Footwear

Abstract

An elegant and stylish high-heeled shoe includes improved arch supports, pads, and gel-filled cushions, to enhance ankle stability and wearer comfort and improved weight distribution, by collecting and transferring body weight primarily by the ball of the heel and secondarily by an arch support and tertiarily by a toe post. These distributed support structures in combination prevent an undesirable feeling of the foot sliding down the ramp.

Description

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This non-provisional utility application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. 63/212,645 “Footwear,” filed 19 Jun. 2021. The entire contents of U.S. provisional application Ser. 63/212,645 “Footwear,” filed 19 Jun. 2021 is hereby incorporated into this document by reference.

FIELD

The invention relates to footwear and especially to fashionable and attractive high-heeled shoes.

BACKGROUND

High-heeled shows have been a popular fashion item, and some sources date their earliest origins to the 15th century. However users often find the currently available designs to be uncomfortable after long hours of wearing, and some pedestal designs in the raised heel section contribute to instability in the ankle while walking which may increase the risk of a fall or a sprained ankle.

Weight distribution is often left unaddressed by designs created for ornamentality rather that for safe or comfortable use. Significantly, the throat section of high heeled shoes may deleteriously act as a ramp allowing the arches of the wearer's feet to slide down toward the toe section of the shoe, which is either restrained uncomfortably in the toe cap or toe band of the shoe, or which causes the wearer to lean uncomfortably.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A primary objective of the invention is to provide a stylish and elegant design for a high-heeled shoe.

Another objective of the invention is to reduce discomfort while wearing and walking with the inventive high-heeled shoe. A corollary objective of the invention is to offer shape-compliant surfaces which provide improved comfort.

Yet another objective of the invention is to offer improved stability over existing and prior designs. A corollary objective of the invention it to support certain portions of the wearer's foot in the shoe so as to collect the body weight over a distributed and novel set of weight-bearing surfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of particular embodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to similar components. When reference is made to a reference numeral without specification to an existing sublabel, it is intended to refer to all such multiple similar components.

FIG. 1 shows a front, right, top view of a shoe component in accordance with the invention, fashioned for the right foot.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the shoe component of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a right side view of the shoe component of FIG. 1 and defining cross section line A-A for FIG. 6.

FIG. 4 shows a front view of the shoe component of FIG. 1, and defining cross section line B-B for FIG. 7.

FIG. 5 shows a bottom view of the shoe component of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 shows a cross section view of the shoe component of FIG. 1 taken at section line A-A of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section view of the shoe component of FIG. 1 taken at section line B-B of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 shows a top view of the shoe component of FIG. 1 and including an insock having compliant pads.

FIG. 9 shows a front, left, top view of the shoe component and insock of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 shows a front, left, top view of an embodiment of a complete shoe assembly including the shoe component and insock of FIG. 8, and including a heel counter, an ornamental ankle bracelet, a toe strap, and a toe post.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

While various aspects and features of certain embodiments have been summarized above, the following detailed description illustrates a few exemplary embodiments in further detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice such embodiments. The described examples are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that other embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Several embodiments are described herein, and while various features are ascribed to different embodiments, it should be appreciated that the features described with respect to one embodiment may be incorporated with other embodiments as well. By the same token, however, no single feature or features of any described embodiment should be considered essential to every embodiment of the invention, as other embodiments of the invention may omit such features.

In this application the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise, and use of the terms “and” and “or” is equivalent to “and/or,” also referred to as “non-exclusive or” unless otherwise indicated. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as well as other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” should be considered non-exclusive. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompass both elements and components comprising one unit and elements and components that comprise more than one unit, unless specifically stated otherwise.

The invention provides an elegant and stylish high-heeled shoe includes improved arch supports, pads, and gel-filled cushions, to enhance ankle stability and wearer comfort and improved weight distribution, by collecting and transferring body weight primarily by the ball of the heel and secondarily by an arch support and tertiarily by a toe ridge. These distributed support structures in combination prevent an undesirable feeling of the foot sliding down the ramp.

For all figures, reference numerals and reference letters for elements described in any one figure represent the same elements as they appear and are referenced in any other figures, without requiring redundant recitation of the same description in those other figures.

