Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~2;~
INSOLE ASSEMBLIES FOR ADJUSTABL~ GIRTH SHOES
Backqround of the Invention
In order for a shoe to fit properly, it should not only
be of the correct length, ~ut also should have width and girth
dimensions, p~rtic~larly in the reg~on wlhere the forepart of
the foot is enclosed, that substantially match those of the
wearer's foot. As used herein, "girth" is def~ned as the
transverse circumference around the forepar~ of the foot, typ-
ically measured at the critical fitting areas inclucling the
ball, waist and instep thereof, and is also used to describe
the e~fective inside circumference of the shoe in the same re-
gions.
Ideally, a customer should be able to purchase a pair of
shoes having a separate length and width combinatlon for each
foot, reflecting the usual dimensional differences therebe-
tween, and the slze selection should be made from a fu]l xange
of ~ome nlne or more widths for ~ach length. Furthermore, the
customer should ~e supplied with means to adjust the width of
such shoe, particularly ln the cri~ical flexing ball region,
to allow further poss~ble girth adjustments during use, to com-
pensate for any stretch in ~he shoQ~s upper, and for varia-
tions in stocking thickness, and particularly for the usual dy-
namic changes in the foot itself, which normally varies over a
range o~ up to two ~ull width sizes diurnally, with even great-
er variations experienced under a ~arlety of specific physio-
logical causal factors affecting mainly accumula~ion of fluid
in the extremitles such as i5 often experienced in warm damp
weather, in airline flying, and with a var~ety of illnesses
and/or trauma that may produce slmilar effects.
In practice, however, the so-called 'volume' shoe mar-
ket, responsible for over 9o~ of all sales, has ~ound it gener-
ally uneconomic to offex shoes in more than one or occasional-
ly two widths, primarily because of the high cost of inventory
-- 2 --
at the retail level, and the preferred general policy o~ carry-
ing the widest assortment of ~tyles w~th the min~mum assort-
ment of widths posslble. Customers with other than average
width feet have a very llmited choice, and then usual~y only
at relatively expensive shops, or through mail order opera-
~ions, both of whlch are bet~er e~uipped to handle the inven-
tory problem, although with a conslderably more limited choice
~ of styles.
As a result of this s~tuation, it has been accepted that
most of all ~hoes sold provide only an approxima~e and usually
improper fit, particularly in the sensitive and critical ball
area where the foot flexes during the stride and where girth
adjustment by iaces and the like has no~ proven comfortable or
practical.
Attempts to solve this glrth ad~ustment problem by rais~
ing the height of the insole, as disclosed in U.S. Patent No.
3,442,031, have met with l~mited aaoeptance, partly s~nce they
usually tehd to alter t~le d~s~gned ~read of the shoe ~rom that
of the last on whlch it was made, "tread" being defined as the
relationship of the primarily long~tudinal contour of the bot-
tom of the insole in the shoe to the shoe supporting surface,
~..e. ground, floor, etc. A further and more profound problem
occurs when attempting to correctly flt the usually somewhat
differing girths of a person's two feet. Here, the correct
fit usin~ this old approach can cause one foot to walk at a
h~gher level than the other, whlch is orthopedically incorrect
and even ~angeroUS not only to the feet, but other portions of
the anatomy, including knees, hips, spine and even jaw align-
ment.
The present invention result~ from the discovery that
the glrth of a.welght-bearing unshod foot varies significantly
with di~ferent types of foot supporting surfaces, with the
greatest girth produced on a perfectly flat firm surface such
as a floor, and the least girth experienced when the same foot
-- 3 --
is supported by a more conformi~g surface such as relatively
firm but conforming beach sand. This situation holds true for
both static and dynamic cond~tion~, w~th such girth variations
found to amount to several consecu~ive standard width incre-
ments. The present invention enable~ one to duplicate the a-
bove condit~ons faithfully withln the s~loe itself by its de-
sign and construction, and in so doing, to allow the shoe to
afford a comfortable and correot ~it ovl~r a range of several
consecut~ve standard "wldths".
Summary of the Invention
The present lnvention has a~ one o~ its princlpal ob-
jects the construction of a girth adjustable shoe whereby such
girth adjustment ls brought about by varying the contours of
the surface of the insole whlle precluding any change in the
effective functlon~ng height o~ the foot from the ground.
