Insoles, footwear

Abstract

To provide an insole for easily obtaining an inward / outward balance of a load on an inner and outer side of a foot by applying a body weight to a thenar.SOLUTION: An insole 10 is arranged on an inner bottom of footwear. The insole integrally includes: an outer side area 19 which has a thin sheet shape with elasticity to an extent of having contact with a sole when worn by a wearing person and at least extends forward on an outer side from an area corresponding to a heel 47 of the person; and an inner side area 18 extending on an inner side of the outer side area 19. In a plane view, a front edge 15 of the insole 10 is positioned on a rear side from an MP joint J11 of a first toe and an MP joint J21 of a second toe, and positioned on a front side from an MP joint J41 of a fourth toe and an MP joint J51 of a fifth toe.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an insole to be placed in the inner sole of footwear, and to footwear having the insole. [Background technology]

[0002] Insoles that are attached to footwear and are interposed between the sole of a person's foot and an outsole are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an insole that includes a plate-like body that contacts the sole of the foot, a plate that is arranged under the plate-like body, and a curved support that supports the curvature of the plate. The plate has a rigidity that generates resilience when curved. The curved support is formed of a carbon plate and supports the curvature of the plate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-079969 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The inventor has come to the following realization regarding insoles that support the soles of people's feet. Insoles that are flat in the left-right direction in the area corresponding to the transverse arch of the foot, such as the insole described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to balance the load on the inner and outer sides of the foot, making it difficult to stabilize posture. If this condition continues for a long time, the user may experience problems such as fatigue and trunk distortion due to unstable posture.

[0005] From these findings, the inventors recognized that the insole described in Patent Document 1 has room for improvement in terms of facilitating medial-lateral balance of the load on the medial and lateral sides of the foot.

[0006] The object of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and is to provide an insole that allows weight to be placed on the ball of the big toe, making it easy to achieve a balance between the inside and outside loads on the medial and lateral sides of the foot. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, an insole according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: Left and right Footwear Each Laid on the inner bottom A pair of left and right An insole, Each of the pair of left and right insoles is The insole is a thin plate having elasticity to the extent that it contacts the sole of the foot when worn, and integrally includes an outer foot side region extending forward from at least the region corresponding to the heel of the wearer on the outer foot side, and an inner foot side region extending inside the outer foot side region. In a plan view, the front edge of the insole is located behind the MP joints of the first and second toes, and in front of the MP joints of the fourth and fifth toes.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is an insole. This insole is placed on the inside bottom of footwear, is a thin plate-like insole having enough elasticity to contact the sole of the foot when worn, and integrally comprises at least a rear region corresponding to the region from the arch to the heel of the wearer and an outer region corresponding to the ball of the little toe, with the region corresponding to the ball of the big toe being cut out.

[0009] Another aspect of the present invention is footwear, the footwear having the above-mentioned insole placed on the inner sole.

[0010] Any combination of the above components or mutual substitution of the components or expressions of the present invention between methods, devices, systems, etc. are also valid as aspects of the present invention. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, an insole is provided that allows weight to be placed on the ball of the big toe, making it easy to balance the load on the medial and lateral sides of the foot, thereby reducing fatigue and distortion of the trunk of the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing footwear to which an insole according to a first embodiment is applied. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the relationship between the insole of the first embodiment and the phalanges of the foot. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing footwear to which the insole of the second embodiment is applied. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the relationship between the insole of the second embodiment and the phalanges of the foot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] The inventors have found that when footwear having a flat insole in the left-right direction in the area corresponding to the transverse arch of the foot is used for a long time, such as the insole described in Patent Document 1, fatigue and distortion of the trunk are likely to occur. This is thought to be because it is difficult to balance the load on the inner and outer sides of the foot with a flat insole, making it difficult to stabilize posture. In other words, it is thought that the user accumulates fatigue by unconsciously continuing to use muscle strength to maintain balance, and further distortion of the trunk occurs when using the insole for a long period of time.