Referring to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a front, right, top view of a shoe component for a high-heeled shoe in accordance with the invention, fashioned for the right foot. The shoe component [1] integrally comprises a heel pillar [6,] an outer sole [2] and an insock which is also referred to as an inner sole. The throat section of the outer sole includes an aperture [4] for securing a shank, such as a steel or metal reinforcement, which extends along the throat section of the outer sole. The heel portion of the outer sole includes outer one or more apertures [5] for fasteners which secure a heel counter to the outer sole. A top lift [8] is affixed to the underside of the tip of the heel pillar.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the shoe component of FIG. 1. The outer soles defining a longitudinal medial contour [7a] which further defines forward direction [9a] and a rearward direction [9b.] The outer sole also defines a ball line [7b] substantially transverse to the longitudinal medial contour taken at the widest extent of the outer sole. In this specification, “substantially transverse” refers to a first entity oriented within 20° of perpendicular to a second entity. The outer sole also includes a pocket [3] which by its perimeter defines a pocket area and according to a preferred embodiment within the scope of the invention at least 75% of the pocket area is located rearward of the ball line. Fasteners in the heel section secure a heel counter to the heel portion of the outer sole component. A first exemplary pattern of fastener receiving apertures [5] is shown as a preferred arrangement and a second pattern of apertures [5′] is also shown as an alternate embodiment. Other arrangements of these apertures also reside within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a right side view of the shoe component of FIG. 1 and also defines a cross section line A-A for the cross section view of FIG. 6. The outer sole shoe component further comprises an undercut [9] by the heel which receives a heel counter, and undercuts such as [11a] in the ball portion which receive ends of a toe band of a shoe assembled with the inventive outer sole.

FIG. 4 shows a front view of the shoe component of FIG. 1, and defining cross section line B-B for the cross section view of FIG. 7. The undercut [11b] in the left side of this right-foot embodiment receives the opposite end of a toe band than the end received in the undercut [11a] of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows a bottom view of the shoe component of FIG. 1. The first and second under cuts undercuts [11a] and [11b] are both seen, for respectively receiving first and second ends of a toe band for the assembled shoe.

FIG. 6 shows a cross section view of the shoe component of FIG. 1 taken at section line A-A of FIG. 3. Because the plane cuts at a slanted, non-perpendicular angle to the axis of the reinforcing column [18] embedded within the heel pillar [6] of the shoe component, where a round bar or rod is used as a reinforcing column it appears in this cross section view as an ellipse. Other bar cross sections reside within the scope of the invention including square, rectangular, hexagonal or other polygonal shapes, and also bars comprising structural channels such as I-beams, W-sections, H-beams, and rail cross sections may also be used as a reinforcing column within the scope of the invention. Hollow tubes may also be used as a reinforcing column within the scope of the invention.

The outer sole of the inventive shoe component defines a heel cup [16] having a transverse width dimension [w] and with a depth dimension [d] defined from a point within 15% of a true midpoint [w/2] of a line extending across the lateral ridges of the heel cup as seen in this cross section view. According to a preferred embodiment, this depth is at least 17% of the transverse width dimension, so that lateral stability and comfort is supplied to the heel and especially the medial process of the calcaneus bone. According to a preferred embodiment the depth of the cup is between 5 mm and 15 mm.

A portion of the outer sole pocket [3] is visible in this view, and portions of the heel counter undercut [9] are also visible in this view. According to a preferred embodiment the heel counter undercut is arcuate, following the contour of the perimeter of the heel section of the outer sole, and includes at least one positively curves surface which comports with the heel cup. A portion of one of the toe band undercuts [11a] is also visible in this view. The heel cup of this design offers a wider support base than currently available comparable high heeled shoes, which substantially increases comfort and stability even though the narrow pillar maintains the slender aesthetics associated with high heeled shoes, which typically offer a flat floor in this heel section.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section view of the shoe component of FIG. 1 taken at section line B-B of FIG. 4. The heel cup [16] and a rim [17] of the heel cup of the outer sole [2] are shown, and an insert molded shank [15] preferably made of steel or a metal or any suitably resilient material. The shank is further secured within the outer sole by being transfixed by a threaded fastener or a rivet installed into aperture [4.] The rear aspect of the heel counter undercut [9] is also visible in this view. The material of the outer sole continues in the form of a heel pillar [6] which includes an embedded reinforcement column [18] which may preferably a steel tube. A dowel [13] which may be made of metal such as steel, aluminum, or brass, is disposed partially within the heel pillar and partially within the top lift [8] beneath the heel pillar. The top lift is preferably made of hard or tough material, wherein hardness is defined as resistance to indentation and toughness is defined as endurance or resistance to erosion by abrasion. The top lift may also be a composite structure comprising soft plastic or hard rubber.

The top lift may also be overmolded onto the dowel. The transition surface [12] proceeding from the heel cup to the throat section of the insole comprises a negatively curved, or saddle-shaped 3-dimensional surface. Other unimproved designs usually include just a simple, axial bend which results in a laterally flat transverse ridge which is less comfortable to wear when standing. According to another embodiment within the scope of the invention, the shank may be insert-molded without the use of fasteners or rivets. According to yet another embodiment within the scope of the invention, the reinforcing column is made shorter than the length of the heel pillar so that it stops short within the pillar and forms a downward-pointing aperture, A top lift complementary to this particular embodiment includes a protruding dowel which may be insert molded into the top lift. The protruding portion of this dowel is received within the downward-pointing aperture and coaxially abuts to the reinforcement column in the heel pillar.

