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 WhNe 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. US Patent 5,782,015 Dananberg issued July 21 ^st 1998 but now abandoned and related Design patent D535.811 issued January 30 ^th 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 under the trade mark "Ipanema". Cole Haan has recently made attempts to collaborate with Nike using air spring insert technology arising from sportswear shoes but this does not attack the problem from the foot structure point of view. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

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.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a high heel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped for a left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from a lateral shape and comprising: a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground; a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heel seat extending from the rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe, an inner shank extending downwardly and forward Iy from the break line to a ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line; wherein the heei seat of the insole is arranged such that, with the shoe resting on the ground so as to define an imaginary horizontal line across the heel seat from the lateral edge of the shoe to the medial edge of the shoe, the upper surface of the heel seat on which the heel rests is angled relative to the imaginary line so that the medial edge of the heel seat is lifted upwardly relative to the lateral edge of the heei seat.

Preferably the heel seat is concave between the medial and lateral edges.

Preferably the lifting of the heel seat at the media! edge is obtained by providing a thickening of the insole at the heel seat.

Preferably the medial edge is lifted relative to the lateral edge to define an angle which lies in the range approximately 3-5 degrees. Preferably the medial edge is lifted relative to the lateral edge to define an angle which is less than 10 degrees. Preferably the medial edge of the heel seat is raised along the length of the heel seat from the rear of the shoe to the break line.

Preferably the arch support of the insole defines a medial line adjacent the medial edge and a lateral line adjacent the lateral edge each extending from the break line to the ball line where the medial line is raised relative to the lateral line so as to follow the natural shape of the medial iong arch of the foot in order to support the natural angle of the calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the first metatarsal.

Preferably the medial line commences at the break line at a height greater than the lateral line at the break line created by the elevation of the medial edge of the heel seat.

Preferably an arched raised dome is provided on the shank of the insole with the dome being spaced inwardly from the lateral edge and outwardly from the medial edge with the dome commencing at or adjacent the bail line and extending upwardly along the shank to a position underlying the base of the metatarsals.

Preferably the dome is generally triangle shaped tapering upwardly and inwardly from the ball line.

Preferably the dome extends across the ball line from one apex located behind the second metatarsal head to a second apex behind the fourth metatarsal head.

Preferably the dome is in the range 0.3 to 1.0 centimetres in height. Preferably the dome is formed of a resilient material applied on top of the insole.

Preferably the insole is of increased thickness at the bali line relative to the forward end of the insole. Preferably the increased thickness at the ball line extends in front of the ball line and tapers therefrom in thickness gradually toward the forward end of the insole and extends rearwardly into the shank and tapers gradually rearwardly into the shank.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a high heel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped for a left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from a lateral shape and comprising: a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground; a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heel seat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe, an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line to a ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line; wherein the arch support of the insole defines a medial line adjacent the media! edge and a lateral line adjacent the lateral edge each extending from the break line to the ball line where the medial line is raised relative to the lateral line so as to follow the natural shape of the medial long arch of the foot in order to support the natural angle of the calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the first metatarsal. According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a high heel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped for a left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from a lateral shape and comprising: a shoe outsole, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground; a shoe insoie on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heel seat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe, an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line to a ball line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line; wherein an arched raised dome is provided on the shank of the insole with the dome being spaced inwardly from the lateral edge and outwardly from the medial edge with the dome commencing at or adjacent to the ball line and extending upwardly along the shank to a position underlying the base of the metatarsals.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a high heel shoe for receiving the foot of a wearer, the shoe being shaped for a left or right foot with a medial shape which is different from a lateral shape and comprising: a shoe outsoie, outer shank and a shoe heel for engaging the ground; a shoe insole on which the foot of the wearer is placed including a heel seat extending from a rear of the shoe to a break line across the shoe, an inner shank extending downwardly and forwardly from the break line to a bail line across the shoe and a forefoot in front of the ball line; wherein the insole is of increased thickness at the bail line relative to the forward end of the insole. Thus the arrangement described hereinafter provides the following features of importance in the modified design:

1. MEDIAL HEEL POST not to exceed 10 degrees.

The heel seat is designed such that the inside of the heel is angled upwards approximately 3-5 degrees depending on heel height from level. The end result is that the inside of the heel is wedged upwardly.

2. MEDIAL LONGUTUDINAL ARCH SUPPORT

The shoe is designed so that the insole follows the natural shape of the inside long arch of the foot. It begins by following the line created by the wedge of the heel seat toward the mid-foot. The net result is 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.

3. LATERAL ARCH

The angle of the heel seat is more acute relative to the ground looking from the lateral side of the shoe. In an attempt to offload some weight-bearing from the balls of the feet to the heei, the angle of the heel seat is moved more parallel the ground.

4. METATARSAL DOME

In an attempt to accommodate the parabolic nature of the metatarsal heads in the transverse plane a dome bump is added to the insole of the shoe. The dome is an irregularly shaped triangle. One corner lies behind the second metatarsal head. The second corner lies behind the fourth metatarsal head and the final corner lies near mid-foot. The dome should not exceed 1 centimetre in height.

5. ROCKER BOTTOM SOLE

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. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is provided for the convenience of the reader to show a plan view of a foot of a wearer identifying the components mentioned hereinafter to define locations of the foot relative to the shoe.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the shoe according to the present invention showing in dash line the location of a line along a medial of the shoe and in chain dot line a line along a lateral of the shoe.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the shoe of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of the shoe of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an isometric view of the shoe of Figure 2 showing the insole only for convenience of illustration. In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For convenience of the reader, Figure 1 shows the bones of the foot so as to assist in locating the positions on the shoe of the various components of the shoe in relation to the foot of the wearer. It will be appreciated that the size of the shoe will vary so that it matches the size of the foot to which it is intended to follow and therefore the locations of various components on the shoe are related to the arrangement of the foot rather than specific dimensions on the shoe itself. Conventionally high heeled shoes comprise a shoe outsole 11 , a shoe shank portion 12 and a heel 13. These components form the outer of the shoe which is intended to engage the ground.

