Patent Application
20140373388
The invention generally relates to footwear. More specifically, the invention relates to an impact resistant support for the upper portion of footwear to assist in preventing injury to a person's foot, especially, the top portion of the foot.
Athletes generally focus on enhancing their size, strength, and speed for sport competitions and have become bigger, stronger, and faster than ever. Unfortunately, as a result of these enhancements, athletes have become more susceptible to injuries, and, as a result, it has become extremely common for athletes in certain sports—e.g., football, rugby, soccer, and hockey—to incur foot injuries. As such, athletes performing at a high level generally need equipment that enables them to avoid possible foot injuries.
In athletics, players endure a great deal of pressure on the upper portion of their foot when athletes accidently step on one another during competition. In some cases the pressure reaches up to seven times the body weight. This pressure can reach up to 2,650 pounds or more. This significant amount of pressure causes serve damage to the athlete's foot.
These problems cause issues for athletes known as Lisfranc Joint Complex, metatarsal bone damage, ligament tears, broken toenails, broken toes, and infected toenails. The pain that is related to these injures is extreme. When such an injury occurs the athletes mobility may become extremely limited.
Footwear generally serves as an essential part of the sporting equipment used by athletes. Footwear oftentimes encloses the foot in a way that either hinders or augments a wearer's athletic performance. Footwear can also protect the foot from harm when equipped with the right components.
A conventional article of athletic footwear includes a footwear upper and footwear lower. The upper portion of the shoe generally securely holds the foot in place in the footwear, while still offering ventilation, flexibility, protection, and support. The upper portion typically includes the tongue of the footwear and is often, but not limited to being, formed from leather, synthetic materials, or a combination thereof. The footwear lower generally comprises of a sole and may incorporate multiple layers, such as an insole, midsole, and outsole.
A resilient upper portion of the footwear may absorb, disperse, and deflect impact and protect against abrasion. An improved upper structure can also provide impact resistance to the entire top portion of the foot—with low-profile, lightweight, durable, and breathable cell foam—without adding bulk to the footwear.
Although a number of attempts have been made to protect a foot from injuries, athletic footwear is generally ill-equipped to handle the biomechanical motion of the athlete's foot while keeping an extra layer of padded protection in a fixed position in the footwear. Athletic footwear is also generally ill-equipped to protect the entire metatarsal bones in the foot, in addition to the toes.
Thus, what is needed is footwear that offers internally integrated, non-removable padding that provides extra protection to the entire top portion of the foot, including the toes, by helping to absorb, disperse, and deflect impact, thereby shielding against foot injury and abrasion.
To minimize the limitations in the prior art, and to minimize other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention is a footwear device with padding that provides extra protection to the toes and entire top portion of the wearer's foots.
One embodiment is a footwear device comprising: a footwear upper and a footwear lower; wherein the footwear upper comprises of a tongue and a padded portion; and wherein the footwear lower comprises of an insole and an outsole. The padded portion preferably extends from the tongue to approximately a front of the upper, such that one or more toes of a wearer are essentially covered by the padded portion. The tongue is preferably part of the padded portion. Preferably, the padded portion is integrated into the footwear device, such that the padded portion is not removable. Preferably, the padded portion is constructed of one or more foam cells and a knitting mesh.
Another embodiment is a footwear device comprising: a footwear upper and a footwear lower; wherein the footwear upper comprises of a tongue; and wherein the footwear lower comprises of an insole and an outsole. The tongue may extend from approximately a lower leg portion of a wearer to approximately one or more toes of the wearer. The tongue may be comprised of a padding. The tongue may substantially cover one or more toes of the wearer. The tongue may substantially cover an upper portion of a foot of a wearer. The tongue may substantially cover a front portion and upper portion of the footwear device. The tongue may be integrated into the footwear device, such that the padding is non-removable. The tongue may be constructed of one or more foam cells and a knitting mesh.
Another embodiment is a footwear device comprising: an upper portion; wherein the upper portion is comprised of a tongue. Preferably, the tongue is a strip that extends from the top-center of the footwear device through the mid-foot area to the toe area. Preferably, the upper portion is comprised of padding, which extends bilaterally and medially to cover the upper portion of the footwear device. Preferably, the bilateral extension occurs as the tongue extends downward and approaches the toe area of the footwear device. Preferably, the padding is internally integrated into, and non-removable from, the footwear device. Preferably, the padding is constructed of low-profile, structured foam cells. Preferably, the low-profile, structured foam cells are held together with a knitting mesh.
