Article and method of manufacture of an improved safety women's high heel shoe

Abstract

A women's high heel shoe and method of manufacturing, the shoe having improved safety and usability features including an improved traction shoe sole and an improved yet stylish narrowed high heel that terminates in a widened heel tip with improved traction and reduced surface penetration susceptibility.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sole for a women's high heel shoe comprising:
 a shoe sole base having a front, a middle and a back, the sole base includes a lower sole positioned at the front for supporting a ball and toes of a wearer of the high heel shoe and an upper sole positioned at the back for supporting the heel of the wearer and a heel of the shoe and a shank sole defined by the middle between the lower sole and the upper sole, the base having an outer perimeter defining an outer shape of the shoe sole base by an exposed sidewall thereof, the sole base having an top base surface and an opposing bottom base surface and being composed of a sole base material;   a cavity in the lower sole base having a shape that substantially conforms to a shape of the lower sole, the cavity having a cavity perimeter that is set back from the outer perimeter defining the lower sole and defining an outsole between the sole base perimeter and the cavity perimeter there between, the cavity forming a raised cavity wall in the sole base; and   an insert positioned in the cavity and coupled to the sole base material, the insert having an insert shape defined by a periphery that is substantially the same as the shape of the cavity, the insert having an outer edge, a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom surface including one or more anti-skid features thereon, the insert being composed of an insert material selected from an material having anti-skid characteristics and being different than the sole material.   
     
     
         2 . The shoe sole of  claim 1  wherein the sole base material is a leather and the insert material is a polymer or a rubber. 
     
     
         3 . The shoe sole of  claim 1  wherein the insert is coupled to the sole base by an adhesive. 
     
     
         4 . The shoe sole of  claim 1  wherein the insert includes a plurality of anti-skid features on the bottom of the surface. 
     
     
         5 . The shoe sole of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 the sole base having a groove along at least a portion of the raised cavity wall between the top surface of the sole base and spaced apart from the bottom surface of the sole, and   the insert having a protrusion about a portion of the periphery of the insert corresponding to a mating portion of the raised cavity wall having the groove formed therein,   wherein the insert is coupled to the sole base material at least in part by placement of the protrusion of the insert into the corresponding groove of the raised cavity wall.   
     
     
         6 . The shoe sole of  claim 5  wherein the insert is also coupled to the sole base material by an adhesive applied to at least one of the groove and the protrusion. 
     
     
         7 . The shoe sole of  claim 1  wherein the cavity has a predefined depth from an outer surface of the lower sole to a bottom cavity surface and wherein coupling the insert is coupled to the sole base material by an adhesive between the upper surface of the insert to the bottom cavity surface of the sole. 
     
     
         8 . The shoe sole of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 the sole base having a groove along at least a portion of the raised cavity wall between the bottom surface of the cavity and spaced apart from the bottom surface of the sole, and   the insert having a protrusion about a portion of the periphery of the insert corresponding to a mating portion of the raised cavity wall having the groove formed therein,   wherein the insert is coupled to the shoe base material at least in part by placement of the protrusion of insert into the corresponding groove of the raised cavity wall.   
     
     
         9 . The shoe sole of  claim 1  wherein the cavity is a through cavity extending between the bottom base surface and the upper base surface. 
     
     
         10 . A method of making a lower sole for a women's high heel shoe comprising:
 providing a shoe sole base defining a lower sole positioned at a front for supporting a ball and toes of a wearer of the high heel shoe, the base having an outer perimeter defining the shape of the upper sole and an exposed sidewall thereof, the sole being composed of a sole base material;   creating a cavity in the lower sole base having a shape that conforms to a shape of the lower sole, the cavity having a cavity perimeter that is set back from the outer perimeter defining the lower sole and defining an outsole there between, the cavity defining a raised cavity wall about a perimeter of the cavity;   creating an insert having an insert shape defined by a periphery that is substantially the same as the shape of the cavity, the insert having an outer edge, a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom surface including one or more anti-skid features, the insert being composed of an insert material selected from a material having anti-skid characteristics and being different than the sole material;   inserting the insert into the cavity; and   coupling the insert to the base material after insertion in the cavity.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the sole base material is a leather and the insert material is a polymer or a rubber. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the coupling includes applying an adhesive. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein creating an insert is a molding. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  wherein creating a shoe sole and creating a cavity are each performed in a single molding process. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising forming the plurality of anti-skid features on the bottom of the surface of the insert using a molding process. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 forming a groove along at least a portion of the raised cavity wall between the top surface of the sole body and spaced apart from the bottom surface of the sole,   wherein creating an insert includes forming a protrusion about a portion of the periphery of the insert corresponding to a mating portion of the raised cavity wall having the groove formed therein, and   wherein coupling includes placing the protrusion of insert into the corresponding groove of the raised cavity wall.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein coupling includes applying an adhesive to at least one of the groove and the protrusion prior to the placing of the protrusion into the groove. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the cavity has a predefined depth from an outer surface of the lower sole to a bottom cavity surface and wherein coupling the insert includes coupling the upper surface of the insert to the bottom cavity surface of the sole. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 forming a groove along at least a portion of the raised cavity wall between the bottom surface of the cavity and spaced apart from the bottom surface of the sole,   wherein creating an insert includes forming a protrusion about a portion of the periphery of the insert corresponding to a mating portion of the raised cavity wall having the groove formed therein, and   wherein coupling includes placing the protrusion of insert into the corresponding groove of the raised cavity wall.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the cavity is a through cavity extending between the bottom base surface and the upper base surface. 
     
