Insole

Technical field

The present invention relates to an insole for insertion in shoes and a method for manufacture of such. Background

From Sami (or Lapp) culture it is known that leaves of hoary alder can be inserted in shoes to remove odour and reduce sweating from the feet. However, it is only fresh leaves that produce this effect, and it is therefore only in certain periods of the year that this remedy is available. On website http://www.clo gwild. com/about.html the use of alder is described as a sole in clogs. In publication GB 1426705 the use of alder is also described as a sole in clogs.

From DE 10030677 a cover sole is described containing leaves of oak, alder, beech or cedar trees. It is disclosed that the purpose of the wood is to soak up and transport sweat, thereby reducing the incidence of athlete's foot.

The object of the present invention is to provide an insole which removes odour and reduces foot sweat, and which can be produced and sold throughout the year, and not only during the period when fresh leaves are available.

Summary of the invention The present invention is defined in the attached independent patent claims 1 and 3. Preferred embodiments are indicated in the dependent patent claims.

Detailed description

An embodiment according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a view of an insole from above;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the insole in fig. 1 intersected.

We now refer to figs. 1 and 2. An insole 1 is designed to be inserted in a shoe.

The insole 1 comprises three layers located above one another. An upper layer 2 is made of a breathing material placed over a central layer 3 containing shavings of dried alder. At the bottom the insole 1 comprises a lower layer 4 of an absorbent material.

The upper layer 2 is provided by a breathing material which permits moisture to be transported from the foot down to the central layer 3. At the same time air should be permitted to circulate between the area over the insole and the shavings in the central layer 3. The upper layer 2 may, for example, be made of a cotton-containing material, or other materials with the above-mentioned properties.

The central layer 3 comprises so-called shavings of dried alder. In this context shavings should be understood to refer to shavings and/or chips, for example sawdust, wood shavings, etc. of dried alder. The shavings may be dried before and/or after being split up into shavings. The lower layer 4 is made of an absorbent material in order to absorb moisture, such as foot sweat. The lower layer 4 may, for example, be made of felt, cardboard or other suitable absorbent materials.

The upper layer 2 and the lower layer 4 of the insole 1 are joined and attached to each other in a peripheral area 5 by means of a bonding agent, for example an adhesive, such as glue, or a seam or the like, thereby enclosing the shavings material which forms the central layer 3.

Through testing it has been found that the present invention reduces the problem of sweaty feet and removes odour to a considerable extent. It should be noted that the insoles according to the above embodiment are provided for use during a brief period, for example a day or a few days. During testing selected persons changed into new insoles every morning and discarded the old ones. The test period lasted for five consecutive days. Nevertheless, it turned out that the effect of reduced foot sweating problems and removal of odour lasted for a period beyond the actual period of use. This has influenced the design of the insoles. Since the soles have a limited period of use, the central layer 3 of shavings is relatively thin. This also permits the dried alder shavings to be provided in a natural, i.e. untreated form, between the upper layer 2 and the lower layer 4. If the insoles were to be designed for long term use, the shavings would probably have had to be treated (for example by means of a binder or the like), or to have been distributed in smaller channels or cavities to enable the insole to maintain its original shape while still feeling comfortable.

The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing insoles. In a first stage dried alder shavings are provided as a central layer 3 between the upper layer 2 and the lower layer 4. In a next stage the layers 2, 3 and 4 are pressed together to smooth out the shavings in the central layer 3. The upper layer 2 and the lower layer 4 are then joined in a peripheral area 5 in order to enclose the shavings between the upper layer 2 and the lower layer 4. The insole 1 is then stamped out by a stamping machine, or cut out in another way.

As described above the joining process may either comprise sticking the layers together by means of an adhesive such as, for example, glue, or sewing a seam in the peripheral area 5.