Medially-Located Lateral Footwear Stabilizer
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorsBryan N. Farris, Bruce Alan Barney, Rachel M. Savage, Alison Sheets-Singer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sole structure for an article of footwear. The sole structure includes at least one support plate located on an underside of a midsole on a medial forefoot side of the midsole and extending from a medial edge of the midsole to at least a longitudinal center line of the midsole, wherein a lateral edge of the plate is located medially of the lateral edge of the midsole. The support plate may contain at least one sipe or groove extending laterally across the midsole to provide flexibility in a forefoot-to-heel direction of the midsole. The support plate may contain at least one rail.
Claims20
A sole structure for an article of footwear comprising:
- a midsole having forefoot, midfoot, and heel regions, the midsole having a front edge in the forefoot region;
- a support plate located on an underside of the midsole on a medial forefoot side of the midsole and extending from a medial edge of the midsole to at least a longitudinal center line of the midsole, wherein a lateral edge of the support plate is located medially of the lateral edge of the midsole;
- wherein the support plate contains at least one sipe or groove extending laterally across the midsole to provide flexibility in a forefoot-to-heel direction of the midsole;
- and
- wherein the support plate is substantially incompressible;
- wherein a front edge of the support plate is located rearward of the front edge of the midsole in a toe region;
- and a rear edge of the support plate is located forward of the midfoot region.
A sole structure for an article of footwear comprising:
- a midsole having forefoot, midfoot, and heel regions, the midsole having a front edge in the forefoot region;
- at least two support plates located on an underside of the midsole on a medial forefoot side of the midsole and extending from a medial edge of the midsole to at least a longitudinal center line of the midsole, wherein a lateral edge of each plate is located medially of the lateral edge of the midsole;
- wherein the at least two support plates are positioned such that adjacent sides extend laterally across the midsole to provide flexibility in a forefoot-to-heel direction of the midsole;
- and
- wherein the at least two support plates are substantially incompressible;
- wherein a front edge of a first plate is located rearward of the front edge of the midsole in a toe region;
- and a rear edge of a second plate is located forward of the midfoot region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.