Orthotic insert

Abstract

An orthotic insert for use in various types of foot gear consisting of a first blank and a second blank fused together. The first blank is a flexible pad generally contoured to the bottom of a person's foot and the second blank is more rigid and contoured to the calcaneal and arch regions of a specific individual's foot. In combination the first and second blank form an orthotic insert which offers support to and is resiliently deformable in the heel area and flexible in the toe area thus emulating the requirement of the human gait cycle.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An insert removeably placed within a finished article of footwear comprising, in combination: a full length first blank dimensioned to underlie the plantar surface of a person's foot amd formed of flexible, resiliently deformable material along its entire extent,   a second blank extending from a calcaneal area of the person's plantar surface to a metatarsal head area bonded to a bottom face of said .[.front.]. .Iadd.first .Iaddend.blank and formed from alternating layers of fiberglass/resin and graphite,   two of said fiberglass/resin layers forming outer most surfaces of said second blank, said second blank molded and set to conform identically to the plantar surface of the person's foot along the areas of support therefor when the foot is beneficially oriented,   each said graphite layer formed from a bundle of graphite fibers directionally oriented along specific axes to provide controlled, preprogrammed deformation of said insert when used in a gait cycle,   whereby said insert nests within the inner portion of the finished footwear article and provides continuous control of weight distribution to the foot by insert distortion as the weight is shifted from the calcaneal area forward through the subtalar and midtarsal joint and thence to the metatarsal heads.   
     
     
       2. The device of claim 1 including posts encapsulated within said second blank oriented to alter the deformation pattern of said second blank during use of said insert. 
     
     
       3. The device of claim 2 wherein said post is placed in an arch area of said insert. 
     
     
       4. The device of claim 2 wherein said post is placed at the calcaneal area of said insert. 
     
     
       5. The device of claim .[.4.]. .Iadd.1, wherein said graphite layer includes a bundle of graphite fibers disposed in a longitudinal direction relative to the longitudinal axis of said insert. 
     
     
       6. The device of claim .[.4.]. .Iadd.1, wherein said graphite layer is disposed such that said graphite are oriented transverse to the longitudinal axis of the insert. 
     
     
       7. The device of claim .[.4.]. .Iadd.1, wherein said graphite layer is formed and oriented such that its bundle fibers are pointed diagonally relative to the longitudinal and latitudinal aspects of said insert. 
     
     
       8. The device of claim .[.7.]. .Iadd.1, wherein plural graphite layers are provided. 
     
     
       9. The device of claim .[.4.]. .Iadd.1, wherein said graphite layer is formed from a plurality of strands uniformly equidistant one from the other along its entire layer. 
     
     
       10. A method for forming an orthotic device to be removeably placed in finished footwear such as shoes or the like comprising the steps of: providing a first blank and dimensioning said first blank to underlie a plantar surface of a person's foot,   providing a second blank extending from a metatarsal head area to the calcaneal area of a person's foot,   forming said first blank from a resilient pad which underlies an abrasion resistant and perspiration dispersing layer,   forming said second blank from alternate layers of resin impregnated mesh and graphite bundles, orienting said graphite bundles in appropriate directions to encourage deflection of said insert in certain areas and retard deflection in other areas,   heating said insert to render deformable said insert,   providing a mold of the plantar surface of the person's foot,   positioning said first blank against the mold,   positioning said second blank against said first blank,   applying force on said insert against the mold to deform said insert thereto exactly,   and allowing said insert to set,   whereby said insert not only replicates the contour of the mold and therefore the person's plantar foot surface but also controls and supports foot flexure in a preprogrammed manner by the graphite bundle orientation.   
     
     
       11. The method of claim 10 including placing a post within said second blank between a layer of resin impregnated mesh and a graphite bundle layer. 
     
     
       12. The method of claim 11 including placing a post within the arch area of said second blank. 
     
     
       13. The method of claim 11 including placing said posts adjacent a calcaneal area. 
     
     
       14. The method of claim .[.12.]. .Iadd.10, .Iaddend.including orienting said graphite bundle layer such that the bundles are directed in a longitudinal direction relative to said insert. 
     
     
       15. The method of claim .[.14.]. .Iadd.10, .Iaddend.including orienting the bundles traverse to the longitudinal axis. 
     
     
       16. The method of claim .[.15.]. .Iadd.10, .Iaddend.including orienting the bundles in a diagonal manner relative to the longitudinal and latitudinal aspects. 
     
     
       17. The method of claim .[.16.]. .Iadd.10, .Iaddend.including curing the insert using heat and pressure at 350° for forty-five minutes. .Iadd. 
     
