BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[001 ] The present invention relates to footwear, and more particularly to therapeutic footwear.

[002] Some infants/toddler/children suffer with physical and mental health disabilities, such as autism, also exhibit various biomechanical foot issues, such as pronated feet, high arches, toe walking, etc. Conventional footwear, including shoes and sneakers, do not provide the inner medial and lateral support for the ankle to correct these biomechanical foot issues and therefore do not provide for proper foot alignment at an early formation stage in their development. Children with misalignment due to various biomechanical foot issues leads to abnormality of leg development and pain.

[003] Likewise, some children with certain mental health disabilities are also a flight risk, in that they may wander off without an awareness of their surroundings, much less with the skills necessary to find their way home, or to locate their care giver when away from home. Due to limitations of their condition, they may also run the risk of developing obesity as activity levels may be impaired or restricted.

[004] As can be seen, there is a need for an improved footwear to correct biomechanical foot issues, to facilitate proper foot alignment at formative stages of development and a monitoring device to allow caregivers to know the whereabouts of the child’s location for safety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[005] In one aspect of the present invention, a therapeutic footwear is disclosed. The therapeutic footwear includes a shoe body having a shoe upper, a sole attached to a bottom of the shoe body, and an interior cavity dimensioned to receive a foot of a wearer. A molded brace has a base dimensioned to conform to a bottom of the interior cavity. An aft end of the molded brace, has a cup that is dimensioned to receive a heel of the foot. A protrusion is elevated and distends from a medial and a lateral surface of an anterior portion of the cup. The protrusion is dimensioned to receive a malleolus of the foot. A sidewall extends anterior from the protrusion and is dimensioned to extend to a point adjacent to a ball of the foot. A cushioned lining is carried within the molded brace. The cushioned lining has an outer margin that extends beyond an extent of the molded brace. At least one fabric layer lines the interior cavity and is connected to the shoe upper so that the molded brace is retained within the interior cavity of the shoe body.

[006] In some embodiments, a plurality of longitudinal metallic supports extendlongitudinally along the base of the molded brace. The plurality of longitudinal metallic supports isdisposed in a spaced apart relation across a width of the base.

[007] In other embodiments, a plurality of vertical metallic supports isdisposed in a spaced apart relation between the cup and the protrusion.

[008] In other embodiments, a GPS compartment is disposed in a heel area of the sole. The GPS compartment adapted to receive a GPS tracking device.

[009] In yet other embodiments, an access is disposed in the heel area of the sole. The access is dimensioned to install and remove the GPS tracking device from the GPS compartment.

[010] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[01 1] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a high-top smart walking shoe in use.

[012] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a high-top smart walking shoe in dash with foot resting on the molded brace inside the shoe. [013] Fig. 3 is a perspective exploded view of the high-top smart walking shoe fabric covering the molded brace, and sole.

[014] Fig. 4 is a rear view of a misaligned ankle.

[015] Fig. 5 is a rear view of an ankle alignment corrected by the molded brace.

[016] Fig. 6 is a side medial side view of the molded brace in use.

[017] Fig. 7 is a top view of the molded brace.

[018] Fig. 8 is a top front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the therapeutic shoe with the molded brace retained within the lining.

[019] Fig. 9 is a top front perspective view of the alternative embodiment illustrating a foot and the molded brace retained under the lining.

[020] Fig. 10 is a front perspective view of another alternative embodiment of the therapeutic shoe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[021 ] The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention.

[022] Broadly, embodiments of the present invention provides an apparatus and method for correcting foot biomechanics in children, particularly those with physical mental disabilities, such as autism. In some embodiments, the corrective footwear includes a location tracker to facilitate locating a child that has wandered off or has become separated from a caregiver.

[023] As seen in reference to FIGS. 1 -9, a corrective therapeutic footwear according to aspects of the invention is illustrated. The corrective footwear may include a shoe body. In the non-limiting embodiment shown, the shoe body 10 may be a high-top shoe 10 that is sized according to conventional shoe sizes and dimensions. The body 10 includes a shoe upper 70 formed in the style and appearance of one of an athletic sneakers or a dress shoe. The shoe body 10 includes a sole 40 that may be formed with a rubberized athletic sole pattern or in a dress shoe pattern corresponding to the style and appearance of the shoe upper 70.

