Patent · US Active

Autonomous balance-enhanced insert for footwear

US9161591B2 · kind B2 · utility

9Cited by
5References
5Claims
0Family size

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 31, 2011
Grant dateOct 20, 2015
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 26, 2033

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA43B17/006
  • WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
  • WIPO sectorOther fields

Abstract

An article of footwear and insert for an article of footwear are provided with means for provisional instantaneous enhancing cutaneous mechanoreceptors pressure sensation from the plantar surface (sole) of the foot perimeter zone.Such instantaneous stimulation ought to compensate age/illness—related deterioration of plantar cutaneous sensation; it enhances its ability to detect and react to the shifts of the body's Center of Gravity (COG) toward the edges of the feet which, if left uncorrected right away, cause ankle sprain, and/or loss of balance and fall.An insole disclosed is provided with a set of pressure-activated protrusions, which form a narrow strip in close proximity to the perimeter of the insole inside the inner neighborhood of the plantar sole perimeter, and becomes active just when the Center Of Pressure (COP) of the wearer of the footwear is shifting dangerously toward the edges of the feet.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.