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US 5,297,349 AGranted
Athletic shoe with rearfoot motion control device
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorBruce J. Kilgore
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cushioning sole for use in footwear, in particular athletic shoes, is disclosed. The cushioning sole includes a rearfoot motion control device incorporated into a sole member. The device preferably functions to gradually control pronation motion. The device includes generally vertically extending rigid members and a plurality of horizontally extending plate members. In other preferred embodiments, a cushioning sole for use in footwear includes a rearfoot motion control device formed integrally with a heel supporting element, substantially rigid and generally vertical members of the rearfoot motion control device being perpendicular to each other, or an external surface of the rearfoot motion control device being visible from outside of the footwear.
Claims34
A cushioning sole for use in footwear with a pronation control device to control the pronation motion of a wearer's foot comprising a sole member extending along at least the heel and arch areas of the sole, said sole member being compressible and resilient for cushioning foot impact, and means incorporated into said sole member for increasing the resistance to compression of said sole member adjacent its medial side to control pronation motion, said compression resistance increasing means including at least one substantially rigid member formed of substantially non-compressible material and extending vertically along at least a portion of the vertical extent of said sole member.
A cushioning sole for use in footwear comprising:
- a sole member extending along at least a heel and an arch section of the cushioning sole, said sole member being compressible and resilient for cushioning foot impact;
- means, incorporated into said sole member and formed of substantially non-compressible material, for gradually increasing the resistance to compression of said sole member from its lateral side to a maximum adjacent its medial side to control pronation motion, said gradual resistance increasing means including:
- a first substantially rigid member having a major surface extending generally laterally and vertically along a portion of said sole member;
- and
- a second substantially rigid member spaced longitudinally from said first substantially rigid member and having a major surface extending generally longitudinally and vertically along a portion of said sole member, wherein,
- said major surface of said first rigid member is substantially perpendicular to said major surface of said second rigid member.
3 more elements
Footwear comprising:
- a sole member extending along at least a heel and an arch section of the footwear and being compressible and resilient for cushioning foot impact;
- a common base formed of substantially non-compressible material and disposed within said sole member;
- a plurality of plates formed of substantially non-compressible material, incorporated into said sole member, integrally connected to said common base and extending said common base;
- a first substantially rigid member formed of substantially non-compressible material, incorporated into said sole member, integrally connected to said common base, disposed adjacent a side wall of said sole member and having a major surface extending generally vertically and laterally in said sole member;
- and
- a second substantially rigid member spaced longitudinally from said first substantially rigid member, formed of substantially non-compressible material, incorporated into said sole member, integrally connected to said common base, disposed adjacent a side wall of said sole member and having a major surface extending generally vertically and longitudinally in said sole member, wherein,
- said major surface of said first rigid member is substantially perpendicular to said major surface of said second rigid member.
4 more elements
Footwear comprising:
- a sole member extending along at least a heel and an arch section of the footwear and being compressible and resilient for cushioning foot impact;
- a common base formed of substantially non-compressible material and disposed within said sole member, said common base having an external surface on a medial side of said sole member that is visible from outside of the footwear;
- and
- a plurality of plates formed of substantially non-compressible material, incorporated into said sole member, integrally connected to said common base and extending from said common base past a center line of the heel section of said sole member into a lateral half of said sole member, said plurality of plates having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end and said distal end defining between them a portion extending substantially along a transverse line which is substantially perpendicular to said common base, said proximal end integrally connected to said common base and said distal end cantilevered from said common base, said distal end extending past a centerline of the heel section of said sole member into an opposite side of the heel section centerline on which said proximal end is disposed.
1 more element
A cushioning sole for use in footwear comprising:
- a sole member extending along at least a heel and an arch section of the cushioning sole, said sole member being compressible and resilient for cushioning foot impact;
- means, incorporated into said sole member and formed of substantially non-compressible material, for gradually increasing the resistance to compression of said sole member from its lateral side to a maximum adjacent its medial side to control pronation motion, said gradual resistance increasing means including:
- a first substantially rigid member having longer surfaces extending generally vertically along a portion of said sole member;
- a second substantially rigid member spaced longitudinally from said first substantially rigid member and extending generally vertically along a portion of said sole member;
- and
- a plurality of substantially co-planar plates extending in a cantilever manner and generally horizontally from the medial side of said sole member;
- wherein a first of said plurality of plates has a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end integrally connected to said first substantially rigid member and said distal end cantilevered from said first substantially ridge member, and a second of said plurality of plates has a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end of said second plate integrally connected to said second substantially rigid member and said distal end cantilevered from said second substantially rigid member, said proximal end and said distal end of said first of said plurality of plates defining between them a portion extending substantially along a transverse line which intersects a plane parallel to the longer surfaces of said first substantially rigid member, said distal end of said first of said plurality of plates extending past a centerline of the heel section of said sole member into an opposite side of the heel section centerline on which said proximal end is disposed;
- and
- said gradual resistance increasing means having an external surface on the medial side of said sole that is visible from outside of the footwear.
6 more elements
Footwear comprising:
- a sole member extending along at least a heel and an arch section of the footwear and being compressible and resilient for cushioning foot impact;
- a common base formed of substantially non-compressible material and disposed within said sole member, said common base having an external surface on a medial side of said sole member that is visible from outside of the footwear;
- a plurality of plates formed of substantially non-compressible material, incorporated into said sole member, integrally connected to said common base and extending from said common base past a center line of the heel section of said sole member into a lateral half of said sole member;
- a first substantially rigid member formed of substantially non-compressible material, incorporated into said sole member, integrally connected to said common base, disposed adjacent a side wall of said sole member and having a major surface extending generally longitudinally and vertically in said sole member;
- and
- a second substantially rigid member spaced longitudinally from said first substantially rigid member and having a major surface extending generally laterally and vertically through a portion of said sole member, wherein,
- said major surface of said first rigid member is substantially perpendicular to said major surface of said second rigid member.
4 more elements
A cushioning sole for use in footwear comprising:
- a sole member extending along at least a heel and an arch section of the cushioning sole, said sole member being compressible and resilient for cushioning foot impact;
- a substantially rigid member formed of substantially non-compressible material, extending generally vertically through a portion of said sole member and incorporated into a medial half of said sole member;
- a plurality of substantially coplanar plates formed of substantially non-compressible material incorporated into said sole member and extending from said substantially rigid member in a direction towards a lateral half of said sole member, said plates having a proximal end and a distal end and extending along a longitudinal axis between said proximal end and said distal end, said longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the centerline of the hell section of said sole member, said proximal end integrally connected to said substantially rigid member and said distal end cantilevered from said substantially rigid member;
- and
- means for supporting the heel of the wearer of the cushioning sole, said means extending along both the medial and lateral sides of a heel of a foot of a wearer and at least partially about the rear of the heel from each of the medial and lateral sides, said supporting means including a section on said medial and lateral sides which extends upwardly around a portion of the wearer's heel;
- wherein said substantially rigid member, said plates and at least a portion of said heel supporting means define an integral structure.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.