[024] The shoe body 10 includes a molded brace 20 that is received within an interior space of the shoe body 10. The molded brace 20 may be formed with a plastic or a carbon fiber material. A cushioned lining 22 is carried within the molded brace 20 and has an outer marginthat extends beyond the extents of the molded brace 20 to provide a cushioning against the wearer’s foot 50 and to prevent impingement of the molded brace 20 during flexing of the foot 50 and ankle within the shoe body 10. The molded brace 20 includes a plurality of metallic supports 60 extending longitudinally along the base of the molded brace 20 and disposed in a spaced apart relation across a lateral width of the molded brace 20. In a preferred embodiment, the molded brace 20 is a brace is which not customized to individual, rather the molded brace 20 is formed for that person’s age, structure, anatomical, and biomechanical size.

[025] As seen in reference to FIG. 4 arrow 100 is provided showing an ankle misalignment condition. Referring to FIG. 5, arrow 1 10 indicates a corrected alignment utilizing the shoe 10 of the present invention. The shoe body 10 with its integrated molded brace 20 and plurality of metallic supports 60 support the foot 50 just above the ankle bone or malleolus and above. The corrective therapeutic shoe 10 will support soft, flexible, flat feet (pes Plano valgus). With the incorporated molded brace 20 the shoe 10 will maintain a vertical, or neutral, heel while also supporting the arches of the foot 50 to thereby improve proper foot alignment.

[026] The molded brace 20 is formed to correct foot alignment of the wearer. The molded brace 20 is dimensioned to fit the empty spaces on the interior of the shoe body 10 to improve fit of the posterior, medial and lateral wall of the shoe body 10 to the wearer’s foot. The molded brace 20 has a base24 that is dimensioned to conform to a bottom of the interior cavity. An aft end of the molded brace20has a cup 25 dimensioned to receive a heel of the foot 50. A protrusion 26 is elevated and distends from a medial and a lateral surface of an anterior portion of the cup 25. The protrusion 26 is dimensioned to receive a malleolus of the foot 50. A sidewall 28 extends anterior from the protrusion 26 and is dimensioned to extend to a point adjacent to a ball of the foot 50. The molded brace 20 reduces stress and strain on the wearer’s body and bring feet 50 into proper alignment. The shoe body 10 re-align the foot 50 by re-directing and reducing certain motion to improve walking in children and may also be employed as a corrective footwear for adults.

[027] The molded brace 20 includes a plurality of longitudinal metallic supports 60 extend longitudinally along the base 24 of the molded brace 20 and disposed in a spaced apart relation across a lateral width of the molded brace 20. A plurality of vertical metallic supports 60 are disposed in a spaced apart relation in the cup 25 and the protrusion 26. The metallic supports 60 may be embedded in the molded brace 20.

[028] The molded brace 20 is carried within the shoe upper 70 and is covered with at least one fabric 30 layer lining an interior of the shoe body 10 so that the molded brace 20 is retained within the shoe. The at least one fabric layer 30 is attached within the interior of the shoe upper 70 to retain the molded brace 20 in position within the shoe body 10.

[029] The sole 40 in one of a left or a right shoe may include may include a GPS compartment 90 that is dimensioned to contain a global positioning system(not shown) that is configured to provide a geographical coordinate for the location of the shoe 10, and presumably the child or person wearing the shoe 10. An access 80 may be provided to remove/install the GPS carried within the GPS compartment so that the GPS may be serviced or moved from one pair of shoes to another.

[030] In use, the GPS carried within the GPS compartment provides geographic location information. An application may be provided to alert the parent or caregiver when the child has left a designated location. The application may also receive the geographic location information so that the parent or caregiver may locate the child, should they wander off. Likewise, the application may also activate an alarm when the geographic location information indicates that the child has departed a predetermined distance from a geographic location of the parent or care giver’s mobile computing device running the application. In some embodiments, the GPS may be monitored to determine an activity level of the child to provide the caregiver guidance on exercise and eating to avoid development or for the correction of obesity.

[031] It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.