This invention relates generally to fabrication of footwear, and more specifically components used in conjunction with athletic shoes, and particularly pertains to the application of cellular insert means within the structure of the shoe, shoe insole, or sock liner for use in conjunction therewith, and which effectively resists the transmission of forces of impact encountered by the foot and its wearer during application, while simultaneously due to its inherent resiliency and recoil tending to conserve the energy of particularly the athlete while participating in strenuously performed athletic endeavors.
In participation within sporting events, such as court events like tennis and basketball, or in sports such as football, track, or while partaking in the various running events, such as jogging, or even when undertaking exercises through walking, as when the footwear may be used for daily or casual usage, frequently the shoe wearers will encounter the strain and ordeal of sustained pressure and continuing impacting forces, particularly during participation in one of the identified type of athletic events. Such exposure does have a tendency to cause injury and damage to the participant's lower extremities. Anyone who has been active in the sport of basketball, as an example, can readily understand the stress endured and pain suffered from what has been identified as stone bruises, muscle straining, tendon or Achilles stretching, which apparently comprise a bruising to these particular and various components, or the flesh surrounding thereof, or to the heel bone, and which normally occurs from repeated jumping or undertaking of particular types of exercises by the participant during performance of an athletic or related event. In addition, there are a variety of other types of muscle stressing and bruising which causes impairment to the athlete's body, or even to those that do an abundance of walking, or perhaps even from sustained or lengthy standing, which ordinarily occurs because of the direction of impact forces encountered when the footwear worn by such people abruptly contact the ground, as during shoe usage. As a result, there have been directed a significant amount of thought to modifications to shoe structures, particularly integrally of the built-in shoe components, such as the sole, in an effort to combat the type of damage that is sustained by the foot generally during participation and activity undertaken through athletic shoe usage. Such modifications to sports shoes can be seen in the U.S. Pat. No. to Bente, 4,430,810, which incorporates flexible material inserted within the heel wedge in order to dampen vibrations and shock occurring during running, especially upon a hard track. Another patent to Ruskin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,646, shows other means for alleviating stress problems particularly when exercising. Another concept for reducing the forces encountered by the athlete during usage of the sport shoe, and which is similar to that previously explained, is the provision of a series of arch-like members arranged within at least the heel portion of a shoe, as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. to Inohara, 4,236,326. Other methods have been employed to cushion the foot against impacting forces, such as shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,864, and also in U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,189.
There are a large variety of other designs that have been built into footwear, and more specifically athletic shoes, as shown in the identified U.S. Pat. Nos. to Giese, 4,316,332, and 4,316,335, in addition to 4,073,072. Another patent to Giese, Pat. No. 4,005,532, shows a form of insulated insole construction. The addition of stabilizer means to the rear sole portion of an athletic shoe is also shown in the Turner patent, No. 4,364,188. Other related patents include the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,380,878, 3,918,181, 4,325,194, 4,322,892, 4,322,891, 4,063,371, 4,078,321, 4,391,048, 4,267,648, 4,398,357, 4,262,433, 4,187,620, 4,222,185, 2,721,400, 2,437,227, 4,272,899, 4,179,826, 4,342,158, 4,102,061, 4,118,878, 3,568,340, 3,808,713, 3,608,215, 4,223,456, 4,235,026, 4,271,606, 4,012,854, 508,034, 1,069,001, 1,506,975, 1,942,883, 2,627,676, 3,871,117, and 3,785,069. Thus, as the foregoing indicates, there are a voluminous number of shoes and sole structures designed principally for the provision of adding cushioning to the shoe, and to protect the foot, as during footwear application. On the other hand, as can be seen and determined from the herein described invention, the concept of incorporating a cellular insert, generally formed of a woven or wound polymeric material, wherein the woven or helical wound cellular components are embedded within particular locations of the insole means, or the sock liner associated with the footwear, and generally have its internal cavities filled with the either the same or a textured polyurethane, or other polymer foam, that forms these identified components has apparently just never been revealed in the prior art.
Hence, it is the principal object of this invention to add a cellular insert into the construction of an insole means, or sock liner, which in this particular instance is generally formed of polymer foam, generally for use in conjunction with the athletic shoe, for the purpose of conserving the energy of the shoe user, and resisting and dampening the transmission of the forces of impact from the ground, through the shoe sole, and to the foot of its wearer.
Another significant object of this invention is to furnish the athlete with means for readily attaining energy efficiency and conservation by embedding within a readily replacable insole means, or a sock liner, the insert of this invention for providing sustained rebound capacity which results in greater energy return with each foot stride, therefore reducing foot fatigue, as well as actually reducing the energy necessary to run and actively partake in an athletic event.
A further object of this invention is to provide a cellular coil system that is embedded at particular locations within the shoe sole, its sock liner, which normally rests upon the shoe sole, or its insole, and which is predetermined and designed for resisting specific directional forces of impact encountered by the shoe during usage by the athlete or other person.
Another object of this invention is to design into the construction of the insole means of an athletic or other shoe, or the insole means used in conjunction therewith, preferably a woven polymer cellular insert that adds multi-dimensioned densities to the shoe components, and which effectively resists the forces of impact while the athlete participates in rather strenuous athletic endeavors.
A further object of this invention is to provide a readily insertable, or removable, insole means, or sock liner, having embedded therein the cellular inserts of this invention, and which may be used in conjunction with a walking shoe, jogging shoe, or the like.
More specifically, another object of this invention is to provide for the integral incorporation of a cellular woven or strand woven fabric of material into precise locations of a shoe insole, or a sock liner, for various styles of shoes, and particularly athletic shoes, in order to resist the forces of impact that may be encountered by such select shoes and their wearer during application and within specific athletic endeavors, such as the identified athletic shoe that may be used during basketball, to resist the directly downward forces of impact, or perhaps in running shoes, wherein the main thrust of force is in the constant pressures encountered during foot pronation, while participating in such an activity, or perhaps which may also be used within the general walking shoe, all in order to facilitate and enhance the protective results attained during usage.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sock liner for use in conjunction with footwear and which exhibits unsurpassed comfort.
Another object of this invention is to provide an insole means, fabricated as a sock liner, which provides improved protection against damage sustained through shock inducing forces encountered by the foot during footwear application.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a coiled type of energy built into a shoe component, in order to aid in reduction of foot fatigue.
Another object of this invention is to provide a very efficient and effective walking shoe through application of the structure of this invention.
These and other objects will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the summary of this invention, and upon undertaking a study of the description of its preferred embodiment, in view of the drawings.