US2477588A - Hydraulic insole - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 2, 1949. G. H. DUMM .Y 2,4775538 HYDRAULIC INSOLE Filed Feb. s', 194e INV ENToR GUn-:ORGE H. DuMM BYMyfMmw/m ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 2, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HYDRAULIC INSOLE George H. Dumm, Kent, Ohio Application February 8, 1946, Serial N0. 646,400

(Cl. Sli-'71) 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in a device of the nature of an hydraulic insole adapted to be worn inside footwear.

An object of the present invention is to provide a flexible pocket and means to retain the same in a predetermined position relative to the foot of the wearer, together with fiowable material inside the pocket which adapts itself to inequalities of the wearer's foot when in use, so as to provide foot support at desired places.

Other objects of the present invention are t provide novel arrangements of pockets of ilowable material adjacent specified portions of the foot together with cheap but elcient means for holding these pockets in predetermined position relative to the foot of the wearer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide closed flexible pockets in predetermined positions relative to the foot of the wearer, and a novel lling material for such pockets which ilows with diiiiculty at body temperatures.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and specication, and the essential features thereof will be set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one form of my device;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view showing a modied form of my device;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a further modification of my invention; while,

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of Fig. 5.

It is well known that support or protection is needed for certain parts of the human foot and this has been provided heretofore in some cases, by devices of fixed contour, which, .of course, were never of exactly the right shape to conform to the individual wearers foot. Other supporting devices for the entire foot filled with fluid have been known to me but these did not provide the specific support for predetermined portions of the foot. The present invention provides specific support where needed of such a nature that it accommodates itself to the exact needs of the foot of the wearer.

One form of my device, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 2, comprises two generally parallel flexible sheets I0 and II cut to the outline of the insole of the footwear with which it is intended to be used. The size and shape illustrated is for a mans shoe of medium size but obviously the outer perimeter of sheets I0 and II may be cut to any desired size and shape so as to fit the shoes of women and children as well as men, and in a complete range .of sizes. The sheets I0 and II may be of rubber or synthetic rubber-like material or any similar material having flexible characteristics and adapted to be readily cemented together.

As best seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the sheets III and II are sealed together over the greater part of their area in any suitable manner, so that they act satisfactorily as a one-piece insole, while at the same time, defining a pocket I2 of desired shape and extent. In the case of the synthetic material illustrated, heated wheels are passed over the material with the application of pressure so as to seal the sheets I0 and II together along the lines indicated at I3. The position of these lines in the sectional view of Fig. 2, is illustrated by the crosses I4. It will be noted that the lines marked I3a in Fig. 1 dene a central pocket I2 which lies beneath the heel, the arch, and the metatarsal joint of the wearers foot.

Before the pocket I2 is completely closed, it is partially filled with a iiowable material I5 after which the sides of the pocket are completely closed in a liquid-tight manner. Various materials may be used in the pocket I2, but 1 prefer to use material which flows with diiculty at body temperature. I have found about the right consistency in homogenized honey. This is an intimate mixture of the entire honey included the comb.

It results from the above construction that when the device of Figs. 1 and 2 is placed as an insole between the wall of the shoe and the foot of the wearer, the flowable material I5 is squeezed out of parts of the pocket into other parts where it provides a support for the foot, which would otherwise be unsupported because of inequalities existing between the sole of the shoe and the foot .of the wearer. Obviously, the pattern formed by the material I5 will in each case vary with the individual using it. In Fig. 1, I have indicated in dotted lines the position of this material taken in one instance. This shows a slight amount of material at the back and sides of the heel, another slight amount at one side of the metatarsal joint, but the bulk of the material is in the center of the pocket beneath the arch of the foot. In fact, the portions of material at the back and sides of the heel and at the metatarsal joint were of much less thickness than the portion beneath the arch of the foot. In a normal foot this Will always be true and the bulk of the material will be squeezed up beneath the arch of the foot, giving it a necessary support along natural lines and accommodated to the exact needs of the foot of the wearer.

In Figs. 3 and 4, I have shown a modication arrangedA more specically for the support of the arch without reference to other parts of the foot. Here the sheet members I6 and I1 are secured together over the greater portion of their extent by seams made by pressure and heat, as previously described, and extending along the lines I8.

Where these seam lines appear in Fig, 4, their po-V sitions are indicated by the crosses I9. Some of these seam lines, as indicated at Ia, denne a pocket 26 which is fluid-tight and in Whichf is placed the required amount of flowable material 2i. Because this material is approximately inthe pl 'el where' it is needed to 'support the arch or normal foot, the material 2]' will be fairly well distributed' over thepocket 2,6, as indicated in Fig. 3'.

In Figs. 5; and 6', I have shown a further modification' for use in protecting a bunion orv the like. Inthis device asingle sheet 22 of material, cut to fitthe' insole of a'. shoe, has connected to it at they proper place, a smaller sheet of flexible ma.-terial 23 which together with the portion 22a of thesheet 2,?` providesv a pocket which extends laterally outside of the normal periphery of an insole. This pocket is close'dby uniting thelayers 23 and 2,2 along the lines 2li making a uidrtight pocket ,whichl is partially filled with flowable mate'riaLZFi. lIt is obvious that when.4 the device of Fig 5 'an`d Sis placedin the shoe of a wearer, the p ocketportion will ioldup alongside the great toe and thematerial 2,5 will bemoved towardthe front and. rear ends of the pocket so as tov provide a cushion around the bunion.

Obviously, my teachings may beutilized to provide.liquid-tightpockets any place desired around the, foot, andthe portionsofthe insole connected with the pocket serve tohold the pocket ina predetermined position relative to thel foot of the wearer,

'Il he shape and material used in connectionwith a` given. pocket together with the amount. and

nature of the filling material in said pocket, is calculated to achieve the result desired. Obviously, to take the case' of Figs. 1 and 2, if the pocket l2 were of too great a thickness and completely iilled with the material l5 before the device was placed in use, then when the weight of the wearer pushed the material from' the front and rear ends of the pocket beneath the arch, there might well be too much material at that point andthe wearer wouldl be uncomfortable.

In any case, the filler material, such as homogenized honey, is sufciently flowable to conform to the shape of the foot of the wearer, but it also has suiicient body or consistency to exert a massaging action on the foot as the filler material moves about in the pocket due to foot movements.

What I claim is:

A device to be worn inside footwear comprising means providing a closed flexible pocket adapted to engage the lower part of the foot of thefvwearer, permanently i'luid diicultly ilowable material in said pocket of less quantity than the capacity oi said pocket, said material in said pocket having approximately the. flowability of lfio'iri'ogeniz'ed honey, and means operatively connected with said pocket adapted to. holdV said pocket in predetermined position relative tov the foot..

GEORGE H. DUMM.

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

UNITED- STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,145,553 Wetmore July 6, 1915 1,193,608 Poulsen Aug. 8, 1916 1,254,654:V Carling` Jan. 29, 1918 1,304,915 Spinney May 27, 1919 1,676,162 Schiller July 3, 1928 1,757,904 Free May- 6, 1930 2,992,910. Daniels Sept. 14, 1937 2,123,730 Huttleston J'uly 12,. 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 338,266 Great Britain Nov. 20, 1930

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