High heel shoe of improved comfort

Abstract

In a high heel shoe the heel seat is angled upwards approximately 3-5 degrees. The insole follows the natural shape of the inside long arch of the foot so that the medial arch of the foot is raised higher than the lateral arch of the foot in order to support the natural angle of the calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the first metatarsal. The angle of the heel seat is more acute relative to the ground looking from the lateral side of the shoe. A triangular dome bump on the insole of the shoe has one corner behind the second metatarsal head, a second corner behind the fourth metatarsal head and the final corner near mid-foot. Material is added beneath the sole of the insole so that the greatest thickness is beneath the metatarsal heads and tapers to zero at the end of the insole toward the toes.

Description

[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 of Provisional Application No. 60 / 947,702 filed Jul. 3, 2007.[0002]This invention relates to a high heel shoe which is shaped and arranged to improve the comfort of wearing for extended periods.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]While many women wear high heeled shoes for fashion and for the attractive appearance, they are accepted by the wearers to be very uncomfortable over extended periods. Despite this renowned discomfort, little attention has been given to trying to improve the comfort and it appears merely to be accepted that the pain is a by-product of the desire to wear such shoes.[0004]U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,015 Dananberg issued Jul. 21, 1998 but now abandoned and related Design Pat. D535,811 issued Jan. 30, 2007 appears to represent one of only very few attempts to ameliorate the problem. This technology is sold commercially under the trade mark “Insolia” and is used in shoes sold by DKNY and JC Penny und...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]It is one object of the invention to provide a high heel shoe which is shaped and arranged with the intention of reducing the level of discomfort suffered by the wearer.

[0012]Preferably the lifting of the heel seat at the medial edge is obtained by providing a thickening of the insole at the heel seat.

[0047]Material is added beneath the sole of the insole. The greatest thickness not to exceed one centimetre lies beneath the metatarsal heads and tapers to zero at the end of the insole moving toward the toes. The effect is to move the contact point of the forefoot back away from the metatarsal heads to the arch. A slight rocker built into the build-up serves to move the wearer over the metatarsal heads more quickly to minimize full weight-bearing on the metatarsal heads.

Problems solved by technology

While many women wear high heeled shoes for fashion and for the attractive appearance, they are accepted by the wearers to be very uncomfortable over extended periods.

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