Shock attenuating outer sole

An athletic shoe comprised of:

• a shoe upper;
• an outer sole attached to said upper, said outer sole including a base formed of relatively thin resilient material and having a heel section, an arch section, a forefoot section, a toe section, an upper major surface and a lower major surface;
• a plurality of traction elements extending downward from said lower major surface of said base at transverse and longitudinally spaced locations substantially throughout said base;
• a rear shock attenuating area extending along the central longitudinal portion of said heel and arch section, said rear shock attenuating area being substantially devoid of traction elements;
• a front shock attenuating area extending generally along the central longitudinal portion of said forefoot section, traction elements along said front shock attenuating area being thinner than the traction elements along the medial and lateral perimeter area of said forefoot section so that the relatively thin resilient material of said base in said front and rear shock attenuating areas depresses downwardly during foot strike to attenuate the force of foot strike.

An athletic shoe comprised of:

• a shoe upper;
• an outer sole attached to said upper, said outer sole including a base formed of a relatively thin resilient material and having a heel section, an arch section, a forefoot section, a toe section, an upper major surface and a lower major surface;
• a plurality of traction elements extending downward from said lower major surface of said base at transverse and longitudinally spaced locations in said heel, arch, and forefoot sections;
• a rear shock attenuating area extending generally along the central longitudinal portion of said heel and arch sections, said rear shock attenuating area being substantially devoid of traction elements so that the relatively thin resilient material of said base in said rear shock attenuating area depresses downwardly during foot strike;
• said base including a thick portion having a thickness greater than the remainder of said base, said thick portion extending along the medial perimeter of said base in said heel and arch sections and inward of the perimeter for approximately at least one quarter of the width of the base to provide additional medial support.

An athletic shoe comprising:

• a shoe upper;
• an outer sole attached to said upper, said outer sole including a base formed of a relatively thin resilient material and having a heel section, an arch section, a forefoot section, a toe section, an upper major surface and a lower major surface;
• a plurality of traction elements extending downward from said lower major surface of said base at transversely and longitudinally spaced locations in said heel, arch and forefoot sections, said traction elements including wear plugs extending about substantially the entire rear portion of said heel section and forwardly along medial and lateral sides of said sole, the ground engaging surface of each of said wear plugs having an area substantially greater than the average ground engaging surface area of the remaining traction elements, said wear plugs including a plurality of ridges extending substantially perpendicular to a line at which a runner typically abducts;
• a rear shock attenuating area extending generally along the central longitudinal portion of said heel and arch sections, said rear shock attenuating area being substantially devoid of traction elements so that the relatively thin resilient material of the base in the rear shock attenuating area depresses downwardly during foot strike.

An outer sole for an athletic shoe comprising:

• a base formed of a relatively thin resilient material and having a heel section, an arch section, a forefoot section, a toe section, an upper major surface and a lower major surface;
• a plurality of traction elements extending downwardly from said lower major surface of said base at transversely and longitudinally spaced locations within said heel, arch and forefoot sections, said traction elements including polygonal cleats in a portion of said heel section and in said arch and heel sections and wear plugs having ground engaging surface areas substantially greater than the average ground engaging surface area of the polygonal cleats, said wear plugs being located about the rear and lateral and medial sides of said heel section, said wear plugs having ridges extending substantially perpendicular to the line at which a runner typically abducts, said polygonal cleats in said heel and arch sections having a side wall along the inner side of the cleats extending from an inner ground engaging edge of the cleats toward a longitudinal center of said base to form a reinforcing wedge between the inner ground engaging edge of the cleats and said base;
• a rear shock attenuating area extending generally along the central longitudinal portion of said heel and arch sections, said rear shock attenuating area being substantially devoid of traction elements;
• a front shock attenuating area extending generally along the central longitudinal portion of said forefoot section, the polygonal cleats in said front shock attenuating area being thinner than the polygonal cleats along the medial and lateral perimeter of said forefoot section so that the relatively thin resilient material of the base in the front and rear shock attenuating areas depresses downwardly during foot strike to attenuate the force of foot strike.

An outer sole for an athletic shoe comprising:

• a base formed of a relatively thin resilient material and having a heel section, an arch section, a forefoot section, a toe section, an upper major surface and a lower major surface, said base including a thick portion having a thickness greater than the remaining thin portion of said base, said thicker portion extending along the medial side of said arch and heel sections, about the rear of said heel section and about a portion of the lateral side of said heel section, the perimeter of said base along the medial side of said outer sole extending in a substantially straight line from the broadest point of said forefoot section to said heel;
• a plurality of traction elements extending downwardly from said lower major surface of said base at longitudinally and transversely spaced locations in the heel, arch and forefoot sections, said traction elements including polygonal shaped cleats in said heel, arch and forefoot sections, and wear plugs in the heel section, said wear plugs having a ground contact surface area substantially greater than the average ground contact surface area of said polygonal cleats;
• a rear shock attenuating area extending generally along the central longitudinal portion of said heel and arch sections, said rear shock attenuating area being substantially devoid of traction elements;
• a front shock attenuating area extending generally along the central longitudinal portion of said forefoot section, the polygonal cleats in the front shock attenuating area being thinner than the polygonal cleats along the medial and lateral perimeter of said forefoot section so that the relatively thin resilient material of said base in said front and rear shock attenuating areas depresses downwardly during foot strike to attenuate the force of foot strike.

An outer sole for an athletic shoe comprising:

• a base formed of a relatively thin resilient material and having a heel section, an arch section, a forefoot section, a toe section, an upper major surface, a lower major surface and a thick portion having a thickness greater than the remaining thin portion of the base, said thick portion extending along the medial perimeter in the arch and heel sections;
• a plurality of traction elements extending downward from said lower major surface of said base at transverse and longitudinally spaced locations in the heel, arch and forefoot sections, said traction elements including generally polygonal shaped cleats in said heel, arch and forefoot section, and wear plugs having a substantially greater ground contact surface area than the average ground contact surface area of said polygonal cleats, said wear plugs extending about the rear of said heel section along the medial and lateral sides thereof;
• a rear shock attenuating area extending generally along the central longitudinal portion of said heel and arch sections, said rear shock attenuating area being substantially devoid of traction elements;
• a front shock attenuating area extending generally along the central longitudinal portion of said forefoot section, the polygonal cleats in said front shock attenuating area being thinner than the polygonal cleats along the lateral and medial perimeter of the forefoot section so that the relatively thin resilient material of the base in the front and rear shock attenuating areas depresses downwardly during foot strike to attenuate the force of foot strike.