Oh, patents! Vionic® (sandal) soles (3)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The benefits of Vionic® orthotic soles also apply to Vionic® sandals, even Vionic® flip flops. The Vionic® sandal sole patent is recited in the US utility patent US10244813B2, titled Sandals with biomechanical foot support. In response to the prior art of orthotic soles for flipflops or slides, essentially consisting in costly custom solutions or temporary laminated add-on soles, glued to the sandal footbed, the Vionic® patent recites single density injection-molded solutions, providing biomechanical support that is both cost-effective and permanent.  

The biomechanical support recited comprises a low footbed and raised contoured medial (instep) support for Y-shaped thong or single strap slide-in type sandals. The bottom of the soles is also roughed to increase traction and prevent slipping, alternatively designed with grooves to enable water flow. The sandal soles may be designed with a concavity under the arch to provide additional cushioning, or different length, and elasticity, of the Y-straps to support the user’s biomechanical foot motion. Finally, the bottom of the sole may be slightly tilted upwards, instead of flat, to provide additional support.

Three patent drawings are included below, together with the abstract of the patent. An image of the Floriana marketed Vionic® sandal model, embodying invention features, is also included. 

Figures 2A and 2B, respectively depict the top and bottom views of the Vionic® sandal sole (110). Figure 4 depicts a detailed cross-sectional and longitudinal view of the sole's front elevation. In particular, Figure 2A shows the grooves (117) on the bottom surface (116) to enhance water flow and traction. The oval-shaped cavity (118) beneath the arch of the foot is also depicted, with a short horizontal axis (217) and a longer vertical axis (218), designed to provide more cushioning aligned with the toe to heel axis and width axis of the foot. 

The Y-anchor points (111), (112) and (113) for the Y-shaped thong strap are also shown on Figures 2A and 2B. The two rear anchor points (112) and (113) are slightly offset, to allow for different lengths of the two arms of the Y-shaped strap, with varying elasticity. Varying length and elasticity of the two arms are respectively designed to correlate with the movement of the user's foot, and to provide enhanced directional stability. Thus, for example, if the user's toes point inward or outward, the different pull from the two different lengths of the Y-arms of the strap, together with their varying elasticity, are both designed to provide beneficial support for re-centering the direction of the user's foot.  

Sandals with biomechanical foot support, robust usability and cost-effectiveness are disclosed. The footwear may comprise a biomechanical sole and a Y-shaped rubber strap anchored to the sole. The sole has a top surface including a raised contour on the medial side of the sandal, and a low profile heel cup. The raised contour on the medial side and the heel cup match the natural anatomic shape of the foot, and thus provide biomechanical foot support. The bottom surface of the sole may be a roughed surface to provide necessary traction and friction when a wearer/user walks. The bottom surface further comprises a plurality of grooves to allow water to be expelled and increase traction. [Abstract US10244813B2]

Reference 
Vionic® 
https://www.vionicshoes.com/

EPO Inventor Awards 2019 - The trophy

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Designed and conceived by German Industrial Designer Miriam Irle, the European Inventor Awards trophy, in the significant shape of a sail, is also re-invented each year, as it is fabricated locally,  in the country where the awards ceremony takes place, using a different process.  This year, in Vienna (Austria), was no exception. The sail-shaped trophy was fabricated from wood using sophisticated computer-generated 3D design and modeling.

The European Patent Office (EPO) video below, narrated by Miriam Irle, reviews the history of the trophy, and shows the behind-the-scenes, computer-assisted, woodworking process used for the fabrication of the trophies awarded this year. 

Reference

EPO - European Patent Office

www.epo.org

EPO Inventor Awards 2019 – The winners!

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

• European Inventor Award (Popular vote), and European Inventor Award (Life-time Achievement), both awarded to Margarita Salas Falgueras  (Spain) in the field of molecular genetics, for a faster, simpler and more reliable way to replicate traces of DNA into quantities large enough for full genomic testing.

• European Inventor Award (Non-European Country), awarded to Akira Yoshino (Japan) inventor of the lithium-ion battery, powering 5 billion mobile phones, laptops, and other portable devices, as well as electric vehicles.

• European Inventor Award (Research), awarded to Jérôme Galon  (France), in the field of immunology for the invention of a diagnostic tool which assesses the risk of relapse in cancer patients.

• European Inventor Award (Small and Medium Enterprise), awarded to Rik Breur (The Netherlands) for the invention of an antifouling fiber wrap for application on the hull of a ship as an environmentally friendly alternative to toxic paints.

