Insole for Relief of Over-Pronation and Knee Joint Stress

Abstract

An insole for placement inside a shoe for use in reducing over-pronation, associated misalignment of the patella (knee cap), and knee joint stress of a user. The insole has a top sheet and a support base cushion. The support base cushion has a forefoot mid-cushion area that extends from a toe end to a metatarsal area of the insole and an arch to heel area that extends from a metatarsal area to a heel end of the insole. The insole has a forefoot cushion secured to the forefoot mid-cushion area. The insole also has a medial support cradle, which reduces over-pronation and knee stresses, a lateral support cradle, which provides a side support to help reduce stress on the knee, and a heel cushion, which acts in cooperation with the medial support cradle to resist excessive pronation, all secured to the bottom of the support base cushion in the arch to heel area.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An insole for placement in a shoe, comprising:
 a top sheet extending essentially the full length of the insole, said top sheet having a toe end and a heel end;   a support base cushion extending essentially the full length of the insole and having a toe end and a heel end, said support base cushion having a top surface secured to said top sheet and a bottom surface, said support base cushion having a forefoot mid-cushion area extending from the toe end to a metatarsal area of the insole and adapted to receive a forefoot cushion, said support base cushion having a rearward area extending from the metatarsal area to the heel end and adapted to receive a medial support cradle, a lateral support cradle and a heel cushion;   said forefoot cushion having a top surface and a bottom surface, said top surface being secured to said forefoot mid-cushion area of said support base cushion and a bottom surface;   said medial support cradle having a top surface and a bottom surface, said top surface being secured to said support base cushion and said medial support cradle being positioned under an arch area of a foot and extending rearward toward the heel end and partially surrounding the lateral side of the heel end of the support base cushion;   said lateral support cradle having a top surface and a bottom surface, said top surface being secured to said support base cushion and said lateral support cradle positioned under a metatarsal area of a foot and extending laterally outward toward the side of the support base cushion and extending rearwardly to be adjacent to said heel cushion; and   said heel cushion having a top surface and a bottom surface, said top surface secured to said support base cushion and said heel cushion positioned generally near the heel end and having a lateral surface extending laterally upwardly around the side of the heel end of said support base cushion.   
     
     
         2 . The insole of  claim 1 , further comprising a forefoot mid-cushion secured between said support base cushion and the forefoot cushion in the forefoot mid-cushion area. 
     
     
         3 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein said top sheet is a polyester fabric. 
     
     
         4 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein said support base cushion is a polyurethane (PU) material. 
     
     
         5 . The insole of  claim 4 , wherein said polyurethane (PU) material has a hardness value around 40 Asker C±3. 
     
     
         6 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein said medial support cradle and lateral support cradle are a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material. 
     
     
         7 . The insole of  claim 6 , wherein said thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material has a hardness value around 64 Type D±3. 
     
     
         8 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein said heel cushion is a thermoplastic rubber gel (TPR) material. 
     
     
         9 . The insole of  claim 8 , wherein said thermoplastic rubber gel (TPR) material has a hardness value around 30 Asker C±3. 
     
     
         10 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein said forefoot cushion is an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) material. 
     
     
         11 . The insole of  claim 10 , wherein said ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) material has a hardness value around 21 Asker C±3. 
     
