Patent Grant
10798991
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure and prior art relates to shoe insert devices and more particularly pertains to a new shoe insert device for relieving pressure on a heel when a shoe is worn.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a panel configured to be positioned in a shoe. A heel alignment pad is U-shaped. The heel alignment pad is positioned on and extends upwardly from an upper surface of the panel wherein the heel alignment pad is configured to extend around and support a heel of the foot positioned in the shoe.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A heel well 30 extends into the upper surface 14 of the panel 12. The heel alignment pad 26 extends around the heel well 30. The heel alignment pad 26 may further extend fully around the heel well 30 such that a front edge 32 of the heel well 30 is inset relative to a straight line extending between opposite ends 34 of the heel alignment pad 26. In one embodiment shown particularly in
Additional embodiments are contemplated. The following descriptions implement similar reference numbering with an alphabetical reference for elements having structure and/or function consistent with previously described elements of the invention.
In an embodiment shown particularly in
In yet another embodiment, shown particularly in
In any of the embodiments, and particularly represented in
It is contemplated, and in view of the above descriptions, believed elements described herein may be incorporated or combined to produce further variations consistent with the disclosure of the invention but not specifically shown in the drawing figures. For example, the heel well 30 consistent with the showing of
As shown particularly in
In use, the shoe insert device 10 is placed within the shoe in the manner of a conventional insole. Insertion of the foot into the shoe provides for the heel alignment pad 30 to support a peripheral area of the heel of the foot removing some pressure from directly between the upper surface 14 of the panel 12 and a center of the heel of the foot. Further pressure alleviation is achieved through the presence of the heel well 30 which is aligned with the center of the heel of the foot. The varied shape of the panel 12 as shown in the drawing figures and described above provides for customization of support, or lack of additional support, for the middle and front portions of the foot as may be desired.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 15/337,901 filed Oct. 28, 2016, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,111,489 on Oct. 30, 2018.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1475058 | Davis | Nov 1923 | A |
| 1575490 | Krech | Mar 1926 | A |
| 1594034 | Anderson | Jul 1926 | A |
| 1945780 | Johnson | Feb 1934 | A |
| 2404731 | Johnson | Jul 1946 | A |
| 2662309 | Morton | Dec 1953 | A |
| 2814133 | Herbst | Nov 1957 | A |
| 2909854 | Edelstein | Oct 1959 | A |
| 3244176 | Neu | Apr 1966 | A |
| 3373513 | Jewell | Mar 1968 | A |
| 4235028 | Riggs | Nov 1980 | A |
| 4336661 | Medrano | Jun 1982 | A |
| 4360027 | Friedlander | Nov 1982 | A |
| 4794707 | Franklin | Jan 1989 | A |
| 4862604 | Hauser | Sep 1989 | A |
| D422782 | Kress | Apr 2000 | S |
| 6460275 | Bennett | Oct 2002 | B1 |
| 6474003 | Erickson | Nov 2002 | B2 |
| 6817115 | Polifroni | Nov 2004 | B2 |
| 6990756 | Wang | Jan 2006 | B1 |
| 7614164 | Morales et al. | Nov 2009 | B2 |
| 8819961 | Ellis | Sep 2014 | B1 |
| 20030110662 | Gilman | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20060086004 | Davis | Apr 2006 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20190059509 A1 | Feb 2019 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15337901 | Oct 2016 | US |
| Child | 16173461 | US |
