Insole for rock climbing shoe
AssigneeRed Wing Shoe Company, Inc.
InventorFrancesco Vello
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Abstract
An insole, for a rock climbing shoe, formed of a single piece of synthetic plastic material to follow the anatomical shape of the wearer's foot, including a first portion of constant thickness in the longitudinal direction from the heel for a predetermined distance, and a second portion extending in prolongation of the first portion and being of linearly decreasing thickness down to a minimum value at the toe of the insole, so that the insole displays a differential flexibility in the longitudinal direction, with a maximum of flexibility near the toe.
Claims6
In combination with a shoe used for rock climbing applications in which differentiated flexibility of a sole thereof in a longitudinal direction with a maximum of rigidity in a heel portion thereof and a maximum of flexibility in a toe portion thereof is desired to facilitate purchase of said sole with minimum lean-out, such differentiated flexibility traditionally being accomplished by a metal plate incorporated into said heel portion, the improvement which comprises:
- an insole formed of a unitary piece of synthetic plastic material replacing said metal plate, said insole having a heel portion and a front portion, with said heel portion being of sufficient thickness to be substantially rigid in use, and said front portion underlying the toes and a portion of the ball of a wearer's foot in use, said front portion having a thickness substantially linearly variable and decreasing in the longitudinal direction toward the toes to provide substantially greater flexibility of the front portion than said heel portion while distributing stress throughout its length.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.