Patent Application
20140068965
The present invention is directed to a footwear construction and, more particularly, to a gel pad having a network of hollow motion pillars for engaging the wearer's foot during impact.
Numerous attempts have been made over the years to incorporate into footwear means for providing improved cushioning and support within a shoe's construction. Most articles of footwear are generically designed to accommodate as many foot shapes as possible in order to appeal to a broad range of consumers. Consequently, the resulting fit and comfort will vary greatly from person to person because satisfying the ergonomic needs of such a broad range of individuals with a single design is extremely difficult.
Shoes, at their most fundamental level, are intended to provide protection and comfort to the human foot during the course of day-to-day activities. Footwear designs have varied greatly over time as well as from culture to culture, with the predominate focus relating to functionality. Typically, shoe interiors contain a variety of hard materials and/or low density foam and often include substantially flat surfaces which come into direct contact with the foot. Such materials are employed within the construction of footwear interiors in an attempt to provide support and/or cushioning. While these types of materials may provide comfort in the short-term, such materials quickly compress, thus failing to provide sufficient support and/or cushioning over the course of an entire day.
In addition, current sockliners are intended to support the foot and provide cushion thereto. The point of the heel striking the ground typically takes the greatest amount of pounding. The heel requires extra cushioning in order to provide continuous comfort and longer wearing time. In contrast, most sockliners are one thin layer of foam material. This does not provide enough support under the heel to absorb shock from striking the ground.
In order to correct for the design deficiencies of such footwear interiors, consumers often purchase aftermarket insoles to insert within shoes they find uncomfortable in an attempt to compensate for the shoe's deficiencies in support and/or comfort. Although many of these aftermarket insoles are marketed as a simple solution for increasing support and/or comfort, their use is often associated with fit problems and ultimately fail to deliver the improvements promised. This is because the space and structural limitations of a variety of footwear interiors were not considered when these insoles were designed.
Individuals generally find footwear uncomfortable after a full day of wear, regardless of whether the individual is relying only on the support elements built within the shoe's structure or if they have added additional support in the form of a purchased aftermarket insole. Indeed, numerous combinations of shoe constructions and/or separately sold insoles have been employed in an attempt to provide support and/or comfort. In particular, such current support elements fail to adequately distribute an individual's weight during footstrike, causing most of the force to be borne by the individual's heel. It is therefore desirable to provide a gel pad for various types of footwear which provides increased comfort and support by receiving the heel during footstrike.
The present invention is directed to a gel pad which uses pressure distribution technology to adequately distribute an individual's weight and provides increased comfort and support to the wearer. The present gel pad is designed to be positioned in the center heel area of footwear and includes a network of hollow motion pillars that provide perceivably noticeable cushioning and improved support over the course of an entire day without bottoming out. Each hollow pillar is sized, shaped and spaced strategically to support the weight of the wearer and distribute underfoot pressure.
More particularly, the gel pad includes a base having a top face for receiving a heel and/or positioning it within a shoe and a bottom face having a central floor portion and an outer flange which cooperate to provide structural integrity to the gel pad. A plurality of hollow pillars are positioned in spaced apart relationship on the surface of the central floor portion, the top surfaces of each of the pillars being substantially parallel to the outer flange. The plurality of pillars may be positioned to point downward such that each of the pillar top surfaces engage the next interior layer of the shoe. The pillars may be evenly spaced in rows across the central floor portion bordered by the outer flange. Each of the pillars may be preferably sized to cooperate together in order to provide support and/or cushioning to the wearer's heel during footstrike. In one embodiment, each of the pillars may be substantially octagonally shaped.
The combination of the central floor portion, the plurality of hollow pillars, the outer flange, and the use of a gel type material that substantially maintains its form all function to improve the distribution of the underfoot pressure. It is also generally recognized that the gel pad of the present invention is more resistant to “bottoming out”, which for purposes of this disclosure, means that the gel pad will not reach a threshold of force where the gel type material will not further compress. As pressure is applied to the present gel pad, the hollow pillars compress vertically, causing them to expand horizontally. The spacing between the pillars and the hollow cavity within each pillar provide space for each pillar to expand horizontally, allowing for additional compression and cushioning without resistance or pressure increases due to bottoming out.
In alternative embodiments, the present gel pad may be positioned in the forefoot region, the midfoot region and/or the hind foot region to provide support and/or cushioning to said regions. It is further understood that a plurality of gel pads may be positioned within various parts of the shoe to provide support and/or cushioning to multiple regions of the foot simultaneously.
It is also recognized that the present gel pad may be directly incorporated into a sockliner fixed within a particular shoe, or it may be incorporated into an aftermarket sockliner, to provide improved support and/or comfort over the course of an entire day. The gel pad may also be integrated with a strobel insole or insole board as well. It could likewise be left uncovered or a removable sockliner could be placed over it.
Specific advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description of several illustrative embodiments of the present invention.
It should be understood that the present drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments disclosed herein are sometimes illustrated by fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should also be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein. Like numbers utilized throughout the various figures designate like or similar parts or structure.
