Segmented sole for footwear
AssigneeLululemon Athletica Canada Inc.
InventorsMark Arthur Oleson, Michael Andrew Notrica, Christopher Ka-Yin Lam, Donald Taylor Johnston, Peter Rueegger, Simon Markus Luthi, Michael Steszyn
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Abstract
A segmented sole for an article of footwear comprises a forefoot region, a heel region, and a segmentation zone disposed between the forefoot and heel region. The segmentation zone includes a plurality of segments separated from each other and from the forefoot and heel by a plurality of sipes, cuts, or gaps. The segmented sole produces bending along a segmentation axis disposed along an arch of a wearer of an article of footwear including the sole, allowing for arch support and natural foot movement.
Claims20
A sole for an article of footwear, the sole comprising:
- a heel portion;
- a forefoot portion;
- and
- a segmentation zone disposed between the heel portion and the forefoot portion, the segmentation zone including a plurality of wing segments separated from each other by one or more sipes, wherein the one or more sipes radiate outward from a common origin disposed on a lateral side of the longitudinal axis of the sole toward a medial edge of the sole, and wherein, in the common origin, the one or more of sipes do not fully surround the plurality of wing segments, defining regions of attachment between the plurality of wing segments, the heel portion, and the forefoot portion of the sole;
- wherein the common origin is disposed along an arch of the sole;
- and
- wherein the segmentation zone is configured such that the sole compresses and expands as a function of compression and expansion within the one or more sipes.
A sole for an article of footwear, the sole comprising:
- a heel portion;
- a forefoot portion;
- and a segmentation zone disposed between the heel portion and the forefoot portion, the segmentation zone including a plurality of segments separated from each other and from the heel and forefoot portions by a plurality of sipes extending transverse to a longitudinal axis of the sole, wherein the plurality of sipes radiate outward from a common origin disposed on a lateral side of the longitudinal axis of the sole toward a medial edge of the sole, and wherein, in the common origin, the plurality of sipes do not fully surround the plurality of segments, defining regions of attachment between the plurality of segments, the heel portion, and the forefoot portion of the sole;
- wherein the common origin is disposed along an arch of the sole;
- wherein the segmentation zone is configured such that a flexibility of the sole is at least partially a function of compression within the plurality of sipes;
- and
- wherein the segmentation zone is configured such that flexing the sole increases a length of the sole.
A sole for an article of footwear, the sole comprising:
- a heel portion;
- a forefoot portion;
- and
- a segmentation zone disposed between the heel portion and the forefoot portion, the segmentation zone disposed generally orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the sole, the segmentation zone including two wing segments separated from each other and from the heel and forefoot portions by a plurality of sipes extending transverse to the longitudinal axis of the sole, wherein the plurality of sipes radiate outward from a common region disposed on a lateral side of a longitudinal axis of the sole toward a medial edge of the sole, and wherein, in the common region, the plurality of sipes do not fully surround the two wing segments, defining regions of attachment between the two wing segments, the heel portion, and the forefoot portion of the sole;
- and
- wherein the segmentation zone is configured such that the sole compresses and expands as a function of compression and expansion within one or more sipes of the plurality of sipes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.