[0014] In response to this, the inventor has found that by placing weight on the ball of the big toe, it is easier to balance the inside and outside of the sole of the foot, and based on this finding, has devised an insole that makes it easier to balance the inside and outside of the sole of the foot. The insole of the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited or restricted to the following examples.

[0015] The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments and modified examples, the same or equivalent components and members are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. The dimensions of the members in each drawing are enlarged or reduced as appropriate for ease of understanding. Some of the members that are not important for explaining the embodiments are omitted in each drawing.

[0016] In addition, terms including ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc. are used to describe various components, but these terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component, and the components are not limited by these terms.

[0017] In the following description, "parallel" and "perpendicular" do not only mean completely parallel or perpendicular, but also include deviations from parallel or perpendicular within a margin of error. Additionally, "approximately" means roughly the same.

[0018] [First embodiment] Hereinafter, an insole 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is a side view of footwear 100 to which the insole 10 is applied. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the relationship between the insole 10 and the phalanges of the foot. This figure shows a right foot as viewed from above. As an example, the footwear 100 is a shoe, and has an upper 94 that encloses a space covering the foot 4, and an outsole 96 with an insole 92 provided on the upper surface, and has the insole 10 laid on the insole 92.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the insole 10 is placed on the inner bottom 92 of the footwear 100 and functions as an inner liner. The insole 10 is a thin plate having elasticity sufficient to contact the sole 40 when worn. The insole 10 may directly contact the sole 40, or a sock or a pad thinner than the insole 10 may be interposed between the insole 10 and the sole 40. For example, the insole 10 may contact a part or all of the ball of the big toe 41, the ball of the little toe 42, and the heel 47. For example, the thickness of the insole 10 may be 0.5 mm or more, or 6 mm or less.

[0020] Hereinafter, the direction corresponding to the top and bottom of the body when worn may be referred to as the up-down direction, the direction corresponding to the front and back of the body may be referred to as the front-back direction, and the direction corresponding to the left and right of the body may be referred to as the left-right direction. In the left-right direction, the inner side of the foot may be referred to as the inside, and the outer side of the foot may be referred to as the outside. In addition, the surface that faces the sole of the foot when worn may be referred to as the main surface, and the opposite side may be referred to as the anti-main surface. These directional notations do not limit the posture of use of the insole 10, and the insole 10 may be used in any posture as necessary.

[0021] The insole 10 will be described in terms of its relationship with the phalanges of the foot. Unless otherwise specified, the positional relationship between the insole 10 and the phalanges of the foot 4 in a plan view will be described below. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the relationship between the insole 10 and the phalanges of the foot. The insole 10 integrally includes at least an outer foot side region 19 extending forward on the outer foot side from a region corresponding to the heel 47 of the wearer, and an inner foot side region 18 extending medially of the outer foot side region 19.

[0022] The front edge 15 of the insole 10 includes a front edge 151 of the medial foot side region 18, a front edge 153 of the lateral foot side region 19, and a middle edge 152 between the front edges 151 and 153. The front edge 15 of the insole 10 is located behind the MP joint J11 of the first toe and the MP joint J21 of the second toe. In other words, the front edge 151 of the medial foot side region 18 is located behind the MP joint J11 of the first toe and the MP joint J21 of the second toe. In this embodiment, the front edge 151 overlaps the first metatarsal body B11 and the second metatarsal body B21. This configuration ensures the vertical movement range of the MP joint J11 of the first toe and the MP joint J21 of the second toe, and the weight is applied to the ball of the big toe, which is expected to improve the medial-lateral balance of the load on the medial and lateral sides of the foot.

