US2255100A - Posture guide - Google Patents

Description

POSTURE GUIDE ep 9, 1941- D. R. BRADY 2,255,100

Filed March 1'7, 1939 Patented Sept. 9, 1941 POSTURE GUIDE David 1:. Brady, Detroit, Micln, assignor to David 1!. Brady and J. Windsor Davis, as joint trustees for Brady Research Com ioint-ventm-e company A plication March 1'1, 1939, Serial No. 262,398

1 Claim.

This invention relates to shoes and has for its object to provide a seating and positioning means shaped to form a complete seating and positioning means for the butt of the heel, and particularly the heel bone itself, said .seating means being designed to throw the weight of the wearer to a predetermined small zone to enforce proper acceptance of the weight by the heel butt and by the shoe. More specifically, the seating means is designed to throw the weight from the inside, where it often occurs by reason of poor or incorrect posture, toward the center and outside of the shoe, a limiting seating portion being provided at the outside, and a rear limiting portion which prevents the heel bone from seeking a position too close to the back wall of the shoe is also provided.

Another object is to provide corrective heel seating means in the form of an insert which, although permanently associated with the shoe, may be placed in any shoe after its manufacture, according to a chiropodists prescription, or as by a fitter or sales house.

' Improper posture and weight distribution resulting from improperrelation of the foot bones with respect to the-leg bones as evidenced by inward rolling and consequent flattening of the arch of the foot results in a foot attitude which embarrasses proper functioning of the several parts of the foot. In the case of children, with the bones still in a cartilaginous state, the entire foot assumes an unnatural and uncomfortable form if the condition is allowed to continue for a long period of time. Rolling and flattening of the arch shifts the weight ordinarily distributed between the first and fifth metatarsal bones in such manner as to place abnormal weight on the first or inner metatarsal bone, and usually results in discomfort to the wearer as well as deformation of the first metatarsal bone. This is a cause of bunions.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for correcting one-sided weight imposition and resultant interference toproper functioning of the parts of the foot, to prevent one-sided development of bones and muscles during ossification in order to form a proper arch. As distinguished from prior corrective means which attempt to correct the condition here referred to by forced elevation of the arch and which might be defined as removing the effect, this invention corrects the cause. By removing the effect and permitting the cause to remain, the correction is not permanent, whereas the present pany, Detroit, Mich, a

for permanent correction without the use of the conventional arch support. 1

Lack of equilibrium or equipoise due to faulty posture resulting in unnatural weight distribution evidences itself also in the legs, particularly at the ankles and knees. Rotation of the foot about the ankles causes convergence of the leg bones from the ankles toward the knees. The present invention corrects the cause of this condition and although particularly adapted for causing permanent correction by use prior to ossification as in the case. of children it has as an important object to provide posture correcting means for athletes.

In the case of athletes, runners for example,

the major portion of the body weight is carried fully apparent as reference is made to the accompanying drawing wherein my invention is illustrated, and in which:

, Fig. l is a vertical section of a shoe equipped with the present corrective seating means,

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Figs. 3 and 4 are sections taken respectively on the lines 33 and 4-4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a. plan of the insert, and

Fig. 6 is a plan illustrating a method of making the insert.

More particularly, I designates a shoe having an inner side wall 2, an outer side wall 3, and a rounded back wall 4 uniting the inner and outer walls, all of said walls being attached to the sole 5 in the usual manner. In the rear or heel portion is provided an insert 6 which constitutes a seating and positioning means for the heel of a foot. The insert, as viewed in plan, might loosely be termed U-shape, with the rounded portion of the U-shape fitting into the rounded heel portion of the shoe, and the two arm portions extending along the walls 2 and 3, respectively.

The arm portion 1, which extends along the inside wall 2 of the shoe tapers from an inner edge 8 of zero height to a crest 9 of varying height. The entire crest 9 is disposed a substanmeans removes the cause and therefore provides tial distance above the sole 5 of the shoe, in con- The outside surface of the portion 1 is shaped to correspond to the inner shape of the shoe and its exposed surface slopes arcuately at a comparatively steep angle from its edge of zero height to its crest. That portion of the crest 9 having the greatest height is disposed at a point substantially directly beneath the ankle of the wearer.

The portion II, which extends along the outside wall 3 of the shoe, is substantially shorter than the portion 1. From its inner edge I! it slopes arcuately upward from zero height to a crest l3 engaging the outer wall of the shoe, and whose height is substantially less than the crest 9.

The rounded portion I5 integrally unites the two portions 1 and II to complete the U-formation, and this portion also tapers from zero height upwardly and outwardly. The several portions of'the U-formation are thus united with the different characteristics as to their contour, size and thickness gradually merge one into the other.

The seating and positioning elementis formed separately from the shoe and is secured therein by a suitable adhesive. Ordinarily it is covered by an insole or liner, to conceal the same, but, inasmuch as the liner forms no part of the invention and could serve only to render the invention less apparent in the illustration, it has been omitted from the drawing.

The insert is formed of resiliently flexible material which may be leather, as illustrated, or it might be formed of cork or soft rubber, the latter being suitable in case a cushioning effect is desired. In forming the insert. of leather, the leather is first blanked to the required shape and then skived to form the desired sloped portions. An alternative method of forming the insert is illustrated in Fig. 6 which illustrates a blank 6a formed of a straight piece of leather. The blank 6a has its heel forming portion 15a notched at l8 along its inner edge to permit bending thereof into the final shape shown in Fig. 5. In the case of rubber, the desired contours may be formed by a mold.

Upon reference to Fig. 2, and imagining a foot in the shoe i, it will be seen that the flange l, in addition to creating a crowding effect toward the outside of the shoe which shifts the weight to the outside of the foot coacts with the flange II in causing rotation of the foot about an axis disposed between the two flanges. This action might be defined diiferently, that is, the flange 'I constitutes a rest or abutment for the inside of the foot, and the flange H in engaging the other side of the foot at a point nearer the rear thereof, causes the foot to fulcrum about the flange 1. The result is that the forward portion of the foot is rotated clockwise which tends to elevate the arch of the foot, or tends to prevent the arch from rolling to a flat position.

The combined effect of the flanges I and H and the sloped heel portion is to provide bearing surfaces which are contacted by the fleshy heel portion of the foot and thereby to position the heel bone in a posture holding the remainder of the foot in a normal position.

What is claimed is:

A posture guide comprising an insert, said insert as viewed in plan being of substantially U-shape and adapted to fit within the heel portion of a shoe, the arm of the U at the inside of the shoe being of a length such that it terminates slightly forwardly of the inner side of the ankle 'bone of the wearer, the other arm being shorter and of a length such that it terminates slightly rearwardly of the outer side of the ankle bone of the wearer, said arms and the portions of the U which connects the arms having a cross sectional shape such that their bottom and outer surfaces overlie areas of the sole and shoe upper respectively and such that the top surface curves concavely from the inner edges to the outerupper edges, the outer-upper edges tapering to zero height and the arms of the U tapering to zero width, all of said edges being of zero thickness throughout their entire lengths, said shorter arm having a portion of greatest height approximately midway between its terminal portion and the connecting portion of the U, said connecting portion being of varying height with its portion of greatest height slightly less than that of the shorter arm and disposed approximately midway of the length of the connecting portion, and the longer arm having a portion of substantially.

greater height than the shorter arm disposed approximately midway between its terminal portion and the connecting portion of the U.

DAVID R. BRADY.

Images