• European Inventor Award (Industry), awarded to Klaus Feichtinger and Manfred Hackl  (Austria) for the invention of a process to recycle plastic.  

The highlights of the 2019 Awards ceremony, held in Vienna, Austria on June 20, are captured in the below European Patent Office (EPO) video.

Reference

EPO - European Patent Office

www.epo.org

Oh, patents! Vionic® (high-heel) soles (2)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Vionic® is determined to make one to three-inch high-heel shoes, comfortable, painless and safe. The Vionic® high-heel sole invention, targeting this effort, is recited in the US patent application US20180343965A1, titled Footwear and the manufacture thereof.

Indeed, the prior art potential for high heel-related injuries, recited in the patent, appears truly problematic. Consider, for example, metatarsalgia (inflammation and irritation on the ball of the foot due to altered biomechanics and abnormal weight on the forefoot), Hallus valgus (also termed bunions), neuromas (nerve damage), in particular, Morton’s neuroma causing toe numbness, in addition to the pain of metatarsalgia, and stress fractures arising from repetitive motion.

To resolve the problematic situations of the prior art, the Vionic® high-heel sole design offers both biomechanical and support features, intended to: 

1. distribute pressure from the ground more evenly on the sole of the foot, thereby improving the user’s gait; and 
2. shift some of the weight from toes to heel, thereby reducing forefoot stress, and improving comfort. 

Thus, the Vionic® high-heel soles offer, as shown on the below patent Figure 1, a contoured heel cup (20), raised arch support (30) attached to the insole board (16), a soft forefoot insert (24), a layer of shock-absorbing foam liner (28), and a metatarsal pad (17) (beneath the 2^nd and 4^th metatarsals), each designed with specific material density, thickness, angulation, and hardness, measured via durometer on a Shore C scale of hardness.

For example, the metatarsal pad (17) preferably has a 3 mm thickness at the thickest point, a Shore C value of 28 to 32 and chamfered edges [0022]. In contrast, the heel cup (20),  is part of the injection molded insole board (16) made of relatively rigid, but still flexible, molded material, such as polypropylene, which is then padded with a gel or soft low-density foam with a Shore C value of 28-32. The forefoot insert (24), also called a "plug" because it fills a hollow area (22) of the injection molded insole board (16), is made of gel or low-density material such as ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA).

The abstract of the high heel Vionic® sole invention is included below. The exploded patent Figure 1, showing the Vionic® high heel sole design on a shoe (10), stripped of its side walls and toe-box, with an 80 mm heel (14), and outsole (12), is included above, together with the image of a marketed model of Vonic® shoes manufactured with a  heel height, corresponding to one of the embodiments of the invention.

An insole board for a high-heel shoe, said insole board includes a heel supporting area having a concave heel cup adapted to underlie a heel of the wearer, a medial arch support area adapted to underlie the arch of the wearer's foot and extending toeward of but short of the ball of the wearer's foot, and a forefoot area adapted to underlie the ball of the foot and forefoot of the wearer. The medial arch support area has a raised contour for supporting a portion of a sole of the wearer's foot underlying the wearer's arch, and the forefoot support area includes a hollow having a resiliently deformable material therein. [Abstract US20180343965A1] 

Reference

Vionic® Shoes

https://www.vionicshoes.com

Oh, patents! Vionic® soles (1)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Vionic® shoes with orthotic soles, bringing together comfort and style, are purported to be Oprah Winfrey’s favorite travel shoes! 

The Vionic® orthotic sole is recited in the US utility patent application US20180020772A1, titled Composite orthotic device. The Vionic® orthotic sole is composite because it is composed of an upper cushioning part, designed to engage the user's foot, and a base supporting part, designed to engage with the ground. Both the upper and base parts of the Vionic® sole are attached to one another with an adhesive that has a higher melting point than the 90 degrees Centigrade heat which might be used when the soles are customized and molded to the user’s foot.

 The two parts of the Vionic® sole are not only intended to provide local cushioning and support for the user’s foot, they are most importantly intended to synergistically provide biomechanical control of the user’s gait on the entire length of ground surface contact, from heel-strike to toe-off. Thus, the two parts of the soles are scientifically designed with varying thickness and angles on the surfaces, as well as varying hardness and softness, according to pre-determined Shore hardness values, measured via durometer. 

The varying hardness and softness features of the sole are distributed on the surface according to foot anatomy. Thus, for example, the patent recites in order of hardness to softness, eight anatomical areas of surface support [0014-0021], the first metatarsal support portion being the hardest [0014], and the second metatarsal portion being the softest [0021]. 

