Gel insoles with lower heel and toe recesses having thin spring walls

• US 6,598,321 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2001
• Issued: 07/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Scholl's Wellness Company LLC
• Original Assignee: Schering-Plough Healthcare Products Incorporated (Merck & Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Crane, Laura, Avent, Richard, Thompson, Donald Barry
• Primary Examiner(s): Kavanaugh, Ted
• Application Number:
  US10/026,571
• Publication Number:
  US 20020166259A1
• Time in Patent Office: 586 Days
• Field of Search: 36/43, 36/27, 36/28, 36/29, 361/41, 36/44
• US Class Current: 36/43
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/189 filled with a non-compressible fluid, e.g. gel, water
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 17/02 wedge-like or resilient
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 17/026 filled with a non-compressible fluid, e.g. gel, water
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 7/1415 characterised by the location under the foot
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 5/14 Special medical insertions for shoes for flat-feet, club-feet or the like

Abstract

A removable insole for insertion into footwear, includes a lower layer made of a viscoelastic gel and including a lower surface, an upper surface, a toe portion, a heel portion and a medial arch portion interconnecting the toe portion and the heel portion, a first recess formed in the lower surface of the toe portion and a second recess formed in the lower surface of the heel portion, each recess having a peripheral side wall and a top wall, a plurality of thin, parallel, spaced apart sinusoidal wave shaped spring walls formed from the viscoelastic gel and connected to the top wall and the peripheral side wall in each recess, and the spring walls having lower edges generally coplanar with a lower surface of the toe portion and heel portion which is in surrounding relation to the respective recess; and a top cover secured to the upper surface of the lower layer.

Claims

1. A removable insole for insertion into footwear, comprising a lower layer made from viscoelastic gel and including:

a lower surface;

an upper surface;

at least one portion of a toe portion and a heel portion formed from said viscoelastic gel,

at least one recess in the lower surface of said at least one of a toe portion and a heel portion, each said recess having a peripheral side wall and a top wall, and

a plurality of spaced apart spring walls formed from said viscoelastic gel in each said recess, said spring walls being connected with said top wall of a respective said recess, said spring walls having lower edges generally coplanar with a lower surface of said at least one of a toe portion and a heel portion which is in surronding relation to the respective said recess, wherein each of said spring walls is formed in a generally sinusoidal wave shape, wherein said spring walls provide a spring with less dampening energy absorption relative to the remainder of the lower layer formed from said viscoelastic gel when a force is applied to said lower layer, and wherein a spacing between adjacent ones of said spring walls is greater than the width of said spring walls.

2. A removable insole according to claim 1, wherein, when said at least one recess is formed in the heel portion, each of said spring walls has a height in a first direction which is greater than a width thereof in a direction transverse to said first direction.

3. A removable insole according to claim 2, wherein said spring walls are connected with said peripheral side wall and said top wall of the respective said recess.

4. A removable insole according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of spring walls are formed in substantially parallel, spaced apart relation.

5. A removable insole according to claim 1, wherein when said at least one recess is formed in the heel portion, each of said spring walls has a height in a first direction which is greater than a width thereof in a direction transverse to said first direction.

6. A removable insole according to claim 1, wherein said spring walls are formed as column members.

7. A removable insole according to claim 6, wherein said column members are in parallel, spaced apart relation.

8. A removable insole according to claim 6, wherein, when said at least one recess is formed in the heel portion, each of said spring walls has a height in a first direction which is greater than a width thereof in a direction transverse to said first direction.

9. A removable insole according to claim 8, wherein a spacing between adjacent ones of said spring walls is greater than the width of said spring walls.

10. A removable insole according to claim 6, wherein said spring walls are connected with said top wall of the respective said recess.

11. A removable insole according to claim 1, further comprising at least one pattern trim line at the toe portion for trimming the insole to fit into smaller size footwear.

12. A removable insole according to claim 1, wherein said lower layer includes said toe portion, said heel portion and a medial arch portion interconnecting said toe portion and said heel portion, with a first said recess with said spring walls in said toe portion and a second said recess with said spring walls in said heel portion.

13. A removable insole according to claim 12, wherein said heel portion has a greater thickness than said toe portion, and said spring walls in said second recess having a greater height than said spring walls in said first recess.

14. A removable insole according to claim 12, wherein opposite sides of said medial arch portion and opposite sides and a rear end of said heel portion gently slope downwardly and inwardly toward the lower surface of said lower layer.

15. A removable insole according to claim 1, further comprising a top cover secured to the upper surface of said lower layer.