US20130133224A1

US20130133224A1 - Shoe Insole

Info

Publication number: US20130133224A1
Application number: US13/305,965
Authority: US
Inventors: Chen-Yu Tsai
Original assignee: Fusco Ind Corp
Current assignee: FUSCO INDUSTRIAL Corp; Fusco Ind Corp
Priority date: 2011-11-29
Filing date: 2011-11-29
Publication date: 2013-05-30

Abstract

A shoe insole includes an elastic main body including a front metatarsal, a mid foot and a rear heel sections, the front metatarsal section having an enclosed forefoot buffer zone, the first recesses being formed in the forefoot buffer zone, the rear heel section having an enclosed heel buffer zone, the second recesses being formed in the heel buffer zone; an elastic pad member combined with the mid foot section and the rear heel section at the bottom surface of the elastic main body, a mid foot section of the elastic pad member having a protruding foot arch portion, the mid foot section of the elastic pad member having the elongated arc-shaped grooves and the through holes, a rear heel section of the elastic pad member having a through hole corresponding to the heel buffer zone; and an upper layer combined with the elastic main body.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shoe insole capable of being placed inside a shoe.
2. The Prior Arts
During walking, each foot bears the force equivalent to 0.8-1.2 times of the body weight, and the force will directly impact on the foot sole, knee and spine. Thus, a pad is often provided for absorbing the impact. Otherwise, many foot-related problems may occur in a long term period.
A conventional plane leather-made shoe insole only provides cushioning function, which does not provide the shock and impact absorbing function. A plastic-made insole is often used for improving the disadvantages of the conventional plane insoles and can be just placed into a shoe. The conventional insole takes advantages of elastic property and softness of plastic material (e.g. silicon/thermoplastic rubber (TPR/TPE)) for absorbing shocks and impacts during walking, so as to get foot protection and comfort. The reason why the soft plastic insoles are so popular is that they can be fabricated thin enough to be placed inside the shoes. For providing comfortable and soft touch, a fabric capable of absorbing moisture and breathing air is often disposed on the top surface of the soft plastic insole.
However, because the soft plastic insole has a damping effect, the user needs to make more strenuous efforts to walk, and thereby he/she easily get muscle fatigue. Moreover, the soft plastic insole is too soft and doesn't provide enough elasticity, and thus the impact resistance is relatively low.
The inner edge of the mid foot section of the foot has a recess and is in an arch shape. While stepping or walking, there is a height difference between the foot arch and the shoe insole. The conventional insole does not provide an appropriate structure for supporting the foot arch portion. Thus, the user who wears the shoes with the conventional shoe insole is more likely to feel fatigue during stepping or walking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a shoe insole for providing good elasticity and impact absorbing capability during walking.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a shoe insole that meets the requirements of ergonomics and has an elastic supporting structure to support the foot arch during stepping or walking, so that foot fatigue can be mitigated.
The shoe insole of the present invention comprises an elastic main body, an elastic pad member and an upper layer. The elastic main body and the elastic pad member are both made of a silicone material. The elastic pad member is combined with the bottom surface of the elastic main body. The upper layer is combined with the top surface of the elastic main body. The elastic main body has a buffering and impact absorbing structure, and the combination of the elastic pad member and the elastic main body provides better buffering and impact absorbing function. The upper layer also has a structure capable of providing more comfort to the foot heel of a user.
In order to achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a shoe insole which comprises an elastic main body, an elastic pad member, and an upper layer. The elastic main body is made of a silicone or thermoplastic rubber (TPR/TPE) material, and is in the shape of the inner bottom surface of a shoe, and the elastic main body includes a front metatarsal section, a mid foot section and a rear heel section. The front metatarsal section of the elastic main body has an enclosed forefoot buffer zone. A plurality of first recesses is formed in the forefoot buffer zone. The rear heel section has an enclosed heel buffer zone. A plurality of second recesses is formed in the heel buffer zone. The elastic pad member is made of silicone material, and is combined with the mid foot section and the rear heel section at the bottom surface of the elastic main body. A mid foot section of the elastic pad member has a protruding foot arch portion. The mid foot section of the elastic pad member is formed with a plurality of elongated arc-shaped grooves and a plurality of through holes, wherein the through holes are distributed along the foot arch portion. A rear heel section of the elastic pad member is formed with a through hole corresponding to the heel buffer zone. The upper layer is combined with the top surface of the elastic main body. When a user wears the shoes with the shoe insole of the present invention inserted therein and walks, the elastic main body in combination with the elastic pad member provides a better buffering and comfortable effect to the foot sole, the foot arch and the foot heel.
According to the present invention, a plurality of holes can be further formed around the periphery of the through hole of the elastic pad member so as to increase the elasticity and the impact absorbing capability at the foot heel portion of the shoe insole.
According to the present invention, a plurality of protrusions can be placed in the holes of the elastic pad member at the bottom of the elastic main body, and the protrusions have the diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the hole, and thereby the protrusions can be disposed in the holes, so that the rear heel portion of the elastic pad member does not only has good elasticity and impact absorbing capability, and also exhibits a better supporting capability.
According to the present invention, the upper layer can be further formed with a heel hole corresponding to the heel buffer zone, so the foot heel of a user is allowed to be in direct contact with the foot heel portion of the elastic main body through the heel hole.
In the consideration of ergonomics, the through hole formed in the elastic pad member and the heel hole formed in the upper layer are designed to be in an oval shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a bottom view showing the bottom structure of the shoe insole according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the lateral structure of the shoe insole according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view showing the top structure of the shoe insole according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
