Golf shoe insoles

Abstract

The insole attached to the golf shoes increases the distance the golf ball can travel. [Solution] This flat insole covers three areas of the foot: the balls of the big and little toes, and the heel directly below the ankle. It is expected to increase the distance the golf ball can be hit by increasing swing speed and promoting proper weight transfer. The insole is made of self-reinforced plastic. Furthermore, it is a golf shoe insole that provides optimal results with a specified thickness for players of average build.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This device is aimed at increasing the distance a golfer can hit by increasing the speed of the club head during a swing and by improving the ground reaction force during the swing. This is expected to be used by players of all ages and builds. [Background technology]

[0002] To date, many designs and ideas have been developed to solve this problem, many of which are diverse and involve insoles or even shoes themselves.

[0003] The design in Patent Document 1 relates to an article used as an insole for shoes, and is characterized by a certain thickness and the absence of a portion for the five toes at the tip of the insole, so that when the shoe is worn, the five toes naturally incline toward the sole of the shoe. This is a design for a shoe insole characterized by the function that the five toes are movable up and down when walking, running, marathon, jumping, etc.

[0004] The invention disclosed in Patent Document 2 is a shoe insole having a front portion, a central portion, and a rear portion in this order. Here, the maximum thickness (CT) of the central portion is designed to be equal to or greater than the maximum thickness (FT) of the front portion, and the maximum thickness (FT) of the front portion is designed to be greater than the maximum thickness (RT) of the rear portion. Such a shoe insole has a configuration in which, for example, one or more flexible first sheets extending from the front portion to the central portion and one or more tough second sheets extending from the central portion to the rear portion are sandwiched between a surface material and a backing material.

[0005] On the other hand, what is introduced in Non-Patent Document 1 is Self-Reinforced Plastics (SRP), that is, fiber-reinforced plastics made of the same thermoplastic material, which has been applied to various products in recent years. The advantages of self-reinforced plastics include "lightweight," "high resilience and assist effect," "resistance to impact and bending," "ability to be thermoformed and sewn," and "thermoplastic resin." The product has been commercialized as KaRVO (a registered trademark of Diatex Co., Ltd.) since around 2023. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Design Registration No. 1685561 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 7495048 [Non-patent literature]

[0007] [Non-Patent Document 1] Diatex Corporation KaRVO (registered trademark) introduction document https: / / www.diatex.co.jp / cms / wp-content / uploads / 2023 / 06 / KaRVO_product_introduction_document.pdf Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a function that leads to an increase in the driving distance of a golf shoe insole. In golf theory, both head speed and proper weight transfer are important for increasing the driving distance. Therefore, the insole of the present invention is configured to satisfy both of these conditions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The article according to the present invention is a flat insole that covers three areas of the sole of the foot: the ball of the big toe, the ball of the little toe, and the heel just below the ankle. The ankle is the joint between the foot that is in contact with the ground and the leg that supports the body weight, and plays an important role as a fulcrum that flexes and rotates the toes. In the present invention, the ball of the big toe and the ball of the little toe at the front of the foot are supported at the area just below the ankle when moving, so the insole does not need to extend to the rear part of the heel, and is therefore cut off. Furthermore, such an insole is made of self-reinforced plastic, which provides a more durable effect. Also, the present invention provides an insole for golf shoes that has the characteristic of providing the best effect for people of average build by selecting a predetermined thickness. Effect of the Invention

[0010] The insole of the golf shoes of this invention is an insole that is attached inside the shoe and increases the distance the golf ball can fly. It can be easily attached to a specific adhesive part of the actual shoe inner sole, or if the shoe has an insole, it can be attached to the insole itself. Basically, it is a structure that can be used with any shoe and has a wide range of applications. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are top and side views showing the sole of the foot and the insole when the insole of the golf shoe of the present invention is worn on the left foot. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the manufacturing process of the insole material (self-reinforced plastic SRP) according to the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating an example of a club swing motion and weight transfer when using the insole according to the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the numerical characteristics measured in an experiment of the insole according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] To explain the insole of the present invention, Fig. 1 shows its function on the sole of the foot 10. The insole 100 is shown attached to the sole of the foot. It covers the ball of the big toe 11, the ball of the little toe 12, and part of the heel 13. In reality, the insole 100 is attached to the opposing inner surface of the shoe or the insole with an adhesive or the like, and is attached to the sole of the foot but is not adhered to it.

[0013] More specifically, in a top view, the insole 100 covers the ball of the big toe 11, the ball of the little toe 12, and the heel 13 just below the ankle joint, and the front part of the insole 100 is cut away parallel to the sloping line 14 (an imaginary line) at the base of the five toes, and the insole 100 is not attached to any part further forward. A marker is attached to the part of the insole 100 that covers the ball of the big toe 11. This is to mark the position where the insole 100 should be attached to the sole of the foot. The side view shows the insole 100 attached to the sole of the foot. It can be seen that the heel portion 13 is located directly below the ankle joint 15. This is how the insole supports the movement of the golf swing. EXAMPLES

[0014] Next, the material of the insole 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 2. This is an example taken from the above-mentioned Non-Patent Document 1. The manufacturing process of the self-reinforced plastic (hereinafter referred to as SRP) will be described here in six phases. Phase 1. Polypropylene (hereafter referred to as PP) is used to make PP flat yarn, whose outer and inner layers are composed of polymers. 2. The PP flat yarn is then woven into a fabric shape, which creates a fabric with high tensile strength. 3. The woven flat yarns are then stacked together to make the fabric more durable. 4. The laminated flat yarns are heated from above and below, melting the fiber surface and strengthening the surface layer. 5. The material is compressed from above and below, then cooled and the surface melts. This completes the SRP lamination process with a smooth surface. 6. The completed SRP is now ready to be cut into the desired shape as a blank.

