Ventilated foot orthotic

Abstract

A thin, lightweight, ventilated foot orthotic is formed of a strong, resilient thermoplastic material with a contoured shape providing arch support partially spaced above the insole of the foot wear in which the foot orthotic is used.

1 . A foot orthotic comprising: 
 a thin contoured foot support body having a size and shape for fitting into a user's footwear, the support body having a top contoured surface and a bottom contoured surface with an edge interconnecting the top and bottom contoured surfaces, the contoured surfaces defining an upward arch between a metatarsal area and a heel area to provide upward support to an arch of a user's foot when the orthotic is inserted into the user's footwear, wherein the arch area is at least partially spaced above the insole of the footwear; and    a plurality of spaced apart ventilation holes formed in the support body between the top and bottom contour surfaces to allow the interchange of air and moisture therethrough.    
   
   
       2 . The foot orthotic of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the bottom contour shape generally corresponds in shape to the top surface spaced a short distance, defined by the thickness of the support body, from the bottom surface so that the support body of the orthotic has thickness variations between about 0.5 cm, at a thickest part, to about 0.1 cm, at a thinnest part, to form a thin lightweight support body such that the thickness variations provide additional alignment support to the user's foot.    
   
   
       3 . The foot orthotic of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the support body comprises a molded Acetal polymer material.    
   
   
       4 . The foot orthotic of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the support body comprises a molded polymer material composition comprising more than about 66% Acetal polymer and less than about 30% elastomer.    
   
   
       5 . The foot orthotic of  claim 4 , wherein: 
 the support body comprises a molded polymer material comprising more than about 66% Acetal polymer, less than about 30% elastomer, less than about 3% stabilizer, less than about 2% carbon black, and less than about 0.005% formaldehyde bound in a thermoplastic polymer.    
   
   
       6 . The foot orthotic of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the support body has varied thickness such that along a front-to-heel cross-section the metatarsal area of the support body is thicker than the arch support area, and the arch support area is thicker than the heel area.    
   
   
       7 . The foot orthotic of  claim 6 , wherein: 
 the arch area of the support body comprises an upward contour greater than about 1 cm so that the arch of the user's foot is supported by the orthotic above the insole of a user's footwear to provide both arch support to the user's foot and ventilation thereunder.    
   
   
       8 . The foot orthotic of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the support body has varied thickness such that the support body is thicker in the middle and thinner at either side along a side-to-side cross-section through the metatarsal area.    
   
   
       9 . The foot orthotic of  claim 1 , wherein the ventilation holes in the support body comprise a plurality of spaced apart holes having a first maximum dimension extending entirely through the support body, and further comprising: 
 a plurality of indentations in the bottom surface each surrounding one of the holes and having a maximum dimension greater than the maximum dimension of the hole it surrounds and extending partially into the support body and surrounding the hole to facilitate ventilation thereunder.    
   
   
       10 . A foot orthotic comprising: 
 a thin contoured foot support body having a size and shape for fitting into a user's footwear, the support body having a top contoured surface and a bottom contoured surface with an edge interconnecting the top and bottom contoured surfaces, the contoured surfaces defining an upward arch between a metatarsal area and a heel area to provide upward support to an arch of a user's foot when the orthotic is inserted into the user's footwear, wherein the arch area is at least partially spaced above the insole of the footwear; and    wherein, the support body comprises a molded Acetal polymer material, having sufficient strength and resiliency to flexibly support the arch of a user's foot above the insole of the user's footwear.    
   
   
       11 . The foot orthotic of  claim 10 , wherein: 
 the support body comprises a molded polymer material comprising more than about 66% Acetal polymer, less than about 30% elastomer, less than about 3% stabilizer, less than about 2% carbon black, and less than about 0.005% formaldehyde bound in a thermoplastic polymer.    
   
   
       12 . The foot orthotic of  claim 10 , wherein: 
 the arch area of the support body comprises an upward contour greater than about  1  cm so that the arch of the user's foot is supported by the orthotic above the insole of a user's footwear and so that an open space is provided thereunder.    
   
   
       13 . The foot orthotic of  claim 10 , wherein: 
 the support body has varied thickness such that along a front-to-heel cross-section the metatarsal area of the support body is thicker than the arch support area, and the arch support area is thicker than the heel area.    
   
   
       14 . The foot orthotic of  claim 13 , wherein: 
 the bottom contour shape generally corresponds in shape to the top surface spaced various short distances from the top surface so that the support body of the orthotic has thickness variations between about 0.5 cm, at a thickest part, to about 0.1 cm, at a thinnest part, to form a thin light weight support body such that the thickness variations provide additional alignment support to the user's foot.    
   
   
       15 . The foot orthotic of  claim 10 , further comprising: 
 a plurality of spaced apart ventilation holes formed in the support body between the top and bottom contour surfaces communicating between the top surface and the space under the arch between the support body and the insole to facilitate ventilation of air and moisture therethrough.    
   
   
       16 . A foot orthotic composed of a strong theromoplastic polymer material, the foot orthotic comprising: 
 a top contoured surface having a shape defining an upward arch between a metatarsal area and a heel area;    a bottom contoured surface having a shape generally corresponding to the shape of the top contour surface and spaced varying short distances from the top surface;    an edge interconnecting the top and bottom contoured surfaces; and    wherein the top contour surface the bottom contour surface and the edge define a support body sized and shaped to fit into footwear and partially against the insole of the footwear and to provide upward support to an arch of a user's foot such that the bottom contour surface is spaced apart from the insole at the arch to allow ventilation thereunder when the orthotic is inserted into the footwear.    
   
   
       17 . The foot orthotic of  claim 16 , wherein: 
 the arch area of the support body comprises an upward contour greater than about 1 cm so that the arch of the user's foot is supported by the orthotic above the insole of a user's footwear to provide for ventilation therunder.    
   
   
       18 . The foot orthotic of  claim 16 , wherein: 
 wherein, the support body comprises a molded Acetal polymer material, having sufficient strength, toughness, resistance to fatigue, and resiliency to flexibly support the arch of a user's foot above the insole of the user's footwear without premature failure.    
   
   
       19 . The foot orthotic of  claim 16 , wherein: 
 the support body comprises a molded polymer material comprising more than about 66% Acetal polymer, less than about 30% elastomer, less than about 3% stabilizer, less than about 2% carbon black, and less than about 0.005% formaldehyde bound in a thermoplastic polymer.    
   
   
       20 . The foot orthotic of  claim 16 , wherein: 
 a plurality of spaced apart ventilation holes formed communicating between the top and bottom contour surfaces to allow air and moisture flow therethrough.