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.
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:
- distribute pressure from the ground more evenly on the sole of the foot, thereby improving the user’s gait; and
- 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 2nd and 4th
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
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