Heel tip cushion with anchoring mechanism inside heel stem

Abstract

A high heel footwear including a top lift having any one or more of a securing feature, an anti-rotation feature, an alignment feature, and a cushioning feature. The securing feature secures the top lift to the heel of the footwear so that during usage, the top lift remains securely in place against the heel stem. The anti-rotation feature prevents rotation of the top lift relative to the heel, particularly when a twisting force is applied to the top lift by the footwear wearer. The alignment feature co-aligns the top lift to the heel, a particularly useful feature when the heel has an irregular or non-regular cross-section. A cushioning feature is also provided, for example, in the form of a honeycomb structure composed of a tire tread material and/or a top composed of a tire tread material having a tire tread pattern for added grip and traction.

1 - 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A heel tip assembly configured to be coupled with a heel of a high heel footwear, comprising:
 a top lift portion having a top portion composed of rubber and a base portion configured to abut an end of the heel of the high heel footwear;   a rigid shaft member extending away from the base portion and configured to be received in a hole in the end of the heel, the rigid shaft member having a threaded portion adjacent to a non-threaded portion with the non-threaded portion being proximate to the base portion; the rigid shaft member having a head within the top lift portion to provide an anti-rotation feature and a securing feature;   a threaded insert configured to be inserted into the hole in the end of the heel, the threaded insert having a threaded portion including threads configured to threadably receive threads of the threaded portion of the rigid shaft member as the top lift portion is rotated until the base portion abuts the end of the heel to fully secure the rigid shaft member within a hole of the threaded insert, the partially threaded insert further having a non-threaded portion proximate the base portion, the non-threaded portion of the partially threaded insert being adjacent to the non-threaded portion of the rigid shaft member when the top lift portion is fully secured to the heel by rotating the top lift portion relative to the heel; and   a first spring on or along the rigid shaft member, wherein the first spring compresses inwardly and extends outwardly as the rigid shaft member moves with respect to the threaded insert.   
     
     
         20 . The assembly of  claim 19 , wherein the first spring
 aligns the top lift portion relative to the heel to an orientation such that an irregular outer profile of the top lift portion co-aligns with a corresponding irregular outer profile of the heel at an interface between the top lift portion and the heel.   
     
     
         21 . The assembly of  claim 19 , wherein the threaded insert threadably receives threads of a securing feature part as the rigid shaft member is rotated until the base portion abuts the end of the heel to fully secure the rigid shaft member within a hole of the threaded insert. 
     
     
         22 . The assembly of  claim 19 , wherein the top portion lies on a horizontal plane below a horizontal plane of a bottommost part of a sole of the high heel footwear in an unloaded configuration to an extent such that at least a central portion compresses under a loaded configuration so that the top portion lies on the same horizontal plane as the bottommost part of the sole. 
     
     
         23 . The assembly of  claim 19 , wherein the top portion has a tread pattern facing the ground. 
     
     
         24 . The assembly of  claim 19 , wherein the insert is a hollow, threaded self-tapping insert tapped into the heel to form the hole.