It is known that the shoe insoles for a right foot and a left foot are symmetrically designed. Therefore, the shoe insole for the right foot is taken as an example of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a bottom view showing the bottom structure of the shoe insole according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view showing the lateral structure of the shoe insole according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a top view showing the top structure of the shoe insole according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 1; and FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the shoe insole of the present invention includes an elastic main body 1, an elastic pad member 2 and an upper layer 3. The elastic main body 1 is made of a silicone material and formed in the shape corresponding to the shape of the inner bottom surface of a shoe, and the elastic main body 1 includes a front metatarsal section A, a mid foot section B and a rear heel section C. The front metatarsal section A is provided for the forefoot; the mid foot section B is used to be in contact with the mid foot including the arch of the foot; the rear heel section C is provided for the foot heel. The peripheral edge of the front metatarsal section A of the elastic main body 1 is designed according to the curve defined by toes closed together. The shoe insole is gradually thickened from the rear peripheral edge of the front metatarsal section A towards the peripheral edge of the rear heel section C, and therefore the shoe insole is capable of being fitted and fixed in the shoe. When walking or running, the foot heel is subject to a larger impact from the ground. Therefore, the thickness of the rear heel section C is designed to be greater than that of the front metatarsal section A. For example, the thickness of the front metatarsal section A is 2 to 3 mm, and the thickness of the rear heel section C is 7 to 8 mm. In consideration of the feeling of comfort when wearing the shoes, the upper layer 3 can be disposed on the top surface of the elastic main body 1, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. The upper layer 3 is, for example, made of a fabric having fluff. Alternatively, the upper layer 3 can be further provided with decorative designs, patterns, texts or trademarks according to the desired designs.
The front metatarsal section A of the elastic main body 1 has an enclosed forefoot buffer zone 11. The peripheral edge of the forefoot buffer zone 11 can be in a geometric shape, or an irregular shape. A plurality of first recesses 111 are formed in the forefoot buffer zone 11. The peripheral edge of the rear heel section C of the elastic main body 1 has an enclosed heel buffer zone 12, and the peripheral edge of heel buffer zone 12 is preferably in an oval shape. A plurality of second recesses 121 are formed in the heel buffer zone 12 (as shown in FIG. 8). According to the present invention, in the formation of the elastic main body 1, the elastic main body 1 can be integrally formed with the forefoot buffer zone 11 having the first recesses 111, and the heel buffer zone 12 having the second recesses 121. The front portion of the front metatarsal section A of the elastic main body 1 can be further formed with a plurality of size marking parts 13 (as shown in FIG. 5), which are in an arc shape and recessed in the bottom surface of the elastic main body 1. The size marking parts 13 are spaced apart at different distances from the front end of the elastic main body 1, so that a user can decide the length of the elastic main body 1 according to his own shoe size, and the elastic main body 1 is cut along one of the size marking parts 13 according to the desired length, thereby a suitable shoe insole placed in a shoe is obtained.
Because the elastic main body 1 is soft, an elastic pad member 2 is provided under the elastic main body 1 in view of strength and elasticity of the whole shoe insole. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the elastic pad member 2 made of a silicone material covers the mid foot section B and the rear heel section C but not covers the front metatarsal section. The mid foot section B of the elastic pad member 2 has a protruding foot arch portion B1, and the mid foot section B is formed with a plurality of elongated arc-shaped grooves 21 and a plurality of through holes 22, wherein the through holes 22 are distributed along the foot arch portion B1. The rear heel section C of the elastic pad member 2 is formed with a through hole 24 corresponding to the shape of the heel buffer zone 12, and the shape of the peripheral edge of the through hole 24 is preferably to be corresponding to the oval shape of the heel buffer zone 12. For good elasticity and good support of the body, a plurality of holes 23 are formed around the periphery of the through hole 24 of the elastic pad member 2, and a plurality of protrusions 14 are formed in the holes 23 at the bottom of the elastic main body 1, wherein the diameter of the protrusions 14 is smaller than the inner diameter of the holes 23 so that the protrusions 14 can be disposed in the holes 23. According to the present invention, the elastic main body 1 and the elastic pad member 2 are respectively manufactured, and then the elastic main body 1 and the elastic pad member 2 are fixed together by an adhesive. After the elastic main body 1 and the elastic pad member 2 are fixed together, the protrusions 14 disposed in the holes 23 can provide additional support to the rear heel without changing the elasticity of the rear heel section C.
The upper layer 3 is in contact with the foot sole, and can be made of a fabric, plastic and any other suitable materials, and the rear portion of the upper layer 3 is formed with a heel hole 31 in an oval shape. After the upper layer 3 is tailored to the desired size, an adhesive is respectively applied on the bottom surface of the upper layer 3 and the top surface of the elastic main body 1, and then the upper layer 3 and the elastic main body 1 are fixed together by the adhesive medium, wherein the heel hole 31 is corresponding to the heel buffer zone 12.
When the shoe insole of the present invention is placed in a shoe for wearing, the foot arch of the foot sole is elastically supported by the foot arch portion B1 which protrudes from the mid foot section B, and thereby foot fatigue can be mitigated during walking. In addition, the through hole 24 of the elastic pad member 2 at the rear heel section C, and the heel hole 31 of the upper layer 3 in coordination with the structure of the heel buffer zone 12 of the elastic main body 1 provide the buffering effect of impact forces when the foot heel hits the ground. In addition, the protrusions 14 at the rear heel of the elastic main body 1, which are disposed in the holes 23 of the elastic pad member 2, can further provide good elasticity and good support of the body.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A shoe insole has an elastic main body, an elastic pad member, and an upper layer, and the shoe insole being divided into a metatarsal section, a mid foot section, and a rear heel section, each section having an inner side, an outer side, and a thickness,

