Login| Sign Up| Help| Contact|

Patent Searching and Data


Title:
STIMULATION SHOE FOR THE PROPER DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLANTAR ARCHES
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2006/043251
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A children's shoe (1) for the stimulation of the plantar arches to the ends of the prevention or cure of flat foot, comprising a cushion-shaped element (6) having a sandwich-shaped construction, extending in correspondence of the internal portion (4) of the sole (3) of the shoe (1) and exhibiting a substantial elastic deformability during a subject's walking cycle.

Inventors:
FUSCO MARIA ANTONIETTA (IT)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2005/053441
Publication Date:
April 27, 2006
Filing Date:
October 20, 2005
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
KS ITALIA S A S DI AMBROSONE M (IT)
FUSCO MARIA ANTONIETTA (IT)
International Classes:
A43B7/22; A43B17/14; A61F5/14
Foreign References:
US20040025376A12004-02-12
US6120880A2000-09-19
EP1116449A22001-07-18
US20030145495A12003-08-07
EP1504688A12005-02-09
Other References:
See also references of EP 1804600A1
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Papa, Elisabetta (Piazza di Pietra 39, Rome, IT)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAMS
1. A stimulation shoe (1) for the proper development of the plantar arches in order to prevent or cure flat foot, characterized in that it comprises a cushion element (6), extending at least at the internal portion (4) of the sole (3) of the shoe (1), said internal portion (4) being apt to supportably receive the foot portion corresponding to the plantar arches, and having a substantial elastic deformability during the subject's walking cycle.
2. The shoe (1) according to claim 1, wherein said cushion element (6) extends substantially along the entire extension of the sole (3) of the shoe (1) itself.
3. The shoe (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said cushion element (6) has a substantially sandwichshaped structure (7, 8, 9).
4. The shoe (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said cushion element (6) is formed by two external layers (7, 8), at least one of which comprising rubber, an intermediate layer (9) being interposed between said external layers (7, 8).
5. The shoe (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said intermediate layer (9) comprises a rubber mix.
6. The shoe (1) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the rubber forming said external layers (7, 8) and/or said mix (9) is para rubber.
7. The shoe (1) according to any one of the claims 4 to 6, wherein said intermediate layer (9) comprises a silicone mix.
8. The shoe (1) according to any one of the claims 4 to 7, wherein said intermediate layer (9) comprises particles of irregular shape.
9. The shoe (1) according to the preceding claim when dependent from claim 5, wherein said rubber particles have an average size of about 1 mm.
10. The shoe (1) according to claim 8 or 9 when dependent from claim 7, wherein said silicone particles have an average size comprised in a range of about 1.5 — 2.0 mm.
11. The shoe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cushion element (6) is removable.
12. The shoe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cushion element (6) has a thickness comprised in a range of about 810 mm.
13. The shoe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the vamp (2) of which has a substantial elastic deformability during the subject's walking cycle.
14. The shoe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the vamp (2) of which is made of leather.
15. The shoe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, having a seat (5), obtained in its own sole (3), that receives said cushion element (6).
16. The shoe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the sole (3) of which is made of an elastically deformable material.
17. The shoe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the sole (3) of which is made of rubber.
18. The shoe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, which is a children's shoe.
19. The shoe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cushion element (6) comprises a plurality of elevations.
20. The shoe (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein said elevations are delimited by peripheral seams.
Description:
STIMULATION SHOE FOR THE PROPER DEVELOPMENT OF THE

PLANTAR ARCHES

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a stimulation shoe for the proper development of the plantar arches in order to prevent or cure flat foot, and in particular to a children's shoe.

As it is known to the persons skilled in the art, we all are born with the so-called "flat foot". When learning to walk, exercising walking we learn how to contract the muscles of the foot plant, and thereby generally the arch architecture of the plant itself organizes. Usually, mothers are advised to have children start walking on sand, as a soft and elastic support fosters the good operation of the plant and therefore a proper forming of said plantar arches.

