Abstract
A heel prosthesis is disclosed. In one embodiment, the heel prosthesis comprises a back portion, a bottom portion, a first lateral portion, and a second lateral portion. The back portion, the bottom portion, the first lateral portion, and the second lateral portion form a concave receptacle that is configured to adhere to or clip onto a heel of a person.
Claims
1. A heel prosthesis, comprising: a back portion; a bottom portion; a first lateral portion; and a second lateral portion, wherein the back portion, the bottom portion, the first lateral portion, and the second lateral portion form a concave receptacle that is configured to adhere to or clip onto a heel of a person.
2. The heel prosthesis of claim 1, wherein the back portion has a thickness profile that causes the back portion to bulge outwards from the concave receptacle.
3. The heel prosthesis of claim 1, wherein the first lateral portion has a thickness profile that causes the first lateral portion to bulge outwards from the concave receptacle.
4. The heel prosthesis of claim 1, wherein the second lateral portion has a thickness profile that causes the second lateral portion to bulge outwards from the concave receptacle.
5. The heel prosthesis of claim 1, wherein the heel prosthesis is made of at least one of a polysiloxane, a polymer, or a polyamide.
6. The heel prosthesis of claim 5, wherein a surface of the concave receptacle is lined with an adhesive material.
7. The heel prosthesis of claim 6, wherein the adhesive material is one of a pressure-sensitive adhesive, a heat-activated adhesive, or a moisture-activated adhesive.
8. The heel prosthesis of claim 6, wherein the adhesive material is at least one of removable, reusable, or washable.
9. The heel prosthesis of claim 1, wherein an overall thickness of the first lateral portion is greater than an overall thickness of the second lateral portion.
10. The heel prosthesis of claim 1, wherein an overall thickness of the first lateral portion is smaller than an overall thickness of the second lateral portion.
11. An article of footwear, comprising: a back portion; a bottom portion; a first lateral portion; and a second lateral portion, wherein the back portion, the bottom portion, the first lateral portion, and the second lateral portion form a concave receptacle that is configured to adhere to or clip onto a heel of a person.
12. The article of footwear of claim 11, wherein the back portion has a thickness profile that causes the back portion to bulge outwards from the concave receptacle.
13. The article of footwear of claim 11, wherein the first lateral portion has a thickness profile that causes the first lateral portion to bulge outwards from the concave receptacle.
14. The article of footwear of claim 11, wherein the second lateral portion has a thickness profile that causes the second lateral portion to bulge outwards from the concave receptacle.
15. The article of footwear of claim 11, wherein the article of footwear is made of at least one of a polysiloxane, a polymer, or a polyamide.
16. The article of footwear of claim 15, wherein a surface of the concave receptacle is lined with an adhesive material.
17. The article of footwear of claim 16, wherein the adhesive material is one of a pressure-sensitive adhesive, a heat-activated adhesive, or a moisture-activated adhesive.
18. The article of footwear of claim 16, wherein the adhesive material is at least one of removable, reusable, or washable.
19. The article of footwear of claim 11, wherein an overall thickness of the first lateral portion is greater than an overall thickness of the second lateral portion.
20. The article of footwear of claim 11, wherein an overall thickness of the first lateral portion is smaller than an overall thickness of the second lateral portion.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] In order to facilitate the understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings. These drawings should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure, but are intended to be illustrative only.
[0029] FIG. 1A illustrates a shoe non-slip-off scenario.
[0030] FIG. 1B illustrates a shoe slip-off scenario.
[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates a shoe slip-off prevention scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0032] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a heel prosthesis according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0033] FIG. 3B is a front view of a heel prosthesis according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0034] FIG. 3C is a back view of a heel prosthesis according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0035] FIG. 3D is a side view of a heel prosthesis according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0036] FIG. 3E is a cross-sectional view of a heel prosthesis according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0037] Described herein is a heel prosthesis that prevents shoe slip-off. The heel prosthesis may modify the shape of a person's heels rather than changing the size of the shoe or shape of the shoe cavities. The heel prosthesis may adhere to or clip onto a person's heel and may provide the needed interlocking effect to lock the person's foot in a shoe to prevent slip-off. The heel prosthesis may add volume to a person's heels and may fill up the cavity provided by a heel counter of a shoe without taking any additional room elsewhere within the shoe.
