Ballet pointe shoe having improved heel seam and throat with concealed pre-stressed elastic band

Abstract

Embodiments of a ballet pointe show may include a pre-stressed elastic band surrounding at least a portion of the periphery of the throat of the upper. The pre-stressed elastic band in some embodiments may be interposed between an outer fabric and an inner liner of the upper to conceal the band completely from external view. The elastic band may have a cross sectional shape whose aspect ratio is greater than 3:1 so that pressure exerted on the foot of a ballet dancer by the elastic band during use is kept sufficiently low to avoid discomfort yet still provide adequate securement of the throat to the foot. Some embodiments of a ballet pointe shoe may include an improved heal seam construction which is secure and inconspicuous even though devoid of an a exterior binder strip.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This is a continuation-in-part of co-pending, commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 701,652 entitled: BALLET POINT SHOE HAVING TOE PLATFORM WITH MALLEABLE BUMPER which was filed on Dec. 19, 2019 to which priority is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120 and which is in turn a continuation-in-part of co-pending, commonly owned Application No. PCT / US2019 / 58206 entitled: BALLET POINT SHOE which was filed on Oct. 25, 2019 and which designated the U.S. and at least one other country in addition to the U.S. and to which priority is also hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120. Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) is hereby claimed to each of the following U.S. provisional patent applications for all subject matter in each commonly disclosed herein: U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 794,589 entitled “Ballet Pointe Shoe” filed Jan. 19, 2019, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 925,729 entitled “Ballet Pointe Shoe” filed ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]In some embodiments however, a ballet pointe shoe may have a throat whose periphery is completely devoid of any binding strip or other externally visible binding. By avoiding the expense of providing a strip of binding material and the additional labor or other operational expense associated with attaching such a binding strip such embodiments provide a ballet pointe shoe which can be manufactured more quickly and economically but also one in which the exterior face of the outer fabric may extend completely to the upper edge of the throat thereby permitting a more uniform appearance having no visually conspicuous discontinuity at the upper edge of the throat as would otherwise be result if a binding strip were to be present there.

[0012]To aid in securing the foot of a wearer inside the foot compartment of ballet pointe shoe during use in a secure but aesthetically pleasing manner, some embodiments of a ballet pointe shoe may include a pre-stressed elastic band that may surround all or at least a major portion of the periphery a throat of the upper. The pre-stressed elastic band may be mounted in some embodiments interposed between outer fabric and the inner liner of the upper such that the entirety of the elastic band is completely concealed from external view. A ballet pointe shoe having a throat which is at least partially surrounded by such a concealed elastic band provides ballet dancers with significantly improved aesthetics as well as less risk of heel discomfort without sacrificing adequate securement of the throat region of the ballet pointe shoe to the foot of the ballet dancer during use. In some embodiments, pre-stressed elastic band may be a woven elastic band. Pre-stressed elastic band 8 may be sufficiently wide that the compressive force exerted on the foot of a wearer during use is distributed over a large enough area to avoid uncomfortably high pressure on portions of the foot compressed by force exerted by the pre-stressed elastic band.

[0014]Unlike a ballet pointe shoe of the type having a drawstring with externally projecting free ends which can be pulled and then tied together to cinch its foot receiving opening around the foot of a wearer, embodiments incorporating a pre-stressed elastic band interposed for concealment between the outer fabric and the inner liner of certain embodiments as described herein have several significant advantages. Surrounding all or at least a major portion of the foot receiving opening of the ballet pointe shoe with a pre-stressed elastic band eliminates the need to cinch and tie the ends of a drawstring and avoids the possibility of loosening or becoming untied during use. In embodiments in which a pre-stressed elastic band is mounted internally between the outer fabric and the inner liner, it can be mounted within the interior of the upper and thereby concealed completely from external view. This not only avoids the visible appearance of the drawstring but may reduce the risk of common injuries to the foot and ankle. Traditional drawstrings are believed to cause or contribute to causing bone spurs on the heel, tendonitis in the Achilles tendon and bursitis in the heel as pressure is applied to delicate structures of the ankle. With a concealed elastic surrounding the foot, the stress is removed from these structures allowing for foot protection and therefore reduce the chance of injury.

Problems solved by technology

Such maladies can be painful and may require expensive medical treatment and / or temporary or permanent limitation or cessation of dancing or other physical activities.

Some may even end the career of a dancer.

In such movements, the toe box of the pointe shoe may bear substantially all of the weight the dancer and may additionally be subjected to impact forces or other dynamic forces.

Some consider the binding strip and the free projecting ends of the drawstrings to be unsightly.

The drawstring is also disadvantageous because of the tension required to keep it in place.

By pulling the drawstring taut enough to stay on the foot, the dancer experiences discomfort and lingering pressure indentations from the drawstring.

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