Dynamic canting and cushioning system for footwear

The sole unit of 1 wherein a plurality of collapsible profiles comprising a resiliently compressible material are disposed in a plurality of parallel arrays, at least two arrays on opposite sides of a midline extending at least 25% the length of the sole unit.

The sole unit of 1 wherein a plurality of collapsible profiles comprising a resiliently compressible material are disposed in a plurality of parallel segments, at least two segments on opposite sides of a midline extending at least 25% the length of the sole unit.

A sole unit for footwear having, comprising:

• a medial side, a lateral side, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
• the sole unit having at least one collapsible profile on a portion of its bottom surface, the collapsible profile comprises a torsion element coupled to a canting means disposed on the bottom surface of the sole unit, the torsion element having opposing force transfer means at each end wherein the canting means is disposed at about a midline of the sole unit and force transfer means for a torsion element are located on opposite sides of the midline.

A sole unit for footwear having, comprising:

• a medial side, a lateral side, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
• the sole unit having at least one canting means on a portion of the bottom surface for laterally displacing the top surface from the bottom surface and canting the top surface relative to the bottom surface, according to the direction of an applied lateral force, the top surface forming an acute angle on the side of the sole unit to which the lateral force is generally applied and an obtuse angle on the opposite side.

A sole unit, comprising:

• a medial side, a lateral side, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
• the sole unit having at least one collapsible profile on a portion of its bottom surface, the collapsible profile being capable of selectively, resiliently canting a side of a user's foot upwardly on the side opposite an applied lateral force during use, the collapsible profile comprising opposing vertical displacement elements with an upper or lower horizontal displacement element disposed therebetween and, the vertical elements having upward and downward ends that interface with the upper and/or lower horizontal displacement elements via canting means, the canting means facilitating the deformation of the collapsible profile to provide selective canting of the user's foot.

The sole unit of 39 wherein there are a plurality of the rhomboid-like collapsible profiles disposed along a length of the sole unit.

A shoe having a sole unit comprising:

• a medial side, a lateral side, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
• the sole unit having at least one collapsible profile on a portion of its bottom surface, the collapsible profile being capable of selectively, resiliently canting a side of a user's foot upwardly on the side opposite an applied lateral force during use, the collapsible profile having a canting means for facilitating the selective canting of the user's foot.

A shoe having a sole unit comprising:

• a medial side, a lateral side, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
• the sole unit having at least one collapsible profile on a portion of its bottom surface, the collapsible profile comprises a torsion element coupled to a canting means disposed on the bottom surface of the sole unit, the torsion element having opposing force transfer means at each end wherein the canting means is disposed at about a midline of the sole unit and force transfer means for a torsion element are located on opposite sides of the midline.

A shoe having a sole unit comprising:

• a medial side, a lateral side, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
• the sole unit having at least one collapsible profile on a portion of its bottom surface, the collapsible profile being capable of selectively, resiliently canting a side of a user's foot upwardly on the side opposite an applied lateral force during use, the collapsible profile comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion being connected together by vertically disposed displacement elements therebetween, the vertical elements having upward and downward ends that interface with the upper and lower portion via canting means, the canting means facilitating the deformation of the collapsible profile to provide selective canting of the user's foot.

A method of constructing a shoe comprising, providing a sole unit comprising:

• a medial side, a lateral side, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
• the sole unit having at least one collapsible profile on a portion of its bottom surface, the collapsible profile being capable of selectively, resiliently canting a side of a user's foot upwardly on the side opposite an applied lateral force during use, the collapsible profile having a canting means for facilitating the selective canting of the user's foot, and attaching the sole unit to an upper for retaining the foot of a user.

A method of constructing a shoe comprising, providing a sole unit comprising:

• a medial side, a lateral side, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
• the sole unit having at least one collapsible profile on a portion of its bottom surface, the collapsible profile comprises a torsion element coupled to a canting means disposed on the bottom surface of the sole unit, the torsion element having opposing force transfer means at each end wherein the canting means is disposed at about a midline of the sole unit and force transfer means for a torsion element are located on opposite sides of the midline, foot, and attaching the sole unit to an upper for retaining the foot of a user.

A method of constructing a shoe comprising, providing a sole unit comprising:

• a medial side, a lateral side, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
• the sole unit having at least one collapsible profile on a portion of its bottom surface, the collapsible profile being capable of selectively, resiliently canting a side of a user's foot upwardly on the side opposite an applied lateral force during use, the collapsible profile comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion being connected together by vertically disposed displacement elements therebetween, the vertical elements having upward and downward ends that interface with the upper and lower portion via canting means, the canting means facilitating the deformation of the collapsible profile to provide selective canting of the user's foot, and attaching the sole unit to an upper for retaining the foot of a user.