Likewise, the varying angles and thickness of the sole are distributed relative to foot anatomy, with a molded heel cup, a longitudinal arch raise and a raised side portion i.e.;  “a raised lateral portion positionable adjacent to the calcaneal cuboid and the 4th/5th metatarsals of the user's foot.” [0047].

The targeted anatomically-defined sole surface areas are further correlated with an ideal flow path of what is termed the Centre of Pressure (COP). The flow path of the COP is defined as "the integrated pressure field that the human body exerts on a supporting surface via the foot." [0094]. It corresponds to the successively timed ground-contact phases of a user's gait cycle (from heel-strike to toe-off). In turn, this additional mapping of timed contact phases, relative to an ideal COP flow path, serves to further inform the hardness/softness, thickness/angulation features of the sole design, for the purposes of coaching and controlling the user’s gait in an optimal way. It is the COP flow path, driving design features to control the user’s gait from heel strike to toe-off, that is at the heart of this invention, relative to prior art soles systems, also seeking both to support and cushion the user’s foot, and to control the user's gait.

To illustrate the connection between the ideal COP flow path and the various anatomically-based design features of the Vionic® composite sole, previously mentioned, the patent application Figures 17A, 17 and 9 are included above.

Figure 17A shows the ideal COP flow path with the successively timed contact phases of a user’s gait cycle, from heel-strike to toe-off. Figure 17 shows a Vionic orthotic sole with the solid line of the ideal COP flow path, and the five ground contact phases of a gait cycle (on the dotted line), relative to foot motion anatomy, namely: “(i) heel strike, (ii) the initial phase of pronation, (iii) re-supination during mid-stance, (iv) plantarflexion of the 1st ray and Hallux dorsiflexion, and, (v) toe off.” [0094]. 

Figure 9 shows the keyed thickness/angulation, softness/hardness sections and regions of the sole, correlated to foot anatomy, each of which is intended to coach the user’s gait as closely as possible to the ideal COP flow path. The keyed regions and sections of the Figure 9 Vionic® orthotic sole are the following:  a lateral heel strike portion (HI); a medial heel strike portion (H2); a Calcaneal Cuboid portion (MI), a medial longitudinal arch portion (M2); a distal lateral forefoot section (FFI); and a first metatarsal portion for the second, third and fourth metatarsal heads (FF2), a second metatarsal portion for the first metatarsal head (FF3) and a forefoot extension (FF4). [0098]

The Vionic® orthotic patent application also recites the preferred materials for the soles, preferably ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) for the base portion of the sole, and rebound EVA for the upper portion, the upper portion being further sheathed in nylon fabric with anti-microbial/anti-bacterial properties. Finally, the patent application also recites the potential customization method for molding one or both Vionic® soles to an individual’s feet, as well as the options for a three-quarter sole or a full-length sole.

The abstract of the Vionic® composite orthotic sole patent application is included below. 

A composite orthotic device for use with footwear includes a resiliently deformable base part and a resiliently deformable upper part, forming a plurality of foot supporting portions of differing durometer adapted to guide the wearer's foot along a Center of Pressure path from heel strike to toe-off to follow a biomechanically corrected gait path. [Abstract US20180020772A1]

Thanks, Oprah, for a great sole tip!

References
Vionic® shoes (website)
https://www.vionicshoes.com
Leaska, S. (May 22, 2019) Oprah's Favorite Travel Sneakers Are on Sale in 2 Pretty Spring Colors. Travel+Leisure. 
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/oprah-apos-favorite-travel-sneakers-171537209.html  

More Lalique mascot radiator caps!

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Many patented Lalique automobile radiator cap mascots were produced. A sample set of  six Lalique radiator cap mascots is posted below with the original French title of the glass sculpture in parentheses. 

The below set includes: the Citroën-commissioned 5-horsepower mascot (Cinq chevaux), the Delage Spirit of the Wind mascot (Victoire), a Rolls Royce eagle head (Tête d'aigle), the lighted Chrysis nude female (Chrysis), the dancer with raised arms (Danseuse bras levés), and the rooster head (Tête de coq). 

References
Patent FR667900, titled Bouchons lumineux pour radiateurs de voitures automobiles (Lighted caps for automobile radiators)
Lalique Museum
https://www.musee-lalique.com/en
G. G. Weiner (2014) Unique Lalique Mascots: Automotive Radiator Hood Ornaments. Illustrated Edition.  Philadelphia, PA: Trans-Atlantic Publications.

