JP7492362B2 - Big toe lift support device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a big toe lift-up support device that uses elastic force to pull up the user's big toe, allowing running and walking to be done primarily on the ball of the foot.

In recent years, as scientific analysis of various sports competitions has evolved, it has been said that landing on the ball of the foot is the most effective way to run short distances quickly or long distances efficiently. When landing on the heel rather than the toes, the center of gravity is at the back of the body, which puts strain on the muscles and lower back, causing energy to be used up in the first half of the race and resulting in a slower time. Landing on the ball of the foot and running with the image of pushing off from the toes is also called forefoot running, and many famous athletes have pointed out the importance of running with the ball of the foot in mind. After seeing this, Internet users and celebrities have posted on social media that they tried running with a commercially available rubber band hooked to their thumb and fixed to their ankle, and their running times were significantly improved.

As a tool to support this landing style with the ball of the foot, commercially available rubber bands are not only difficult to use, but also have the problem that their strong elasticity digs into the skin, causing pain and leaving marks on the skin after use. Rubber bands also have the problem of breaking or stretching out.

By practicing this style of landing on the ball of your foot during your normal walking and in your daily life, you will be able to land on the ball of your foot without any discomfort when running.

Conventionally, there are known devices for preventing and correcting hallux valgus, toe correction devices, toe training devices, and running shoes that support landing on the ball of the foot, but no support device for lifting up the big toe for running and walking mainly on the ball of the foot existed.

JP 2002-542848 A JP 2007-313043 A JP 2008-093008 A JP 2017-225618 A JP 2017-520362 A Utility Model Registration No. 3210760 Utility Model Registration No. 3224932

The purpose of this invention is to provide a specialized device to support landing on the ball of the foot, rather than using the commercially available rubber bands mentioned above.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a big toe lift-up support device for running and walking with the ball of the foot landing primarily on the ground by lifting up the user's big toe using elastic force, and the big toe lift-up support device comprises a big toe support part that supports the base of the big toe from the sole of the foot, two connecting parts connected to both the left and right sides of the big toe support part, and two elastic string parts connected to each of the connecting parts, and the relationship between the tensile elastic moduli in the axial direction of the big toe support part, the connecting parts and the elastic string parts is: tensile elastic modulus of the connecting part > tensile elastic modulus of the elastic string part ≧ tensile elastic modulus of the big toe support part .

The big toe lift-up support tool of the present invention, which has the above-mentioned configuration, lifts up the big toe with moderate elasticity, causing no pain and leaving no marks after use.

In addition, the user can adjust the force of lifting the big toe and the tightness to suit their preference or the size of their foot, etc.

By using the big toe lift-up support device of the present invention, the user can naturally perform a forefoot running style, effectively improving their running ability regardless of whether they are running short, medium or long distances.

1 is a schematic plan view of a big toe lift-up support device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the big toe lift-up support tool according to the present invention is used. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the big toe lift-up support tool according to the present invention in use. FIG.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and may be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a big toe lift-up support device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing an overall image of the big toe lift-up support device 1 in its natural state when no external force is acting on it.

The big toe lift-up support device 1 has a big toe support part 2 located at the center in the longitudinal direction, two connecting parts 3 on either side of it, and an elastic string part 4 connected to each of the two connecting parts 3 to form a single string.

The thumb support part 2 is oval-shaped in a plan view and is placed on the sole of the foot at the base of the user's thumb. It is pulled by the connecting part 3 and the elastic string part 4 to lift up the thumb, allowing the user to land on the ball of the foot when running or walking.

The thumb support part 2, connecting part 3, and elastic cord part 4 are woven together with braided cord, and are woven with twisted yarn that combines elastic and non-elastic yarns in appropriate ratios. The thumb support part 2 is woven loosely, the connecting part 3 is woven tightly, and the elastic cord part 4 is woven somewhat loosely, which makes each part have a different tensile modulus of elasticity (modulus of elasticity = stress/strain).

As shown in FIG. 1, the connecting portion 3 is tightly woven, making it hard and thin in diameter, while the elastic cord portion 4 is slightly loosely or densely woven, making it thicker and softer than the connecting portion 3.

The connecting section 3 is tightly and densely woven, making it rigid and almost completely free of elastic deformation in the axial direction, while the thumb support section 2 is woven most loosely to support the base of the thumb with gentle elasticity (a stretchy structure).

Alternatively, a two-layer structure may be used in which a core material (not shown) is placed at the center of the cross section of the integrally woven thumb support part 2, connecting part 3, and elastic string part 4. In this case, the core material may be elastic or non-elastic.

