US2434258A - Body weight distributing shoe pad construction - Google Patents

Description

W. C. BURNS Jan. 13, 1948.

BODY WEIGHT DISTRIBUTING S'HOE PAD CONSTRUCTION Filed April 1e, 194e WILL/AM C .Que/v6, n I VENTOR @www ATTORNEY Patented Jan 13, 1948 BODY WEIGHT DISTRIBUTING SHOE PAD CONSTRUCTION William C.l Burns, Santa Anna, Calif;

Application-April 16, 1946, Serial N0. 662,550A

This inventionfrelates' t'o `a` pad constructionl adapted for use in shoes to provide a weight'- distributing element adapted t'o cause a desired distribution of the body' Weight to the' portions of the foot structure which are best adapted to carry such weight without inducing a weakening of the muscular structure of the foot, and it is a particular object of this invention to provide a pad construction which vis adapted to retain its position within the' shoeV and with respect to the foot of the wearer', and therebyprovide a maximum utility and. comfortv over' a long useful' life period.

To the best of my knowledge, hitherto proposed forms of removable pads and soca1led arch supports have for the most part a marked tendency to shift their position within'th'e shoe as a result'.` of the loads `and footl movements imposed thereupon in use, rendering them unfit for the purpose for which they originally were intended, or' at least resulting in a; decrease in the comfort to the user: This undesirable shifting is found to take place at 'dii'erent' rates with different structures', being usually more rapid or more marked when the structure is provided with raises or elevated pad' sections adapted to underlie specic zones ofthe foot.

The human foot is so constructed' thatV any Weight imposed upon the arch portion of the foot, that is, the portion from immediatelyv be'- hind the articulatedjoi'nts of the metatarsals and the phlanges (often termed theV ball of the foot) rearwardly to just infront of the'heel, will cause a shifting tendency between the foot and the supporting'surface on which such` weight is carried. If the surface isv fixed, the foot tends to slip to the' outside. If the surface is movable, the surface itself' tends to shift to the in'- sideof the foot. In a conventional" shoe, with no weight-distributing" pad structure; the result of this shifting tendency is 'to causeA the foot to crowd to the-'outside of the shoe, placing lateral pressure upon the toes by engagement'with the shoe upper. Where a removable weight-distributing pad or "'arch'support structure is employed', the result of" this' shifting tendency is a crowding of thestructure toward the inside of the foot, as wel-1l as a crowding of the foot toward the outside of the shoe, and the' resulting pressure against the lateral sides -of the toes stretches the shoe' out of shape, hampers' Vthe use of the toes' in the normal walking function, and causes misalinement to the; toes with resulting pain andL discomfort.

According` to my invention, I'pr'ovide a weightdistributing means, as 'a pad for a shoe construction, adapted to be worn subiacent the weightbearing portions of the foot, wherein cooperating anchor elements are provided to substantially prevent dislocation or shifting of the weight-distributing means relative to the foot in use. This feature is attainedV through the agency of cooperating weight-bearing and position-locating portions. This invention may be considered as an improvement on the structures described and claimed in my earlier issuedr Patents Nos. 1,728,780, dated September 1.7, 1929': No. 2,081,474, dated May 25, 1937; and; No. 2,287,341, dated. June 23, 1942.

The Weight-distributing'structure of this invention may comprise, essentially, a pad member adapted to underlie the sole of the foot, provided with one or more weight-distributing raises or elevations adapted to be located subjacent specific zones of the foot, together with a, weight-bearing section substantially free of raises or elevations andlocated vimmediately subjacent the metatarsal-phalangeal' articulations, and a lateral anchor pad so spaced with respect to such weight-bearing section as to eX- tend' upwardly from the pad member in position to bear laterally against. the fifth metatarsal immediately rearwardly of the fth metatarsalphalangeal articulation, said lateral pad portion being of appreciable thickness in a lateralv direction, whereby to absorb the normal lateral thrust of the foot by transmission of such thrust to the adjacent' portion of the shoe upper, and maintain the users toes substantially out of engagement with the shoe upper;

The above and other features of this invention will be brought out in the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment, or will be Vapparent from such description. The accompany-,- ing drawings illustrate such embodiment, and referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of afpadmember accordingto the present invention, adapted for use under the left foot;

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail thereof: as taken on -line 2-2 in Fig., 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail. thereof as-taken. on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 i's a sectional detail thereof'as takenon line 4-4 in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary' plan view of the lateral edge of a left foot adjacent the fifth metatarsalphalangeal zone, with the shoe-upper broken away, showingl how" a portionv of the structure of this invention cooperates with the foot and the adjacent portion of the show upper, in use.