     
         12 . A method of making an insole for use in a shoe, comprising the steps:
 providing a top sheet that is extends essentially the full length of the insole, said top sheet having a toe end and a heel end;   providing a support base cushion, having a top surface and a bottom surface and extending the full length of the insole   attaching said support base cushion to said top sheet along said top surface of support base cushion said support base cushion having a toe end and a heel end, said bottom surface of support base cushion having a forefoot mid-cushion area extending from the toe end to a metatarsal area on the insole and adapted to receive a forefoot cushion in the forefoot mid-cushion area, said support base cushion having a rearward area extending from the metatarsal area to the heel end and the bottom surface of the support base cushion in the rearward area adapted to receive a medial support cradle, a lateral support cradle and a heel cushion;   attaching said forefoot cushion, having a top surface and a bottom surface, to said support base cushion in the forefoot mid-cushion area of by securing said top surface of the forefoot cushion to said support base cushion;   attaching said medial support cradle, having a top surface and a bottom surface, to said support base cushion by securing the top surface of said medial support cradle to the bottom surface of said support base cushion, said medial support cradle positioned under an arch area of a foot and extending rearwardly toward the heel area of the support base cushion and extending partially around the lateral side of the support base cushion at the heel end;   attaching said lateral support cradle, having a top surface and a bottom surface, to said support base cushion by securing the top surface of said lateral support cradle to the bottom surface of said support base cushion, said lateral support cradle positioned under a metatarsal area of the insole and extending outwardly toward the lateral side of the support base cushion and then extending rearwardly to be adjacent said heel cushion; and   attaching said heel cushion, having a top surface and a bottom surface, to said support base cushion by securing the top surface of said heel cushion to the bottom surface of said support base cushion, said heel cushion positioned generally under the heel area of the foot and having a lateral surface extending laterally around the lateral side of the heel end of said support base cushion.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising the step of securing a forefoot mid-cushion between said support base cushion and said forefoot cushion in the forefoot mid-cushion area. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said top sheet is a polyester fabric. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said support base cushion is a polyurethane (PU) material. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said polyurethane (PU) material has a hardness value around 40 Asker C±3. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said medial support cradle and lateral support cradle are a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material has a hardness value around 64 Type D±3. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said heel cushion is a thermoplastic rubber gel (TPR) material. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein said thermoplastic rubber gel (TPR) material has a hardness value around 30 Asker C±3. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said forefoot cushion is an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) material. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein said ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) material has a hardness value around 21 Asker C±3. 
     
     
         23 . An insole for placement in a shoe, comprising:
 a top sheet extending essentially the full length of the insole, said top sheet having a toe end and a heel end;   a support base cushion extending essentially the full length of the insole and having a toe end and a heel end, said support base cushion having a top surface secured to said top sheet and a bottom surface, said support base cushion having a forefoot mid-cushion area extending from the toe end to a metatarsal area of the insole and adapted to receive a forefoot cushion, said support base cushion having a rearward area extending from the metatarsal area to the heel end and adapted to receive a heel cushion;   said forefoot cushion having a top surface secured to said forefoot mid-cushion area of said support base cushion and a bottom surface; and   said heel cushion having a top surface secured to said bottom surface of support base cushion and a bottom surface, said heel cushion positioned generally under the heel area of the foot and having a lateral to medial surface extending upwardly around the heel end of said insole.   
     
     
         24 . The insole of  claim 23 , further comprising a medial support cradle having a bottom surface and a top surface secured to said bottom surface of support base cushion, said medial support cradle positioned under an arch area of a foot and extending rearward toward the heel end of the support base cushion. 
     
     
         25 . The insole of  claim 23 , further comprising a lateral support cradle having a bottom surface and a top surface secured to said bottom surface of support base cushion, said lateral support cradle positioned under a metatarsal area of a foot and extending out toward the lateral side of the insole and then rearward and upward along the lateral side until adjacent said heel cushion. 
     
     
         26 . The insole of  claim 23 , further comprising a forefoot mid-cushion secured between said support base cushion and the forefoot cushion in the forefoot mid-cushion area. 
     
     
         27 . The insole of  claim 23 , wherein said top sheet is a polyester fabric. 
     
     
         28 . The insole of  claim 23 , wherein said support base cushion is a polyurethane (PU) material. 
     
     
         29 . The insole of  claim 28 , wherein said polyurethane (PU) material has a hardness value around 40 Asker C±3. 
     
     
         30 . The insole of  claim 23 , wherein said medial support cradle and lateral support cradle are a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material. 
     
     
         31 . The insole of  claim 30 , wherein said thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material has a hardness value around 64 Type D±3. 
     
     
         32 . The insole of  claim 23 , wherein said heel cushion is a thermoplastic rubber gel (TPR) material. 
     
     
         33 . The insole of  claim 32 , wherein said thermoplastic rubber gel (TPR) material has a hardness value around 30 Asker C±3. 
     
     
         34 . The insole of  claim 25 , wherein said forefoot cushion is an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) material. 
     
     
         35 . The insole of  claim 34 , wherein said ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) material has a hardness value around 21 Asker C±3.