Footwear with longitudinally split midsole for dynamic fit adjustment
First Claim
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1. An article of footwear having lateral and medial sides, said article comprising:
- an upper includingan instep portion for covering at least a portion of a wearer'"'"'s foot, andan insole portion adapted to underlay a wearer'"'"'s foot, said insole portion comprising a non-stretch portion surrounding an expansion portion disposed longitudinally along said insole portion;
a sole unit attached to said upper underneath said insole, said sole including (1) a cushioning midsole, (2) a ground engaging outsole, wherein said cushioning midsole is layered between said ground engaging outsole and said insole, and (3) an expansion element for lateral expansion, said expansion element disposed longitudinally along said sole unit so as to align with said expansion portion of said insole portion, and said midsole includes a longitudinal split to accommodate said expansion element;
wherein said expansion portion and said expansion element have a retracted static condition to provide a narrower width to said article of footwear, and have an expanded, adjustment condition to provide a wider width and an increased internal volume to said article of footwear to cooperatively provide dynamic width adjustment.
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Abstract
An article of footwear is constructed to dynamically provide width adjustment by cooperative expansion and contraction of a longitudinal split midsole with an expansion element integrated with an outsole that allows the midsole to expand from a narrow width to a wider width. The upper of the shoe has a corresponding section that can expand to a similar degree as the midsole and outsole to enable the volume of the upper to increase proportionally to the width of the sole.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. An article of footwear having lateral and medial sides, said article comprising:
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an upper including an instep portion for covering at least a portion of a wearer'"'"'s foot, and an insole portion adapted to underlay a wearer'"'"'s foot, said insole portion comprising a non-stretch portion surrounding an expansion portion disposed longitudinally along said insole portion; a sole unit attached to said upper underneath said insole, said sole including (1) a cushioning midsole, (2) a ground engaging outsole, wherein said cushioning midsole is layered between said ground engaging outsole and said insole, and (3) an expansion element for lateral expansion, said expansion element disposed longitudinally along said sole unit so as to align with said expansion portion of said insole portion, and said midsole includes a longitudinal split to accommodate said expansion element; wherein said expansion portion and said expansion element have a retracted static condition to provide a narrower width to said article of footwear, and have an expanded, adjustment condition to provide a wider width and an increased internal volume to said article of footwear to cooperatively provide dynamic width adjustment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An article of footwear having lateral and medial sides, said article comprising:
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an upper including an instep portion for covering at least a portion of a wearer'"'"'s foot, and an insole portion adapted to underlay a wearer'"'"'s foot, said insole portion comprising a non-stretch portion surrounding an expansion portion comprising a stretch panel of material attached to said non-stretch portion, said expansion portion disposed longitudinally along said insole portion, said insole portion also comprising at least one non-stretch stay extending across said expansion portion to prevent said upper from expending or otherwise losing its shape prior to lasting and sole laying; a sole unit attached to said upper underneath said insole, said sole unit comprising a cushioning midsole with a longitudinal split, a ground engaging outsole with a longitudinal expansion section, said cushioning midsole being layered between said ground engaging outsole and said insole, said longitudinal split in said midsole and said longitudinal expansion section in said outsole being aligned with said expansion portion of said insole portion of said upper and together providing a sole unit expansion element for lateral expansion; wherein said expansion portion and said expansion element have a retracted static condition to provide a narrower width to said article of footwear, and have an expanded, adjustment condition to provide a wider width and an increased internal volume to said article of footwear to cooperatively provide dynamic width adjustment. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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Specification