Referring to the drawings, the pad structure is indicate-d generally at I, comprising a posterior or heel portion 2 and an anterior portion 3. The length of the pad member will be so established with reference to the length of foot of the user that the anterior portion 3 lies subjacent the socalled ball of the foot, i. e., the muscular pad lying below the metatarsal-phalangeal articulations. The width of the pad member I is preferably made substantially that of the width of the foot. e

In accordance with the teachings of my earlier issued Patent No. 2,287,341, above mentioned, I

have shown the pad member I as provided with Y a plurality of protuberances or elevations formed by thickened portions of the pad structure, whichY are adapted to underlie certain designated zones of the foot and cooperate to secure a desired weight-distribution. The numeral 4 indicates an elevated member upon which the principal proportion of the body weight is intended to be concentrated, and this member is located along the lateral side of the foot at a position substantially below the cuboid and the forward portion of the os calcis, as taught in the above issued patent. Opposite the member 4 on the medial side of the foot, I may provide a. complementary elevated member 5 which is of materially greater` height than the member 4 and adapted to underlie the cuboid region. Similarly, at the forward or anterior portion of the pad I may provide additional elevated shoulder members 8 and!! adapted to underlie selected areas of the metatarsals posteriorly of the metatarsal-phalangeal articulations.

The above-described elevated members, it will be comprehended, are given by way of illustrattion of a weight-distributing pad construction to which the instant invention has been applied, and other locations of one or more elevated shoulder members adapted for specific attainment of certain weight-distributing effects may be substituted therefor within the contemplation of this invention.

At the lateral edge of the pad structure, immediately posteriorly of the fth metatarsalphalangeal articulation, I provide an upwardly extending cushion member I0 adapted to bear laterally against the muscle structure which covers the forward end of the fifth metatarsal. The cushion member I D is preferably skived off at its edges so that no abrupt shoulders will be present to cause discomfort to the user, and the attachment of the cushion I0 to the main structure of the pad I is preferably of a flexible nature so that the cushion I0 may readily adopt a position consonant with the foot structure, and thereby reduce possible discomfort to the wearer, as indicated by way of example of the dot-dash lines in Fig. 2. The anterior portion 3 of the pad member is made of rather extended area so as to provide a relatively large surface I I upon which the ball of the foot may bear, the curved dotdash line I2 in Fig. 1 indicating a preferred ap proximate line of pressure application resulting from the ball of the foot upon the surface II.

The pad structure as a whole may be provided by upper and lower fabrics or leather sheet members I4 and I5, between which rubber or other pad members IB may be inserted to establish the desired raises or elevations, and while 'I.' have shown both of the sheets I4 and I5 as extending forwardly a short distance, and only the sheet I4 extending the full distance, to form the surface II, it will be appreciated that one or the other of these sheets may be omitted at this location, or both extended forwardly the full length, if desired, without detriment to the utility of the structure.

In Figs. 1 and 4 the pad structure is shown as provided with a raised portion I'I connecting the raises or shoulders 5 and 8, forming, in eiect, a single shoulder member extending along the medial side of the foot. This raised portion I'I,

serves to equalize the weight on the great toe joint and eliminates the tendency for a weak foot to pronate. I have found that this con necting raise, which comes up high enough on thermedialside of the arch of the foot to induce a leverage which will brace a weak arch and adjust the weight on the cuboid region and the portion of the shoulder or raise 9 Just back of the fth metatarsal articulation, actually makes the raises 5 and 8 more effective. The raise or shoulder portion I1 is caused to come up high on the medial side of the arch where there are no cords, arteries or nerves to be interfered with, and where there is a stable pad of muscles upon which pressure may be applied. The added tendency for the pad to shift beneath the foot, induced by the sloping raise II at the medial edge of the arch, is overcome by the cooperating members IU and II, as hereinafter described.