[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates a shoe slip-off prevention scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates the same person B as in FIG. 1B wearing the same shoe 100. In this scenario, however, the person B has a heel prosthesis 200 adhered to or clipped onto her heel. The heel prosthesis 200 fills up the inner cavity between the person B's heel and the heel counter 104, and provides the necessary interlocking effect to prevent the shoe 100 from slipping off. It is important to point out that, if the same heel prosthesis 200 were adhered or attached to the inner lining of the shoe 100 to fill up the inner cavity, the heel prosthesis 200 may create some friction with the person B's heel but may not prevent the person B's heel from slipping off the shoe 100. In FIG. 2, the heel prosthesis 200 is shown to cover to the back of the person B's heel (i.e., at the heel curve 112) for ease of illustration. It is understood that the heel prosthesis 200 may cover portions of the sides and bottom of the person B's heel to effectively create a fulsome heel that fully occupies the inner cavity of the shoe 100.
[0039] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a heel prosthesis 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The mesh rendering is only to facilitate visualization of the three-dimensional shape of the heel prosthesis 300. The heel prosthesis 300 comprises a back portion 302, a bottom portion 304, a first lateral portion 306, and a second lateral portion 308. The combination of the back portion 302, the bottom portion 304, the first lateral portion 306, and the second lateral portion 308 forms a concave receptacle that may accommodate a heel of a person. In one embodiment, the heel prosthesis 300 may be made of a material that is stiff enough (e.g., a plastic polymer such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, etc.) for the concave receptable to clip onto the heel of the person due to the somewhat partially spherical shape of the heel. In another embodiment, the entire heel prosthesis 300 or the surface of the concave receptacle may be made out of a material that adheres to human skin (e.g., an adhesive polymer) such that the heel prosthesis 300 adheres to a person's heel when placed into contact with the heel. In yet another embodiment, a reusable, removable, and/or washable adhesive material (e.g., nano gel, polyurethane double-sided adhesive tape, body adhesive, etc.) may be applied to the surface of the concave receptacle such that the prosthesis 300 adheres to a person's heel. The bottom portion 304 is illustrated as having a V-shape front edge, which bends inwards along the central plane of the heel prosthesis 300. In some embodiment, the extent to which the bottom portion 304 bends inward may be varied. For example, the bottom portion 304 may be manufactured to bend more or less inwards to respectively cover more or less of the bottom portion of a person's heel. More of the bottom portion 304 may be provided when additional heel cushion is desired.
[0040] FIG. 3B is a front view of the heel prosthesis 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The heel prosthesis 300 is illustrated as being symmetrical about the central vertical plane of the heel prosthesis 300. In some embodiment, the heel prosthesis 300 may be manufactured to be asymmetrical—i.e., the first lateral portion 306 and the second lateral portion 308 may be made of different sizes and shapes to account for asymmetry between a person's right and left feet. For example, for a left heel, the first lateral portion 306 may be made smaller, thinner, and/or shorter than the second lateral portion 308 and, for a right heel, the first lateral portion 306 may be made bigger, thicker, and/or longer than the second lateral portion 308. Alternatively, for a left heel, the first lateral portion 306 may be made bigger, thicker, and/or longer than the second lateral portion 308 and, for a right heel, the first lateral portion 306 may be made smaller, thinner, and/or shorter than the second lateral portion 308.
[0041] FIG. 3C is a back view of the heel prosthesis 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3C illustrates the back portion 302 as bulging outwards (i.e., perpendicular to the plane of the page of FIG. 3C), the first lateral portion 306 as bulging to the right, and the second lateral portion 308 as bulging to the left. The overall bulging shape of the heel prosthesis 300, when adhered to or clipped onto a person's heel thus enhances the fulsomeness of the person's heel to provide the necessary interlocking effect to prevent a shoe from slipping off the person's foot. The heel prosthesis 300 may be manufactured such that the extent to which the back portion 302, the first lateral portion 306, and the second lateral portion 308 bulge outwards may be varied. In some embodiment, the bulging extents of the first lateral portion 306 and the second lateral portion 308 may be manufactured to be unequal. For example, the first lateral portion 306 may be manufactured to bulge outwards more or less than the second lateral portion 308.