The tip region of the elastic cord portion 4 has multiple (five in this embodiment) knobs 5 at appropriate intervals to adjust the degree of tightness using a fastener 6, which will be described later.

The bump 5 and fastener 6 are means for easily adjusting the degree of fastening, and may be adopted as needed; they are not essential components.

The structure and manufacturing method of the braided cord described above are disclosed in detail in the applicant's Patent Nos. 5,079,926, 6,501,277, 6,425,364, 6,498,834, etc., so please refer to these.

Figures 2 and 3 are diagrams explaining how to use the big toe lift-up support device 1 and how it is used. The user first inserts the knob 5 at the tip region of the elastic string part 4 into the holes 7-1 and 7-2 of the fixing device 6 shown in Figure 4 from opposite directions to make the whole of the big toe lift-up support device 1 into a ring shape.

The foot is passed through the looped big toe lift-up support tool 1, and the big toe support part 2 is rotated once to place it on the base of the back of the big toe. The relationship between the bump part 5 and the fixing device 6 is then adjusted appropriately to set it with an elastic force that suits the user's preference. The bump part 5 is elastically deformable and is larger in diameter than the holes 7-1 and 7-2 in its natural state, so that after the bump part 5 is inserted, it hooks into the holes 7-1 and 7-2, functioning as a stopper to maintain the set state. When in the set state, the big toe A is lifted up in the Y direction by the pulling force in the X direction as shown in Figure 3, and the ball of the big toe B protrudes in side view, so that the user lands on the ball of the big toe when running or walking.

The connecting part 3 is dense and does not elastically deform, the base of the thumb is supported by the tension of the thumb support part 2 and the elastic string part 4, and because it is a braided string, it does not dig into the user's skin like a rubber band, reducing pain and leaving almost no marks after use (the same applies to the skin that the connecting part 3 and elastic string part 4 touch).

In this embodiment, the degree of tightness can be easily adjusted by the hump 5 and the fastener 6, but instead of adopting these configurations, the user may simply fasten the tip region of the elastic string 4 at the back of the foot (the Achilles tendon side) to fix it. Alternatively, a hook-and-loop fastener may be attached to the tip region of the elastic string 4 and the hook-and-loop fastener may be used to adjust the tightness, or an adjuster or buckle may be provided on one side to fix the tip on the other side, and other adjustment functions may be used, and any suitable known means may be used.

In addition, in this embodiment, the thumb support part 2, the connecting part 3, and the elastic cord part 4 are woven together with a braided cord, but they may be made separately and connected by sewing, gluing, or other means.

As described above, the big toe lift-up support tool of the present invention lifts up the big toe with an appropriate elastic force, which causes no pain and leaves no marks after use. In addition, the user can adjust the force of lifting up the big toe and the tightness to suit their preference or the size of their foot. By using the big toe lift-up support tool of the present invention, a forefoot running style can be naturally performed, and the user's running ability can be effectively improved regardless of whether the distance is short, medium or long.

1 Big toe lift-up support tool 2 Big toe support part 3 Connecting part 4 Elastic string part 5 Elastic hump part 6 Fixing device 7-1, 7-2 Hole

Claims (6)

A big toe lift-up support device for running and walking with the ball of the foot landing mainly by lifting up the big toe of a user with elastic force,
The big toe lift support tool is:
The shoe comprises a big toe support part that supports the base of the big toe from the sole side, two connecting parts that are connected to the left and right sides of the big toe support part, and two elastic string parts that are connected to each of the connecting parts,
The relationship between the tensile modulus of elasticity of the thumb support portion, the connecting portion, and the elastic cord portion in the axial direction is as follows:
The tensile elastic modulus of the connecting portion > the tensile elastic modulus of the elastic string portion ≥ the tensile elastic modulus of the thumb support portion .
A big toe lift-up support device characterized by the above. The connecting portion is non-elastic in the axial direction.
2. The big toe lift-up support device according to claim 1 . The thumb support portion, the two connecting portions, and the two elastic cord portions are integrally woven as a braided cord.
2. The big toe lift-up support device according to claim 1 . A non-elastic or elastic central cord is continuously disposed at the cross-sectional center positions of the thumb support portion, the connecting portion, and the elastic cord portion.
4. The big toe lift-up support device according to claim 3 . The thumb support portion, the connecting portion, and the elastic cord portion have different braid densities, so that the tensile elastic moduli of each of them are different.
4. The big toe lift-up support device according to claim 3 . The elastic cord further includes a fastener for fastening the ends of the two elastic cord portions,
A plurality of elastic bumps having a diameter larger than the diameters of the two holes formed in the fixing device are arranged at appropriate intervals in the tip region of the elastic cord portion.
2. The big toe lift-up support device according to claim 1 .