Composite orthotic device
AssigneeVionic Group LLC
InventorTerence Mitchell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
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.
Claims28
A composite orthotic device for use with an article of footwear, comprising:
- a resiliently deformable base part for engaging an inside of a wearer's shoe on the ground, and a resiliently deformable upper part for supporting a wearer's foot when the footwear is worn, the base part comprising a plurality of portions of differing durometer adapted to guide the wearer's foot along a Center of Pressure path during the ground contact phase of the wearer's gait cycle;
- wherein said base part is harder and stiffer than said upper part to provide support for the user's foot, and said upper part is softer and less stiff than said base part to provide cushioning for a user's foot;
- wherein said composite orthotic device is harder and stiffer than said base part or upper part individually;
- and
- wherein the base part and the upper part cooperate to support a wearer's ground contact from heel strike to toe-off to follow a biomechanically correct gait path.
The composite orthotic device according to claim 6, wherein said support portions have Shore C hardness values ordered from hardest to softest as follows:
- first metatarsal support portion,
- distal lateral forefoot support portion,
- medial longitudinal arch support portion,
- calcaneal cuboid support portion,
- medial heel strike support portion,
- lateral heel strike support portion,
- forefoot extension support portion, and
- second metatarsal support portion.
A composite orthotic device according to claim 7, wherein the Shore C hardness values of the composite orthotic device are about:
- 74 to 85 for the first metatarsal support portion,
- 69 to 80 for the distal lateral forefoot support portion,
- 67 to 78 for the medial longitudinal arch support portion,
- 64 to 72 for the calcaneal cuboid support portion,
- 58 to 67 for the medial heel strike support portion,
- 56 to 63 for the lateral heel strike support portion,
- 40 for the forefoot extension support portion, and
- 20 for the second metatarsal support portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.