Cushioned shoe construction including toe and heel plates

A shoe construction, comprising:

• (a) a generally horizontal shoe sole member (4) formed from a flexible synthetic plastic material having a first durometer value of hardness, said sole member including a bottom wall (4a) having a generally horizontal bottom surface, and generally vertical toe, heel and side walls (4b, 4c, 4d) extending upwardly from said bottom wall to define an open-topped cavity (8) for supporting the sole portion of the foot of a user, said sole member having toe, ball, arch and heel portions (A, B, C, D);
• (b) an upper body member (6) secured to said sole member above and in communication with said cavity;
• (c) a toe plate member (22) secured to the bottom surface of said sole member toe portion;
• (d) a heel plate member (24) secured to the bottom surface of said sole member heel and arch portions, said toe and heel plate members being formed from a relatively hard synthetic plastic material having a second durometer value of hardness that is greater than said first durometer value, said heel plate being generally horseshoe-shaped and containing a recess adjacent said toe plate;
• (e) a plurality of toe cushion members (26) arranged in respective toe openings (28) contained in said toe plate, said toe cushion members being secured to the bottom surface of said sole member toe portion;
• and
• (f) an arch cushion stabilizing member (32) arranged in said heel plate recess adjacent said toe plate member, said arch cushion member being secured to the bottom surface of said sole arch and heel portions, said toe and arch cushion members being formed from a synthetic plastic material having an intermediate third durometer value of hardness that is between said first and second durometer values of hardness,
• (h) said toe cushion members and said arch cushion members being connected with said sole bottom surface for independent movement relative to said toe and arch plate members, respectively.