Shoe last and method for providing a shoe having an improved heel rest

Abstract

A shoe last and a method of using the shoe last to manufacture shoes that minimize the tendency of a wearer's foot to create increased pressure at the area of the ball of a wearer's foot are disclosed herein. The improved heel rest design relieves this pressure at the ball area of the foot by allowing the body weight to be more concentrated at the heel portion of the wearer's foot by redistributing the user's weight toward the heel portion and away from the ball of the foot.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This U.S. patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 893,876 filed on Oct. 21, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIGURE SELECTED FOR PUBLICATION[0002]FIG. 4.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE[0003]1. Field of the Disclosure[0004]The present disclosure relates generally to an apparatus for and a method of manufacturing footwear. More specifically, this disclosure relates to a shoe last and shoes, e.g., high-heeled shoes, manufactured with the shoe last that are configured to minimize or prevent the tendency of a wearer's foot to slide forward thereby creating increased pressure at the area of the ball of a wearer's foot.[0005]2. Description of the Related Art[0006]Shoe-making lasts are often considered to be the most important component in the manufacture of shoes. A shoe-making last is a mold over which shoes are made. The shoe-making last is preferably solid and three-dimensional. Th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present patent text describes a new shoe last design that can help improve the comfort, stability, and weight distribution of high-heeled shoes. The design reduces the pressure on the ball of the foot by allowing the body weight to be more concentrated at the heel area of the foot. The shoe last has a concave shape at the heel region and a smooth transition between different regions for the toe box, heel, and arch support. This design can be used to produce shoes for a wide range of wearers and provides better balance and natural stride. Overall, this new shoe last helps create a more comfortable and natural shoe experience for users.

Problems solved by technology

Conventionally, while a cast of a foot might be utilized for measurement purposes to make a custom pair of shoes, a foot cast cannot function as a shoe last.

Because of the differences between a human foot and a conventional shoe last, shoes made with a conventional shoe last fail to work in harmony with the human foot.

However, the heel of a human foot is not elevated and has no such heel pitch.

As such, the heel seats of conventional shoe lasts are generally unnaturally raised to different heel elevations to accommodate the heel for the footwear being manufactured.

Therefore, conventional shoe last technology dictates that the footwear manufactured thereon will unnaturally affect the weight bearing and propulsion characteristics of the foot.

A major drawback with conventional shoe lasts is that the flat bottom sole surface dictates that a flat, rigid piece of sole material be attached to footwear upper material at the sharply-angled shoe last line, thus producing footwear that has an excessive angled feather edge.

This increases the risk of ankle injuries.

The drawbacks of the sharply-angled feather edge of a shoe made from conventional lasts are exacerbated by the elevation of the heel seat, the recession of the toe, and the unnatural forward pitch of the heel seat, thus resulting in undue pressure on the ball of the wearer's foot.

This results in undue pressure on the ball 16 or forefoot 12 regions of the foot 10, which may result in jamming of the toes 13.

Such undue pressure on the ball or forefoot regions of the foot may result in a burning sensation in these areas of the foot, and may also result in fatigue and / or discomfort.

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