FULLY PADDED FORMAL SHOE

Abstract

A method and apparatus of affixing padding, or a padding alternative, or a buffer material, to the interior and entirety of a formal shoe is disclosed, capable of being adapted to a plurality of formal shoe designs, including but not limited to women's, men's, and youth boots, mules, wedges, loafers, and various other shoes, in order to prevent the discomfort commonly associated with said wearing, while preserving the aesthetic appeal of a formal shoe, as well as providing maximum comfort for long periods of wear, dramatically reducing likelihood of the user experiencing sore foot regions, specifically bruised toes, cut heels, and bunions and blisters and without having to place any additional, temporary, or ancillary padded inserts into a formal shoe.

Claims

1. A method for producing a fully or partially padded men's or women's formal shoe where a heel measures one inch or greater in height to reduce an impact and discomfort of a user's foot, a method comprising the steps of: obtaining a suitable padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, fit to purpose for a formal shoe to enhance the aesthetic appeal, with the padding or alternative material affixed to the entire in area of a formal shoe, wherein the padding or alternative material is made of a resilient or disposable material depending on the embodiment; preparing a formal shoe's interior for adhesive application; applying adhesive to all interior surfaces of a formal shoe; affixing the appropriate padding or alternative buffer material to entire interior surface of a formal shoe; and finishing the production of a padded formal shoe to coincide with the aesthetic themes, specifically, cleaning excess adhesive, color matching, stitch completion, and any other action required to complete shoe process.

2. The method recited in claim 1 wherein padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, has a thickness within the range of one centimeter or thicker, depending on embodiment design.

3. The method recited in claim 1 wherein a shoe's padding or padding alternative, or buffer material, is constructed of one of the materials selected from the group consisting of foam rubber, memory foam, gel compound, cotton, open-cell foam or closed-cell foam, in addition to any other padding material that may, or may not, be available for use due to technological advances, also covered by a thin layer of material that may or may not be moisture absorbing and designed to prevent undue friction from the user's foot.

4. The method recited in claim 1 wherein a formal shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is constructed of a combination of at least two of the materials selected from the group consisting of foam rubber, memory foam, gel compound, cotton, open-cell foam or closed-cell foam, in addition to any other padding material that may, or may not, be available for use due to technological advances also covered by a thin layer of material that may or may not be moisture absorbing and designed to prevent undue friction from the user's foot.

5. The method recited in claim 1 wherein a formal shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is accurately shaped, curved, and positioned to accommodate and cover the entirety of the inner portion of a formal shoe.

6. An apparatus of a padded women's formal shoe where a heel measures one inch or greater in height to reduce an impact and discomfort of a user's foot, an apparatus comprising of the embodiment of a women's formal shoe with suitable padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, fit to purpose for a shoe to enhance the aesthetic appeal, with the padding affixed to the entire inner area of a shoe, wherein the padding is constructed from various materials disclosed.

7. The embodiments disclosed in claim 6, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, has a thickness within the range of one centimeter or thicker, depending on embodiment design.

8. The embodiments disclosed in claim 6, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is constructed of one of the materials selected from the group consisting of foam rubber, memory foam, gel compound, cotton, open-cell foam or closed-cell foam, in addition to any other padding material that may, or may not, be available for use due to technological advances, also covered by a thin layer of material that may be moisture absorbing and designed to prevent undue friction from the user's foot.

9. The embodiments disclosed in claim 6, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is constructed of a combination of at least two of the materials selected from the group consisting of foam rubber, memory foam, gel compound, cotton, open-cell foam or closed-cell foam, in addition to any other padding material that may, or may not, be available for use due to technological advances also covered by a thin layer of material that may be moisture absorbing and designed to prevent undue friction from the user's foot.

10. The embodiments disclosed in claim 6, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is accurately shaped, curved, and positioned to accommodate and cover the entirety of the inner portion of a formal shoe.

11. The embodiments disclosed in claim 6, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is accurately shaped, curved, and positioned to accommodate and cover the majority of the inner portion of a formal shoe without padding on certain straps pursuant to embodiment design.

12. The embodiments disclosed in claim 6, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is accurately shaped, curved, and positioned to accommodate and cover only certain sections of the inner portion of a shoe to accommodate specific problem areas of the interior shoe pursuant to embodiment design.

13. An apparatus of a padded men's, or women's, or youth's, formal shoe where a heel is considered flat or less than one inch in height to reduce an impact and discomfort of a user's foot, an apparatus comprising of the embodiment of a gender neutral formal shoe with suitable padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, fit to purpose for a shoe to enhance the aesthetic appeal, with the padding affixed to the entire inner area of a shoe, wherein the padding is constructed from various materials disclosed.

