Shoe and elastic sole insert therefor

A shoe adapted to be worn on a foot of a person, said shoe comprising:

• a. an outer sole having a peripheral edge;
• b. an upper fixed to the periphery of said sole for enclosing the foot of the person;
• c. an insole overlying said outer sole in spaced relation thereto to form a cavity between said outer sole and said insole, said cavity having substantially flat, opposed surfaces, said outer sole and said insole being relatively movable toward and away from one another;
• and
• d. a spring member accommodated in said cavity and engagable with said outer sole and said insole for yieldably resisting relative movement of said outer sole and said insole toward one another,
• e. said spring member comprising a unitary, substantially planar body of uniform thickness, springy material seated on one surface of said cavity and having a peripheral edge,
• f. a leaf cut from said body and joined at one end to said body adjacent said edge,
• g. said leaf when in its unstressed condition being inclined outwardly of the plane of said body for engagement by the other surface of said cavity,
• h. said leaf having a bearing portion remote from said one end of said leaf and which in the unstressed condition of said leaf occupies a position of maximum spacing of said leaf from the plane of said body,
• i. said leaf being resiliently deformable in response to the application thereto of a compressive force to move said bearing portion and the remainder of said leaf in a direction toward the plane of said body, thereby resiliently stressing said leaf,
• j. the surface of said cavity on which said base seats preventing movement of said leaf in said direction beyond the plane of said body,
• k. said leaf being of substantially uniform thickness corresponding to that of said body and of varying width which narrows in a direction from said one end toward said bearing portion.