Oh, Lalique! Mascot automobile radiator caps

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

René Lalique also became renowned for the many various automobile radiator caps (also known as "mascots"), that he designed with glass sculptures in the 1920s. Lalique automobile radiator caps were granted a French patent, but it was not the glass mascot sculptures that were patented. The invention that was patented was the actual metal cap that attaches to the car hood. It contained a socket with a small connected light bulb, which could light up the glass mascot sculpture. 

Thus, Lalique’s radiator caps were awarded the French patent FR667900, titled Bouchons lumineux pour radiateurs de voitures automobiles (Lighted caps for automobile radiators), on July 1, 1929. The title clearly designated the electrical component of the cap, even if the popularity of the caps produced resided in the many Lalique glass mascot variations that adorned the patented radiator caps on automobile hoods.

The patent recites a printed glass-cap subject (1), specifically the “Archer”, and the patented metallic means of attaching both the glass Archer (1) and cap to the automobile radiator, and lighting it. 

The metallic means comprised a cap (14) with a rim (5), connected to an upper cavity designed to house the base (11) of the glass Archer. The base (11) of the Archer was secured to the cap using an appropriate clamping nut (12) and washers (13). A socket (2) equipped with a support (3) for an electric lightbulb (4) extended through the cap, into the radiator, in such a manner that the rimmed cap, together with the socket and lightbulb, remained almost flush with the hood, without increasing the height of the mascot. A contact wire (8) exiting via a small opening (7) above the rim, was connected to the socket contact plate (9), in turn connected to the light bulb contact plate (10). The glass mascot could then be lighted, in several different colors, depending on the color of a base plate (17) placed between the base (11) of the glass mascot and the top of the light bulb. The rimmed cap (14) was screwed to the radiator via threaded sides (6), located beneath the rim (5).

The single keyed patent figure is included below, depicting a vertical sectional elevation of the cap and glass Archer embodiment of the invention. An image of the marketed and signed glass Archer sculpture is also included.

References

Lalique Museum
https://www.musee-lalique.com/en
Lalique website
https://www.lalique.com/en

Oh, Lalique! Decorated glass and crystal

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Renowned innovator of Art Deco jewelry, René Lalique (1860-1945) also became a master glassmaker. Initially commissioned to create perfume bottles, he went on to create monumental glass structures such as fountains, church alters, and dining room chandeliers, for example, for such luxury liners as The Normandie. René Lalique even became famous for the car radiator caps that he created out of glass.

To obtain the poetically sculpted glass pieces that are so well known, René Lalique invented a way of producing decorated glass as a single piece using a waste-mold casting process.

The French patent FR475348, titled Procédé de fabrication d’objets en verre ou cristal décoré (Process for the fabrication of decorated glass or crystal objects), granted February 16, 1915, to René Lalique, recites the waste-mold casting process used to create the signature Lalique glass or crystal pieces. A process that enables the production of glass or crystal pieces with ornamental designs that appear sculpted on their surface, displaying all the finest details of the mold. 

The patent recites a process that subsumes the application of wax or wax-type decorations on the glass or crystal surface. The glass or crystal, and its wax decorations are then cast in a mold made of a substance capable of resisting high furnace temperatures, such as a clay or clay-type mold. The clay mold, containing the wax decorated glass or crystal object, is then subjected to high furnace temperatures, causing the wax to volatilize, and the glass to soften sufficiently for it to be blown into the recesses left empty by the volatilized wax. Once cooled, the mold is then broken, and the glass or crystal piece appears with its ornamental decoration, as a single sculpted piece, that includes all the finest details of the mold.

A variation of the process is also described for cases where the ornamental design is very large, and the glass object has a large opening such as a wide-rimmed vase or bowl. In this case, the whole object with the ornamental design is made of wax, then cast in a clay-type mold. The mold is then furnace-heated to the point where the whole wax model with decorations volatilizes. The temperature of the mold is then such that molten glass might be introduced directly into the mold, where it is blown into all the recesses left empty by the volatilized wax model. Finally, once cooled, the mold is broken, and the decorated glass piece appears sculpted with all of its detailed ornaments.

The patent figure 2 is included below, depicting a narrow-rimmed glass or crystal object (1) with ornamental decorations on the surface, within a mold (2). The rim of the glass or crystal object is connected to a cane (3), through which the glass blower will blow to push the softened glass into the ornamental recesses left empty by the volatilized wax, after the mold has been heated in a furnace.

The image of one of René Lalique's famous sculpted vases, called Les Bacchantes, is also included.

References
Musée Lalique
https://www.musee-lalique.com/en