Shoe sole structures
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Accused Products
Abstract
A shoe having an anthropomorphic sole that copies the underlying stability, support, and cushioning structures of the human foot. Natural stability is provided by attaching a completely flexible but relatively inelastic shoe sole upper directly to the bottom sole, enveloping the sides of the midsole, instead of attaching it to the top surface of the shoe sole. Doing so puts the flexible side of the shoe upper under tension in reaction to destabilizing sideways forces on the shoe causing it to tilt. That tension force is balanced and in equilibrium because the bottom sole is firmly anchored by body weight, so the destabilizing sideways motion is neutralized by the tension in the flexible sides of the shoe upper. Support and cushioning is provided by shoe sole compartments filled with a pressure-transmitting medium like liquid, gas, or gel. Unlike similar existing systems, direct physical contact occurs between the upper surface and the lower surface of the compartments, providing firm, stable support. Cushioning is provided by the transmitting medium progressively causing tension in the flexible and semi-elastic sides of the shoe sole. The support and cushioning compartments are similar in structure to the fat pads of the human foot, which simultaneously provide both firm support and progressive cushioning.
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Citations
51 Claims
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1-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. A shoe having a shoe sole suitable for an athletic shoe, the shoe sole comprising:
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a sole inner surface for supporting a foot of an intended wearer;
a sole outer surface;
a heel portion at a location substantially corresponding to the location of a heel of the intended wearer'"'"'s foot when inside the shoe;
the shoe sole having a sole medial side, a sole lateral side and a sole middle portion located between said sole sides;
a midsole component having an inner surface and an outer surface;
a bottom sole which forms at least part of the sole outer surface;
the shoe sole comprising a concavely rounded portion located between a concavely rounded portion of the inner surface of the midsole component and a concavely rounded portion of the sole outer surface, as viewed in a heel portion frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, the concavity of the concavely rounded portions of the inner surface of the midsole component and the sole outer surface existing with respect to an intended wearer'"'"'s foot location inside the shoe;
at least a part of said concavely rounded portion of the shoe sole which extends through an arc of at least twenty degrees having a substantially uniform thickness, as viewed in a heel portion frontal plane cross-section, when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition;
at least one cushioning compartment located between the sole inner surface and the sole outer surface, as viewed in said heel portion frontal plane cross-section, and said at least one cushioning compartment including one of a gas, gel, or liquid. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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Specification