Insulative footwear insert

Abstract

A footwear insert for insulating a wearer's toes against ambient cold. The insert comprises a deformable outer casing, preferably composed of a fabric such as nylon, the outer casing defining an interior space containing a plurality of insulative beads, such as Styrofoam micro-beads. The insert is configured for insertion into the toe of the footwear, and the wearer's toes are pressed into the insert, thus providing an insulative material adjacent the wearer's toes.

1 . A footwear insert for insertion in a toe region of a footwear, the footwear insert comprising:
 a deformable outer casing, the outer casing defining an interior space; and   a plurality of insulative beads within the interior space;   wherein the insert is configured for insertion in the toe region of the footwear.   
     
     
         2 . The footwear insert of  claim 1  wherein the deformable outer casing is composed of nylon. 
     
     
         3 . The footwear insert of  claim 1  wherein the deformable outer casing is deformable to conform to toes of a wearer when the wearer's foot is inserted into the footwear. 
     
     
         4 . The footwear insert of  claim 1  where the plurality of insulative beads is composed of expanded polystyrene or Styrofoam™ micro-beads. 
     
     
         5 . The footwear insert of  claim 1  wherein the percentage of the interior space to be filled with the insulative beads is 50-80%. 
     
     
         6 . The footwear insert of  claim 1  wherein the deformable outer casing is substantially triangular in shape. 
     
     
         7 . A method for providing a footwear insert for insertion in a toe region of a footwear, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing a square flat outer easing;   folding in half the square flat outer casing along a fold line positioned diagonally between two diagonally opposed corners of the outer casing, producing a substantially triangular outer casing;   partially stitching edges of the folded outer casing to form an interior space within the substantially triangular outer casing;   inserting a plurality of insulative beads into the interior space; and   completing stitching of the edges to seal the interior space.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the insulative beads are selected to be of a volume sufficient to maintain a desirable flexibility and deformability of the footwear insert.