Footwear insole
First Claim
1. A custom molded insole for supporting the foot in a ski boot or other footwear comprising a thin, formed blank of semi-rigid, bendable, resilient material molded to the contour of the plantar surface/sole of a human foot, said formed blank extending along the full length and width of the foot and having a plurality of contoured portions on both its upper and lower surfaces closely corresponding to the shape of various areas of the plantar surface/sole of the foot including a heel cup, longitudinal arch, transverse arch, relief areas for the metatarsal heads, phalanx grooves and cups and a toe crest between the metatarsal head relief areas and phalanx toe grooves and cups;
- and contoured portions on said lower insole surface forming a four-point contact of said insole with a flat surface beneath at least said heel cup, the first metatarsal head relief area, at least one of said fourth and fifth metatarsal head relief areas and the great toe cup whereby the foot is firmly and stably supported by said four-point contact and forces are immediately and precisely transferred from the foot, through the molded insole to the boot or footwear when the insole is mounted therein.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A custom molded insole for supporting the human foot in a ski boot or other footwear is disclosed. The insole is a one-piece, thin, contoured blank of semi-rigid, bendable, resilient material molded to include the complete detail of the full plantar surface of a foot. The insole provides a four-point contact with a supporting surface or ski boot at the heel, great toe, and at least two spaced metatarsal heads to provide natural balance and proper dynamic positioning of the foot and immediate energy transfer between the foot and various footwear such as a boot/ski when skiing.
Also disclosed is the method for making the custom insole including forming a negative impression of the plantar surface in an impression retaining material by pressing the foot into the material while bearing at least a portion of the body weight on that foot with the impression material firmly supported on a rigid surface. A heated blank of the resilient material is then formed in the impression, preferably using the same foot to press the blank down into the impression.
Also disclosed is a kit for forming the custom insole including at least one piece of impression material and at least one blank of semi-rigid, bendable, resilient material.
92 Citations
26 Claims
-
1. A custom molded insole for supporting the foot in a ski boot or other footwear comprising a thin, formed blank of semi-rigid, bendable, resilient material molded to the contour of the plantar surface/sole of a human foot, said formed blank extending along the full length and width of the foot and having a plurality of contoured portions on both its upper and lower surfaces closely corresponding to the shape of various areas of the plantar surface/sole of the foot including a heel cup, longitudinal arch, transverse arch, relief areas for the metatarsal heads, phalanx grooves and cups and a toe crest between the metatarsal head relief areas and phalanx toe grooves and cups;
- and contoured portions on said lower insole surface forming a four-point contact of said insole with a flat surface beneath at least said heel cup, the first metatarsal head relief area, at least one of said fourth and fifth metatarsal head relief areas and the great toe cup whereby the foot is firmly and stably supported by said four-point contact and forces are immediately and precisely transferred from the foot, through the molded insole to the boot or footwear when the insole is mounted therein.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
7. A custom molded insole for supporting the foot in footwear, said insole having a plurality of contoured areas on both its upper and lower surfaces corresponding to the shape of various areas of the plantar surface/sole of the foot to provide improved support and stability for the foot in footwear for improved force transmission through the insole to the footwear from the foot, said insole being manufactured from a blank of material by the process of molding the blank to the contour of the plantar surface/sole of a human foot including the steps of:
-
8. forming a negative impression of the entire plantar surface/sole of a foot in impression-retaining material by pressing the foot into the impression material while bearing at least a portion of one'"'"'s body weight on that foot with the impression material firmly supported on a surface;
-
removing the foot from the impression material and placing an unformed blank of formable material which is formable when heated but retains a desired shape when cooled and which has been heated until it is in a formable condition over said previously formed negative impression in the impression material; forming the heated blank by placing the same foot used to make the negative impression onto the heated blank, pressing that foot against the heated blank and into the previously formed negative impression of the same impression material with the impression material supported on a surface such that the heated blank is firmly and tightly pressed against the various contours of the previously formed negative impression; and allowing the blank to cool to retain its formed shape and removing the formed blank from the negative impression;
said lower surface of said insole having a shape after said forming which closely corresponds to the plantar surface/sole of the foot as defined by said preexisting contour of said previously formed negative impression. - View Dependent Claims (10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
9. A custom molded insole for suppporting the foot in footwear, said insole having a plurality of contoured areas on both its upper and lower surfaces corresponding to the shape of various areas of the plantar surface/sole of the foot to provide improved support and stability for the foot in footwear for improved force transmission through the insole to the footwear from the foot, said insole being manufactured from a blank of material by the process of molding the blank to the contour of the plantar surface/sole of a human foot including the steps of:
-
forming a negative impression of the entire plantar surface/sole of a foot in impression-retaining material by pressing the foot into the impression material while bearing at least a portion of one'"'"'s body weight on that foot with the impression material being firmly supported on a rigid surface during such forming; removing the foot from the impression material and placing an unformed blank of semi-rigid material which is formable when heated and which has been heated until it is in a formable condition over the entire extent of said negative impression in the impression material such that it covers the entire area of said negative impression; forming the heated blank to the preexisting contour of the previously formed negative impression in the same impression material by placing the same foot used to make the negative impression onto the heated blank, and pressing that foot against the heated blank and into the previously formed negative impression of the same impression material with the impression material firmly supported on a surface such that the heated blank is firmly and tightly pressed against the various contours of the previously formed negative impression; and allowing the blank to cool to return to a semi-rigid state and removing the formed blank from the negative impression;
said lower surface of said insole having a shape after said forming which closely corresponds to said plantar surface/sole of the foot as defined by said preexisting contour of said previously formed negative impression. - View Dependent Claims (11, 13)
-
-
26. A custom molded insole for supporting the foot in footwear comprising a thin, formed blank of bendable, resilient material molded to the contour of the plantar surface/sole of a human foot, said formed blank extending along the full length and width of the foot and having a layer of semi-rigid thermoplastic material extending from the heel area of said insole toward the toe area of said insole along at least a portion of the length of said insole, said insole having a plurality of contoured portions on both its upper and lower surfaces closely corresponding to the shape of various areas of the plantar surface/sole of the foot including a heel cup, longitudinal arch, transverse arch, relief areas for the metatarsal heads, phalanx grooves and cups and a toe crest between the metatarsal head relief areas and phalanx toe grooves and cups;
- said contoured portions on said lower insole surface forming a four-point contact of said insole with a flat surface beneath at least said heel cup, the first metatarsal head relief area, at least one of said fourth and fifth metatarsal head relief areas and the great toe cup whereby the foot is firmly and stably supported by said four-point contact and forces are immediately and precisely transferred from the foot, through the molded insole to the footwear when the insole is mounted therein.
Specification