Shoe sole structures using a theoretically ideal stability plane

• US 20030217482A1
• Filed: 04/11/2003
• Published: 11/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1988
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Anatomic Research Inc.
• Original Assignee: Anatomic Research Inc.
• Inventors: Ellis, Frampton E. III
• Granted Patent: US 7,127,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 36/25R
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/125 characterised by the midsole or middle layer
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/141 with a part of the sole being flexible, e.g. permitting articulation or torsion
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/143 provided with wedged, concave or convex end portions, e.g. for improving roll-off of the foot
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/145 Convex portions, e.g. with a bump or projection, e.g. 'Masai' type shoes
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/146 Concave end portions, e.g. with a cavity or cut-out portion
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/148 Wedged end portions
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/18 Resilient soles skating boots provided with resilient means A43B5/1658
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/20 Pneumatic soles filled with a compressible fluid, e.g. air, gas inflatable linings for skiboots A43B5/0407
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/00 Footwear for sporting purposes non-skid devices, e.g. ice-spurs or studs for football shoes, A43C15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 5/06 Running shoes; Track shoes

Abstract

A shoe sole having at least one midsole or outer surface portion that is concavely rounded relative to a space inside the shoe adapted to receive an intended wearer'"'"'s foot. The sole includes a midsole and an outer sole. The midsole extends up the side of the sole to a vertical height above the vertical height of a lowest point of the inner midsole surface. The midsole includes a portion of greatest thickness in a side portion that is greater than a thickness of a second midsole portion located in a middle sole portion of the shoe sole. The combination of the midsole height and thickness with the concavely rounded surface portion together provide improved stability of the shoe sole.

Claims

1. A shoe sole construction for a shoe, comprising:

a sole having a naturally contoured shape defined by a design which conforms to the natural shape of the unloaded foot wherein the theoretically ideal stability plane is determined by the desired shoe sole thickness, which is constant in a frontal plane cross section, and by the natural shape of a foot surface of the individual; and

said naturally contoured shape extends to contours underneath the load-bearing foot and is abbreviated along its sides to essential support and propulsion elements, wherein those elements are combined and integrated into the same discontinuous shoe sole structural elements beneath the foot, which approximate the principal structural elements of a human foot and their natural articulation between elements.

2. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the density of the abbreviated shoe sole is greater than the density of the material used in an unabbreviated shoe sole to compensate for increased pressure loading.

3. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein said essential support elements include the base and lateral tuberosity of the calcaneus, heads of the metatarsal, and the base of the fifth metatarsal.

4. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein said propulsion element is the head of a predetermined distal phalange.

5. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein non-essential stability sides are omitted.

6. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein the constant shoe sole thickness defining the theoretically ideal stability plane of the naturally contoured side design is measured at any point on the contoured sides or other sole portion along a line that is perpendicular to a line tangent to that point on the surface of the side of the foot sole, and passes through the same foot sole surface point.

7. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sole is made from a material which is sized and shaped in its unloaded state to approximate the theoretically ideal stability plane when deformed by a load.

8. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 7 wherein the sides of said sole are bent inwardly slightly when unloaded to approximate a custom fit when loaded.

9. A shoe sole construction for a shoe, comprising:

a shoe sole which is naturally contoured, paralleling the shape of a foot in order to parallel its natural deformation and made from a material which, when under load and tilting to the side, deforms in a manner which closely parallel that of the foot of its wearer, while retaining nearly the same amount of contact of the shoe sole with the ground as in its upright state.

10. The shoe sole construction set forth in claim 9 wherein the sides of the shoe sole are bent inwardly somewhat so that when worn the sides bend out easily to approximate a custom fit.

11. A shoe sole construction for a shoe, comprising:

a shoe sole having at least a portion thereof following the contour of a theoretically ideal stability plane, said sole having rounded edges at the finishing edge of the sole after the last point where the constant shoe sole thickness of the shoe sole defining the theoretically ideal stability plane is maintained, whereby the surface of the sole does not provide an unsupported portion that creates a destabilizing torque and the bottom surface does not provide an unnatural pivoting edge.

12. A shoe sole construction for a shoe, comprising:

a shoe sole which includes a naturally contoured sole structure exhibiting natural deformation which closely parallels the natural deformation of a foot under the same load, said shoe being free from heel counters and motion control devices and the destabilizing torque they create so that when the sole is tilted, the foot of the wearer is shifted only to the outside edge of the shoe sole and remains naturally stable.

13. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 12 wherein said sole is a naturally-contoured shoe sole construction which deforms under load naturally like a human foot, both when upright and when tilted to the side.

14. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 13 wherein said sole maintains a foot at a constant distance from the ground, said distance being the thickness of the shoe sole, even when the shoe is tilted to the side by natural foot motion such as pronation and supination, whether normal or extreme.

15. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 14 wherein said sole comprises a plurality of layers of progressive density, a layer closest to the foot sole having the least density, and a layer further from the foot sole having a greater density.

16. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 14 wherein said sole comprises a plurality of layers of progressive flexibility, a layer closest to the foot sole having the most flexibility, and a layer further from the foot sole having the least flexibility.

17. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 12 wherein at least a portion of said sole follows a theoretically ideal stability plane, said sole including a ground-engaging portion opposition to a foot supporting surface of said sole, wherein the curved surface of the side portion of said sole merges with said ground-engaging portion from opposed sides to define a theoretically ideal stability plane.

18. A shoe sole construction for a shoe, such as a running shoe, comprising:

a sole having a shoe portion and a contoured edge portion extending along at least a portion of the said sole portion;

said sole portion including a foot support surface and defined by a thickness;

said edge portion being defined at least in part by an arc of a curved surface having a radius about equal to the thickness of said sole portion.

19. The sole construction as set forth in claim 18, wherein said thickness which defines said radius lies at about the edge of said sole portion.

20. The sole construction as set forth in claim 18, wherein said sole portion further includes a ground-engaging portion opposite to said foot support surface, wherein said curved surface of said edge portion merges with said ground-engaging portion from opposed sides to define a theoretically ideal stability plane.

21. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 18, wherein the sole comprises a midsole and heel lift secured to a bottom outersole, said bottom outersole having said contour.

22. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 21, wherein an outer portion of said midsole is contoured to mate with the contour on said bottom outersole.

23. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 18, wherein said contour is applied to a portion of said heel.

24. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 18, where said shoe sole includes a bottom sole having said contour applied to at least a portion thereof, and a midsole secured to said bottom sole, said outersole being honeycombed to reduced density of the outersole to that of the midsole material.

25. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 18, which further includes a shoe sole thickness variation in the sagittal plane

26. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 25, wherein said thickness variation includes heel lift and/or toe taper.

27. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 18, further including an insole.

28. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 18, wherein said sole portion comprises substantially all shoe material between and including an innermost sole and an outermost sole.