Patent Application
20080307672
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to footwear making the toe muscles fortifiable and to a toe-fortifiable insole member of footwear.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional shoe, the insole thereof is formed to be substantially flat over the entire surface thereof. In use, therefore, a wearer cannot put muscle into his or her toes until he or she is conscious of a feeling of doing so, thereby allowing his or her center of gravity to incline backward to have poor posture. Furthermore, when the toe muscles fail to function sufficiently, the knees or lumbar will bear a heavy burden to injure them. These are problematic.
In addition, since the generalized trigger points are concentrated on the plantar surface, it is very important from the healthy and kinetic points of view to develop and fortify the plantar muscles, particularly toe muscles.
In view of the state of affairs, the present invention has as a first object to provide footwear capable of developing and fortifying toe muscles without a wearer being particularly conscious of a feeling of doing so in use.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a footwear insole member capable of developing and fortifying toe muscles without a wearer being particularly conscious of a feeling of doing so in use.
To attain the first object, the present invention provides toe-fortifiable footwear comprising a sole portion and a step formation member of a constant thickness attached to an inside of the footwear, the step formation member having a forward end part that forms a step part for having an insole surface of the footwear divided into a first insole surface part for toes and a second insole surface part constituting a top surface of the step formation member for a plantar surface exclusive of the first insole surface, which insole surface parts differ in height by the constant thickness.
According to the footwear of the present invention, the toes are bent at the step part to come into contact with the first insole surface part. As a result, the toes are in a state grasping the step part to allow the toes to exert spontaneous power thereof onto the step part. Therefore, the toe muscles can be developed and fortified without a wearer being particularly conscious of a feeling of doing so in use. In addition, the center of gravity of the wearer is shifted forward to have good posture. Moreover, the toes and foot claws will not be injured.
To achieve the second object, the present invention provides a toe-fortifiable insole member having a constant thickness, detachably attached to an inside of footwear and having a forward end part that forms a step part for having an insole surface of the footwear divided into a first insole surface part for toes and a second insole surface part constituting a top surface of the insole member for a plantar surface exclusive of the first insole surface, which insole surface parts differ in height by the constant thickness of the insole member.
According to the insole member of the present invention, when it is used as having been attached to footwear having a substantially flat surface, the toes are bent at the step part to come into contact with the first insole surface part. As a result, the toes are in a state grasping the step part to allow the toes to exert spontaneous power thereof onto the step part. Similarly to the case of the footwear according to the present invention, therefore, the toe muscles can be developed and fortified without a wearer being particularly conscious of a feeling of doing so in use. In addition, the center of gravity of the wearer is shifted forward to have good posture. Moreover, the toes and foot claws will not be injured.
The above and other objects, characteristic features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the description to be given herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The toe-fortifiable footwear (shoe) 1 of the present invention comprises a sole portion 2 and a step formation member 4 of a constant thickness attached to an inside of the footwear. The step formation member 4, the state of which before being attached is shown in
In this embodiment, the step formation member 4 has a thickness of 10 mm to set the step part 5 of about 10 mm.
The footwear (shoe) 1 has an upper portion (sack body portion) 10, particularly an upper part (sack body part) 10A corresponding to the instep, formed desirably into a three-dimensional size slightly larger than the three-dimensional size of an ordinary shoe so that the amount of the thickness of the step formation member 4 may be absorbed.
In this embodiment, the step formation member 4 has a forward end part 4A tapered to form a tapered step part 5.
In this embodiment, the forward end part 4A of the step formation member 4 is formed into a shape in conformity with the contour of the toe root joints (refer to
The step formation member 4 is preferably formed of an elastic material, such as rubber or plastic, having a cushioning property. In the present embodiment, it is formed of foamed polyurethane.
In the illustrated embodiment, a low shoe, such as a sneaker or a businessman shoe, is shown as the footwear of the present invention. However, the present invention may be applied to a boot or sandal.
The toe-fortifiable insole member 4 of the present invention has a constant thickness, is detachably attached to the inside of footwear and has a forward end part 4A that forms a step part 5 for having an insole surface 3 of the footwear divided into a first insole surface part 3A for toes and a second insole surface part 3B constituting a top surface of the insole member 4 for a plantar surface exclusive of the first insole surface 3A. The first and second insole surface parts 3A and 3B differ in height by the constant thickness of the insole member 4.
In this embodiment, the insole member 4 has a thickness of 10 mm to set the step part 5 of about 10 mm.
In this embodiment, the insole member 4 has a forward end part 4A tapered to form a tapered step part 5.
In this embodiment, the forward end part 4A of the insole member 4 is formed into a shape in conformity with the contour of the roots of toe joints.
The insole member 4 is preferably formed of an elastic material, such as rubber or plastic, having a cushioning property. In the present embodiment, it is formed of foamed polyurethane.