     
         21 . A heel for a women's high heel shoe comprising:
 a heel main body having a proximal end defining an upper attachment portion, a heel distal end and a heel shank defined there between;   the proximal end configured for attachment to a heel portion of a shoe sole base and having a wide dimension corresponding to an outer periphery thereof;   the distal end having an outer periphery with an outer dimension between about 0.9 and about 1.25 inches; and   the heel shank having a narrowed neck portion with an outer dimension being comparatively less than the outer dimension of the distal end and between 0.25 and 0.40 inches.   
     
     
         22 . The shoe heel of  claim 21 , further comprising a surface contact portion coupled to the distal end, the surface contact portion being composed of a non-skid material. 
     
     
         23 . The shoe heel of  claim 21  wherein the neck portion of the heel shank is substantially circular. 
     
     
         24 . The shoe heel of  claim 21  wherein the distal end has a shape selected from the group consisting of a polygon, a regular convex polygon, an equiangular polygon, a star shape, flower shape, and rounded corner shapes thereof. 
     
     
         25 . The shoe heel of  claim 21  wherein the heel shank has a narrowed neck portion with an outer dimension is about 0.3 to about 0.36 inches and the distal end is about 1.0 inch. 
     
     
         26 . A women's high heel shoe comprising:
 a shoe sole base having a front, a middle and a back and a top surface and a bottom surface, the sole base includes a lower sole positioned at the front for supporting a ball and toes of a wearer of the high heel shoe with an upper sole positioned at the back for supporting the heel of the wearer and for supporting a heel of the shoe, and a shank sole defined in the middle between the lower sole and the upper sole, the base having an outer perimeter defining a shape of the sole base and an exposed sidewall thereof, the sole being composed of a sole base material;   a cavity in the lower sole of the base having a shape that conforms to a shape of the lower sole, the cavity having a cavity perimeter that is set back from the outer perimeter defining the lower sole and defining an outsole there between, the cavity defining a raised cavity wall in the sole base about a perimeter of the cavity;   an insert positioned in the cavity and coupled to the sole base, the insert having an insert shape defined by a periphery that is substantially the same as the shape of the cavity, the insert having an outer edge, a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom surface including one or more anti-skid features, the insert being composed of an insert material selected from an material having anti-skid characteristics and being different than the sole material; and   a heel main body having a proximal end defining an upper attachment portion, a heel distal end and a heel shank defined there between, the proximal end configured for attachment to the upper sole of the base and having a wide dimension corresponding to an outer periphery thereof, the distal end having an outer periphery with an outer dimension between about 0.9 and about 1.25 inches and the heel shank having a narrowed neck portion with an outer dimension being comparatively less than the outer dimension of the distal end and between 0.25 and 0.40 inches.   
     
     
         27 . The shoe of  claim 26  wherein the heel shank has a narrowed neck portion with an outer dimension is about 0.3 to about 0.36 inches and the distal end is about 1.0 inch. 
     
     
         28 . The shoe of  claim 26  wherein the sole base material is a leather and the insert material is a polymer or a rubber. 
     
     
         29 . The shoe of  claim 26  wherein the insert is coupled to the sole base material by an adhesive. 
     
     
         30 . The shoe of  claim 26  wherein the insert includes one or more anti-skid features on the bottom of the surface thereof. 
     
     
         31 . The shoe of  claim 26 , further comprising:
 the sole base having a groove along at least a portion of the raised cavity wall between the top surface of the sole body and spaced apart from the bottom surface of the sole, and   the insert having a protrusion about a portion of the periphery of the insert corresponding to a mating portion of the raised cavity wall having the groove formed therein,   wherein the insert is coupled to the sole base material at least in part by placement of the protrusion of the insert into the corresponding groove of the raised cavity wall.   
     
     
         32 . The shoe of  claim 31  wherein the insert is coupled to the sole base material by an adhesive applied to at least one of the groove and the protrusion. 
     
     
         33 . The shoe of  claim 26  wherein the cavity has a predefined depth from an outer surface of the lower sole to a bottom cavity surface and wherein coupling the insert is coupled to the sole base material by an adhesive between the upper surface of the insert to the bottom cavity surface of the sole. 
     
     
         34 . The shoe of  claim 33 , further comprising:
 the sole base having a groove along at least a portion of the raised cavity wall between the bottom surface of the cavity and spaced apart from the bottom surface of the sole, and   the insert having a protrusion about a portion of the periphery of the insert corresponding to a mating portion of the raised cavity wall having the groove formed therein, and   wherein the insert is coupled to the shoe base material at least in part by placement of the protrusion of insert into the corresponding groove of the raised cavity wall.   
     
     
         35 . The shoe of  claim 26  wherein the cavity is a through cavity extending between the bottom base surface and the upper base surface. 
     
     
         36 . The shoe of  claim 26 , further comprising a surface contact portion coupled to the distal end of the heel, the surface contact portion being composed of a non-skid material. 
     
     
         37 . The shoe of  claim 26  wherein the neck portion of the heel shank is substantially circular. 
     
     
         38 . The shoe of  claim 26  wherein the distal end of the heel has a shape selected from the group consisting of a polygon, a regular convex polygon, an equiangular polygon, a star shape, flower shape, and rounded corner shapes thereof.