It is another ob-~eat of thi~ ~nvention to provlde means
to effect such contour and girth variatlons that will comfort-
ably and correctly flt and support the foot.
It i~ a further object of the lnvention to provide for
use in such gi~th-adjus~able shoes, ~y~tems of girth adjust-
ment that will be safe and simple to u8e, econo~lcal, and a
daptable to- the widest possible range of footwear styles and
uses.
.
The shoe of the present invention comprises a shoe that
can be generally conventional in construction except for bein~
manufactured preferably on a specially deslgned last of a
girth or 'width' equal to the widest w~dth a shoe made thexeon
is expected to accommodate. Such a last has addit~onal materi-
al on its bottom surface to compensate ~or the volume of the
insole that will later be inserted in the ~inished shoe to ad-
just the shoe to the maximum of the shoe's designed girth
2 ~ 5 ~ ~ L
-- 4
range, i.e. a man's EE shoe should be made on an EE last hav-
ing extra ~depth~ added thereto ~o that the resulting extra-
depth shoe made theraon w~th a maximum girth insole inserted
there~n will exactly fit a man's EE foot.
In one embodiment, ~ set of variously contoured insole
assemblies comprising a socklining and an ~nsole 5Upport mem-
ber are provided for each shoe size, w.hereby the degree of
contourtng of each of said separate insole assemblies effects,
when used in said shoe, a like degreQ of girth adjustment of
said shoe. The ~nsole a~sembl~es can vary incrementally ac-
cording to th~ preference o~ the manu~acturer, and may be
marked for eagy identification thereof, preferably in the ous-
tomary NJM/W or consecutive letter width markings matching the
lncrements.
Ano~her emb~ment o.~ thls lnven~an u~res ~ n~B as~
~embly wh~ch compri~3Q~3 a ~ockllnlng and a soclclining support
member ~n comb~nat~on w~th ~eparate s~m~. The sh~ms, wh~ch
are ~poae~ ~a~neat~ 'c'n~ ~ock~n~ ~ppo~: ~ba~, ac~ to
contour the outside edges of the sockllning support member,
with the degree o~ contour varying xelative to the ~ize a~d/or
number of shims used.
A still fu~ther embodiment of the invention employs a
manually adjustable insole aesembly designed for use in those
particular cases where relat~vely frequent girth adjustment
may be called for, and .where it would be unrealistic to expect
the wear~r to always have on hand the addltlonal ln~erts neces-
sary for such adjustment~. S~ch cases could range from the
typically hard to fi~ wom.en~s dress shoes, to work shoes,
axmed service footwear, and athletlc footwear.
In all of the above embodiments, each varies the contour-
ing from a lowest substan~ially constant. base line or area
which extends appx~ximately along the longitudinal centPrline
of the lnsole or insoles mentioned therein. Preferably all of
~2~
said insoles or ~nsole assemblies will s~lare a common or at
least s1mllar cupped heel area, prefera~ly having orthopedical-
ly benefic~al contours, to which the va~ious contours of the
forepart and midsection w~ll be ~lended, wl~h such blending
starting just back of the ins~ep and proceeding to the heel
breast, i.e. the forward most portion o~ said heel cup con-
tours.
~ For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects ofthe present invention, reference should be made to the follow-
ing detailed description ~aken in connection with the accom-
panying drawings.
Brlef Description of the Drawinns
Flgure 1 ~s a slde elevational partially cut-away view
o~ a shoe embodying pxinciple~ of the present invention;
Fiyure 2 i~ ~ plan vlew oE tho lnsole ~hown ln Fig. l;
Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional elevation of
the shoe of Fig. 1, ta~en at ball llne 3-3 thereof, and shown
with an ihsole assembly contoured to af~ord less girth when in-
serted in the shoe of the invention than do those of the in-
sole assemblies shown in Fig. 4 and F~g. S:
Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectlonal elevation of
the shoe of Fig. 1, taken at ball.line 4~4 thereof:
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view o~ another alternate
insole assembly to the shoe of Fig. 1, also taken at line 5-5:
Figure 6 is a cross-sectionaI view of the insole assem-
bly shown in Fig~ 1, taken along heel-breast line 6-6 thereof;
~ igure 7 is a broken cross-sectional view taken at line
.
