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US 11,445,783 B2Granted
Sole for a shoe
Assigneeadidas AG
InventorsJohn Whiteman, Paul Leonard Michael Smith, Angus Wardlaw, Heiko Schlarb, James Tarrier
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Improved soles for shoes, in particular for sports shoes, are described. A sole for a shoe, in particular a sports shoe, is provided, said sole having a cushioning element that includes randomly arranged particles of an expanded material and a control element. The control element is free from expanded material and reduces the shearing motions in a first region of the cushioning element compared to shearing motions in a second region of the cushioning element.
Claims16
A sole for a shoe, comprising:
- (a) a cushioning element comprising randomly arranged particles of an expanded material, and the cushioning element comprising a first region and a second region, and
- (b) a customized control element free from expanded material, the control element comprising a first control region positioned proximate to the first region and a second control region positioned proximate to the second region, wherein the first control region and the second control region each comprise at least one of the following features:
- protrusions, bulges, or combinations thereof;
- (c) wherein the first control region has (i) protrusions that are greater in size, hardness, and/or expansion, or (ii) bulges that are greater in length, thickness, and/or structure as compared to the second control region,
- (d) wherein, under shear, the first control region engages with the first region of the cushioning element by selectively increasing the penetration of the at least one feature into the cushioning element positioned proximate the at least one feature, wherein the increased penetration reduces shearing motions within the first region to a greater extent than the second control region reduces shearing motions within the second region.
2 more elements
A sole for a shoe, comprising:
- (a) a cushioning element comprising randomly arranged particles of expanded thermoplastic urethane, the cushioning element comprising a first region and a second region, and
- (b) a customized control element free from expanded material, the control element comprising a first control region positioned proximate to the first region and a second control region positioned proximate to the second region, wherein the first control region and the second control region each comprise the following features:
- protrusions, bulges, or combinations thereof;
- (c) wherein the first control region has (i) protrusions that are greater in size, hardness, and/or expansion, or (ii) bulges that are greater in length, thickness, and/or structure as compared to the second control region,
- (d) wherein, under shear, the first control region engages with the first region of the cushioning element by selectively increasing the penetration of the at least one feature into the cushioning element positioned proximate the feature, wherein the increased penetration reduces shearing motions within the first region to a greater extent than the second control region reduces shearing motions within the second region.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.