[0023] The front edge 15 of the insole 10 is located forward of the MP joint J41 of the fourth finger and the MP joint J51 of the fifth finger. In other words, the front edge 153 of the lateral foot region 19 is located forward of the MP joint J41 of the fourth finger and the MP joint J51 of the fifth finger. In this embodiment, the front edge 153 overlaps the fourth proximal phalange B42 or the fourth middle phalange B43, and overlaps the fifth proximal phalange B52 or the fifth distal phalange B53. This configuration limits the vertical movement range of the MP joint J41 of the fourth finger and the MP joint J51 of the fifth finger, and is expected to further improve the internal and external balance of the load.

[0024] In this embodiment, the front edge 15 overlaps with the third proximal phalange B32. This configuration limits the vertical movement range of the MP joint J31 of the third finger, and is expected to further improve the internal and external balance of the load.

[0025] In the insole 10 of this embodiment, the front edge 153 of the lateral foot region 19 is located behind the DIP joint J43 of the fourth toe and the DIP joint J53 of the fifth toe. In this case, the restrictions on the fourth and fifth toes are alleviated compared to when the front edge 153 is located forward of the DIP joints J43 and J52, and further improvement in the medial-lateral balance of the load can be expected.

[0026] The insole 10 of this embodiment does not hinder the movement of the MP joint J11 of the first toe and the MP joint J21 of the second toe, and suppresses the movement of the MP joint J41 of the fourth toe. Here, not hindering the movement of the joint means that the movement of the joint is not suppressed by the insole. In this case, the MP joints J11 and J21 are suppressed, and a further improvement in the internal / external balance of the load can be expected compared to the case where the MP joint J41 is not suppressed.

[0027] The insole 10 of this embodiment restricts the movement of the MP joint J51 and the PIP joint J52 of the fifth toe, and does not hinder the movement of the DIP joint J53 of the fifth toe. In this case, a further improvement in the balance between the inside and outside of the load can be expected compared to when the MP joint J51 and the PIP joint J52 are not restricted.

[0028] The insole 10 of the present embodiment restricts the movement of the MP joint J31 of the third toe, but does not hinder the movement of the PIP joint J32 of the third toe. In this case, a further improvement in the inner / outer balance of the load can be expected compared to the case where the MP joint J31 is not restricted and the PIP joint J32 is restricted.

[0029] The above is a description of the first embodiment.

[0030] [Second embodiment] Hereinafter, the insole 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 is a side view of footwear 100 to which the insole 10 according to the second embodiment is applied, and corresponds to Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the relationship between the insole 10 according to the second embodiment and the phalanges of the foot, and corresponds to Fig. 2. This figure shows the right foot as seen from above. The insole 10 according to the second embodiment differs from the insole 10 according to the first embodiment in that the shape of the front edge 15 is different, and the other configurations are similar. Therefore, the differences will be mainly described, and overlapping descriptions will be omitted.

[0031] The insole 10 of the second embodiment is an insole placed on the inner bottom 92 of footwear 100, and is a thin plate having enough elasticity to come into contact with the sole 40 when worn, and integrally has a rear region 12 corresponding to at least the area extending from the wearer's arch 49 to the heel 47, and an outer region 13 corresponding to the ball of the little toe 42, and has an inner region 14 corresponding to the ball of the big toe 41 cut out.

[0032] This configuration provides an insole that allows weight to be placed on the ball of the foot, making it easy to balance the load on the medial and lateral sides of the foot, thereby reducing fatigue and distortion of the trunk of the user.

[0033] The outer region 13 includes the portion with which the ball of the little toe 42 contacts when the glove is worn and the portion extending outward from that portion. The inner region 14 includes the portion with which the ball of the big toe 41 contacts when the glove is worn and the portion extending inward from that portion. The "integral shape" may be a shape manufactured in multiple sections and integrated by connecting them, or it may be a seamless one-piece shape manufactured as a whole.

[0034] The insole 10 includes a portion that contacts the toes 46 (particularly the third to fifth toes) of the sole 40 when the insole 10 is worn. The insole 10 may have an inner region 14 cut out as the innermost region when the insole 10 is divided into three equal parts on the left and right and also including the frontmost region when the insole 10 is divided into three equal parts on the front and back.

