Shoe sole structures

• US 20020007571A1
• Filed: 08/22/2001
• Published: 01/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1990
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Anatomic Research Inc.
• Original Assignee: Anatomic Research Inc.
• Inventors: Ellis, Frampton E. III
• Granted Patent: US 6,763,616 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 36/102
• 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 13/146 Concave end portions, e.g. with a cavity or cut-out portion
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 13/148 Wedged end portions

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.

Claims

1. A shoe construction for a shoe, such as an athletic shoe, comprising:

an conventional upper shoe and a conventional shoe sole;

said shoe sole composed of material of normal shoe sole firmness;

said shoe sole having sipes such as slits or channels originating from the side surface of said sole;

said sipes being of sufficient shape, size, depth, orientation and number to provide said shoe sole with flexibility sufficiently similar to that of the sole of the wearer'"'"'s foot, so that at least the thickest major portion of said shoe sole, either the heel or forefoot or both, if equal, can easily parallel substantially the natural flattening deformation of the sole of the wearer'"'"'s foot during the normal pronation and supination motion occurring when the wearer is standing, walking, jogging, or running.

2. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shoe sole has a heel thickness greater than the forefoot thickness.

3. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shoe sole deforms easily to conform to the theoretically ideal stability plane.

4. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shoe sole deforms to a plane somewhat greater or somewhat less than the theoretically ideal stability plane.

5. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein said sipes about parallel the horizontal plane.

6. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein the empty spaces created in said shoe sole by said deformation sipes in the form of channels or any other practical geometric shapes are partially or completely filled with a flexible connecting material.

7. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein deformation sipes that parallel the horizontal plane are used in conjunction with deformation sipes that parallel the sagittal plane and originate from the bottom surface of the shoe sole.

8. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein a midsole section is encapsulated by a combination of roughly horizontal plane and sagittal plane deformation sipes located internally in the shoe sole.

9. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein a midsole section is defined by a combination of roughly horizontal plane and sagittal plane deformation sipes forming a U shape.

10. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 1, wherein a layer of flexible elastic material or fabric is attached to the shoe sole sides.

11. The shoe sole construction for a shoe, such as a street or athletic shoe, comprising:

a sole having a substantially flat sole portion including a foot support surface, a naturally contoured side portion merging with at least a medial or lateral heel portion of said sole portion and conforming substantially to the shape of the associated sides of the human foot sole, and a substantially uniform frontal plane thickness;

said thickness being defined as about the shortest distance between any point on an upper, foot-contacting surface of said shoe sole and a lower, ground-contacting surface;

said thickness varying in about the sagittal plane and being greater in the heel portion than in the forefoot;

said thickness of the naturally contoured side portion about equaling and therefore varying substantially directly with the thickness of the sole portion in about the frontal plane;

said shoe sole composed of material of normal shoe sole firmness;

said shoe sole having sipes such as slits or channels originating from the side surface of said sole;

said sipes being of sufficient shape, size, depth, orientation and number to provide said shoe sole with flexibility sufficiently similar to that of the sole of the wearer'"'"'s foot, so that at least the heel portion of said shoe sole can easily parallel substantially the natural flattening deformation of the sole of the wearer'"'"'s foot during the normal pronation and supination motion occurring when the wearer is standing, walking, jogging, or running.

12. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 11, wherein said shoe sole deforms to a plane somewhat greater or somewhat less than the theoretically ideal stability plane.

13. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 11, wherein said sipes about parallel the horizontal plane.

14. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 11, wherein the empty spaces created in said shoe sole by said deformation sipes in the form of channels or any other practical geometric shape is partially or completely filled with a flexible connecting material.

15. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 11, wherein deformation sipes that parallel the horizontal plane are used in conjunction with deformation sipes that parallel the sagittal plane and originate from the bottom surface of the shoe sole.

16. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 11, wherein a midsole section is encapsulated by a combination of roughly horizontal plane and sagittal plane deformation sipes located internally in the shoe sole.

17. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 11, wherein a midsole section is defined by a combination of roughly horizontal plane and sagittal plane deformation sipes forming a U shape.

18. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 13, wherein a layer of flexible elastic material or fabric is attached to the shoe sole sides.

19. A shoe sole construction for a shoe, such as a street or athletic shoe, comprising:

a shoe sole with at least a medial or lateral portion that conforms substantially to the natural shape of the wearer'"'"'s foot sole, including portions of its sides, and that has a substantially constant multiplication product of thickness in about frontal plane cross sections times density;

said thickness being defined as about the shortest distance between any point on an upper foot-contacting surface of said shoe sole and a lower ground-contacting surface;

said shoe sole composed of material of normal shoe sole firmness;

said shoe sole having sipes such as slits or channels originating from the side surface of said sole;

said sipes being of sufficient shape, size, depth, orientation and number to provide said shoe sole with flexibility sufficiently similar to that of the sole of the wearer'"'"'s foot, so that at least the thickest major portion of said shoe sole, either the heel or forefoot or both, if equal, can easily parallel substantially the natural flattening deformation of the sole of the wearer'"'"'s foot during the normal pronation and supination motion occurring when the wearer is standing, walking, jogging, or running.

20. The shoe sole construction as set forth in claim 19, wherein relatively higher density midsole material is used together with proportionately less thickness in the contoured sides of said shoe sole to reduce overall shoe sole width while maintaining functional equivalency in stability.