Shoe sole structures
First Claim
1. A shoe sole construction suitable for an athletic shoe, comprising:
- a sole inner surface and a sole outer surface;
a sole lateral side, a sole medial side, and a sole middle portion located between the sole lateral side and the sole medial side;
the sole including a lateral sidemost section and a medial sidemost section, each said section being located outside of a straight vertical line extending through the sole at a respective sidemost extent of said inner surface of the shoe sole, as viewed in said shoe sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition;
a bottom sole;
a midsole having an inner midsole surface and an outer midsole surface;
the midsole comprising at least one convexly rounded portion of the inner midsole surface, as viewed in a frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, said convexity being determined relative to a section of the midsole directly adjacent to the convexly rounded portion of the inner midsole surface;
the midsole comprising at least one concavely rounded portion of the outer midsole surface, as viewed in a frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, said concavity being determined relative to an inner section of the midsole directly adjacent to the concavely rounded portion of the outer midsole surface;
each said concavely rounded portion of the outer midsole surface being located on a side of the shoe sole at a location corresponding to the location of at least one convexly rounded portion of the inner midsole surface so as to define a rounded portion of the midsole located between said convexly rounded portion of the inner midsole surface and said concavely rounded portion of the outer midsole surface;
the midsole extending from the sole middle portion into the sidemost section of the shoe sole side at the location of the rounded portion of the mid sole, the midsole further extending up the sole side to above a level corresponding to a lowest point of an inner surface of a nearest sidemost part of the midsole, as viewed in a shoe sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition; and
a non-vertical internal flexibility slit located within the sole portion of said sole, said flexibility slit being located between two opposing substantially parallel sole surfaces in physical contact with one another to permit relative motion between said opposing sole surfaces, as viewed in a frontal plane-cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, to provide flexibility to said sole portion when under load.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A construction for a shoe, particularly an athletic shoe, which includes a sole that conforms to the natural shape of the foot shoe, including the bottom and the sides, when that foot sole deforms naturally by flattening under load while walking or running in order to provide a stable support base for the foot and ankle. Deformation sipes such as slits or channels are introduced in horizontal plane of the shoe sole to provide it with flexibility roughly equivalent to that of the foot. The result is a shoe sole that accurately parallels the frontal plane deformation of the foot sole, which creates a stable base that is wide and flat even when tilted sideways in extreme pronation or supination motion. In marked contrast, conventional shoe soles are rigid and become highly unstable when tilted sideways because they are supported only by a thin bottom edge.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A shoe sole construction suitable for an athletic shoe, comprising:
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a sole inner surface and a sole outer surface;
a sole lateral side, a sole medial side, and a sole middle portion located between the sole lateral side and the sole medial side;
the sole including a lateral sidemost section and a medial sidemost section, each said section being located outside of a straight vertical line extending through the sole at a respective sidemost extent of said inner surface of the shoe sole, as viewed in said shoe sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition;
a bottom sole;
a midsole having an inner midsole surface and an outer midsole surface;
the midsole comprising at least one convexly rounded portion of the inner midsole surface, as viewed in a frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, said convexity being determined relative to a section of the midsole directly adjacent to the convexly rounded portion of the inner midsole surface;
the midsole comprising at least one concavely rounded portion of the outer midsole surface, as viewed in a frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, said concavity being determined relative to an inner section of the midsole directly adjacent to the concavely rounded portion of the outer midsole surface;
each said concavely rounded portion of the outer midsole surface being located on a side of the shoe sole at a location corresponding to the location of at least one convexly rounded portion of the inner midsole surface so as to define a rounded portion of the midsole located between said convexly rounded portion of the inner midsole surface and said concavely rounded portion of the outer midsole surface;
the midsole extending from the sole middle portion into the sidemost section of the shoe sole side at the location of the rounded portion of the mid sole, the midsole further extending up the sole side to above a level corresponding to a lowest point of an inner surface of a nearest sidemost part of the midsole, as viewed in a shoe sole frontal plane cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition; and
a non-vertical internal flexibility slit located within the sole portion of said sole, said flexibility slit being located between two opposing substantially parallel sole surfaces in physical contact with one another to permit relative motion between said opposing sole surfaces, as viewed in a frontal plane-cross-section when the shoe sole is upright and in an unloaded condition, to provide flexibility to said sole portion when under load. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification