, it is noted that the cushion effect and the impact absorption ability is limited.

[0006] A human foot includes generally a forefoot, an aft foot and a midfoot (arched foot) bridging the two and is upwardly arched so that in the normal condition the midfoot provides springy, elastic structure and to absorb shock. Since a conventional shoe includes a traditional insole that does not provide support at the midfoot except the heel and toes, a man's foot suffers from fatigue due to over work, long time walking or standing in unbalanced position, hence causing plantar fasciitis.

[0007] It is notice that for walking forward or backward, it is the toe or heel portion that exerts pressure against the ground to provide friction for moving forward and rearward direction. Owing to upwardly arched situation of the midfoot, a clearance is defined between the midfoot and the insole disposed the shoe. In addition to workout or unbalanced standing position, the wearer of the shoes may suffer from foot pain, if the pair of shoes he is wearing is not provided with support insoles. The condition can get worse, if he has flat foot caused by collapse of arch of foot with the entire sole of foot coming into complete or near-complete contact with a flat surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The main objective of the present invention is to provide an arch support insole for use within a pair of shoes so that the insole can absorb the shock of feet while walking so as to eliminate or reduce the pain caused by a traditional insole.

[0009] Another objective of the present invention is to provide an arch support insole for use within a pair of shoes so that the insole can provide comfortable feeling while walking so that the wearer does not feel pains as he encountered in the past.

[0010] The arch support insole of the present includes a basic body made from soft flexible material having a top surface, a heel support portion in form of crescent moon shape and projecting upward from the top surface and a palm support portion in front of the heel support portion. The arrangement of the heel of a human foot has an angle with respect to the front foot part. In order to provide comfort feeling upon touching with the basic body once the wearer puts on the shoes provided with the arch support insoles of the present invention, the heel support portion is ergonomically formed at a specific angle with respect to the top surface of the basic body and a first distance with respect to the top surface of the basic body. The palm support portion has an upwardly curved top surface with a topmost point, which is spaced from the top surface of the basic body at a second distance so as to provide the maximum comfort to the wearer.

[0011] Preferably, the abovementioned soft flexible material is selected from a group consisting of thermoplastic rubber (TPR), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), silicone, poron, polyurethane, ethylene vinyle acetate (EVA), sponge and rubber, from which the arch support insole thereof is produced via injection or extrusion process so that the heel support and the palm support portion have contours conforming with the profile with the forefoot and the aft foot of the wearer's foot. In one embodiment, the heel support portion is in the form of crescent moon shape and has two distal ends that gradually increase in thickness toward a center area thereof, thereby forming a curved surface with an apex at the center area, which is spaced from the top surface of the basic body at the first distance. The first distance ranges from 5 mm˜9 mm. The palm support portion has an upwardly curved top surface with a topmost point, which is spaced from the top surface of the basic body at 1 mm˜6 mm.

[0012] It is notice that the heel of a human foot has an angle with respect to the front foot part. In order to provide comfort feeling upon touching with the basic body once the wearer puts on the shoes provided with the arch support insoles of the present invention, the heel support portion is ergonomically formed at a specific angle with respect to the top surface of the basic body. To be more specific, the basic body defines an imaginary longitudinal axis extending symmetrically through a central portion thereof. The heel support portion has an imaginary radius from an axis owing to configuration of the crescent moon shape defining an acute angle in cooperation with the imaginary longitudinal axis of the basic body. In one embodiment, the acute angle ranges from 4°˜9°.

[0013] It is discovered that when a profile of the heel support portion is spaced apart from a profile of the palm support portion at 31.8 mm˜35 mm provides the maximum comfortable feeling to a wearer due to the reasons that once the wearer's foot is placed on the arch support insole of the present invention, the toes and heel of the wearer's foot are fully supported by the heel support portion and the palm support portion. In other words, the wearer does not easily fatigued owing to absorption of the shock by the arch support insole of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Other features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an arch support insole of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a top planar view of the arch support insole of the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present invention taken along Line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present invention taken along Line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

[0019] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present invention taken along Line 5-5 in FIG. 2; and

[0020] FIG. 6 a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present invention coated with a protection layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, wherein FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an arch support insole of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a top planar views of the arch support insole of the present invention shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present invention taken along Line 3-3 in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present invention taken along 4-4 Line in FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present invention taken along Line 5-5 in FIG. 2; and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present invention coated with a protection layer.

