Footwear with a shell
AssigneeThe North Face Apparel Corp.
InventorsBenoit Geis, Wu Shengching
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shoe may comprise an upper and a comfort sole attached to an outsole, the comfort sole having a radius of curvature at any point of a line from a heel to a toe and interfacing with outsole, wherein the lowest point of comfort sole and outsole, called the center of mass or balance point of the sole or natural balance point of the shoe, when placed on a substantially horizontal reference plane defines a transition zone of the roll of the foot having the highest radius of the comfort sole and the outsole, and in that the center of mass is behind point (B) of the metatarsals; and a rigid shell interposed between the upper and the comfort sole.
Claims20
A shoe comprising:
- an upper;
- an outsole;
- a comfort sole attached to the outsole, the comfort sole comprised of a cushioned materials having a radius of curvature at any point of a line from a heel to a toe and interfacing with the outsole, wherein the outsole and the comfort sole further comprise a center of mass zone positioned such that, when the shoe is placed on horizontal reference plane, the center of mass zone corresponds to a roll of the foot having the highest sole radius;
- and
- a shell interposed between the upper and the comfort sole, the shell comprised of a rigid material configured to provide torsional and flexural stiffness to the upper and further comprising a shell bottom and a shell side rising towards the upper and forming an edge around at least a portion of the shell bottom, wherein the radius of curvature of the comfort sole and the rigid material of the shell provide torsional and bending rigidity to the upper.
A shoe comprising:
- an outsole,
- an upper coupled to the outsole;
- the comfort sole attached to the outsole comprised of a cushioned materials having a radius of curvature at any point of a line from a heel to a toe and interfacing with outsole, the comfort zone further comprising a center of mass zone, the center of mass zone having the highest radius of curvature of the comfort sole;
- and
- a shell comprised of a rigid material interposed between and interfacing with the upper and the comfort sole, the shell comprised of a rigid material configured to provide torsional and flexural stiffness to the upper and further comprising a shell bottom and a shell side rising towards the upper and forming an edge around at least a portion of the shell bottom, wherein the radius of curvature of the comfort sole and the rigid material of the shell provide torsional and bending rigidity to the upper,
- the shell side further comprising a plurality of notches formed therein, wherein at least two of the plurality of notches are positioned opposite each other along a transverse line, wherein the transverse line is perpendicular to longitudinal line passing through a heel portion of the shoe and a point located at a central portion of a front edge of the shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.