[0042] FIG. 3D is a side view of the heel prosthesis 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The side view is looking at the heel prosthesis 300 from the first lateral portion 306. The outward bulge of the back portion 302 is once again illustrated. FIG. 3D illustrates that the bottom portion 304 is substantially flat relative to the back portion 302, the first lateral portion 306, and the second lateral portion 308. In some embodiment, the bottom portion 304 may be manufactured to also bulge outwards (i.e., vertically downwards in FIG. 3D) in order to help to increase the fulsomeness of a person's heel to further improve the slip-off prevention. In FIG. 3D, the first lateral portion 306 is shown to be of a shape that may cover a substantial lateral portion of a person's heel. In some embodiment, the first lateral portion 306—and similarly for the second lateral portion 308—may be manufactured to cover more or less of lateral portion of a person's heel. For example, the first lateral portion 306 or the second lateral portion 308 may be manufactured to taper more or less from the topmost point of the back portion 302 towards the frontmost point of the bottom portion 304.
[0043] FIG. 3E is a cross-sectional view of the heel prosthesis 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3E illustrates a cross section 310 along the central vertical plane of the heel prosthesis 300. The cross section 310 illustrates a thickness profile that the heel prosthesis 300 may add to a person's heel to provide the necessary interlocking effect to prevent slip-off. As shown in FIG. 3E, the thickness profile tapers off at the edges of the heel prosthesis 300. The first lateral portion 306 and the second lateral portion 308 may have similar thickness profiles. The heel prosthesis 300 may be manufactured such that the cross section 310 is more or less thick around the back portion 302 or the bottom portion 304. For example, a thicker cross section 310 would be desired for a person with a flat heel (e.g., person B in FIGS. 1B and 2). In some embodiment, the thickness of the bottom portion 304 may be desired be minimal to improve the comfort for the person to or onto whose heel the heel prosthesis 300 is adhered or clipped.
[0044] The heel prosthesis 300 may be made of a polysiloxane (e.g., silicone), a polymer (e.g., urethane, polyurethane, polyurethane elastomers, plastic polymers, etc.), a polyamide (natural or synthetic), or a combination of these materials. As described above, the concave receptacle of the heel prosthesis 300 may be made of or lined with an adhesive material (e.g., an adhesive polymer) during manufacturing. Alternatively, an adhesive material (e.g., nano gel, polyurethane double-sided adhesive tape, body adhesive, etc.) may be applied to the surface of the concave receptacle after manufacturing and before being worn. In either case, the adhesive material may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive, a heat-activated adhesive, or a moisture-activated adhesive.
[0045] A person may adhere the heel prosthesis 300 to or clip the heel prosthesis 300 onto her or his heel before inserting his or her foot into a shoe. Importantly, no sock or other similar garment or means is needed to hold the heel prosthesis 300 in place, although a sock or other similar garment (e.g., legging, tights, etc.) may be worn on top of the heel prosthesis 300. The heel prosthesis 300 may not only prevent slip-off but also increase comfort by reducing rubbing of the heel and/or the foot against inner surfaces of the shoe. In some embodiment, the heel prosthesis 300 may take the shape of the person's heel and/or the shape of the shoe over time.
[0046] The heel prosthesis 300 may be manufactured in different sizes (e.g., based on a person's foot size or age). Additionally, for each size, the heel prosthesis 300 may be manufactured to be available in different thicknesses (e.g., small, medium, or large). Thus, people, who may need more toe room or instep space, may choose slightly looser shoes (e.g., one size or a half-size up) and rely on the heel prosthesis 300 to prevent the shoes from slipping off. Essentially, the heel prosthesis 300 allows a pair of shoes to fit more people without slipping off.
[0047] The present disclosure is not limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Other various embodiments of and modifications to the present disclosure, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Thus, such other embodiments and modification are intended to fall with the scope of the present disclosure. Further, although the present disclosure has been described herein in the context of at least one particular implementation in at least one particular environment for at least one particular purpose, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that the present disclosure may be beneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number of purposes.