In addition the shoe includes an insole generally indicated at 14 which includes a forefoot 15 of the insole, a shank portion 16 of the insole and a heel seat 17 of the insole.

The shoe further includes an upper 18 which is shaped and arranged to provide the attractive appearance required for fashion shoes particularly high heeled shoes of the type of which the present invention is concerned.

The present invention is concerned particularly with shoes having a high heel which is defined for the purpose is a shoe having a heel height greater than 2.0". It is well known that such shoes provide significant discomfort for the wearer but are still worn by many wearers in view of the attractive appearance. As best shown in Figure 3, the insole 14 defines the heel seat 17 which is separated from the shank portion 16 by a break line 20 and the shank portion 16 is separated from the forefoot portion 15 by a bail line 21. The break line and the ball line thus form locations where the insole changes angle from the shaliowly inclined heel seat 17 into the sharper inclined shank portion 16 and the generally horizontal forefoot portion 15.

Shoes also of course have a medial or inner side and a lateral or outer side as shown in Figure 3. Thus the shoe includes a medial edge 22 of the insoie and a lateral edge 23 of the insole. An imaginary line adjacent these edges is marked on the shoe to provide a medial line 24 and a lateral line 25 which are arranged at positions to engage the foot of the wearer when placed on the insole.

The conventional shoe as described above is modified in the arrangement described herein in a number of ways to provide an improved comfort for the wearer. Firstly as shown in Figures 2 and 4, the heel seat 17 is modified relative a conventional heel seat in that a wedge portion 17A is applied on the underside of the layer 17B forming the insole itself.

It will be appreciated in this regard that the insole is conventionally formed from a sheet of a constant thickness such as leather or plastics material where the whole of the insole is a single flat sheet which is shaped to form over the components of the shoe and is laid as a strip over the outsole and the heel.

In the present arrangement the sheet forming the insole is modified by the addition of additional components which form the insole into the required shape as described herein.

Thus the wedge portion 17A shown best in Figure 4 is applied on the underside of the sheet portion 17B on the medial side so as to extend from the medial edge 22 while tapering down in thickness toward the lateral edge 23. At the same time the wedge member 17A has a curved upper surface 17C so that the upper surface 17d of the heel seat is concave across its width.

Thus a horizontal imaginary line 17E across the shoe at the heel defines an angle 17F relative to a line 17G generally following the shape of the wedge portion 17A. In this way the medial side of the heel seat is raised by the wedge member 17A at an angle of the order of 3 to 5 degrees first to raise the medial edge 22 up by a distance of the order of 0.3 to 1.0 cm.

As shown in Figure 2 the raised medial edge 22 relative to the lower medial edge 23 continues along the length of the heel seat from the rear edge 25 to the break line 20.

As also shown in Figure 2, the medial edge 22 includes a portion 22A at the shank 16 which is raised relative to the medial edge portion 23A at the shank 16. Thus the line 24 which is the medial line of the insole which engages the medial side of the foot of the wearer is designed so that this medial line 24 follows the natural shape of the medial long arch of the foot. It commences at the raised portion 22B of the medial edge of the heel seat at the break tine 20 and it continues through the shank down toward the ball line 21. Along this full length, therefore the net result is 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.

In addition to this inclination of the insole from the lateral side increasing in height gradually toward the medial side both at the heel seat and the shank, there is additionally provided a dome 30 which is applied onto the inside surface of the insole as a raised member having a height at its central location of the order of 0.3 to1.0 cm. The dome tapers outwardly to its side edges so that its height gradually decreases. The dome is applied on top of the inside surface of the shank portion of the insole. The dome is generally triangular in shape having a first apex 31 , a second apex 32 across the ball line 21 where the dome tapering toward the top apex 33. The dome is spaced inwardly from the medial line 24 and is spaced away from the lateral line 25. The dome is located so that the apex 31 lies just behind the second metatarsal head of the foot. The apex 32 lies just behind the fourth metatarsal head. Thus at these iocations the dome has tapered to a low height or zero height and in between these two apexes the dome rises to a maximum height along a center line 35. Thus the dome is arched across its width. The apex 33 is located adjacent the center of the shoe so that it lies underneath the base of the third metatarsal. This arrangement provides support for the parabolic nature of the metatarsal heads in the transverse plane. In this way the dome provides support for the metatarsals of the foot of the wearer and assists in maintaining the arch shape. A further addition to the insole comprises of the addition of a thickening piece 40 located at the ball line 21. This thickening piece 40 is at its thickest at the ball line 21 and tapers forwardly to a front edge 41 on the forefoot portion and tapers rearwardly to a rear edge 42 on the shank. This thickened portion extends across the full width of the insoie. The greatest thickness at the bail line is generally of the order of 0.3 to 1.0 cm and is located beneath the metatarsal heads of the foot and tapers to zero forwardly and rearwardly. The effect of this is to move the contact point of the forefoot away from the metatarsal heads to the arch of the foot.

In practice the shape of the insole will be formed by moulding the insole from a plastics material generaliy by an injection moulding technique so that the various thicknesses provided by the wedge 17A, the raised media! line 24, the thickening portion 40, and the dome 30 are all part of a moulded structure defining the shape of the insole. The insole itself then can be used on a conventional last so as to be applied onto a conventional outsole and heel to provide the required foot support for the foot of the wearer. Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.