Nevertheless, in the last decades there has taken hold the use of small shoes always more rigid and scarcely elastic also in pediatric age. If on the one hand such rigidity meets some preventive and therapeutic demands, on the other hand it has increased the incidence and the frequency of fiat feet both in children and in adults. Hence, the technical problem posed and solved by the present invention is to provide a shoe, and in particular a children's shoe, overcoming the drawbacks mentioned , hereto with reference to the known art. Such a problem is solved by a shoe according to claim 1.

Preferred features of the present invention are present in the dependent claims thereof.

The present invention provides several relevant advantages. The main advantage is that during the walking the cushion element carries out a stimulating action on the plant, fostering the correct development of the plantar arches, hi particular, the shoe of the invention allows re-creating inside the shoe- and especially inside the small shoe of a child - an optimal and ideal environment for the physiological stress of the foot, so as to develop normal muscle tensions and normal plantar arches, as well as opposing the damages deriving from walking on rigid and inelastic terrains. Other advantages, features and the modes of employ of the present invention will be made apparent in the following detailed description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of a non-limiting example. Reference will be made to the figures of the annexed drawings, wherein:

- Figure 1 shows a partially sectional view of an embodiment of the shoe according to the present invention; and

- Figure 2 shows a longitudinal section view of a cushion-shaped element of the shoe of Figure 1.

Initially referring to Figure 1, a shoe according to an embodiment of the invention is globally indicated by 1. In particular, the shoe 1 is the small shoe of a child, of the kind employed for the first walks of the latter.

Alike any known shoe, the shoe 1 comprises a top vamp 2 and a bottom sole 3. In the present embodiment, both the vamp 2 and the sole 3 are elastically deformable during the walking cycle of the child, hi particular, the vamp 2 is made of soft leather and the sole 3 is made of rubber.

In the top portion 4 of the sole 3, i.e. in the portion of the latter facing the foot plant, the shoe 1 has a seat 5 that receives a cushion element 6 exhibiting a substantial elastic deformability during the subject's walking cycle.

In the present embodiment, the element 6 extends basically along the entire extension of the sole 3. Variant embodiments could instead provide for the element 6 to extend only in correspondence of the portion of sole apt to supportably receive the foot portion corresponding to the plantar arches. Always according to variant embodiments, the cushion-shaped element may be delimited by a peripheral seam, also in the absence of said seat. hi addition, there can be provided different cushion elements positioned at reflexiological areas of the plant including, yet not necessarily limited to, the plantar arches. Moreover, the cushion element may be shaped according to the specific needs of the subject using it and have predetermined shapes and elevations.

The cushion-shaped element may also be made so as to comprise a plurality of elevations delimited by peripheral seams.

Always in the present embodiment, the element 6 has a substantially sandwich- shaped structure, comprising a top layer 7, a bottom layer 8 and an intermediate layer

9 interposed therebetween.

Preferably, the top layer 7 and the bottom layer 8 are made of para rubber.

The intermediate layer 9 is formed by a para rubber mix and by a silicone mix, both comprising particles of irregular shape the average size of which is of about 1 mm for each rubber particle and comprised in a range of about 1.5 - 2.0 mm for each silicone particle.

The embodiment of the intermediate layer with particles, and in particular with irregular particles, improves the elastic stimulation of foot plant.

Preferably, the cushion element 6 has a thickness comprised in a range of about 8 - 10 mm.

The cushion element 6 according to the invention may be stationary or removable.

It will presently be better understood that, during the walking cycle, the elastic

deformation of the element 6, following just the loading/unloading cycles of the foot, allows the shoe 1 to produce a stimulating action on the foot plant, enabling a correct development of the plantar arches and therefore preventing or curing the flat foot, hi the present embodiment, the elastic deformability of the sole 3 and of the vamp 4 carry out an action synergic to said stimulation.

The present invention has hereto been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. It is understood that there could be other embodiments thereof afferent to the same inventive kernel, all falling within the protective scope of the claims hereinafter.