FIG. 8 shows a top view of the shoe component of FIG. 1 and including an insock [20] having compliant pads. Most insock designs in current use do not include any arch supports or transverse features for resisting longitudinal sliding of the foot while worn within a shoe. According to a preferred embodiment, the insock comprises a first shock-absorbing gel pad [21] sandwiched between fabric layers adhered to each other by an adhesive. The insock may be secured to the outer sole by adhesive or by mechanical means such as stitching, so that the gel pad is registered within the pocket of the outer sole. The rear ridge of the gel pad bolters the wearer's foot by supplying reaction forces counteracting longitudinal forces within the foot which would otherwise allow the foot to slide down the throat section of the outer sole. Another substantial portion of these longitudinal forces is taken up by the forward rim of the heel cup.

The insock of this high-heeled shoe component further comprises a second, semilunar shock absorbing gel pad [22] located partway along the throat of the insock so that is resides beneath the instep of the wearer's foot as an additional feature for collecting longitudinal forces in the foot and eliminating an unwanted feeling of “sliding down a ramp.” Besides furnishing shoes in given or standard sizes, a shoe of a selected size may also be customized by request to include arch support pads selected from a variety of shapes, thicknesses, durometer and contours so that a manufacturer may offer tailored products uniquely and specifically formed to particular customers.

FIG. 9 shows a front, left, top view of the shoe component and insock of FIG. 8. With the insock [20] secured to the outer sole, the bolstering features of (a) the forward rim of the heel cup, (b) the rear edge of the first gel pad [21,] and (c) the upper surface of the second semilunar gel pad [22] residing under the instep of the wearer's foot act in concert to substantially reduce rearward force felt by the user at the toe band or toe post of a shoe assembly fabricated to include the shoe component [2] disclosed herein. Furthermore, with the heel cup as shown in the cross section view of FIG. 7, a wearer may shift weight aft and enjoy a level of comfort while standing which is not currently offered by existing high heel shoe products.

FIG. 10 shows a front, left, top view of an embodiment of a complete shoe assembly including the shoe component and insock [20] of FIG. 8, and including a heel counter [27,] an ornamental ankle bracelet [30,] a toe strap [25,] and a toe post [24.] The first gel pad [21] and the second semilunar gel pad [22] are also visible in this view.

While certain features and aspects have been described with respect to exemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications are possible. Also, while certain functionality is ascribed to certain system components, unless the context dictates otherwise, this functionality may be distributed among various other system components in accordance with the several embodiments.

Moreover, while the procedures of the methods and processes described herein are described in a particular order for ease of description, unless the context dictates otherwise, various procedures may be reordered, added, and/or omitted in accordance with various embodiments. Furthermore, the procedures described with respect to one method or process may be incorporated within other described methods or processes; likewise, system components described according to a particular structural configuration and/or with respect to one system may be organized in alternative structural configurations and/or incorporated within other described systems.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, are possible from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Hence, while various embodiments are described with or without certain features for ease of description and to illustrate exemplary aspects of those embodiments, the various components and/or features described herein with respect to a particular embodiment may be substituted, added, and/or subtracted from among other described embodiments, unless the context dictates otherwise. Thus, unauthorized instances of apparatuses and methods claimed herein are to be considered infringing, no matter where in the world they are advertised, sold, offered for sale, used, possessed, or performed.

Consequently and in summary, although many exemplary embodiments are described above, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A high-heeled shoe component integrally comprising: a heel pillar, an outer sole, and an insock, with said heel pillar comprising a reinforcement column, and said outer sole defining a longitudinal medial contour further defining forward and rearward directions, anddefining a ball line substantially transverse to said longitudinal medial contour, andfurther comprising a pocket defining a pocket area, with at least 75% of said pocket area located rearward of said ball line, andfurther comprising an insert molded shank.

2. The high-heeled shoe component of claim 1, wherein said reinforcing column is recessed within said heel pillar to form a downward-pointing aperture, and further comprising a top lift having a protruding dowel received within said downward-pointing aperture and abutted to and coaxial to said reinforcement column in said heel pillar.

3. The high-heeled shoe component of claim 1, further comprisinga dowel abutted to and coaxial to said reinforcement column in said heel pillar and partially protruding from said heel pillar, anda top lift affixed to said dowel.

4. The high-heeled shoe component of claim 1, wherein said insock further comprises a shock-absorbing gel pad registered within said pocket of said outer sole.

5. The high-heeled shoe component of claim 3, wherein said insock further comprises a second, semilunar shock absorbing gel pad.

6. The high-heeled shoe component of claim 1, wherein said shank is transfixed by a fastener.

7. The high-heeled shoe component of claim 1, wherein said outer sole further comprises first and second undercuts which respectively receive first and second ends of a toe strap.

8. The high-heeled shoe component of claim 1, wherein said outer sole further comprises an undercut by the heel which receives a heel counter.

9. The high-heeled shoe component of claim 1, wherein said outer sole further defines a heel cup having a transverse width dimension and with a depth dimension of said heel cup being at least 17% of said transverse width dimension.

10. The high-heeled shoe component of claim 1, wherein said outer sole further defines a heel cup and a throat section connected by a negatively curved surface.