[0022] As illustrated above, an arch support insole of the present invention includes one piece integral basic body 1 made from soft flexible material, having a top surface, a heel support portion 11 in form of crescent moon shape and projecting upward from the top surface and a palm support portion 12 in front of the heel support portion 11, wherein the heel support portion 11 has two distal ends 111 that gradually increase in thickness toward a center area thereof, thereby forming a curved surface with an apex 112 at the center area, which is spaced from the top surface of the basic body 1 at a first distance 11B. In this embodiment, the first distance 11B is preferably between 5 mm˜9 mm, which provides the maximum comfortable feeling to a wearer.

[0023] From FIG. 2, it is observed that the rear part of the basic body 1 is larger that the front part in width and is designed to be curved so as to conform to the outer periphery of the heel of the wearer. The basic body 1 has a longitudinal length substantially equivalent to a length measured from the forefoot to the aft foot proximate to the midfoot is suitable.

[0024] The arrangement of the heel of a human foot has an angle with respect to the front foot part. In order to provide comfort feeling upon touching with the basic body 1 once the wearer puts on the shoes provided with the arch support insoles of the present invention, the heel support portion 11 is ergonomically formed at a specific angle with respect to the top surface of the basic body 1. To be more specific, the basic body 1 defines an imaginary longitudinal axis 1A extending symmetrically through a central portion thereof. The heel support portion 11 has an imaginary radius 11A from an axis 11C owing to configuration of the crescent moon shape defining an acute angle θ in cooperation with the imaginary longitudinal axis 1A of the basic body 1. In this embodiment, the acute angle θ ranges from 4°˜9°.

[0025] Referring again to FIG. 3, the palm support portion 12 is located in front of the heel support portion 11, has an upwardly curved top surface with a topmost point 121, which is spaced apart from the top surface of the basic body 1 at a second distance 12A. In this embodiment, the second distance 12A preferably ranges from 1 mm˜6 mm, which provides the maximum comfortable feeling to a wearer.

[0026] On the other hand, in order to provide the maximum comfort to the wearer, some experiments are conducted and the arch support insole of the present invention is developed based on the achieved results. It is discovered that when a profile of the heel support portion 11 is spaced apart from a profile of the palm support portion 12 at 31.8 mm˜35 mm provides the maximum comfortable feeling to a wearer due to the reasons that once the wearer's foot is placed on the arch support insole of the present invention, the toes and heel of the wearer's foot are fully supported by the heel support portion 11 and the palm support portion 12. In other words, the wearer does not easily fatigued owing to absorption of the shock by the arch support insole of the present invention.

[0027] The abovementioned soft flexible materials is selected from a group consisting of thermoplastic rubber (TPR), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), silicone, poron, polyurethane, ethylene vinyle acetate (EVA), sponge and rubber, from which the arch support insole thereof is produced via injection or extrusion process so that the heel support 11 and the palm support portion 12 have contours conforming with the profile with the forefoot and the aft foot of the wearer's foot.

[0028] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the arch support insole of the present invention coated with a protection layer. As illustrated, depending of the requirement of the condition, a protection layer 2 is coated over the top surface of the basic body 1, thereby covering the heel support portion 11 and the palm support portion 12. The material for the protection layer 2 is selected from group consisting of clothing or other material so long as the latter provides thickness and water absorption ability. An adhesive is applied to the protection layer 2 and the top surface of the basic body 1, after which, the assembly is put in a mold for undergoing molding procession so as to form one integral piece.

[0029] While the invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. An arch support insole comprising: one piece integral basic body made from soft flexible material having a top surface, a heel support portion in form of crescent moon shape and projecting upward from said top surface and a palm support portion in front of said heel support portion, wherein said heel support portion has two distal ends that gradually increase in thickness toward a center area thereof thereby forming a curved surface with an apex at said center area which is spaced from said top surface of said basic body at 5 mm˜9 mm and wherein said palm support portion has an upwardly curved top surface with a topmost point which is spaced from said top surface of said basic body at 1 mm˜6 mm.

2. The arch support insole according to claim 1, wherein said basic body defines an imaginary longitudinal axis extending symmetrically through a central portion thereof, said heel support portion having an imaginary radius owing to configuration of the crescent moon shape defining an acute angle ranging 4.degree.˜9.degree. in cooperation with said imaginary longitudinal axis of said basic body.

3. The arch support insole according to claim 1, wherein a profile of said heel support portion is spaced apart from a profile of said palm support portion at 31.8 mm˜35 mm.

4. The arch support insole according to claim 2, wherein a profile of said heel support portion is spaced apart from a profile of said palm support portion at 31.8 mm˜35 mm along said imaginary longitudinal axis.

5. The arch support insole according to claim 3, further comprising a protection layer coated on said top surface of said basic body, thereby covering said heel support portion and said palm support portion.

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