r
'~3 '3 2~f~
-- 6 --
7-7 of Figure 1, of another alternat~ insole a6~embly, having
removable side edged shims of two ~ypical conformations:
Figure 8 is a side elevational partially sectional vlew
of a shoe of another embodiment of the present invention;
Figures 9, 1~, and 11 are cross-sectional elevations o~
the shoe of Figure 8, taken along line~ 9~9, 10-10, and 11~
respectively, with three typical insoleg allowing ~or three
dif~erent amounts of girth adjustment:
- Figuxe 12 is a plan view o~ an ~lternative slngle manual- ly ad~u6table insole assembly whlch could be used in a shoe
similar to that of ~ig. 1, but one having extra depth therein
to accept said assemb~y~s extra depth in those areas:
F~gure 13 ls a side elevational section of the insole as-
sembly of Fig. 12:
FigurQ 14 show~ a trans~erse section o~ the lnsole assem-
bly of ~ig. 13 taken along waist llne 14-14 oE Fig. 12;
Figure 15 shows a transverse section of the insole assem-
bly of Fig. 13, taken along heel-breast line 15~15 o~ Fig. 12:
Figure 16 ls a transverse section of the insole assembly
of Fig. 13, taken along toe line 16-16 of Fig. 12;
Figure 17 ~hows a lengthwise view of the lengthwlse mov-
able edge ramp shown in Figs. 12 and 13: ,
Figure 18 shows a transver5e sectlon of the edge ramp
shown in Fig. 17, taken along instep line lB-18 thereof;
Figure 1g shows a transverse section of the edge ramp
shown in Figs. 17, taken along ball line 19-19 therPof:
~ ~3 ~
F~gure 20 show~ a transverse secti~n o~ the edge ramp
shown in Figs. 17, taken along toe line 20-20 thereof: and
Figure 21 shows a partially exploded perspective view of
the single insole assembly of Figure 12.
Detailed Descript~on of the Invention
Referring to the drawings, the adjustable girth shoe con-
struction of the present ~nvention will be described wlth re~-
erence to the well-known handsewn loafer or genuin~ moccasin,
also known in the art as ~tu~ular~ upper construction. It
should be understood that this is belng done ~or ease of ref-
erence, and that this invention is applicable to mo~t other
categories and styles of footwear as well~ In the ~arious em-
bodiments described herelnafte.r, like reference numerals refer
to like members which function in the same or similar manner.
Re~err~ng to the draw~ng~, Fig. 1 shows a shoe 20 com-
pris~ng an upper 22 attached to bottom 23. The upper 22 may
be made o~ any sultable materlal such as leather, vlnyl, or
the like. Bottom 23, shown as a unitsole, i5 made of materi-
als such as rubber, plastic, or the like and i~ attached to
the upper by any sultable means such as stitching, adhesive
bonding or the like. Bottom 23 can also be a conventional
assembly of bottom elements (not shown) including sole, mid-
sole, heel, welt, shank, and the like. Alternatively, bottom
23 can even be part of the upper as is the aasQ in genuine
"camp" or Indian ~ole-less moccasins. Shoe 20 is manufactured
on a last of the widegt wldth and largest glrth of the width
and girth ranges the shoe 20 ls designed to accommodate. Shoe
20 also contain~ an insertable insole a~sembly 24 comprising a
socklining 25 and sockl~ning support member 26 attached to
socklining 25, preferably by molding the two members together,
although other suitable attachment means, such as adhesive
bonding, may be employed. Socklining 25 is made of a suitable
.?J ~J ~
material and as presently preferred ls made from CambrelleR
synthetic non-wo~en fabric, avallable from Fayt~x corp. of
Braintres, MA. Socklinlng support member 26 ls preferably a
polypropylene molded part. In the embodiments shown in Figs.
1-11, a number of ~iffèrent insole assemb~ies may be inserted
into the shoe 20 to achieve different girths. rrhe d~fferent
insole assemblies have dlffe~ent sur~acs contours in and near
the ball, waist, and instep areas of the foot. As shown in
Fig. 2, however, each of the insole assemblies of any matched
set, such as shown separately in Figs. 2-5, 7, and 9-11, has
essentially the same thickness generally along the line 29-29
which extends longitudinally down the c~nter ~ ~he in~ol~ as-
sembly. Each ingole assembly varles in countour transversely
outward from line 29-29 partlcularly ~n the critical fitting
zone of the ball 31, waist 33, and ~nstep 35, hereinafter re-
ferred to as the "BWI zone." In the embodiment shown in Figs.
