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Customized fit shoe and bladder therefor

  • US 5,416,988 A
  • Filed: 04/23/1993
  • Issued: 05/23/1995
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/17/1989
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A customized fit shoe for a foot placed therein, the customized fit shoe generally surrounding the heel and lateral and medial malleoli of a foot placed therein, comprising:

  • a sole;

    an upper attached to said sole;

    heel chamber means attached to and positioned inside of said upper and inflatable with gas to contour to the area behind and slightly above the malleoli of a foot placed within the customized fit shoe, said heel chamber means including an outer perimeter;

    malleoli chamber means attached to and positioned inside of said upper and inflatable with gas to contour to the area directly below the malleoli of a foot placed within the customized fit shoe, said malleoli chamber means including an outer perimeter;

    valve means accessible from outside of said upper for adjusting the gas pressure in said heel chamber means and said malleoli chamber means to provide a customized fit for a foot placed within the customized fit shoe;

    said heel chamber means being formed of layers of elastomeric material connected around the outer perimeter of said heel chamber means to define medial and lateral heel chambers, said medial and lateral heel chambers each thus including an outer perimeter defined by the connection of said layers of elastomeric material;

    said malleoli chamber means being formed of layers of elastomeric material connected around the outer perimeter of said heel chamber means to define medial and lateral malleoli chambers, said medial and lateral malleoli chambers each thus including an outer perimeter defined by the connection of said layers of elastomeric material, a portion of the outer perimeters of said medial heel and malleoli chambers being adjacent to and separate from one another, and a portion of the outer perimeters of said lateral heel and malleoli chambers being adjacent to and separate from one another, to thereby prevent the formation of restrictive columns of pressurized gas between adjacent heel and malleoli chambers.

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