Anatomical shoe insert assembly

Abstract

A shoe construction including a shoe upper, an intermediate insert assembly and at least an outsole, the insert assembly including a sockliner having a raised area positioned to underlie an arch of a wearer's foot and a recessed area positioned to underlie a heel of a wearer's foot, and a relatively rigid board member having recessed areas underlying the sockliner in the heel and arch areas.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An insert assembly for use in a shoe sole, the insert assembly comprising:
 a board member extending from a heel region to at least a midfoot region; and   a sockliner positioned in overlying relation to a top surface of said board member, said sockliner including:
 a hind foot region having a first top surface and positioned to underlie at least an area of a wearer's heel, the first top surface of said hind foot region forming a recessed portion for receiving a wearer's heel; 
 a midfoot region having a second top surface and positioned to underlie at least a portion of an arch of a wearer's foot, the second top surface of said midfoot region having a lateral arch region and a medial arch region, the medial arch region of said second top surface forming a raised portion which gradually rises to an apex positioned to underlie a medial arch of a wearer's foot; and 
 a forefoot region having a third top surface and positioned to underlie at least a portion of a ball of a wearer's foot, at least a portion of said forefoot region being thinner than said raised portion. 
   
     
     
         2 . The insert assembly of  claim 1  wherein said board member includes a recess to receive a bottom surface of said sockliner, said recess being upwardly opening. 
     
     
         3 . The insert assembly of  claim 1  wherein said board member includes a plurality of perforations in a heel region. 
     
     
         4 . The insert assembly of  claim 1  wherein said board member is made of relatively rigid material. 
     
     
         5 . The insert assembly of  claim 1  wherein the apex of said raised portion is higher than said third top surface of the forefoot region which is positioned immediately forward of said raised portion in the vicinity of the ball of a wearer's foot by at least between about 2 mm and about 25 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The insert assembly of  claim 1  wherein a thickness of the forefoot region of the sockliner is in the range of about 1 mm to about 5 mm. 
     
     
         7 . The insert assembly of  claim 1  wherein the raised portion of said sockliner has a thinner aspect located towards the hind foot region and a wider aspect located towards the forefoot region. 
     
     
         8 . The insert assembly of  claim 1  wherein the shape of the sockliner causes weight borne by the wearer's foot to be shifted towards the arch and heel and off the ball of the foot. 
     
     
         9 . The insert assembly of  claim 1  wherein the sockliner is made of a material which does not exceed a deflection range of about 50% to about 80% in at least the hind foot region for a given dynamic weight load expected for that particular shoe. 
     
     
         10 . An insert assembly for insertion into a shoe sole, the insert assembly comprising:
 a relatively rigid board member extending from a heel area to at least the midfoot area; and   a sockliner positioned in overlying relation to said board member, said sockliner including:
 a hind foot region positioned to underlie at least an area of a wearer's heel, said hind foot region forming a recessed portion lying under the area of the wearer's heel; 
 a midfoot region positioned to underlie at least a portion of an arch of the wearer's foot, said midfoot region having a lateral arch region and a medial arch region, the medial arch region forming a raised portion which gradually rises to an apex positioned to underlie a medial arch of a wearer's foot, said medial arch region being higher than said lateral arch region; and 
 a forefoot region positioned to underlie at least a portion of a ball of a wearer's foot, at least a portion of said forefoot region being thinner than said raised portion. 
   
     
     
         11 . The insert assembly of  claim 10  wherein said board member includes a recess to receive a bottom surface of said sockliner, said recess being upwardly opening. 
     
     
         12 . The insert assembly of  claim 10  wherein said board member includes a plurality of perforations in a heel region. 
     
     
         13 . The insert assembly of  claim 10  wherein said raised portion is between about 20 mm and about 25 mm at its apex. 
     
     
         14 . The insert assembly of  claim 10  wherein the apex of said raised portion is higher than the third top surface of said forefoot region which is positioned immediately forward of the raised portion in the vicinity of the ball of a wearer's foot by at least between about 2 mm and about 25 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The insert assembly of  claim 10  wherein a thickness of the forefoot region of said sockliner is in the range of about 1 mm to about 5 mm. 
     
     
         16 . The insert assembly of  claim 10  wherein said raised portion has a thinner aspect located towards the hind foot region and a wider aspect located towards the forefoot region. 
     
     
         17 . The insert assembly of  claim 10  wherein the hardness of the sockliner is in the range of between about 15 and about 60 ASKER C scale. 
     
     
         18 . The insert assembly of  claim 10  wherein the density of the sockliner is in the range of between about 0.10 and about 0.40 g/cc. 
     
     
         19 . The insert assembly of  claim 10  including a forefoot insole portion mating with one end portion of said board member. 
     
     
         20 . An insert assembly for insertion into a shoe sole, the insert assembly comprising:
 a relatively rigid board member extending from a heel area to at least the midfoot area; and   a sockliner positioned in overlying relation to said board member, said sockliner including:   a hind foot region positioned to underlie at least an area of a wearer's heel, said hind foot region forming a recessed portion lying under the area of the wearer's heel;   a midfoot region positioned to underlie at least a portion of an arch of the wearer's foot, said midfoot region having a lateral arch region and a medial arch region, the medial arch region forming a raised portion which gradually rises to an apex positioned to underlie a medial arch of a wearer's foot, said medial arch region being higher than said lateral arch region;   a forefoot region positioned to underlie at least a portion of a ball of a wearer's foot, at least a portion of said forefoot region being thinner than said raised portion; and   said sockliner being made of a material which does not exceed a deflection range of about 50% to about 80% in at least the hind foot region for a given dynamic weight load expected for that particular shoe.