[0015] The SRP used in the insole 100 of the present invention is provided after going through this phase. The size is arbitrary and the thickness is 0.9, 1.2, Available in 1.5 and 1.8mm, SRP is today valued in industry as a highly durable plastic.

[0016] PP flat yarn has a three-layer structure of outer layer + inner layer + outer layer, and often has a high melting point polymer in the inner layer and a low melting point polymer in the outer layer. By weaving this flat yarn while applying heat to the warp and weft, the outer layers bond together at the atomic intersections to create a high-strength fabric.

[0017] Thus, PP is very useful for the insole of the present invention because it is very light, highly processable, and highly durable. In addition, SRP does not contain any other materials (carbon, glass, etc.) other than PP, so it has the advantage of being easy to melt and reuse. EXAMPLES

[0018] Next, a club swing motion and weight transfer when using the insole shown in Figure 3 will be described with an example, using a right-handed player as an example. FIG. 3(A) shows the movement of weight transfer on the insole 100 from the take-back to the backswing, which is a motion that increases the twisting force. On the sole of the left foot, weight shifts from (1) the ball of the little toe 12 to (2) the ball of the big toe 11, and weight is applied there. On the sole of the right foot, weight is transferred from (1) the ball of the big toe 11 to (2) the ball of the little toe 12, then moves toward the fifth metatarsal bone, and the weight spreads to around the MTP joint, where energy is accumulated.

[0019] Next, FIG. 3(B) shows the motion of transferring weight on the insole 100 from the downswing to impact and follow-through, transmitting increased twisting force to the ball. With the left foot, (1) the stepping is started from the ball of the big toe 11, (2) the weight is transferred to the ball of the little toe 12, and the left foot is strongly pushed up around the fifth metatarsal bone, and a ground reaction force acts vertically upward. This ground reaction force is the polar opposite of the transferred weight, and is equivalent in content. On the sole of the right foot, weight is transferred from (1) the ball of the little toe 12 to (2) the ball of the big toe 11, and the weight is applied from the ball of the big toe 11 to the kick. At the same time, a ground reaction force acts in the vertical direction.

[0020] Thus, on the insole 100, both the left and right soles generate a twisting force in the state shown in Fig. 3(A), and then a ground reaction force in the state shown in Fig. 3(B). The twisting force energy leads to head speed, and this ground reaction force indicates the result of proper weight transfer. Head speed alone does not tell you where the ball will fly, but proper weight transfer creates the proper swing trajectory and ball spin, so the combination of head speed and proper weight transfer leads to increased flight distance.

[0021] As a result of these experiments, we obtained an average player's test sample and measured the numerical characteristics, which are summarized in Figure 4. Figure 4 (A) on the left side shows the head speed (m per second) obtained by the energy obtained by the twisting force, and the horizontal axis shows a bar graph with no insole 100 and four thicknesses. Figure 4 (B) on the right shows the ground reaction force measured by the energy transferred to the ball during the downswing, expressed in Newton (N) values, and is also shown as a bar graph for each thickness of the insole 100. The measurement was performed by measuring head speed with a microwave sensor and ground pressure with a force plate.

[0022] The findings from the experiment using the insole 100 are as follows. 1. An increase in head speed was observed. All improvements were observed compared to when the club was not used, and an increase of up to 110% was observed especially with a thickness of 1.5 mm. 2. An increase in the ground reaction force of the left foot on the target side was observed. Compared to the case where the foot was not used, the force increased by up to 12% at thicknesses of 1.5 to 1.8 mm. The subject was a 52-year-old man weighing 78 kg. In this case, the best case in terms of both head speed and ground reaction force is when the insole is 100 mm thick, which is 1.5 mm thick. The subject is considered to be of average build for a male golfer. [Industrial Applicability]

[0023] The distance a golf ball can travel cannot be determined in general terms, and is influenced by factors such as temperature, humidity, wind direction, and individual differences in spin. However, it is generally said to be proportional to head speed (a multiplier of meters per second x 5.5). Furthermore, the effect of the insole of this invention is that it not only increases head speed, but also increases the power of weight transfer, thereby increasing the distance the ball can travel. It is hoped that by supporting all those who enjoy playing golf, we can contribute to the realization of a healthy society. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 10 Soles 11 Ball of the foot 12 Little toe ball 13 Heel area just below the ankle joint 14 Sloping line at base of toes 15 Ankle position 100 Insoles

Claims

1. A flat-shaped insole for golf shoes that covers the ball of the big toe, the ball of the little toe, and the heel just below the ankle.

2. 2. The insole of claim 1, wherein the material of the insole is a self-reinforcing plastic.

3. 3. The insole of golf shoes according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of said insole is 1.5 mm, which provides the best driving distance for a person of average build.

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