Deformable foot wedge

• US 4,237,626 A
• Filed: 02/26/1979
• Issued: 12/09/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Northwest Podiatric Laboratory, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dennis N. Brown
• Inventors: Brown, Dennis N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lawson, Patrick D.
• Application Number:
  US06/014,840
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• Field of Search: 36/43, 36/44, 36/69, 36/95, 12/142 R, 12/146 B
• US Class Current: 36/43
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 21/32 Resilient supports for the heel of the foot
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 7/28 Adapting the inner sole or the side of the upper of the shoe to the sole of the foot

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a moldable foot wedge which when suitably treated as by heat, becomes deformable so that the person for whom the wedge is to be customed fit is allowed to stand on the wedge thereby deforming same to conform identically to the contour of the person'"'"'s foot, thereby filling voids. An area below the rear heel on one side thereof is defined as a plug which is not subjected to the heat treatment so that a beneficial cant of inclination can be provided to the wedge by not allowing this cold plug to be heat treated and thereby deformed. A method associated with the article is similarily disclosed.

Claims

1. An orthotic device for use between a foot and a shoe or a boot preferrably made from cork and resin comprising an insert which when heated expands twice the original volume, and plug means removable from said insert and not to be heated whereby when said plug means are reinserted into the heated orthotic device, the orthotic device deforms by foot pressure, but the plug means retain their original dimension.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said insert is provided with an indentation below the heel.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said plug means are disposed along side the indentation on the side of the insert proximate to the arch.

4. A method for custom fitting an insert within a shoe or a boot comprising the steps of removing plug elements, heating the insert until said insert expands, reinserting the unheated plugs back into said insert, placing said insert into a boot so that there is substantially a gap of three quarters of an inch between the back edge of the boot and the heel terminus of the insert, inserting the foot into the boot, advancing the booted foot approximately two inches in front of the toe of the other foot that has not been fitted yet, applying pressure on the heel of the foot and thereafter the entire foot that is being fitted at approximately 10 percent of the entire weight of the person, rotating the hip and the knee of that boot so that the knee cap points downwardly over the small toe, applying the full weight thereon.

5. The method of claim 4 further including the step of leaning the full weight thereon for substantially 2 or 3 minutes, and thereafter keeping the boot on for at least 15 minutes to allow the insert to cure and harden.

6. The method of claim 5 including heating the insert at 250 degrees for 2 or 3 minutes.

7. The method of claim 6 including providing the plugs with a plurality of different dimensions so as to provide different degrees of inclination.