12 - 21, the inso~e assembly also maintains a constant thick-
ness along lts longitudinal center line.
Figs. 3-5 ~how three dlf~erent lnsole a~semblies whlch
may be inserted in shoe 20 to achieve different girths. Fig.
3 shows an insole assembly 24 which is of maxlmum contour in
the BWI zone, and theref~re adjusts the insidQ gir~h of the
shoe in which it is placed to a relatlvely narrow girth, typi-
cally referred to as an ~N~ width marking. Fig. 4 shows the
insole Assembly 24 of Fig. 1 as it would appear in the same
ball line section as that of Fig. 3 however, in this embodi-
ment it occupies less volume in shoe 20 than does insole 24 of
Fiq. 3, and consequently affords the 8hoe greater girth, i.e.
a medium or 'M~ wldth. Figure ~ shows an insole assembly
which provides the maximum girth available, typically desig-
nated as a wide or 'W' width. ~n this latter version, the in-
sole assembly is subs~antially ~lat, and of a uniform trans-
verse thickness, substantially the same as that of the central
portions of thé insole assemblies of Figs. 3 and 4.
Fig. 6 shows a preferably, but not necessarily, common
- 9 -
heel contour that could be shared by all of the insole assem-
blles of ~igs. 1-5, and comprises socklining 25 bonded to sock-
l~ning ~upport element 26. Such a heel contour may also be
possessed by the shoe of Figs. 8-~1, hereinaEter described.
Fig. 7 shows another embodiment with slightly different
insole assemblies than those described in ~igs. 3-5. In this
embodiment, a singie insole assembly 24 comprising socklinlng
element 25 and a socklininy support member 26 having side edge
openings or slots therebetween to rece~v~ shlms 28, which can
be of any number and ~hickness, lncluding at least one shim
that can be used on each slde, and connected preferably at the
toe and/or heel. Such shims provide ef~ective insole assembly
contours similar to those shown in Figs. 3-5, and llmited in
degree to the extremes shown ln Fig. 3 and F~g. 5. The shims
28 could be held in place by temporary contact cement, pres-
~ure ~ensitlve tape, VelcroR, or similar mean~, includiny
merely by friction an~ by the tendency o~ the upper 22 to hold
them in posltion. In an~ case, the U38 0~ such shi~0 would
preferably be llm~ted to those ef~ecting the same type of con
touring as t~at in Figs. 3-5.
Another embodiment of the invention i5 shown in FigsO 8
- ll. In this embodimen~, another set of insole assembl~es is
shown, s~ilar to those of Flgs. 3-5, except that the central
portion of each ls thicker than that of the insole assemblies
of Figures 3-5, to allow an addit~onal type of slde edge con-
tour~ng to facilitate a greater overall degree of girth ad~ust-
ment than that posslble with the insol~ assemblies of F1g.
3-5. Fig. 8 shows the shoe 30 in a side-elevational partially
cut-away sectional view, with upper 32, attached by stitching
34 to midsole 36, which is attached to unitsole 38 preferrably
by an adhesive. Insole assembly 40, shown in shoe 30 comprises
a socklin~ng 42, and socklining support 44, made from the same
materials as ~hose described in Figs. 1-6, and having longitu-
dinally central portions o~ a substantially greater common
thickness than those of Figs. 1-6. Fig. 9 is a cross-section
~ 3 ~3 ~
-- 10 --
taken along ball line 9-9 of Flg. 8, showing an lnsole assem-
bly 40 that when placed in shoe 30 takes up enough of the ln-
side volume o~ shoe 30 to com~o~tably but effec-tively limit
the girth of the shoe 30 ~o the least girth of its designed
girth range. Fig. 10 shows another insol~ a6sembly 40, again
of the same center thickness as that o~ Fig. 9 to keep the
foot height and tread con~tant, but having~ a ~latter contour
along its top surfa~e, to allow shoe 30 with assembly 40 there-
in to fit a fuller girthed ~M~ width foot than the 'N' width
accomodated ln Pig. 9. Fig. 11 show~ t~11 another a~:sembly
48, whlch is s~milar to as8embly 40, axcept that edye bevels
50 on the lower side edge~; of assembly 48 allow ~nother degree
of upward motion of upper 32, without necessitatlng any de-
formation of sole 38. This extra amount oE upward ~notion of
upper 32, together with the flat contour of the top surface of
48 cooperate to allow shoe 30 to have the maximum girth vf its
designed girth ranqe when assembly ~8 i5 inserted ln place
therein ~galn, a~ ln Figs. 1-7, the number of insert8 and
their incremental dimenslonal differences are optional, as i5
the use of shims a~ described in Flg~ 7.