14. The embodiments disclosed in claim 13, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, has a thickness within the range of one centimeter or thicker, depending on embodiment design.

15. The embodiments disclosed in claim 13, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is constructed of one of the materials selected from the group consisting of foam rubber, memory foam, gel compound, cotton, open-cell foam or closed-cell foam, in addition to any other padding material that may, or may not, be available for use due to technological advances, also covered by a thin layer of material that may be moisture absorbing and designed to prevent undue friction from the user's foot.

16. The embodiments disclosed in claim 13, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is constructed of a combination of at least two of the materials selected from the group consisting of foam rubber, memory foam, gel compound, cotton, open-cell foam or closed-cell foam, in addition to any other padding material that may, or may not, be available for use due to technological advances also covered by a thin layer of material that may be moisture absorbing and designed to prevent undue friction from the user's foot.

17. The embodiments disclosed in claim 13, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is accurately shaped, curved, and positioned to accommodate and cover the entirety of the inner portion of a formal shoe.

18. The embodiments disclosed in claim 13, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is accurately shaped, curved, and positioned to accommodate and cover the majority of the inner portion of a formal shoe without padding on certain straps pursuant to embodiment design.

19. The embodiments disclosed in claim 13, wherein shoe padding, or padding alternative, or buffer material, is accurately shaped, curved, and positioned to accommodate and cover only certain sections of the inner portion of a shoe to accommodate specific problem areas of the interior shoe pursuant to embodiment design.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the padded woman's formal shoe embodying the principles of the present invention as an illustrative example of the apparatus and method.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the padded woman's formal shoe with certain key features identified for specification.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the padded woman's formal shoe illustrating a certain embodiment of the apparatus and method of the current disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] This present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings and figures, in which like reference numerals are used to indicate identical or functionally similar elements. References to one embodiment, an embodiment, an example embodiment, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, that every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0024] The following examples are illustrative, but not limiting, of the present invention. Other suitable modifications and adaptations of the variety of conditions and parameters normally encountered in the field, and which would be apparent to those skilled in the art, are within the spirit and scope of the invention. The original disclosure of the present invention in U.S. Provisional 62/365,789 and now revised in this application disclosure for a formal shoe with padded elements described in multiple embodiments.

[0025] In a formal shoe, the shoe is typically comprised of three main parts: a heel 1; a sole 2;

[0026] and an upper 3. As previously discussed, prior art discloses providing varying levels of padding for women's formal shoes for a sole 2 only, while ignoring an upper 3. An upper may be comprised of a vamp, the section that covers a wearer's foot from the front of a shoe to the quarter; a toe-box, an extra layer of material over a vamp extending from the front of a shoe to cover a portion of the wearer's foot; a quarter, the section that covers the heel to cover and support the rear of the foot located approximately above the seat; and a plurality of straps or varying combinations thereof. As seen in FIG. 1, the present invention discloses a method of providing padding materials suitable for formal shoes on all portions of a vamp. Here, padding is provided for the straps 4, the quarter 5, a modified toe-box 6, as well as the entirety of the insole 7.

[0027] A padding material 8 of variable thickness and a plurality of layers is affixed to appropriate locations by individual manufacturers depending on the particular design of the women's formal shoe. As seen in FIG. 2., the padding material 8 design is highly modifiable in both levels of thickness and number of layers. In the preferred embodiment, the padding material 8 will be comprised of a minimum of three layers, the first layer 9 serves as an adhesive or anchor point of the padding material to the desired heeled shoe portion. The second layer 10 will be comprised of material designed to absorb impact force as well as provide a comfortable fit when wearing the women's formal shoe. The third layer 11 will be comprised of a material designed to reduce friction between the wearer's points of contact and the portion of a formal shoe directly affected.

[0028] This padding material 8 is affixed to the portions of the women's formal shoe where the wearer's skin will come into contact with the women's formal shoe. For example, as seen in FIG. 3., the straps 4 have the padding material 8 attached to the side of the straps 4 that will come into direct contact with the wearer's foot. Similarly, the modified toe-box 6 will have padding material 8 attached to the inward facing portion to provide padding where the wearer's foot will come into contact with the modified toe-box 6. An embodiment may include a strap 4 without similar padding if said strap does not come in direct contact with the user's foot or leg to result in uncomfortable friction. The inclusion of a padded strap 4 option will be variable dependent on the design and implementation of the padding for various embodiments.