The invention is preferably a footwear device with upper support that offers impact resistance to the foot. This generally allows the wearer to comfortably and protectively wear the device as he or she is participating in athletic activities. The upper support, which is typically comprised of structured foam cells, generally cushions the entire top portion of the foot and the toes in order to absorb, disperse, a deflect impact during athletic activities. This cushioning preferably helps to prevent injury and abrasion to the foot.
It is an object of the invention to provide footwear that has a protection mechanism that provides impact absorption from impact normally encountered in athletics, such as football, rugby, soccer, and hockey.
It is an object of the invention to internally integrate non-removable padding into the upper portion of athletic footwear, such that the foot of a wearer is not substantially exposed. The padding does not become loose and risk unprotected, potentially impact-intensive exposure to the foot.
It is an object of the invention to provide protection to the top portion of the foot, including the toes.
It is an object of the invention to help absorb, disperse, and deflect impact, and to thereby shield against foot injury and abrasion.
It is an object of the invention to provide a support device for the foot. The invention is preferably made of an upper portion of low-profile, structured foam cells that are held together with a knitting mesh, such that the upper portion of the footwear provides impact resistance in the event of a direct hit during an athletic activity.
It is an object of the invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.
These, as well as other components, steps, features, objects, benefits, and advantages, will now become clear from a review of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, of the accompanying photographs, and of the claims.
The drawings are of illustrative embodiments, but do not depict all embodiments. Other embodiments may be used in addition to or instead of the illustrative embodiments. Details that may be apparent or unnecessary may be omitted for the purpose of saving space or for more effective illustrations. Some embodiments may be practiced with additional components or steps and/or without some or all components or steps provided in the illustrations. When different drawings contain the same numeral, that numeral refers to the same or similar components or steps.
In the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of one or more embodiments of the invention. However, one or more embodiments of the invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known procedures and/or components have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of embodiments of the invention.
While some embodiments are disclosed here, still other embodiments of the present invention will become obvious to those skilled in the art as a result of the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention. The invention is capable of modifications of various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The Figures, and their detailed descriptions, are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment of the invention shall not be interpreted to limit the scope of the invention.
The terms “footwear” and “shoe”, according to the present invention, generally refer to any garment worn over the feet of a user, including without limitation, boots (e.g., chukka boots, combat boots, cowboy boots, fashion boots, go-go boots, cleats, hiking boots, kinky boots, motorcycle boots, mukluk, platform boots, riding boots, Russian boots, derby boots, thigh-length boots, ugg boots, valenki, waders, wellington boot, winklepickers, etc.), shoes (e.g., athletic shoes such as trainers or sneakers, brothel creepers, court shoes, cleats, diabetic shoes, espadrilles, galoshes, kitten heels, lace-up shoes, derby shoes, oxford shoes, brogues, high-tops, loafers, Mary Janes, moccasins, monks, mules, platform shoes, school shoes, skate shoes, tap shoes, etc.), sandals (e.g., “Mandals”, flip-flops (thongs), slide, wörishofer, avarca, from Balearic Islands), indoor footwear (e.g., slippers, socks, etc.), footwraps, specific footwear (e.g. ballet shoes, high-heeled footwear, climbing shoes, clogs, football boots, sabaton, safety footwear, ski boots, snowshoes, surgical shoes, pointe shoes, swimfins, etc.), and traditional footwear.
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Unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, locations, and other specifications that are set forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, not exact. They are intended to have a reasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the above detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention. The invention is capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the detailed description is to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, although not explicitly recited, one or more embodiments of the invention may be practiced in combination or conjunction with one another. Furthermore, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment of the invention shall not be interpreted to limit the scope of the invention. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims that are appended hereto.
Except as stated immediately above, nothing that has been stated or illustrated is intended or should be interpreted to cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object, benefit, advantage, or equivalent, to the public, regardless of whether it is or is not recited in the claims.
This Application takes priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/839,318, filed on Jun. 25, 2013, titled “Footwear Device with Upper Support”, by inventor Daniel Vincent Zynn, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by this reference as though set forth in their entirety, and to which priority is claimed.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61839318 | Jun 2013 | US |