     
       18.  An insert removably placed within a finished article of footwear comprising: a first blank dimensioned to underlie a plantar surface of a person's foot and formed of flexible resiliently deformable material along its entire length, and extending from a calcaneal area to at least a metatarsal head area of the plantar surface, and extending laterally across substantially an entire width of the plantar surface;   b. a second blank extending from said calcaneal area to said metatarsal head area and being bonded to a bottom face of said first blank, said second blank comprising layers of resin and graphite, with the second blank extending laterally cross substantially an entire width of the plantar surface;   c. said second blank molded to and set to conform identically to the plantar surface of the person's foot along areas of support therefor when the foot is beneficially oriented in a manner that a midfoot portion of the second blank is particularly positioned relative to a rear portion of the second blank to properly orient a midfoot portion of the plantar surface of the foot relative to a calcaneal area of the foot;   d. said second blank comprising at least one graphite layer formed from a bundle of graphite fibers which are bonded to one another to form a relatively rigid structure and which are directionally oriented along a specific axis so as to have greater resistance to bending along a direction parallel to said axis and less resistant to bending along a direction transverse to said axis, to provide controlled, preprogrammed deformation of said insert when used in a gait cycle; whereby said insert is able to nest within an inner portion of the finished article of footwear to provide continuous control of weight distribution to the foot by insert distortion as weight is shifted from the calcaneal area forward through subtalor and midtarsal joints of the foot and thence to midtarsal heads of the foot. .Iaddend. .Iadd.     
     
     
       19.  The insert as recited in claim 18, further comprising at least one post encapsulated within said blank, said post oriented to alter a deformation pattern of said second blank during use of said insert. .Iaddend. .Iadd.20. The insert as recited in claim 19, wherein said post is placed in an arch area of said insert. .Iaddend. .Iadd.21. The insert as recited in claim 19, wherein said post is placed at a calcaneal area of said insert. .Iaddend. .Iadd.22. The insert as recited in claim 18, wherein said graphite layer has said bundle of graphite fibers disclosed substantially along a longitudinal axis which is parallel to a lengthwise axis of the person's foot. .Iaddend. .Iadd.23. The insert as recited in claim 18, wherein said graphite layer includes a bundle of graphite fibers disposed in a direction slanted to a longitudinal axis which is parallel to a lengthwise axis of the person's foot. .Iaddend. .Iadd.24. The insert as recited in claim 18, wherein there is a plurality of graphite layers. .Iaddend. .Iadd.25. The insert as recited in claim 24, wherein each of said graphite layers is formed from a plurality of strands substantially uniformly equidistant from one another. .Iaddend. .Iadd.26. The insert as recited in claim 18, wherein said graphite layer is formed from a plurality of strands substantially uniformly equidistant from one another. 
     
     
        .Iaddend. .Iadd.27.  A method for forming an orthotic insert to be removably placed in finished footwear such as shoes or the like comprising the steps of: a. providing a first blank and dimensioning said first blank to underlie a plantar surface of a person's foot and extending laterally across substantially an entire width of the plantar surface;   b. providing a second blank extending from a metatarsal head area to the calcaneal area of a person's foot with the second blank extending laterally across substantially an entire width of the plantar surface;   c. forming said first blank from a resilient pad which underlies an abrasion resistant and perspiration dispersing layer;   d. forming said second blank from layers of resin and graphite, with said graphite layer comprising a bundle of graphite fibers, orienting said graphite fibers in a direction to encourage deflection of said insert in certain areas and retard deflection in other areas;   e. heating said insert to render deformable said insert;   f. providing a mold of the plantar surface of the person's foot;   g. positioning said first blank against the mold;   h. positioning said second blank against said first blank in a manner that a midfoot portion of the second blank is particularly positioned relative to a rear portion of the second blank to properly orient a midfoot portion of the plantar surface of the foot relative to a calcaneal area of the foot;   i. applying force on said insert against the mold to deform said insert thereto exactly;   j. and allowing said insert to set, with said graphite fibres being bonded to one another to form a relatively rigid structure; whereby said insert not only replicates the contour of the mold and therefor the person's plantar foot surface but also controls and supports foot flexure in a preprogrammed manner by the graphite bundle orientation.     
     
     
        .Iaddend. .Iadd.28.  The method as recited in claim 27, including placing a post within said second blank. .Iaddend. .Iadd.29. The method as recited in claim 28, including placing said post within an arch area of said second blank. .Iaddend. .Iadd.30. The method as recited in claim 28, including placing said post adjacent a calcanea area of said second blank. .Iaddend. .Iadd.31. The method as recited in claim 27, including orienting said graphite fibers such that the fibers are directed substantially in a longitudinal direction which is parallel to a lengthwise axis of the foot. .Iaddend. .Iadd.32. The method as recited in claim 27, including orienting said fibers in a direction slanted to a longitudinal axis which is parallel to a lengthwise axis of the foot. .Iaddend. .Iadd.33. The method as recited in claim 27, including curing the insert using heat and pressure of at least approximately 350° F. and for at least forty-five minutes. .Iaddend.