wherein

the elastic main body being formed in a shape of an inner bottom surface of a shoe, including a front metatarsal section, a mid foot section and a rear heel section, the front metatarsal section having an enclosed forefoot buffer zone, a plurality of first recesses being formed in the forefoot buffer zone, the rear heel section having an enclosed heel buffer zone, a plurality of second recesses being formed in the heel buffer zone,

the elastic pad member being combined with the mid foot section and the rear heel section at the bottom surface of the elastic main body, a mid foot section of the elastic pad member having an protruding foot arch portion, a plurality of elongated arc-shaped grooves, and a plurality of through holes, the through holes being distributed along the foot arch portion, a rear heel section of the elastic pad member having a through hole corresponding to the heel buffer zone, and

the upper layer being combined with a top surface of the elastic main body,

wherein the improvement comprises:

the plastic main body and the elastic pad member being made of silicone material and the thickness of the inner side of the rear heel section being bigger thicker than the thickness of the outer side of the rear heel section.

2-6. (canceled)

7. The shoe insole according to claim 1, wherein the improvement further comprises the thickness of the inner side of the mid foot section being bigger thicker than the thickness of the outer side of the mid foot section.

8. The shoe insole according to claim 1, wherein the improvement further comprises the thickness of the inner side of a region between the frontal metatarsal section and the mid foot section being bigger thicker than the thickness of the outer side of the region between the frontal metatarsal section and the mid foot section.

9. The shoe insole according to claim 1, wherein the improvement further comprises the upper layer being made of fabric with fluff and fixed to the elastic main body through an adhesive.

10. The shoe insole according to claim 1, wherein the improvement further comprises the thickness for the frontal metatarsal section being between 2 mm and 3 mm and the thickness of the rear heel section being between 7 mm and 8 mm.