Base for an article of footwear
First Claim
1. A footwear base containing an elastically deformable cushioning amterial and having an upper surface for supporting the weight of the foot and a substantially plane lower surface arranged to contact the ground, said base including a first part which absorbs more pronounced shocks and a second part which absorbs less pronounced shocks when the article of footwear embodying the base is in use, said lower surface having recessed portions on said first part, and said first part comprising a first section for the ball of the foot having at least one first recess, a second section for the toes having at least one second recess, a third section for the heel having at least one third recess, and a fourth section for the outer part of the instep having at least one fourth recess, each of said recesses having a depth which is related to the loading of the respective section such that the recess in a more heavily loaded section has a greater depth that the recess in a less heavily loaded section, and said base further including a marginal part, said lower surface having a substantially circumferentially complete non-recessed border portion which circumscribes all recesses in said lower surface and spaces all recesses in said lower surface from said marginal part, said lower surface further having additional portions which, together with said border portion, completely surround at least three of said recesses.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The elastically deformable base of an article of footwear has a substantially plane lower surface which is formed with a deep recess below the heel, with an elongated shallow recess below the outer portion of the instep, with a two-part recess below the ball and with a two-part recess below the toes of the foot resting on the upper surface of the base. The depth of the recesses is reduced to zero or close to zero when the corresponding sections of the base are stressed by the adjacent portions of the foot during walking, jogging or running. The depth of the recesses is proportional to the magnitude of shocks or stresses which are transmitted to the corresponding sections of the base in actual use of the article of footwear. The upper surface of the base is deformed in response to a reduction of the depth of recesses in the plane lower surface so that the profile of the foot is imprinted into successive portions of the upper surface when the article of footwear is in use.
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Citations
32 Claims
- 1. A footwear base containing an elastically deformable cushioning amterial and having an upper surface for supporting the weight of the foot and a substantially plane lower surface arranged to contact the ground, said base including a first part which absorbs more pronounced shocks and a second part which absorbs less pronounced shocks when the article of footwear embodying the base is in use, said lower surface having recessed portions on said first part, and said first part comprising a first section for the ball of the foot having at least one first recess, a second section for the toes having at least one second recess, a third section for the heel having at least one third recess, and a fourth section for the outer part of the instep having at least one fourth recess, each of said recesses having a depth which is related to the loading of the respective section such that the recess in a more heavily loaded section has a greater depth that the recess in a less heavily loaded section, and said base further including a marginal part, said lower surface having a substantially circumferentially complete non-recessed border portion which circumscribes all recesses in said lower surface and spaces all recesses in said lower surface from said marginal part, said lower surface further having additional portions which, together with said border portion, completely surround at least three of said recesses.
Specification