Another embodiment of the invention, preferred in situa-
tions where immediate adjustment is required, and where the
constant avallabillty of the necessary Rets o~ inserts could
pose a pro~lem, is ~hown in Figs. 12-21. In this em~odimentr
the affective contours of the forward weight-bearing portions
of the top of the midsole in the BWI zone can be lnf~nitely
varied between fixed limlts, wlth the preferred contours
selected by manual adjustment. The insole assembly 50 is
shown in plan view in Flg. 12, and in side section ln Fig. 13,
and comprises a socklining 52, preferably made of C~mbrelleR
fabric attached to an innersole 54, pre~erably made of
polypropylene. Under the innersole 54 are long~tudinally
slidable adjustable edge ramps 56 and 58, preferably molded of
relatively firm but flexible plastic material such as cellular
ethylene vinyl acetate or the like. The ramps rest on insole
assembly base 60, which is preferably molded of polypropyl-
?~
ene. ~he base 60 contalns a drum 6~ which may be rotated us-
ing a screwdriver, coin, or the like inserted in the slotted
hsad 64 o~ drum 62. ~s best shown in ~ig~ 1~, cables 66 are
attached to and wrapped around drum 6~! and are attached to
ramps 56, 58 by cable fasten~ngs 6B! 700 The cables pass a-
round and/or through grommet 72 and along base 60, under or
near the posit~on of fastenings 6~, 70. Th~ cable geometry is
designed to move both ramps in the same directionO It will be
seen that rotation o~ the drum 62 tn a counter-clockwise direc-
tion w~ll produce a li~e amount of cable motion as shown by
the arrows on cables 6~ tQ move ramps 56 and 58 rearwardly to-
wards, an~ eventually to, heel-breast line 15-15. As said
ramps move longitudinally, they are preferably contained by
and move in tunnels 82 whîch are formed of a preferably slight-
ly stretchable thln but durable plastic treated so as to be
heat sealable or alternately ~titcha~ly attached to base 60 at
substantially the center 74 of the bottom of ~ame, as best
shown ln Fig. 15, and at the perlpheral edges to ~nnersole 54
and thereby to socklin~ng at heat~eal 52. As the ramps 56, 58
move rearwardly they are ~upported by oppo~ln~ ramps 76, 78
shown in Flg. 15 at their maxlmum angle at their rearward end
at the heel-breast l~ne 15~ ~5 in Fig. 12. Forward of that lo-
cation, as shown in Fig. 1~, the ramps 56 and 58 gradually
flatten to a horizontal condition at ball line 14-14. The use
of such opposing fixed ramps 76, 78 facing the movable ramps
56, 5~ allows for the simultaneou~ and iden~ical contour
change of the top surfaces of the side edge areas of the in-
sole assembly throughout the BWI zone, which is necessary for
optimUm and correct girth adjustment tn this glrth-critical
fitting area.
Fig. 17 shows a lengthwiss v~ew of the ramps 56, 58
including cable fastening 80 in ~ame. Figs. ~8-20 show cross-
sections of ramp 58 taken at lineg 18-18, 19-19, and 20-20 re-
spectively. Ramp 56 is essentially the mirror image of ramp
58. It is worth noting that while this assembly as shown ap-
pears not to support the side edges of the foot in the shank
- 12 -
area, i.e. between the l~nas 3-3 and 6-6 of Fig. 1, actually,
and especially in shoea havlng ralsed heel areas, this area is
relat~vely non-weight- beartng and these edge voids consequent-
ly cannot be felt by a foot thereon.
Fig. 21 shows the insole assembly of Figs. 12-20 in a
part~ally exploded view, eliminating the t:un'nel wall materials
to make this embodiment easier to understand~
