Footwear insole with adjustable arch support

Abstract

A footwear insole includes an insole body extending along a longitudinal direction between opposite end regions. An elongated recessed arch cavity is formed in the insole body at an arch region between the end regions. The recessed arch cavity has a bottom opening at a lower surface of the insole body. One of a plurality of arch inserts of different hardnesses is selected, and is inserted through the bottom opening and mounted in the recessed arch cavity for supporting a wearer's arch during wear. The selected arch insert is adjustably positioned at a selected one of a plurality of positions spaced apart along the longitudinal direction for adjustably supporting the wearer's arch.

1 . A footwear insole, comprising:
 an insole body extending along a longitudinal direction between opposite end regions, the insole body having an upper surface, a lower surface opposite the upper surface, and an elongated recessed arch cavity located at an arch region between the end regions, the recessed arch cavity having a bottom opening at the lower surface of the insole body; and   an adjustable arch insert inserted through the bottom opening and mounted in the recessed arch cavity for supporting a wearer's arch during wear, the arch insert being adjustably positioned at a selected one of a plurality of positions spaced apart along the longitudinal direction for adjustably supporting the wearer's arch.   
     
     
         2 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein the insole body is generally configured in a foot shape in plan view, and wherein the arch insert is generally configured in an arcuate shape in plan view. 
     
     
         3 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein the insole body includes a sheet of a resilient foam material adhered over a main member of an elastomeric gel material. 
     
     
         4 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein the arch insert is constituted of a compressible material that resists compression with a first predetermined hardness, and further comprising another adjustable arch insert constituted of a compressible material that resists compression with a second predetermined hardness that is different from the first predetermined hardness, one of the arch inserts being selected for insertion through the bottom opening and mounting in the recessed arch cavity, for supporting the wearer's arch with the selected one of the hardnesses. 
     
     
         5 . The insole of  claim 4 , and further comprising still another adjustable arch insert constituted of a compressible material that resists compression with a third predetermined hardness that is different from the first and second predetermined hardnesses, one of the arch inserts being selected for insertion through the bottom opening and mounting in the recessed arch cavity, for supporting the wearer's arch with the selected one of the hardnesses. 
     
     
         6 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein the arch insert is substantially contained in the recessed arch cavity. 
     
     
         7 . The insole of  claim 1 , wherein one of the insole body and the arch insert has a plurality of projections, and wherein the other of the insole body and the arch insert has a plurality of recesses for receiving the projections when the arch insert is mounted in the recessed arch cavity. 
     
     
         8 . The insole of  claim 7 , wherein the projections are provided on the arch insert, and wherein the recesses are provided on the insole body. 
     
     
         9 . The insole of  claim 7 , wherein the projections are arranged along an arc on the arch insert. 
     
     
         10 . The insole of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of projections are spaced apart on the arch insert, and wherein the plurality of recesses spaced apart on the insole body to resist rotation of the arch insert relative to the insole body. 
     
     
         11 . The insole of  claim 8 , wherein one of the end regions of the insole body is a heel region; and wherein a first group of the recesses is spaced along the longitudinal direction away from the heel region to position the arch support at a first spacing relative to the heel region; and wherein a second group of the recesses is spaced along the longitudinal direction away from the heel region to position the arch support at a second spacing relative to the heel region, the second spacing being greater than the first spacing. 
     
     
         12 . The insole of  claim 11 , wherein a third group of the recesses is spaced along the longitudinal direction away from the heel region to position the arch support at a third spacing relative to the heel region, the third spacing being greater than the first and second spacings. 
     
     
         13 . The insole of  claim 12 , wherein each group of the recesses is arranged along an arc on the insole body. 
     
     
         14 . A method of adjustably supporting a wearer's arch, comprising:
 configuring a footwear insole with an insole body that extends along a longitudinal direction between opposite end regions;   forming an elongated recessed arch cavity in the insole body at an arch region between the end regions, the recessed arch cavity having a bottom opening at a lower surface of the insole body;   inserting an arch insert through the opening, and mounting the arch insert in the recessed arch cavity to support the wearer's arch during wear; and   adjustably positioning the arch insert at a selected one of a plurality of positions spaced apart along the longitudinal direction to adjustably support the wearer's arch.