Footwear generally includes an upper and a sole assembly that is affixed to the upper. The sole assembly typically includes a peripheral shape designed to conform to the shape of a wearer's foot. For ease of reference herein, the human foot may be generally considered to have three regions: the forefoot region (area adjacent the toes and which underlies at least a portion of the ball of a wearer's foot), the midfoot region (area adjacent the medial arch, between the forefoot and the hind foot regions and which underlies at least a portion of the arch of a wearer's foot) and the hind foot region (area adjacent the heel, including the center heel area and which underlies at least an area of a wearer's heel). When referring to such locations and the way in which the regions of the foot are received within a shoe, these terms should be interpreted to include those areas that are disposed generally (and not necessarily directly) beneath the corresponding elements of the foot. It should be understood, however, that the boundaries between the regions are not precise and that these terms should be interpreted loosely and with a great deal of flexibility.
Referring now to the drawings, more particularly by reference numbers,
The gel pad 10 includes a base 12 that may be formed in any suitable style or shape having a top face 14 and a bottom face 16 as best illustrated in
The gel pad 10 of
In one embodiment, the hollow shaped pillars 22 may be evenly spaced across the central floor portion 18A, the pillars 22 being bordered by the outer flange 20. In another embodiment, the space between the pillars 22 may range from between approximately 1 mm and approximately 10 mm, the pillars 22 being spaced as desired in order to support and/or cushion the heel during footstrike and to allow sufficient space for horizontal expansion under compression. Furthermore, the pillars 22 may be organized into rows extending across the surface of the central floor portion 18A. Each of the pillars 22 is substantially column-shaped, the height of each pillar 22 being preferably in the range of between approximately 0.5 mm and approximately 30 mm, the length of each pillar being preferably in the range of between approximately 0.5 mm and approximately 30 mm; the thickness of the walls forming each respective pillar 22 being preferably in the range of between approximately 0.5 mm and approximately 10 mm; and the hollow space between two opposed walls within each pillar being preferably in the range of between approximately 0.5 mm and approximately 29.75 mm. Based on the expected body weight, compression % and load supported by each pillar 22, the pillar heights and network spacing can be determined by a person skilled in the art.
The pillars 22 are oriented to distribute body weight during footstrike without “bottoming out” and strategically allocate underfoot pressure. Furthermore, each of the pillars 22 may be substantially octagonally shaped and preferably size to cooperate together in order to provide support and/or cushioning to the wearer's heel during footstrike. It is understood that in alternative embodiments, each of the pillars 22 may be fashioned into other shapes, as desired, to accommodate various alternative designs of the gel pad 10 without departing from the teachings and practice of the present invention. In addition, the gel pad 10 could be designed to have different surface areas, shapes and thicknesses due to gender and foot sizes. The overall shape of the gel pad 10 illustrated in
As illustrated in
Although the embodiments of the present gel pad 10 are generally designed to be positioned in the center heel area, it is understood that in alternative embodiments, the gel pad 10 may be positioned in the forefoot region, the midfoot region or the hind foot region of a particular shoe to provide support and/or cushioning to those regions of the foot without departing from the teachings and practice of the present invention. In alternative embodiments, it is further envisioned that a plurality of gel pads 10 may be positioned within various parts of the shoe to provide support and/or cushioning to multiple regions of the foot simultaneously.
Further, the overall dimensions of the embodiments of the present gel pad 10 as well as the specific shape and configuration of the various sections thereof are also subject to wide variations and may be sized and shaped into a wide variety of different sizes and configurations so as to be compatible with the size and shape of the particular footwear into which the present structure may be inserted and/or secured, or to conform to any space limitations associated therewith without impairing the teachings and practice of the present invention.
It is also recognized and anticipated that the base 12 and the plurality of pillars 22 can be molded into a one-piece pad 10. It is also understood that the base 12 can be made separate and apart from the pillars 22 and that these components could be separate members which are attached together in a unitary fashion. It is also anticipated that the plurality of pillars 22 could be formed on a thin sheet of material and such sheet of material could then be attached to the base 12. Other assembly configurations are likewise envisioned.
Still further, the shape, size and height of each pillar within the network of pillars 22 associated with a particular gel pad 10 could vary between each other within such network, and the shape and/or size of each pillar 22 could include any angle or curve found in a geometric shape. In addition, the overall shape of the gel pad 10 could likewise include any angle or curve found in a geometric shape and the pad 10 could be sized and shaped to conform to the particular location within a particular shoe where such pad will be positioned. Nevertheless, regardless of the overall shape, size, height and configuration of the various components of the present gel pad 10, the final configuration is designed so as to deliver better weight and pressure distribution across a broader area thereby lowering foot pressure and providing improved shock absorption during footstrike. The present pillars 22 compress and recover to their original size giving superior cushioning and support to a wearer's foot. This improves cushioning and comfort and provides the wearer with immediate benefits as compared to the current sockliners presently in use. Other advantages are likewise anticipated.
It is also understood that various modifications may be made to all of the various embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a novel gel pad. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required.” Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.
