Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention pertains generally to footwear of the
type used in athletics and particularly to footwear intended
to prevent ankle sprains.
A common injury to athletes, as well as those engaging in
recreational athletics, is the ankle sprain. Excessive inward
lateral displacement of the foot often stretches ligaments of
the ankle increasing the probability of recurring ankle sprains.
To alleviate this problem, athletes commonly wear elastic stock-
ing and/or wrap the weakened ankle with tape. Such taping of
ankles is time consuming, costly and provides only a partial
safeguard against later sprains. Similarly, the use of various
elastic foot coverings or bands is of limited value.
Regardless of whatever safeguards are employed against
extreme lateral displacement, the foot must remain capable of
normal flexion to the extent participation in athletics is not
hampered.
Devices to provide ankle and foot support, usually for ortho-
pedic purposes, have included tight knit elastic ankle bands,
air bladders, laced up fabric ankle braces, stretch fabric band-
ing and ordinary cloth tape, to name a few and some of whichare disclosed in U. S. Patents 3,674,023; 3,970,083; 4,280,489;
4,367,733; 3,834,377; 4,166,460; 2,830~585.
The present invention is embodied in footwear construction
which inhibits inward lateral rolling of the ankle without
unduly restricting foot flexion about the ankle joint in fore
and aft directions.
The present shoe construction includes the provision of
means on the shoe interior which cooperates with a foot cover-
ing to prevent inward turning or rolling of the foot beyond
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a non-injurious point. Loads encountered in resisting such move-
ment are utlimately bourne by the shoe upper. The foot cover-
ing is in frictional contact with the epidermis of the foot
and ankle area of the lower leg. Use is made of a fabric closure
material carried by the shoe upper and the foot covering in one
form of the invention. Accordingly, the foot is restrained
against extreme lateral displacement without hindrance of normal
fore and aft flexion. Further, the present arrangement is not
unduly cumbersome to wear or apply to the Foot.
The present invention is embodied in the combination of
high-top athletic footwear having an upper and an insole, a
foot covering of fabric construct;on including interior adhe-
sive means for adhering contact with the epidermis of the wearer's
foot~ and an expanse of closure material carried interiorly by
the footwear upper and extending substantially between the shoe
insole and the top edge of the upper, additional closure material
carried by the exterior of the foot covering and engageable with
said expanse of closure material to prevent slippage between
the upper and the foot covering whereby extreme lateral rolling
movement of the foot is inhibited by the footwear by reason of
the upper thereof being put into tension.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken len~thwise
along a piece of Footwear made in accordance with the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a foot
covering made in accordance with the present invention;
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Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken downwardly
along line 3-3 oF Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a vertical elevational view of the footwear
taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of the footwear
taken along lines 5-5 of Figure 3;
Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing modi-
fied footcovering construction, and
Figure 7 is a fragmentary plan view of the footwear upper
taken along line 7-7 of Figure 1.
With continuing attention to the drawing wherein applied
reference numerals indicate parts hereinaftersimilarlyidenti-
fied, the reference numeral 1 indicates generally a high-top
athletic shoe having an upper 2 of flexible, non-stretch con-
struction. A sole structure at 3 is intended to be typical and
may take various forms depending on shoe use.
For securement on a foot in a snug manner, the shoe upper
preferably may include several tabs as at 4 each provided with
a fabric closure piece 5 which adheres to a cooperating fabric
closure strip 6 in place on the exterior of the shoe upper.
Obviously, other type of shoe securement means may be utilized
such as conventional shoe laces without adversely affecting use
of the later described novel combination of the present inven-
tion. A shoe tongue is at 7.
Affixed by suitable means to the interior surface at 2A of
the upper are expanses of fabric closure material 10-11 extend-
ing from proximate a shoe insole 8 to the top edge. The closure
material pieces 10-11 are preferably of the "hook" material of
that type of closure material sold under the registered trade-
mark VELCRO. A modified shoe upper may utilize like areas of
~2~
closure material in the form of sticky surface material such
as that known as "sticky" back tape.
Additional closure material at 12 is of a looped nature
in place on a sock-like, one way elastic foot covering general-
ly at 13 and cooperates with earlier mentioned closure material
10 and 11 and is preferably integral with the foot covering as
by being woven into the foot covering at the time of manufacture.
Material 12 may be a portion of a sock having toe and lower leg
covering areas as at 13A-13B which may be free of closure
material. Accordingly, upon wearing of foot covering 13 the
closure material pieces 10-11 and material 12 come into mating,
adhering engagement with one another to effect securement of the
foot covering with respect to the interior of the shoe upper.
The additional closure material 12 is of looped pile to provide
adherence to the hook shaped material at 10 and 11 on the shoe
upper.
;~ If so desired, pieces of closure material at 15 may be of
hook shape and affixed in place on the heel segment of shoe
insole 8 by suitable means, such as an adhesive. Slippage of
the foot with respect to the shoe insole is thereby inhibited
to prevent undesired lost motion between foot and shoe.
The foot covering in Figures 2 and 3 is shown as being of
woven tubular construction with closure material 12 woven into
same and extending thereabout. While such may contribute to
ease of manufacture, the foot covering may be otherwise em-
bodied as for example in an athletic stockin~ or ankle band
having a looped filament outer surface which may stretch in
radial direction about the foot but is virtually non-elastic
in a lengthwise or axial direction of the band.
~2~
Frictional adherence of the foot covering to the epidermis
of the ankle area is preferably accomplished by adhesive means
on the interior of the foot covering. ~lith reference to Figures
4 and 5 the interior surface of the foot covering may be pro-
vided with a surfacial adhesive 17 such as a soft vinyl. Al-
ternately, as shown in Figure 6, the foot covering may be in-
corporated in-to the footwear in the form of rubber filaments 16
extending about the interior of the foot covering and located so
as to come into adhesive contact with the skin of the ankle and
foot. The area of the adhesive surface or filament would ap-
proximate the location of external area 12 of the closure material~
A still further alternative is the use of a double sided or
"sticky back" adhesive tape wrapped about the skin of the foot
and ankle.
The shoe upper 2 may be provided with stays at 18 each in
upright placement along opposite sides of the upper and retained
in place as by a cover strip 20. The stays serve to retain the
sides of the upper against sagging and may be embodied in strips
of metal or synthetic material which may distort along their
respective axes during fore and aft flexion of the ankle joint.
The surface adhesive material 17 applied to the interior of
the foot covering may be a soft polyvinylchloride applied in a
pattern as by spraying through a mask to assure the foot cover-
ing has adequate absorptive qualities.
The use of the present invention in combination with a "low
cut" shoe (not shown) provides a system for securing a foot
within an athletic shoe to avoid undesired lost motion between
foot and shoe during starting and stopping maneuvers.
In certain instances it may be desirable to dispense
with the adhesive means from the interior of the foot cover-
ing and instead rely on frictional engagement of the foot cover-
ing material which, as earlier noted, may include an elastic
band which is in gripping engagement with the epidermis of the
: ankle and foot.
While I have shown but a few embodiments of the invention
it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the in-
vention may be embodied still otherwise without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the ap-
pended claims.
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