[0035] The front edge 15 of the insole 10 includes a front edge 151 of the medial foot region 18, a front edge 153 of the lateral foot region 19, and an intermediate edge 152 between the front edges 151 and 153. For example, the intermediate edge 152 is a boundary line between the lateral foot region 13 and the medial foot region 14, and extends vertically in a substantially straight line between the MP joint J21 of the second toe and the MP joint J41 of the fourth toe. The front edge 151 extends in an arc shape continuously from the intermediate edge 152 toward the inside. For example, the front edge 151 passes behind the anterior-posterior center of the first metatarsal bone. In FIG. 4, the front edge 151 passes near the base of the first metatarsal bone.

[0036] The above is a description of the second embodiment.

[0037] The present invention has been described above based on several embodiments. These embodiments are illustrative, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the claims of the present invention, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that such modifications and changes are also within the scope of the claims of the present invention. Therefore, the description and drawings in this specification should be treated as illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0038] [Variations] The following describes the modified examples. In the description of the modified examples, the same or equivalent components and members as those in the embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. Descriptions that overlap with the embodiment will be omitted as appropriate, and the description will focus on configurations that differ from the embodiment.

[0039] In the description of the embodiment, the footwear 100 is a shoe, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the footwear 100 may be sandals, Japanese sandals, geta, or other footwear that is worn on the feet.

[0040] Although the embodiment has been described with reference to an example in which the insole 10 is used alone, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the insole 10 may be incorporated into an article worn on the foot, such as a sock, tabi, or a pair of socks.

[0041] In the description of the embodiment, an example in which the middle edge 152 extends between the MP joint J21 of the second finger and the MP joint J41 of the fourth finger has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the middle edge 152 may include a portion that extends up and down along the phalange of the third finger.

[0042] These modifications provide the same functions and effects as the embodiment.

[0043] Any combination of the above-described embodiments and modifications is also useful as an embodiment of the present invention. A new embodiment resulting from the combination has the combined effects of each of the combined embodiments and modifications. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 10 insole, 12 posterior region, 13 lateral region, 14 medial region, 15, 151, 153 anterior edge, 18 medial foot region, 19 lateral foot region, B32 third proximal phalangeal bone, J32 proximal interphalangeal joint, 40 sole, 41 ball of foot, 42 ball of foot with small toe, B43 fourth middle phalangeal bone, 46 finger, 47 heel, 92 medial sole, B11 first metatarsal body, J11, J21, J31, J41, J51 metatarsal joint, J52 proximal interphalangeal joint, J43, J53 distal interphalangeal joint, B21 second metatarsal body, B42 fourth proximal phalangeal bone, B52 fifth proximal phalangeal bone, B53 fifth distal phalangeal bone, 100 footwear.

Claims

1. A pair of left and right insoles to be placed on the inner soles of left and right footwear, Each of the pair of left and right insoles is It is a thin plate with enough elasticity to touch the sole of the foot when worn. The shoe has an outer foot side region extending forward on the outer foot side from at least a region corresponding to the heel of the wearer, and an inner foot side region extending medially to the inner side of the outer foot side region, In a plan view, the front edge of this insole is located behind the MP joints of the first and second fingers, and in front of the MP joints of the fourth and fifth fingers.

2. The insole according to claim 1 , wherein, in a plan view, the front edge is located rearward of the DIP joint of the fourth finger and the DIP joint of the fifth finger.

3. The insole according to claim 2, which does not hinder movement of the MP joint of the first finger and the MP joint of the second finger, and suppresses movement of the MP joint of the fourth finger.

4. The insole according to claim 3, which suppresses movement of the MP joint and PIP joint of the fifth finger and does not hinder movement of the DIP joint of the fifth finger.

5. The insole according to claim 4, which suppresses movement of the MP joint of the third toe and does not hinder movement of the PIP joint of the third toe.

6. Footwear having the insole according to claim 1 placed on its inner sole.

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