Footwear insoles that encourage toe movement

Abstract

To provide a footwear insole capable of continuously promoting exercise with a little burden, the exercise providing an effect of reducing leg swelling in a daily life, the effect similar to towel gathering exercise.SOLUTION: An insole includes a plurality of straight, wavy, or zig-zag protrusions with the height of 0.5-4.0 mm that extend at an angle of 55° to 90°with respect to a straight line formed by connecting from a toe-side tip to a heel-side tip of the insole in a direction of downward extending an inner edge to an outer edge of the insole, within a range falling under a proximal phalanx corresponding part and a distal phalanx corresponding part of the thumb and within a range falling under a proximal phalanx corresponding part, a middle phalanx corresponding part and a distal phalanx corresponding part of any one of a second toe to fifth toe or a plurality of toes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an insole for footwear, and more particularly to an insole that stimulates blood circulation in the body, primarily in the legs, and promotes toe movement, thereby suppressing swelling in the legs. [Background technology]

[0002] The present invention requires accurate determination of the locations of the components of the invention, and therefore, the following technical books were referenced as necessary. "Wolff Atlas of Human Anatomy (New Edition) April 20, 2001, First Edition, New Edition, Editors: H.F. Frick, B.Kummer, R.V. Putz, Supervising Translators: Shigeo Uchino, Shigenori Tanaka, Seiichiro Inoguchi, Tatsuo Kasai, Shigeo Kobayashi, Publisher: Masanori Nishimura, Publisher: Nishimura Shoten" The legs are located far from the heart and are also in the direction of gravity. Therefore, (or because of) this, blood flow from the legs to the heart is poor. Leg swelling can also occur when, for example, maintaining the same posture for a long time causes poor circulation and stagnation of fluid and blood in the body. Therefore, leg swelling is unavoidable in everyday life. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2015-002962 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2017-086975 [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] Kenji Yamada, Meiji Sudo, "Muscle activity around the ankle joint during foot grip training movements," Physical Therapy Science, Japan Society of Physical Therapy Science, 2018, Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 905-909

[0005] A known conventional technique for reducing leg swelling is reflexology, which stimulates reflex zones (known as acupressure points) concentrated on the soles of the feet to activate various internal organs and blood flow. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes an insole for shoes, sandals, slippers, etc. that reduces swelling in the feet by utilizing the effect of the Yongquan acupressure point.

[0006] However, Patent Document 1 assumes that the weight of the body is placed on the soles of the feet when standing. Therefore, in the modern work environment, where people spend most of their working hours sitting down and using a computer or the like, there is a problem that footwear with protrusions for stimulating reflex zones cannot be fully effective.

[0007] Here, we will explain towel gathering exercise. Towel gathering exercise is a type of toe exercise. The exerciser places a towel under their foot, and then clenches and spreads their toes to pull the towel in. Non-Patent Document 1 has recognized that towel gathering exercise is effective in strengthening the muscles required for gripping the toes, such as the abductor pollicis and flexor digitorum brevis. Because it can stimulate the muscle activity of the muscles around the ankle joint, it has been suggested that towel gathering exercise may be an effective form of training for gripping the foot.

[0008] For example, Patent Document 2 applies for an invention that aims to achieve the same effect as towel gathering exercises in everyday life. Paragraph 0012 describes an insole structure for the purpose of correcting the soles of the feet, stating, "You can expect the same effect as towel gathering (plantar muscle strengthening training), and by simply wearing it on a daily basis, you can create an arch. This can be expected to improve and prevent flat feet in infants and children, prevent weakening of the plantar muscles due to aging, and prevent lower back pain."

[0009] However, the structure shown in Patent Document 2, as a mode for carrying out the invention, has protrusions 2 with a height of about 2.0 to 2.5 cm, and paragraph 0025 states that "the five fingers grip the sole of the shoe and brace themselves against it." Maintaining this position causes a strong sense of discomfort in the soles of the feet in daily life, and is not suitable for long-term use. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] Therefore, the present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems with regard to the structure of footwear insoles, and to provide a footwear insole that can encourage continuous exercise with little burden in daily life, which has the effect of suppressing leg swelling and has the same effect as towel gathering exercise. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above, and the means for solving this problem will now be described.

[0012] That is, claim 1 provides a footwear insole characterized by having a plurality of protrusions in the area corresponding to the proximal phalanx and distal phalanx of the thumb, which protrude from the inner edge of the insole downward to the outer edge, and which extend at an angle of 55° to 90° with respect to a line connecting the tip of the toe side to the tip of the heel side of the insole. The protrusions are linear, wavy, or zigzag.

[0013] That is, claim 2 provides the insole for footwear described in claim 1, characterized in that it has a plurality of protrusions in the area corresponding to the proximal phalanx, the middle phalanx, and the distal phalanx of one or more of the second to fifth toes, which protrude in the form of straight lines, wavy lines, or zigzag lines extending in a direction from the inner edge of the insole downward to the outer edge, at an angle of 55° to 90° with respect to a line connecting the tip of the toe side to the tip of the heel side of the insole.

[0014] That is, in claim 3, the insole for footwear according to claim 1 or 2 is such that the height of the apex of the projection from the plane surface of the insole is 0.5 to 4.0 mm. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] The insole structure of the present invention promotes toe movement, which is referred to as towel gathering movement, and activates blood flow, thereby achieving the effect of suppressing leg swelling. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of an insole according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a protruding portion. [Figure 4] 10(a) and 10(b) show the toe portion of another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Next, an embodiment of the invention will be described.

