Outsole for sports shoes

An outsole for a right or left sports shoe, comprising:

• a flexible sole body having a front region, an instep region, a heel region, an upper surface, a lower surface, an inner side corresponding to the inner side of afoot, an outer side corresponding to the outer side of a foot, a bending axis on said front region corresponding to the bending axis of the metatarsophalangeal zone of a foot, a middle on the bending axis corresponding to the middle of the width of the sole body along the bending axis, and a first edge which defines a first aperture situated on said bending axis of said sole body and a first sloping portion of said upper surface of said sole body,
• a first stiffening plate formed from plastic material, having an upper surface and a lower surface, being integrally molded with said sole body and being disposed in said front region thereof, on a first side of said bending axis,
• a second stiffening plate formed from plastic material, having an upper surface and a lower surface, being integrally molded with said sole body and being disposed in said front region thereof, on a second side of said bending axis,
• at least a first ground-engaging front projection projecting downwards from said lower surface of said first stiffening plate,
• at least a second ground-engaging front projection projecting downwards from said lower surface of said second stiffening plate,
• a first ground-engaging dampening cushion formed from expanded plastic material, provided inside said first aperture, said first dampening cushion having a first part which projects downwards under said lower surface of said sole body and a second part which covers said first sloping portion of said upper surface of said sole body,
• a heel-reinforcing plate fixed to said sole body such that said heel-reinforcing plate substantially longitudinally extends in a region covering said instep region and said heel region of said sole body, said heel-reinforcing plate having an upper surface and a lower surface, and two diverging branches respectively situated along said inner and outer sides of said sole body, the latter having a second edge which defines a second aperture and a second sloping portion of said upper surface of said sole body, said second aperture being oblong and extending between said diverging branches of said heel-reinforcing plate such that said second aperture widens out for said instep region towards said heel region of said sole body,said heel-reinforcing plate comprising a rigid material able to withstand repeated bending movements in all temperatures and having a Shore D hardness at least equal to 55 and being provided with at least one sleeve, including a bore having an enlarged part, projecting under said heel-reinforcing plate,
• a second dampening ground-engaging cushion formed from expanded plastic material, provided inside said second aperture, said second dampening cushion having a first part which projects downwards under said lower surface of said sole body and a second part which covers aid second sloping portion of said upper surface of said sole body,and
• at least a ground engaging heel projection integrally molded with, and projecting downwards from, said lower surface of said heel-reinforcing plate, said heel projection comprising an abrasion-resistant material having a Shore D hardness substantially equal to 40, the weight of said abrasion-resistant material constituting between about 5% and 95% of the combined weight of said abrasion-resistant and rigid materials constituting said heel projection, and being in the form of a stud having a projecting part projecting through said bore downwards from said lower surface of said heel-reinforcing plate and a shoulder part fittable into said enlarged part of said bore,
• wherein said first aperture extends through the sole body, is substantially elliptic and has a major axis situated on said bending axis of the sole body and a center on said major axis, said center being located on said major axis, apart from said middle of said sole body on said bending axis thereof, towards said outer side of said sole body, and wherein said first and second stiffening plates are positioned on opposing sides of said bending axis and, the first aperture being situated between said first and second stiffening plates, symmetrically with respect to said center of said first aperture.