As brought out above, the application of pressure by the foot upon a supporting surface tends either to cause the foot to be moved laterally or the supporting surface to be crowded medially, and according to this invention, I provide the surface II against which the ball of the foot may bear in use, and also provide the cushion member I0 to bear against the lateral side of the foot at the fth metatarsal. The provision of these two cooperating elements appears to be necessary to the proper maintenance of the pad structure within the shoe under the foot movements which take place in use, and I believe the function of these two members I0 and II to be as follows: as the weight of the foot is imposed upon the pad member, the foot will tend to roll upon the muscle structure at the bottom of the foot in a direction toward the lateral edge, even though the foot does not slide laterally on the surface of the pad, such as upon the sur.. face II. When the weight is taken off the foot, as in walking, the foot will tend to pull vertically away from the pad surface in the normal case, allowing a, slight sliding movement of the muscle tissues toward the lateral side of the foot as the pressure is released, so that upon the next succeeding step the muscle portion of the foot will be brought down upon the pad structure at a position slightly removed laterally from the position experienced when the pressure was first applied in the preceding step. The cushion I0, bearing as it does upon the lateral margin of the foot, as a result of medially directed pressure imposed by the adjacent portion of the shoe upper, will counteract this tendency for the foot to roll laterally as pressure is released, and. in effect, causes the foot to be placed down upon the pad structure in the same position as each succeeding step.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated, fragmentarily, a lateral edge of a foot, with the little or fifth toe curved medially as is normally encountered when the foot is located within a shoe, the fragmentary illustration of the foot itself being indicated at I8. I have represented the approximate location oi the fth metatarsal-phalangeal articulation by the dot-dash circle I9, and have represented the adjacent portion of the shoe upper at 20. From this iigure it would be seen that the cushion member l bears against the shoe upper, maintaining the forwardly adjacent portion of the foot out of substantial contact with the shoe upper. The cushion I0, being attached to the pad structure l, is relatively fixed Within the shoe, but by virtue of its flexible attachment to the pad, does not act as a rigid horn or protuberance which of itself prevents lateral dislocation of the foot with respect to the pad I. In fact, if the shoe is not present, medial pressure on the pad structure with respect to the foot will allow the pad to some extent to slide under the foot', curving the cushion I0 outwardly as through the dot-dash position of Fig. 2. When the construction is in the shoe and in use, this outward movement is opposed only by the adjacent shoe upper portion, yet there is no tendency for the pad structure to move medially under the foot.

The above description of a preferred form of my invention is considered to be illustrative, and I do not choose to be limited to the precise details of shape and construction herein described, but rather to the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In a removable pad structure provided with elevated portions adapted to underlie specic zones of a wearers foot when used in a shoe, to establish a desired body-weight distribution, such elevated portions including portions adapted to lie subjacent the metatarsals posteriorly of the metatarsabphalangeal articulations, the construction which comprises: means dening a thin weight-bearing portion of substantially uniform thickness extending transversely of said structure anteriorly of said elevated portions which are adapted to lie subjacent the metatarsals and thereby adapted to underlie the metatarsal-phalangeal articulations of the foot, and means defining an upwardly extending cushion member at the lateral margin of such a pad structure adapted to bear against the lateral margin of the foot posteriorly of the fifth metatarsal-phalangeal articulation, said cushion member being flexibly attached to said removable pad structure.

2. In a removable pad structure provided with elevated portions adapted to underlie specific Zones of a wearers foot when used in a shoe, to establish a desired body-weight distribution, such elevated portions including one portion adapted to underlie the cuboid region of the foot and another portion adapted to underlie the rst metatarsal posteriorly of the rst metatarsalphalangeal articulation, the construction which comprises: means defining an elevated portion to underlie the medial edge of the arch of the wearers foot; means defining a thin weightbearing portion of substantially uniform thickness establishing an anterior weight-bearing portion and adapted to underlie the metatarsalphalangeal articulations of the foot, and means defining an upwardly extending cushion member at the lateral margin of such a pad structure adapted to bear against the lateral margin of the foot posteriorly of the fth metatarsalphalangeal articulation, said cushion member being ilexibly attached to said removable pad structure.

3. In a removable pad structure provided with elevated portions adapted to underlie specic zones of a wearers foot when used in a shoe, to establish a desired body-weight distribution, such elevated portions including portions adapted to lie subjacent the metatarsals posteriorly of the metatarsallphalangeal articulations, the construction which comprises: means dening a thin weight-bearing portion of substantially uniform thickness extending transversely of said structure anteriorly of said elevated portions which are adapted to lie subjacent the metatarsals and thereby adapted to underlie the metatarsal-phlangeal articulations of the foot, and means defining an upwardly and forwardly extending cushion member at the lateral margin of such a pad structure adapted to bear against the lateral margin of the foot posteriorly of the fifth metatarsal-phalangeal articulation, said cushion member being iiexibly attached to said removable pad structure.

WILLIAM C. BURNS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 545,006 Baird Aug. 20, 1895 1,284,191 Hamilton Nov. 5, 1918 1,402,557 Wilms Jan. 3, 1922 1,700,569 I-Iillery Jan. 29, 1929 2,027,055 Mirenta Jan. 7,1936 2,163,906 Cote June 27, 1939 2,287,341 Burns June 23, 1942

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