Shoe system with a resilient shoe insert

Abstract

The method is for using a shoe system having a resilient shoe insert. A shoe ( 300 ) has a shoe insert ( 500 ) disposed inside the shoe. The insert has an upper leg ( 506 ) and a lower leg ( 514 ) connected by a front end ( 502 ) with a curvature ( 512 ). The legs ( 506, 514 ) have a concave segments ( 510, 518 ) and end points ( 520, 522 ), respectively; A load is put on the insert to compress the end points towards one another. This shortens the effective length of the legs ( 506, 514 ) because the legs are in contact at a contact segment ( 524 ). This makes the insert stiffer the more it is compressed. The effective length of the legs is shorter at the outside ( 530 ) compared to the inside ( 532 ) so that the outside is stiffer than the inside.

1 . A method of using a shoe system having a resilient shoe insert, comprising: 
 providing a shoe having a shoe insert disposed inside the shoe, the shoe insert having an upper leg and a lower leg connected by a front end with an attachment segment, the upper leg having an upper concave segment, the upper leg having an upper end point and the lower leg having an lower end point that is separated from the upper end point by a distance (d 1 ), the insert having an effective length (l 1 );    putting a first load on the shoe and the insert;    compressing the upper end point towards the lower end point until a concave the upper concave segment is in contact with a lower concave segment of the lower leg at a contact point is being remote from the attachment segment at the front end so that a loop is formed between the attachment segment and the contact segment, the contact segment being remote from both the upper and the lower end points; and    the upper concave segment being pressed against and facing the lower concave segment;    bending the attachment segment until a contact point is formed when the upper concave segment comes into contact with the lower concave segment;    putting a second load on the shoe and the insert, the second load being substantially greater than the first load;    bending the upper leg and the lower leg at the contact point to form a contact segment that extends from the contact point towards the upper and lower end points and terminates at a separation point to progressively increase a stiffness of the upper and lower legs;    the contact segment reducing the effective length (l 1 ) to an effective length (l 2 ), the length (l 2 ) extending from the contact segment to the upper and lower end points.    
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein the method further comprises extending the contact segment from an outside to an inside, the segment being substantially parallel to the front end, the front end forming an acute angle to a longitudinal axis (A) of the insert.  
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2  wherein the method further comprises further compressing the upper end point towards the end point to reduce the distance (d 2 ) to a distance (d 3 ) that is shorter than the distance (d 2 ) and forming a contact area between the upper leg and the lower leg.  
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3  wherein the method further comprises shortening the effective length (l 2 ) to an effective length (l 3 ) at a mid-portion of the contact segment, the length (l 3 ) being shorter than the length (l 2 ).  
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4  wherein the method further comprises providing the insert with an effective length (l 30 ) at the outside, the effective length (l 30 ) being shorter than the effective length (l 3 ) at the mid-portion.  
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5  wherein the method further comprises providing the insert with an effective length (l 3i ) at the inside, the effective length (l 3i ) being longer than the effective length (l 3 ) at the mid-portion.  
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein the method further comprises providing the attachment point with a curvature.  
     
     
         8 . (canceled)  
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein the method further comprises aligning the upper concave segment with the lower concave segment.