[0018] 1 shows an insole 10 according to this embodiment. The insole 10 includes a flat surface 11 that contacts the sole of the foot, and a plurality of projections 20 at positions corresponding to the proximal and distal phalanges of the big toe, the proximal, middle and distal phalanges of the second toe, and the proximal, middle and distal phalanges of the third toe. A straight line 30 connects the tip of the insole 10 on the toe side to the tip on the heel side. Angle 31 is the angle formed by projections 20 and line 30. As shown in FIG. 1, protrusion 20 is a linear convex structure that extends downward from the inner edge to the outer edge of insole 10. Protrusion 20 is set to intersect the direction of the big toe at a right angle so that the toes can rest on it during towel gathering exercise, and forms an angle 31 with line 30. Angle 31 is 55° to 90°, preferably 65° to 80°, and more preferably 70° to 75°. In this embodiment, protrusion 20 is made of the same material as flat portion 11, but a different material from that of flat portion 11 may be selected as needed.

[0019] 2 is a cross-section of the insole 10. This cross-section is taken along the line AA in FIG. 1 and includes the flat portion 11 and the protrusion 20.

[0020] Fig. 3 shows an enlarged view of the protrusion 20 in Fig. 2. A height 40 is the height from the plane of the flat portion 11 to the apex of the protrusion 20.

[0021] In this embodiment, when the thumb comes into contact with the protrusions 20 and receives stimulation, a towel gathering movement is induced, which reflexively pulls the protrusions 20 toward the thumb. At this time, the protrusions 20 act as a foothold for the towel gathering movement, providing resistance to the thumb. This toe movement promotes blood circulation and has the effect of suppressing swelling in the user's legs.

[0022] In this case, the protrusion height 21 is set to 0.5 to 4.0 mm, which provides a foothold for toe movement, and at the same time does not interfere with the toe bending movement in the towel gathering movement in the space inside the footwear, and does not cause discomfort when touching it, preferably 1.5 to 3.0 mm, and more preferably 2.0 to 2.5 mm.

[0023] In this embodiment, the protrusions 20 are arranged at positions corresponding to the proximal and distal phalanges of the thumb, the proximal, middle and distal phalanges of the second finger, and the proximal, middle and distal phalanges of the third finger. This is because bending the thumb tends to cause the other fingers to bend in tandem, so the protrusions 20 are arranged at positions corresponding to the thumb and the second and third fingers close to the thumb. The present invention also includes an insole in which protrusions 20 are arranged at required positions corresponding to the proximal, middle and distal phalanges of one or more of the second through fifth fingers, so that even users who have difficulty moving certain toes due to an accident or other reason can suppress foot swelling through the towel gathering exercise effect.

[0024] 4(a) and 4(b) show the toe portion of another embodiment of the present invention. 4(a) includes a wavy protrusion 21. The protrusion 21 is a wavy convex structure that extends downward from the inner edge to the outer edge of the insole 10. A straight line 32 indicates the direction in which the protrusion 21 extends. Angle 33 is the angle formed by the straight lines 30 and 32. 4(b) includes zigzag linear protrusions 22. Protrusions 22 are zigzag linear convex structures that extend downward from the inner edge to the outer edge of insole 10. Line 34 indicates the direction in which protrusions 22 extend. Angle 35 is the angle between line 30 and line 34. Both the angle 33 and the angle 35 are set to 55° to 90°, preferably 65° to 80°, and more preferably 70° to 75°.

[0025] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it should be understood that appropriate changes and improvements made without departing from the spirit of the present invention are also within the scope of the present invention. For example, the flat insole portion 11 of the footwear may have protrusions for stimulating reflex zones. Furthermore, the flat portion 11 may have irregularities that are generally provided so that the insole can conform to the shape of the sole of the foot (such as the irregularities of the arch). [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 10 insoles 11 Flat surface that contacts the sole of the foot 20 Linear protrusions 21 Wavy protrusion 22 Zigzag linear protrusions 30 Straight line connecting the tip of the toe side of the insole to the tip of the heel side 31 Angle between protrusion 20 and straight line 30 32 Straight line indicating the direction in which the protrusion 21 extends 33 The angle between line 30 and line 32 34 Straight line indicating the direction in which the protrusion 22 extends 35 The angle between line 30 and line 34 40 Protrusion height

Claims

1. The insole is arranged at a predetermined distance from the other insole along a straight line connecting the tip of the toe side to the tip of the heel side so as to be located at least in the range corresponding to the proximal phalanx and the distal phalanx of the thumb, The insole runs from the inner edge to the outer edge, crossing the direction of the thumb at a right angle. It extends at an angle of 65 to 80 degrees from the tip of the toe side of the insole to the tip of the heel side. The projections have a plurality of linear, wavy, or zigzag linear shapes. A footwear insole characterized by:

2. The insole is arranged at a predetermined distance from the other insole along a straight line connecting the tip of the toe side to the tip of the heel side so as to be located in the range corresponding to the proximal phalanx and the distal phalanx of the thumb, as well as in the range corresponding to the proximal phalanx, the middle phalanx and the distal phalanx of one or more of the second to fifth fingers, The insole runs from the inner edge to the outer edge, crossing the direction of the thumb at a right angle. It extends at an angle of 65 to 80 degrees from the tip of the toe side of the insole to the tip of the heel side. The projections have a plurality of linear, wavy, or zigzag linear shapes. A footwear insole characterized by:

3. 3. The footwear insole according to claim 1, wherein the projections have a vertex that is 0.5 to 4.0 mm high from the plane of the insole.

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